Championship Smoothie!

 

Birch sap, Bilberries (Vaccinium myrtillus), Wild Strawberries (Fragaria vesca), Chokeberries (Aronia mitschurinii), soaked Swiss Pine seeds (Pinus sembra), honey,  European Spruce tips (Picea abies) and Pine pollen (Pollen pini).

This was the smoothie I did for the Finnish Smoothie Championships. It was the only smoothie made out of completely wild and local ingredients and I have to say it tasted sooooo good. :)

The competition was hard, but I won the second prize! Congratulations for Nima Ehsani for the bronze and of course the amazing winner, Hanna Jormanainen!

Fish & Chips Wildstyle!

I have to say I really loooove outdoor cooking. A few weeks ago we shot a pilot episode for a lifestyle TV-series that will hopefully be shot next summer! Among other cool stuff, we shot a cooking video where I cooked a wild and Nordic version of the popular British take-away food, fish and chips!

The roots I used in these foods are all highly medicinal and have a very strong taste when raw, but cooking them in oil or butter removes most of the bitterness(and the medicinal value too, I guess).

This dish looked so yummy it was half eaten before we remembered to take a photo! :) 

Boiled Signal crayfish (Pacifastacus leniusculus) holding a grilled Vendace (Coregonus albula) on top of Angelica (Angelica archangelica) fries, fried nettle-tops, soaked Bladderwreck (Fucus vesiculosus), some Common Chickweed (Stellaria media) and some Lingonberries (Vaccinium vitis-idaea).

Here's another fish & chips set with some fried Baltic herring (Clupea harengus membras) and fries made from Dandelion roots (Taraxacum officinale) and Golden Root (Rhodiola rosea) together with Yarrow leaves (Achillea millefolium), Ground Elder leaves (Aegopodium podagraria) and Lingonberries (Vaccinium vitis-idaea).

Berry dessert erotica

Frosted Raspberries & Gooseberries, Japanese Rose (Rosa rugosa) leaves, Catmint (Nepeta x faassenii) leaves, sauce from Raspberries, Roseberries & European Rowan berries (Sorbus aucuparia)

This was actually the first time i ever made frosted berry dessert, but i can surely say it wasn't the last. This was one really fresh, yummy and sexy dessert! ;)

My fingers are itching to make some heart-shaped ones with more contrast on the colors of the layers! I would love to add a top layer from water, some honey and edible flowers, that would look amazing!

These are really easy to make, I just mashed the berries with a fork and put them in the mold. I wouldn't freeze these hard and icy but rather just a little frosty so they are fun and easy to eat with a spoon.

 

A little bit honey...

 Closing in...

And in...

 

BERRYGASM!!!

Ant eggs risotto-style

Ant eggs, Chanterelle (Cantharellus cibarius), Yellowfoot (Craeterellus tubaeformis), Orpine leaves (Sedum telephium), Swiss Stone Pine nuts (Pinus cembra) spiced with some Horse ants (Formica rufa), sea salt and olive oil.

Ant eggs contain a lot of protein and have a nice chewy texture and don't need to be boiled like the rice in risotto. I Sautéed the eggs, mushrooms and some orpine leaves in a pan. I would have preferred to use some other herbs but i forgot them elsewhere and it was getting dark so i had to do with some orpine from my friends yard! :)

The adult ants have an interesting acidic taste and can be used as a spice to replace lemon or vinegar. The eggs have a very neutral taste and can be used in many types of dishes. We even used them to replace cheese in a buckwheat-pizza and it was great!

 

 Cembra pine cones and uncracked nuts

Cembra nuts are an excellent ingredient! They were slightly roasted for this dish, if you roast them uncracked, they will gain a great smoked flavor. The cones have a nice aroma and could possibly be good ingredients for burning incense. I foraged some from Lapland last week and have been a happy squirrel ever since!

Dessert pics coming soon! <3