A bit of foraging....in praise of the lowly dandelion and other ramblings.

 I consider myself a researcher.   Meaning that I find something of interest and I have to learn all I can until that research itch is satisfied.   I've actually made a career out of it in some ways. 

Hopefully not dressed like this

Foraging for food has never really interested me much.  I have a passing interest in it because of my desire to make my yard into a edible lawn.   For example I planted an edible (although non native) dogwood tree.  I'm planting or have planted a variety of native perennial fruits and veggie's.  It is an ongoing process, simply because in the back of my mind some post apocalyptic traveler will come across this and have nourishment for a few days.

I have identified and used purslane, sheep and wood sorrel, curly dock and; what I believe is fiddlehead ferns in my yard before.  However not being 100% sure about the fiddlehead fern, it's not made it into a dish or salad yet.  

Some ferns look familiar to fiddleheads but they are toxic.  As such I am using good judgement and not using it in any dish.  All the other plants mentioned have been used in some way.  I'm planning on getting a firm identification in the future which will determine what I do with this particular fern.

One plant that I've not mentioned is the dandelion.  

I've had dandelion leaves as part of a salad.  I've had homemade dandelion wine.  I've come across recipes for dandelion tea and fritters.

It's just that I've never really explored them as a food source.  They also have a long history in traditional medicine.  In fact, the history of the dandelion and man have been intertwined for sometime.  

So, I decided to head out to my back yard and surrounding area to try and some dandelions and see what I could make.  It's a little late in the year and at the time of writing this, most of the dandelions are gone, I also know that the later in the year, the more bitter the dandelion becomes.    

However I can certainly try a few recipes found on the Practical Self Reliance web site in the spring of next year.  Dandelions also are high in essential vitamins although other health claims are either not proven or their has been very little research done.

If you have been following this blog for some time then you know that my history in the kitchen is mixed to say the least.  I love to eat. I love trying new foods and recipes, it's just that I was never interested in learning to cook (I don't have the patience for it) or people in my life that were supportive of my experiments in the kitchen.

Please don't misunderstand me, the love of my life, Sue is an amazing chef but her experience with "Exotic" spices and flavors has been limited by her experiences and training.  Plus, living in an area where people make a living from traditional farming and food production limits experimentation as well.   We live in a "steak and potato" town.

However I did come across some things that sound interesting to me.  Dandelion tea for example sounds pretty simple.  Take a 1/2 cup of petals, pour boiling water over them.  Steep for 10 minutes or so and enjoy although you can also make tea from the petals and a "coffee" from the roots as well.   

I had even saved a recipe for Dandelion flower fritters earlier in the year to our recipe page because I was interested in trying them.   Seriously, how good does Dandelion bread sound?  I want to try it!

The more I learn about food, the more I realize how much healthier, and cheaper, food made at home actually is...and sadly how we have moved beyond those days.   While I'm not stating that we need to move back to the patriarchal days of yore...I do think we lost much to "progress".

A traditional loaf of bread is easy to make and generally costs about $1 US dollar to make.  Compared that to a store brought brand at close to double that price.  It's still a inexpensive item to buy and running to the grocery store is still a time saver as compared to baking bread at home.   

Somehow however....something  is lost.  

Sue and I have discussed the joy of reaching over and picking a wild berry from a vine.  Or making tea from a variety of wild flowers before.  It's not something that I've discussed much in this blog.   Neither of us are wildly into foraging but we both understand food.

One of my favorite memories is making homemade pasta with friends, drinking their homemade wine and spicing up that pasta dinner with a tomato sauce and veggies fresh from the garden.

The more I research things however the more I think that moving to a native edible yard is something worth doing.  Many native plants also have some medicinal (although not much research exists on this) use or can have practical use as well.  I've not given that much thought but thankfully I've found that the Penn State Extension Office is a wonderful source of information on this subject.  

The only question I have, and this does concern me, is will I have enough time to complete everything that I have in mind?