“Old English Eōstre continues into modern English as Easter and derives from Proto-Germanic *austrōn, itself a descendant of the Proto-Indo-European root *aus-, meaning ‘to shine’ (modern English east also derives from this root).[3] Writing in the 8th century, the Anglo-Saxon monk Bede describes Ēostre as the name of an Old English goddess and behind the … Continue reading
Filed under food …
Southern New Years Tradition: Hoppin’ John, Greens & Cornbread
I appreciate how my mother gently reminds me each year of our family’s (well, and many, many other Southern folk’s) tradition of eating black eyed peas, cornbread, and boiled greens on new year’s day. This meal is eaten to bring luck, prosperity, and health! Pork is used in the black eyed peas/hoppin’ john dish and … Continue reading
Exploring Acorns, Starch Noodles
Some of you may remember my post on making pinole energy cakes with acorn flour. This fall, with the arrival of acorn harvesting season, I decided to finally try making the acorn starch noodles I had learned about in a foraging group on Facebook. Pictured above is the outcome of my SECOND attempt at making … Continue reading
Mallow Mallow and more Mallow Soup
Really, though. What has taken me so long to learn about molokhia (mulukhiyyeh) soup??? It’s a soup-like dish made in Egypt, Lebanon, etc… A recent post in a foraging group led me on an adventure with our local, invasive cheesewheel mallow plant (Malva parviflora or Malva neglecta). Although the mallow used in molokhia soup is … Continue reading
Pumpkin Spice Marrow Custard
It is that time of year. Imbolc. The mid-point between Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox of the Old Celtic Wheel of the Year. It’s at this time that eggs are starting to be laid. Eggs of all kinds. Wombs are full. Nature is preparing for birth. Years ago, in Mississippi, I cooked and prepared … Continue reading
Big-berry Manzanita, Forage & Craft
It has been awhile since I last wrote a blog post. Mostly, the reason is that WordPress shifted the tools for creating a blog post and I was disgruntled to have to figure it out. Sigh. I tend to be really resistant to change when it comes to technology. Grumble. Grumble. Grumble. Anyway. Now that … Continue reading
Rootin-tootin Fermented Radishes
Our favorite veggie ferment used to be sauerkraut. THEN then THEN we discovered fermented radishes. Everything changed. They are easy to chew. Sour. They have a subtle spice to them. Well. And, they are pink. My three year old LOVES them. The only thing is…they smell like baby diapers. I know. Strange. This ferment smells … Continue reading
Carpobrotus edulis: invasive food & medicine
New wormhole => Carpobrotus edulis (Latin name) Common name in California: ice plant Common name in South Africa (place of origin): sour fig, hottentot fig, or sea fig Indigenous names for sour fig (South Africa): hotnotsvy, suurvy, perdevy and ghaukum As many of you know…this plant is *everywhere* in coastal California. Don’t forget. Invasive plant … Continue reading
Wild Blueberry Galette (gluten-free)
My first experiment with a nut-based, gluten-free crust. I must say. It was very, very tasty. Husband said it grew on him and then he was craving it. My little one gobbled it down. I enjoyed every crumbly, buttery bite (smile). The crust is not as flaky and crisp as your usual wheat-based galette crust, … Continue reading
Pinole Energy Cakes
A wee bit of kitchen witchery happened tonight. Thought I’d share. So, what is pinole? As I understand it, the word pinole arrived in California with the early Spanish colonizers who had been in Central America before arriving here. They called the local toasted seed foods they experienced with First Peoples of North America, pinole…as … Continue reading
Lindsay Kolasa 