This is Normal. Everyday Foraging and Cooking in the Atomic Shrimp Household
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- Опубликовано: 5 май 2023
- I get quite a few people asking me about what it looks like when I am cooking off camera. Honestly, it's not that different to what you see in regular videos, but here's an example of what 'normal' actually looks like, for Shrimp HQ.
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"What were you doing when the coronation started?"
"Well there's this guy called Atomic Shrimp..."
your videos are so much nicer for learning about practical home cooking, plants and general life stuff than any of the secialised ones. I love how they all have a feel of relaxed friend spending a day with you and just showing you how they do things. I learned a lot from you and always love seeing you new video pop up.
I'm usually worried about developing parasocial relationships, but shrimp I think is a unique and foreign influence I welcome.
These videos feel like hanging out with your uncle who lives in the country. For someone who lives in a city and doesn't get out of it much, it's really nice.
seriously though, he's the reason that I've been breaking my dependence on recipes. Before, I basically wouldn't cook anything unless I had a recipe to follow, even if the dish itself was rather simple. After watching him just throw things into a pan and cook using simple rules, I've begun learning that its largely safe to just do whatever. Even when I do follow a recipe, I'm more willing these days to omit or add things per my personal taste. I've begun to see recipes more as a general guideline, a process of doing things, or a recommendation on how long to cook things, but not really something that needs to be followed to the letter every single time.
It doesn't always work out great, but even when it doesn't there's a certain feeling of satisfaction in doing something yourself.
He gives huge Bob Ross vibes, for sure. I love it.
@@ritter286 actually bob ross of whatever he does, I feel like he is a jack of all traits
I make a pretty similar chicken "cottage pie" with leftover cooked chicken (leeks go very well in it). I call it cockage pie.
"Method to my mashed potato madness" fills me with joy. It was fun to watch this while making my own breakfast. It made it feel like a little family activity, which I appreciate when I'm at college and away from my own family.
The moment where you triaged the crispiest bits of skin to eat while stripping the chicken legs definitely made this one of the most authentic chicken cookery videos I've ever seen. I doubt I'd cook with whole chickens and chicken legs anywhere near enough without that little chef's bonus!
It's interesting - in the cost of cooking episode, a few people challenged my pricing of the chicken stock I made, saying I had neglected to cost the bones, which are part of the chicken that I bought, but on further thought (to be confirmed by research) I think the cost of chicken bones is a negative number. If you buy deboned meat, you pay more per kilo of chicken meat than the meat you can take off the bones from chicken portions or whole chicken (which makes sense since the processing of deboned chicken takes effort and time, which equals cost in industry) - therefore chicken bones aren't just free - they're paying you to take them. I nearly always buy chicken on the bone.
@@AtomicShrimp Yes, your thought definitely matches my personal experience of this - it's particularly stark in the case of chicken thighs, which by my estimate are only about 15% bone by weight, but bone-in thighs are less than half the price by weight of boneless thigh fillets. I pretty much can't justify buying the boneless ones as even the most rushed boning-out will result in more meat for the money even if I don't make effective use of the bones!
@@AtomicShrimp What would you do if you found a small boy in the woods?
@@Rushdabbrushand forage him, but leave some behind so you don't wipe the area clean of lost children for next season.
@@t_y8274 you just made my day :) perfect answer :)
I'm not a confident forager, but it's hard to go wrong with blackberries. Me & my daughter go out with a litter picker to pull over the furthest branches & pick a container-full of them, add to apples to make the best crumble. It's our favourite late Summer/early Autumn ritual.
OMG, how did I never think to use a litter picker?! The best blackberry canes are always out of reach.
There are usually at least ten super easy to ID mushrooms in any place you live. I've been into mycology for over a decade and still mostly focus on the easy to ID ones.
@@broshmosh I bought one of those for my wife, and she initially had a quite mocking response.
She has since changed her opinion.
Just be careful where you stand when blackberry picking. Me and my dad went blackberry picking, he waded in to get the better berries and managed to stomp a huge wasp nest causing thousands upon thousands of wasps to chase us all the way home.
@@ConanRider That waspn't very fun! ;)
Fun fact: Garlic Mustard in Dutch is called look-zonder-look. 'Look' is a word in Dutch that refers to a plant being a member of the alium family. Some have 'look' in their name, like garlic, which is 'knoflook'. Anyway, 'zonder' means without. Alium-without-alium, refering to it's garlicy smell and taste, yet also to the fact that it doesn't grow bulbs beneath the ground. Language is fun sometimes
a little pinch of nutmeg is really nice in mashed potatoes
when the world gets scary, shrimp is always there to bring some comfort and calm
As someone who is stuck living in a tiny crumbling second-storey flat with no balcony or even direct sunlight in the middle of one of the ugliest parts of my city, and who doesn't have any real access to any more nature than a crowded grassy city park, let alone someplace to forage, and who loves cooking but never has the time or energy, these videos are a bit of escape into the sort of life I desperately wish I could lead. Going out for a walk in the forest, foraging for food, spending some time in the kitchen making big batches of food that can feed me for several days, even just... having something green to look at. I know I'm not alone (especially as an elder millennial) in feeling trapped in a concrete wasteland, constantly desperately just trying to barely survive with no real hope for a better life. At least I can take a short break now and then and experience a taste of that life vicariously through these lovely, calming videos. I'll keep hoping that I might one day find a way to reach that slower-paced country life, but till then, I'm grateful for these videos. Thanks for sharing with us.
I do feel for you. I have some of that feeling too, living in the concrete jungle as I do when I've always been a nature lover but haven't succeeded in creating that life for myself. Shrimp's vids are very uplifting and give me lots of ideas, making something from every morsel
Today I made wild garlic + nettles soup, basically veg bullion to make stock then added nettles and wild garlic (the ratio was probably something like 4:1 Nettles to Garlic), cooked for few minutes (do not overcook if you want nice green colour), little cream and mixed it until it was smooth. I put a lot of ground black pepper that I roasted on a tiny pan (similar to what you used few months back - great tool for roasting small amounts of dry ingredients) I am eating it right now, it's delicious
Nettle soup is great, I make two variants. One with chicken stock, sorrel, wild garlic, and cream the other with mushroom stock, ginger, chilli, lemongrass, and coconut cream.
I haven't got to the point of foraging but I've been watching Shrimp videos for a couple of years and about this time last year I surprised myself when out for a walk - I spotted and identified wild garlic. It was a bit close to the path so I didn't pick, but maybe this year...
The wild garlic is flowering here in Yorkshire, great video, there’s so much for free at this time of year
Thousands of people on their phones staring at a video of runny fried egg all salivating at the same time.
I agree with other people’s comments, this is the best channel on RUclips. Not in your face, just nice and easy to watch and listen to, and lots of interesting things.
2-5 year old burn areas(as in forest fires) are the best places for morels. You need a place where a lot of wood have broken down and new growth starting to come up, to find large amounts of morels.
Love your videos, Mr Shrimp!
Just wanted to say how much I enjoy the way you show how cooking often is, i.e. making a lot of it up as you're going, using what you have! getting creative with leftovers and figuring out how to make it as delicious as possible. Also the chart you showed at the end is bang on the money for me, if you put that on a tea towel Id buy it. Thank you!
I agree; being able to cook without a recipe is certainly useful and fun. Even with a recipe, it's still pretty fun. Shrimp is MY kind of youtuber :)
I second the vote for a teatowel I'd like to support atomic shrimp xx
@@PrettyPinkPeacock I third it! ✋
Saved that happiness graphic so I can glue it to my wall.
It's worth sitting down and drawing one of these for yourself. It was only when I put it down on paper like this that it clicked for me that I am doing things that drive happiness. Now I've got this, I can look for more things to link into it. They're different for everyone, so I recommend this exercise.
When I used to go fishing wild garlic was really good to stuff the fish with.
Budget/Foraging Episode Idea: When your local area produce is in season, see if you can make meals for a day or two through only locally foraged plats or items purchased from local farmer's market. It love to see what ideas you can come up with for all local meals.
"We already know what carrots taste like"
I was going to protest here, because what I was curious as to what your foraged sauce, mushrooms and wild garlic would do when you mixed them on the fork for eating and I was going to post a comment about a specific dish that truly demonstrates flavor combos.
Your Brunch showcased it, the eggs, beans and some sort of meat, it creates something tasting better than the parts by themselves, sort of like a holy trifecta of the food world : D
the diagram at 24:15 made me smile beyond belief, its very atomic shrimp and we all love that. Keep the shrimpness coming.
Ahhh yes~ Love the texture of slightly lumpy mashed potatoes. When they're perfectly smooth it's too reminiscent of instant mashed potatoes. Those are good and almost always, JUST dehydrated potatoes and pre-measured spices so it's not overly unhealthy. They just, *feel* fake.
Mashed potatoes don’t need to be perfectly smooth, they just need to be evenly lumpy.
@@ragnkja Consistency is indeed one of the most important parts of cooking. it's why some children freak out when food of different textures mix and create some third abomination. Later most of us tend to accept that third mystery texture as we're able to reconcile the mixture as two.
I gotta say I love your work, i come from the eastern block and your mentality about cooking, reusing, saving left overs and making most out of them is similar to the one we have used to have here, but frankly, seems like people are getting increasingly more comfortable with themselves, and unfortunately are losing this view of life.
Not me though, and its great to see another likeminded soul out there.
Take care~!
its the same here , convienience often comes out on top in peoples priorities now and waste is huge.
I agree!
@@SparkThaMetal where are you located? I'm from Slovakia/Poland
If I remember right, one of the ways you can tell the difference between redcurrant and blackcurrant by the smell of the leaves when you crush them. With all that wild garlic there I heartily recommend garlic pesto! It's a favourite of mine at this time of year. The meals you come up with are always lovely.
Yeah, blackcurrant leaves are sort of musky aromatic
I'm no expert forager, but I am a country boy who moved around different parts of the country (dad in the forces). Ramsons are available anywhere, wild strawberries I had from the edge of a South Wales conifer forest, blackberries everywhere of course, rose hips the same; I steer clear of fungi apart from field mushrooms which never make it to the kitchen as they're so delicious fresh picked. Now I find myself in a North Yorkshire town next to a park; not much to forage, but I live next to a small park which is skirted by a beck and a mill race ( no mill remains) and the wildlife is amazing; less than 50 metres from my front door, right next to the playpark are otters and a white Ibis which visits every year. Bliss
Sometimes whipped mashed potatoes is nice, but I'm with you in preferring to leave a few chunks of potato intact with mine as well. This looks like quite a nice evening meal indeed. Dare I say it's one of the more "normal" things I've seen you whip up compared to some of the "Weird Stuff in a Can" episodes, which I am also a huge fan of. I hope everyone is doing well and having a great day!
So glad you're foraging and posting on this particular day, when the world needs to recognise that everyday people are more interesting and worthwhile than most people suppose . Excellent xxx
These videos are like a vacation destination away from regular RUclips. I aspire to live as mindfully as you do! Thank you for sharing your moments like this
Another prime video delivery from my favourite radioactive shellfish. Very good.
Just went on a walk today with some friends and I was actually incredibly impressed with how many plants I can identify thanks to your videos. Not only particular species, but as per your suggestion in a previous video, learning typical traits of each 'family' and being able to take a guess at what something is was particularly fun. Ended up coming home with my pockets full of wild garlic to make some Wild Garlic butter.
I live in central London so perhaps I should package it up and sell it as 'artisanal' wild garlic butter for the city-folk who don't like to go any further out than the M25?
Thank you for this content. You remind me so much of my late father. Knew so much anout so many things: he was and still is my hero. He would take me on hikes and teach me about local plants and various wildlife in our area. He piqued my interest in learning so much.
I miss him so much and am happy I found your channel as it brings me a joy and calm thats rarely found these days. Give Eva some pats for me as well 😊
I picked some wild garlic a few weeks ago which was partly in flower. I got nearly 1kg of it and it barely looked like I picked anything. The area still looked dense with wild garlic everywhere. I made wild garlic oil and yesterday, made a quiche for the coronation with leek, sundried tomato, cheddar cheese, and wild garlic.
I absolutely love the vibe of your channel, quite cozy and comforting and quite often educational.
I can't believe the amount of wild garlic there!!! I recently found wild garlic in my village less than 75 M from my house! About 6 plants have weird variegated leaves! 1 set of plants has a single white stripe down the centre, and also, there are some plants that have all white leaves!
I love deformed and unusual plants plants 😂 this year I have had more than 8 tomato plant seedlings with three or four baby seed leaves! Even a Gardeners delight with half albino leaves, albinism mirrored on opposite leaves!
Please be careful with picking yhese plants if they have unusal leaves! There are other plants that can look similar to wild garlic and some of them are poisonous.
Yeah, I'd be super wary of that myself - I've never seen a variegated allium of any kind
Do be careful, those variegated leaves could very well be an Arum of some kind. Italian Arum comes to mind. It often grows around wild garlic, as does Lily of the valley. It can be tricky to differentiate when they're not in flower.
Hosta leaves are often variegated and they look quite similar to wild garlic!
It's definitely 100% wild garlic! I may do some short videos documenting my unusual finds! This year, I have collected and dried more than 3 kg! It rehydrates perfectly even in bread dough! I clean each individual leaf thoroughly and inspect both sides so I've got a good idea of what they look like! 😝 I also sell lilly of the valley and peace lilly plants, so I'm fully aware of the similarities and risks of poisoning! I always include a disclaimer with my plants explaining the toxicity of them for pets and children!
Cuckoo Pint/ Lords and Ladies also grows together with the wild garlic in the area where I collect it! The flowers also look similar and could easily be mistaken by a novice. This is also a toxic plant!
I actually hate garlic mustard. Its an invasive in my area and its absolutely taking over everywhere.
I know its edible but im not a fan I'd prefer nettles. The chickens love it thankfully but once it invades an area, even once you get rid of it, other plants dont thrive for a couple years.
I read that it gives off a chemical to deter other plants from growing. Somewhat like black walnut tree do.
I get big yellow morals in my yard and i have 3 types of myshroom logs seeded. Grey oysters/golden oysters/shiitake they all just produced last summer for first time.
The golden oysters have soread from the logs i put them in to several logs that fell in my woods.
I asked my children for a pink oyster kit for mothers day. Lol.
The bubble and squeak looked absolutely amazing. I felt a connection between that knife blade and egg yolk :D
Maybe it's time for another clay adventure! Always different, always thoughtful, always appreciate your videos Shrimp, ty❤
I've got one in the pipeline right now
I just realized that Atomic Shrimp reminds me of Moominpappa from Moomins. The voice especially
I like how you are exploring your new environment, discovering all the different foraging opportunities; hopefully, you'll find where the mushrooms are hiding. Take care, be well
@3:10 Here in Iowa, garlic mustard is an invasive, and we're encouraged to clear it out when we find it (before it flowers, though). I have yet to try it, but the next time one of our parks has a picking party, I'll join in and make some meals with it!
Another foodie delight! Loved your happiness diagram 😊 Have you ever considered trying to intentionally cultivate some of the wild vegetation you use? If you ever got bored of doing YT I could quite easily imagine "Shrimps Seasonal Cafe" being a thing.
I have a ton of stinging nettles growing in the little woodland area here at Shrimp Cottage. Jenny won't let me introduce ramsons there, and she's probably right. I am planting up some less invasive native stuff both edible and not, just to try to increase the diversity
@@AtomicShrimp 🤣 no ramsons, no 3 cornered leek.... To be fair, on second thoughts I can't fault her logic incase something escapes the greenhouse...
I introduced wild garlic into my garden and love it. My soil is quite poor so there's no risk of it taking over the garden. It will have a lot of competition from wild raspberries anyway. They are popping up everywhere but I am not complaining - it's free food.
I think there's a place for some wild redcurrants in the wood, and I plan to get Solomon's Seal going in there too. Lots of celandine everywhere, which has starchy roots that are supposedly edible once cooked (trying that one soon, since it is lawful to dig it up on my own land)
And you'll be able to dig up your Pignuts on that bank, if they take.
Thanks for you content mate, it makes my weekend 👍
I haven't even watched this yet, and won't til tomorrow because I'm falling asleep (finally! bc its 3 am,) but had to comment because your foraging videos make me think of my sister who is also a forgager. She makes tinctures of various plants and herbs. She lives in a nice development but insists on nature having its way with her yard by planting only native plants, and slowly her lawn is shrinking, replaced here and there with areas of meadow plants, and of course uses no chemicals for fertilizer or for insect control. Frankly neither did I in my gardening days. I had quite abundant harvests from my gardens...as they say, sacrifice some to the birds, some to the slugs and aphids and the rest is for yourself...everyone's happy, and all's right with your little ecosystem.
That would be the dream, Shrimp, leave the dandelions, no poison, insects thriving, the world clean and sweet...I watched a busy flock of sparrows (we are in a small city, not too much diversity as the birds go) in my backyard picking the fluff out of the spent dandelion heads for food and to line their nests...gives me such joy to see charming scenes like that. Thank you for your videos...they help illustrate the connections with the land and plants/insects we must nurture...and that is as close as our own backyards...🌸
This is the best channel on RUclips hand's down. The embodiment of what this platform used to be about. keep up the excellent videos Mr shrimp I'm here for everyone of them👍🫶
Big agree, came for the scambaiting, stayed for the lifestyle goals
I pick that!! Tastes like mild garlic
Couldn't have put it better myself.
Agreed. Spot on!
He truly is Broadcasting Himself
I really can't describe it, but these Atomic Shrimp cooking videos make me happy every time. Must have seen them all a couple times by now. Foraging also always gets me to take a walk outside and just have a look.
I tried to explain to my wife what I was watching, you're now a mad scientist botanist chemist frugal chef, who does very informative & inspiring foraging, low cost living educational videos. Xx
The runny egg yolk at the end was so satisfying! You've inspired me to start making my own chicken/veggie stock at home lately. Thank you for all of the love and care you put into your wonderful videos.
Seeing the dehydrated mushrooms felt like a minor character returning from an earlier season.
There's a nice way to identify a blackcurrant plant: rub a leaf between your fingers, and it will give off a nice, strong blackcurrant scent. There are also tiny yellow granules on the bottom side of the leaf that are visible with a hand lens (presumably the source of the scent).
Very Normal for us too!😊 A good patch of squeaky wild garlic there - ours have flowered & over. ChiffChaff - a welcome visitor. Red currant and raspberries - a former home? I gave up on my morels - too much faff to prepare pick clean /boil/rinse/dry etc. yet I still look in woodcchip! wild strawberries (bubblegum!) Sadly Ash die-back is everywhere 😥 Ooh ceps ❤Chicken & mushroom gravy Umami - nothing wrong with fat! and crème fraîche. My garden chickens love leftover veg 👍 Rescue some😊🐔 Hello from Shropshire 🌳
The steam from brunch going right into the camera looked so appetizing!
I think this is my favourite RUclips channel! The only youtube channel that I consistently feel relaxed after watching instead of feeling stressed.
I just moved to the UK from Australia (temporarily) so I am re-learning how to forage. I was excited to visit UK partly because of these videos!
Perhaps in one of your foraging videos, we can get it from the perspective of Eva. Have her be your camera operator. Maybe we can get a glimpse as to what she sees as the most important parts of your hikes, like the local wildlife she wants to hunt.
Early morning Saturday shrimp!
Keep up the good work fella and, as always, stay safe!
Where I grew up in Kent these kind of holes were always referred to as bomb holes. The story is as the German planes where flying back they would dump their unused ammunition.
Lovely watch on a Saturday morning. You radiate contentedness.
Fresh Shrimp!
Hooray! Foraging! Thank you, Shrimp. I’ll now drink my chaga tea with much more pleasure 😅
Love the leftover cottage pies. I often freeze leftovers for lunch etc, but making a mash lid and calling it pie is definitely something I'll try next time I have something suitable.
I love mashed potatoes and I love sour cream. You have blown my mind as I have never even considered combining the two. My mouth is already salivating at the idea of even planing it for tomorrow's dinner. Thank you so much ❤
I think the chicken pie dish is actually called chicken parmentier or close to it, just add some olives and some gruyere cheese grated on top and you pretty much have it
your “forage and cook” videos are the best
It's really cool how little goes to waste in your videos
At the start of the video when you were foraging, but my cats came running and swatting at my phone - they thought the bird noises were cat TV. Love the content!
I love you content. Your such a calming and sane presence on the internet. Please keep doing what you doing!👍
I really enjoy the comfortable, relaxing delivery of your content. Always informative and inspiring. Thanks for sharing your world with us all. 😊
Evil Atomic Shrimp is like: I like my mashed potatoes really smooth, and if you don't, you're wrong
I have learnt from this video a number of things I have been doing wrong in the kitchen to get the most from my foraged goods!! Thanks for sharing!
A way to tell redcurrant and blackcurrant apart is to rub your fingers up the new growth and give them a smell. Blackcurrant is fragrant and smells like the berries whereas redcurrant won't have a scent.
Your stuffs relaxing. I don't feel like beating my head against a wall when I watch this stuff.
Perfect watch on a very dreich afternoon.
I thought that the giant field of Ramsons was what you were stressing was normal, ha! Nice video as always.
3:20 where I'm from (Ontario, Canada) Garlic mustard is highly invasive, it pops up all over local parks and we're encouraged to pick as much as possible.
Absolutely loved the Happiness chart 😊❤
Your "Forager Pie" looks absolutely delicious.
a little dish is called a ramekin
I would hella thrive in Shrimp HQ. Love you guys, hope everyone has wobbledog approved day.
The sign of a great home cook is reusing dish components and leftovers like this. Your cooking videos are always very inspiring. I don't think I'll try foraging though, i don't have the discipline and patience to do it properly. I wish there was a way for me to taste these wild veggies and herbs.
Crazy, so many people would have just binned those leftovers, of just left them to spoil in the fridge, you managed to make 3 whole meals out of them.
Our nettles have gone to flower in South Wales, think you're meant to pick them sooner. Wild garlic is also flowering, I think most things are...
"I've got some carrots ive quartered"
My dumb ass "those dont look like carrots"
it's interesting, I wonder if those primroses (Primula vulgaris) are selected specimens that got reintroduced into the wild? Those flowers look too showy for a wild variant. I see that a lot with Snowdrops (Galanthus) here in Bavaria, where they will grow in large clumps around old housegardens and cemetaries and usually nowhere else.
Yeah, there is some hybridisation between primroses and garden cultivars of primula and auricula type plants here.
Now that you have a pressure cooker, have you tried the "pot in pot" method of cooking? It's something I learned from a video on every way to cook thai sticky rice. You just need a stainless steel or titanium pot or bowl that will fit inside on the rack. It prevents sticking and makes the cleanup super easy, as well as allowing multiple foods to cook separate from each other.
I absolutely love your channel
That leftover meat pie looked lovely. I'm definitely going to make something similar for us.
the camera work is so basic but that's the best part of it
I went mushroom hunting, didn't find any, the next day my brother goes out to the exact some area and finds 400 mushrooms.
Me and my son have the same issue. He goes out - finds absolute zilch. I go out to the same place - and can fill a backpack to bursting.
We solved the problem by going mushroom picking together. I can sniff them out, and he helps carry them home.
Have you tried making mashed potatoes in your pressure cooker? Keep them quite large and leave the skin on., and use just enough water to steam them (about a centimetre). About eight minutes seems right. Either remove or leave the skin on before mashing. Either way they have an amazing flavour, more reminiscent of baked potatoes. Less cooking time and energy as well.
For a big batch like this, that is worth a try!
My 25 year old pressure cooker has taught me so many ways of making meals .A treasured versatile utensil .
@@AtomicShrimp Yes, and no extra water to add.
I live in lovely Petoskey, Michigan, USA..... and we have tons of Leeks here in the Spring. I make an awesome leek pesto sauce.... in a food processor: leeks leaves, olive oil, lemon juice, finely chopped almonds, salt, pepper, Parmesan cheese. It is incredible on crackers, steaks, sandwiches, pasta, etc. try it out!!
Really like the illustration at the end, awesome video!
I freeze the wild garlic from my garden into ice cubes -- easy to use.
It's a strange and fun experience, hearing birds and seeing plants different from my part of the world. Thank you for this nature window!
These are the Atomic Shrimp videos I live for: informative and inspirational, I'm so happy these foraging and cooking videos exist! :)
I discovered absolutely heaps of wild garlic in the woods near me, I'm definitely going to gave to go down with a bag and collect some
Wicked video Shrimp. Loved the mind map, and how everything is connected, and all the time and effort you saved. You're such a smarty pants.
Surprising how similar it is around here (midwest USA). Even the dead ash trees; in this case from Emerald Ash Borer, alas. Near my place, there's a few spots of wild onion (I think just the generic kind nothing special); redcurrants and raspberries are waking up (mostly black raspberry; a few red but they don't get well pollinated I think, perhaps the bees don't know the difference); and lots of hardwoods around (maple, basswood, oak, walnut, birch, cherry, etc.). Those are black walnut, and also hickory, which are nice treats in a mast year.
Pheasantback mushrooms are starting to sprout from the mostly boxelder maple trunks; I saw some broken off the other day, suspect someone is in fact foraging the area!
The words "This Is Normal." instantly makes me think something is going extremely wrong.
Found two morels yesterday in my gravel. Looked a bit ropey but hoping some more grow. Very surprised!
I'm off out today to get nettles and ramsons to make soup for my tea - I've been looking forward to it since last year!
Apparently it's possible to pick nettles without gloves if you're careful. It boils down to not moving against the grain of the hairs
best flow chart on youtube.
What my family over here in germany loves to make from bear leek (wild garlic) is a lasanga with the green and a little bit of salmon instead of the tomato and meat, very tasty. We have got raspberries, gooseberries, black and red currant and wild strawberries in our garden, but I don't think I have ever seen them out in the wild. The most common wild-growing fruit I see are blackberries, and there are also sometimes cornelian cherries, sloes, cherries or mirabelles. Over in slovenia the whole ground was filled to the brim with blueberries, when I went there on vacation.