Foraging Sundays - Weeks 7-10

In spite of the hectic pace of our modern lives, Wendy and I have continued to challenge ourselves with foraging all of our food on Sundays.  We are learning quite a bit, perhaps more about modern life than about foraging, but there are certainly some incredible moments.  For instance, one lesson that echos very clear each week is that one must have the time to actually go out and find food, unless one knows where it is and when it will be there.  The native people in this are had such knowledge and the time to gather the foods and store them for the coming winter.  We, on the other hand, are still learning and growing.  We follow along the best we can.

Three of the last four weekends have been consumed with my participation in a local production of the Full Monty.  It was fun ... I love theater ... but it is incredibly time consuming.  This often meant having only an hour to go find food on Sunday before leaving for the show.  And, try as we might, we could not seem to find the time to plan ahead.  Thankfully, we have been given many fish throughout this adventure.

In keeping with the spirit of the challenge, we are trying to learn to fish, we are learning new plants, and we are checking new areas (or old areas) with our newly found skills.  I am brushing up on hunting skills and paying attention to what is growing (or moving) in the areas I visit.  We are storing extras when we can, like the 1.5 lbs of blueberries we picked this past weekend.

So, without further ado, here are the meals we have eaten.

Week 7

Wood sorrel soup with blueberries

Week 8

Chanterelle, jerusalem artichoke, purslane stir fry with blueberries.

Week 9

 Blueberry and jerusalem artichoke cobbler

 Blue gill fillets, purslane stir fry, with blueberries

Week 10

Blueberry, chanterelle, purslane stir fry with spicy wood sorrel soup

As you can see, we have relied on the blueberries and greens with every meal.  We have added them to stir-fry, we have eaten them raw, and we have baked them into a pie with Jerusalem Artichoke flour crust!  Our staples have been chanterelle mushrooms, blueberries, purslane, dandelion greens, wood sorrel, and jerusalem artichokes.

While we are not eating nearly as much as we would normally on Sunday, we are getting enough.  It has shown us that we don't need so much.  Most Sundays, we have been satisfied even with only a single meal. That is not to say that we will not be trying harder to fish and find new foods.  We know that the blueberries will be around for another week, the raspberries are ripe, and that the blackberries are coming soon.  There is food.  We have even stored up some dehydrated blueberries for the winter to come.  We will not starve, but we are watching ... hunting season opens in a month.

Next week, Saturday is currently open ... no weddings, shows, and such ... we hope to spend more time fishing and gathering.  Maybe, we'll be able to scrounge together 2 full meals!

We are truly blessed to receive what we have.  The Universe has so much to offer!

Foraging Sunday - Weeks 5 and 6

Wow!  It has been six weeks.

I watched, with amusement, this evening as a chipmunk enjoyed some of the scrap I gave to the chickens.  The irony was not lost on me ... I am trying to learn to find food in the wild, while he was learning to find food away from his nature environment.  He lives, everyday, in the wild, eating, breathing, living.  I live, everyday, in an artificial, alien place, which attempts to convince me that the natural world is there to be exploited, reviled, and abhorred.  Silly really.  I guess we are both just looking to find a way to be at peace with out lots in life.

Wendy and I have been following along with the challenge.  Week 5 was a little sparse.  We have a decided lack of skill in the time between greens and berries.  I am sure there is plenty to eat, and we could have gone out for more periwinkles, but we did not.  Instead, we stretched out skills a bit and foraged flowers.  There were many options ... milkweed, clover, rose, etc.  We also took advantage of a gray area - abandoned plants, which took the form of a massive grapevine that has been feral for several years.  With these, Wendy whipped up a nice flower soup with a butter base and some stuffed grape leaves (stuffed with flowers).  And, thankfully, we were given an 18" pickerel, which I learned to clean (it was significantly less work than cleaning a rabbit).


There was only one meal, but it left us satisfied.

This week, I was concerned.  Wendy is away with the girls.  I was left to my own devices.  Saturday, I took a stroll with the dogs to an area I haven't visited for a few years.  I knew that I had learned a lot and wanted to see what I had missed in earlier visits.  All I can say is ... Yee Haw!

I took the dogs, who were a significant impediment, but I still succeeded.  We walked for a couple of hours.  In that time, I marked, with the GPS, several more Hazelnut bushes.  I also spied a fresh mushroom growing near some old one on a broken off tree (which I misidentified).  I was fairly certain that I knew what they were and so I picked them.

In "Browsing Nature's Aisles", we emphasize using at least sources for identification of things you do not know well.  I was able to search the internet and find pictures (resource 1), I looked through a mushroom book (resource 2), I posted a photo on a Facebook Mushroom group local to my area (resource 3), and I used an on-line identification key (resource 4 - BONUS) to verify that it was indeed an Oyster Mushroom (Pleutorus populinus)!

And, in addition, I found a new blueberry patch with newly ripening fruit.  Of course, the dogs were done and I didn't have a container for berries.  I returned on Sunday in the morning without the dogs, who seemed relieved to be able to stay home instead of accompanying me.  In a short time, I picked 1.5 pints of lovely blueberries. for my meals.  I was a little concerned that this would not be sufficient to squelch my hunger.

Sunday was a very busy day.  I am acting in a local production of "The Full Monty" and we were running the technical aspects of the show prior to the opening this week.  It meant that I would be out of the house for 9 hours or so ... no time to find more food.

It turned out that the mushrooms, sauteed in butter and garlic and a pint of blueberries were enough for the day.  I still have half a pint in the fridge.

Even in the face of everyday problems, like a roof that needs repairs and more bills than money, I am in awe of the abundance that the Universe offers - the gifts, the lessons, the love.  Oh, as is my custom, I asked for a message or lesson while I was out.  The response was a pair of hawks swooping into a nearby tree, calling to each other, playing in the branches.  They allowed me to see them before darting away again, leaving me grinning.

It is officially berry season.  Foraging Sundays have just gotten a lot easier.  I am still trying to learn to fish for myself, but I know now that I will eat.

With gratitude and love, I continue to learn and grow.

Memorial Day Give-Away ... And The Winners Are ....

We have chosen the winners in our Memorial Day Give-Away!  Winners, in order of those drawn, may choose the book of their choice.  Please, respond with your choice (if you are first or second place), and an address for shipping.  Comments moderation has been turned on.

1. This Self Sufficient Life
2. Sharon R
3. Unknown

Congratulations to all.  Winners will have one week to reply.  After this, new winners will be drawn as necessary.

For those who did not win this time, keep following along because we might just do another give-away soon. 

Or, purchase one or more of them.

• "Browsing Nature's Aisles" here, using the link on the left.  
• "Surviving The Apocalypse In The Suburbs" can be purchased from Wendy's blog, Surviving The Suburbs.
• "Botany In A Day" can be purchased from Tom Elpel's site, HopsPress.com.

Have a fantastic day.  Enjoy, and enhance, your independence.