Did you read about the
stinging nettle foraging trip last month and wish you were
there? Well, Bainbridge Island’s park and recreation district has
decided to offer an encore presentation with author and foraging
guru Langdon Cook.
This time around, the nettles participants gather during a short
morning hike will be turned into a pesto pasta.
The class is from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday, April 13 (yes,
that’s next week). Cost is $35 for island residents, $5 more for
those off-island. Register by calling 206-843-2306 or go to
biparks.org. Here’s the
flyer (pdf) for the class if you want to print it off.
This week offered a fair amount of food news for Kitsap.
On top of news that already this year,
two new Bremerton restaurants have or will soon open, we learn
that there will be yet another. Early this week, Carlos Jara solved
for the Bremerton Downtown Association the mystery of what’s behind
the visqueened windows in the old Filippis-then-Badda Bing
spot on Pacific Avenue. He has taken over the spot and plans to
open a tapas and martini bar. He told reporter Steven Gardner that
he couldn’t offer details this week, but that he’ll talk about it
more soon.
On Bainbridge Island, owners of the popular Blackbird Bakery
announced that they will open a restaurant, according to the
Bainbridge Conversation blog.
Also on Bainbridge, Northwest foraging guru Langdon Cook visited
to teach a class on foraging for and cooking up stinging nettles.
It’s part of a new series of classes, which opened this week,
introducing people to the “Bounty
of the Land.” Tristan Baurick had
a story on nettles for Sunday’s paper.
Trader Joe lovers are eagerly awaiting the new store planned for
Silverdale, and this week, Brynn Grimley
learned that it may open as soon as this summer.
Brynn, who also teams up with local wine afficionado Mary Earl
on the Cheers to You wine blog,
also reports that several Manette restaurants will host a wine
walk on Thursday.
On a recent sunny weekday afternoon, noted Northwest forager and
“Fat
of the Land” author (and blogger) Langdon
Cook stood in a clearing in the Gazzam Lake preserve shaking a
clipping from a stinging nettle.
“I remember the first time I got stung by nettles as a kid ..
and then years later I have a distinct and fresh memory of eating
them, having my revenge,” he said.
And with that, he and 16 people from Bainbridge Island, Seattle,
Tacoma and trekked through the woodlands, snipping at a seemingly
endless supply of the weed. They filled baskets and paper sacks and
in a Strawberry Hill Park kitchen, sauteed onions, potatoes,
garlic, added stock and whirled in freshly washed (using tongs)
nettles into a
a nettle soup.
From the taste, this revenge was a dish best served … with a
scrape of nutmeg. The nettles added a bright note to the soup,
which was akin to a potato leek style. No blistered tongues were
found (boiling or drying destroys many of the stinging compounds in
the nettle hairs), though I did feel a slight and very likely
psychosomatic tingle on my tongue.
In the search for new tastes and exotic foods, it can be easy to
forget that a walk through the woods can offer an edible bounty.
It’s a lesson I’ve often forgotten, and one I was gratefully
reminded of this week as I shot video for
Tristan Baurick’s story on nettles.
As a kid, my grandma used to come home from a friend’s Hood
Canal beachfront house with strands of seaweed, occasional bunches
of horsetail shoots or bags of woodsy mushrooms. Or she’d put a
garden shovel in my hand and tell me to dig fast for those butter
clams.
A renewed appreciation for the food around us — and a way to
entice foodies outdoors — is one Bainbridge Metro Park and
Recreation District’s Jeff Ozimek hopes to spark with a series of
spring and summer classes called “Bounty of the Land.”
“One of my biggest passions is going to hike in the woods and
being able to figure out what to eat,” he said.
The classes, which opened for registration this week, will be
led by Cook and others and range from digging and cooking shellfish
on the beach to picking berries for pies. Classes cost $30 to $75
for island residents, though for $5 extra, non-residents can take
them too. They encourage you to sign up early; some classes fill
fast while others may be cancelled if there aren’t enough people
who sign up.
Here are a few of the classes coming up. Download the “Bounty
of the Land pdf” to see them all and register at biparks.org.
Oyster gardening, April 11:
Take a tour of the Taylor Shellfish Hatchery, learn aout the gear
you need, when to harvest and sample a variety of oysters on the
half shell. Cost: $29.
Shellfish Foraging and Cooking,May 1
(repeated May 18): Visit Taylor Shellfish Farms with
Langdon Cook to learn about several species of Puget Sound
shellfish, learn how to shcuk them and cook a batch with a
champagne vinegar and white wine sauce. Cost:
$49.
Geoduck Dig, June 15: Hunt for the
difficult-to-get geoduck with Langdon Cook and learn how to cook
the briny delicacy. Cost: $75.
I hope to take a couple more of BI Parks’ classes this year, and
would love to hear from any of you who do the same.
