A Foragers Feast

This was supposed to be a story about historical sleuthing.. but that will have to wait.

Because this can't!

Right now, this very moment in Spring... at this latitude... is the very best time to score a fantastic meal from right outside your back door!
(just make sure where you are foraging has not been treated with either pesticides or herbicides, or other contaminants) 

Foraging has become a "newly-cool" term for a food gathering lifestyle that used to be commonplace. Somehow, it became relegated to those who could not.. or chose not... to buy all of their food from a store (or grow their own) - which, happened to correspond with the rise of the American ideal of perfectly manicured lawns: all the same shade of green, no "weeds", lots of fertilizer (which equates to lots of mowing), no insects.... 
The use of herbicides, pesticides and fertilizing chemicals ensures that nothing can live on a lawn, but grass. But, that's another topic...for another diatribe on another day..

Besides all that, foraging opens an entirely new world of taste and nutrition. Many items found foraging are considered main stream foods in other parts of the world.. it's only in part of N. America where it is considered "exotic".

This may be the best week or two of the whole year to learn to forage an incredible meal!
For our meal, (that we are going to forage and prepare herein), I'm going to tell you what we are having, show pictures of the plants, and then, how to prepare each dish... The tasting, and enjoyment will be up to you!

*I must warn you, the nutritional value of the foods to follow is off the charts! Don't be surprised to find that these dishes are incredibly tasty, easy to digest, and also have an effect on your body sort of like what spinach does to Popeye... well, almost. 

We will start with a salad of wilted baby dandelion leaves, wilted garlic mustard, fresh chickweed and watercress, garnished with chopped wild chives and redbud flower buds.
The main course will be dandelion fritters, steamed, buttered cattail shoots and sautéed morels, wild chives and redbud... washed down with mint tea. I'm not much for sweets but if you want, we can follow our meal up with candied violets...  

So, for our foraging expedition we will go to 3 places, all within an easy mile of the office, walking. 
The first stop will be an old field area, which is technically considered "the verge" where the forest meets the field.

There, we will gather dandelion (flowers and young leaves), 
1. salad - {wilt the tender, young leaves with either warm olive oil or bacon fat, use in a salad as you would lettuce, delicious with hard boiled egg dressing!}
2. fritters - { pick the best flowers you can find, at least a couple of handfuls, wash them, pinch any remaining stems off each flower and as many of the remaining sepals possible. Dip in beaten egg, then dredge in flour. Fry in a hot skillet until golden brown, place on a paper towel to absorb any residual oil...salt to taste... and be ready to be blown away!}

Garlic mustard, (an invasive that is, unfortunately, EVERYWHERE!)
1. salad - {wilt the tender young leaves as above for dandelions}
2. as a dinner green or potherb - {steam, boil or stir fry as you would spinach or kale}









Violets, 
delicious fresh in a salad, as a garnish for any meal, or can be candied {clean violets, dip in simple syrup, set aside to dry. As they dry, sprinkle with confectioners sugar...a Victorian delicacy!}























Chickweed, (found thriving near an old stone wall. If you have a garden, you undoubtedly will have it growing in abundance. SUPER NUTRITIOUS!)
1. fresh, salad {rinse thoroughly, clip the tips and leaves , add to any salad!}
2. fresh, pesto {rinse, use in the place of basil in your favorite pesto recipe}
3. cooked, (one of many recipes) {blanche the chickweed, sauté chopped onion in butter until translucent, add chopped chickweed, sauté together for about a minute, and serve}



Wild garlic (or wild chives, onion grass) 

{Best used sparingly as a condiment, like chives, or as an accent for stir frying. The bulbs have a VERY strong flavor... to me, best enjoyed roasted, like garlic.)





and, redbud (which is a small tree or large shrub that tends to prefer verge areas to forest)

{The fresh flower buds of redbud can be enjoyed right off the tree, as either a snack or as a condiment}  

Further up the mountain, we will stop at an upland marsh, spring fed, with no chance of contamination.  (If you decide to harvest your own wetland plants, make sure you know the source of the water, and that it is clean.. if there is contamination, different parts of the plant can accumulate contaminants, and can make you sick)

There, we will gather water cress, which grows in abundance in the cool, clean water. Be sure to harvest before it flowers... once it flowers, the leaves, become bitter. Another super-nutritious wild food...




1.fresh - {after rinsing, water cress can be used as a peppery addition to salads, in sandwiches, or as a garnish
2. cooked- {watercress can be sautéed or stir-fried} 

cattail shoots...
While the entire cattail plant is edible at some point of its life cycle (it has a history of being a foraged food that goes back 11,000 years)
perhaps the best time is NOW, when the new shoots are emerging from the roots.

1. fresh - {can be eaten fresh after cleaning, but you need to be certain of your water source!)
2. steamed - {trim the leaves to about the bottom 5 inches, peel off the outer layers, and steam (or boil)for 2-3 minutes, salt and/or butter... delish!
Alternatively, the tender shoots can be blanched, then cut into smaller chunks then sautéed or stir-fried}





and mint....a common wetland plant, found often in close proximity to springs.. Mint makes a refreshing tea and can also be an edible garnish!

And finally, we will head up to a openly forested, rocky, mountain cove.. a top secret location, where we hope to locate the centerpiece of our feast... morels... (or merkels as is the local vernacular..) One can be seen in the center of the photo.

Everyone has their own favorite way of preparing morels, but the common denominator is that they must be heated! A good rinsing in salt water is also a good idea.. critters love to live inside of them..
1. Sautéed - {slice them, fry them up in butter... (I like them with eggs)}
2. In soups - { this is a favorite with my college classes.. wash them, slice them, and cook them into a soup with rice, or barley, garlic mustard, wild garlic  (and cooked chicken if you have it)}

In total, this foraged meal is tremendously nutritious... and many of the foraged foods are considered "delicacies"

I encourage you to go feast!

**...but as always, unless you can positively identify the plants, it's probably a good idea to not consume them... research them, ask someone, take a class.... 

These foods are free, they are nutritious beyond belief... and best of all
they are delicious!
Bon appetit!