- Hi, I'm Les Stroud.

Welcome to another episode of "Wild Harvest."

To learn about local foraging in a way that is sustainable and safe, it's best to do it by heading out with a local expert.

You can learn from your books, you can go online, but nothing will replace heading out with someone who really knows what they're doing when it comes to the wild harvest.

(gentle piano music) You know, I get asked all the time, is there anything in my neighborhood that I could forage for?

And my answer is always the same.

A very emphatic, yeah, there's lots of plants and mushrooms and even trees you can harvest.

And that's the beauty of it.

Forging is a worldwide nature experience, as old as existence itself and the reason we thrived as a species in the first place.

It doesn't belong to any one culture and no one can lay claim to it.

It's there for us all and always has been.

If we don't do it, it's simply because we're out of touch with the natural world.

So isn't it time you've got yourself reconnected to nature?

Isn't it time you took the time to breathe in fresh air and feel the earth between your fingers?

Isn't it time you enjoyed the wild harvest?

(dramatic music) (upbeat music) - These mushrooms that we're looking for here are in the Russulaceae family.

- Russulaceae.

- Yeah, and so like for instance, these are, we're gonna look here.

Here's some right here.

- Okay, okay, yeah, yeah, yeah, let's see.

- These are called bleeding milk caps.

- Bleeding milk caps.

- Mm hmm.

And they have some really clear defining features.

They're called milk caps because they ooze a kind of a milky substance when you break them open.

The genus is Lactarius and Lactarius, lacta is milk, right?

This Lactarius rubrilacteus is called a bleeding milk cap, cause it has bright red latex.

- Okay.

- So there's other varieties.

All the milk caps though, have this kind of latex that comes out when you break their cap.

- Okay.

- And the bleeding milk caps is bright red like this, and then it's gonna bruise green.

So in about 20, 30 minutes, this is gonna turn green from this beautiful red.

- That's not a problem.

- And it's totally fine.

That's just part of it, you know.

And in fact, that's one of the defining features of this mushroom.

- Actually mine is already, I'm sensing some green on the top of mine, just from my finger stabs.

- That's right.

- Okay.

- And sometimes you'll find them already splotched with green and that's totally normal.

- So these are guild mushrooms.

- Yep.

- Right?

And there's no veil.

- There's no veil.

- Of any source on the stipe.

And the stipe is like chalk, breaks- - Breaks like chalk.

- Off like chalk.

- And these are also known as brittle gill- - Brittle gill.

- Mushrooms, because the gills are easy to break.

They're very brittle.

- Okay.

- How about poisonous lookalikes?

- Okay, so the cool thing about this family, and this actually this genus of Russulaceae is that there's rules to the the genus.

- Okay?

- So you can say, all of the green staining milk caps are edible.

- Interesting.

- And that's a rule that you can just follow.

You can say, "hey, if it's green staining and I can identify it for sure as a milk cap, then I know I can eat it."

And then it doesn't really matter.

- Can I eat this raw?

You can taste it raw.

Yeah, I mean, I wouldn't eat a lot of it raw.

- No?

- Mushrooms in general, you wanna cook.

Like pretty much all mushrooms are better cooked, but there's no problem tasting it.

In fact, another way you can tell that it's an edible Lactarius is that it's mild tasting.

If it's a Russulaceae family and it burns and it's like peppery, then it's poisonous.

And if it's a Russulaceae that's mild tasting, then most likely it's edible.

- It's a little bitter.

- Yeah, a little bit bitter.

That's fine.

It's gonna taste good cooked.

- Oh no, he's turning green.

- Oops, wrong one.

- No, Les isn't supposed to turn green, the mushroom's supposed to turn green.

- Yeah.

- Yeah, no, that's great.

Well should we gather some.

- Yeah, let's grab some.

- All right, let's do it.

I'll take this one.

- Start right there.

(inspirational music) When Paul and I started the "Wild Harvest," the whole idea was to get him out to where the plants and critters actually live and grow and survive, bringing him so much closer as a chef to the soul of the ingredient, and therefore informing his thinking on how to treat it in the kitchen.

(inspirational music) - [Adam] Here's some.

Check it out, there's already a little bit of green on this cap of this one.

(inspirational music) - Oh yeah.

(inspirational music) That's beautiful.

(inspirational music) - These are what I call LBMs.

- LBMs.

- Little brown mushrooms.

- But look at the beautiful curvature.

So you can see this is such a great example that the mycelium is growing under the ground because that's where it is.

These are just the apples, it's just the fruit.

But I love it when you can see a line like that so you know that these are all connected, is what I'm trying to say.

- [Adam] That's right and with mushrooms, we call this a fairy ring- - Yes.

- Often.

- And it starts often with one fruiting mushroom in the middle, and the spores make it out into these rings and start and create a mycelium mat.

- [Les] This is one guy under the ground growing like this.

So cool and so beautiful.

(gentle piano music) One day later and back at home, the natural greening of the milk cap mushroom shows itself with zero ambiguity.

- [Paul] I'm amazed at how they turned green overnight.

Like they're definitely not the most attractive mushroom.

- [Les] No.

- [Paul] I think they're a little bit better today, now that they've had a chance to dry out overnight than they were when we freshly picked them.

- Yeah, they feel better.

They don't look better.

But the green is neither here nor there, and they feel better.

We have more than just these mushrooms.

So what I want to add to this is my harvest of Oregon grapes.

And what I wanna do just on the side since I have it, is get us a Oregon grape syrup cocktail, a play on a mojito.

- Okay.

- And an Oregon grape curd for dessert.

- You're doing dessert?

- Yes, I'm doing dessert this time.

- I like this.

This is it right here, I've got three gallons.

Okay, so it's super, I'm not gonna say anything.

Just taste it and you decide.

- Oh wow.

I don't know how to describe it.

It doesn't taste like typical grape juice that, hey, let's make some wine, but I bet you could make wine outta that.

It sits right on the side of my tongue.

- Mm hmm.

- And it's not crazy bitter, but it almost has a place like I could see using that in a cream reduction, like I would use wine.

- Okay, well I mean, I wasn't even counting on that, but I've got three gallons of it, so have at her.

(inspirational music) - Little duck fat.

(inspirational music) Got the sounds of cooking.

And here it goes.

(juice sizzling) Bit of cream.

And now I just want this to reduce.

I wanna see what happens.

(inspirational music) - If you've got the space and the yard for it, try planting rosemary, thyme, oregano, or any kind of other spice plant that you enjoy.

They tend to take little work and come back every year as a perennial ready to be harvested upon need.

(inspirational music) (metal clanking together) (inspirational music) - Tastes like I put red wine in there.

- Really?

- Yeah.

Sincerely.

- So that's just the Oregon grape juice that I gave you, a little bit of cream and some onions.

Yep, here try this.

- So think of a red wine cream sauce.

(inspirational music) - Yeah.

I would never have thought of using the Oregon grape juice so early in the stages.

Normally gotta sweeten it up.

Yeah, that's really good.

- It's really good.

- And a surprise, very cool.

- Yeah, I love this.

Next up goes the mushrooms.

(inspirational music) - I am flattering myself working alongside a chef, the likes of Paul Rogalski, but hey, I can try.

And besides cocktails are my wheelhouse.

(wood and glass clanking together) (metal and glass clanking together) Hey Paul, you ready for a cocktail?

- I could use a cocktail.

- Well, coincidentally, I happen to have an Oregon grape cocktail.

One's yours.

- Oh, right on.

- Here you go, Antonio.

- [Antonio] Thank you.

- Cheers.

- Cheers.

- So this is Oregon Grape mojito, play on a mojito.

- It does have a mojito vibe.

- It absolutely does.

- It's delicious.

Oh, that's good, that's hitting the spot.

- Mm hmm.

- Well, cheers.

Here's to the rest of your cooking day, have fun.

- [Paul] Cheers.

(inspirational music) - I found some beautiful little blossoms of oregano.

Some oregano in the mushrooms too.

Why not?

(inspirational music) Mushrooms and toast are a classic combination that makes for an easy crowd pleasing dish.

I've made it for Les before and I wanna make it again, but this time with an unexpected twist.

(upbeat music) Perfect.

Because after all it is, you know, french toast.

And after all, I am Chef Paul.

(upbeat music) (inspirational music) (spoon scraping against pan) (inspirational music) - All right, your plate's hot, careful.

- Ha ha, this looks great.

Wow, walk me through this dish.

You probably want me to eat it while it's hot.

- Eat it while it's hot and your plate is hot.

So this is a play on a dish that I had in my repertoire from 15 years ago.

Back then, though it was a foie gras on french toast.

In this case, the mushrooms are replacing the foie gras.

The custard toast is the same.

And the Oregon grape juice replaced the port wine.

Although I don't have sugar in there, that's just Oregon grape juice and the natural flavor it has, reduced.

- Wow!

You know, when you say foie gras, I mean right down to the texture.

- Yeah.

- There's this, you can almost call it mock foie gras.

- It's true, it's got a great bite to it.

- Mm.

Everything you're suggesting is right on.

The sauce tastes like you used wine.

The mushrooms taste like foie gras.

This is stellar.

This is outta the park, dude, seriously.

- I'm so happy right now.

- Oh.

- That's so good.

- I'll bet you are.

Oh, cheers.

Here, cheers.

- Cheers.

So tell me about the drink.

- Let me tell you about this drink, exactly.

Mm.

- Hey, delicious.

- So the story goes back to over a year ago.

I went out and harvested Oregon grapes from the bushes right down over there.

And the usual harvest time around here seems to be right in the middle of July, so I froze them.

Last week before you got here, I pulled them out and I started to process them in the kitchen.

And I just took all of the frozen berries, dumped them into a pot, got them simmering on the stove top, mashed them all up, got the juice out of them, extracted that juice by pouring it through a sieve.

Then I did that another four times and I kept getting juice.

- Wow.

- So I've got three gallons of it sitting there.

And then I thought, okay, what am I going to do with this?

Well this time I thought, let's sit with this and figure a few things out.

And that's when I came across a few recipes.

One for the cocktail, and I gotta say, I'm not big on mojitos, really, it's not my favorite drink.

- Sure.

- But this is supposedly a play on a mojito and I'm happy to say, yeah, well it's a good play on a mojito, so.

- Cheers to play on a mojito.

- Mm, I mean, that's delicious.

And you know what, that's cutting this beautifully, isn't it?

- It does.

I was just about to say the same thing.

It's like, holy cow, that works well together.

- Every once in a while, Paul, we just land in a spot, in a zone where you're in your zone with the wild foraged ingredient in terms of how you're going to cook it, and I'm in the zone by bringing along a drink that we can have with it, and this is the zone right here.

This is the "Wild Harvest" zone.

Absolutely.

- Oh, Antonio.

- Yeah Antonio, you have to.

- Your dish is waiting inside.

Wait till the scene's over and cut.

(inspirational music) - One thing I love about mushrooms is the fact that there's so many different varieties and they all have their own different flavor profile, their own attributes, their own texture.

Whether they're domestic or foraged, they're incredible and versatile.

In this case, they will be the flavor of a nice Italian style rice.

(onions sizzling) So I want a little bit of color on these onions, sort of that caramelization to add a wee bit of a nuttiness and a depth of flavor that will go well with the mushrooms.

Some salt.

And all I have to do right now is let that cook down, let it get soft before I add the rice and the liquid.

(upbeat music) ♪ Cafe society meets in front of Peet's ♪ - Yeah, that's a little sugar snowball.

Eight yolks.

Little bit at a time.

What is it, Paul, about egg yolks and the color that they make desserts.

It's just awesome, that beautiful, vibrant yellow, you know.

- [Paul] The signature color of custard.

- Yes, yes indeed.

That's kinda what I'm going for.

♪ Misery loves company ♪ And hey, it's a way ♪ To start your day ♪ Cafe society talking up a storm ♪ ♪ Talk about the Nasdaq - Okay, you've made a lot of custard in your time, also called curd.

- Yeah.

- What's the trick here?

- Okay, you are getting close.

The most important thing is not to boil it.

You don't want to cook the eggs.

- Okay.

- Because they'll curdle, you know, well, they'll coagulate and you'll end up with scrambled eggs, not a smooth.

- Ah, that's why.

- Let me just check that.

- Yeah?

- That's awesome.

- Really?

Okay, that's exciting.

That's a nice flavor.

Oh, this is- - Great flavor.

- This is an exciting discovery because that was fun to make and easy to make.

Oh.

- You're there.

- It's getting thick.

- You're done.

- Pull that off.

- Yep, see how it made a sauce?

And all we're doing is making sure that the residual heat that's in the pot is being dealt with.

- All right, shall I go for this?

- Go for it.

♪ And hey, it's a way ♪ To start your day - I wanna see how these mushrooms work in a risotto and if their flavor will stand up when combined with the rice.

When I make my risotto, I like to have my rice just a touch al dente.

Al dente means to the teeth or a little bit of a bite.

My rice will be tender, but with a slight bit of resistance.

Time for some broth.

So one thing that's really important is the broth that you use.

When it comes to mushrooms, I like to use a poultry broth or stock, something like chicken or duck.

Personally though, I wouldn't do anything heavy like a beef broth.

I don't want to take away flavor from the mushrooms.

I just want to enhance them.

(inspirational music) And the oregano is from Les's garden, beautiful little oregano blossoms.

(inspirational music) - Oh, perfect fall day.

- It is brilliant.

- Dessert is ready for us.

- Nice.

- But of course you're up first.

Main attraction, what do we got?

Risotto.

- Or Riso or Paul's mushroom cap rice.

(Les laughs) - Tell me about it.

- So not a lot about this that you don't know already.

The mushrooms, the bloody milk caps.

- Yes.

- And where they came from, I mean, we harvested those together with Adam.

The only thing that I added to this, because we are here in Oregon, there's the best blue cheese in the world that is made just up the road.

- [Les] Yep.

- I had to, I couldn't resist.

And I thought it would go really well with mushrooms.

- Rogue Creamery.

- That's it.

- Yeah.

- Yep.

- Oh.

Right away what I was worried about were two things, one, that the flavor would overall be just very basic mushroomy risottoy.

Two, that the blue cheese might take over and take away from the bloody milk caps.

But I can tell you that every time one of those mushrooms goes on my palate, it's got a flavor that's cutting through.

You know, I mean, you could lose mushrooms.

Mushrooms can become just part of the texture for risotto.

Not so in the case of the bloody milk caps.

Are you finding that?

- I am.

And in all honesty, part of the reason I put the cheese on top is so it wasn't part of the overall flavor profile.

It was just sort of a punctuating moment on your palate, because the mushrooms are the star of the show.

- For three seasons now going on of "Wild Harvest", our point has been, find the wild edible plant or mushroom or tree or what have you, and discover its flavor profile and then celebrate it by not losing it in a sauce, you know, or a soup or it's got to always pop.

It has to always be there.

I think we've got both texture and flavor and it's remaining robust and it's, have you worked with milk caps before?

- No, I haven't.

This is my first time.

- What did you think?

- They might be one of my favorite mushrooms so far.

*Dog barks.

- Absolutely, mm hmm.

I think the dogs agree.

Shall we try a little bit more of what Oregon has to offer with the dessert?

- Mm.

- I had so much fun making this.

I've not done a lot of custards or also called curds in my life, but I knew that I'd be dealing with an interesting and new flavor with the Oregon grape juice.

So I was excited to do this.

Tell me, tell me your reaction.

- I love the flavor.

It's unique in the sense that it doesn't taste like grape.

It doesn't taste like a dried red fruit.

It came out tasting like Oregon grape.

And it's wonderful.

It's balanced.

Oh, I love the flavor.

- It's so good.

- It's really spectacular.

There's no lemon in it, yet it's lemony.

- It is.

- Isn't that something?

- Hits you right in the back.

- Yeah.

- Right on the side of the tongue.

- Yeah.

I think I could have left it overnight and it would set up a little stronger, but I am completely getting, I gotta do this again.

I'm getting the Oregon grape in there.

- Mm hmm.

- How about you Rogue?

You want some?

- Yeah, he does.

- You're not getting any of this.

That is outstanding.

Cheers, man.

- Cheers.

(Les laughs) All you really need to do is step outside and you're going to be beside a wild edible plant.

I don't care if you're in the middle of a city.

So that's the key, isn't it?

Step outside and into the natural world where you will heal quicker, you will de-stress, you'll feel better, you'll feel stronger.

There's just no downside at all to being out in nature, which means there's no downside to the wild harvest.

(inspirational music) What a perfect, perfect wild harvest.

(inspirational music) (upbeat music) ♪ Cafe society meets in front of Peet's ♪ ♪ Goes on about the goings on up and down the street ♪ ♪ And hey, it's a way ♪ To start the day - [Les] If you'd like to continue the "Wild Harvest" with me and Chef Paul Rogalski, then please check out our website at wildharvestfilms.com where we have recipes and foraging tips along with deleted scenes and out takes from the making of Les Stroud's "Wild Harvest."

- [Narrator] Directly inspired by the series Chef Paul and expert forager Les Stroud, bring you the "Wild Harvest" recipe book highlighting all of Paul's dishes and complete with behind the scenes stories.

It is available for 29.99.

In addition, A DVD of this season is also available for 19.99.

To order, please go to wildharvestfilms.com, Wild Harvest TV show on Facebook or lesstroudswildharvest on YouTube.

(inspirational music) (frogs croaking) (birds chirping) (dramatic music) (upbeat music)