Anyone else forage the yard for greens and such come spring?
New to SE, and totally addicted!!!
So as soon as spring turns things green here, and all season long, I love to add things from my yard to our meals as/if they are available. Dandelion greens and flowers, lemon clover, wild onions, chicory, etc. I grew up doing this and think it is normal and yummy (chemical-free yard). A few years ago my MIL heard about me doing this and actually thought we were so broke we could not afford food and so I was feeding her son weeds. :)
I have some friends who are good with it, but I get more odd looks and lectures about "grazing".
I love going to other places for wild berries, mushrooms, herbs etc. too, and I have a standing agreement with one of the pocket parks to let me gather dandelion flowers...but guess how many times I have to answer "what are you doing?"
Tired of being thought strange...so, anyone else enjoy and gather the tasty stuff from outside?
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15 Comments:
Not when we have four dogs.
srhcb at 9:59PM on 04/18/08
My PA yard is a cornucopia of dandelions, onion sprouts, mushrooms, wild flowers and who knows what else, and you are welcome to all! 2.5 acres of dandelions would make a lot of salads! I gave up trying to get rid of them years ago, and also felt guilty using any chemicals. Once I had a granddaughter playing outdoors, that cemented my decision. As long as I keep it cut, it looks just fine.
If I didn't plant it myself, I don't eat it, with the exception of wild berries that I can identify. My instincts say no way. I've had mushrooms that looked just like what I buy at the store and some that look like illustrations in beautiful books like Alice in Wonderland, but I won't chance getting sick, or teeny tiny or gigundous huge. ;)
Welcome to SE!!!
PerkyMac at 10:21PM on 04/18/08
Yeah, dogs would nix it for me too! :)
The chemicals are just unnecessary and don't make sense. Grassy areas are supposed to have a multitude of different plants..at least imho...I never got those fancy, chemical-induced expanses of 'pure-bred' grass.
Acres of dandelions would make quite a few gallon of wine too! I'll come right over! ;)
Mushrooms are an iffy one, and I only go after those with a guide.
Maybe I AM as strange as people say!
sadiepix at 11:13PM on 04/18/08
@sadiepix..........have you ever smelled fermenting dandelion wine? You'll go looking for dirty gym socks to hold up to your nose to get rid of the rotten smell. ;) I have tasted it and it wasn't my favorite. My friend made it, so I'm trying to be nice. I will say, it tasted a little better than it smelled.
I've always wondered about people who forage - in addition to dogs, cats, deer, squirrels, mice, raccoons, otters, who knows what may have spoiled the purity of your finds? How much water would it take? It would make me a little squeamish.
PerkyMac at 11:31PM on 04/18/08
When I was a kid, we had this neighbor that made "poke salad." It was basically a plant, that if picked the wrong time of day, or if allowed to mature beyond a few days, became poisonous. But prepared properly, is fantastic. I loved lemon clover, and almost ate it into extinction. We also ate "sugarberries" that grew on an azalea-like plant. "Grazing" is a dying art, partly to our society's removal from its food source and relative wealth, so as to make "grazing" unnecessary. But for some of us, it's still enjoyable.
beth1 at 11:35PM on 04/18/08
I LOVE dandelion wine! I make it almost every year! Yeah, the smell while fermenting can be icky, but I keep it in the basement for that.
It makes the most wonderful Sangria! Golden and a bit bitter, but mixed with white grape juice and white wine with fresh fruit...drool!
@beth1--yep..you said it better than I ever could.
I have only had poke salad once, but it was really good!
I guess the 'nature' of it all does not bother me. If the leaves/fruits are intact, not much could have happened to it, and I wash everything in a mild soap solution most of the time. Our ancestors (as recently as grandparents for some of us) foraged and grazed, not just from necessity, but because the world is full of good tasty things. Less now, as we spray and concrete over so much, but I bet most people would be surprised at what can be safely eaten.
I had baby dandelion leaves mixed with romaine on my taco tonight! Yum!
sadiepix at 11:47PM on 04/18/08
One of my Penn State Bio professors made dandelion wine. I never got to try it, though. He was fun. Once took a group of Teaching Assistants (myself among them) out foraging for edible items in the wilds of State College, PA.
We saw wild blackberries, purple poke (@beth1: I ate a berry and lived to tell about it), sumac trees (the red pollen makes a tasty "lemonade" beverage and often is used as a spice in Lebanese cuisine), watercress in a stream (for salad, et cetera) as well as wild grape vines (leaves great for Greek dolma).
I didn't grow up foraging, but I've done it ever since college. Most often, I'll forage our local park's perimeter for wild blackberries. They're great in smoothies or with cereal and yogurt!
Susquehanna at 10:37AM on 04/19/08
@Susquehanna............sumac? You'd have to be so careful to not get any oils on your skin. Poison sumac is as bad or worse than poison ivy. How do you "harvest" the pollen? I never would have dreamed any part of that would be consumable. Learn something every day.
PerkyMac at 10:55AM on 04/19/08
@Perky: The staghorn sumac tree I speak of is not the poisonous cultivar. I promise! :)
I've never made sumac lemonade, but I do like Lebanese fattoush, which has red sumac in it. It's tart.
Susquehanna at 12:52PM on 04/19/08
I remember when I was a little girl, my grandfather and I would go foraging in Mill Creek Park. We ate lots of fried dandilion greens, salads, berries and he also made dandilion green wine. One year, he found himself a nice batch of mushrooms, gave himself food poisoning and well...that was the end of that.
ChelleyD01 at 1:38PM on 04/19/08
@ChellyD01: Your grandfather recovered, yes? Or did you mean "the end of that" as the end of your grandfather? I hope he got better and I'm terribly sorry if he did not.
Susquehanna at 5:50PM on 04/19/08
@ Susquehanna....Oh god...no. I mean that was the end of the foraging in the park! The old man did die shortly after but it wasn't the mushrooms that did him in. Although, I can remember my dad and aunts sitting around the dining room table amazed that it hadn't killed him. Strange, scary but true.
ChelleyD01 at 6:14PM on 04/19/08
I am sorry for your gandfather...that is scary.
I also love lamb's quarters in the summer too...love weirding out friends by eating these/adding them to salads.
I tend to do this as well as edible flowers, like nasturtiums and violets.
I had forgotten grape leaves! I will have to look out for those. Luckily, living near many many vineyards means leaves too, and not at store prices. Most places will let you have leaves for free in small amounts.
I love finding horehound and that plant I can't remember the name of with the tiny purple flowers full of honey-flavored nectar and big fuzzy leaves.
@Susquehanna-I have had the sumac lemonade but never made it. Thanks for the reminder about it, I will have to give that a shot this year if I can!
sadiepix at 6:37PM on 04/19/08
Correction: The red Staghorn Sumac fruit is made up of a cluster of tiny drupes. I inaccurately stated that "red pollen" is utilized in culinary applications. Looking forward to more closely observing those red clusters on the trees . . .
@sadiepix: Thanks to your post, I recalled the existence of the lemonade. I plan to try making it this summer, too!
Susquehanna at 10:03PM on 04/19/08
Hi I just found this site while looking for info on finding out what plants from my yard were edible. Can you tell me if there is a good book or web site for seeing photos of these edible plants? I know the dandelion, sorrel and the plantain but there are some other plants that I'm almost sure are edible but want to know for sure. Thank you so much
daughteroflarry at 12:22AM on 07/04/08