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Winter is soup. There's snow on the ground tonight in the Twin Cities, so winter is now and now is time to eat lots and lots of piping hot, hearty soups. The rich silky broth and umami flavor of this Japanese style soup is amazing. I strongly recommend that you make this in the next month or two. Maybe do it a few times, in fact, because once you try it you’ll realize you didn’t make enough! 2 qt mushroom stock 10 oz udon noodles (or ramen but I like my noodles thicker!) 10 o

Lemon Chicken over Pesto Chicken of the woods is perhaps the most novel mushroom because it not only has that umami taste that is associated with meat but it has the actual texture of real chicken meat. Because of this, I like to treat it like chicken--grill it, deep fry it, bake it. This recipe involves brining the mushroom in a preserved lemon and olive oil, as you might with chicken, baking it at 375 for 20 minutes, then shredding it and tossing it with rotini and pesto. I

Milkweed, despite its notoriety as a poisonous plant, can be not only edible but delicious. Monarchs have known this for a long time and some will shun eating monarch food, but as long as you’re only picking in areas where it’s plentiful and not taking too much, those monarchs will do just fine. Common milkweed, Asclepias syriaca, is safe and delightful in all stages of the plant's life if properly prepared. Any part of the plant (and almost all of it is good to eat) must be

Pesto, like its English cousin pestle, both are derived from the latin word for “to crush”. In the case of this sauce or condiment, it is in reference to its traditional preparation. These days, though, most folks just buzz it up in a food processor. Honestly, that’s what I do and it tastes great. Some swear, however, that the best pesto is made in the traditional style. I think it’d be fun to compare two pestos made with the same recipe but differing only by the machine used

Here’s what I’m seeing out there: There’s only ONE GOOD WEEKEND LEFT! Morels will likely continue to be found after this weekend, but this will be the last decent weekend of hunting for those merkels. Here’s why: In southwest Minnesota along the MN River towards Mankato (which typically warms up sooner than St. Croix valley or the driftless area around Red Wing down to Rochester) the season is far along. Even north-facing slopes (the ones that warm up slowest) are starting t

This stuff is amazing for a bagel schmear, stuffing into a big fat juicy morel, or stirring into some homemade mac n cheese. 1 cup of loosely packed chopped ramps, stems and bulbs (please harvest sustainably...or grow your own!) 1 cup cream cheese 2 tbsp sour cream 2 tbsp milk (optional) Pinch or two of salt (add to taste) ½ c chopped bacon (if you’re vegetarian, try frying up morels and chopping those up) 1. First, add ramps to food processor. Buzz them up until its not quit

If you haven’t gotten the chance to get out and look for morels yet, or you have and you haven’t found anything, you might be wondering what the status is of the morel season so far. Facebook will make it appear as if there are piles of morels all over the place out there because a handful of folks post photos of massive hauls (like my picture above...sorry, couldn't resist). Days out in the woods will paint a different picture, however. This is a brief synopsis of what I’ve