Comments on: Foraging for Free Food

By: Chigger Bites Treatment

Chigger Bites Treatment — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 15:39:59 +0000

I agree this is something we should all be learning, especially if we happen to be addicted to eating every now and then.

I for a see a time when the grocery shelves will be bare and not in the too far distant future.

I have seen it in the past and believe me, it will not take much for it to happen.

We are at the mercy of the merciless.

Thanks for the very nice information.

By: Mrs.Dirty Boots

Mrs.Dirty Boots — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 12:45:27 +0000

It’s definitely great to get out there and if you can bring some food home too all the better!

By: Ms. Plangarden

Ms. Plangarden — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 15:37:09 +0000

Thank you for this posting and btw, I love your topics. Great comments, too! As a long-time hiker, I’ve always loved finding wild raspberries in the northeast (US), and even plan my holiday to coincide w/ finding good stuff in the woods. As for mushrooms, yes, it is SO easy to be fooled by what may be an edible. Recently in S. California, a long-time mushroomer mistook several poisonous amanitas (A. ocreata) for one that is a delicacy esp. among Italians (Coccoli – A. calyptoderma). So as a noob to mushrooming, I stick with fruiting bodies that I KNOW do not have deadly look-alikes. Here in Calif., that would be the chanterelles, black trumpets, hedgehog mushrooms, morels. “Greediness” apparently often plays tricks w/ the brain in perceiving good edible from bad (I suspect that led to the demise of the aforementioned). It is vital that one learns as much as possible by being out in the field with experienced, cautious foragers. It’s also important not to eat too many unknown wild mushrooms as every individual can react differently and adversely … even to supermarket button mushrooms!

With that said, I’ve felt a profound transformation when walking in the woods in search of sustenance. Yes, the poison oak/ivy, the chiggers, etc. can certainly cure us forever of our curiosity and send us running back for the “safe” concrete jungle (debatable). But I’ve discovered a renewed respect and a child’s awe for what is going on around me as I hike through the woods, the meadows. So much is happening beneath the soil, within the stems, leaves, bark of plants. This is the REAL “happening place”! Life giving life to others.

We need to get our children out in the woods, if not to forage, at least to learn about “what’s out there”. There’s a story behind every acorn or anthill – I recall many from my childhood. Having their own little garden container to grow a few lettuces, is certainly an excellent start, and they can even invent stories about their patch!

By: Condo Blues

Condo Blues — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 16:08:14 +0000

Last summer I saw that blackberries were growing over the fence in one public area of our neighborhood. I got very excited because I remember picking wild blackberries that grew in a nearby vacant lot with the nieghbor kids and eating them in a bowl with suger sprinkled on top (if the picked berries actually made it to the house!) Sadly, I missed the prime berry picking season last summer, so this summer the dog's getting a lot more walks in that part of our neighborhood so I don't miss out on the berries this year! Condo Blues’s last blog post..Talking Hybrids with Ford at the Columbus Auto Show

By: Mrs.Dirty Boots

Mrs.Dirty Boots — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 12:52:34 +0000

Max – I’m not sure as I’ve only really cooked it quickly so it wilts with the herbs. I did see on another site they made pesto with wild garlic which sounds good.

Springtime – Definitely don’t want any chiggers they sound nasty! I’m guessing foraging might be best done in a boiler suit and wellies!

Sootie – Foraging for mussels sounds like my kind of weekend – am very jealous!

By: Springtime

Springtime — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 01:57:29 +0000

Free food! I went wild looking for this last year: elderflowers (great cordial – which has only just been finished!), blackberries and bilberries.

Although, just a word of warning…

Last summer, I spent a wonderful afternoon and evening on the fell picking bilberries and admiring all the wildlife. I came home and duly made some jam and then collapsed into bed. It was only the following afternoon I noticed I had tons of tiny burrowing insects on me, like tics but smaller. The pharmacist and the doctor were both rather miffed. So, turning to wikipedia, I found out they were ‘chiggers’. I won’t go into the detail, but a few days later I was still finding them on me (they are not visible to start with). It wasn’t a particularly pleasant experience!

It hasn’t put me off foraging, in fact I’m planning my wild-garlic spree at the moment, but I will definitely embark on all foraging-outings with caution this year!

Springtime’s last blog post..‘Smoke flavoured reformed ham with added water’

By: Max Akroyd

Max Akroyd — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 19:55:37 +0000

Hi Mrs DB,

Yep, I’m also kinda hungry too after reading that…sounds lovely! Did a bit of reading after my last post, and there’s a suggestion that wild garlic goes a bit bitter after cooking for minute or two…? Anyway, I’ll take the chance…

Also found a suggestion for garlic bread using the underground cloves bit of the plant… might dig up a bit of next door’s field and investigate!

Max Akroyd’s last blog post..

By: Sootie

Sootie — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 19:48:16 +0000

Another freebie yummy that we have at the moment is grapes. Our neighbours grape vine has gone balistic and we have loads of bunches of grapes just hanging over into our garden (well,not so many now as there were before). I was really harsh with the prooning earlier in the summer, but think I will be a lot kinder next year!

By: Sootie

Sootie — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 19:43:09 +0000

Coming to the end of summer in NZ, we went camping one last time last weekend. I was on a big high due swimming out to an old boat and picking off 21 massive mussels that were growing there (it’s our new secret mussel stash) – took them back to the camp site and opened them up on the barbie – delicious!
The following day we went Pipi picking before heading for home, picked ourselves our legal quota of pipis, barbied some of them but made fritters out of the rest. We’re very lucky over here to be able to go foraging for such yummy goodies, and it always makes me appreciate the joys of not just free food, but fresher than fresh and totally delicious!!

By: Mrs.Dirty Boots

Mrs.Dirty Boots — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 16:23:49 +0000

Hi Max. Well we like wild garlic on cheese on toast and in salads. But best of all I think is sauteed with herbs (rocket/parsely/basil all good), capers, spring onions and olives then mixed with pasta. Lots of olive oil and some parmesan (or even feta which oddly seems to work well with herby spagetti). Oh dear, that’s got me hungry!