The weather has been odd this spring and the morels are appearing a little earlier than usual here. Typically i wouldn't even start looking until the second week of April, but i saw that folks were starting to find them in the area, so decided to check my spot. i only found a few and they were still pretty small. Normally i would leave them to get bigger, but it's so dry out i went ahead and picked them before they shriveled.
i often read that Morels can often be found around dying elm trees and in old apple orchards. i find all of mine at the base of Tulip Poplars. It makes hunting quite a challenge.
Over the years we had a few different honey holes on our property, but the forest is always changing and they are getting harder and harder to find. As the trees that feed them die and decompose, the mycelium spreads and shifts its focus when it's current food source is exhausted.
These were found in a Poplar grove, on a rather steep bank. i've picked 7 this week, and left a few to keep growing . i'm usually finding morels into May, so i'm hoping if we get a good rain i'll find a few more.
First week of April 2026. Homegrown and foraged. Ramps are up! i finally have a small patch established on my land. Shiitakes are from plugged logs and Kenan spotted the oysters when we were driving back roads. My hens are still laying well and the dandelions and violets are starting to bloom. Both are edible and can be used to make tea, jelly and syrup etc, but these are the first foods for the bees so i didn't harvest much.
Finally found a sourdough recipe that i love!! i have tried just about every recipe i've come across, they've all been okay, but not quite what i wanted. This is the one!
400g bread flour
308g water
100g starter
10g salt
Mix water and starter. Add flour and mix until shaggy. Cover and rest 30 min.
Add salt.
Mix just enough to combine. cover and rest 30 min.
Stretch and folds, let dough rest 30 min
Stretch and folds, let dough rest 30 min
Stretch and folds, let dough rest 30 min
Stretch and fold.
Cover and bulk ferment 4.5 hours on counter. Shape, place in floured banneton. Cover with plastic wrap or place in plastic bag. Refrigerate overnight.
In the morning, preheat oven to 475 for 30 min. Reduce heat to 450. Transfer dough to parchment paper or silicone sling. Score. Place in roasting pan, with 2 ice cubes under parchment.
Bake 35 minutes lid on, 15-20 minutes lid off. Make sure internal temp is at least 205. Wait at least 2 hours before cutting. i usually place a baking sheet on the rack below to keep the bottom from getting too brown/hard. Wanted to share with anyone looking for a good recipe and also so i don't lose it and can come back here to find it.
i recently got this giant bag of shredded coconut to review. It's a little different than the bagged sweetened coconut i usually buy, and figured out it makes amazing cookies!!
This coconut is raw, organic and unsweetened. It's a little different than the sweetened bagged coconut i usually buy from the grocery store. It's a finer shred and slightly dry. While trying to figure out what to make with it, i decided to try baking it into cookies. They are currently our favorite cookie!!
The recipe makes 3 dozen, and i usually do one dozen plain, one dozen chocolate chip and one dozen chocolate chip with mini M&Ms. They are always a big hit! The recipe is very easy and they come out perfect every time.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
First, combine flour, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl; set aside. Next, beat butter, brown sugar, and white sugar together in a large bowl with an electric mixer until smooth. Add egg and vanilla; beat until light and fluffy. Gradually blend in flour mixture, then stir in coconut until well combined. Add chocolate chips and/or m&ms if using. Drop dough by teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets, about 3 inches apart.
Bake in preheated oven until golden brown, about 8 to 10 minutes. Allow cookies to cool briefly on the baking sheet before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Additional adds-in that we've tried include dried cranberries and walnuts. They cookies are chewy and delicious. Enjoy!
i received this product at no cost in exchange for an honest review, my opinions are my own. As an amazon affiliate i earn a small commission from qualifying purchases.
So it seems that most people got into sourdough during Covid time (2020-21). i admit, i was already baking bread regularly, and didn't really understand the appeal of sourdough. We have a local sourdough bakery here in Floyd, VA and my daughter started bringing home loaves from them and they were super delicious.
So when i had the opportunity to review a sourdough starter, i jumped at it! This sourdough starter by Sunrise Flour Mill worked wonderfully. i have never made sourdough before, and was really a bit clueless about the process. The starter comes dried and includes a booklet on how to activate your starter and bake your first sourdough loaf. The instructions say that you can bake with your starter on day 5, but my kitchen is pretty cold and my starter was not ready.
i continued to feed it and ended up moving it closer to my woodstove. It seemed to like that and began bubbling and doubled it's size after just a couple days. It has a wonderful sourdough smell. If you have never made sourdough before, i suggest watching a few youtube videos of the process before you start.
The booklet does come with written instructions, but i found i needed the visuals from video tutorials to really understand the stretch and fold technique and the shaping. One of these days i'll put together my own sourdough video to show my process.
This is my very first sourdough loaf. It wasn't perfect, but it was delicious. One of the fun parts of sourdough starter is that it's a living, symbiotic culture of wild yeast and lactic acid bacteria that needs to be fed. If you are baking regularly, you can leave it out on the counter and feed it daily. If you don't plan to bake regularly you can keep it in the fridge and feed it once a week. Each time you feed it, you'll want to discard a portion of starter first. The discard can be given away to friends as a starter, or you can save it to use in discard recipes. Since starting my sourdough journey, i'm now making bread 3 times a week and cinnamon rolls and bagels once a week using the discard.
So, i'm a little late to the sourdough game, but i'm completely addicted now that it's cold and i'm stuck inside. i'm sure once garden season starts my baking may slow down. Although i can already imagine the amazing garden fresh sandwiches we can make with our homemade sourdough.
My usual disclaimer- i received this product at no cost in exchange for an honest review, my opinions are my own. As an amazon affiliate i earn a small commission from qualifying purchases
