Wild Greens for Supper

Wild Greens for Fritters

One of the things we love about this time of year is that we have so many wild edible plants right outside our door. I have discovered (and invented) some delicious recipes. Fritters are one of our favorites, whether they're made with Fiddleheads, Dandelions, Wild Chives, Alaska Ginseng (Devil’s Club) or just about anything else we find in the woods or in our garden. We are especially thankful for all these wild greens because we can’t even plant our garden until the end of May.

While my husband has been away guiding for the last 7 weeks, our boys and I have been working extra hard all day. Well, the boys do get a lot of well-deserved play time at the creek. They have been such a help to me while their daddy has been away. The last couple of weeks have provided special treats of new wild plants. Lately, we’ve been stopping work an hour or so before suppertime to go for a walk and gather part of our next meal. It is incredibly satisfying to be able to do that (not to mention FUN), and I am so thankful that we live in such a place. I was brought up in a very large city, and I certainly do not take this lifestyle for granted. I know we have been blessed.

I grew up in the Deep South, where a meal was not a proper meal if it didn’t include something deep fried. Tomorrow night, I’m going to add some wild greens and Dandelions to our pizza (not fried, but I’m not complaining!) Tonight we had one of our favorite meals --- Fritters!

You can make fritters from just about anything. If you don’t have the wild plants I used this time (recipe below), use whatever edibles you have, even if they’re from the grocery store or a patio garden. Cabbage, broccoli, mushrooms, onions, and many more vegetables all work just fine. Use just one, or a mixture. Add meat, if you like, or leave it out. Add other herbs and seasonings for even more variety. Careful on that. It's easy to overpower the wild greens with too many spices.

When I want a sweet fritter for breakfast, rather than a savory fritter for supper, I’ll usually stick with flowers. Dandelion or Elder flowers work great for this. Just remember to use no more than half the salt in the recipe below, and omit the pepper. You can make the batter sweet by adding a few tablespoons of honey, brown sugar, or other sweetener. You can leave out the sweetener in the batter, and serve the fritters with maple syrup, jam, powdered sugar, or whatever else you like. Or, just toss some flowers into your favorite pancake batter.

You really can’t go wrong with fritters. If you want them a little lighter, add a tablespoon of baking powder per cup of flour. If you want eggs, use them. If not, leave them out. I use powdered milk and eggs because we live in the bush and I don’t have fresh at the moment. But if you have the fresh milk and eggs to spare, use them if you like. Your fritters will turn out delicious.

Wild Fritters
(This recipe makes a LOT, so you might want to cut it in half the first time. We like to reheat the leftovers. The texture changes --- they become a little soft, more bread-like instead of crunchy, but we still enjoy them.)

4 cups of edible wild greens and flowers
1 pound of meat - optional (ground moose or beef, chopped chicken or whatever you like)
3 cups rice flour (wheat flour works well, but the flavor and texture are a little different)
2/3 cup powdered milk (or 2 to 3 cups of fresh milk)
3 Tbsp. powdered eggs (or 2 eggs)
1 tsp. black pepper (or to taste)
2 tsp. salt (or to taste)
2 to 3 cups water (omit if using real, liquid milk)
Oil for Frying (I like coconut oil)

Prepare wild edibles for cooking, and set aside. Preparation will depend on what you use. Today, the boys and I picked some Alaska Ginseng (Devil’s Club) buds, Lamb’s Quarter, Chickweed, Dandelion flowers, Watermelon Berry leaves and Wild Chives. I chopped the Lamb’s Quarter, Chickweed, Watermelon Berry Leaves and Chives. I removed the stems and most of the calyx (green part) from the Dandelion flowers (scissors help with this). The Alaska Ginseng buds required no preparation, but you can chop them if you prefer. A few Fiddleheads and young Fireweed shoots would have also been nice, but it was getting late and I needed to start supper. If your plants have dirt, wash before chopping. Try to avoid places where the plants are near car exhausts, and don’t use plants that have been sprayed with chemicals.

If using meat, cook it and set aside. If it is really greasy, drain and discard the fat.

Combine flour, milk powder, egg powder, salt and pepper. Stir in 2 cups of water. If it seems dry and thick, add a little more water. If your batter ends up too thin, stir in a little more flour. Stir in the meat and prepared wild plants. The batter should not be like dough, but it should not be watery, either.

In a heavy skillet, heat oil for frying. You should have about ¼ to ½ inch of oil. More won’t hurt. Drop tablespoons of the batter into the hot oil. When the bottom is brown, turn and brown the other side. Watch to make sure they don’t burn. If you fry too slowly, they become greasy. When done, remove fritters from oil with a slotted spoon, and drain on paper towels. Serve with mustard, barbecue sauce, or just eat ‘em as they are.  We had them with a green salad of new Watermelon Berry leaves, Chickweed, Lamb’s Quarter, Wild Chives, French Sorrel from my garden, and Wild Geranium Flowers. I’ll try to remember to take a picture of the salad next time.

Wild Edibles cooked up into Fritters

Matzo Recipes: Regular and Gluten-Free

Here are a few recipes for delicious Matzo, including two recipes for gluten free Matzo. I know it’s a little late, but there are still several days remaining for Passover. I intended to post this earlier, but I have been plagued by a sinus infection. More on the wonders of Activated Charcoal and Spruce Pitch in a future post.

The first recipe is for wheat matzo that I found on a Jewish website several years ago. I did not write down the web address, so I cannot give proper credit. This Matzo is so delicious that I serve it to family and company throughout the year. Friends often ask for the recipe, and tell me that it’s so delicious that they even serve it to their guests. Rather than viewing matzo as a “bread of affliction”, we have always looked forward to a week of this wonderful unleavened bread.

Wheat Matzo
2 cups plain flour
1 tsp. salt
6 Tbsp. olive oil
6 Tbsp. water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Combine flour and salt. Add oil and water; stir to mix. Check the time to make sure that no more than 18 minutes lapses between the time you add liquid to the flour and the time it goes into the oven. After the ingredients are combined, knead it a little. For a light, crisp cracker, the dough should be fairly stiff and a bit dry, although not at all crumbly. If necessary, add a little water, 1 Tbsp. at a time. If you want the matzo to be harder, add a little more oil and water.

Divide dough in half. Keep one half covered with plastic wrap or wax paper while working with the other half. Using a floured rolling pin, roll each half very thin and place on lightly greased cookie sheets. It is easier to use pans without sides, and then roll the dough directly on the pans. Even when I roll the dough on the table, I rarely have to use any extra flour. When the dough has been rolled and is on the pans, prick with a fork. Using a knife, score dough into squares, rectangles or other shapes. Try not to cut all the way through dough. If you prefer to break your matzo after it bakes, omit this step. Sprinkle with salt or other seasonings if desired. Bake at about 350 degrees until lightly browned, turning pans if necessary. Remove from oven and cool on rack. When cool enough to handle, break apart at score lines.

NOTE: During Passover, I only make one batch (2 pans) at a time to keep the process under 18 minutes. At other times of the year, I often triple the recipe. I have found that covering the dough with plastic wrap for about 20 minutes prior to dividing and rolling helps it roll out easier. In addition, I usually keep Passover matzo simple; however, when I make this at other times of the year, I often add minced, dehydrated onions, minced garlic, or other seasonings to the dough or sprinkle on top.

Gluten-Free Matzo

One of our sons has Celiac Disease, and the other has a gluten intolerance. In the past, I’ve always made gluten-free matzo for them whenever I made regular matzo for everyone else. I have recently learned that I can’t handle gluten either. My husband isn’t a picky eater, so now we’re all gluten-free, which has made a world of difference! I miss the delicious, light, crisp wheat matzo, above, but here are two pretty good gluten-free substitutes.

I adapted the following two recipes from one I found on this site. Ellen’s matzo recipe uses a Breads from Anna gluten, soy, and rice free bread mix. Depending on the traditions you follow, these recipes may not be acceptable to you for Passover. If you go to Ellen’s site, be sure to read her comments. I don’t buy bread mixes, so after reading the list of ingredients in the bread mix and looking up a few other gluten-free matzo recipes, I experimented with ingredients I had on hand. Since I live in the bush, it is often difficult for me to get all of the gluten free flours I want, so I did the best I could with what I had. I’m still learning about gluten-free baking. For these recipes, I made up my own recipes, based on the mix that was used in the original recipe and what I had in the pantry, and then I followed the instructions Ellen gave in her video (I've posted the video below. Just scroll down a bit). This is a great video, and making matzo is very quick!

Gluten-Free Matzo #1

This is the favorite of my sons and my husband. It’s quite hard and crunchy. Since both of these recipes go from not cooked to burned in the blink of an eye, I only make one pan at a time. The recipes are for only one pan, but I usually mix up enough of the dry ingredients all at once to make about 10 batches, and then store it in a covered bowl until needed. To use, scoop out ¾ cup plus 1 tsp. of the mixture, add the liquid and go from there.

3 Tbsp. cornstarch
3 Tbsp. tapioca flour
2 ½ Tbsp. powdered milk
1 ½ Tbsp. white bean flour
2 Tbsp. sorghum flour
½ tsp. xanthan gum
½ tsp. salt
Scant 4 Tbsp. cold water


For dusting the board, dough, rolling pin and hands, have on hand a bowl with a half and half mixture of white rice flour and tapioca starch. Use this generously!

Preheat oven to 500 degrees F. Combine dry ingredients. Mix water into the flour mixture. Add a little more of the flour mixture if it’s too wet; add a little extra water if it is too dry and won’t come together.

Generously dust your work surface with the rice flour/tapioca starch mixture. Spoon dough onto floured surface. Knead a few times, flatten with hands, adding more of the dusting flours as needed. Roll out as thin as possible with a floured rolling pin. Roll the dough around the rolling pin as shown in the video, and transfer to a cookie sheet. If using a cookie sheet without sides, you can roll the dough directly on the pan.

Once the dough is on the pan, prick with a fork. If desired, score into shapes as described in the previous recipe. Bake in preheated oven about 5 minutes. Watch it very closely because it burns quickly. It is helpful to turn the matzo over with a spatula about halfway through the baking. Remove from oven and transfer immediately to cooling rack.


Gluten-Free Matzo #2

This one is similar to Gluten-Free Matzo #1 above, except that it has a slightly lighter, crisp texture, and is not so hard and crunchy. Like the previous recipe, I mix multiple batches of the dry ingredients, store in a covered bowl, and then measure just over ¾ cup of the flour mixture, add the liquid and go from there.

6 ½ Tbsp. white bean flour
3 Tbsp. sorghum flour
2 ½ Tbsp. milk powder
½ tsp. salt
1/8 tsp xanthan gum
3 Tbsp. cold water
Scant 1 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar, if desired, or omit and use all water instead.

For dusting the board, dough, rolling pin and hands, have on hand a bowl with a half and half mixture of white rice flour and tapioca starch. Use this generously!

Preheat oven to 500 degrees F. Combine the dry ingredients. Stir in the water and vinegar. Add a little more of the flour mixture if it’s too wet; add a little extra water if it is too dry and won’t come together.

Generously dust your work surface with the rice flour/tapioca starch mixture. Spoon dough onto floured surface. Knead a few times, flatten with hands, adding more of the dusting flours as needed. Roll out as thin as possible with a floured rolling pin. Roll the dough around the rolling pin as shown in the video, and transfer to a cookie sheet. If using a cookie sheet without sides, you can roll the dough directly on the pan. The thinner you get this, the lighter it will turn out.

Once the dough is on the pan, prick with a fork. If desired, score into shapes as described in the first recipe. Bake in preheated oven about 5 minutes. Turn over with a spatula about halfway through the baking. Watch it very closely because it burns quickly. Remove from oven and transfer immediately to cooling rack.

I would like to find or come up with a recipe that makes even lighter matzo. A friend suggested using a combination of almond meal, potato starch and ground flax seeds. When I find some potato starch, I will try that.

Here is Ellen’s video on how to make gluten-free matzo.