Hudson Valley Gatherers

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From foraging to mushroom hunting, this a place to learn and talk about what you can find to eat in the woods.

Members: 97
Latest Activity: Jun 4

Featured Foraged Recipe

Hen and Chicken Alfredo

These days, I generally prefer dark poultry meat, but in this dish I use white because I was focused on having the mushroom flavor come through but making it hearty enough for my boyfriend. This would a great vegetarian dish as well, if you want to omit the chicken.

When you add the pasta, focus on a good balance of sauce to noodles, adding it in incrementally until you have the right sauce level. Slightly under-cooking the noodles, and then finishing them in the sauce, allows the noodle to absorb the flavor (a trick of Italian cooks).

1-2 bone in chicken breasts with skin
1 lb linguine or fettuccini, preferably fresh (cooked al dente)
Loosely packed 2 cups of chopped Hen of the Woods
1 medium onion
1 clove garlic
1 to 2 cups spinach
¾ c. heavy cream
¼ to ½ c. vegetable or chicken broth
Red pepper flakes

Lightly season chicken breasts with salt and pepper and brush with olive oil. Sear the chicken in a large sauté pan until skin is browned. Remove breasts from pan and place on baking sheet. Bake in a 375 degree oven until cooked through.

Add onion and garlic to sauté pan, scraping up brown bits from chicken (aka pure deliciousness). Saute about five minutes until onions soften. Add mushrooms. Saute about 10 minutes until the mushrooms release their juices and soften.

Add heavy cream, broth and red pepper flakes. Let simmer until sauce thickens, about 10 more minutes.

Remove chicken skin and dice the meat. Add any drippings from the baking sheet to the sauce. Add chicken, pasta and spinach to the sauce. Stir until spinach is wilted and sauce clings to pasta.

Serve topped with grated parmesan cheese.

Discussions on HVFN:

Restaurants and markets that buy/sell foraged foods
Your best wild mushroom and foraged recipes

Reading:

Seize the day lily: A taste in New York City parks
A foraged feast from Yonkers
A Harriman blogger: book recommendations and recipes.

Hudson Valley Hosts September Mushroom Foray

Next September, the Hudson Valley will host a weekend of mushroom walks, talks - a total geek out on all things mushroom.

The Northeast Mycological Federation chose Kerhonkson as the site for the 2010 Sam Ristich Foray. For average folk, this is a chance to peek into the minds of the area's greatest mycologists and collectors.

Get on the mailing list to get foray updates by emailing nemf2010@verizon.net.

Books

Discussion Forum

Foraging 2011 Results

Started by Heather Awen Aug 30, 2011. 0 Replies 0 Likes

My first year as a forager has been something of a roller coaster ride. From my excitement to finding baby board leaf dock to use in lasagna and it making us sick to making wild river grape juice…Continue

Graveyard Mulberries & Bear Scat

Started by Heather Awen. Last reply by Erin Elizabeth Jul 7, 2011. 1 Reply 0 Likes

I was gathering mulberries…Continue

Tags: mulberries, bears

pears anyone?

Started by Heather Awen. Last reply by Heather Awen Jul 3, 2011. 2 Replies 0 Likes

in the yard of my new home is an old pear tree. last year it grew lots of weird, lumpy, rotting, bug infested pears and this year it is filled with strong baby pears. i don't like pears generally,…Continue

Asking strangers if I can pick their apples

Started by Heather Awen Jul 2, 2011. 0 Replies 0 Likes

when i lived in los angeles, a man used to drop by to ask if he could pick our yard's persimmon tree. being north east coast gringos we happily said yes, since we had no clue what to do with them.due…Continue

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Comment by Jesica Clark on April 22, 2011 at 7:06am: Ok, I'm ready! Does anybody want to go on a foraging hike with me? I'm in Kingston and I'm thinking maybe black creek or behind the softball field in rosendale or tivoli bays but would love to go somewhere I've never been to before. Ramps (a few), fiddleheads, garlic mustard, morels, maybe even some wild asparagus and willow for weaving?? Of course we'll probably only find one or two of these things, but it's worth a shot!

Comment by Krystal Stone on April 21, 2011 at 4:49pm: Now all I need is a compass, not real good with the moss on the tree method.

Comment by Jim Marks on April 21, 2011 at 10:47am: I find them mostly in shady woods, esp. north facing slopes often in snow melt drainages that are no longer flowing. plenty out there, keep looking.

Comment by Krystal Stone on April 21, 2011 at 10:21am: Jim I agree with you $40 does seem steep. My problem is I want around the woods by my house yesterday and didn't find a single ramp. Did find some fiddlehead ferns so the trip wasn't a total waste. I still want ramps though. I'm going to try again in different woods on Sat.

Comment by Jim Marks on April 21, 2011 at 9:29am: ramping up some ramps today, I use a small fork to pop out just a couple from each clump rather than digging whole clumps. As w/ many alliums, the plants may actually benefit from thinning.

Re: the rampfest, nice idea, but $40 bucks?!?! and not like it's a benefit for anyone other than the restaurateurs. And after reading the nyt piece, probably not positive contribution to a maintaining a sustainable resource. Just sayin'.

Comment by Krystal Stone on April 20, 2011 at 2:26pm: http://http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/20/dining/20forage.html?ref=d...

Maybe this one will work.

Comment by Samantha Gorelick on April 20, 2011 at 11:56am: Thanks for the link Krystal! It didn't work for me though, see if this one works When Digging for Ramps Goes Too Deep

Comment by Krystal Stone on April 20, 2011 at 9:47am: When Digging for Ramps Goes Too Deep great NY Times Article about foraging ramps. Anyone that plans on going out and gathering should read it.

Comment by Krystal Stone on April 18, 2011 at 9:04am: Awesome. I'll probably go out some time this week, I'm really excited. Have to find some really great recipes to put them in.

Comment by Meghan E. Murphy on April 17, 2011 at 10:17pm: I picked some ramps today! There were a bunch that were ready and many young plants that I think will be perfect next weekend.