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- Oct 18, 2007
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For those in the NYC tri-state area, I highly recommend taking a foraging tour with Wildman Steve Brill. My older daughter and I went on his walk yesterday at Sunken Meadow on Long Island. Unfortunately I was running behind schedule and forgot to pack a camera.
The walk started near a landscaped area that hadn't been mowed recently. Wildman hopped the fence and started pulling out sheep sorrel by the fistfull. Great lemon flavor, would be great in sandwiches, soups, salads. Then we headed over to the beach for some sea rocket (great wasabe-like flavor) and rockweed (tastes like pickles). The beach was packed and a lot of people were staring at us eco-kooks.
Heading up to wetlands-adjacent areas, we grabbed a bunch of bay leaves (from bayberry bushes). Found out that not only do they add great flavor to soups and sauces, you should throw a few in with beans to prevent gas. then on to autumn olives. Great sweet/tart flavor - tons of lycopene and vitamin C. Someone had been ahead of us and picked most of the ripe blackberries, so it was on to the beach plums - very tasty, but not quite ripe yet.
Climbing up to the upland areas, we grabbed a bunch of sassafrass root (my daughter's dying to make some rootbeer) and wild and fox grapes (delicious)! An important note was that when picking grapes, make sure the plant has tendrils. Tendril-less plants that look almost exactly like grape vines are actually the deadly Canadian moon vine.
Then it was on to some jewelweed. the kids loved these. the seeds taste like walnuts, but the seed pods explode at the touch. You have to grab the pod in your fist and let it explode to prevent the seeds from scattering.
A Russian couple was intent on poisoning themselves, picking Virginia Creeper and Common Nightshade berries, and wading through waist-high poison ivy (which some jewelweed sap remedied).
Sorry for no pictures, and my poor description of any plants would not have been helpful, so I left them out. Point is, check out http://www.wildmanstevebrill.com
The walk started near a landscaped area that hadn't been mowed recently. Wildman hopped the fence and started pulling out sheep sorrel by the fistfull. Great lemon flavor, would be great in sandwiches, soups, salads. Then we headed over to the beach for some sea rocket (great wasabe-like flavor) and rockweed (tastes like pickles). The beach was packed and a lot of people were staring at us eco-kooks.
Heading up to wetlands-adjacent areas, we grabbed a bunch of bay leaves (from bayberry bushes). Found out that not only do they add great flavor to soups and sauces, you should throw a few in with beans to prevent gas. then on to autumn olives. Great sweet/tart flavor - tons of lycopene and vitamin C. Someone had been ahead of us and picked most of the ripe blackberries, so it was on to the beach plums - very tasty, but not quite ripe yet.
Climbing up to the upland areas, we grabbed a bunch of sassafrass root (my daughter's dying to make some rootbeer) and wild and fox grapes (delicious)! An important note was that when picking grapes, make sure the plant has tendrils. Tendril-less plants that look almost exactly like grape vines are actually the deadly Canadian moon vine.
Then it was on to some jewelweed. the kids loved these. the seeds taste like walnuts, but the seed pods explode at the touch. You have to grab the pod in your fist and let it explode to prevent the seeds from scattering.
A Russian couple was intent on poisoning themselves, picking Virginia Creeper and Common Nightshade berries, and wading through waist-high poison ivy (which some jewelweed sap remedied).
Sorry for no pictures, and my poor description of any plants would not have been helpful, so I left them out. Point is, check out http://www.wildmanstevebrill.com
