Two Foraging Related Book Reviews and a Tip...

"Natures Garden" by Samuel Thayer

I am often asked when I take people on walks to ID native plants..."What one book would you recommend to have for emergencies?"  The implied question is that if the day came that they needed to rely on foraged food...what book will tell them everything they need to know to feed themselves.

While it is possible that a reference book could help in a pinch to find a few edible plants to use to supplement one's diet...to expect that a person is to learn all they need to know from one book that is needed to sustain life...without a depth of experiences that are borne over many seasons of working with many plants is unrealistic.

It's kind of like asking..."If the day comes that I have an opportunity to dance on broadway...how can I become a professional dancer in one weekend?"  It is also like people that store garden seed for doomsday gardening...but don't currently garden...or purchase all of their plants large and healthy from a nursery.  The comfort that comes with being truly self-reliant with foraging as well as in most preparedness endeavors comes with the knowledge that comes from practice.

I own a library of foraging books...and when I am learning about a plant...I learn bits and pieces of a puzzle from many of them.  Some of the books have great harvesting info...but lame plant identification ...or they list off 100+ plants...but only a handful will be available in your region...etc...etc.  Trying to find one book that shows you all stages of the plants development...explains the qualities of a plant good for harvesting...and that doesn't leave out other important details is hard to find.  None really have been a complete resource...all by themselves.  I end up going on the internet and look up photos on calflora...or see if there are videos on youtube...etc...etc...  Then I observe the plant through the seasons to know what it looks like at all stages of development.  Some plants you want to eat when it is a tiny shoot...not when it is in full bloom like it shows in so many of the photos!

But the question arises..."Isn't there a book that contains at least the info for a handful of plants that one could learn without looking to other sources?"  Well...there are two that I can think of...and they are both written by Samuel Thayer.

His first book "The Foragers Harvest" is worth purchasing even if only a select amount of the plants that he covers are to be found where you live.  He is not an armchair forager.  Not someone regurgitating what another author has written.  He is telling you hands on how HE works with each plant.  The photographs are crisp...the quality of the materials of the book are superb...the descriptions are complete.  He provides a glossary...information on botanical terminology...really a complete reference.

His new book is a dream come true!  It is called "Natures Garden" and it is like a continuation of his first book.  This is book is 512 pages long vs. "The Foragers Harvest" which is 360 pages.  It has more plant lessons than "The Foragers Harvest" that are applicable to Western foragers.  "Natures Garden" is worth buying if just for his section on Acorn processing!

So...if you only had two foraging books to rely on...I'd choose for you "Nature's Garden"...followed by "The Foragers Harvest".  After that...I would point you to Steve Brills book that has wonderfully correct botanical drawings and great humored info...or Christopher Nyerges book that has great info especially with regards to nutritional values...but lame photos.

"Natures Garden" is available for pre-order from Amazon at the link above...or directly from Samuel Thayer.  He will even sign the book if you buy it from him!

"Tending the Wild" by M. Kat Andersen


One of the initial things that drew me to foraging was the concept of "Reaping where I did not sow".  After spending so much time prepping soil for planting...sowing...weeding...etc...at my home garden foraging was bound to be inviting!  I saw with my naive eyes that the world of the Native Americans must be one of simply going around and filling up their "shopping baskets" with the bounties of nature.  I mean...that is what we were taught in school right?!  That the Native Americans were "Hunters and gatherers"!?

While they did hunt...and they did gather...they also were "Tending the wild".  This book extensively documents the practices of burning...weeding...coppicing...pruning...sowing...etc...that made the State of CA the abundant place that it was when the white man came.    These actions ensured that successive harvests would produce higher yields and superior quality. Native California was managed just like a modern farmer would manage a crop in rows...only their crop was "wild" to the untrained eye.  Hillsides of edible clover...large stands of evenly spaced oaks...fields of cereal grains.  They truly shaped the landscape of California into what it was...and we still are benefactors of their work to the extent that it hasn't been sullied.

This book also serves as a stinging rebuke to those "conservationists" who believe that the best kind of nature is nature that is untouched.   Management practices of the Native Americans such as burning increased crop yields...abated insects and disease...prevented larger fires...cleared brush...etc.  Man's hand can actually accentuate the positive by helping along processes that lead to a desired result.  For example...the author writes extensively about Dichelostemma capitatum or "Blue Dicks" or "Brodiaea".  

Here is a video of a person who has some foraging videos on youtube (many of which I have enjoyed).  In this video he recommends eating the stem and flower of Brodiaea...but leaving the corm.  He leaves the corm saying that it is the part that is "sustainable"...saying "It helps the plant to survive".  While it is true that the plant will continue to live if you leave the corm in the ground...if he were to dig it up...he would find that there would be more plants to harvest in successive years!  The corms have tiny "cormlets" that  detach and plant themselves when you dig them up!  It is this practice of not disturbing various plants that has led to their dwindling numbers and even extinction!

The book kind of felt like a fleshed out mini-version of Moerman's "Native American Ethnobotany".  Where Moerman would tell you that a certain species of plant was used for food in a short blurb....this book tells you about how it was harvested...propagated...stored...etc.  Many of this information comes by way of quotes from Native people telling their stories.  The author also uses the botanical names to avoid confusion which is greatly appreciated.

I recommend it to all people who are interested in foraging...as it reminds us that we must give thought for the future of the plants we collect.  It reminds us that we are in "Natures Garden"...a garden that will produce every year...if we don't kill the golden goose.  I think that although so many of the species of plants discussed in the book are endemic to California...that it also will have direct applicability to similar species found in other states and is therefore still worthy of reading if you do not live in CA.

This book is a treasure.  I am in awe of the knowledge of the Native American people.  While much of the ethnobotanical information of the US has been lost...it is wonderful that M. Kat Andersen gave a chunk of her life to record a piece of it.

Cover Your Paperback Books


I checked out the paperback copy of "Tending the Wild" from the library.  It was obviously the first time the book had been read...as the binding practically creaked when I opened it. By the time I finished the book...the edges were bending up and looking worn.  If this had been my own book...this never would have happened.  Right after I purchase a book...new or used...before I start to read...I will cover the book with laminate.  I purchase the laminate in a 12" roll from Highsmith which is a library supply place.  This makes a paperback book...more like a glossy hardback book.  They will last a lot longer and stay nice just by taking a short time to give the book some TLC.  It's easy to do and takes me probably 5 minutes to cover one book.

I'm unsure if this is the same brand I purchased before...as one roll lasts FOREVER and I have not finished the one roll I have purchased...but the 12" one on this page should be a good choice for most paperbacks.  Here are instructions on how to cover a book with laminate.

Candis Cantin Herb Walks...

I have been asked by many people to let them know about preparedness related events taking place...mostly in Northern California.  Instead of trying to email a multitude of people individually...I will post them here on my blog!  If you know of any that are open to the public...let me know about them...potentially to post here.

Here is some information on classes being put on by Candis Cantin.  She teaches herbology.  I am going on both of her herb walks she is doing this year...that you will see when you scroll down the "course" page.  If you want to learn about some "wild" plants from someone other than me...maybe you should go too!  They are inexpensive...local...and I have heard she knows her stuff.  Make sure you contact her to register.

Buckeye Gathering...

If you want to learn what true self reliance is...on the most basic of levels...then you should be looking primarily to the indigenous people of the land where you live.  Those people's knew and know how to make use of the resources provided by nature.  While there are still some of these cultures existing in remote areas...that have continued their way of life as it has been for thousands of years...many of the indigenous people's have assimilated into the dominating population and have lost their knowledge with each successive generation.  Thankfully......there are those that still preserve these "bushcraft"..."primitive living"..."Earth" skills.

Here is information on the Buckeye Gathering.  It's a week long camping trip that I will be attending that will teach a myriad of these skills!  The price is beyond reasonable...and it promises to be an incredible education and ton's of fun!  It is a family friendly event with a kids camp.  There will even be a fair where people will trade handmade goods.  Read from the link for all the details.  I hope to see you there!

Wheatgrass...and Beyond...

When spring has sprung where I live...one can step outside and hear the distant purr of lawmowers...and smell the scent of fresh cut grass.  Personally...I like that scent.  It fills my mind with fond memories of all of the fun things that happen in a season of warmer weather.  In all the years I have been smelling that scent though...never have I thought to myself..."I wish I could have a drink of that scent!"  While I still have yet to drink lawn clipping juice...I have had something that probably tastes a lot like it...wheatgrass.

Wheatgrass is just that.  Wheat that has been sprouted to the point that it resembles a lawn that needs to be mowed...and then it is clipped and juiced.  I have yet to meet a person who drinks wheatgrass because they love the flavor.  Most people drink it because it is super nutritious!!

The testimonials really are astounding.  People say that wheatgrass cured them of most every ailment out there.  I have no reason to doubt their testimonials.  I firmly believe that many of the ailments that we carry with us are directly linked to the nutritionally lacking...and even toxic food that we eat.  A blast of vitamin rich green drink could be just what is needed to revive the ill to health.

This knowledge has spread...and for some time now...health food stores sell small swatches of wheatgrass sod....and businesses like Jamba Juice offer small shots of wheatgrass juice...if you have the money to buy it at a premium.

People who don't want to pay the high cost...do it themselves.  I've grown it in the past with plastic growing trays...some run of the mill potting soil...and some wheat from storage.  There are lot's of places on online that will give you directions on how to do it.  It can be done simply...or you can buy into all of the other miscellaneous things that people want to sell you to make it better...like rock dusts...containers etc.  I do recommend that you do it in actual soil...as opposed to an artificial mat of nutrients like some people do.

After you have the wheatgrass...you need to get the juice out of it.  I own the healthy juicer...and have been pleased with it.  The only drawbacks that I can think of are the plastic construction...and the suction cup that keeps it to the counter.  I'd love to have one that is stainless steel and grabs the table.

If the day comes that you are living on food storage...and are unfamiliar with wild greens that you could eat...this could be a way to get some green in your diet.

And yes...the good ole' wheat from the cannery works just great.  White or red.  Just like with any seed...as time goes on...germination rates go down.  I have taken out old stored wheat and tried to sprout it without much success.  But you say "I heard that they got wheat to sprout from the mummies tombs in Egypt".  Even if you think that story is true...I wouldn't plan on your wheat sprouting if it has been stored for over 25 years in ideal conditions.  In fact...I would only attempt to sprout my newest wheat...and leave the non-sprouting old stuff for breadstuffs...because it is still good to eat...just not sprout.

NOW.  Having said all that...did you know that all grass is edible?  Not only is it edible...but it also has a high nutritional value (according to this book).  We don't have multiple stomachs like cows...and can't really handle all the fiber...but we can eat it in small amounts...or chew it to get the juices out...and then spit out the fibrous portion.  Or we could juice it! The reality is that I could actually be juicing my bluegrass lawn and enjoying some health benefits!  If you are going to juice grass from a wild or not so wild source...make sure that it is clean and hasn't been sprayed with anything detrimental to your health...and harvest the grass before it forms it's first node.  After that node (or knee) forms it is still edible...but more fibrous and less nutritious.  Harvesting wild grasses could save you the time...money...and effort of having to grow your own...with similar results.  I'm going to juice some grass from the yard tomorrow!!
---------------------------------------------------

I went into my backyard and used some scissors to snip some grass from an untrodden area.  I filled up a mixing bowl and then juiced it.  It was a deep green...and was much more pleasant tasting than wheatgrass has been.  My wife mixed in some apple juice...and it was quite tasty!

It also dawned on me how someone could have a source of water most anywhere...with a simple hand crank juicer and some clumps of grass!

I am unsure of the species of grass that I drank...as I am a grass identification rookie.  I am left to wonder how the nutrition of various grasses stack up against each other.  I wonder if that information has been published?!  I will continue to drink it knowing that it is generically "highly nutritious".

Scissors Plant is Good Eatin'...

Have you seen this plant before? A lot of people call it the "Scissors Plant"...because you can poke your fingernail through one of the pointy seed pods...then stick another one through it to make them look like scissors. Fun for kids and adults!

If you see the pointy seed pods in the Sacramento area they are likely to be attached to either what is generally called Red Stem Filaree/Storksbill (Erodium cicutarium) or California Cranesbill (Geranium californicum)(Not pictured). I'm going to chat a bit about Filaree. (The Cranesbill is also edible but generally not as desired as the Filaree)

The whole plant is edible...though people generally eat just the leaves and stems...and leave the seed pods. One could also potentially harvest the seeds as they have a have a high caloric content. The plant is a good source of protein and fiber...as well as calcium, phosphorus, and potassium. They were revered by the Blackfeet and Cahuilla Indians who ate them raw or cooked.

I have known for some time that they are edible...and have snacked on the leaves from time to time...but was a bit put off by the hairy texture...and didn't find the taste exciting. Today I decided to give the plant another chance...cooked.

I washed the Filaree stems and leaves...cut them into no bigger than inch long pieces...and put it into a skillet with some butter. After a brief saute'...I added some raw scrambled eggs and cooked them as I would an omelette or scrambled eggs. I added some salt and pepper and then served it. It was awesome! I had read that it is "Spinach like" in flavor...and found that to be very true! The kids and adults gobbled it down and asked for more...but it was all gone! Next time I will collect more.

If you want to try it...please make 100% sure you have the right plant before you taste anything. Consult foraging books...or the internet to confirm you have the right plant. It should be a pretty easy one to spot. A great one to add to the menu!

Miner's Lettuce Smoothies!!...

Yesterday I went for a walk with our preschool and the children and I harvested two plastic grocery bag's full of Miner's Lettuce (Claytonia perfoliata). While as I type this...much of the country is covered in snow...in my neck of the woods in California we have thriving greens ready to be enjoyed by those that know of their worth (my heart goes out to you who are stuck in a winter wonderland!!). Using scissors and our hands we snipped handfuls at a time. Care was taken to not pull them out by the root so that they will regrow. Our harvest was mixed with grass...hairy vetch (Vicia villosa)...and some oak leaves...so care had to be taken to ensure that we weren't eating anything else.

After our sorting...I put maybe 3/4 of a cup of cranberry/raspberry juice into the blender...filled it to the brim with Miner's Lettuce...and added a couple of handfuls of frozen pitted plums. Blended...then added more Miner's Lettuce again. There really is no exact recipe...if you want it sweeter...add more frozen fruit...it's all up to you!

Here is some great info about Miner's Lettuce. The nutritional value...how to identify the plant...and harvesting ideas. This is actually the guy I got the idea to do the smoothie from!

My daughter did a video of a portion of our adventure. You are walking into my home to see a slice of our lives!!! Oh...and pay no attention to my anti-green vegetable son!!

Tea Anyone?...

When the weather outside is frightful...and inside it's so delightful...I love to cuddle up in my sweats under a soft blanket...kick back on a recliner...and enjoy a cup of herbal tea. It seems that the more inclement the weather is outside...the more I enjoy myself! I make the tea too hot to drink...and then deeply breathe the steam in until it cools enough that I can drink it. It might be a sweet berry flavor...some lemon balm from the garden...or maybe some soothing mint tea that serves to clear my sinuses...which often seem obstructed during the cold months.

If I were to tell a group of LDS people that I like to do this...I would have some say "That sound's nice...I like to do that too!"...and then I'd have some that would say "I think that is breaking the word of wisdom (or law of health)...I would never do that".

The difference in belief stems from an interpretation of a revelation that outlines how to be healthy with regards to what we take into our bodies...it reads...

Doctrine and Covenants 89:9 - "And again, hot drinks are not for the body or belly."

Thankfully...the prophets gave some clarification when they stated that "Hot drinks" are referring specifically to "tea and coffee".

While this did bring us one step closer to clarification...there has remained confusion for many as to what was meant by "tea". One is left to ask..."Is "tea" referring to just..."

1. A drink made from from the tea plant (Camellia sinensis)?

or does it also include...

2. Herbal drinks made from anything other than the tea plant...that have been applied the misnomer "tea"?

Lest we think that herbs are somehow generally forbidden...in the same revelation in the Doctrine and Covenants section 89 it reads...

10 And again, verily I say unto you, all wholesome ^aherbs God hath ordained for the constitution, nature, and use of man—

11 Every herb in the season thereof, and every fruit in the season thereof; all these to be used with ^aprudence and ^bthanksgiving.

The key there is "with prudence". For example...the Lord did not entirely forbid the use of tobacco...but just told us how it could be used prudently...

8 And again, tobacco is not for the ^abody, neither for the belly, and is not good for man, but is an herb for bruises and all sick cattle, to be used with judgment and skill.

In another scripture He reiterates this point when He says...

D&C 59:17 Yea, and the herb, and the ^agood things which come of the earth, whether for food or for ^braiment, or for houses, or for barns, or for orchards, or for gardens, or for vineyards;

18 Yea, all things which come of the earth, in the season thereof, are made for the ^abenefit and the ^buse of man, both to please the eye and to ^cgladden the heart;

19 Yea, for ^afood and for raiment, for taste and for smell, to ^bstrengthen the body and to enliven the soul.

20 And it pleaseth God that he hath given all these things unto man; for unto this end were they made to be used, with judgment, not to ^aexcess, neither by extortion.

In the Book of Mormon we are told that God prepared many wild "plants and roots" to "remove the cause of diseases"...

Alma 46:40 And there were some who died with fevers, which at some seasons of the year were very frequent in the land—but not so much so with fevers, because of the excellent qualities of the many ^aplants and roots which God had prepared to remove the cause of ^bdiseases, to which men were subject by the nature of the climate—

The Lord has expressly told us the medicinal value of wild plants...and given us the charge to use them "with judgement". The question we must ask is...how should each herb be used?

Here is an article from the Ensign where a professor at a school discusses the medicinal value of various herbs and gives warnings about having reliable information before taking anything. The author has an apparent disdain for herbal remedies which I do not share. Personally...I believe that modern medicine can do wonderful things or make people even more ill. I tend to trust herbal remedies rather than pills filled with chemicals of unknown origins produced by people with unknown motives.

To an LDS person who would still hold the belief that herbal teas are against the law of health I would ask "Do you also believe that soup is against the law of health?"

Hot water...mixed with a variety of herbs and vegetables...will make a soup.

Hot water...mixed with a variety of herbs and even vegetables...will make an "herbal tea".

As I see it...the main difference is that one generally eats the solids in a soup...while in an herbal tea one generally just drinks the broth.

Tea's and Survival

If you are in a survival situation...stranded out in the cold...a nice warm drink may be what helps to keep you warm enough to survive the night...or at least make your situation more tolerable. That same warm herbal tea could also provide sustaining vitamins as well as some morale boosting great flavor.

One of the most famous stories about wild herbal teas saving lives is about the French explorer Jacques Cartier. While exploring Cananda...his men and the natives came down with Scurvy and disease. Natives introduced him to a tea...presumably made from pine needles and/or white cedar leaves. The tea quickly brought them back to health.

Tea's are generally made by boiling water...or just under boiling...and then adding your plant material to the water to allow it to steep. If the water is too hot...and you boil the plant in the water...you may lose much of the nutritive value as it is destroyed by the heat. Here is a video of a lady making pine needle tea.

In order to use herbs with "judgement"...there are plenty of books that will teach herbal remedies...and wilderness medicine. Browse at your local library or on the internet and you will find volumes of information.

One that I recently found that I really...really like is called "Native American Ethnobotany". It is not a plant identification book. It is a dictionary thick book that will tell you about how most every plant available was used by the Native Americans...as food...tools...medicine...etc... What I especially like about it is the fact that you can see how unrelated tribes used the same plants for the same purposes...which lends credibility to their usefulness in that application.

Try some herbal tea sometime if you haven't before. You could start with a cup of chamomile tea...a flower with a mild taste. It has been used for thousands of years...has a very soothing quality to it.

With a bit of research...you could also come to enjoy the tea's that mother nature gives for free...that could also save your life!

California Pine Nuts...

Yesterday...my eldest daughter and I parked at a car wash...and walked a short distance up a trail in a forested area of the city. On our way we saw Toyon berries...Black Sage...Black Alder...and a host of other wild edibles...but that wasn't what we were stopping for...we wanted some pine nuts.

If you didn't know...

Pine nuts are high in nutrition. They are not cheap to purchase at the store...so free is great! While they are well known for their inclusion in Pesto...it is also used in many other recipes (including salads, sauces, fish garnishment, puddings,cookies, cakes).

While all pine nuts are edible...not all pines have nuts worth collecting. In California...if you are wanting to harvest pine nuts...you are looking for the following trees....

• P. torreyana ("Torrey Pine") - Found in a very small area in SW California
• P. coulteri ("Coulter Pine") Mostly Southern CA...a little of Central CA.
• P. sabiniana ("Digger or Gray Pine") Across most of California
• P. lambertiana ("Sugar Pine") - Found in California and S Oregon.
• P. monophylla ("Single-leaf Pinyon Pine") E & Central California, Nevada, W Utah & Baja California Norte.
• P. quadrifolia ("Parry Pinyon Pine") Far S California & Baja California Norte (mixed with above).

Up the road in Tahoe one can find Pinus Lambertiana or "Sugar Pine". As a result of their presence there...many Tahoe sites are named "Sugar Pine" Point..."Sugar Pine" restaurant..."Sugar" Bowl...etc... They hold a couple of records in that they are the worlds largest pines...with the longest pine cones! The pine cones are so remarkable that people sometimes sell undamaged specimens at fairs for top dollar. While these do have edible nuts...they aren't widely harvested...as the tree is just too darned tall to take down the cones! One has to be content with what is leftover when they fall from the tree.

In my immediate region...the one that is everywhere...is Pinus Sabiniana...or "Gray Pine". This same tree is also known as "Digger Pine" (which may be viewed as politically incorrect)..."Ghost Pine"(because of how the gray green needles look ghostly)...or "Foothill Pine" because that is generally where it grows. Like three good friends hanging out...you will often find the Gray Pine with it's buddies "Blue Oak" (Quercus Douglasii) and "California Buckeye" (Aesculus Californica). Thankfully...all three of these friends have use as food for humans (when prepared properly).

A few identification points for the Gray Pine...

1. The needles are in fascicles (bundles) of 3...are droopy...and are 8-10 inches long.

2. The color of the needles is a pale gray/green.

3. They have a "pole" stage when they are young...but when they get older they branch out in forks and grow as tall as 160 feet! From a distance they are quite noticeable with their spindly dark trunks and sparce gray/green needles. See the photo above.

5. The cones are apple to pineapple in size and often have a lot of sap on them.

If you desire to learn which conifers are which in CA...HANDS DOWN the best book to get is "Conifers of California" (apt title!). The paintings are beautiful...the photos are crisp and clear...and the descriptions are thorough.

Other than for pine nuts...the pinus genus has many other uses. Here is a video with some tips on how to use pine trees and how to harvest pine nuts. One thing that I would add to what he said with regards to harvesting...is to not assume that because a cone has opened that all of the nuts have been released never to be found. I have found many opened cones on the ground still filled with nuts! In fact...we probably picked up $100 worth of pine nuts just off of pine cones we found on the ground in opened cones! Sometimes the pine cones would leave a nice...neat little pile of their nuts right where the cone had initially struck the ground. We also found many that had fallen from the tree...took to the wind...and were littered all over the ground. They can easily be found and eaten for free...if one doesn't mind a little bit of sap on one's hands...and taking a bit of effort to crack their little shells to expose the white nutmeat.

Acorns For Food and Home Oil Production Class...

If you live in the Sacramento area...you should consider coming to a class I am doing on November 21^st, 2009 from 9am-12:30pm at 110 Foxridge Drive in Folsom.

Those that attend will learn how to make the acorns that litter your lawn into a delicious and nutritious food to feed your families! A great skill to have in good or hard times. Ancient and modern processing methods will be discussed…as well as in depth information on our local Oak trees. We will make a dish from an acorn recipe for all to eat!

The second portion of the class will be on how to process vegetable oils out of seeds and nuts that you grow yourself…or harvest in the wild. These vegetable oils can then be used in cooking, as a fuel, medicinally, and in a myriad of other applications. Use of the Piteba oil press will be highlighted.

The fee for the class is $30 or free (as promised) for those that purchased a Piteba press with our group order a while back. It's going to be an awesome class!!

Free Escargot!!

Just the thought of having a snails chewy little meat sliding down ones tongue sounds like the makings of one of those reality shows where people are dared to do unreasonably gross things for the viewers morbid pleasure.

It is an interesting exercise in self understanding to kind of step back out of ones point of reference and ask "Why do I feel that way?" "Why is it gross?" "This food is enjoyed in other cultures...why not mine?" Food prejudices that are developed in a culture may or may not be based on good reasoning. Silly superstitions...prejudices based upon a food being what "poor" people eat...or some such reason could be keeping you from enjoying what could be your favorite food!

American's generally have a taste aversion to eating snails and yet the common garden snail that is to found in our yards is closer on the family tree to the clams...mussels...oysters...and squid that many eat at their fine restaurants...than they would want to hear about. I wonder if anyone would notice if that clam dip at the party was in fact a snail dip?

That common garden snail that we are fighting to keep from eating our garden greens is in fact the same snail that is hunted for eating in France!! It is called the European Brown or "Helix Aspersa"

While I don't expect that you are going to be thrilled about the prospect...and give up hamburgers in favor of snailburgers. I think it is worthwhile to know that in hard times...or true survival situation...there is meat available that...

You don't have to shoot!

You don't have to fish for...

It won't outrun you...

It won't bite or scratch you...

It won't make awful sounds...

You don't have to clean out bloody guts...

and it has some great nutritional value! It actually stacks up pretty darned well with some of the meats you probably now enjoy.

Here is an article about a man in San Franciso who eats snails that will teach you a bit about preparation and give some other useful information. While some people do eat raw snails...know that you could run the risk of getting sick if the snail recently ate snail bait...or if it is carrying parasites. The simple preparation described in that article will ensure that they are safe.

If the thought of eating snail grosses you out...or you say "My family would never eat it". My reply is..."Then you don't know how hungry you could get...and how desperate!" Your family might find it more palatable...first of all...if you don't tell them what it is!!...but second of all if you have it in the context of a dish like some food storage pasta! Snail Rigatoni...YUM!!

Eat Mud...

A child sits in a pile of mud...making "Mud Pies". Perhaps we might tell the child "They are only for make believe!"...hoping that they don't succumb to the temptation of sampling their culinary creation. Interestingly enough...there are some circumstances under which eating mud...or "geophagy"may make sense. The main circumstance...of course...will most likely be that you are starving!! ...but there are other reasons too.

In Haiti not too long ago "mud cookies" became the common fare of people unable to afford any other food. The reporter who tried the Haitian cookies didn't like it...but there are others who love the taste of clay.

Some American Indian tribes added clay to their acorn meal to bind the tannins so they could be consumed.

In the Southern United States back in the 1940's...eating dirt was a common practice that came over from Africa.

Some people eat it because they believe it has various healing effects...like as a cleanser of one's system. It has been used to detoxify after ingesting poison. It has also been used to relieve nausea.

Pregnant women the world over reportedly can feel compelled to sample the soil...and do. Some surmise that this may be due to a drive to have certain minerals to help with the babies development.

In their "Professional Guide Manual", George L. Herter and Jacques P. Herter wrote about the food value of mud...

"The silt or mud on the bottom of lakes, ponds, and sloughs that have or have had some vegetation in them has a high food value for humans. Such silt or mud contains the accumulated organic food riches of thousands of years both from plants, insects, and in some cases from such things as clams, fish, and crayfish. The best way to eat such silt or mud is to make a soup. It tastes surprisingly good. Laurel leaves, wild grape leaves, juniper berries, wild leeks, or dandelion will add to it's flavor.

If lost in the wilderness, mud soup alone will bring you through in fine shape.

This is a proven scientific fact, not my personal opinion. The world famous scientist Robert Beauchamp, director of the East African Fisheries Research Organization, made a great many scientific tests on the food value of mud and silt from the bottoms of lakes. He found, for example, that the mud from the bottom of famous Lake Victoria in Africa was especially rich in food for humans. He proved the point by feeding himself and his family on the mud and in all cases the individuals gained weight."

How would you have liked to be one of his children!!?

While there may be potential health benefits of mud eating...it is not something that I would recommend to people...except in a worst case scenario sort of situation. Most would probably have to be in that sort of situation to consider it anyways! It is reassuring to know that in the absence of plant life to forage...that if it came to it...you could eat mud...and that it could actually make you GAIN weight!!

Still...without a lab to test ALL of what is in the soil...you are taking a chance of consuming lead...or chemicals...or something else that is unhealthy or hard to digest. Also...eating foods with lots of grit can work like a sandpaper on your teeth. The CDC also has an article that discusses various health benefits and some sobering risks. This should hopefully dissuade casual mud eating...and make you want to become more informed about any soil you would want to consume.

I'd venture to say that to become a wise geophagist...one would need to become pretty good at recognizing soil types...have a good understanding of the nutritional values of the soils...and a really adventurous foraging spirit! If one get's good at it...perhaps they will make dirt brownies! Of course...a wise geophagist probably won't even practice his craft...and will save his/her knowledge for a time of real need!

Just one more arrow to put into our "worst case scenario food situation" quiver!!

Piteba Press Group Order...

Some of my posts are really short...and others are pretty long.  I know that because your lives are busy....that some of you put my blog posts aside until you can read them when you have more time.  Way down...at the end of my last post...is some information on a group order for oil presses...which will make the final cost less than if you had purchased it on your own.  

I thought I'd type a short note to bring it to your attention...so that if you planned on reading the post later...you don't kick yourself for missing the opportunity to order!

We have already met the 4 press price break!!

Happy July 4th!!

Foraging Books...

I was reading last night about the saints who first came into the Salt Lake Valley...and how they survived through the harsh seasons while the land was being settled. Saints were eating crows, thistle, bark, roots, and sego lily bulbs...really...most anything that they could get their hands on to make their suffering and intense hunger subside.

While to many in our day...that is just an interesting history lesson...to me it is a story of survival that we could very well repeat in our lifetimes. Prophecy regarding last days events prior to Christ's return points to times of very primitive living. Times where farmers cease farming...and people flee from city to city to avoid mobs and destruction.

I have been studying for a while now the various edible plants that are found in the wild. When people find out that I eat wild food...some think that is pretty strange...a pursuit for someone who is a peculiar person...and perhaps not in a good way. Perhaps they feel this way because they do not understand the severity of what is to come...and how useful a skill foraging would be in hard times.

Others say to me "If things get that rough where I need to eat wild plants...I'll come and find you!!" But what if I am already gone? Relying on me to teach you what you can eat when "there is no store" is not a sound plan of self-reliance....especially if I have already evacuated my family!

Some think that they can grow all they need to eat or store it. But...what if you are driven from your home by war...natural disaster...mobs...etc? A person separated from their food could be in pretty sorry shape.

What about people with health needs...who rely on medication? When your supply of meds runs out...what then? Did you realise that God made a drugstore that may have the answer to many of your maladies (yes...not all...but many)?!

He reminds of this in...Alma 46: 40

"And there were some who died with fevers, which at some seasons of the year were very frequent in the land—but not so much so with fevers, because of the excellent qualities of the many plants and roots which God had prepared to remove the cause of diseases, to which men weresubject by the nature of the climate—"

God prepared plants and roots in North America to "remove the cause of diseases"!!

Wouldn't it be wonderful to have fresh vegetables...spices...greens...etc...to eat alone or to add to your food storage to make it more palatable...and last longer...that you don't have to grow yourself?!

Wouldn't it be wonderful to know how to heal yourself for free...from plants that grow all around us!? Nature can be your store...year round!

I would encourage you to learn about what foods can be eaten in the wild and how to prepare them....as well as their medicinal values. You could at least learn a handful of the really common plants that are found across the US. It would be wise to have this knowledge and have on hand at least one book (or more) that will help you to find some wild plants for a reference.

There are many foraging books that have been written over the years. Here are a few that I have picked up and read...and my take on them. They are in no particular order...and there are many more worthwhile books that I don't cover here. You may consider doing like I do and check some out from the library before you buy anything...

Foraging Along the California Coast - Peter Howthorn - I love the ocean...but have never cared much for any of the food that comes out of it. I do like fish and chips...but what doesn't taste good deep fried!? Though my taste buds now say "NO"...I do want to know what can be eaten from our local beaches...especially if I was in a survival situation. Peter Howthorn gives the methods to harvest all kinds of sea life...many of which I didn't know could be eaten...and gives recipes for each. He also has a section devoted to various types of seaweeds and their uses. The book is broken up into southern...central and northern California...and then into what kind of beach one is on...rocky...sandy...creeks...etc. The book is illustrated by Peters wife...and she does a good job. Still...I wonder if I would be able to identify the certain fish with her one drawing of it. If you were looking for certain identification of the various sea life...without a background in sea life identification...you would probably need another book to go with this one. This would be a fun read in the colder months...bundled up...drinking my hot chocolate on the oceans shore.

Edible and Useful Plants of California - Charlotte Bringle Clarke - First of all...I love the fact that this book is focused on the state where I live. Many of the foraging books will contain plants that you will never see in your locale. This book contains information on 200 types of wild plants...and gives some great recipes for how to use them. I really enjoy how much information it gives regarding how the American Indians used the plants. The book has lots of decent line drawings...and in the middle is a section with color photos of a handful of the plants. There is a helpful section that gives drawings of some of the basics of botany. The book is broken up into sections based upon what area you are in...wetlands...mountains...etc. I would not buy this book as the best book for a person to be able to identify various plants...though it is helpful...but instead for sheer number of plants covered...the fact that it is for California (if you live here)...and the depth of information about uses. Personally I consider this book a must have for a serious California forager.

Stalking the Wild Asparagus - Euell Gibbons - This is not an identification book. This is a book for a person who already is familiar with the discussed plant...or as a primer to get a person interested to find it! Euell Gibbons is seen by many as being like the father of modern foraging. Many other foraging books will cite his works. Here is a guy who as a youth foraged out of necessity for his family to survive through the dust bowl. His insatiable desire to understand the plant world...amassed a wealth of firsthand knowledge of the uses of various plants over a lifetime. He is not regurgitating things he read that someone else talked about...but his own experience. He has also written one on herbs called "stalking the healthful herbs" that is equally wonderful. His one on sea foraging called "Stalking the blue eyed scallop"...I haven't read yet.

Guide to Wild Foods and Useful Plants - Christopher Nyerges - One of my very favorite books. To my knowledge...the plants he chose can be found...with only maybe a few exceptions...across the US. The plants are listed in alphabetical order. Excellent information regarding the edible uses...and the medicinal. He includes much about Indian lore. One of my favorite things is all he put in the book about the vitamins in each plant and comparing it to other common plants. For example he states that "One cup of cleaned rose hips has as much vitamin C as 12 dozen apples". The photos are in black and white and not always that clear...but his descriptions of what to look for are great. I use this one regularly in the field.

The Practical Mushroom Encyclopedia - Peter Jordan and Steven Wheeler - Pictures so real that you feel like you could reach out and touch them!!! Seriously...the macro photos are remarkable...they remind me of the beautiful photo's in dorling kindersley books. The book is in 3 main parts...1. An intro to mushroom foraging 2. Edible and poisonous mushrooms photos and information 3. Recipes for cooking with the edible mushrooms. This is a wonderful introduction to the world of mushroom foraging.

Mushrooms Demystified - David Aurora - This book is no joke. It is just under 1000 pages of in depth mushroom info. This is NOT LIGHT READING!!! It covers some 2000 species and contains over 800 photos. Most of those photos are in black and white...but the middle section has some nice color photos. This book...to me...is quite overwhelming. Every page requires mental gymnastics as you try to figure out technical words longer than your brain can handle and the pronunciation of which would hurt your tongue. I think I will come back to it when I get more in depth with mushrooms...but that may be a while. For now I am doing mushroom addition and subtraction while this book is doing calculus.

Botany in a Day - Thomas J. Elpel - A wonderful book to get a person without a ton of time...to understand the basics of botany. This will help the studious reader to understand plant families and why they are in a family. It also contains all kind of information on the edible species and their medicinal uses.

The Flavors of Home - Margit Roos-Collins - A wonderful book about foraging in the San Francisco Bay area. She gives information as to what local places she has found various specimens...which can be valuable if you are seeking out a certain plant. The line drawings of the plants are well done...but I would still want other books to confirm that I had the right plant. There is a wonderful graph in the back of the book that outlines a plan of what you can be looking for year round to forage in our area. It covers to some extent poisonous plants as well...and even gets a bit into seaweeds. I'd love to have my own copy of this one instead of just checking it out from the library...but it is now out of print and it's $11.95 cover price is now $50 or more!

Weeds of the West - This is one that I will need to bite the bullet and buy. It is 630 pages...full of full page photos of the plants in California with descriptions of each...and small close up photos. This is the one that you want on hand to confirm that you have the right plant! It is purely an identification book and does not have any info on foraging. Do not buy this one off of the Internet...call the University of Wyoming at Laramie, they will sell you Weeds of the West for 26.50 with 5.00 shipping (9th edition, 2006). Their phone # is (307)766-5124

Wild Food Trail Guide - Alan Hall - One of my favorites. It tells you what regions to expect the plant to be found...uses...and what time of year. It has lots of history of the plants...and American Indian uses. Drawings of the plants are OK. A great guide to have...one that is in my backpack on foraging walks.

Acorn Pancakes, Dandelion Salad, and 38 Other Wild Recipes - Jean Craighead George - So...you've collected a wild plant...now what in the heck are you going to do with it! This book has beautiful illustrations of various dishes that can be made with plants that you collect. Each plant covered also gives a brief bit of information about the plant. A fun book.

Native American Wild Game Fish And Wild Foods Cookbook - David Hunt - 2/3 of the recipes are for things like turtle...raccoon and muskrat. The final 1/3 is devoted to various plant foraging recipes. Most all of them look very basic...requiring only a handful of ingredients...which would be good if you were supplementing food storage. Has a some interesting acorn recipes I want to try.

Where People Feast An Indigenous People's Cookbook - Dolly and Annie Watts - This one...kind of like the last...has recipes for a lot of wild game. I am currently mostly just interested in the plant recipes. A handful of the recipes look up my alley...and I'd like to try them...but most are pretty darned complicated. This is one to check out from the library to try a few dishes...and then take it back.

The Foraging Gourmet - Katie Letcher Lyle - A cookbook with much more! There are line drawings throughout....and a section in the middle with color photographs of some of the plants. Full of great information about each plants history and lore as well as how to find it.

The Wild Wild Cookbook - Jean Craighead George - The cookbook is listed as a "guide for young wild-food foragers"...but really is for any age. Has great recipes that are grouped into seasons when you can forage that item and cook it. Gives some brief info on description of the plant and it's habitat.

Wild in the Kitchen - Ronna Mogelon - A cookbook for wild foods. Line drawings throughout....not really the most attractive book in my opinion...still there are a few recipes I'd like to try.

Wild Mustard...

Here is a photo taken in West Sacramento. It is a familiar sight in the fields all around the Sacramento Valley this time of year. Every spring when it comes around...my thoughts rush back to boyhood days running through fields around my home in Elk Grove. I can recall an outing back in kindergarten when we all went into a field and collected the flowers like are seen in the photo...to be put into our lunch. I have reflected on that experience many times since and wondered what in the world we were doing...if somehow I had misremembered the experience! It turns out that this blanket of cheery yellow flowers is created by mustard plants....and that the whole plant is edible...so my memory makes sense!

If you have lived in America for any length of time you should be familiar with mustard...the condiment...that comes from the mustard seed. (You put it on your hot dog)...But if you were born and raised in the West you may have never eaten the greens that come from that plant. When I lived in Louisiana and Mississippi 15 or so years ago...people ate them as a staple in their diet. They were never eaten raw...only boiled down to a pile of soggy greens. Often theirs would be flavored with bacon grease...which makes many of our CA women in their jogging suits and nicely highlighted hair reel in terror...and many of the people in the south lick their chops!

Some mustard greens...domestic or wild...can have a really strong hot mustard flavor. I can recall eating a bite from a really tall Mustard plant at the invitation of a farmer and it LIT my mouth up. He was really proud of how spicy his variety was! Due to this fact...some people will add other greens like Collard greens to take the edge off of the spiciness.

Here this foraging expert adds other weed greens to take the edge off the the mustard flavor in his salad.

Here Bear Grylls eats a little Wild Mustard and talks about a few health benefits.

Over the last several weeks I identified two different varieties of Wild Mustard. One had more of a spear shaped leaf...it was smooth...and it tasted almost broccoli like. I just sampled some raw...it was good. The stem was pretty woody and would have to be boiled to be eaten.

This evening I went out and collected a handful of another variety of Wild Mustard greens. The leaves on this variety were much larger and rounded...and had a more hairy feel. It wasn't the most pleasant texture to have in your mouth raw...but after it was boiled it had a much more pleasant texture. I boiled them as Green Deane describes in this video. Instead of adding oils and things as he did...I put some salt and pepper...and some butter on it. It was good!...not spicy in the least. That video also discusses that "all mustards are edible"...and mentions some identification points.

Definitely Wild Mustards are a family of plants to have in your arsenal of survival...frugal living...healthy living plants.

Chickweed...

Here is a weed that I ate today that has a great non-bitter flavor. Many describe it as being "spinach-like". A girl that I was with told me of all of it's medicinal uses and that her friend loves this weed so much...that she got a tattoo of it! While I wouldn't recommend having this weed indelibly inked on your body...I do think it is a good one to learn to identify....for food and medicine. Take note that there are some precautions regarding eating it.

Here is a video by Green Deane where he gives some great info on how to identify it. His video has a pretty sparse looking chickweed. The Chickweed I ate locally looks more like the picture to the right.

Here is a video that has a more luscious looking chickweed and mentions it's use as a diaper rash remedy.

Why Eat Wild Foods?

Now...this one I did not make up. I stumbled across it here. I think it is a great list of reasons to consider learning how to forage for wild foods...and then doing it!

Why Eat Wild Foods?

Wild foods are NUTRITIONAL POWERHOUSES! They are so full of vitamins, minerals and trace minerals that they act like medicine in our bodies, preventing and reversing all manner of ills related to deficiencies in our modern diets.

Wild foods are NUTRITIONALLY SUPERIOR to our domesticated vegetables. Our standard grocery store produce is generally grown in depleted soils, shipped long distances and in long storage, losing nutrients all along the way. Not to mention all the chemicals used to produce it, store it, ripen it, and keep it fresh.

Wild foods are FRESH! Each day that our produce spends in storage, it loses nutrients. Once a living plant is harvested it is literally cut off from its life support system, and its health and vitality diminish rapidly. Consider the amount of time from the field to the truck to the market to the fridge to the table. Wild foods are fresh, often only a few hours lapse between the harvest and the table.

Wild foods are FREE! It does not cost a dime to harvest a dandelion. Supplementing your diet with wild foods can help you save on groceries. They can also help you save on the expense of costly vitamins and supplements. And you will save on the high cost of health care, too!

Wild foods are AVAILABLE! They are everywhere, all around us, city or country. In fact, people spend millions of dollars every year trying to eradicate them (consider the plight of the dandelions). A short walk from anywhere you live can provide a wild feast. Wild foods also have a much longer growing season than farm and garden crops. They are available as soon as the snow melts until it blankets the ground again, whereas our first garden peas and lettuce aren’t ready until late May or June!

Wild foods are ABUNDANT! The word ‘prodigal’ means recklessly abundant, lavishly bountiful. Our wild foods are such, they grow in such profusion that it is impossible to over harvest them and there is always enough for everyone (including the birds, the butterflies and the four-legged ones)!

Wild foods are DROUGHT-RESISTANT! In a drought cycle, while the lawns and gardens are suffering and turning brown, the wild plants are thriving. Wild plants and weeds are much better equipped to handle extremes in our weather than our tender garden variety plants.

Wild foods are SURVIVAL FOOD! It’s a secure feeling to know that if the grocery store were to close tomorrow or some major disaster cut off supply lines, the wild food is always there. Y2K caused many to take a second look at our dependency on centralized power and supply systems.

Wild foods are GOOD EXERCISE! The very act of harvesting wild foods is healthy for you! Going grocery shopping in the fresh air, in beautiful places is food for the soul as well as the body.

Wild foods are LESS WORK! Harvesting wild food is much less labor intensive than gardening and farming. Consider the labor involved in preparing the soil, planting, weeding, watering and caring for your garden. In the wild gardens all that work is already done for you! All you have to do is harvest! Consider also the hours of labor that you do at your job to afford to buy your groceries….

Wild foods are ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY! Harvesting wild foods helps you become more sensitized to the environment, more in tune with the seasons, and more aware of unfriendly practices like spraying, mowing, overgrazing, and dumping.

Wild foods are POLITICALLY CORRECT! Eating foods grown in our own environment means less dependence on industrialized agriculture. And it’s organic!

Miner's Lettuce

I walked up the hill to the park with a group of preschool children yesterday. One of the older girls recognized miners lettuce...and before long the children were having a feast...like in this video. I think that the novelty of being able to eat something while on our walk was so intriguing to some of the children...that even some of the most finicky children decided to eat. They joined the ranks of the miners in California who reportedly ate it to prevent scurvy...and the American Indians who ate it...well...because you can!

Miner's Lettuce, Claytonia, or Winter Purslane is one of those plants that you could walk by for years and never really notice it...and then when you do learn to identify it...you will see it all over. It is hard to hike anywhere in California in the Spring without coming across it. In some places it is so thick...it blankets the landscape. It appears first in the sunlit areas, but the best stands are under shade. As the days get hotter, the leaves turn a deep red color as they dry out. Once you get to know it, you will begin to notice the first shoots as early as December, soon after the first heavy rains.

There is also a narrow leaf version of miners lettuce.

You don't have to just forage for it...you could plant it too! Here is another supplier. Some like to plant it...as it is one of the most (or perhaps THE most) cold tolerant of the salad greens. It's downside is that it is not drought tolerant. Personally I'd rather pick it up for free without having to tend it...and use my ground for things that don't grow in the wild...as I have a limited amount of space to grow.

You can eat the entire plant...flowers...stems and all. To me the flavor and texture is much like Spinach. It is often eaten raw as a salad green...or can be boiled like Spinach. I snipped some today and gave some to a lady and she did not care for it...saying it was too "earthy". Some will gobble it down raw and love it...and others would need to douse it with some dressing or cook it to make it more palatable. Some just mix it with other salad greens so that the "earthy" taste is not overpowering.

Here is some great info on Miner's Lettuce. How to identify it...vitamins it contains...and even an idea of how to drink it in a smoothie.

Eat the Weeds...

Marches Ensign has an article by Marion G. Romney that includes a Readers Digest article that reads as follows...

“In our friendly neighbor city of St. Augustine [Florida] great flocks of sea gulls are starving amid plenty. Fishing is still good, but the gulls don’t know how to fish. For generations they have depended on the shrimp fleet to toss them scraps from the nets. Now the fleet has moved. …
“The shrimpers had created a Welfare State for the … sea gulls. The big birds never bothered to learn how to fish for themselves and they never taught their children to fish. Instead they led their little ones to the shrimp nets.

“Now the sea gulls, the fine free birds that almost symbolize liberty itself, are starving to death because they gave in to the ‘something for nothing’ lure! They sacrificed their independence for a hand-out.

“A lot of people are like that, too. They see nothing wrong in picking delectable scraps from the tax nets of the U.S. Government’s ‘shrimp fleet.’ But what will happen when the Government runs out of goods? What about our children of generations to come?

“Let’s not be gullible gulls. We … must preserve our talents of self-sufficiency, our genius for creating things for ourselves, our sense of thrift and our true love of independence.” (“Fable of the Gullible Gull,” Reader’s Digest, Oct. 1950, p. 32.)

There is much that can be taken from this story regarding the ills of a welfare state...self reliance and so on... One major thing that stuck out to me is that it is totally possible to die of hunger...and be totally surrounded with food! Without the knowledge of how to use the resources that are all around us...we could end up in a similar situation to those gullible gulls.

There is a man out of Florida called "Green Deane". He has a website called "Eat the Weeds". Through articles...and a multitude of videos...he seeks to help us "gullible gulls" recognize and use the food that is all around us. While many of the plants he identifies are indigenous to his area...many can be found across the US...so they will be recognisable to us on the West Coast. Here he talks about the classic dandelion. Here is sow thistle that is so common in the Sacramento Valley.

He is very knowledgeable...and the classes are free!!! And you don't have to go across town to meet him for the class...watch it in your pajamas when you feel like it! Eat the weeds!