Skip to content

Home
Shop
All Posts
- Herbalism
- Mushrooms
- Recipes
- Events
- Running
- Sustainability
- Philosophy
- Uncategorized
About Me
Contact
0
Toggle website search

Home
Shop
All Posts
- Herbalism
- Mushrooms
- Recipes
- Events
- Running
- Sustainability
- Philosophy
- Uncategorized
About Me
Contact
0
Toggle website search

Cart

Home>
Cart

You may be interested in…

Your cart is currently empty!

New in store

Respect the Locals “Don’t Throw Your Junk” Sticker | Protect Our Parks, Leave No Trace

Price range: $3.99 through $6.99

Select options
Garden Flag – “Too Wild for the HOA” Decorative Outdoor House Banner

$18.99

Select options
Progress Pride Double-Sided Flag — “Every One Is Welcome Here”

$31.99

Select options
“Too Wild for the HOA” – Environmental Yard Sign, Garden Humor Outdoor Sign

$22.99

Select options

philosophicalfolia

Eau Claire, WI is full of treasures!!! Platycodon

Eau Claire, WI is full of treasures!!! Platycodon grandiflorus is definitely getting added to my list of faves! 🌹😍

I was so lucky to receive “campfire cooking lesson

I was so lucky to receive “campfire cooking lessons” from @jodibeebaked, and I also got to learn her story of starting a stunning and incredible vegan bakery and café - Jodi Bee Bakes, in Salem, MA - along with all of her valuable advice about starting a business and the successes, celebrations, and also disappointments that come with the process. Thank you Jodi for sharing your wisdom with me and for becoming such an indispensable friend, even during the rough and chaotic time I’ve been experiencing lately. I am truly inspired. While learning from Jodi about baking while touring various bakeries including @whiskandarrow (😍), my only regret is not having been able to experience Jodi’s bakery while she was at the helm. Life really is about the quality of people you surround yourself with, as well as being invested in and truly listening to the stories of the people you care about and look up to. 🏕️🧑‍🍳🍰🔥❤️

P.S. The rose that I planted up north for my rabbit Hugi who passed away this year is already blooming a beautiful yellow, signifying commemoration and love (although you can see in the background that the insect hotel I made isn’t holding up as well as I had hoped — time for some improvements in Version 2 😅). The hunk of disgusting looking stuff on the log is called “dog vomit slime mold,” and it is truly an interesting organism - Trilli found it very interesting! 😆

I’m SUPER excited about these new print-on-demand

I’m SUPER excited about these new print-on-demand products that I’ve been working hard to design over the last few months while my handmade product line has been put on hold due to shop space limitations!

I’ve been thinking a lot about how, as a country, we are in this ROUGH state due to poor leadership, a lack of empathy, selfishness, and an obvious lack of good ethics, and how USING YOUR VOICE to make a statement reminding the world that sometimes PROTECTING and simply leaving alone the things that make the world special means much more than taking harmful action just to boost an ego or add a few extra million to a personal bank account. There are SO many people who are still uniting for purposes of genuinely creating and protecting a good world despite the reckless goblins who get attention any way they can, so this product line is for those who still care about things! We can be the change together.

Check out philofolia.com (link in bio) to purchase! I appreciate you all so much. Also, since this is a new type of product, I will be keeping an extra careful eye and ear out for any questions about orders, and I’d also appreciate any feedback you might want to share. Thanks!

Foraging isn’t all fun and games! 😅 #foraging #su

Foraging isn’t all fun and games! 😅

#foraging #sustainability #hardwork

Come along with me on a mini mushroom-foraging exc

Come along with me on a mini mushroom-foraging excursion in Iowa City! 🍄‍🟫🦮

#foraging #iowacity #mushrooms

Still in my #productdevelopment era 😅🌱 Pine resin

Still in my #productdevelopment era 😅🌱

Pine resin is difficult to work with, but it has some incredible properties as an eco-friendly sealant, glue, grip enhancer, wound healer, natural insect repellant, skin protector, and as a delicious scent bomb! Hence, I will be using the purified resin in my (currently experimental) products such as hair pomade, wound balm, bug away balm, and wood polish, and I’ll use the strained-out solids in incense.

Follow me if you’d like to see more nature-based science experiments in progress!

🌲🌲🌲

#pineresin #naturalproducts #foraging #sustainability

Extreme Makeover: Backyard Rewilding Edition!!! 🌾

Extreme Makeover: Backyard Rewilding Edition!!! 🌾

(Keep in mind that this is a long-term project and nothing has had a chance to sprout, establish, or spread yet.)

It was so exciting to spend the last four days rewilding a backyard to an eco-friendly vision of what backyards COULD be like if they weren’t just exclusively invasive turfgrass! 🤩 And thank you @christinejanusiak and @lnicholson67 for trusting me even when it first looked like I was just digging a bunch of ugly patches into your yard! 😂 The real prize will be in a year or two when the TONS of different seeds sprout and the diverse groundcover is established and spreading! I was going for a labyrinthine design, with different “themes” for the “journey” through the yard. The wildlife, soil, ecology, and even the climate will be thankful for this yard’s transition. And it might even be more exciting and fun than it was! 🤷‍♂️

This yard’s design features what will grow into:
1. An enormous pollinator wildflower garden
2. A veggie trellis
3. A “bonsai” maple (that will grow to be full size), along with lily of the valley, wild strawberry, and wild ginger as groundcover
4. Two more wildflower sections, one featuring mostly perennials and the other featuring hummingbird-attracting flowers
5. A tea garden including peppermint, lavender, hibiscus, rose, creeping charlie, lemongrass, catmint, and raspberry
6. A sculpture area with wild strawberry as groundcover
7. A prairie dock and wild ginger display
8. An evergreen tree with ferns and various woodland groundcover
9. A “prairie” backdrop with native plants, variegated grasses and groundcover, dewberry, etc.
10. A “food” section with tomatoes, peppers, kale, scallions, onions, jerusalem artichoke, oregano, chives, etc.

I just can’t wait to see what it will look like in a year!

P.S. This was done using just a shovel, shared or foraged plants, and using only $50 on seeds.

#rewilding #yardmakeover #nativeplants #pollinatorfriendly #landscaping

To bonsai or not to bonsai? 🌳 That definitely is

To bonsai or not to bonsai? 🌳

That definitely is the question! 😅

Today was my (and Trilli’s) first day ever trying to bonsai some lemon trees, coffee plants, and maples. It took me a while to even decide which plants to start with. Some produce leaves that stay too big, while others start producing smaller leaves with consistent pruning. Some grow quickly, others slowly. Some plants (like maples) need to be overwintered outside but are great for bonsai. Some plants can produce flowers, fruits, and seeds when bonsai-ed (such as lemon, coffee, maple, crabapple, and bougainvillea), while others cannot. Some flourish while root-bound and others don’t. 🌺

I will attempt to propagate the cuttings using rooting hormone to hopefully create more plants with these top branches that already took so long to grow! This is definitely an art of patience, and I’m already antsy to see what their final forms (and ugly stages along the way) will be! 😌

If you have any tips, insights, or comments about this practice, I’d love to hear in the comments! Thanks @cjordan211 for the tips and inspiration you’ve already shared!

#bonsai #bonsaitree #lemonbonsai #coffeebonsai #maplebonsai

Turn this common watermelon-flavored mushroom into

Turn this common watermelon-flavored mushroom into Tajin-inspired chili lime candy!!! 🍄‍🟫👉🍬

Recipe in my blog at philofolia.com. 👨‍💻

#dryadssaddle #mushroomcandy #foragedfoods #ediblemushrooms #unusualrecipes

🗑️ Kitchen scraps ⏭️ windowsill garden 🧑‍🌾 Experi

🗑️ Kitchen scraps ⏭️ windowsill garden 🧑‍🌾

Experiment update: Lookin’ good! 👀

I made a quick garden box that actually fits in our tiny apartment’s tiny windowsill by using a box from our recycling bin, cut grocery bags, and duct tape.

Ft.:
🥕 Carrot tops (produce edible and nutritious shoots and seeds)
🧅 Onion (produces many “rounds” of greens if cut; can also go to seed)
🍠 Sweet potato top (can make new sweet potatoes from each “slip”/sprout; beautiful houseplant)
🥬 Cabbage butt (produces edible leaves)

#growthfromwaste #windowsillgardening #kitchenscraps #kitchenscrapgarden

Bacon? 🚫 Dryads saddle? ✅ I rarely find “tween” d

Bacon? 🚫
Dryads saddle? ✅

I rarely find “tween” dryads saddle — usually huge, mature, tough ones. But what they say is true! The smaller dryads saddle mushrooms (or “pheasants back mushrooms”) are super tender and make a mean vegetarian bacon! 🥓

Just slice thin and sautee in butter with a little bit of salt, thyme, and garlic powder for about 10 minutes. And they are even high in protein but have many more healthy and medicinal compounds than bacon, and a delicious flavor all their own. 🍄‍🟫

#dryadssaddle #foragedrecipes #mushrooms #baconsubstitute

It’s crazy what you can find just looking under tr

It’s crazy what you can find just looking under trees in a normal public park! 🌳

Glad I decided to take a short walk in the rain with Trilli. 😊🦮

I used to dissect owl pellets as a kid and that’s why I’m a nerd now. Should I make bone jewelry out of the owl pellet bones? 🦴

#owlpellets #foraging #pineresin

Because I can’t be up north and not throw foraged

Because I can’t be up north and not throw foraged finds in my dinner… and because I’m the kind of person who tries things for myself before recommending them to others or sharing what I think… 🙈🍄‍🟫

BUT birch polypore (Fomitopsis betulina) was a fail (in terms of culinary use). 👎 While it likely has a ton of medicinal potential for immunity, anti-inflammatory benefits, anti-cancer potential, digestive stimulation, antimicrobial activity, and antiparasitic activity, it’s… well, gross (bitter and tough).

Good thing I kept it in long chunks I could pick out of my otherwise delicious tempeh-potato-garlic-onion stir fry! 😂😱

Hopefully researchers will study this mushroom more thoroughly in the future, as well as the SO many others with huge medical (especially anti-cancer) potential! 🔬

P.S. Don’t try eating foraged mushrooms unless you are 100% sure of ID. 🪪

#foragingmushrooms #birchpolypore #medicinalmushrooms #anticancerfoods #campdinner

Although I’ve been impatient for mushroom foraging

Although I’ve been impatient for mushroom foraging season to start here in Wisconsin (searching high and low with our new dog Trilli) while all our friends in Iowa are finding pounds of morels in their yards without even trying, at least the few plants that are already growing are edible ones I can throw into my rice and beans to make them not sad! 🥳🌱🍛

Ft. Garlic mustard, daylilies (tubers/‘potatoes’ and sprouts), and white pine.

It’s actually delish and now I’m healthy so don’t throw shade. 💁‍♂️

Also featuring an anthill so big that I consider it a landmark and the only reason I can find my way back to our property from the woods behind it.

What are you foraging this late April?!

#justcentralwisconsinthings #foraging #april #camping #dogtraining

Don’t ask ChatGPT for help making your own maple c

Don’t ask ChatGPT for help making your own maple cream! 🤦‍♂️

There is no learning without mistakes, and sometimes “mistakes” can be, well, even BETTER than what you intended! (God learned this when he created me.) 👼

If you haven’t tried maple cream or maple “candy,” PLEASE buy or make some ASAP because I swear it is an otherworldly taste experience (and way healthier than normal candy although it’s still mostly sugar). 🍁

#Maplesyrup #maplecream #maplesugar #beautifulmistakes #homesteading

Growing food from just garbage! ♻️ Cloning oyster

Growing food from just garbage! ♻️

Cloning oysters mushrooms from grocery store stems, used cardboard, a yogurt container, and some patience.

Going good so far… now we just have to wait for the bags to hopefully colonize successfully (without mold)!

#mycology #mushroomgrowing #oystermushrooms #growyourownfood #sustainability

Every day is kitchen experiment day when you live

Every day is kitchen experiment day when you live with me (sorry about the messes, roomies) 👨‍🔬

1. I soaked carrot tops in water and they grew leaves in just a few days. I’m told they just grow leaves and seeds (no more actual carrots), but we’ll just see about that, and if worst comes to worst, I get seeds and my rabbits and I get edible carrot leaves. 🥕

2. Crack open a dried mango pit and there’s a seed inside. Soak it in very diluted hydrogen peroxide for a few minutes if moldy, then wrap in damp paper towels for a week. Bam, you’ve got a germinated mango plant that can grow into a tree with fruit in 5 years. Some say they *can* be “gross” if they’re grown from seed, but I don’t just believe everything I read on the internet. Commitment? Yes. Fun? Yes. Worst case scenario I grow a beautiful plant I’m proud of and get measly mangos but a huge sense of accomplishment and real evidence. 🥭

3. This one is FUN! Get oyster mushrooms from the store. Use the mushrooms and just save the dirty bottoms of the stems that some might throw in the garbage. Pour boiling water on cardboard and let it cool. Layer the stems and cardboard in a container you poked 6 teeny holes into. Let sit for a month. You then literally have a bunch of mushroom aubstrate that you could either move to humidity and light to watch them fruit, or transfer to even MORE substrate that will colonize even quicker and lead you to addictively farming your own delicious, expensive, healthy mushrooms in your tiny apartment. 🍄‍🟫

4. Refrigerate apple seeds for 3 months. Plant. You are now Johnny Appleseed. 🍎

5. Throw all your lemon seeds in a pot of dirt and own a literal lemon orchard in 5-15 years. These also just make cute houseplants though too. 🍋

Just sayin’, if you like to experiment and don’t like to waste, there are a LOT of opportunities to grow your own cool stuff with kitchen “scraps.” Stay tuned for many more experiments that will hopefully lead to self-sustainability techniques and the downfall of all the toxic parts of capitalism and agriculture in the U.S., and please share your kitchen scrap hacks or experiments with me! 😊

The magic of a some boxes, a little hot glue, an x

The magic of a some boxes, a little hot glue, an xacto knife, scissors, and duct tape! #organizationwithstyle

Who says you can’t forage in the dead of winter?!

Who says you can’t forage in the dead of winter?!

❄️🌲❄️🌲❄️

Pine resin has been used for AGES to heal wounds, flavor wine, waterproof boats and leather, and much more. Its terpenes and resin acids not only give it antimicrobial and healing properties, but also that marvelous genuine forest scent. @cjordan211 and I already made homemade incense with it, and I plan to experiment with the rest by incorporating it into my wound balm, pomade, and deodorant recipes.

Did you have to prune a frightening amount of bran

Did you have to prune a frightening amount of branches off the bottom of your Christmas tree to get it to fit in the stand? You can use them to make a wreath and save $50! 😂 I just bent a wire hanger into a circle, overlapped and tied the best-looking branches to it with green twine, then stuck any extra bits and pieces firmly into the bare spots. It took me about an hour, and I’d say it was worth it for the cute and Christmasy decor! 🎄❄️

Follow on Instagram

What if ‘Weeds’ Were the Winners, and Lawns Were the Losers?June 24, 2026
Dryad’s Saddle Candy – The Foraged Mushroom That Tastes Like WatermelonMay 14, 2026
Homage to Hugi MooMoo Cande – The Ethereal RabbitApril 7, 2026
The Roots of Intelligence: Why Outdoor Experiential Learning is the Ultimate Form of EducationMay 31, 2025
How a Neo-Fascist Nightmare is Replacing the American Dream in 2025 (and What to Do About It)May 27, 2025
From Cancellation to Celebration: Community, Nature Appreciation, and Resilience at “Book Across the Bay” 2025 – (Ashland and Glidden, WI)February 17, 2025
From Running to Climbing to ‘Cleansing’ to Cooking – Foraging Oyster Mushrooms and Dryad’s Saddle (Ft. Mouthwatering Vegetarian Dryad’s Saddle Jerky Recipe)November 19, 2024
Bridging the Gap between Humans and Wolves: Insights from the 2024 Great Lakes Wolf SymposiumNovember 9, 2024
Fall Foraging for Ringless Honey Mushrooms and Tiger Sawgill in IowaOctober 10, 2024
Foliage Facts & Folklore: Monotropa uniflora, a.k.a. the ‘Ghost Pipe’ PlantSeptember 26, 2024
Herbal Medicine 101 & Tincture-Making for DummiesJuly 19, 2024
Rescue Bunnies, Adoptive Dog Show, & Soaring Spirits – Winston Junction Market, NCFebruary 25, 2024
Pilot Mountain State Park’s Seasonal Faces: A Visual Run-Through (& Hike-Through)February 23, 2024
All-Natural Nourishing Winter Hand Cream – DIY RecipeJanuary 22, 2024
Book Across the Bay: An event with unparalleled beauty, excitement, and community — and a fire-breathing dragon — on Lake Superior in Ashland, WIFebruary 25, 2023
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, & Be Resourceful — Creative Reuse and RecyclingApril 3, 2022
Lion’s Mane Mushroom Recipe, Part 2: Egg Drop Soup (Ovo-Vegetarian)March 27, 2022
Growing Your Own Lion’s Mane Mushrooms (& Lion’s Mane Taco Recipe)March 8, 2022
Including Transgender Athletes in Sport: Reconceiving Fairness, Gender, & the Role of Sports In SocietySeptember 21, 2021
Realizing a Healthy Lifestyle by Discovering Our Unique ‘Middle Way’March 25, 2021

philosophicalfolia

Eau Claire, WI is full of treasures!!! Platycodon

Eau Claire, WI is full of treasures!!! Platycodon grandiflorus is definitely getting added to my list of faves! 🌹😍

I was so lucky to receive “campfire cooking lesson

I was so lucky to receive “campfire cooking lessons” from @jodibeebaked, and I also got to learn her story of starting a stunning and incredible vegan bakery and café - Jodi Bee Bakes, in Salem, MA - along with all of her valuable advice about starting a business and the successes, celebrations, and also disappointments that come with the process. Thank you Jodi for sharing your wisdom with me and for becoming such an indispensable friend, even during the rough and chaotic time I’ve been experiencing lately. I am truly inspired. While learning from Jodi about baking while touring various bakeries including @whiskandarrow (😍), my only regret is not having been able to experience Jodi’s bakery while she was at the helm. Life really is about the quality of people you surround yourself with, as well as being invested in and truly listening to the stories of the people you care about and look up to. 🏕️🧑‍🍳🍰🔥❤️

P.S. The rose that I planted up north for my rabbit Hugi who passed away this year is already blooming a beautiful yellow, signifying commemoration and love (although you can see in the background that the insect hotel I made isn’t holding up as well as I had hoped — time for some improvements in Version 2 😅). The hunk of disgusting looking stuff on the log is called “dog vomit slime mold,” and it is truly an interesting organism - Trilli found it very interesting! 😆

I’m SUPER excited about these new print-on-demand

I’m SUPER excited about these new print-on-demand products that I’ve been working hard to design over the last few months while my handmade product line has been put on hold due to shop space limitations!

I’ve been thinking a lot about how, as a country, we are in this ROUGH state due to poor leadership, a lack of empathy, selfishness, and an obvious lack of good ethics, and how USING YOUR VOICE to make a statement reminding the world that sometimes PROTECTING and simply leaving alone the things that make the world special means much more than taking harmful action just to boost an ego or add a few extra million to a personal bank account. There are SO many people who are still uniting for purposes of genuinely creating and protecting a good world despite the reckless goblins who get attention any way they can, so this product line is for those who still care about things! We can be the change together.

Check out philofolia.com (link in bio) to purchase! I appreciate you all so much. Also, since this is a new type of product, I will be keeping an extra careful eye and ear out for any questions about orders, and I’d also appreciate any feedback you might want to share. Thanks!

Foraging isn’t all fun and games! 😅 #foraging #su

Foraging isn’t all fun and games! 😅

#foraging #sustainability #hardwork

Come along with me on a mini mushroom-foraging exc

Come along with me on a mini mushroom-foraging excursion in Iowa City! 🍄‍🟫🦮

#foraging #iowacity #mushrooms

Still in my #productdevelopment era 😅🌱 Pine resin

Still in my #productdevelopment era 😅🌱

Pine resin is difficult to work with, but it has some incredible properties as an eco-friendly sealant, glue, grip enhancer, wound healer, natural insect repellant, skin protector, and as a delicious scent bomb! Hence, I will be using the purified resin in my (currently experimental) products such as hair pomade, wound balm, bug away balm, and wood polish, and I’ll use the strained-out solids in incense.

Follow me if you’d like to see more nature-based science experiments in progress!

🌲🌲🌲

#pineresin #naturalproducts #foraging #sustainability

Extreme Makeover: Backyard Rewilding Edition!!! 🌾

Extreme Makeover: Backyard Rewilding Edition!!! 🌾

(Keep in mind that this is a long-term project and nothing has had a chance to sprout, establish, or spread yet.)

It was so exciting to spend the last four days rewilding a backyard to an eco-friendly vision of what backyards COULD be like if they weren’t just exclusively invasive turfgrass! 🤩 And thank you @christinejanusiak and @lnicholson67 for trusting me even when it first looked like I was just digging a bunch of ugly patches into your yard! 😂 The real prize will be in a year or two when the TONS of different seeds sprout and the diverse groundcover is established and spreading! I was going for a labyrinthine design, with different “themes” for the “journey” through the yard. The wildlife, soil, ecology, and even the climate will be thankful for this yard’s transition. And it might even be more exciting and fun than it was! 🤷‍♂️

This yard’s design features what will grow into:
1. An enormous pollinator wildflower garden
2. A veggie trellis
3. A “bonsai” maple (that will grow to be full size), along with lily of the valley, wild strawberry, and wild ginger as groundcover
4. Two more wildflower sections, one featuring mostly perennials and the other featuring hummingbird-attracting flowers
5. A tea garden including peppermint, lavender, hibiscus, rose, creeping charlie, lemongrass, catmint, and raspberry
6. A sculpture area with wild strawberry as groundcover
7. A prairie dock and wild ginger display
8. An evergreen tree with ferns and various woodland groundcover
9. A “prairie” backdrop with native plants, variegated grasses and groundcover, dewberry, etc.
10. A “food” section with tomatoes, peppers, kale, scallions, onions, jerusalem artichoke, oregano, chives, etc.

I just can’t wait to see what it will look like in a year!

P.S. This was done using just a shovel, shared or foraged plants, and using only $50 on seeds.

#rewilding #yardmakeover #nativeplants #pollinatorfriendly #landscaping

To bonsai or not to bonsai? 🌳 That definitely is

To bonsai or not to bonsai? 🌳

That definitely is the question! 😅

Today was my (and Trilli’s) first day ever trying to bonsai some lemon trees, coffee plants, and maples. It took me a while to even decide which plants to start with. Some produce leaves that stay too big, while others start producing smaller leaves with consistent pruning. Some grow quickly, others slowly. Some plants (like maples) need to be overwintered outside but are great for bonsai. Some plants can produce flowers, fruits, and seeds when bonsai-ed (such as lemon, coffee, maple, crabapple, and bougainvillea), while others cannot. Some flourish while root-bound and others don’t. 🌺

I will attempt to propagate the cuttings using rooting hormone to hopefully create more plants with these top branches that already took so long to grow! This is definitely an art of patience, and I’m already antsy to see what their final forms (and ugly stages along the way) will be! 😌

If you have any tips, insights, or comments about this practice, I’d love to hear in the comments! Thanks @cjordan211 for the tips and inspiration you’ve already shared!

#bonsai #bonsaitree #lemonbonsai #coffeebonsai #maplebonsai

Turn this common watermelon-flavored mushroom into

Turn this common watermelon-flavored mushroom into Tajin-inspired chili lime candy!!! 🍄‍🟫👉🍬

Recipe in my blog at philofolia.com. 👨‍💻

#dryadssaddle #mushroomcandy #foragedfoods #ediblemushrooms #unusualrecipes

🗑️ Kitchen scraps ⏭️ windowsill garden 🧑‍🌾 Experi

🗑️ Kitchen scraps ⏭️ windowsill garden 🧑‍🌾

Experiment update: Lookin’ good! 👀

I made a quick garden box that actually fits in our tiny apartment’s tiny windowsill by using a box from our recycling bin, cut grocery bags, and duct tape.

Ft.:
🥕 Carrot tops (produce edible and nutritious shoots and seeds)
🧅 Onion (produces many “rounds” of greens if cut; can also go to seed)
🍠 Sweet potato top (can make new sweet potatoes from each “slip”/sprout; beautiful houseplant)
🥬 Cabbage butt (produces edible leaves)

#growthfromwaste #windowsillgardening #kitchenscraps #kitchenscrapgarden

Bacon? 🚫 Dryads saddle? ✅ I rarely find “tween” d

Bacon? 🚫
Dryads saddle? ✅

I rarely find “tween” dryads saddle — usually huge, mature, tough ones. But what they say is true! The smaller dryads saddle mushrooms (or “pheasants back mushrooms”) are super tender and make a mean vegetarian bacon! 🥓

Just slice thin and sautee in butter with a little bit of salt, thyme, and garlic powder for about 10 minutes. And they are even high in protein but have many more healthy and medicinal compounds than bacon, and a delicious flavor all their own. 🍄‍🟫

#dryadssaddle #foragedrecipes #mushrooms #baconsubstitute

It’s crazy what you can find just looking under tr

It’s crazy what you can find just looking under trees in a normal public park! 🌳

Glad I decided to take a short walk in the rain with Trilli. 😊🦮

I used to dissect owl pellets as a kid and that’s why I’m a nerd now. Should I make bone jewelry out of the owl pellet bones? 🦴

#owlpellets #foraging #pineresin

Because I can’t be up north and not throw foraged

Because I can’t be up north and not throw foraged finds in my dinner… and because I’m the kind of person who tries things for myself before recommending them to others or sharing what I think… 🙈🍄‍🟫

BUT birch polypore (Fomitopsis betulina) was a fail (in terms of culinary use). 👎 While it likely has a ton of medicinal potential for immunity, anti-inflammatory benefits, anti-cancer potential, digestive stimulation, antimicrobial activity, and antiparasitic activity, it’s… well, gross (bitter and tough).

Good thing I kept it in long chunks I could pick out of my otherwise delicious tempeh-potato-garlic-onion stir fry! 😂😱

Hopefully researchers will study this mushroom more thoroughly in the future, as well as the SO many others with huge medical (especially anti-cancer) potential! 🔬

P.S. Don’t try eating foraged mushrooms unless you are 100% sure of ID. 🪪

#foragingmushrooms #birchpolypore #medicinalmushrooms #anticancerfoods #campdinner

Although I’ve been impatient for mushroom foraging

Although I’ve been impatient for mushroom foraging season to start here in Wisconsin (searching high and low with our new dog Trilli) while all our friends in Iowa are finding pounds of morels in their yards without even trying, at least the few plants that are already growing are edible ones I can throw into my rice and beans to make them not sad! 🥳🌱🍛

Ft. Garlic mustard, daylilies (tubers/‘potatoes’ and sprouts), and white pine.

It’s actually delish and now I’m healthy so don’t throw shade. 💁‍♂️

Also featuring an anthill so big that I consider it a landmark and the only reason I can find my way back to our property from the woods behind it.

What are you foraging this late April?!

#justcentralwisconsinthings #foraging #april #camping #dogtraining

Don’t ask ChatGPT for help making your own maple c

Don’t ask ChatGPT for help making your own maple cream! 🤦‍♂️

There is no learning without mistakes, and sometimes “mistakes” can be, well, even BETTER than what you intended! (God learned this when he created me.) 👼

If you haven’t tried maple cream or maple “candy,” PLEASE buy or make some ASAP because I swear it is an otherworldly taste experience (and way healthier than normal candy although it’s still mostly sugar). 🍁

#Maplesyrup #maplecream #maplesugar #beautifulmistakes #homesteading

Growing food from just garbage! ♻️ Cloning oyster

Growing food from just garbage! ♻️

Cloning oysters mushrooms from grocery store stems, used cardboard, a yogurt container, and some patience.

Going good so far… now we just have to wait for the bags to hopefully colonize successfully (without mold)!

#mycology #mushroomgrowing #oystermushrooms #growyourownfood #sustainability

Every day is kitchen experiment day when you live

Every day is kitchen experiment day when you live with me (sorry about the messes, roomies) 👨‍🔬

1. I soaked carrot tops in water and they grew leaves in just a few days. I’m told they just grow leaves and seeds (no more actual carrots), but we’ll just see about that, and if worst comes to worst, I get seeds and my rabbits and I get edible carrot leaves. 🥕

2. Crack open a dried mango pit and there’s a seed inside. Soak it in very diluted hydrogen peroxide for a few minutes if moldy, then wrap in damp paper towels for a week. Bam, you’ve got a germinated mango plant that can grow into a tree with fruit in 5 years. Some say they *can* be “gross” if they’re grown from seed, but I don’t just believe everything I read on the internet. Commitment? Yes. Fun? Yes. Worst case scenario I grow a beautiful plant I’m proud of and get measly mangos but a huge sense of accomplishment and real evidence. 🥭

3. This one is FUN! Get oyster mushrooms from the store. Use the mushrooms and just save the dirty bottoms of the stems that some might throw in the garbage. Pour boiling water on cardboard and let it cool. Layer the stems and cardboard in a container you poked 6 teeny holes into. Let sit for a month. You then literally have a bunch of mushroom aubstrate that you could either move to humidity and light to watch them fruit, or transfer to even MORE substrate that will colonize even quicker and lead you to addictively farming your own delicious, expensive, healthy mushrooms in your tiny apartment. 🍄‍🟫

4. Refrigerate apple seeds for 3 months. Plant. You are now Johnny Appleseed. 🍎

5. Throw all your lemon seeds in a pot of dirt and own a literal lemon orchard in 5-15 years. These also just make cute houseplants though too. 🍋

Just sayin’, if you like to experiment and don’t like to waste, there are a LOT of opportunities to grow your own cool stuff with kitchen “scraps.” Stay tuned for many more experiments that will hopefully lead to self-sustainability techniques and the downfall of all the toxic parts of capitalism and agriculture in the U.S., and please share your kitchen scrap hacks or experiments with me! 😊

The magic of a some boxes, a little hot glue, an x

The magic of a some boxes, a little hot glue, an xacto knife, scissors, and duct tape! #organizationwithstyle

Who says you can’t forage in the dead of winter?!

Who says you can’t forage in the dead of winter?!

❄️🌲❄️🌲❄️

Pine resin has been used for AGES to heal wounds, flavor wine, waterproof boats and leather, and much more. Its terpenes and resin acids not only give it antimicrobial and healing properties, but also that marvelous genuine forest scent. @cjordan211 and I already made homemade incense with it, and I plan to experiment with the rest by incorporating it into my wound balm, pomade, and deodorant recipes.

Did you have to prune a frightening amount of bran

Did you have to prune a frightening amount of branches off the bottom of your Christmas tree to get it to fit in the stand? You can use them to make a wreath and save $50! 😂 I just bent a wire hanger into a circle, overlapped and tied the best-looking branches to it with green twine, then stuck any extra bits and pieces firmly into the bare spots. It took me about an hour, and I’d say it was worth it for the cute and Christmasy decor! 🎄❄️

Follow on Instagram

Subscribe!

Enter your email address to receive notifications of new posts.

Email Address

Copyright - WordPress Theme by OceanWP

×

Cart