Small Bites: BlackForager + Mint Iced Tea + Flour Power
Issue No. 76
We have a new schedule: Twice a month, Sunshine + Microbes sends out its regularly scheduled newsletter. During the weeks in between, we’ll share threads, interviews, kitchen tips, and a grab bag of our favorite things we like from the world of food and environment. Enjoy our Small Bites!
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Top Pick: BlackForager
The best person on the internet is Alexis Nikole Nelson, aka BlackForager. Her Instagram videos (she’s also on TikTok, for the youths) on cooking with wild edibles are little bombs of pure joy. She demonstrates approachable techniques with the perfect balance of whimsy (she is the queen of goofy made-up songs) and authority (she is a walking encyclopedia of foraging). Nelson is from Ohio, and I wish there was more overlap between the plants of our respective homes. Even so, I have learned so much from her since discovering her videos this spring, like how to make rose water, which I thought would be so complicated, but it’s not! I’m including a few favorite videos below, but check out her Instagram and go down the rabbit hole.
Rose Water
Seaweed Snacks
Wild Onion Dip
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Four More Things We Like This Week
1️⃣Moroccan Mint Iced Tea ☕
It’s officially sweltering, and I have been surviving on this lovely tea. Here’s what you need: black tea of choice, a bunch of mint, and honey.
Bring a large pot of water to a simmer. Add in a few glugs of honey (depending on how sweet you want it). Once the honey has dissolved, turn the heat off and add the black tea and mint. Let it steep for 3-5 minutes (oversteeped tea is the worst!). Strain it, throw it in the fridge, and serve over ice.
2️⃣Fresh Flour
Bread nerds, check out this piece by Andrew Janjigian (and subscribe to his newsletter Wordloaf!) about baking with fresh flour:
Flour that has been recently milled from grains bred for flavor is a world apart from the commodity flour, which sits on shelves for ages and serves as a “neutral” vehicle for other flavors. And of course, if you want to work with fresh flour at home, here is my semi-regular Carolina Ground plug!
3️⃣A Pine Island fruit basket
On a recent visit to the Gulf Coast, I picked up this tropical fruit basket from the Florida Fruit Co-Op in St. Pete. The colorful season fruit box featured lychees, passion fruit, black sapote, soursop, sapodilla, and those chunky bananas. West Coasters— grab a box! Treasure Coasters— should I work on getting them to do a semiannual drop off in Stuart?
4️⃣Sours & Dough
I will be popping up Friday night (June 11) from 5 - 8 p.m. at Gilbert’s Coffee Bar in Stuart, Fla., with an assortment of sourdough breads and sweet treats. There will be live music and a bunch of sour beers (my fave!). Come say hello, and bring your friends for a sunset snack!
Talk to Us
Send in your comments, mailbag questions, recipe mishaps, or cooking tips: sunshineandmicrobes@gmail.com. Also do us a favor and follow us on Facebook and Instagram. Visit our website and cook yourself something nice.
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Sunshine + Microbes team
Jackie Vitale is a cook and kitchen educator based in Stuart, Fla . She runs Otto’s Bread Club and is co-founder of the Florida Ferment Fest. Her newsletter explores the intersection of food, culture, environment and community.
Matt Levin is a communications strategist at the ACLU of Texas. He edits Sunshine + Microbes and contributes other scraps to each issue.