Curly Dock Seed Bannock - Wild Edible Flour Substitute | 皺葉酸模薄餅 - 野外採食篇

Mature dock seeds in both photos.

Curly dock is a well known wild edible plant and it is also one of the early perennial plants that comes in spring.  The rosette of this plant has a subtle citrus flavour that I love to add in tofu soup. As the plant matures, usually when the stem starts to grow from the middle, the leaves will be too tough to eat.  Then, my attention will drift to their seeds.

The immature seeds are green in colour and start to form around early July.  The mature seeds are reddish-brown colour. 

Immature dock seeds in both photos

Although curly dock seeds belong to the buckwheat family, their taste is nothing similar to buckwheat at all.  In fact, dock seeds have little taste.  To me, I prize their fibre content and their abundance in nature.

I like to use grounded dock seed powder to make bannock; it brings a crunchiness and also gives a very nice colour to it.  However, I will not call it a flour substitute as many others refer to it for.  Because dock seeds actually don't have any binding agent and you will really need to combine them with flour to form a dough. 

There are many insects, especially spiders, that like to hide among curly dock seeds.  Prior to grounding, I highly recommend you strip the seeds, rinse them under running water, and let them to air dry.

Air drying the curly dock seeds

After the seeds are dried, you can process them into powder.  My blender is not a powerful one, so it couldn't process the tiny seeds into powder.  You can always achieve a finer texture by using a mortar though.

Curly Dock Seed Bannock | 皺葉酸模薄餅

INGREDIENTS:

1.25 cups All Purpose Flour

1/4 cup Curly Dock Seeds，grounded

1/4 cup Butter, melted

1/4 cups Water

1 tablespoons Baking Powder

1/3 teaspoon Salt

材料：

1.25 杯 麵粉

1/4 杯  皺葉酸籽，磨碎

1/4 杯  牛油，熱溶

1/4 杯  水

1 湯匙  泡打粉

1/3 茶匙  鹽

METHODS 做法：

1. In a mixing bowl, combine all the ingredients.  Roll it into a dough; the dough should be moist but not sticky.

1. 在一只大碗內加入所有材料。拌勻並揉成麵團；麵糰應該稍為濕潤，但不黏手。

3. Reheat a non-stick pan over medium heat.  Roll a small portion of dough into a flat circle and place it in the pre-heated pan.  Cook each side until slight brown; about 3-5 minutes each side.  repeat it until all the dough is finished.

3. 預熱一只易潔平底鍋。取一小份麵糰，然後揉成塊狀。把並放上預熱了的平底鍋中。兩邊各烤約3-5分鐘。重覆步驟直至完成麵糰。

Acorn Cookies | 橡實曲奇

Acorn Cookies | 橡實曲奇

Ingredients:

200 gram All Purpose Flour

200 gram Acorn Meal, LINK

150 gram Unsalted Butter, cold and cubed

1/4 cup Brown Sugar *(I forgot to mention it in the video.  Combine it with the flour and acorn meal)*

4 tablespoon Maple Syrup
4 tablespoons Milk

1/3 teaspoon Salt

DIRECTION:

1. In a mixing bowl, add flour, cold butter.  Rub it with finger tips until the butter resembles a fine meal.  Add acorn flour, brown sugar, and salt; mix again.

2. Add maple syrup and milk.  Mix until it just forms into a dough. The dough should be slightly sticky.

3. Divide the dough into equal portions and roll each into a ball.  Press down the balls onto a baking tray lined with parchment paper.

4. Bake it in the pre-heated oven at 360F for 15-18 minutes.  Allow them to cool before transferring them into an air-tight container.  The cookies will turn harder once cooled.

VIDEO:

Hickory Nuts Cookies (wild edible) ｜ 山胡桃曲奇

Late October is a good time for foraging nuts.  Not only for squirrels and chipmunk, but for us too.  We've picked acorns to make cookies, but our favourite nut is hickory.  Hickory nuts contain a high amount of "good fat" and their taste resembles something between a pecan and a walnut.  When it is freshly cracked and baked into cookies, it is an enjoyable moment to just sit and savour the flavour.  You will be amazed how nutty it actually tastes.  I would say it is even better than peanut.

You can buy hickory nuts at the store, but they usually lose the profound flavour and some of the good fat content after the prolonged period of storage.

Picking hickory nuts in the wood and sensing the small animals watching me.

Hickory Nut has two layers of hard shell to protect the delicious flesh.  The outer layer is green, but later it will turn into a deep brown colour, and then it will crack open to expose the second layer of the shell.

The second shell has a much lighter brown colour and it is the layer we need to work on if you want to get to the flesh.

  

In the woods, most of the hickory nuts I found were already out of the outer shell so all I needed to do was just to pick them up and put them in the backpack.

Hickory nuts in their shells.

Hickory Nuts Cookies

山胡桃曲奇

Ingredients:

1/3 cup Hickory Nuts

1/2 cup Butter, softened

1/2 cup Sugar

1 tablespoon Vanilla Extract

2 cups Whole Wheat Flour

a pinch of Sea Salt

How to make it:

1. Rinse the hickory nuts a few times to remove the dirt that sticks to the shells.

2. With a nut cracker, crack open the hickory nuts.

3. Use a sharp tool to take out the flesh.

Or you can use any method that works best for you.  A hammer, perhaps?

It was the result after I worked for three hours.  Eating wild edibles is not always easy, but the fresh nuts was a wonderful trade off.

4. Place the nuts on a foiled tray, roast it in the pre-heated oven at 360 F for about 10 minutes, or until they are nicely browned and fragrant.  Be careful not to burn it.  They burn fast because of the high fat content.

5. In a mixing bowl, combine butter, sugar, and vanilla extract.

6. With a fork, mix the ingredients until well combined.

7. Add flour.  Combine and roll it into a dough by hand.  If the dough is too dry, add a few drops of water.

8. Add hickory nuts.  Continuously knead the dough until it is well combined.

9. Place the dough between two pieces of parchment paper.  Roll it out into a 1 cm sheet.

10. Cut out the shape with a cookie cutter and transfer it onto a lined baking tray.

11. If you're not up for shaping the dough, just simply roll the dough into many small balls and press them down with a fork.  (my favourite way to make cookies)

12. Bake the cookies in the pre-heated oven at 360 F for 12-15 minutes and they are ready.

  

Horsetail - the wild edible ｜ 馬尾草

Different stages of horsetails.

The medicinal plant that dates back millions of years when dinosaurs still existed.

Horsetail is a perennial plant and an invasive species that originated from temperate regions.  This plant produces two types of young shoots: fertile and vegetative shoots.  Every year, starting in early spring, this wild edible will appear in many watery areas.

Fertile shoots of the field horsetails.

The fertile shoots have brownish colour and appear asparagus like. They can be eaten raw or cooked.  Each node of the shoots contains water; it is juicy and with almost no taste when eaten raw.

However, after giving them a quick fry with some oil and garlic, these young shoots resemble the taste of the Asian dried daylily, which have a crunchy, slightly sweet and savoury aftertaste (recipe is below).  I personally prefer cooked young shoots.

A big patch of vegetative shoots (on the left). The confiler-like foliages started to grow from the stem (on the right).

Vegetative shoots emerge after fertile shoots, and usually are good from spring to early summer.  They have bright green conifer-like foliage growing around the stems. People consider vegetative shoots as a tonic rather than food due to the rich content of silica, diuretic, and minerals in them.  It is said to improve hair, nails, bones, bladder, and kidneys.  They can be dried and stored as tea leaves.

When gathering vegetative shoots, try to look for the green tops that are bright green with upward foliages.  These green tops can be dried to make beneficial tea.  It tastes somewhat similar to Japanese green tea (recipe below).  However, the green stalk and rihizom should be avoid for consumption since the enzymes inside can destroy Vitamin B1 and thiamine. Also, long-term alcohol users, people who are Vitamin B deficient, pregnant or nursing women should avoid using horsetail.  Personally, I drink horsetail tea only one or two times a week as a treat (it is really delicious) while trying to get the medical benefit from it, but I will not recommend to drink it more than that.

A colony of scouring rush besides a stream. It belongs to horsetail family.

Scouring rush belongs to the horsetail family.  It also has no leaves and no flowers.  In early spring, this plant will produce young shoots that bear lots of spores to reproduce.  Because of the roughness of this plant, people in the old time used it to polish their pots.  I haven’t yet tried this method myself, but I am planning to do it this summer when I go camping.

Stir fry Field Horsetail Shoots

Ingredients:

A handful of Field Horsetail fertile shoots

2 cloves Garlic, sliced

1 tablespoon Vegetable Oil

Salt to taste

How to make:

1. Peel off and discard the black papery rings around the stems. Rinse the shoots a few times to remove the sand and dirt.

2. Heat up the oil over medium high heat. Add garlic.  Fry it until slightly brown.  Add the shoots.  Continuously fry them until they are fragrant; about two minutes.

I tried them as a warm side dish or cold appetizer.  Both were tasty.

Field Horsetail Tea｜馬尾草茶

Ingredients:

Horsetail Green Tops

Hot Water

How to make:

1. Carefully rinse the horsetail in water to remove the sand and dirt (they are quite dirty).

2. To dry the leaves, roughly cut them into 1–2 cm long.  Place them on parchment paper evenly.  Roast them in the oven at 220F until they are totally dried and be crumbled into pieces easily.  Store the leaves in a air-tight container.

3. To make the tea, bring a cup of water to a boil.  Add a tablespoon of tea leaves in a cup, then pour the hot water over it.  Let it steep for about 5–8 minutes.  Enjoy.

Japanese Knotweed - wild edible

Have you seen Japanese knotweed before?  It is a beautiful plant that may remind you of bamboo.  I think it was the reason why knotweed was introduced to North America from Japan as an ornamental plant long time ago.

In Japan and China, people are more focused on the medical benefits of the knotweed.  Knotweed contains a high amount of resveratrol, a potent antioxidant compound that can also be found in red grape skin or blueberry.  I'm not an expert on this one so I can't tell you much about how this organic compound works in our body.

For me, knotweed is a gift from nature and it tastes wonderful.  It has the tangy and subtle sweet flavour that resembles rhubarb.

Knotweed on the left, and horsetail grass on the right

Before I came across Japanese knotweed, I more often encountered horsetail grass, a species that looks very much like knotweed.  However, you can distinguish them very easily. 

In spring, Japanese knotweed is plump and round, and has reddish purple dots.  The leaves are heart shaped with two subtle purple lines on each.  Horsetail has no spots on the stem, and it has papery texture.  Both species are bamboo-like and invasive; however, knotweed is edible and the other is not.

A young leaf of the Japanese knotweed.  The two lines will subside when the leaf grows more mature.

Knotweed

Young knotweed usually starts to come out in early April.  This fast growing species can grow nearly 10 cm each day up to 3 meters in height, and the root can spread up to 10 feet in depth.  The root system is very vigorous and can even break through concrete, causing much damage in houses or roads.  A strong reason why our Government wants to get rid of it and puts it under the Invasive Special Act.  I think our government has done a very good job because I rarely see knotweed around to forage anymore.

  

When foraging knotweed, we look for the young shoots that are easy to break off and are no more than 6 inches tall. Past this stage, the plants will start to become woody and will no longer be good for consumption.

Since Japanese knotweed tastes tangy and sweet, I used it to make some knotweed jam for the yogurt dessert.

Japanese Knotweed Jam

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Young Knotweed Shoots

3 tablespoons Sugar

3 tablespoons Rum Raisin

I infused the raisin three years ago and I only use it for special dessert.  If you don't have some on hand, just use raisin and a splash of rum.  Or just omit the rum.

How to make:

1. Rinse the knotweed carefully; cut it into bite sized pieces.

2. In a non-stick pot, add the knotweed and a cup of water.  Bring it to a boil and cook continuously until the knotweed is totally soft and the liquid has almost evaporated. It takes about 5 minutes.

3. Pour the cooked knotweed in a blender, including the cooking liquid.  Add raisin.  Pulse until the mixture incorporates.

Japanese knotweed Jam

Da, da, da, da~

It is the dessert for tonight.  I must say it feels great to eat the food I forage or grow with my own hands.  There is a bond between the nature and the me inside.

Knotweed jam on greek yogurt, plus some hemp seeds and bean cracker for the garnish.

Dandelions are finally back (with dandelion recipes) ｜ 蒲公英咖啡。蒲公英醃菜

 I’ve been waiting for dandelions to come back since the middle of last winter. The whole plant is delicious, but it was the roots I was longing for. Dandelion roots can be used to make tea that is nutritious and cafferine-free.

Dandelions start coming up around mid April and flower until early summer, but the best time to harvest the roots is in April when the young leaves are just starting to develop, before the plant blossoms. At that time, most of the nutrients that have been stored up for the winter are still in the plants. Finding a day after the rain to dig up the roots will lead to an easier harvesting since the soil is loosened.

At Easter, I spent nearly two hours in my in-law’s garden to dig out these “teasures” and they were both very happy that I cleaned up their “weeds”.

After separating the roots and the leaves, I cleaned them under running water a few times and made sure there was no dirt, debris, or other plants like moss mixed inside them.

      To make the tea is very simple:

1. 1. Cut the roots into pea size. Place them on parchment paper. Roast them at 360F until they are totally dried out.
2. 2. Grind the roasted roots into finer powder with a stone grinder (which was what I used) or a food processor. Keep the powder in an air-tight container and it can keep in good condition for up to six months.
3. 3. Whenever you want to enjoy this beneficial drink, just brew it like the normal tea you would drink. My preference is 2 flat teaspoons to 1 cup of water. Bring the water to a rolling boil and then pour it into the root powder. Let it steep for about 8–10 minutes and it is ready. I like mine with a splash of milk and some sugar.

Dandelion Tea:

I also used the dandelion greens to make a kimchi dish. I used the young leaves here because they are less bitter and much more tender. For people like my family and I who have little tolerance for bitterness in food, mature dandelion leaves are just too much to handle.

Kimchi Dandelion:

Ingredients:

20 stalks Young Dandelions, green part only

2 teaspoons Salt

Seasoning:

2 teaspoons White Vinegar

1 tablespoon Sesame Oil

1 tablespoon White Sesame, toasted

¼ teaspoon Ginger, ground

1 teaspoon Red Chili Flakes

DIRECTION:

1. Combine salt and dandelion in a bowl; rib it evenly. Leave it for 2o minutes for the bitter water to come out.

2. Squeeze out as much water as you can. Then rinse the dandelion under running water. Squeeze out the excess water from the dandelion again.

3. Add the seasoning to the dandelion. Mix well and taste it. Adjust the seasoning if it is needed. Let it marinate for at least 30 minutes before serving. For the best flavour, leave it in the fridge overnight before use.

I enjoy eating this kimchi with a bowl of very warm rice.