I have been collecting wild fruits and vegetables since I was just a kid. As a father with two sons I find that it is a great way too make some interesting meals. This weekend we gathered cattail tops. We steam them for 20 min. and eat them like corn, with butter. We also collect some of the greens that are so plentifull. Who needs spinach when we have burdock, plantain, chicory, dandelion, clover, anise hyssop, sunchoke, tiger lily roots and flowers, grape leaves and watercress everywhere? If you are starting to find it harder and harder to make ends meet in this depressed economy wild foods are a great way to supplement your food bill. Many of these wild foods are great for your health as well. You may be surprised at how much wild foods are in America. We all know the alpine strawberries, blueberries, raspberries are out there. But have you ever had huckleberries, paw paw, wild grape, elderberry, mulberry, highbush cranberry and serviceberry? It's liberating to know that you can feed yourself and your family with foods that you can't find in the supermarket. Give the kids some pictures of plants and take them out on a scavenger hunt to find them. Make it a game. You will find that the kids are more willing to try foods they helped collect. My sons love going to school and telling the kids in their class what they collected and ate.
Food, like life should have many facets. For me having a bland common diet is boring. Food becomes an adventure with excitement in every bite. Our meals have a story. As food prices keep going up it become more valuable to know this skill.
