April's Wild Food Potluck Report or 'Hippie Roulette'
Greetings Wild Food Lovers!
I'm delighted to report that the 1st Monthly Wild Foods Potluck was a huge success! Last night approximately 15 people attended the first in what is sure to be a nourishing community event.
I'd like to offer a very special thanks to Nina (aka Nina the Nanny) for initiating and helping to fuel this event. It wouldn't have happened without her. So i offer my deepest appreciations to you, my friend. My heart was full with joy and celebration last night. I felt a calm and a satisfaction that really helped me to see how more clearly how I want to work in supporting the integration of Wild Foods and Medicines into the people's lives.
The variety and creativity of the food was extraordinary! We had soups, entrees, drinks and even 2 deserts. Some dishes were simple and easy to make, while others were rather experimental. Here, see for yourself...
On the left...
Wild Pesto Pasta
On the right...
Dandelion Green Wraps -the absence of the accompanying peanut sauce does not reflect on its taste
below... Nettle 'Gnocci' and below here... Green Salad w Dandelion leaves
In the drinks category (sorry, no pics) we had a Most Unique offering sent by proxy. We shared a small bottle of Nettle Kombucha and wow, was it tart! What was EXTRAORDINARY about this particular brew was that it was made successfully without any caffeine (not a drop of black or green tea) and without refined sugar. You Kombucha brewers out there will likely be gawking at this because all the books say that these 2 ingredients are quite necessary for successful kombucha brewing.
So, my hat's off to it's creator, my friend, Mykl. You may know him from such Facebook posts as "What the Hell happened to my Scobi" and "Eww, how did I make that?!" Congrats to you and thank you for sharing with us :)
All the dishes were fantastic! which was punctuated by the distinct lack of leftovers :( It was clear that these foods were created artfully, with clear intent and affection for both the foods and those who'd enjoy it.
Without further adieu, let's talk desert. There were 2 very experimental deserts. Sadly, the camera was away by the time the 2nd dish arrived (the agar just wasn't cooperating).
The dish is the uncooperative agar was...Ice cream with a Wild Ginger Sauce (Asarum caudatum). The sauce was simply amazing! If you haven't tried wild ginger, it's a lot more cooling and uplifting in your mouth than regular ginger. It still has a similar flavour, but it's less sharp (even though Michel said he decocted it 2ce!) It was sweetened with stevia (which i normal have trouble eating) which complimented the dish perfectly. 2 Green Thumbs up for this yummy desert.
The 2nd desert can be seen above. No, it's not a wild mouse that Travis is about to chow down on. He's not a character from "V". He's about to eat a desert that kindled nervousness, excitement, intrigue and even fear! The group quickly gave it the name "East Van Roulette". I've taken the liberty of expanding that beyond our neighbourhood and calling it Hippie Roulette.
We also called it Nettle Top Chocolate Fondue. and it's truly fantastic! Rich, creamy, sweet and green.
Did we blanch them you ask? Nope. We did, however, roll the Nettle Tops in a towel to break some of the hairs to decrease the chance of a mouth sting. My son, Ilan (5) was first to try. Confident that it wouldn't sting. Oh.. wait... the smile and excitement drained from his face. oh, poor little guy. "oww, papa!"
We found a remedy for that though... more chocolate! This really seemed to coat any hairs that still had some sting left.
I only got a couple of pics, though of Nettle fondue Rouletteers. Here's a couple...
Lots of chocolate is the key to so many things. until, of course, we can't get food from so far away.
This pic on the right shows a big nettle leaf. mmm... risky
it's somewhat back lit, but that just adds to the image of this being wild rodent eating...mmm.
So, that's the run down of our Wild Foods Potluck. The date and location aren't set for next month, but everyone's welcome. So, please join us and bring a friend (wild foods help to get dates! it's true check wikipedia).