The Harvest Market Kitchen had a creative, inspiring and delicious ‘Forage and Feast’ retreat at the Ashland Nature Center with the help of our former staff member, Heather, and Tim Mountz from Happy Cat Farm.
Here is the surprise assignment that greeted our HMK staff upon their arrival at Ashland on June 3, 2018, and everything that followed including the final menu…
SMALL PLATES and OFFERINGS ~ A Community Foraged Feast
Foraging is a great way to get in touch with what is growing and available all around us. Wild foods are not only delicious, they are extra nutritious. Tim Mountz of Happy Cat Farm will give an introduction to foraging and serve as our guide and resource person.
Your Mission:
Work with your group to forage for your primary item. You may also collect other things you find along the way, either for yourselves or on behalf of other groups.
(Use good practices when harvesting, taking only the parts and amounts that you need, being aware not to decimate any areas)
When you return to the kitchen, collaborate with your group to produce a small plate using your foraged item to serve to the group at large. You will need 15-18 servings. You can make it vegan and GF friendly, or you can create an alternate version to serve to people who are gluten-free, or vegan, whatever the case may be.
Use your imagination, use the cookbook resources, use the resources from our collective knowledge! Remember that this is NOT a competition but rather an offering of ourselves and our culinary brilliance to each other.
We will serve the dinner in courses so that we can truly enjoy what each group has offered. The order of courses will be determined by Megan once we know what is being made.
Your foraged ingredient can be the star of your dish, or it can be a supporting player. That is up to you!
We have lots of different equipment available for your use, and a pantry of many other ingredients. You will find a list in this packet for your reference.
Have fun! Dinner is at 6pm.
FORAGED FEAST EQUIPMENT LIST
- Deep Fryer
- Waffle Iron (thin rectangle or thick round)
- Ice cream/ sorbet maker (two canisters available)
- Pasta maker, manual
- Vegetable Spiralizer
- Hand Mixer
- Blender
- Tortilla Press
- Molcajete
- Comal
- Rolling pins
- Mandoline
- Small Rice Cooker
- Sushi Mats
- Rags/Aprons
- Gloves
- Tongs
- Wisks
- Bowls
- Knives and Boards
- Peelers
PANTRY ITEMS
(Should you need an ingredient that we have not thought of, Harvest Market is only 10 minutes away and it would not be impossible to make a run. Talk to Megan if that need arises!)
Stock: Veggie Broth, Chicken Broth, Megan’s Ginger/Scallion Broth
Fats: EVOO, Coconut Oil, Spectrum Shortening, Canola Oil, Butter, Ghee
Proteins: eggs, tofu, salmon or scallops, chicken
Grains/Flours: All purpose, Corn Masa, Corn Grits, Almond Flour, Coconut Flour, Cassava Flour, Rice, Quinoa
Nuts: Pine nuts, almonds, walnuts
Fruits: Dried Currants, Raisins, lemons, limes, oranges, berries
Veggies: tomatoes, onions, garlic, asparagus, Serano Chilis, tomatillos, potatoes
Cheese: Chèvre, vegan soft cheese
Spices: salt, pepper, sumac, cayenne, fresh turmeric, fresh ginger
Dairy/non-dairy: heavy cream, greek yogurt, almond/coconut milk, canned coconut milk
Other: Universal Mushroom Gravy, Vinegars, Tamari, Mirin, Fish sauce, magic mushroom powder, Nori Sheets, Rice Paper Sheets
HMK Foraged Feast 2018
Honeysuckle Simple Syrup Sparkler (V/GF)
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Tortilla and Spice Bush Chips with Spicebush Salsa Verde
Garlic Mustard Salsa Rojo, Dandelion Pica de Gallo
Refried Beans with Wild Onions (V/GF)
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Radish and Spicebush Berry Sushi Rolls (V/GF)
Wild Greens Spring Rolls with Wild Onions and Shallots (V/GF)
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Violet and Wildflower Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette (V/GF)
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Garlicky Greens on Polenta with Seared Chicken (GF/V option)
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Pesto Flat Bread with Wild Herb Pesto and Roasted Vegetables with Chèvre (G/V option)
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Polenta and Honeysuckle Cake with Spicebush and Tulip Poplar Whipped Cream (GF)
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Sorrel and Spicebush Berry Shortbread with Honeysuckle Citrus Glaze (V/GF)
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Strawberry Sorrel Sassafras Sorbet
with Red Clover Blossoms and a Honeysuckle Plunger (V/GF)
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Spicebush, Juniper, Nettle and Yarrow Tea (V/GF)
HMK Retreat
Sunday, June 3, 2018
Ashland Nature Center
Hockessin, DE
Want to see more of the action? View all the fun photos from the day’s events on our Harvest Market Kitchen Forage and Feast Retreat Facebook Photo Album.
