Foraging?

I have to admit that I am impressed. Yesterday I did some foraging. That's right I wandered around in the woods and looked for edible plants. It was part of a course that some friends of mine found out about here in Kelowna. The individual who runs the class has been picking mushrooms for many years and has recently begun selling his foraged goods to restaurants around town. He stated that mostly restaurants are interested in what he sells only for garnishes except, of course, mushrooms. Apparently he spent some time in Europe where foraged goods are more widely accepted and desired by restaurants.

I was very surprised by 1) the amount of edible plants there are and 2) how many are considered useless or pests. One I was particularly surprised about was pineapple weed which is in the chamomile family and strangely tastes of pineapple. It can be gathered and eaten or made into tea. There are wild varieties of mustard whose leaves and flowers give a horse-radish type kick to the nostrils. There is a pesky weed called mallow that can and has been used to make marsh mallows or to thicken soups. A plant called Sheep's Sorrel tastes exactly like a granny smith apple and the berries of the Sumac tree give a lemony zing and can be used to make a fine sumac-aid.

The first half of the course was gathering plants while the second consisted of prepping and cooking. We ate a salad made of lamb's quarter, sheep's sorrel, dandelion leaves, and pineapple weed with ricotta cheese, pumpkin seed and orange vanilla vinegar. Our guide made a creamed watercress soup that was quite tasty. I was surprised at how mild the bitter flavors became in the food but I was informed that the bitterness can be balanced out with the addition of base foods to the acidic bittering agents.

Where will I go with this information? I have no idea. I now know that I could easily survive from spring to summer without purchasing any leafy green vegetables, that it wouldn't take much effort to learn more about plants and eventually to learn about berries and roots. Soon I could go an entire spring, summer, and fall without purchasing veggies or fruits. Is this likely? No. Perhaps, in time, I will work out a system to incorporate some of this into life.

Foraging, who'd have known?