The Earthy Delights Recipe Blog
Celebrating wild harvested, traditional & artisanal foods
Pickin’ Up Pawpaws, Way Down Yonder in the Pawpaw Patch… Some of us may still remember this song from childhood, but few of us have ever tasted a real pawpaw. Pawpaws have become a curiosity, little known to most of us, even though they have a long history in North America. The largest edible fruit native to the United States, pawpaws are most commonly found near riverbanks and in the understory of the fertile forests of the eastern United States. …
If you’re a fan of pawpaws, you’ve probably eaten your share of the fresh fruit in season. But what about the rest of the year? Pawpaws are notoriously hard to store for more than two or three weeks in the fridge, and if unrefrigerated, the large, oval fruits ripen quickly and must be eaten within a few days. The answer?Pawpaw curd, another fantastic way to preserve the exotic flavor of pawpaws – practically indefinitely. Fruit curds are a mixture of …
Cherries are in season, and while it’s tempting to simply gobble them fresh by the handful, there are plenty of other interesting – and rewarding – ways to enjoy them. When sweet cherry varieties like Ulster, Cavalier, Hedelfingen and Regina ripen fully on the tree, they burst with deep, intense dark cherry flavor, making them excellent choices for use in recipes, both traditional and novel. The long history of cooking with sweet cherries is evident in the wide variety of …
Is there anything finer, more perfect than a ripe, ruby-red cherry? Sure, we all love succulent strawberries, plump blueberries and juicy raspberries, but nothing can rival a cherry, that bright red summery globe so beloved of birds and small children. Cherries have a long and tangled relationship with mankind (you could say it’s “complicated”). Cherries, both sweet and tart, seem to have originated in Asia Minor, somewhere in the region between the Black and Caspian Seas. While they appear rather …
This mellow mustard tastes like pure, sweet summer sunshine. It’s got that keen mustardy kick that every good mustard should have, but the bite is tempered with sunny sweetness of apricots and complex, nutty notes of chanterelle mushrooms. The familiar fruity-floral flavor and aroma of chanterelle mushrooms is often compared to – and paired with – apricots. The chanterelle’s distinctive flavor intensifies when the orange-yellow mushrooms are dried, becoming deeper, darker, richer and toastier. Here’s the tricky bit: dried chanterelles …
Cherries are the fruit of summer. First to appear are sweet cherries, large crisp globes of juicy flesh, perfect for eating fresh by the handful. A few weeks later, tart (or sour) cherries arrive, bringing with them a frenzy of pie-baking, canning and freezing. There are literally dozens (perhaps hundreds) of cultivars of both sweet and tart cherries, many well-known, others grown only in the small towns and hamlets where they’ve been nurtured in obscurity for centuries. Tart cherries are …
“Romance” may not be the first word that springs to mind when you’re making pancakes. But consider again. Our Sweet Potato & Cornmeal Pancakes with Spicy Maple Syrup are sweet, they’re hot, they NEVER disappoint – and they’re a delight to wake up to in the morning. Sounds a lot like true love. We’re not talking about your usual pancakes. These tender cakes are light and fluffy, of course, but they’re also generously laced with tasty bits of shredded sweet …
Fall is the time of plenty. With a bounty of produce, fruit and nuts at hand, the biggest challenge is often deciding how to make the best possible use of it all. But it’s not an unpleasant task, and finding creative new ways to combine familiar ingredients can be its own reward. Pears and chestnuts are one such combination, but they go together quite well indeed. Both have interesting textures; similar, yet subtly different in unique ways. When cooked, …
The fresh flavor of fiddleheads, that wild spring vegetable with the charming name, is distinctive, but not assertive. It’s these qualities that make fiddleheads so versatile. They can be prepared in any number of traditional ways, but they also make a fine substitute for just about any green vegetable. Think of any dish that calls for green beans, asparagus or even broccoli and use fiddleheads instead! But before you add fresh fiddleheads to your favorite recipe, they need a little …
Honey, that most natural of sweeteners, holds an important place in every culture of the world. Honeybees, so crucial to the development of flowering plants, thrive in temperate regions around the globe, busily spreading pollen and concentrating the sweet, energy-rich nectar of the flowers that they visit into that prized substance, honey. The flavor of honey varies tremendously, depending on the type of flowers visited by the bees who store the precious honey in the waxy combs of their hive. It seems only …