Free food from Momma Nature

John G

John G

Joined
Jul 4, 2008
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Another exploratory walk in the woods in search of grub. I grabbed my Maxpedition woods walking kit, and sallied forth.

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It's the tall Maxpedition water bottle carrier w/low profile pouch attached for a first aid kit.
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The shoulder strap is simple braided 550 cord.
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Hanging on my left side.
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Up first: our old pal Grapevine. I like to nibble the shoots while I walk.
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Not sure if these are edible, but they look and smell great.
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Cattails!
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More old cattails.
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Young, edible cattails.
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I harvested a few with my trusty, long-suffering, RAT3
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Chopped them up at home.
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The tough outside husk falls away when you slice the core into rings.
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I also rustled up a handful of wild onions.
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A little ranch dressing, some wild onion bulbs, some cattail discs, and we have a tasty snack!
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Sorry for the bluriness! My camera phone is not as good indoors, it seems.
 
Last edited:
texastonydobbs said:
Good Thread John ...
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Thanks Tony! We threw the cattail slices along with some wild onions, into a bowl of ravioli. Added a little grilled chicken and romano cheese. Accented the meal with our finest bottle of $4 wine. Mmmm! Good stuff. :p

Also, we tried boiling some cattail cores (not sliced into discs), about 7-8 inches long. They turned out very close to asparagus. Some of it was a little tough, but overall it was tender and tasty. I suppose the tough ones were just undercooked. Not bad for a trial run, I'd say.:D
 
Excellent thread. I love learning about wild edibles, since I know virtually nothing about the subject.
 
Hey John,
Thanks for the educational pics:thumbup:
Nice score on them wild onions and cattails.

:)
Mark
 
BarberFobic1992 said:
Very cool thread :thumbup:

How do you like that wild edibles book? I have been meaning to pick one up.
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It's great. I've borrowed several from the library, but this is the best I've seen. Color photos, harvesting/preparation instructions, and it's even arranged according to season. Most importantly, the book lists poisonous lookalikes when applicable. Very helpful. I found my current copy used at the Goodwill for five dollars. The authors are Elias & Dykeman.


Oh, and here's a better indoor pic, taken with my girlfriend's iphone. You can see the stalk pretty well here. The tougher husk comes off easily. If you want the "asparagus" style, instead of discs as I'm slicing them in the photo, just cut lengthwise to remove the outside.
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I love the wild edibles threads. I have been reading into them quite a bit this year. I am hoping to become familiar with all of the wild edibles of surrounding areas and areas I frequent.

Great thread :thumbup:
 
Nice thread. How do you like the braided p-cord? I daisy chained mine and I seem to get an irritation on my neck. I've noticed that the bottle swings slightly when I walk and causes the p-cord to kind of 'saw' into me. Interested to know if you have any similar problems with a braid style.
 
Man I'm jealous !! That's my plan for this year, but have been procrastinating... I wanted to work on my wild food skills for this year..

Great post !!
 
Shotgun said:
Nice thread. How do you like the braided p-cord? I daisy chained mine and I seem to get an irritation on my neck. I've noticed that the bottle swings slightly when I walk and causes the p-cord to kind of 'saw' into me. Interested to know if you have any similar problems with a braid style.
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It works for me. I haven't experienced any shoulder/neck dig from the cord. As for the bottle carrier swinging, I've found that my left hand naturally rests on top of the bottle. This keeps it steady, and I forget I'm even doing it.
 
Looks like a nice kit you got there ! I got a very similar kit on the way from twowolves outdoors :D Can't wait to try it out !
 
Hey John,

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This plant looks like Dame's Rocket (Hesperis matronalis) from here. It's not a native plant, but an invasive one and it's flowering all over the place at the moment.

This should help you identify and research the plant.

Doc
 
Thanks everyone for the kind words. I'm a novice, but I'm learning.

And thanks Doc, if anyone knows a mystery plant, I know it'll be you! :cool:

Talfuchre- I think it was Crane Lake wine, but maybe I'll crack open the Mad Dog next time...:D
 
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