New blog

Hey everyone, this blog is moving to www.foragerchrisbennett.blogspot.com. Please update your bookmarks.

I apologize for not updating this blog for a looooong time! This past year I have been writing my first book, The Foraging Guide to the Southeast which is due very soon. The book writing process has taken up all my free time. In the coming year this blog will be updated a lot more and foraging classes will resume.

In season now!

Wisteria- Only the flowers are edible. Everything else is poisonous.

English Plantain- The seed heads taste like mushrooms. Cook them.

 Redbud- The flowers are edible. They do not not taste like much, but sure are pretty!

Wild Lettuce- Looks like dandelion, but has hairs along the mid-rib. Mild bitterness with classic lettuce flavor and crunch. My favorite Spring salad green.

 Curly Dock- The best part of the plant is the stem. Get it before it starts to form a flower bud. Peel the stem. Crunchy like celery. Delicious raw or cooked. Not every plant tastes great. Any red on a plant means it is going to be bad bitter.

 Blue Violet- Use the flowers in salads or candy them. The leaves are also edible. They have a mild peppery-ness  and a chewy texture. Do not take too many leaves.

 Field Mustard- The blooms are the best part. Classic raw brassica flavor.

 

 Field Garlic- Use the tops like chives. Onion flavor with hint of garlic.

 

Field Garlic- The bottoms are tiny. Perfect for pickling.

Virginia Pine- The needles are more fragrant than any other around. Citrusy, Piney, Grapefruit, Pomelo. Infuse them into liquids.

Winter Update

Below is what is in season right now.

Wild Watercress

Hoary Bittercress

Closeup of Virginia Pine Needles

Virginia Pine Needle Tree

Field Onion bulb

Purple Dead Nettle

Chickweed

A quote from Michel Bras

     There are strong bonds which link man with his native land, with the familiar landscapes, the summits, the springs which sculpt their way across the pastures, the villages which evolve slowly, or those that die, hamlets in the lee of the immobile rock or hidden in the beech woods dreaming of the past.  Whatever education and life may bring later on, each in his own way, every child has their native land- a country of their own- in their flesh, in their blood, and in their conscience.  Each person derives both their qualities and their faults from their upbringing, their liveliest instincts, their most acute feelings, their engrained habits, their deepest rooted prejudices, their most banal superstitions- all of these are rooted in the land where they grew up.  One's native land illuminates one's conscience.

Early Fall Update

Below are items in season right now.  

Wild Persimmon

Butternut

Black Walnut ready for it's husk to be removed

Chestnut Oak Acorns

Field Onions

Wild Lettuce

Curly Dock

In Season Now

Below are some pictures of wild edibles that are in season right now.

Wild Green Shiso also known as Perilla Plant

Wood Sorrel

Smooth Sumac

Loomis Mountain Mint

Kudzu Blooms

Blackberries

     The wild blackberries are earlier than ever before.  This year everything is 2- 3 weeks early.  I started picking some last week and this week I have picked several quarts.  Blackberries are one of those things that people get nostalgic about.  They remember as a kid walking along the side of a country road and picking blackberries.  They did not mind how hot or eaten up with bugs they got.  It is all about the berries!  Unfortunately wild blackberries are becoming increasingly harder to find.  Most counties spray or if you are lucky mow the side of roads.  I hike for several miles to the backside of my property where it is wilderness to pick them.

     I love picking blackberries, but one of the worst things about picking the berries are the chiggers.  No matter how much or where I put on bug repellent, I get eaten up with chigger bites.  Chiggers and blackberries are like peas in a pod.  Chigger bites also show up a day after you have been picking.

     While you are picking blackberries be sure to look out for dewberries.  They start to ripen as the blackberries are fading away.  Dewberries have darker green leaves and a rounder, softer fruit.  Be careful picking them because they squish easily.

Have you ever eaten a Pine Tree?

     This was an infamous quote from the godfather of foraging, Euell Gibbons.  The inner bark is edible, but that is for another article.  I’m here to talk about pine needles.  Pine trees are everywhere here in Alabama.  There are different types of pine that grow here.  Different varieties smell and taste different.  My favorite is the Virginia Pine.  It has short twisted needles in bunches of three.  Its fragrance is stronger than the other varieties around.  Besides the pine smell I get a grapefruit/citrus smell.  Pine needles have five times more Vitamin C than in one cup of orange juice.  Pine Needle Tea is also used by Native Americans to treat coughs and colds.  It helps expel phlegm from your body.  The easiest way to use pine needles is to make tea.  You can use any pine needles from a tree.  Make sure they are green and not brown, clip the brown ends off and put them into a tea or coffee cup.  Pour boiling water over the needles, cover and steep for 10 minutes.  You can drink it straight up or sweetened.  It has a nice clean flavor.  Not like pinesol at all. You can also infuse the pine needles into other things.  Really, the sky is the limit for creativity!

A word of caution.  You should not eat pine needles or drink the tea if you are pregnant.  Eating pine needles has been known to cause abortions in cows.

Spring Foraging Class

Do not forget about the next foraging class!  The date is April 21st.  Get in touch to sign up!

Foraging Class

The next foraging class is March 17th!!!!!!  Spring is springing fast!  Don't miss out!

A recent afternoon in the woods

Darker than Midnight

A gateway on a ridge

Dark Holler

Farm update

 I hope everyone is doing well!  As we get into 2012, I think back to last year.  I think the word for last year is change.  There were many changes happening around the farm.  I realized that I couldn't grow enough vegetables, herbs, and flowers to farm full time.  There is just not enough arable land to do so.  And there is nothing wrong with that.  That was a hard realization to come to.  And so I'm concentrating on what I'm known for.  Which is foraging.  You will find products that I forage for at several restaurants around town.  And from time to time, I will have flowers and herbs available for purchase. 

     So, I'm really looking forward to 2012.  As I learn more and more about the flora and the land around me, I'm constantly exploring and looking for new things.  I'm searching for new tastes and textures.  I'm constantly amazed at how much food is all around us.  I also plan on experimenting with various items.  Some familiar, and some new.  This week I will be experimenting with pine needles, field mustard roots, and primrose roots.  I'm really excited about this!  You also may have noticed how weird this winter weather has been.  Weather affects wild items in a lot of ways.  For instance, watercress is in season right now.  It was earlier than expected this year.  I could have been cutting on it in December.  Also, since it is earlier will that mean it does not last as long into the spring?  I will just have to wait and see.

Over the mountains

This morning while driving through the foggy mountains to Ashville to pick watercress, I spotted some mushrooms growing high up on a dead tree.  Colours really pop on an overcast, foggy morning.  There were three oak trees with oyster mushrooms on them.  I was almost too late.  A lot of them were weeks old and rotting.  I was able to cut several pounds of them.  It looked like the mycelia was filling these trees up by the shear numbers of rotting mushrooms.  It has been my observation that mushrooms grow the most near the base of the tree.

A new year

Some pictures from the past year.  You can find more pictures on my twitter account.  

My New Year's Resolution for this year is to write once a week!

Goldenrod

Goldenrod is in season right now.  Here's a link to some great information about Goldenrod and how to use it.

http://hollirichey.com/2010/08/22/prevent-colds-with-goldenrod/

Wild Foods in the City

A post about hackberries coming soon!!

Fall Foraging Classes

Fall foraging classes are here!  The dates are September 17th, October 15th, and November 19th.  We will be learning about acorns, black walnuts, hickory nuts, wild grapes, persimmons, crab apples pecans, and wild pears.  You do not want to miss out!

Foraging Inspiration

This article appeared in 2004 in Gourmet magazine.  It was one of my inspirations for getting into foraging.

Farm update

     Lately I have been doing a lot of foraging for wood sorrel, smooth sumac, wild blackberries and dewberries, elderberry blossoms, wild shiso, and loomis mountain mint.  From the blackberries I created some delicious jam, and I made a tasty syrup from the elderflower.  The garlic we recently harvested is now totally dry and ready to clean up for future planting.  I have also been starting the setup/construction of the high tunnel (similar to a greenhouse), but the heat has made the process a bit slower than anticipated.  I am thankful for the recent rain, but unfortunately the weeds have been thriving because of it.  It's especially difficult to stay on top of the weeds before they take over the plant beds, but it is a necessary part of farming. 

Have a great week!
Chris