June 15, 2001
This small book provides a brief survey of "wild edibles" from berries to mushrooms, along with 75 recipes, from Cloudberry Muffins to Pink Clover Vinaigrette to Stir-Fried Milkweed. A chef who lives in an old log house in rural Ontario, Mogelon observes in her bibliography that Euell Gibbons's Stalking the Wild Asparagus is "the book that basically started it all," and his and other books are more comprehensive than this one. Still, larger collections may want to consider Mogelon's as well.
Copyright 2001 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
May 15, 2001
Those still fascinated with the hunter-gatherer stage of food-creation development will relish the recipes for wild foods found in Mogelon's "Wild in the Kitchen." Mogelon has combed America's roadsides for fiddleheads, morels, milkweed, chokecherries, hawthorns, nannyberries, and other comestibles that appear without cultivation. For most of these, preparation is simple, involving some cooking and sweetening. Others, such as Jerusalem artichokes, need extra attention, and some merely flavor everyday dishes as does wild mint in tabbouleh salad. As with all wild foods, accurate botanical identification is critical to prevent confusion with toxic species. (Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2001, American Library Association.)