Intro to Recipes and Such

Don't you hate it when you have to read somebody's story before getting to the recipe? I do, so I try not to do that.

However... the way I learned to cook did NOT include a lot of measuring! Some of that comes from learning recipes so old and practiced that they weren't needed, and some of that comes from my own trial-and-error and using-whatever-you've-got experiences (broke college days before a lot of fancy ingredients reached WNC!). And lots of my recipes vary by seasons (and other reasons), so some of them may be more story-like than listed ingredients. But I try, y'all.

On some of the more meaningful ones I will include a story or history of the dish at the bottom, and I try to at least provide a guideline of how-much-to-buy ingredients, along with substitutions or options.

They might get wordy, but this suits me better than videos... for now. Remember I'm having to learn how to do this!

*Warning: a lot of these recipes call for commonly foraged ingredients, so it is imperative:

- take a foraging and ethics class (one will be offered SOON!) to learn how to not trespass, harm or destroy sensitive populations, or generally be a nuisance.

- when I say forage, I don't just mean cool mushrooms or ramps. A LOT of these things grow on roadsides or pastures or yards. Along with making sure you have permission, make sure you don't harvest where pesticides are used.

- a LOT of these have dangerous look-alikes. Please educate yourself first, don't take chances with identification, and if any doubt at all just DON'T!