Foraging for edible plants and weeds, etc.

[larry_stewart]

also went on a mushroom walk with a local " Mycological club", but it seemed like there were too many uncertainties about which you can eat or cant eat, and trouble identifying them %100, so ill stick to store bought mushrooms ( or the occasional mushroom logs that i buy to grow my own)

 

[Snip 13]

There is a guy up here in the New York area that has weekend walks in some of the local parks ( including Central Park in NYC). who helps identify everything. He has a website

Foraging With the "Wildman"

He even has a cookbook, identification DVD and other things that he sells.
His website has a lot of info too.

We went on one of his walks, Things that come to mind for me are : Black walnuts, Hen of the Woods mushrooms, Autumn Olive Berries, sassafras leaves for tea, purslane, sumac, cat tails, sorrel . There were many others, i just forgot them, as it was several years ago.

Thank you for the link Wish I could find someone like that here!

 

[larry_stewart]

The walk was very interesting. The guy is a little off-beat, but in a fun and good way. It was educational, and for someone who likes to cook, eat and garden, for me it was great. What is great is that you can go to the same park in different seasons and find totally different things to eat. And being a vegetarian, im always looking for new/ different things to eat.

 

[pacanis]

I love purslane, my favourite edible weed so far. It's full of nutrients and is easy to identify.
Our favourite way to eat it is in Purslane omelettes. Fry a cup of chopped leaves and stems with a bit of chopped onion and seasoning. Whisk 6 eggs and pour over. Cook till set. Portion and serve with nice tomato salad. I add some grated cheddar or gouda as well.
Purslane is low growing and has smooth shiny leaves. If you're worried that what you find is not purslane, the easiest way to check is by breaking a stem open. If it doesn't have a milky sap inside the stem you're good to go. Purslane doesn't have a hairy coating either but there are similar looking plants that do. Avoid these.

OMG, that stuff is edible? That is my nemesis throughout the summer even more than crabgrass It sprouts everywhere that grass does not have a good foothold. And with several large gravel areas I am constantly spraying and hoeing it. The way it lays there flat to the ground with its red stems and sprawling outward... well, I just think it's pretty ugly Even now that I know it tastes like cucumbers I don't think I could bring myself to eat it unless there was an emergency.

I didn't realize that Queen's Lace plants were the tops of a carrot either. That one I might try eating.
I've got just about every plant shown here somewhere or another on my property.

 

[taxlady]

also went on a mushroom walk with a local " Mycological club", but it seemed like there were too many uncertainties about which you can eat or cant eat, and trouble identifying them %100, so ill stick to store bought mushrooms ( or the occasional mushroom logs that i buy to grow my own)

I "forage" elderberries and the flowers, juniper berries, and gout weed (ground elder) around the condo grounds, but those were all intentionally planted. I have never eaten day lilies, but some species are edible.

You need a good, up-do-date mushroom identifying book to trust mushrooms that you find that you haven't been specifically taught. A good mushroom book will have pix and tell you what else looks like a specific mushroom and ways to be sure which is which, e.g., gill colour and shape, spore colour, etc.

I wrote up-to-date because I used one in the early '80s and it said that the brain mushroom/false morel was safe to eat if it was dried or heated thoroughly. They were really yummy. Research in the '90s has determined that there is a toxin that isn't completely destroyed that way and it is cumulative.

 

[Steve Kroll]

I had no idea that was purslane. I'm pretty sure that's the weed in my backyard that's growing in a pot I never got around to planting. I never pulled out of the pot because I was deciding whether or not I wanted to keep it. It's kind neat looking.

We eat purslane, too. Most people (around here anyway) treat it like a weed, but it's quite good for you. Very high in omega-3s.

 

[Claire]

I have done some mushroom foraging over the years, but only with someone who is very experienced. As one friend says, "there are old mushroomers, and there are bold mushroomers. But there are NO old, bold mushroomers.

THAT is purslane? I, too, have thrown it away for years!

 

[larry_stewart]

I saw someone use Purslane on the food channel once, looked it up ( since i had never heard of it) and like most of you,discovered it was something ive been weeding out of the garden for years. Its a little tangy, and has a little bit of that okra slime to it.

 

[Snip 13]

We eat purslane, too. Most people (around here anyway) treat it like a weed, but it's quite good for you. Very high in omega-3s.

I love the stuff! Young leaves in salads, leaves and chopped stalks in omelettes and stir fry and the slight okra like sap makes it a good thickener in soups and stew. My kids like dipping it in mayo

I've heard that if you boil purslane the water can be used as an egg substitute in baking. Haven't tried it yet though.

 

[Addie]

The nemesis of every one who want a perfect lawn. Dandelion greens. For years the Italians in this area used to go out to the highways and dig them up from the median strips in the middle of the roads. Too many folks getting hit by cars, so they put a stop to it. Now they stick to lawns. If they see that you have a lot of them on your lawn, they will knock on your door and ask if they can dig them up.

Another one is Fiddleheads. They grow along the banks of streams. Again the Italians will go into the woods and harvest them. Get enough and they sell them to the supermarkets. Very pricey.

 

[Snip 13]

The nemesis of every one who want a perfect lawn. Dandelion greens. For years the Italians in this area used to go out to the highways and dig them up from the median strips in the middle of the roads. Too many folks getting hit by cars, so they put a stop to it. Now they stick to lawns. If they see that you have a lot of them on your lawn, they will knock on your door and ask if they can dig them up.

Another one is Fiddleheads. They grow along the banks of streams. Again the Italians will go into the woods and harvest them. Get enough and they sell them to the supermarkets. Very pricey.

I use dandelions often. Leaves and flowers for salads, greens for soups, steaming etc. Roasted roots make a nice coffee substitute and I love making dandelion wine.
It's a precious herb

What are fiddleheads?

 

[Addie]

I use dandelions often. Leaves and flowers for salads, greens for soups, steaming etc. Roasted roots make a nice coffee substitute and I love making dandelion wine.
It's a precious herb

What are fiddleheads?

Fiddleheads are when ferns first poke their heads through the soil before they unfurl. You have to be there early in the morning to get them As the day wears on, they open up real quick.

Fiddlehead fern - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[larry_stewart]

I remember as a kid, my friend ( who happened to be Greek) was embarrassed, because the school bus would pass his house, and out on the front lawn was his grandmother sitting on a lawn chair, in the front yard, picking and cleaning the dandelion leaves. His law was the worst one in the neighborhood.

 

[Snip 13]

I remember as a kid, my friend ( who happened to be Greek) was embarrassed, because the school bus would pass his house, and out on the front lawn was his grandmother sitting on a lawn chair, in the front yard, picking and cleaning the dandelion leaves. His law was the worst one in the neighborhood.

Luckily my kids do that kind of thing with me, they enjoy it, wouldn't want to be an embarrasment

 

[Snip 13]

Hi all! Found some Dutch clover today. There's plenty growing in a spot where I can safely pick it. I know you can make a tea from the flowers and I've eaten a few leaves before. Any ideas how it can be used?

 

[4meandthem]

Lambsquarter is a common spinach like wild green that grows all over North America.

I remember my grandmother gathering poke salad but never understood exactly when to harvest as it can be toxic at a certain point.

.40

I remember going out to the empty lot behind my Grandparents and picking Lambsquarter and my Grandmother cooking it up for us.I miss her and that taste.

 

[4meandthem]

We used to pick miners lettuce that we found growing along streams on our backpack trips. We would usually take 1 head of iceburg to mix it with and a couple of tomatoes so we had fresh salad for a couple of days.By the end of the trip everything was in cans that we buried along the way into the Sierras (horses/mules in-walk out).Grandpa used to pack a little 151 and Tang for a pre-dinner cocktail.We ate alot of trout that we caught and even smoked some for the return trips. He would also chew a little tree sap sometimes like chewing gum.

 

[Snip 13]

Thank you all for the replies

 

[Addie]

I remember going out to the empty lot behind my Grandparents and picking Lambsquarter and my Grandmother cooking it up for us.I miss her and that taste.

I haven't heard the words Lambsquarters and poke salad since i was a kid.

 

[GrillingFool]

Jerusalem Artichoke, aka sunchokes. They flower in the fall, grow
quite tall, and once they have died back, the tuberous roots are
edible.
Easy to identify when flowering. because the flowers smell somewhat
like chocolate!