Foraging
What a hassle it was every summer night when my mother would order my sisters and me to get in the bathtub. We hated it. Our feet were black as charcoal, and our mom made us scrub every inch. My sisters and I loved running barefoot in our backyard woods. We pretended to be tribal women and cooked with leaves, twigs, acorns and imagination. We were always interested in wild plants and pretending to cook. It was the year 1998. I was eight and my two younger sisters were six and five. My friend from school told me about honeysuckle flowers. The moment we pinched the bottom tip of the bloom and tasted the honey from the stamen, we believed it was a magical flower that possessed healing powers in its nectar. Yes, we were very imaginative.
We never really ate anything that we were not sure of because our parents always warned us about consuming things that we were not familiar with. We live in East Texas, aka the piney woods , and interesting things can always be found in the forest. Because my sisters and I were so interested in wild edibles, my parents bought us a book with pictures and descriptions of things that can and can’t be eaten from the wild. To this day, I still enjoy adventures in the woods and seeing what I can find. Foraging can be dangerous if you are not careful and if you do not have the knowledge to distinguish between what is poisonous and what is safe. Always take safety precautions when picking wild edibles. I personally do not recommend going into the forest alone. Always travel with a partner. I also recommend that you know what poison ivy, poison oak, and poison sumac looks like. The penalty of ignorance is sometimes not very forgiving.
With all safety precautions in mind and having knowledge of what can be eaten, foraging can be a very fun and tasty adventure. Many hikers benefit from foraging. It lightens their load and keeps them sustained throughout their hike; however, you don’t necessarily have to be an avid hiker to discover what can be eaten in nature. I always enjoy casually going out with my sisters and picking wild blackberries. We get up early in the morning, have a hearty breakfast, pack our tools and head to the woods. If it has been raining heavily, we come back with a whole basket-full of blackberries. We either put them in the refrigerator or wash them if we are going to use them immediately. It is always good to wash berries right before they are consumed. Otherwise, they will get soggy. My dad likes eating the blackberries whole. He puts them in salads or oatmeal. My favorite way of eating blackberries is in cobbler. It is divine when eaten straight from the oven with a scoop of butter pecan ice cream on top. The ice cream melts over the crust and it is to die for. Emeril Lagasse, a famous chef, has a very simple recipe for blackberry cobbler that I use. Not only do we have many blackberry bushes in our backyard woods, but we also have lots of pine trees. Pine trees give off a very pleasant aroma. Not very many people in my area are aware that the longleaf pine tree needles can be used for tea! Pine needle tea has so many health benefits, and it tastes great too! I love to drink this tea around Christmas. When it’s cold outside, all I want to do is bundle up and drink pine needle tea. There is the traditional recipe, and there is my recipe. I follow the traditional recipe for the most part, but I add a stick of cinnamon to the pot. Now do you see why this tea is like Christmas in a cup?
So far, the three plants that I have mentioned so far seem plausible, right? Well, did you know that dandelions, american beautyberry, and parts of cattails can be eaten? There are so many wonderful things that we can find in nature if we just obtain the knowledge. I recommend reading Edible Wild Plants by John Kallas. This book includes helpful information on wild edibles. It also includes pictures. It is best to learn about wild edibles before going out and just putting anything to your mouth. Do some research in the library or on the internet. Also, make sure to take safety precautions. Don’t travel alone. I encourage anyone to go outside, explore nature and find the delicious foods that are available at our fingertips.
We never really ate anything that we were not sure of because our parents always warned us about consuming things that we were not familiar with. We live in East Texas, aka the piney woods , and interesting things can always be found in the forest. Because my sisters and I were so interested in wild edibles, my parents bought us a book with pictures and descriptions of things that can and can’t be eaten from the wild. To this day, I still enjoy adventures in the woods and seeing what I can find. Foraging can be dangerous if you are not careful and if you do not have the knowledge to distinguish between what is poisonous and what is safe. Always take safety precautions when picking wild edibles. I personally do not recommend going into the forest alone. Always travel with a partner. I also recommend that you know what poison ivy, poison oak, and poison sumac looks like. The penalty of ignorance is sometimes not very forgiving.
With all safety precautions in mind and having knowledge of what can be eaten, foraging can be a very fun and tasty adventure. Many hikers benefit from foraging. It lightens their load and keeps them sustained throughout their hike; however, you don’t necessarily have to be an avid hiker to discover what can be eaten in nature. I always enjoy casually going out with my sisters and picking wild blackberries. We get up early in the morning, have a hearty breakfast, pack our tools and head to the woods. If it has been raining heavily, we come back with a whole basket-full of blackberries. We either put them in the refrigerator or wash them if we are going to use them immediately. It is always good to wash berries right before they are consumed. Otherwise, they will get soggy. My dad likes eating the blackberries whole. He puts them in salads or oatmeal. My favorite way of eating blackberries is in cobbler. It is divine when eaten straight from the oven with a scoop of butter pecan ice cream on top. The ice cream melts over the crust and it is to die for. Emeril Lagasse, a famous chef, has a very simple recipe for blackberry cobbler that I use. Not only do we have many blackberry bushes in our backyard woods, but we also have lots of pine trees. Pine trees give off a very pleasant aroma. Not very many people in my area are aware that the longleaf pine tree needles can be used for tea! Pine needle tea has so many health benefits, and it tastes great too! I love to drink this tea around Christmas. When it’s cold outside, all I want to do is bundle up and drink pine needle tea. There is the traditional recipe, and there is my recipe. I follow the traditional recipe for the most part, but I add a stick of cinnamon to the pot. Now do you see why this tea is like Christmas in a cup?
So far, the three plants that I have mentioned so far seem plausible, right? Well, did you know that dandelions, american beautyberry, and parts of cattails can be eaten? There are so many wonderful things that we can find in nature if we just obtain the knowledge. I recommend reading Edible Wild Plants by John Kallas. This book includes helpful information on wild edibles. It also includes pictures. It is best to learn about wild edibles before going out and just putting anything to your mouth. Do some research in the library or on the internet. Also, make sure to take safety precautions. Don’t travel alone. I encourage anyone to go outside, explore nature and find the delicious foods that are available at our fingertips.