Foraging with Kids

I was reading a book on plants that indicated that almost the entire Dandelion plant can be eaten. Back before my yard was taken care of well as it is now, I probably should have been foraging those many Dandelions that had the nerve to invade my yard. If they turned out okay to eat, my perspective might have been changed.

DStephan

Well, I am pretty urban but there's tons of foraging to be found. My city has a great system of bike trails, that are well maintained but have LOTS of great foraging stuff to be found. Elderberries aplenty! I only forage dandelions when I am in the country, or in my yard, and I am sure the ones on sidewalks etc. have been, um..."watered" by a fair amount of dogs. But the bike trail system is just great, and elderberries are so high up I don't worry about dogs so much.

I forage my nettles at community gardens. I get permission from the garden coordinator, and forage away. They are weeds to everyone else, for me they are delicious soup and great medicinal tea. I also forage other medicinal plants there-burdock, comfrey, etc. It's an urban community garden, but if you have one near you, ask the coordinator if they would be OK if you gathered some weeds. I actually used to have a plot in that garden and taught a whole class on edible weeds for other gardeners.

Many cities have some sort of walking tour of edible weeds, sometimes several. There's a GREAT one in NYC, I haven't been to the one in my city, but I have heard good things.

So, that's my urban foraging. With kiddos I would be sure to stress not to forage anything that could be contaminated by critter pee or general pollution, but there is a bounty of edibles and medicinals once you start opening your eyes!

Hi, Amymisha. It sure is good to hear from you again. I hope that the recent holidays went well for you and yours. Other than catching colds, my wife and I came through pretty well.
I agree that food is found everywhere. Even the fruit of rose (rosehips) is edible. And, I have the dandelions. I make an effort not to damage themwhen I see them around. There's also a viney looking plant that lays on the ground. Mexicans tell me that it is good to eat. It grows everywhere around here. I can't think of the name for it (English or Spanish), but I'm going to try eating some and see what happens. There is a strain of garlic that grows wild around here. It is smaller and not quite as sharp as the store bought kind. I'm going to find some and plant it in the area where I may have to "bug out" some day. It grows pretty well around here on its own.
Well, I've taken enough of your time, but I do thank you for your contributions to this forum. Dario.

Is it like kudzo? Or however you spell that? That has tons of edible properties and it grows like crazy and is such a weed no one will mind if you harvest it. like nettles, which my friends BEG me to take. Here's my favorite recipe for nettle soup:
Nettle Soup

Like all soups, this one tastes best when made with homemade stock (but works just fine with store-bought broth).
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes
Ingredients:

2 Tbsp. butter, divided
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, diced
1 tsp. salt, plus more to taste
1 lb. potatoes, peeled and chopped
6 cups vegetable broth
1/2 lb. stinging nettles
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup heavy cream (optional)

Preparation:

In a large pot, melt 1 Tbsp. butter over medium-high heat. Add onion and 1 tsp. salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are soft, about 3 minutes.
Add potatoes and broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to maintain a steady simmer and cook 15 minutes.
Add nettles and cook until very tender, about 10 minutes. Stir in remaining 1 Tbsp. butter, and pepper.
Puree soup with an immersion blender or in a blender or food processer in batches. For a silken, less fibrous texture, run mixture through a food mill or sieve.
Stir in cream, if using. Season to taste with additional salt and pepper, if you like.

Now I can't wait until springtime!

Oh and wild garlic. Up here in the Northeast we have ramps. Ooooh.....heaven. It's wild food related to onions and garlic. DELICIOUS. They've gotten really popular with the foodie crwod which is a good thing because it means they are available at farmers markets and a bad thing because they aren't as cheap as they used to be.

If you think of the name of that vine, let me know! I'd be curious!

PS Holidays were great. Hectic and crazy as always.

The next time I see it I'll ask one of my Mexican friends what they call it. I never did know the English word for it. But, I can take it to the local extension service and they can tell me.

BUMP...

Bumping this topic to the top as it is timely for me... early on in this thread Amymisha posted a recipe for Dandelion jelly... well, in my area they're just about to bloom like crazy and I'm definitely planning on trying this.

Made a batch last weekend and will probably try another one this weekend. I ended up with exactly 4 cups so I doubled the recipe... except :::slapping head::: I forgot to double the pectin! So I got a nice dandelion syrup instead of jelly. We tried it on pancakes the following morning and I was floored to say the least... the flavor was complex, unlike one dimensional maple syrup (and I get the real stuff straight from a guy who has acres of sugar maples that he taps. The closest I can describe it as is perhaps Green tea with a LOT of honey... or perhaps Honey with a splash of green tea. With 4 cups of blossoms I ended up canning 4 half pint jars of syrup.

Regardless, it was fantastic! Every time I'm outside by someone new and see a dandelion I now point and say good syrup. Yes, I have been getting some strange looks... even after I explain making syrup (or jelly) from them. Oh well. More for me.

Thanks again for the idea and recipe, Amymisha.

Oh super!! You're welcome.

They are just starting to pop up here, but I am going on my lunch break to forage what I can for dinner tonight, and hopefully enough for some jelly. We'll see.

So excited, have made a "date" with my Dad to go up to Maine, take the canoe out and do some serious foraging in a few weeks. Fiddleheads should be ready then, and maybe we'll find some ramps. That should be a fun day. I see pickled fiddleheads in my future!!!