Learning to Forage

As the byline of this blog suggests, I'm an environmental science student.  This is a career change for me as I've spent most of my adult life behind desks and on computers.  I'm looking forward (fingers crossed) to being able to do some work outside once I finish this program.  In the mean time, I've been trying to find ways to get outside more. 
A few days ago, I got a newsletter from Passionate Nutrition discussing the benefits of Nettles (see the post here).  I thought, "BINGO! I can get outside AND get free food!  Not just any free food - but a vitamin packed, allergy fighting super-food."   There was one problem, despite having grown up in the inland northwest, I wasn't sure I could even identify a nettle plant.  So, I Googled... and Googled more.... and Google imaged....   Finally, I felt prepared.  
Armed with paper bags, scissors, and gloves, my husband and I set out on a back road near Sequim to find and sustainably harvest some nettles.  They were easy to find once I knew what I was looking for, and we were able to easily harvest 3 full bags in a matter of minutes.

In all of my Google research, I had learned the different ways to process and eat the nettles.  I decided that this time around I was going to dry it all and use it to make infusions like the article from Passionate Nutrition suggested.  We rolled the top of the paper bags shut and placed them in the warmest, driest area of our house, which was in front of the dehumidifier.  They are there drying now.  I will keep you posted as to how it all turns out.

As I was learning about nettles, I had learned about a few more wild plants in the Pacific Northwest that are edible.  One was Miner's lettuce.  While we were harvesting our nettles, I'd seen a patch a few feet away, so we went ahead and grabbed some of those, too.
Then, in my foraging frenzy, I also grabbed a couple of tulips from my boss's yard when I saw that they were about to fall apart anyway.  What can I say?  A wild Miner's lettuce salad with gorgeous red tulip leaves tossed in?  I couldn't resist.  I apologized later.  For those of you who don't know - tulip petals are edible and range in flavor from tasteless to something like a sugar snap pea.  The stem and leaves are not edible and some say they are toxic, so please - only eat the petals. 

 I tossed the salad with a simple vinaigrette made by lightly browning spring onions and garlic in olive oil and salt and then whisking in some champagne vinegar.  I topped it with some local, farmer's market feta, and let me tell you, it was delicious  (side note:  I apologize that there is no picture of the final product here.  I'm a lousy photographer, and well, any photo I could have taken wouldn't have done the salad justice.  I'll try and work on this.).   The Miner's lettuce was crisp and peppery, and the tulip petals were sweet and colorful.  It was a great first outing for a wannabe forager, and I can't wait to see how the nettles turn out.