Salish Sea Wildcrafting - Finders Keepers Blog

Perfect Princes and Hideous Gomphidius

11/26/2012

Earlier this month I found a beautiful patch of Princes (spore-print required) and then a couple weeks later I found an equally abundant patch of the more distinctive Slimy Gomphidius mushrooms, so I'm dining well on these and drying some for later. The acorns I've collected since October are taking their time to be properly leached of their bitter tannins but I'm being patient. They're nutritious enough to be worth the effort.
For the last few months I've been quite preoccupied with other things and didn't get any new posts out but I still found some time to harvest the last of the Sea Rocket pods and Salicornia for a stir-fry back in September. And this winter I will be drying more seaweed.

1st Post! March 10th, 2012

11/26/2012

Nettle season started in February this year and is now in full swing!
I like to add them to soups, sauces, omelettes and tea to amp up the nutritional value, especially as they are often the most abundant source of greens in early spring and late fall.
A good way to have them available for those uses anytime is to blend them up with a bit of water and fill ice cube trays with them for a measured amount whenever needed, or simply dry them until they are crispy and store them in airtight bags or jars for later use. The mature stalks are also suitable for making twine, basketry, or even cloth.
Wearing rubber gloves is advisable while harvesting, otherwise your hands are likely to get all numb and tingly for a day or so afterwards. It may even be somewhat painful. Also dress appropriately to prevent nettle stings in other exposed areas.

A mid-summer day's crumble

7/30/2012

For the past few weeks or so I've been gorging myself on Choke Cherries, Thimbleberries, Salal berries, Huckleberries, Saskatoon Berries, Black Caps and native Blackberries, both fresh and in crumbles and vinaigrettes, and now the most profuse type of berry, the invasive Himalayan blackberries are ripening! I had my first taste of them today. Very soon now I will be forced to make wine from having so many of them around. And I will probably add plums as they will be ripe at the same time. I've also been having some puffballs, seaweeds, grass seeds, salicornia and dandelions but few of the other wild greens are tasty right now and so far the fungal variety is not so great this year as it was in the past few years, and the cattail flowers are all done now, though the shoots can still be eaten. So the main seasonal bounty right now is still berries, and the seaweed is always available, and so easily taken for granted.

Mid-Berry Season and early summer savories!

7/5/2012

Salmonberries are not yet done and there are now Wild Strawberries, Huckleberries, Thimbleberries, and a few of the Native Blackberries and Chokecherries are ripe now too! I'm still harvsting lots of Salicornia, and Seaweeds, and now there are more mushooms to choose from too. I got some nice Puffballs the other day and they went into a stir-fry. .Yum! The Lambs Quarters at the beach are getting too strong tasting now and the Sea Rocket is going into flower along with the Watercress, so they're off the menu for awhile. Cattail flowers are just starting to appear as it has been unusually rainy and cold fort this late in the season and I'm still eating the shoots. Pine Pollen is definitely done for the year and those pesky Tent Caterpillars are finally making themselves scarce as they crawl off to wrap themselves in cocoons until they become Moths, after eating everything in sight and terrorizing the neighborhood.

Berry Season has begun!

6/4/2012

Made my first berry crumble of the season yesterday. Had to grab as many of the ripening Salmonberries as I could before those rapacious swarming Tent Caterpillars got them. The race is on! They go well with rhubarb if you find you don't have quite enough for a crumble at the start of the season or you can add them to a nice vinaigrette for your salads. They can also be dried or frozen for later use if you find you have too many. They're not the tastiest of the local berries, just the first ones to appear, and they taste a bit like grapefruit. Dessert gone wild! Next up will be Huckleberries, Thimbleberries and Wild Strawberries!

Seaweed harvesting and preparation.

5/15/2012

Comprising literally hundreds of species, seaweeds fall into three basic categories: Red, Brown, and Green. All Types Found in Temperate Zones Are Edible! Seaweeds should be cut off well above the attachment points so they can grow back; that part is too tough to eat anyhow. In the springtime, many types of seaweed may be laden with Herring Roe; a native delicacy! Get your seaweed fresh from the sea or the rocks if it's still growing on them, don't be harvesting them from polluted areas, and get them fresh from the water or intertidal zone, not rotting on the beach, as those are likely full of Sea Lice and only good for compost. The tougher varieties can be cooked, pickled, or dried and crumbled for later cooking or powdered for seasoning. While the more tender ones (like Rockweed/Bladderwrack or Sea Lettuce) can be eaten raw or marinated in a salad, or stir-fried. All should be thoroughly washed first!

Holy Halophytes!

5/14/2012

Right now (Mid-May) the season for my favorite Halophytes, that is, salt loving plants, is just getting started good. I pick the Sea Asparagus AKA Salicornia AKA Glasswort and the equally delightful Sea Rocket whenever I go down to the beach and sometimes I find some of the salt tolerant Lamb's Quarters there also. Lambs Quarters can go either way as far as salt goes, it doesn't care, although the seaside version gets rather bitter tasting towards the middle of summer. These are all fine additions to a stir-fry and soup and omelettes. The Salicornia is also good for pickling. And the Sea Rocket has the most wonderful spicy/sweet flavour so I sometimes add it to salads too, when it's in the early stages. These all make beach combing that much more wonderful. Enjoy!

Plantago Lanceolata

4/25/2012

Plantago Lanceolata, AKA Ribwort: I don't much care for any type of Plantain leaves, as nutritious as they are, at least not for eating; though they're at least as good for instant poultices as Curly or Yellow Dock and Dandelion leaves. Even in the early spring they are far too bitter for my taste, but in April and May, when the new flowering tops are out, I like to pick lots of those to sprinkle on my salads, and for omelettes and stir-frying. A small handful per serving is good. They're also reputed to be good for expelling some kinds of intestinal parasites. I can't vouch for that, but they're well worth eating, before the tops start to fuzz out into rings of tiny flowers. They're okay after that too, just not as tasty.

Grass Seeds -- All are (technically) edible!

4/12/2012

The seeds of all grasses are supposedly edible, as long as they are not fungally infected (beware of any black discoloration), although only a few of them are actually worth your time spent gathering and processing them. Collect them by bending the seedhead over into a bag and shaking them into it after they've turned yellow or brownish (mostly in late summer and early fall). They are a good source of nutrition that stores well for winter and should not be neglected by the serious forager. Also, certain types of tall grasses have tender, yummy inner parts just above each node ofthe stem that are good for trail snacking (mostly in late spring and early summer).
Also, it's good to know your Grasses from Sedges and Rushes. I learned a handy rhyme the other day which may prove useful: Sedges have Edges, Rushes are round, and Grasses have Nodes all the way to the ground. This rhyme refers to the shape of the stems. Sedges have triangular stems, while Rushes are more circular.

Other greens currently available.

3/12/2012

Miner's lettuce, Chickweed, Dandelions, Oyeye Daisies, Purple Deadnettle and Sheep Sorrel.
I like to chop the Dandelions up and marinate them a bit in a fresh vinaigrette before tossing them in with the other greens for a salad, sandwich filler or omelet. It cuts down on the bitterness. And matinating the Purple Deadnettle as well will make them less fuzzy and more pleasant to eat. The other greens mentioned are fine as is.
And always pick them well away from any roadways or high traffic areas where people or dogs may be peeing on them, or lawns that are not known to be organic, and give them a good rinsing, like anything else that is fresh and unprocessed.