Freebies

Heh! :) Mothers and daughters eh? Most entertaining. But Muumm!... :-)

Like any wise and experienced Dad, I go all deaf......

~~~~

I'm an inveterate forager. I don't want to go into too much detail here. Just a brief introduction.

As I'm not 'allowed' out alone (could you imagine that? - I wonder what they think I'm going to do?) I have to take along a not-always-willing accomplice. Why unwilling? Because I have a habit of diving unexpectedly into hedges if something catches my eye. Getting out again is the difficult bit.

I know. Mad impulsive fool. That's me folks :-)

I guess when most people think of foraging, they think fungi. I'll hold my hands up in defeat here. Mushrooms are a tremendous resource, if you know what you're doing. I don't, could never get my head around it, so as a rule, I don't bother. There is a lot of poisonous stuff around. The only fungi I bother with is something half way up a tree.

You don't have to go far for free foodstuffs. If you have a garden, you'll often have 'weeds'. What's a weed? A weed is a plant that's out of fashion or unwanted.

Here in the Uk that's often dock, dandelion, often mint, which can go bonkers unless it's contained, nettles, elderberry, nasturtium, hawthorn, lavender, elderberry (flowers and berries) and Hawthorne (flowers, berries and leaves), chickweed, crab apple.

A warning about hawthorne. If you are on blood pressure medication? Don't. A lot of modern medication originally derived from studying extracts from plants. Hawthorne can cause blood pressure to drop. Not something you want if you are taking tablets for low blood pressure.

If you'd like a bit of 'bite' in a salad mix, young dandelion leaves can replace sorrel. They have a slightly bitter taste. If you're into herbal medicine, wizzy-wig in with strawberries and pear or plum to make a tasty diuretic - it can reduce the fluid in your body. Quite frankly, a lot can make you pee a lot :)

Young Dock is a cool replacement, and make a salad really tasty. Nasturtium buds are peppery and delicious. Surprisingly, lavender makes a great replacement for rosemary, both flowers and leaves.

Chickweed is hugely common. But it it shouldn't be thrown away. It's packed full of vitamins, and is no more different in it's taste than any other salad leaf.

Nettles? That stingy stuff? Chop some onions, garlic, carrots and a couple of good handfuls of nettles with a pinch of salt and pepper and sauté in a little olive oil and pepper, add a little stock and cook for 15 mins and you have a delicious soup. Alternatively, gently cook in a little olive or sunflower oil for 5 mins and add stir in an omelette mix. Top on home-made wholemeal bread, and you have a winner.

Particularity with some fresh basil :)

More laters.....