Farmers markets are a mutually beneficial link between California’s rich agricultural regions and our denser suburban communities, but there are also less commonplace sources for gathering the makings of a meal. Author, speaker, chef, sustainability expert and Sausalito houseboat resident Maria Finn has long championed the ethos of living in harmony with nature. In her new cookbook, “Forage.
Gather. Feast.: 100+ Recipes from West Coast Forests, Shores, and Urban Spaces,” she encourages readers to step outside conventional boundaries and explore the edible wonders found in thriving ecosystems on the forest floor, water’s edge and even on urban sidewalks, many of which are free of charge.
“Think of this book as part instruction and part inspiration,” she writes in the book’s introduction. “It is by no means a comprehensive guide to wild foods, and it doesn’t advocate trying to ‘live off the land.’” Rather Finn deftly demystifies the process of foraging, offering clear instructions, helpful tips, stunning photography and a refreshing perspective on gaining a deeper connection with the food we eat in an era where its origin is often obscured by mass production and industrial agriculture.
“In the woods, there are nuts and fungi; at the coast, we find underwater seaweed, small fish, bivalves,” she writes. “I try to mimic nature as much as possible on the plate.” The cookbook is structured around three sections, or ecosystems: the coast (seaweed, biva.
