Last winter, I heard about a this really cool kickstarter campaign for a book called Foraging & Feasting. The premise of the book: show people how to identify wild edible plants with gorgeous, instructive illustrations, then encourage them to harvest and cook the plants with recipes. I loved the idea of “connecting with nature through food and art”, and I was intrigued by the author’s self publishing model.
A couple of months later, I met the author, Dina Falconi. She lives near me and was teaching a homemade beauty products workshop in our area. I had a wonderful time: Dina is extremely knowledgable about herbs and natural health care. She inspired me to start making more of my own skin care items at home (I’ve been having lots of fun with that), and I have been eagerly awaiting the publication of her new book. I just knew it would be terrific.
Dina recently sent me a copy of the book and it is indeed terrific. Like me, Dina has been influenced by the work of Weston Price
The other half is the recipes, which I can’t really do justice in this post. They are beyond creative and so inspirational, and organized into chapters including Beverages, Relishes, Spreads and Condiments, Wild Salads, Soups, Sandwiches, Animal Kingdom Entrees, and Desserts. There are brilliant Master Recipes throughout the book, and Dina gives multiple suggestions for ways you can change up each and every one: this book is seriously so lovely, and it will teach you so much!
I had a hard time choosing which recipe to feature, but when I received a gorgeous box of Palisades Peaches from Aloha organic fruit in Grand Junction, Colorado, I knew peaches simply had to figure in.
I decided to go with this Peach Pie because it allowed the beautiful peaches (they were probably the very best I’ve ever tasted) to shine. I served the pie at a little dinner party and everyone really loved it!