Food

Whoops!
Looks like the grand reveal of a most spectacular nature will be delayed due to technical issues, so I'll just leave you with a few pictures of what I ate out of our yard this spring.

Not quite sure how it came about; I suspect is was two-fold.
We have an awful lot of dandelions, which I've never considered a 'weed', as well as ferns out the wazoo.
I remember helping my Grammy pick greens while I visited over the summer and I believe she would fry them up in a flour batter (as confirmed by my cousin who not only spent more time there, but also has a better memory.)
Though I tried this method, it wasn't terribly successful, so now I add them sparingly to a salad (they can be rather bitter even when harvested during their tender spring phase.)
Or blanched then sautéed with a variety of seasonings.
(Similar prep to a hardy green like collards, braising works well, too.)
Or blanched then frozen to be added later to soups, stir-fries, etc. for a little extra zing and a whole lot of nutricion.
They are LOADED with vitamins and minerals.
Roots and flowers are also edible and utilized in a number of ways: wine being the most popular.
But I've yet to try the rest of the plant.
No matter how you choose to ingest your dandelions, give them a good wash and do make sure they've not been treated with poisoness weed killer, lawn fertilizer, car exhaust and the like. Duh.
That's one of the main reasons I waited a year after moving here to try them out to ensure they weren't going to sicken me.
It's also our seasonal ritual- when it's time to pick the dandelions, CAM can no longer procrastinate in mowing the yard, which has become nothing short of a pasture by then.

I first had fiddleheads back in the mid-80s during a summer vacation to Maine with a girlfriend who'd grown up at the lake where we stayed.

These sword fern fiddleheads went to the compost during deliberations

Her mother pulled them out of the freezer and fixed them up with vinegar like you would over-cooked spinach.
This Ohio born and bred gal found them to be some of the freakiest things I'd ever seen, let alone eaten, to date, though still delicious.
People say the flavor leans towards asparagus, but I don't find that to be the case.
Yes, they are earthy, but I've not discovered a suitable comparison.
Of course, I never saw them again, despite searching and eventually forgot about them.

Lady fern fiddleheads less plentiful, but delicious

Then, while living in Seattle a decade later, I happened upon them at Uwajimaya, much to my delight.
But that sadly was an unreliable source.
Shortly after relocating, I almost wept to discover they were stocked at the Trader Joes in Eugene.
However, this was a one-off just that year (tho' I called a few times afterwards, they had no idea what I was talking about.)
A light bulb went off 2 springs after we'd moved away from civilization- this place is lousy with ferns! I'd feast like a king. However, after poking about, I sought out some rudimentary advice since there were lots of different types and I at least had the good sense to double check which, if any, would kill me after all.
That this on-line article submitted by the brother of a HS classmate during my period of indecision appeared was telling-
Wild Greens On My Mind
I exchanged some emails with the author who then in addition to helpful advice, pointed me in the direction of some decent books and sites.
(Books*! From the library- crazy!)
Having done exhaustive research on-line with little success regarding edible species, finding only overwhelming, conflicting information, his experience was much appreciated.
Even the OSU Extension Service would not commit to answering me directly. (Afraid of a lawsuit? It wasn't even a mushroom question.)
Turns out I could have chowed down on all those sword fern fiddleheads, but they're not terribly ideal, so I went with the fewer, but more delicate (of course) Lady ferns which grew creekside.
It's important to only cut a few from every plant base lest they die off.
Another benefit to cleaning up Bramble Island is allowing more and more of these particular dainties free to thrive, so this year I doubled the booty.
Cleaning them can be a real pain in the ass.
They're protected with these papery scales that I still can't find an easy way to dislodge.
Experimenting again with different preparations, simple blanching then sautéing with minimal seasoning was the most tasty.
In fact, they are such treasure, CAM isn't allowed a generous serving as he lacks the fiddlehead love.

Lastly, this year I gave stinging nettles a go.
Maddness! I know!
But they are my new fave. So tender and flavorful and again packed with healthy goodness.
Everything you read about them hurting you is true, that's why protection is mandatory.
Just one little barb and its formic acid will pierce right through to your bone.
Maybe not quite that dramatic, but it can stay sore for some time.
So how can you possibly *eat* such a thing?
Picking early in the season is key, as is cooking out the sting.
The top leaf cluster is soft and not stalky or crystallized when they begin to emerge after the winter.
Ours grow in a damp area above the creek run off. Following directions from an Army survival handbook, I found boiling for 10 minutes, though effective, left the plant practically in soppy shreds. A helpful outdoors enthusiast told me simply spot steaming would work, and it did.
Sautéing seems to be a theme here because doing so finishes the dish. I keep flavorings to a minimum letting the natural ones dominate.

There might be some other delicacies lurking in our yard, but I need to make absolute sure before I go shoving anything foreign into my pie-hole.
We've got some dangerous specimens out there, too, I know for a fact.
One of which is the frightful deadly hemlock- the very thing that did Socrates in.
Fortunately, the hens know well enough to stay clear, but I'm not so sure the wee goats I wanted to add to the menagerie would.
I also lament that of 4 seasons, only 1 has provided foodstuffs to glean.
No wait, I take that back. How could I possibly overlook the bounty of blackberries due in the late summer/early fall?!
I will wow you with pictures of my jam, cobbler and goodies then.
In the mean time- Bon Appétit!

Stinging nettles- thus named for a reason!

*Richard's list, but I've found a few others I prefer, too:

Edible Wild Plants: Wild Foods From Dirt To Plate (The Wild Food Adventure Series, Book
John Kallas (Author)

A great book for local foraging and link to classes.

http://www.wildfoodadventures.com/ediblewildplantsdirtplate.html

The Forager's Harvest: A Guide to Identifying, Harvesting, and Preparing Edible Wild Plants [Paperback]
Samuel Thayer (Author)

Pacific Feast: A Cook's Guide to West Coast Foraging and Cuisine [Paperback]
Jennifer Hahn (Author)

Not about foraging but a very useful identification resource:

Northwest Weeds: The Ugly and Beautiful Villains of Fields, Gardens, and Roadsides by Ronald J. Taylor (Apr 1, 1990)

A couple interesting blogs.

http://the3foragers.blogspot.com/

http://fat-of-the-land.blogspot.com/

http://honest-food.net/

http://www.hipchickdigs.com/

Technically it came from the backyard in Spring...
We were both so tremendously tickled CAM's first winter bed (spinach, arugula, lettuce) did so well, I had to share. It fed us forever!

In memory of Grammy with namesake, Lillian G. (my niece Lily)