Today is day 14 of the blog every day in May challenge! Today it’s 10 things that make me really happy.
1. The process of making tea (not necessarily drinking it)
2. Going to the farmer’s market
3. Foraging in the woods (berries and the elusive morel are my favorite)
4. Watching the sun set or rise
5. Cuddling
6. Listening to my favorite music while taking a walk
7. Eating chocolate
8. Laying on a blanket in the sun
9. Finishing a successful knitting project
10. Swimming on a hot day
It’s day 2 of the blog every day of May challenge. The topic today is educate us about something you know a lot about or are good at. I chose foraging. I’m not an expert by any means but having grown up in the woods and on a summer camp I’ve picked up a thing or two. If you’re starting from scratch though I would recommend a few things.
-DON’T ever just eat something you found in the woods unless you’re absolutely sure it’s edible and even then proceed with caution.
-take a foraging class with someone who has been doing it for a long time
-I don’t recommend foraging for mushrooms unless you’re with an expert (they are easily to mistake with deadly consequences).
-borrow from the library or buy some foraging books with good photos.
-it’s good to know which plants have poisonous look a likes.
-take a walk and test some of your skills but I wouldn’t recommend eating anything until you’re more than 100% sure of what you’ve found.
-when you’re more comfortable with identifying edible plants I would still start off with the most recognizable ones like wild strawberries, raspberries, blackberries or if you live in a place like Texas-pecans.
-if you don’t feel comfortable with what you’ve found just don’t eat it.
-I pretty much stay away from anything that looks like a wild carrot because it looks so much like poison hemlock and that is not something you DO NOT eat.
-if you’re looking for a more informed foraging blog to follow I recommend Langdon Cook’s blog. He’s a forager in my neck of the woods and he knows what he’s doing.
I’ve been foraging for years but I stick to what I know-mainly wild berries, cherries, apples, wintergreen and their berries, juniper berries (for tea not eating), sorrel, and a few others.
I’ve always been a bit of a forager but never would really claim myself to be. When I was little I spent a lot of time in the woods picking wild strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, pin cherries, basically any berry I knew was edible.
As I got older I started to notice even more edibles in the forests and even the city. When I was living in Austin there was a pecan tree on just about every corner and when the nuts were falling fall from the trees there were more than enough to go around.
On my trip home I knew I would be gathering both wintergreen leaves and juniper berries for a root beer recipe I found. I knew where to find both quite easily and I also kept my eyes open for a few more things I hoped to find. Turns out I didn’t find any wild cranberries or autumn olive berries but I did find what I was looking for and also a few bonuses.
The edible green leaf below is sorrel and I found some near where our cabin was so I had a little with my tuna salad and my uncle used the rest to top on our pizzas (pizza right? pretty crazy camping food, he carried all the ingredients in and the rest of us had no problem helping him eat it).
I used some of the juniper berries I found to make camping cocktails (gin/juniper berries/lemonade mix/water). I also found some raspberries!! I was shocked to find them but ever so pleased. They were lingering on a dying raspberry plant but they were still good to eat and tasted just like summer.
While foraging is very rewarding and exciting it can be dangerous. I would suggest if you are interested that you get a really great guide book and be sure you know what you’re eating. I never consume anything in the woods unless I’m 100% sure it’s edible.
