Our first WILD Series course of the year kicked-off this May with a beautiful weekend of wild foods, storytelling, music, fire, feasting and more! Blossoms, Greens and Juniper Smoke: Identifying and Cooking with Wild Plants welcomed a full crowd of 40 curious students on a journey into the natural history, botany, culture, harvest and preparation of many delicious and storied California foods.
Instructor, naturalist, cook and musician JT Beggs led a vibrant and hands-on 2-day culinary tour, beginning with a botanical walk across the high desert to identify and remember some unique and abundant edible plants, and culminating in an evening feast cooked by all students and the Quail Springs team in a gorgeous wood-fired kitchen set-up. Students tended a yucca pit-roast, grilled flatbreads over coals and baked wild greens stuffed pies and traditional Molokhia stew in hand-built clay ovens. The second day ended with a celebratory late spring rain as the class sat among the oaks and piñons and learned about traditions of wild tending and stewardship. We are grateful to all of the talented participants who shared this weekend with us – the families, new faces and old friends, and the stellar staff of Wilderness Youth Project!