15 weeks. 34 wild plants. 3 wild mushrooms. 15 homegrown crops. And snowballs! It's the Steemit Iron Chef -- Haphazard Homestead Style! I hope you enjoy this collection of my entries into Act 1 of the 2018 Steemit Iron Chef contest. I know I enjoyed eating them - and sharing them with you!
The Haphazard Homestead Collection of SIC Entries 2018 - Act 1
I'm always so impressed with the Steemit Iron Chef entries from other contestants -and inspired by them, too! And usually, I am just happy to get my entry in each week. I am not joking when I say that this style of cooking does not come naturally to me. I am a simple homestead cook, all the way. You can see a pretty tough critique of how my food looked, before I started with the Steemit Iron Chef contest, here in my 2017 Steemit Iron Chef collection.
To see the original post for any dish, just click on the title above the picture. They will include more information about the wild plants, mushrooms, and garden harvests - including their scientific names so there is no confusion about picking the wrong thing! Enjoy!
Round 1 - Olives - 4th Place!
Wild Chopped Salad with Olives, Gingko Nuts, Bittercress and Jerusalem Artichokes
Foraged: Bittercress - tender leaves and stems, Gingko - cooked nuts. Homestead harvest:Jerusalem artichoke - tubers, Cherry tomato - fruit.
Round 2 - Cabbage - 4th Place!
Wild Slaw Trio
Bittercress - tender leaves and stems, Hedge mustard - young leaves, Yucca - flower centers, Curly Dock - young leaves, Eastern Redbud - flowers, Wild chives - young leaves. Homestead harvest: Sunflower - seeds, Elephant garlic - flowers preserved in vinegar, Fennel - young leaves.
Round 3 - Cucumber - 6th Place!
Wild Cucumber Syllabub
Foraged: Gingko - cooked nuts, Colorado Blue Spruce - needles, Smooth Sumac - seedhairs, Lemon balm - tender leaves, Spearmint - leaves. Homestead harvest: Borage - tender young leaves, Bartlett pears - fruit.
A Fond Farewell to Act 1 of the 2018 Steemit Iron Chef Series
I appreciate all the effort @progressivechef puts into the Steemit Iron Chef contest. Finding sponsors for the contest, posting everyday to raise SBD for the prizes, managing the contest Discord channel, and probably the hardest of all, judging all the entries every week! I hope you get your OpenLedger account back, too! All of the SBD from this post will go to @progressivechef, to use for Act 2 of the 2018 contest.
Thanks to the sponsors and regular supporters of the contest, too: @canadian-coconut, @donkeypong @voiceshares, @trophy-tokens and @bambam808. And thanks to all the other contestants. I enjoy seeing your creativity, cooking techniques, plating, and photography! I hope to see each of you in Act 2!
Round 4 - Lettuce - 2nd Place!
Wilted Wild Lettuce
Foraged: Wild Prickly Lettuce - young leaves, Wild Lettuce - young leaves, Miner's Lettuce - leaves and stems, Dandelion. Homestead harvest: Jerusalem artichoke - tubers.
Round 5 - Nuts
Wild About Wild Nuts!
Foraged: Shellbark Hickory - nuts, Hazelnut - nuts, Gingko -cooked nuts, English Oak - leched acrons. Homestead harvest: English Walnut - nuts.
Round 6 - Local Favorites - 2nd Place!
Wintertime Wild Mushroom Faux Sweet Corn and BBQ
Foraged: Shaggy Stalk mushroom, Split Gill mushroom, Miner's Lettuce - young leaves, Grand Fir - ground needles.
Other SIC Entry Collections
I enjoy seeing compilations from fellow Steemit Iron Chef contestants! @jeffjagoe made the first one for Act 1 in 2018 and it's such a great idea. I'd like to see collections from everyone that made multiple entries to the Steemit Iron Chef contest!
Here are links to the 2018 Act 1 compilations posts that I know of, so far. If you see others, please let me know in the comments and I will add them to this list: @jeffjagoe's Act 1 Roundup - Steemit Iron Chef 2018
Round 7 - Leeks - 1st Place!
Wild Spring Grill Carnival - Elephant Garlic Spring Leeks with Wild Carrots and Dandelion Roots
Foraged: Dandelion - roots, Wild Field Mustard - young leaves, Wild Carrot - roots, Spruce - young needles preserved in vinegar. Homestead harvest: Elephant Garlic - stalks.
Round 8 - Grapes - 5th Place!
Wild Style Whiskey Raisin Pie Ala Mode!
Foraged: Lambsquarter - seeds, Spearmint - leaves, snow - snowballs! Homestead harvest: Concord Grapes and unknown variety of green seedless grapes - fruit, Fennel - tender new leaves.
Round 9 - Peas
Public Park Pea Pods
Foraged: English daisy - flowers, Narrowleaf plantain - tender leaves, Red maple - flowers, Shepard's Purse mustard - tender leaves and seedpods.
Recipes?
When it comes to wild foods, who knows what the harvest will be? It's unrealistic to look at a recipe and then try to forage those specific ingredients. And with a garden, what I cook depends on what I've harvested - not the other way around. So my posts aren't really recipes and I didn't follow any recipes for my entries.
Round 10 - Monochrome - 4th Place!
Wild and Sweet White Desserts
foraged: Black locust tree - flowers, Wild Carrot or Queen Anne's Lace - 1st year roots, snow - snowballs! Homestead harvest: Ubileen pears - fruit. Rose - dried petals.
Round 11 - Childhood Favorite - 2nd Place!
Wild Greens of My Childhood -- Curly Dock
Foraged: Curly dock - young leaves, Wild garlic - cloves. Homestead harvest: Jerusalem artichokes - tubers, Elephant garlic - stalks from young plants.
Round 12 - Celery - 1st Place!
Saffron-Braised Celery with Wild Cherries and Flowers
Foraged: Pin cherries - fruit, Eastern Redbud - flowers, Yellow Deadnettle - flowers, Wild field mustard - flowers. Homestead harvest: Saffron - stamens, Elephant garlic - flowers preserved in vinegar.
Wild Food is Real Food for Regular People
With wild plants and mushrooms, I have learned how to identify them, what part to use, when they are in the right condition, the basics of preparing them, and any precautions to note. Even though there's no recipes here, I hope this collection shows how wild plants and mushrooms can be real food for regular people!
I eat a lot of wild plants and show you how, because I believe that we can all have lives that are richer, more secure, more grounded, and more interesting by getting to know the plants and the land around us – in our yards, our parks, and our wild places.
Round 13 - Lentils - 7th Place!
Wild Myrtle Lentils: Short-Stacks of Deliciousness
Foraged: Oregon-myrtle - leaf, Wild field mustard - flowers, Himalayan blackberry - young shoots, Hedge mustard - tender leaves. Homestead harvest: Beet - young leaves, Peaches - fruit.
Round 14 - Rice - 4th Place!
Rice Gone Wild
Foraged: Western Larch - tender young needles, Colorado Blue Spruce - needles and pollen cones, Grand Fir - needles, Slippery Jack Mushroom - dehydrated tubes from under the cap, Norway maple – flowers with sap in their center, Eastern redbud – flowers, Wild field mustard - flowers, Yellow deadnettle - flowers.
2018 Steemit Iron Chef Is Almost Here!
I'm looking forward to Act 2 of Steemit Iron Chef 2018 -- I keep telling myself, lol. I hope I can keep up with it for all 15 weeks in Act 2 - and whatever new challenges @progressivechef has in store for us! The Steemit Iron Chef is a long contest series and who knows what the featured ingredients will be - or what I will be able to grow and forage from the wild?
Round 15 - Burgers
Burger Domination Wild Style!
Foraged: American elm – green seeds, Eastern redbud – flowers, Wild field mustard - flowers and flowerstalks, Dandelion – leaves and flowers, Grand Fir - needles. Homestead harvest: Jerusalem artichokes - tubers, Hops – spring shoots.
What Do You Think?
If you read this far into my post, you might also like to see my 2017 Steemit Iron Chef compilation. That was 17 weeks, 12 wild mushrooms, 22 wild plants, and 24 homegrown crops.
- Did you enter anything into the Steemit Iron Chef contest?
- Will you join Act 2 of the contest?
- Have you eaten any of the wild plants or mushrooms that I used in the contest?
- Which of the entries would you like to eat?
Haphazard Homestead
foraging, gardening, nature, simple living close to the land
All content is 100% Haphazard Homestead!My YouTube channel: Haphazard Homestead