Edible Leeds - Wild Food Foraging Courses and 4 Wild Seasons Pop Up Dining Events

I imagine most of us were introduced to the delights of the seaside as children, which included many joyous and seemingly timeless hours of innocent fun, exploring rock-pools and coastal caves, racing imaginary horses (unicorns?) along and through the fringes of the incoming and outgoing tides, eating ice-cream and partially burying your favourite, yet annoying sibling and sculpting them into strange creations, adorned with various coastal debris & tucking into fish n chip dinners, complete with the random obligatory grains of sand that somehow find their way in no matter how carefully you attempt to fend off their incursions. I've always been fascinated by the coast and the majority of my childhood holidays were spent at various coastal locations around the UK: I consider myself very fortunate to have experienced those times. Our coastline, for the majority, is within easy reach and apparently, no-one in the UK lives more than 80 miles from some part of it. My fascination...

Wild mushrooms have a special place in my heart. My wild food and foraging journey stemmed from an interest in them before branching out into plants and seaweeds. The 'silent hunt', as Antonio Carluccio so beautifully and aptly put it, is one of my favourite things. To find yourself at ease, wandering and treading gently, on the fringes of or deep within and beneath, the multi-layered, multi-coloured patchwork of woodland canopies, or in ancient meadows, in anticipation of the sometimes elusive, yet always magical and mysterious organisms that comprise the 5th kingdom is a pure delight. Fungi are truly fascinating, yet the great majority of the uk population have yet to discover just how awesome, intriguing, fascinating and tasty they can be. Most people think the best time of year for finding wild mushrooms is in the 'autumn' and, although there is some truth in this, it's not the whole truth. Spring, summer and winter can prove very fruitful (fung-ful) when it ...

A young and still forming Hen of the Woods. Hen Of The Woods aka Grifola frondosa, is a late summer to autumn featuring fungus. It's generally found growing at the base of Oak trees, often older more mature specimens but not strictly so and less frequently found with Beech. Made up of numerous tiered brackets ranging in colour from dark grey/black/purple, to chestnut brown on the topside of the bracket and consisting of white/cream coloured undersides sporting firm sponge-like pores. These brackets hide the more bulky base and central section which is firm, solid and white, this too makes good eating and preserving. It has a desirable aroma of mild mushroom, nuttiness & earthiness, taste wise it rocks! Hen of the Woods is also known for its medicinal qualities, reportedly attracting, binding to and removing heavy metals from the human body - bet your doctor never told you that! In Japan they go by the name of Maitake and you may hear them referred to as such even in the...

Winter Fungi: Velvet Shank (Flammulina velutipes). Velvet Shank are the wild alternative to the cultivated form, 'Enokitake' that you find in shops (long tall slender stems with tiny white caps, usually sold in tall plastic sheaths) .  This readily recognisable fungi is like a ray of golden sunshine amid the generally muted and darker hues of winter - camouflage is not it's strong point. This gregarious and social fungi can be found growing on dead/dying logs & stumps, on a variety of tree species including Beech, Sycamore & Horse Chestnut .  Regarding edibility, in my opinion they are top notch & more appealingly so due to the time of year they are found, winter, the hardest season in the foraging calendar. They have  a great mushroom flavour with a slight sweetness reminiscent of caramel.   So, what can you do with them? Fresh, young ones are delightful raw , they can be gently fried in butter, added to broths, pickled & make a great mushroom ...

A bout of winter-time illness left me feeling somewhat de-energised & lethargic but, I managed to find the strength to make this soul nourishing, bone-warming broth to alleviate my symptoms. I used some of my recent wild mushroom finds and other delectable treats from my wild larder & some from the fridge too. Erring more on the side of a 'dashi broth' base, this dish packed some rich, deep 'umami' (the 5th taste), and included certain other ingredients which are great for fighting colds, restoring energy & boosting immunity.  Recipe: Smoked Fish Velvet Shank Jelly Ears Turkey Tail Onion Garlic Ginger Sugar Kelp Seaweed Powder Mushroom Powder Red Pepper 3 Cornered Garlic Truffle Salt 1 Miso Sachet Olive Oil 25g Unsalted Butter Finely chop the onion & fry gently in a saucepan for 5-6 minutes. Add the finely chopped garlic, ginger, strips of dried sugar kelp & fresh or dried Velvet Shank fungi & cook gently for 3-4 minute...

Stuffed Giant Puffball Many Moons have passed since I found my first decent patch of Giant Puffball's. I was out driving when, from the periphery of my vision, I caught a fleeting glimpse (blur) of pure angelic white, against the backdrop of a lush green field, I hit the brakes hard (after checking my rear view mirror of course), and I jumped out to peek over the wall of said field. What met my gaze nearly made me pee with excitement, approximately 20 GP's of varying sizes, ranging from golf ball to small child size. I picked half a dozen or so with the implicit intent that two of the medium size ones would be the stars of a fungi feast I was now planning to prepare for a group of friends. The recipe in mind was one I'd seen in the cult classic: Roger Phillips, Wild Food book. The 'Stuffed Giant Puffball' recipe - if you don't have a copy of the book is an absolute cracker and, it can be recreated with any filling of your choice. Since that epic day, I didn...

Some of the reasons why I and many others love fungi:  http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20150202-six-bizarre-things-about-fungi?ocid=twert

I decided to head to Scotland afetr my wanderings in the Lake District (see part 1: http://edible-leeds.blogspot.co.uk/2015/08/wanderlust-part-1-lake-district.html ). Many reasons prompted this decision. I had been there a month earlier (and many an occassion over the years), I would be visiting the Lakes in a few weeks time, I had heard on the grapevine that the summer fungi season had begun (cue slightly muted 'YAY!' for fear of shattering my computer screen), there is a 'wildness' & 'vastness' that you only really find north of the borders and my friend and fellow wild food enthusiast, Mark lives there. I also intended to pay a visit to Monica Wilde, another of Scotlands fine and friendly wild time clan, unfortunately but fortunately for Monica, she was having a wild time on Maskin Island and our paths this time wouldn't cross - oh dear, looks like I'll have to make another long and arduous trek later in the year - 'sighs and smiles smuggly t...

I was over-taken by the urge & desire to wander. My birthday was approaching. Moon was waxing and would be full in two days more and would coincide with, 'Lammas' - celebration of the early harvest. The call of the wild was explicit and clear, I was stuck in the city, I didn't want to be here. Now, I love foraging, I love Leeds, I love visiting my various wild food haunts but there are times when a desire to explore new areas and regions really take hold. The UK is home to a variety of habitats/environs and each of these are host to a varying array of wild species. If, for example, I wish to find Spignel (Meum athamanticum) then it's fairly pointless in me trapsing around Yorkshire in search of it - Spignel is reportedly found in only 2 regions in England, 1 in Wales, 5 in Scotland and introduced at 1 site in Ireland. My love and enjoyment of wild plants, fungi etc... is an extension of my wider love of nature. It's great, after a day of wandering the fields,...

First fungal foray of the year. I had to postpone the next two scheduled walks due to unusually dry conditions and a lack of fungal diversity. Fortunately for the group and myself the fungi were playing out on this occasion. Here are some pictures of the day. I like using Roger Phillips Mushrooms book as a way of showing some of the difficulties to be had when ascertaining the true id of certain fungi species. Here we are looking at the Russula family, many require close examination of spore prints for an accurate id. Bay Bolete - Boletus badius. This edible and very tasty fungus exhibits a change in the colour of it's pores when handled/bruised. Excuse the almost manic look on my face, pictures are taken in real time and not posed for. Employing the safe and appropriate use of and connecting with all our various senses when foraging (as well as in everyday life), is important. Not only does our experience become more enjoyable but our awareness of the natural wor...

If the love of, care of and protection of the planet and it's amazingly diverse array of organisms is of importance to you then I think you will love and appreciate this video. I first viewed this while wilding it up in Scotland with fellow friends, foragers, mycophiles, Mark Williams (Galloway Wild Foods) and Andrew Macfarlane (Acuvital), I'm so glad I did. Enjoy.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwLviP7KaAc

CAAGA (Chapel Allerton Allotments & Gardening Association) Fungal Foray on Sunday 29th September went really well. A nice turn out and fab weather (not so much for the fungi though, just need more rain). Plenty of interesting fungi to be found including a couple that were new to me. Overall a fun time had and all took home some fungi to cook and experiment with, nice.

A great variety of edible fungus has started appearing. I was out through the week and found the first Penny Buns (Cep/Porcini) of the season...very exciting as this is definitely one of my favourite fungus', a rich, deep flavour when fresh or in dried form and very versatile. Field Mushrooms seem to be more abundant than in the previous few years (or maybe i'm just striking it lucky this year with regards to locations). Horse mushrooms, Fairy Ring Champignons and Bay Boletes are also plentiful and delicious.

Nature is really getting into the swing of things.There has been a plethora of wonderful plants bursting into life over the past 8 weeks. When it comes to choosing what to put in my basket and bags for eating I feel blessed and spoilt for choice - fresh young, vibrant greens, colourful, scented blossoms and at last the long awaited St Georges mushrooms!! Hope you are all enjoying the seasonal variety, lovely food and a happy harvest.

St George's Mushrooms (Calocybe gambosa) are one of the first edible, wild mushrooms to appear in the  uk 'wild mushroom calendar'. Their preference for fruiting or 'basiodoming' is in the spring and, weather pending, can appear any time between mid-march and late May. Many guide books will make reference to the 23rd of April aka St George's Day but, in my 9 years of experiencing them, I'm noticing wide ranging fluctuations with regards to dates of appearance. Last year I picked the first of the season in late March then due to the weather, they refused to fruit until the middle of May!   

Fungi can be found all year round but the most abundant season has to be Autumn. However, climatic changes taken into account mid-summer is also proving to be fantastic for fungal finds. Not all fungi found at this time of year are edible but there is a very good selection out there, its knowing where to look and which ones to eat.