Short Skirts and Daffodils

    When spring rolls around each year I suppose I'm not much different than an antelope or a moose. I just want to pound my hoofs and test my horns with the rest of the old bucks. The arrival of spring often hits me like a blast of warm wind in the face. I might be walking through one of Sonoma County's glorious town squares minding my own business, when the preponderance of long legs and short skirts sashaying against a backdrop of daffodils, nudges my soul back to life. In that glorious moment the possibility of a dull winter's day morphs into an explosion of the senses, and gratitude for the simple pleasures (not that there is anything simple about long legs and short skirts).

            As a chef I have learned to love and honor the bounty of all seasons, but spring signals a new year of growth and promise, all of which is distilled into the vibrancy and intensity of young roots and shoots bursting with flavor and color. Sonoma County is composed of diverse topography stretching many hundreds of square miles from the wild coast to our pristine inland vineyards. Within these boundaries, a vast assortment of wild edible flowers, shoots, mushrooms, berries, game and assorted sea foods thrive. For me the joy is all in the art of collecting these treasures and while gulping down lots of fresh air and scenery in the process.

            Although the general awareness of foods infinite variety has greatly increased since I began my career, many people are still largely oblivious to the fact that often a great meal can be put together simply by taking a walk around the neighborhood. Not to mention that many of the tastiest spring treats, such as young nettles, would not even be considered edible by most. Fact is that only a little over a century ago apples were growing in wild groves waiting to be plucked by Native Americans in need of a quick snack. Most of the foods we know, love, and consume with great veracity today began as part of the indigenous wild landscape of our country.

            I myself am a consummate forager and I have been since I was a little kid. My home is full of rocks, feathers, sea glass, sea salt, dried mushrooms, and a whole host of other goodies I collect during my frequent forays into the country side of Sonoma County. For me living in Sonoma County is one big treasure hunt, both in the wilderness as well the nooks and crannies of our local towns.

            There are so many things to choose from I suppose I can only touch the surface, so I suppose it is best to share some of my favorite treats, the kinds of simple foods that are abundant in this area each year, if for only a few weeks every season. But that for me is what provides the joy. Seasonal eating can be an adventure. For instance, when the strawberries or fava beans first begin appearing in May and June I use them in almost all of my menus and every year I try to come up with new applications. This way I continue to expand my repertoire with these products and my knowledge of how to capture the most of their flavor, texture and color. During the time strawberries and fava's are available I cook with them so much that when the month is over, I often find myself swearing I'd never eat  strawberries again. But invariably, after eleven of keeping my promise not to eat these things my interest and vigor renews all over again.

            Foraging is a vast subject and there is almost an infinite variety of edible plants and proteins available for the taking if one has the knowledge. Aside from the slightly esoteric but obvious things like dandelion greens and nettles which can be harvested from local parks to the cracks in a sidewalk. There are many other wonderful roots and shoots available in the spring from California wild roses, morel and porcini mushrooms, spring onions, sea lettuce (a type of seaweed), wild fennel, ramps, glasswort, prickly pear cactus fruits, wild asparagus, leeks, sorrel, watercress and much more. On top of that there is a whole range of edible flowers available in the spring, both wild and cultivated. In the garden you might fid, roses, day lilies, violets, tiger lily's, nasturtium, calendula etc: In the wild you might find some of the same flowers in addition to a whole host of herb and bush flowers. Years ago when I was the Chef of Sooke Harbor House on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, we used to make a popular salad which was composed entirely of about twenty different kinds of edible flowers.

            One of the most popular ingredients in Sonoma County during the spring is fava beans or broad beans as they are also named. In our area fava beans are used as a cover crop for many of the vineyards, along with rye, mustard and a few others. Fava bean plants are very high in nitrogen, which is a healthy addition to the grapes. Not unlike a large lima bean, they are incredible to eat in their young stage, when they are ridiculously packed with chlorophyll. As they get older they tend to become very starchy, so this is another reason to pick them young. These beans are very versatile, as they do wonders as an addition for pasta, salads and a whole host of other applications. I am including a recipe of a Panna Cotta made with Fava because I love the delicate flavor and color of this dish and to me it exemplifies the finest of spring.

            As far as wild mushrooms go, the morel mushroom is just about my favorite and surely one of the best there is when it comes to drying. It is also one of the more elusive and fun mushrooms to hunt. Predominantly they pop up all over America in the spring and they have a tendency to be very prolific in disturbed area's in nature where there has been a recent fire or large disruption of the forest in general. I say they are elusive because morels seem to be the perfect chameleons. They look somewhat like misshapen pine cones or chunks of lava, or wood, or whatever the hell else they happen to have been sitting next too. It is not uncommon to stare straight at a morel and not see it just for this reason. In addition they are dark brown in color, so they blend in with forest scatter very well. Once picked they are great eaten fresh, but almost better when they are dried because the water that they must be reconstituted takes on a great deal of flavor and  when reduced for a sauce this can add much more morel bang to a dish. Also because of their dense but porous texture they hold their shape perfectly when cooked,fd do not loose a lot of water like other mushrooms can. In the following recipe I like to blend them with the tart sweetness of dried cherries and pinot noir.

            Although Meyer Lemons come to peak in late January and early February there always seem to be plenty left on my tree well into the early summer. The olive oil lemon cake is a tremendous way to use these lemons and the cake is a delicious compliment to other spring fruits such as strawberries.

            All in all there sits a veritable treasure of wild foods at our door step, so when you visit Sonoma County buy a good book on the look topography and its biological traits. Then when you go out for a hike or long drive you can do some foraging yourself. If that does not work, simply hit all of the amazing farmers market scattered about out county on any given day and this will also give you an idea of what is available. If you are good with people feel free to ask questions of our local's farmers and artisans. Most people love to talk about themselves and the work they do and they can be the best local source of information.