Though I haven’t yet been able to attend one of the walks, I did venture out for a hike with members of my food sustainability discussion group — and their kids — to find ramps and learn more about other wild edibles. Here are some photos from our afternoon.
If you’re interested in wild foods and wild food sustainability, I’d definitely recommend checking out the recent article on ramps in the , which posits that overforaging of these delicious bulbs by eager restaurateurs could potentially cause their extinction.
Be careful, and be smart. Take only what you can use. Yesterday, we harvested only a few leaves.
A delightful brainchild of and , Where the Wild Things Are is a series of in Berkshire County throughout the month of May. There are some cool veteran foragers representing here, including the famed wild foods supplier of New York’s Gramercy Tavern and Momofuku.
I’m hoping to get to at least one of the Williamstown walks, and chances are they’ll all sell out, so and RSVP to Berkshire Farm & Table.
Full disclosure: This is yet another local foods event for which I’ve done a little web work. Still think it’s pretty cool.
This is a sort of public service announcement for the north Berkshire community. If you’re not part of it, feel free to skip this post.
I’ve been involved in the very nascent stages of Glynwood’s initiative here in town and I’d like to invite local readers to spread the word about this upcoming meeting, which is a sort of open house to learn more about the process, and try to get representatives from all over this part of the Berkshires. Please read on and share if this interests you, and contact me if you want more information.
Keep Farming Community Forum
Northern Berkshire community members have just begun working with and the to initiate a process to understand challenges and opportunities facing our local farms and food system, and to then develop strategies to support and grow our local food system. This community-driven process will begin this spring and last about a year. If you’re interested in learning more or want to get involved, join us for an informational meeting:
Where
All Saints Church
89 Summer Street
North Adams
When
Monday, April 18
5:30-7 pm
Berkshire Regional Planning Commission and Glynwood will provide an overview of the process and how community input will help drive policies and initiatives to help support farms and food at both the local and regional levels.
We hope to see representatives from all north Berkshire communities there! Please feel free to forward this information to anyone you know in Adams, Cheshire, Clarksburg, Florida, New Ashford, North Adams, Savoy, or Williamstown who may be interested.
Do not adjust your monitor — this pasta really is a wild shade of magenta. This is a quick, easy, and unusual way to make the best of what’s left in your larder at the bare and cruel beginning of spring in New England. (Is it just me with two sad beets rolling around the bin the fridge?) A quick Google search turned up from New York Magazine, and I made it work with what I had on hand.
When I get a bunch of beets, I tend to roast them all at once, then keep them in the fridge, ready to be used at a moment’s notice. This is super-useful for weeknight dinners, when roasting the beets would set you back an hour or so. Roast ‘em while you’re doing something else in the oven, like preheating for a loaf or bread or a pizza — I wrap mine in foil and set them in the oven for about an hour at 400 degrees, though the time and temperature can vary depending on what else is going on.
This recipe works with spaghetti or just about any other pasta — campanelle or orecchiette is nice, too. I’ve also made it with sunflower seeds in place of the poppies, and it was strange, but good. Either way, it’s fun to eat hot pink pasta, no?
Beet and Poppy Seed Pasta
Adapted from New York Magazine
1 or 2 small roasted red beets
1/2 pound spaghetti or any other pasta you like
2 tbs unsalted butter
1 tbs olive oil
1 small shallot, minced
1 heaping tbs poppy seeds
few sprigs fresh thyme
1/4 – 1/2 c. pasta cooking water
salt and pepper
a few roughly torn chunks or shavings of your favorite cheese — pecorino, mozzarella, chèvre
Get a large pot of salted water over high heat, for the pasta.
Peel the beets, chop roughly, and toss them into a food processor, pulsing until you have a fine mince. (You could also mince by hand, but that’s no fun.) Set aside.
Once the water is boiling, add the pasta and cook according to package directions.
In a medium saute pan over medium heat, brown the butter. Reduce the heat slightly, add the olive oil, and swirl to combine. Add the minced shallots, and cook for a few minutes, until soft, then add the poppy seeds. Toast the seeds in the butter-shallot mixture for another few minutes. To the shallots and poppy seeds, add the minced beets and thyme, stirring to mix.
Dip a small ladle in the pasta water and transfer about 1/4 to 1/2 c. pasta cooking water to the beet pan. This helps create a deeper flavor in the sauce. Simmer over medium heat. When the pasta is ready, use tongs to transfer it directly to the beet pan, tossing and scooping to evenly coat. Add salt and pepper to taste (this’ll vary depending on how salty you make your pasta water — you may not need much salt at all).
Remove thyme sprigs before serving in warm bowls. Top with cheese.
This past (continuing!) winter in New England has been brutal, and world events in the same span of time bewildering, if not downright horrifying. It sort of takes the words right out of one’s mouth.
I’ve never been an activist, as much as I’ve sometimes wished that was the case. Strictly a homebody, I found resonance in Ruth Reichl’s in response to the tsunami in Japan*. And so I’m sticking close to home and finding meaning in the small things, which, though it isn’t a major change from the usual, it continues to provide peace and a little bit of relief.
Right now, one of the best — and only, really — available things to savor is the sweet sap runoff from the sugar maple, so I’ll direct you to the Berkshires maple syrup map I made last year. (And if you have any updates, please let me know.)
On the other hand, this weekend I’ll be jetting off to Kentucky to join and old, good for a round of bourbon tasting. Close to home? Not so much. But likely it’ll be comforting — or at least buzz-inducing, and I’ll take what I can get.
See you soon.
* In fact, from what I gather it is a response to the outcry that followed what seemed to be an insensitive tweet following the earthquake and tsunami.
