Fiddleheads!

too old!

So I was wandering around in the yard the other day looking for a big stick... as I do. And then out of the corner of my eye, I saw some ferns. Which reminded me, as I get reminded every year, that I have been planning on foraging for fiddleheads for the last five years. But every year, when I am reminded, I'm invariably reminded by the tall, unfurled, mostly full grown ferns that we see all summer, and not by the small, edible (nay, delicious!) young shoots.

That's the problem with fiddleheads. They aren't edible for longer than a few days, or at least that's how it seems to me. They start coming out in spring or even early summer, according to sources on the internet, but at least this year (maybe due to unseasonable heat? it's been near 80 for the last couple of weeks), most of the ones I've seen have already been mostly unfurled.

So I was really excited to see these little edible shoots. SO EXCITED.  

juuuuust right.

To make sure you're picking the right variety of fern, look at the stalk. If it curls inward like a celery stalk, you've got the right one. You can just rip them off -- the bottom bit of the stalk is a bit white, and people claim this part is woodier and not really tasty (I wouldn't know though) so I just ripped above that. When they're young, they'll snap pretty easily.

Before you go nuts, Wikipedia gives some sense that fiddleheads are full of healthy stuff but may also be harmful if ingested in great quantities:

Fiddleheads contain various vitamins and minerals, as well as omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids. They are a source of antioxidants and dietary fibre.^[2] They are low in sodium, but rich in potassium, which may make them suitable for people who need a low-sodium diet.^[4]

Fiddleheads may harbour microbes, and should be washed and cooked before eating.^[2]

Many ferns also contain the enzyme thiaminase, which breaks down thiamine. This can lead to beriberi and other vitamin B complex deficiencies if consumed to excess or if one's diet is lacking in these vitamins.^[5]

Further, there is some evidence that certain varieties of fiddleheads, e.g. bracken (Pteridium genus), are carcinogenic. Ostrich fern (Matteuccia struthiopteris) is not thought to cause cancer,^[6]although there is evidence it contains an as yet unidentified toxin.^[7]

Though it seems like these types of fiddleheads (ostrich ferns) haven't been known to cause specific health issues, may as well play it safe and only eat a bit at a time.

So now that I've said that, let's move on to the cooking bit. Clean off any of the dried brown leafy bits that may be stuck to the fiddleheads and wash them thoroughly.

Step 1. Steam or boil for 10 minutes.
It seems to be generally accepted that whatever toxins may be in ostrich ferns, you can nullify their effect by steaming the ferns for 10 minutes first.

Step 2. Saute in butter and lemon.
Drizzle a bit of lemon on them and saute in a bit of butter for 2-3 minutes. Drizzle just a little more lemon on top and serve.

Serving suggestion.
Serve on a bed of quinoa with a side of pickled daikon (or whatever happens to be in the fridge when you're serving hungry people a late dinner). Fried egg on top is also delicious.

Chicken of the Woods!

OK, so it's been a while. Let's (re)start off with a bang. Or at least with an extremely orange mushroom that tastes like chicken. What! Yeah. We finally found the supposedly plentiful "chicken of the woods" mushroom (a.k.a. Laetiporus sulphureus blah blah whatever look it up). It looks like this:

Some cool things about this mushroom: 

• dude, would you just look at it?

• if you find some, you probably find about 20 pounds of it
• it is impossible to mistake for something inedible
• it is delicious, keeps for a few days before cooking if necessary (and for a while in the freezer once cooked)
• it tastes like chicken!
• you can serve it with shrimp and make some "chicken of the woods/chicken of the sea" joke, probably

Let's get to it, then. First, the prep: it's pretty easy. If the inner part (the part closer to the stalk) is kind of corky/woody, you may want to cut it out and just get rid of it. Don't wash it, since it'll get super soggy (or so they say on the internet). Scrubbing off the dirt is good enough, though. Now, the recipe.

Ingredients

• 3-4 Tbsp butter
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 5 cups CHICKEN OF THE WOODS, WOOOO!, chopped into bite-sized pieces
• salt, to taste
• 2-4 Tbsp sour cream
• 1-3 Tbsp chicken stock

Procedure

In a large (non-stick? I dunno, worked well for me) pan, heat up the butter. Throw in the garlic and mushrooms and saute until the mushrooms get a bit reddish/brown -- about 10-15 minutes. When it's ready it'll have the consistency of a tender but not particularly juicy chicken breast; add salt to taste.

The sauteeing may take longer or shorter depending on how old/thick the specimen is, how water-logged it is, whether you actually got L. sulphureus or L. cincinnatus (closely related but a little different), etc. Just use your judgment. I've also heard that if you cook it for 15 minutes and the consistency is far from where you want it to be, just give up. Specimens vary greatly and you've probably got a crappy one. 

At this point, I found the mushrooms to be a little dry, so I mixed in a couple of tablespoons of sour cream with a little bit of chicken stock. You can skip this step if you like the juiciness level as is. 

Can be served as is or if you're looking for a bit more flavor, add in some shrimps (I cooked them the same way as the mushrooms and mixed them all in together).

Definitely going back tomorrow to pick the rest of the mushrooms we found. Will report back eventually on whether our guests get poisoned.

Edit: It's been a day and everyone's still alive. Success! We went back and picked everything off that log: