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St. LOUIS, Mo.—For many, an important part of the Christmas holiday season is reconnecting with traditions of the past. Before the modern era of frozen turkeys, boxed stuffing, and canned vegetables, there was food from nature. It was a time when the outdoors provided the feast, rather than the grocery store.
The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) is providing the opportunity to re-instill the food-from-nature connection by offering a Cooking Wild for the Holidays virtual class Tuesday, Dec. 15 from 7-8 p.m. The class is free and open to all ages.
The program will benefit anyone wanting to add Missouri wild game or other wild edibles found in the Show-Me-State to their winter holiday parties. It will provide helpful ideas for those interested in eating more organic or locally-sourced foods.
“Come and join us as we discuss various recipes you can use to add a taste of Missouri to your dinner parties. We will also discuss how to go about collecting and processing some of the wild edibles,” said MDC Naturalist Shelly Colatskie.
The class “menu” will include natural delicacies such as smoked duck and trout. Black walnut biscotti with homemade blackberry ice-cream will be featured too, along with homemade hazelnut latte. Participants will also discover how to make waffles out of acorn and cattail flours.
“As an extra treat, we will be making one of the recipes live for the audience to see during the program,” Colatskie said.
All recipes featured during the class will be sent to participants following the event, Colatskie added, so they can try them out for themselves. This virtual event will be followed by a question and answer session.
Cooking Wild for the Holidays is a free online program, but advanced online registration is required at https://short.mdc.mo.gov/Zbx for each person attending. Attendees will receive an invitation by email from the MDC Event Management System with a WebEx program link 24 hours before the program, as well as any important program information. If you do not see this email, please check your spam/junk mail.
MDC offers many free educational programs in the St. Louis region to help people discover nature, fishing, hunting, and the outdoors. Stay informed by going to the MDC St. Louis regional events page at https://short.mdc.mo.gov/ZP6.
