Foraging

[Timmah!]

For many of us, eating wild plants comes naturally, taking its nascent form in our childhoods as we play and explore the outdoors: Wild Blackberries, Strawberries, Raspberries; picking a honeysuckle, pinching-off the bottom & drawing that sweet nectar from the flower, wild onion, Red Clover and many others.

As we grow older, modern society and the responsibilities of adulthood draw us away from this happy, healthy endeavor. 

Being in the Boyscouts, identifying plants, their likely habitats & companion plants, their practical uses as components for tools, medicine, food, shelter was really gratifying.  The increased competence enhanced my enjoyment of the wilderness, made me feel even more comfortable and confident in my surroundings.

Anyways, there's lots of good food out there for free & it's a pursuit and activity to which I've returned, folding it into my daily life and activities. 

This week I foraged some Milkweed, as it's one of the plants available this time of year.

Made a healthy snack from Common Milkweed unopened flower umbels(clusters)
A 30 second - 1 minute blanching in boiling water, steaming, or sautéing makes them very tasty.  
I like them with just a little cracked pepper & sea salt.
Every part of the plant is edible after you cook it.  Don't eat raw.
Its leaves are the sole food of Monarch Butterfly caterpillars, so I leave those plants be if I see one.
You'd be surprised the number of edible plants around you, throughout the year, not to mention medicinal value.
The last 2 pictures are of some Mullein I also foraged earlier this week.