I like to forage. On a farm, that is not so difficult. If I want to make a salad or a stirfry, I don't have to ask myself questions like, "is this plant edible?" or "is this vegetable or green local and in season?" I just stride out to the fields, wielding a knife and excise a ripe watermelon or eggplant. Even more exciting is harvesting what we call "volunteer crops" - aka crops that spring up in a field where they have been unintentionally sown. We have basil in the leeks, chard in the lettuce, cherry tomatoes in the beans... We harvest the wild greens amaranth (for leaves, not grain) and
lamb's quarters (see photo)- considered weeds by most farmers, but actually incredibly nutritious and delicious. We also recently have accidentally grown entire beds of arugula and senposai (asian collard greens), and are in the process of accidentally growing a partial bed of ruby streaks, another mustard green with beautiful variegated purple leaves.
Beyond the farm, I have been foraging mostly for berries - blackberries when they were in style in late June/early July, and Russian olives in the second half of July. I had my first experience making jam with Russian olives! They are little red-speckled berries, an edge invasive species, and they taste like sweet tarts. I squashed them in a pan, added a little bit of water, boiled them for about 5 minutes, then using a colander, mashed the mixture through, and squeezed them out in a cheesecloth. Then mixed it with some sugar (to taste) and 1/3 pack of Bell's pectin (no sugar needed). Boiled vigorously for 3 minutes, poured into a jar, and shut! Que simple! It does taste a bit like salsa, because I didn't boil the jar beforehand.
Pokeberries (supposedly poisonous but reputedly used in West Virginia to make jam
sans the seeds) make good temporary paint.
lamb's quarters (see photo)- considered weeds by most farmers, but actually incredibly nutritious and delicious. We also recently have accidentally grown entire beds of arugula and senposai (asian collard greens), and are in the process of accidentally growing a partial bed of ruby streaks, another mustard green with beautiful variegated purple leaves.
Beyond the farm, I have been foraging mostly for berries - blackberries when they were in style in late June/early July, and Russian olives in the second half of July. I had my first experience making jam with Russian olives! They are little red-speckled berries, an edge invasive species, and they taste like sweet tarts. I squashed them in a pan, added a little bit of water, boiled them for about 5 minutes, then using a colander, mashed the mixture through, and squeezed them out in a cheesecloth. Then mixed it with some sugar (to taste) and 1/3 pack of Bell's pectin (no sugar needed). Boiled vigorously for 3 minutes, poured into a jar, and shut! Que simple! It does taste a bit like salsa, because I didn't boil the jar beforehand.
Pokeberries (supposedly poisonous but reputedly used in West Virginia to make jam sans the seeds) make good temporary paint.
