By opening our eyes and imaginations to the full extent of our wild larder, its perfectly possible to make any spice-led dish from around the world using fungi, seaweeds and the seeds, leaves, flowers and roots of common wild plants.

This article presents a structure around which novice and intermediate fungi foragers may advance their understanding of fungi lifecycle, learn to recognise important mushroom families, develop mindful foraging techniques, and feel safe in the process.

Caragheen is not a seaweed to eat in the conventional sense – its far too tough, even when cooked. But once heated in water it exudes a gelatinous flavourless substance that can be used to thicken soups and stews, or in higher concentrations, set jellies or panna cottas. It also can be boiled with other flavourings to make a rich, nourishing tea…

I’m pretty lazy when it comes to wild food recipes. Maximum deliciousness for minimum effort is the forager’s way. So here are some ideas on making small batch mead that require next to no equipment or effort and no added yeast – just what is floating around naturally…

A wee slip up with a deadly plant got me thinking… How scared should we be of poisoning ourselves with wild plants and fungi? And are we more likely to kill ourselves with things we buy in the shops…?