Wild Foods

Cafe Society
21

[QUOTE=Cluricaun]
Hey no kidding, you can do that?
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Yep, the whole dandelion’s edible, 'cept the fluff. But the yellow flowers, leaves and roots, all yummy in one form or another. Throw a little salt and pepper and cayenne or Italian Season or Curry Power in with some flour, and you can bread up some tasty yellow flowers that even your in-laws will love. (Until you tell them what they are. Then they look at you funny and you become known as “that weirdo who made us eat weeds that one time.”)

22

[QUOTE=Miss Purl McKnittington]
That’s too long. I want my rhubarb crisp now!

I feel kind of strange about being upset that, because our house was built last year, we have no lawn yet and so no dandelions in the lawn. Shouldn’t I be rejoicing that there is not a dandelion to be seen?
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The apple tree hasn’t flowered yet, and I’ve been wanting an apple from it for a month. I bought a couple store apples last month and could hardly choke them down. The niece wanted a tree apple all the time last year, but doesn’t want the store ones either.

23

[QUOTE=Harmonious Discord]
Mangetout I asked this before, but you didn’t answer at the time. How were the pickled walnuts?
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Mostly good - I mentioned them on the website along with the conclusion of the wild yeast sourdough bread experiment and updated the main pickled walnut page at that time too.

They taste great, but I think I was just a little late in picking the nuts - some of them have the beginnings of shells inside - not rock hard, just a little too crunchy.

http://atomicshrimp.com/4849/

24

[QUOTE=WhyNot]
Throw a little salt and pepper and cayenne or Italian Season or Curry Power in with some flour, and you can bread up some tasty yellow flowers
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My recipe (yes I actually have a recipe) calls these “Dandy Balls.” Ain’t that the greatest?!?!

I like to dip them into ranch dressing or yogurt dip.

Must. Go. Pick. Dandelions!

And I’ve eaten just about every possible wild-harvested food, which my fiance finds scary. Mulberries, wild cherries, wild grapes, elderberries, etc are abundant, even in the city.

A fave of mine is this plant, the cutleaf toothwort:
http://www.mobot.org/gardeninghelp/plantfinder/Plant.asp?code=J610
The spicy little rhizomes are reminiscent of wasabi.

I actually ate nettle last weekend - a friend made nettle lasagna for a potluck. Surprisingly good.

I stopped to snack on some grapes a few years ago on a hike in the Gorge, and the fiance looked at me in horror - “ohmigod, what are you doing?” Eating grapes, they’re good, if a little tart! I don’t think he understands that I feel utterly confident identifying plants by sight - what else could I mistake for grapes? The great north-american-poisonous-grape-pretender?

As for animals:
Rabbits (delicious), groundhogs (must be young), squirrels (yum!), and deer (Bambi’s dead, and inhabits my freezer).

25

[QUOTE=Snowcarpet]
I stopped to snack on some grapes a few years ago on a hike in the Gorge, and the fiance looked at me in horror - “ohmigod, what are you doing?” Eating grapes, they’re good, if a little tart! I don’t think he understands that I feel utterly confident identifying plants by sight - what else could I mistake for grapes? The great north-american-poisonous-grape-pretender?
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Similar thing has happened here a few times in mushroom-themed threads - the notion that you can in fact be absolutely certain about a set of objects just doesn’t seem possible to some.

26

You might mistake virginia creeper berries for wild grapes. The vines often grow with wild grapes, and the berries can be next to wild grapes. I always look for virginia creeper growing in the grapes to be sure I don’t pick them. I’m sure you have no problem in sorting which is which, but other’s might. Viginia Creeper

27

Dewberries as a kid, but I can’t believe no one has mentioned psilocybin mushrooms… :smiley:

28

If we’re not counting wild caught fish then they only wild foods I’ve eaten were dandelion flowers, another flower I can’t remember the name of, we actually pulled them apart for the nectar inside, and sea grapes. Sea grapes are pretty good but I hardly see them anymore.

29

Oh, I forgot lilies! I know technically you’re only supposed to eat day lilies, but I’ve eaten all sorts with no ill effects - tiger lilies, even. They’re so crunchy and sweet and delicious! I love the little drop of nectar at the bottom of each petal.

Dolores Reborn, I think we have to import those around here! :smiley:

30

They grow wild out in the cow fields, right on top of the cow patties. It’s been years, though. The farmers would catch us hippies and run us off.

Good times, good times. :wink:

31

[QUOTE=Dolores Reborn]
They grow wild out in the cow fields, right on top of the cow patties. It’s been years, though. The farmers would catch us hippies and run us off.

Good times, good times. :wink:
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Um…does that mean the cows are eating them? And the spores are being pooped out and sprouting in the poop? Or are the spores airborne and land on the cow patties post-poop? Please tell me it’s the former, I’m really enjoying the vision of tripping cows! :smiley:

“Have you ever really chewed your cud, man? I mean, *really *chewed it? Woah. Like, moo, dude.”

32

You know, I never thought about that! I think the spores just land on the poop, though. Now I have to research it.

I’ll be back.

33

It’ll have to wait until later - for some reason my company keeps blocking most sites. :slight_smile:

34

[QUOTE=Mangetout]
I’ve never eaten nettles, but I keep hearing people speak highly of them. Looks like that might have to happen this weekend…
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Oh yes,
but you have to pick them while they are still sprouting. A pair of gardening gloves and scissors is all you need for the job. Afterwards you just have to quickly pass the nettles through boiling water. Then they are ready to go. They make a lovely soup.

If I pick large amounts of nettle, I sometimes grind them up in a food processer after boiling, and freeze them as icecubes. Then you have “nettle-cubes” at the ready for the rest of the year.

As it is spring you should also go get the rhubarb before it gets too stringy.

As for the list of wild foods, I always go looking for mushrooms in the autumn, which I then dry and keep in jars.

Autumn is also a good time for picking berries, which I freeze as they are because they make great “potions” in winter (mixing blue-black- and cloudberries in hot water with fresh ginger and honey is the best cure for a runny nose or to just drive away the dark gloom of the constant lack of light in wintertime). I don’t bother making any jam, because my mum goes crazy every autumn filling her basement with all sorts. I still have rhubarbjam from two years ago in my cupboard!

The autumn is also the time when I go hunting for moose and deer.

As a diver I also catch scallops, crabs, catfish and anglerfish, mostly. At least these are the really good foods. I don’t care much for raw sea-urchins though. However, sea-cucumbers are really good when you fry them in lime, fresh chilli and ginger. Mix them in wok-dish, or just serve them as a snack with beer. If there is no shellfish poisoning warning at the time, I also collect mussels and limpets. A quick way to cook limpets is to put them upside down in the hot coals, sprinkle them with olive oil, chive and pepper, and a squeeze of lemon. When they are ready, you just pop off the guts and enjoy.

I could go on and on, so I’ll stop here and just pop in if I see something exciting :slight_smile:

35

Just picked a small mess of Morels this morning. Need rain badly.

36

Mange You aren’t Bear Grylls in disguise are you?

Stone me, I never tasted a fraction of the stuff you list

37

Lovely responses. Thanks all.
Dolores, I’ve only ever had Amanita.

38

[QUOTE=chowder]
Mange You aren’t Bear Grylls in disguise are you?

Stone me, I never tasted a fraction of the stuff you list
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Well, I guess it’s probably the closest thing to a long term hobby I’ve ever had - eating stuff, that is.

39

[QUOTE=Kotick]
A quick way to cook limpets is to put them upside down in the hot coals, sprinkle them with olive oil, chive and pepper, and a squeeze of lemon. When they are ready, you just pop off the guts and enjoy.
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I cooked them upside down in the shells like that when I ate them - it’s kind of weird, because having seen limpets for years and years, and even having prised them off the rocks for bait quite a few times, I still wasn’t really aware that they’re just snails - the soft parts always just look like a sort of muscular disc - but when you cook them, the head and tail expands and extends out - and they look like snails (because they are).

40

I’m intrigued by the dandelion flower enthusiasm - I’m going to try those too this weekend, if I get a chance.