Since I can remember I have been an outdoor person. Growing up on the ranch as soon as I got off the bus from school I was playing with bugs, and turning over rocks. When I was in 2nd grade I was in a montessori private school which I absolutely adored. We would have a field trip almost every month followed by the end of year camping trip. This was the first time I got to go camping and one of the best trips I ever had. It was so long ago I can’t remember where in Texas we went since I was not at driving age, but it was about 2 hours out of Denton Texas. We went for 3 days cabin style camping. We had guest teach/speakers come and teach us about hiking, FORAGING, and cooking on a fire. Most of the kids had never really been exposed to hiking in Texas raw land like I had they had never seen a snake in the wild or swam in a river all things we got to do on this trip. At one point we were in a large wooded area with huge tall oaks, wild grape vines over head, and bluegrass patches everywhere having a lecture on what early settlers could forage and eat from this environment. I will never forget that moment or lecture!
There are two reasons why first as we stood in a line formation listening to the instructor and lead hiker I looked over at a patch of bluegrass next to the kid in front of me and noticed a medium size copperhead curled up in the grass sleeping through the hikers going by. I had to get the attention of the teacher in front without causing a rush or panic. Luckily from the ranch I was pretty use to seeing and pointing out copperheads. For some reason spotting snakes has always been a gift of mine I’m sure this has saved me from lots of bites hiking.
Second this was the first time foraging had been really explained to me I was about 8 and it seemed to make so much sense. I took everything the speaker had to say to heart and this started a passion for me. From then on when I’d come home and go hike I had open eyes I am always scanning my surrounding looking for what is edible teaching myself the botany of my current surroundings. It’s amazing that so few take the time to learn what naturally grows at there feet and is very delicious! I’ve now exposed myself to the wondrous wild in Texas, Maryland, and some on a trip to Florida in 2009. I highly recommend everyone getting a basic idea of the plants around you. They can tell you so much from what the soil condition is of a place, the Ph balance, if there is water, and so on. Plus you might not have to pack a lunch on a hike if you know what fresh things you can eat. If this is new to you a great person to look up is Green Dean or Eat the Weeds on youtube his channel is show cased on my page to the left. He walks you through the basics of foraging to the complicated. I know where I live where all the free fruit is and abandon trees as well once you start noticing them they are everywhere! Good luck and let me know what you discover!
Some of the things i've found are cherries, wild plums, apples, crab apples, wineberries, black raspberries, raspberries, persimmons, peaches, and of course wild onions everywhere!
I love this. For some reason, there is a gutteral feeling of satisfaction that comes from finding and creating food, out of it's primal location. I understand, completely. It is as close to natural, as you can get.
ReplyDeleteThere is also nothing like the taste of wild persimmon pudding, from my great-great grandmother's recipe from North Carolina. It's a way of stepping back in time.
Great blog. thank you.