Serves: 5
Total Calories: 286
When Linda Rahman grew up in the small logging town of Deming, Washington, she cooked in cast-iron pans on a wood stove. "You could hear the cedar crackf ling I always loved that." But it wasn't just ham and eggs young Linda was cooking. "My father was always fascinated with foods, exotic foods. He introduced us to bouillabaisse back in the frfties when everyone was eating just meat and potatoes. He had a real appetite for food and its history, and he taught my family to be interested in and excited about food."
That curiosity didn't end with European food. "Shortly after my husband and I were married, we borrowed his parents' boat and spent six weeks sailing. We set out to find out what Native Americans had eaten--on the beach, out of the water, plant life. We had books with us to guide us, but there's not too much you can pick along the beach that is very harmful, so we tried just about everything in a shell, and all kinds of grasses and vegetation along the beach--some we liked and some were not very interesting." Among the interesting ones? Prized mushrooms like morels and chanterelles: "As the snowline moves up, and the bleeding heart flowers bloom, up "come the morels, and now we know right where to go out at Thanksgiving to pick the chanterelles."
Mushrooms aren't the only thing Linda gathers. "Foraging really helps me keep things in perspective. Today life is so hectic, I think we've lost track of some of the basics. People used to work hard with their hands, and appreciate a final product because they worked on it today we pay money and instantly have it. Unless you've made things from scratch you may not hmze the full appreciation of what goes into making anything, like jelly. Early in my marriage, before I was caught up in the hustle and bustle of a career, I noticed a fence line covered with grapes. My husband came home from work, and I showed him the pints of grape jelly I made. A lot of the work we do today in the workplace does not give you the same kind of satisfaction as a simple thing like picking grapes and making jelly while your kids are playing." Whether bringing wild mushrooms or her Bake-Off® Grand Prize-winning Blueberry Poppy Seed Brunch Cake to the table, Linda's gathering yields both a sense of accomplishment and extraordinary meals.
From "Pillsbury Best of the Bake-Off® Cookbook." Copyright 2004 General Mills. Used with permission of the publisher, Wiley Publishing, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
This __Linda Rahman recipe is from the Pillsbury Best of the Bake-Off® Cookbook Cookbook. Download this Cookbook today.
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