Foraging for a feast

       For fathers day, I decided to make my dad a foraged lunch. I had never cooked a formal wild food meal for anyone, although all of my family has had some of my wild food at some point. I was torn about what to make, so I figured I would just see what I found. It just happened that a few days before fathers day we were going to fonthill, a castle made out of cement, and there were 50 acres of forest surrounding it. I figured there would be some wild edibles, and there were. I found tons of spicebush (middle left in the picture), tons of dock (middle middle in the picture), a little bit of stinging nettle (middle right in the picture) and some daylily buds and tubers (tubers not illustrated, buds bottom middle). I also found narrow leafed bittercress, some mulberries that I ate on the spot, and some burdock.
       Fathers day came around faster then expected, and I had to get some stuff around my neighborhood to round out the meal. I got some lambs quarters, some field garlic, and some wild ginger (found that in the wissahickon). to prepare all of this goodness, I made iced spicebush tea, dock chips (like kale chips but with dock, and I coated the dock leaves in soy sauce that was infused with wild ginger and field garlic), and stinging nettle broth that I boiled the daylily tubers in. For the lambs quarters I made creamed lambs quarters, using a recipe for creamed spinach. This was incredibly good, and I had enough for everyone, not only my dad. I also made a narrow leaf bittercress salad. It seemed to have turned out really well. Have fun foraging and good luck to you all!
   

The Numerous Wild Edibles

              The Numerous Wild edibles

  
  I had always realized there were a lot of wild edibles out there, but I didn't realize how many until a few friends challenged me to see how many wild edible plants I could identify on the way home from the pizza parlor. I got some challenges to identify 15-20 plants. I surprised myself by identifying over 50 edible plants. Over the span of two blocks, there is enough food to feed the whole neighborhood. I wish the knowledge of foraging was more well known. My hope is if as many people as possible start foraging we would become more self-conscious about the food that surrounds us all.
       For this to happen we also need to spread the news that wild edibles are not rare. As I demonstrated earlier they are very plentiful, and most of them are very easy to identify. Wild food goes beyond dandelions and wood sorrel, no matter how great tasting they are. I hope you all good foraging!
                           
                                                                                                 Showing the abundance of milkweed.    
                                                                                        source:http://66squarefeet.blogspot.com/2012/04/dead-horse-bounty.html

first time eating lambs quarters

First time trying lambs quarters! (Chenopium album)

  source: http://www.rawfoodsupport.com/read.php?2,153920,153989 

    For the first time, I tried lambs quarters. I have been living with this weed in my garden since I was born, and had even glanced over it in all of my foraging books, but I had never associated this edible goodness with the horrid weed. however, one day, it clicked. I was looking through a field guide, in my front yard, and came across lambs quarters in the guide. It suddenly occurred to me that this might be the obnoxious weed that I had seen my entire life. I however did not harvest any and dismissed it to do another time.
    About a week later, my dad had been looking through my books and recognized it. This gave me the driving force to harvest some, and prepare it. My aunts 30th birthday was coming up, so I figured I would make a dish with it. I simply steamed it, put a little butter and salt on it, and put it out. I tried some, but it was gone in under five minutes. It was one of the most successful wild food dishes that I had ever served at a party.
    Since then I have been looking for a chance to make it again. I have not had a chance, but I loved what I tried.