tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-55708909794673693842024-03-10T12:13:41.125-07:00Fat of the LandAdventures of a 21st Century ForagerLangdon Cookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13824455892396013221noreply@blogger.comBlogger525125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5570890979467369384.post-55841701853710351632019-10-30T09:45:00.003-07:002019-10-30T09:47:24.032-07:00Creamy Polenta with Wild Mushrooms
THE BLACK TRUMPET (Craterellus sp.) is one my favorite wild mushrooms for the table. Like its cousins in the chanterelle family, it's earthy with a touch of fruity sweetness. On the West Coast, most pickers look for them in the coastal hills of northern California and southern Oregon, where they hide among the leaf litter of forests dominated by Douglas fir, tanoak, and madrone (with a Langdon Cookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13824455892396013221noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5570890979467369384.post-53872681276266187402019-10-01T10:39:00.000-07:002019-10-01T10:39:47.205-07:00October Slide Presentations
Hey Washingtonians, I’ll be giving several slide presentations across the state this October about wild foods, foraging, and my books. Come by and say hello!
October 5: Renton Public Library, 11am.
October 8: Methow Conservancy First Tuesday, Merc Playhouse, Twisp, 7pm.
October 9: Chewelah Public Library, 6pm.
October 10: Kettle Falls Public Library, 6pm
Langdon Cookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13824455892396013221noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5570890979467369384.post-747944324779806072019-04-23T09:30:00.000-07:002019-04-23T09:30:19.800-07:00Stir-fried Oyster Mushrooms with Chicken
West Coast woods from NorCal to BC are loaded with oyster mushrooms right now—and it's nice to see the excitement they're stirring in foraging communities. Lately I've been seeing photos of oysters all over online message boards and myco groups. Morels have traditionally commanded most of the vernal ink among mycophagists, but for a majority of us west of the Cascades the oyster is really theLangdon Cookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13824455892396013221noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5570890979467369384.post-8352311638564242552019-02-04T15:32:00.001-08:002019-02-04T15:32:41.831-08:00Huckleberry Snow Cone
What do you do when it snows in Seattle? Make a Huckleberry Snow Cone!
While I was out skiing around the neighborhood this morning, my daughter Ruby was busy cooking down a cup of frozen huckleberries with water and sugar, then blending it in the Vitamix. After a quick straining she had a deep red, sweet and syrupy liquid to pour over packed snowballs—a perfect treat for a no-school Snow Day.Langdon Cookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13824455892396013221noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5570890979467369384.post-38112091009297937382018-10-29T13:06:00.002-07:002018-10-29T13:06:36.917-07:00Matsutake Dobin Mushi
Last year my friend Taichi Kitamura, chef/owner of Sushi Kappo Tamura in Seattle, gave me a set of two dobin mushi teapots he'd recently picked up in Japan, where "dobin" means teapot and "mushi" is steamed.
These ceramic teapots are used to serve Matsutake Dobin Mushi, a favorite seasonal dish in Japan that relies on thinly sliced matsutake mushrooms to flavor a subtle broth Langdon Cookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13824455892396013221noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5570890979467369384.post-73764188930630274682018-10-17T16:41:00.000-07:002018-10-17T16:41:27.920-07:00Oregon Truffle Festival
Now entering its 14th year, the non-profit Oregon Truffle Festival's mission is to educate the public about native-grown truffles in the Willamette Valley. With events and workshops tailored to truffle cultivators, foragers (and their dogs!), chefs, epicures, and the merely curious, the festival celebrates a burgeoning culinary industry.
Truffles have been enjoyed for centuries in Europe, but Langdon Cookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13824455892396013221noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5570890979467369384.post-82461116410845583742018-10-10T15:19:00.000-07:002018-10-10T15:19:31.453-07:00Honey Mushrooms
It's time to tackle the honey mushroom. I haven't written about it before because it's not among my favorites in the Kingdom of Fungi, at least from an edibility standpoint, but in a season such as this, when the mushroom gods are being parsimonious with their gifts, the time is right to make use of this abundant species.
The parasitic honey fungus is famous for being the largest organism on Langdon Cookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13824455892396013221noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5570890979467369384.post-402895013791047802018-03-23T12:07:00.001-07:002018-03-23T12:07:20.415-07:00Beef Pho with Licorice Fern
Everyone at the Mekong Market on Rainier Avenue knew what I was up to. The proprietor, a small gentleman always on the move, paused long enough to grin at the two packages of beef bones in my basket and give me the thumbs up. They were a dollar a pound.
Then he frowned when he saw the big bag of dried noodles—and quickly guided me by the elbow to a refrigerated aisle, where he pointed at the Langdon Cookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13824455892396013221noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5570890979467369384.post-29061617205846131932018-01-11T12:25:00.000-08:002018-01-11T12:25:13.383-08:00Matsutake Sukiyaki Hotpot
I GOT A CALL from Doug (of The Mushroom Hunters) the other day. He's bivouacked somewhere down in Humboldt or Mendocino County picking blacks and hogs. Meanwhile, Norcal friends of mine have been heckling me with texts and photos of their matsutake hauls of late.
Matsutake was still on sale (for outrageous prices) at Uwajimaya in Seattle last time I looked, so if you don't live in Langdon Cookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13824455892396013221noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5570890979467369384.post-63330006828661074412017-11-13T12:27:00.000-08:002017-11-13T12:27:11.733-08:00The Fly Tapes: Episode 3
Recently I had the pleasure of talking with Jason Rolfe, a writer and fishing guide who uses fly-fishing as the put-in to navigate an ever-changing stream of words, art, and ideas through a variety of mediums. In addition to guiding and taking shifts at my local flyshop, Emerald Water Anglers in West Seattle, Jason operates the Syzygy Fly Fishing web site, runs a podcast called The Fly Tapes, Langdon Cookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13824455892396013221noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5570890979467369384.post-61750738230098370322017-10-03T10:49:00.000-07:002017-10-03T10:49:04.129-07:00Razor Lit
With a tentative fall schedule of razor clam digs released by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, it's time once again to turn our attention to the golden-hued shellfish of Pacific Northwest dreams, the one that inspires thousands of otherwise sensible citizens to flock to the coastal tsunami zone during the most miserable beachgoing months of the year and get in touch with their Langdon Cookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13824455892396013221noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5570890979467369384.post-6292054952265657692017-06-26T08:43:00.000-07:002017-06-26T08:43:59.322-07:00The Wall Street Journal Reviews UPSTREAM
Dear Readers, I'd like to share The Wall Street Journal's review of Upstream with you in full as it isn't available online without a subscription. The review, by David Profumo, appeared in the weekend edition, June 24.
Chinook, sockeye, coho, chum, humpback, steelhead—they sound like a lineup of heavy metal bands, but these are all species of the Pacific salmon genus Oncorhynchus,Langdon Cookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13824455892396013221noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5570890979467369384.post-50758954156444520972017-05-30T10:46:00.000-07:002017-05-31T06:46:07.287-07:00Upstream On Sale Today
My new book, Upstream: Searching for Wild Salmon, from River to Table, goes on sale today. Pick up a copy at your local indie book store, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Apple iBooks. It's also available as a free audiobook with an Audible trial.
The timing of the book's release has been known for more than a year, but we couldn't have predicted the socio-political atmosphere it Langdon Cookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13824455892396013221noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5570890979467369384.post-6994908138250236762017-05-19T17:15:00.000-07:002017-05-19T17:15:16.973-07:00New Book on May 30!
I'm pleased to announce that my new book, Upstream: Searching for Wild Salmon, from River to Table, will be released on May 30. The official book launch will be at Town Hall Seattle on June 5. The night before, on June 4, I will host a four-course salmon dinner at La Medusa restaurant in Seattle with the Field Trip Society, featuring Copper River salmon freshly caught by my friends at Drifters Langdon Cookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13824455892396013221noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5570890979467369384.post-45852468268268738252017-04-29T15:01:00.001-07:002017-04-29T15:09:38.849-07:00Wild Ramp Aioli
Every year for Memorial Day weekend our family goes camping with several other families in a beautiful canyon in the rain shadow of the Cascades, where we have a decidedly better shot at some sun.
The food is always over the top. In past years we've barbecued a whole pig, grilled Copper River salmon over the fire, dug holes in the ground for Dutch ovens to make Chicken in the Dirt, and Langdon Cookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13824455892396013221noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5570890979467369384.post-86200273233697336472017-04-22T18:50:00.001-07:002017-04-22T18:50:18.613-07:00Licorice Fern Liqueur
As I wrote in a recent issue of Seattle Magazine, now is the time to seek out one of the Pacific Northwest's most striking ferns for your summertime mixology needs—before it retires for the year. The licorice fern is a beauty that lives in colonies in mixed lower-elevation forests, often well up in the tree canopy.
I typically see it adorning mossy big-leaf maples, where its roots, known as Langdon Cookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13824455892396013221noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5570890979467369384.post-87176946937684817012017-03-07T09:45:00.000-08:002017-03-07T09:45:30.245-08:00This Must Be the Place
I had the pleasure of sitting down recently with Eric Parkinson, of This Must Be the Place, a podcast that seeks to reveal "the unique physical, cultural, and emotional layers of places."
We talked about foraging in the deep emerald forests of the Pacific Northwest, the tenets of slow food, and the myriad charms of nature in its many guises, among other topics.
Eric is a curious and Langdon Cookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13824455892396013221noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5570890979467369384.post-33273581562517086722017-02-17T13:59:00.001-08:002017-05-03T13:38:47.305-07:00Spring Foraging Classes
I've partnered once again with both Bainbridge Island Parks & Rec and The Field Trip Society in Seattle to offer a variety of spring foraging trips, from short wild edible ID walks in a Seattle park to all-day shellfish extravaganzas.
Below are the classes and dates (plus one special dinner). Check back for additional classes.
Spring Foraged Dinner, March 19, La Medusa, Seattle
Wild Langdon Cookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13824455892396013221noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5570890979467369384.post-68307476550348356312017-02-14T13:05:00.000-08:002017-02-14T13:05:02.931-08:00Candy Cap Custard
This winter, mushroom hunters in California are crying Hallelujah! Unless they happen to live below Oroville Dam...
The Golden State hasn't seen rain like this in several years, and the fungi have responded in kind. But with so many storms rolling in off the Pacific, the mushroom patches have also taken a beating, so timing is still everything.
I was able to thread the needle earlier Langdon Cookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13824455892396013221noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5570890979467369384.post-59526398736006066212016-11-03T10:51:00.001-07:002016-11-03T10:51:07.951-07:00Wild Mushroom Bread Pudding
I've been cooped up this fall, finishing a new book. (More on that later.) Meanwhile I get the usual texts and emails from friends in the patch, scoring hauls of chanterelles and porcini, sparassis and matsi. So it was a relief to finally get out the other day.
Hopeful forecasts for a good ski season seem to have some merit. Above 1,500 feet the thermometer was in the low 30's, and above 4,000Langdon Cookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13824455892396013221noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5570890979467369384.post-58127814952575910712016-09-26T09:11:00.000-07:002016-10-04T11:21:01.798-07:00The Field Trip Society
New class announced for October 27!
The Field Trip Society is a new Seattle-based business offering a wide range of hands-on experiences for the adventurous learner, from outdoor excursions to cooking classes. I've partnered with FTS to teach foraging and wild foods workshops.
Here's my fall lineup:
October 6: Wild Edibles of the Cascade Foothills. We'll take three-mile hike Langdon Cookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13824455892396013221noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5570890979467369384.post-88842280069112259412016-08-09T12:16:00.001-07:002016-08-09T12:16:46.233-07:00Chokecherry Jelly
Last week Martha and I spent a couple days mountain biking near Winthrop, Washington, not far from North Cascades National Park. On our way home we couldn't resist stopping off at a few roadside patches bursting with fruit. Elderberries were already ripening, and chokecherry trees hung heavy in the sun.
The chokecherry (Prunus virginiana) is a shrub or small tree native to much of North Langdon Cookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13824455892396013221noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5570890979467369384.post-57133562614300036372016-04-29T14:19:00.000-07:002016-05-04T09:04:52.556-07:00Shellfish Foraging & Cooking Class
PULL ON YOUR rubber boots and grab a bucket! There's still time to learn how to forage and cook Puget Sound shellfish. A new class has been added to this spring's roster after the other two classes sold out immediately. Currently there are eight four open spots.
We'll learn how to dig for clams, shuck oysters, and cook our catch. The class meets at Hood Canal's beautiful Dosewallips Langdon Cookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13824455892396013221noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5570890979467369384.post-1873801279861821592016-04-21T09:53:00.001-07:002016-04-21T10:13:28.126-07:00Pasta with Oyster Mushrooms and Smoked Ham Hock
My usual oyster mushroom spots aren't producing so well this year. Maybe it's the combination of record winter rain followed by record spring heat. Who knows? Fungi are mysterious.
I've gotten used to kicking off the spring mushroom season with oysters before heading to the dry side of the mountains for morels and porcini. So I tried something new: cultivated oyster mushrooms.
While in Langdon Cookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13824455892396013221noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5570890979467369384.post-55559271087113402442016-03-15T11:15:00.001-07:002016-03-15T11:19:39.709-07:00James Beard Award Nomination
I'm happy to report that my article "Into the Woods" for EatingWell magazine has been nominated for a 2016 James Beard Journalism Award.
The article follows Jeremy Faber, of Seattle's Foraged and Found Edibles, on a mushroom hunting expedition in the Pacific Northwest wilderness. Cathy Whims, chef/owner of Nostrana in Portland, OR, supplied the recipes.
For more on the secretive world and Langdon Cookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13824455892396013221noreply@blogger.com4