Another week has come and gone, and here we are with the growing season in full swing. The slow quiet of winter, that season we thought would never end, has given way to the bustle of spring. This is the season of newness.

Right now, in my sweetie’s backyard, we’re watching three bird nests. New generations of life grow on top of the backdoor light, in an Alberta spruce by the garage, and atop an old fence gate.  

But long before I’m slicing tomatoes and cucumbers from my garden, I enjoy all the wonderful tastes and textures popping up in the woods and fields around me. 

These days you can just as easily find me traipsing through the woods with a basket as you can in my garden.

Delicious violet syrup, hearty stinging nettle soup, pinecone syrup, fresh stir-fried garlic mustard greens, new daylily shoots, and, of course, morels are some of my favorite flavors of spring.

While I forage for mushrooms throughout the year, yes, even in the winter, spring is my favorite time to forage for wild food. Everything nature has to offer to eat this time of year is tender, bright and bursting with flavor that you simply don’t find once the heat of summer sets in.