Foraging for Food - Fiddlehead Ferns

tastes like okra?



But like the thing said, it's only around for 2 weeks a year.

 

I found them more like asparagus.....When I went to Maine for 22 Summers, ate them a lot.....and loved them!

(course, I love okra too)

Most of the foods here that have a short time are citrus...The "Honey Bell" tangerines and oranges....OMG...they are better than any candy , ever...and a short period in which to get them.....

Because of the warm weather, we have more than one growing season...and can get 2 or 3 crops of veggies...which is great!

Nothing like homegrown maters, with Dukes Mayo, on sticky white bread...with a little salt and pepper....Little bit of Heaven on Earth....

 

I enjoy dandelion greens but you gotta remember to boil them, exchange the water and boil them again to get rid of the bitterness. Another favorite of mine is day-lilly blossoms. I love them in salads or sauted in butter with a pinch of salt and ground black pepper. Sumac berries make a decent astringent beverage that is both refreshing and capable of cleaning an infected cut. Birch-bark, boiled into a tea will cure a head-ache.

 

I enjoy watercress and scallions, wilted with hot bacon grease and served with what my Granny called "dog bread". Dog bread is just plin corn meal with a pinch of salt ixed with water and fried like a pancake. By the way, dandelion greens and sumac tea are both fairly high in vitamon C.
One of my favorite things in this world is my granny's pecan pie made with scaleybarks instead of pecans.

 

Around here, there are two primary types of hickory nuts; the pignut and the scaleybark. Scaleybarks are generally larger than pignuts.

 

Unfortunatly for me I'm allergic to alot of the nut family. Walnuts,Peanuts etc. would put me down and out for awhile. Thankfully I am not allergic to sunflower seeds so my fat intake can come from them. Just remember when looking at eating some of the wild fauna that you know the base compounds. Your Birch bark tea does relieve pain because it contains a base which is a close cousin to aspirin. Depending on if or how allergic you are to aspirin you could cause a severe allergic reaction or worse yet anaphylactic shock.
Sorry to put a damper on the subject, Just don't want anyone here to become a casualty because they are trying to eat better.
Take care Be safe Poacher.

 

That's good stuff !!!!!.... Yummy...

 

I like to be vegitarian largely by proxi. I figure most of my fat intake would come from other critters be it squirls, 'possums, coons or what ever and I know we have LOADS of possums and coons here since I generaly shoot at least 1 or 2 a week just on the front pourch or on or near the back pourch even without trying to bait them and dont seem to even slow down their presence and both are very high in fat.

 

Southern Indiana here, and LOTS of forage available:

Trees:
Pecans are native, as are black walnut, hickory, persimmon, occasional paw paws, Wild Cherry.

Other:
Morels - best tasting mushroom on the planet!
Wild Asparagus
Cattails (shoots and pollen)
Wild Strawberries, Blackberries, Onion, Garlic
Sour Doc and Dandelion Greens
Wild Grape

I'm sure I'll think of more once I hit the "submit" button

 

We had yucca this weekend....and it's all around here...

The root is a starchy, almost potato like tuber...and very good!

Yucca root has made a home growing in Florida since the late 1800s. Cassava is a bushy perennial that can grow as tall as 8 feet. The white interior of yucca is firmer than potatoes and has high starch content. Fresh yucca has thick, dark brown skin that resembles a tree's bark. Fresh yucca is available year round. Look for firm blemish free tubers. Store whole yucca as you would potatoes, in a cool, dark, dry place for up to one week. Peeled yucca covered with water and refrigerated or wrapped tightly and frozen for several months.

Yucca can easily be substituted for potatoes in soups and stews and it contains a high amount of vitamin C and carbohydrates. It is also a good source of dietary fiber and contains approximately 120 calories per 1 cup serving.

 

You gotta a lot of prickly-pear there too. The fruit is ok and the leaves will do inna pinch but you gotta watch those needles.