You know, I seriously have at least five posts every day that I want to write, but not enough time for most of them.  Life is so full and there’s always something going on (particularly in my thoughts:)), but once the day is over, I can’t even remember the next day what happened to post retroactively!

Today I had fun foraging for edible wild foods with the kids.  I’m very interested in learning to identify plants that grow locally in the wild, and finding out what they are used for.  I need to get a decent book with good photos, though.  I’m enjoying the book I’m reading now, Stalking the Wild Asparagus, but there are only line drawings in it and I can’t figure out if what I see in my yard matches those drawings.

I brought samples of a couple of plants inside, went online, and googled for pictures of what I conjectured they might be.  It really wasn’t a very efficient way to do it, but I’m trying to learn!  But I’m hesitant to eat anything unless I’m positive it’s edible, and I realized that getting help from someone who knows something would be really good!  I called an older neighbor this evening and asked her if we could visit her garden so she could show us what she’s growing, and then asked if she recognized the weeds that are local.  She said she knew some of them, and would be happy to show us what she knows when the weather gets a little cooler. 

I saw a reference for The Forager’s Harvest, which sounded perfect, because the pictures are supposedly very clear and make identifying what you see easy – that’s what I want.  Amazon was out of stock, so I found his website and called them directly.  His wife called me back and after telling me how to order it directly from them (that’s what I called to ask about), answered a question about the pile of burdock leaves that my 13 year old daughter picked today.  I was hoping they would be edible, but she said she didn’t recommend using the leaves, just the stem part, and that it tasted similar to celery when cooked.  People nowadays just don’t have this kind of knowledge or familiarity anymore, of knowing how to prepare indigenous plants, whether for food or medicine.  Knowing how the world around us works is empowering, whatever the specific skill is, and I want my children and I to access some of the ancient wisdom and know at least what is growing wild in my backyard. 

I didn’t try the burdock stems yet, but prior to her call we did identify dandelion greens, and picked a bunch of those.  Since it’s a little late in the season, they aren’t tender enough to eat fresh in a salad; they’re too bitter uncooked.  I boiled them once, and then decided to put them in boiling water a second time, which I read helps minimize the bitterness.  Then I blended them up and put them into the lentil soup for dinner. I didn’t have any (because my son accidentally added some sweetener), but the kids said it was very good.  I love knowing that I could add some power packed nutrition to our meals (dandelion is very high in vitamin C) by using what is generally considered a pesky weed. 🙂

Then after dinner, we took a short drive to a field where we noticed a bunch of mulberries growing last year.  I really like this location since there are plenty of branches that are low enough for even the littlest kids to pick independently.  My two year old got his own plastic container to put his berries into, and was so proud when he came home and showed his older brother (who stayed home) the mulberries he picked!

It’s really just the beginning of the mulberry season here, so the majority of the berries weren’t ripe yet, but we still got a nice amount.  It didn’t take long and it was a pleasant time of evening to be out – it was about 8:30 pm, so it was cool but still light out.  After we got home, we measured out all that we picked, and it came out to 16 cups.  I thought I would make jam out of it (something else I want to learn to do), but my kids remembered that my mom left a dehyrator here when she moved out a year ago.  We’ve never used it before (I didn’t even know it was here until a couple of weeks ago when I was cleaning out a storage area where she kept her things), but this seemed like a good way to inaugurate it.  The mulberries perfectly filled all five racks.  I read that dried mulberries are good used like dried figs or raisins in baked goods (or eaten alone). 

I plan to go back in a week or so, when the berries have ripened more, and pick some to eat fresh, some to make jam with, and some to can in its own juice.  I’ve never done this before, so it will be an interesting experiment.  I really love the idea of using the resources that are around us, free for the taking, if we just take the time to learn about it!

Avivah