Kai’s immediate action of the steps to the plan had to be put on hold for the moment. In her slow progressions of deep thinking, her plans started to take shape however she needed to eat. She skipped out on dinner and breakfast so far; a hot meal came first.

Kai got off her seat and took a moment to do a few light stretches; arms and hands reaching up to the ceiling, pushing her hips out to the side, and leaning in the opposite direction, forcing the muscles to pull against of the tight knots in her body. “Nnnnnnmmgh” Kai murmured in satisfaction as she slowly let go of the breath she held in while holding each pose.

She shook her tight arms and rubbed the sore muscles while heading to the pack, picking the weighty object up, and headed towards the kitchen sink. Nimble hands unzipped the compartment that held the forage the day before. A smile crept on her face as she spotted several delicious wild edibles that may have found themselves on the brunch menu for the day.

The first plant she picked was lemon balm, which was a beautiful look-alike to mint. There are many varieties of this plant however the main attraction is the concentrated sent of lemon coming off it when rubbed. Kai had no fresh lemons, so this plant had its uses for the day. She rinsed the picked stocks and held the edges together while nimbly tying the stems together with kitchen string, which she then used to tie up against a makeshift drying rack, upside down. The young inner leaves were to be used in cooking however the tough lower leaves had a pleasant taste in teas and tinctures. She also dug up a small sample of this plant to the root, which she set aside for planting later in a separate plastic bag.

With this plant done, she went onto the next: Red Clovers. Most often, people treat this plant as garbage foliage for rabbits or guinea pigs to munch on however this plant is edible and delicious for humans if used right. The clover’s foliage is usually picked through to find that lucky ‘four leaf clover’, however in this case it was picked for its bright pink little florets. These little florets had a sweet taste as it held little nectar in each flower cluster, which would be added to any salad. Kai processed each flower under the cold water, dropped the florets in a clean bowl, and placed the pinched undesired stems into the compost located beside the sink.

Kai was excited for her next find, which was oregano, a species that is widely used in a variety of dishes such as pasta. This herb had multiple uses in cooking and would provide an exciting and delicious savory flavor to any dish. She again, washed, shook, and tied up the bunches masterfully before hanging it next to the lemon balm on the rack. She didn’t leave out the opportunity to dig up a few root samples as well, which sat on the floor beside its other herbed friend.

Kai smiled as she found a bunch of wild leeks, also known as ramps, cut just above the root, leaves broad and green, thin stalk from the cut base. She knew this was going to be a success in her morning dish as she washed them all to remove the traces of dirt. These were transported to her cutting board for further processing after her bag search.

Kai located her Fiddleheads in the bottom of the pack and fished out each curl. She was a little late in the season to grab these beauties however she wasn’t discouraged with the small amount. She had enough to make a small side dish and she immediately soaked them in another bowl, knowing how difficult and time consuming the brown husk was to peel off.

Young dandelion leaves were a delectable favorite in her salads and that was why it made it into her forage list. She found a lot in the forest in multiple places, so it didn’t take long to pick a large amount. She washed and dried all of it and put it in a salad bowl for later consumption.

A tiny reusable container held a handful of tiny little wild strawberries which she painstakingly picked when she unexpectedly came across them. Those were rinsed and kept to the side on her island behind her beside the chopping board.

The wild asparagus were easily recognizable and had its own special place on the chopping board, rinsed in bunches, various colours of green envy radiating off the delicious stalks.

The crabapples were placed in the empty left side of the stainless-steel sink. These needed to be rinsed and boiled down, which could be done after brunch.

Lastly came the array of mushrooms that were considered the forest gems. Usually difficult to spot in the vast open, wild mushrooms were in abundance in this location after the rainfall. The edible ones were especially beautiful and appealing to the eye as every individual grew in a unique figure.

Kai held the oyster mushroom upside down, studying its lengthy gills that ran in a unique pattern like a maze or a fingerprint, inspecting for any foreign matter between each fleshy wall. Each one was meticulously examined, rinsed and placed in another separate stainless-steel bowl for later consumption. She had a lot of oyster mushrooms as she was lucky to locate and reach the beauties that were bunched together on her walk. There were more but she was unable to reach those that were located higher up on the tree, much to her disappointment. Her optimism was that those would be left alone to the forest in order to propagate more later.

The saturated yellow-gold chanterelle mushrooms were next to process and she eyed each specimen for any foreign matter, while rinsing and setting aside in the mushroom bowl. The beautiful yellow trumpets held a slight fragrance that was like no other, woodsy and screaming deliciousness.

Morel mushrooms had their own charm. The few wrinkly tops were lightly rinsed and placed in the mushroom bowl.

With that, Kai turned around and eyed the variety of ingredients at her disposal. She started with the fiddleheads, which she meticulously scrubbed clean after leaving a tiny pot of water to boil on the stove. After scrubbing and rinsing, the heads plopped into the pot of rolling water and simmered while she became preoccupied with her other goodies.

The infamous clean cast iron pan was heated up, butter sizzling in the center, chopped wild leeks were cut into thin ribbons, and thrown in amongst the butter.

The asparagus were grasped and broken in half, thrown into the pan, which agitated the leeks to release a delicate sensual buttery garlic sent. A few leaves of lemon balm and oregano were picked and ripped into pieces, dusting the top of the dish. The blanched fiddleheads were drained and tossed into the pan, causing the butter to react and sizzle with each drop of moisture agitating the mix. While leaving the mix on the stove to simmer on low, Kai turned her attention to the mushrooms, which were picked out and finely chopped for this dish. She did not discriminate between each ‘shroom, she simply picked the fattest ones which would satisfy her hunger.

Chopping and sizzling was her soundtrack right now, and the scents wafting from the near-completed dish caused kai to swallow her newly formed pool of saliva.

The mushrooms were added with a final quarter cup of butter which made the appearance of the pan full to the brim. Heat was turned on high and she feverously stirred the pan to incorporate all the ingredients.

After her painstaking progression, she finally had a finished product that would satisfy her worn out body. With an arrogant flair like the Salt Bae, she tossed in some salt happily, knowing the savory dish was at its pinnacle flavor profile.

The dandelion leaves were ripped, and the clovers and strawberries were tossed in, along with a home-made dressing made with olive oil, raspberry vinaigrette, pepper, Dijon mustard, garlic salt, and grated ginger.

Both dishes were assembled on an oversized plate and gave off an aroma, screaming ‘EAT ME NOW’. Kai had no hesitation and tucked into the dish. Her ravenous appetite was fueled while preparing the dish and the plated food did not disappoint in the slightest.

Each bite was addictive. Her stomach blubbed with each forkful and the flavor profile between each bite made her toes curl in delight. It took no time for per to polish off the dish in a terrifying manner.

Sighing in satisfaction, Kai let the fullness wash over her, sleep threatening her from the corners of her vision.