Tomorrow morning, Saturday June 23rd, meet me at 9 am in the back yard of People House, 3035 W 25th Ave, to take a walk in the immediate neighborhood and explore the opportunities for fruits in the city. Learn about identification, etiquette, public spaces, and what’s good as well as what’s not! After you start to see what is available in our ‘hood’, you’ll look at the trees and bushes around you differently. I’d love to see you there! This is going to be fun!
Berries and Cherries
06/18/2012 by 3 Comments
If you are the type of person who loves to find really fresh fruits to pick, eat, and preserve for later, this is the time for berries and late cherries. What a great year it’s been for fruits! The mulberries were falling off the trees a few weeks ago, the cherries came next – both sour pie cherries and sweet black cherries. There are a few left, however it is becoming harder and harder to harvest them and then eliminate the little white worms eating around the pit. Everything loves cherries!!
I’m focusing on the huge crop of Saskatoons – also known as Juneberries, Serviceberries, and Shadbush. There botanical name is Amelanchier alnifolia, and they grow from Alaska to Colorado. In Denver they are used as an ornamental bush or tree, and they are getting ripe now! Looking like blueberries on a large bush or tree, (check out my video) they are best when cooked. I like to make jam or jelly, syrup, and use them in pie, muffins, or pancakes. This fruit was also used dried and mixed with dried meat and fat to make pemmican by the Native Americans.
Let me know if you have too many to pick and use or don’t want to bother. I’m still looking for sources of Elderberry and want flowers as well as berries. The flowers are out now (I think). Enjoy!!
Wild Edible Walk!
06/16/2012 by Leave a Comment
Next Saturday, June 23rd, there is a walk to look at and gather some edible neighborhood plants. We will meet in the backyard of People House, 3035 25th Ave at 9 am. There is a parking lot behind the building as on street parking is not always available. Come find out what you can eat and enjoy in most neighborhoods throughout Denver! $15.00 suggested donation and children are free if they bring a grown-up!
Best Weeds Ever? In your Garden!
05/31/2012 by Leave a Comment
Last night I was invited to speak about edible weeds at a community garden potluck at Ellis Elementary School. As you most often find with gardeners, the food was outstanding, and there was a very special dish exactly to my liking! As soon as I saw it, I knew it was made with the wild vegetables commonly called weeds. The woman who made it is originally from Afghanistan and her seasonings were just delicious! Just the right combinations of savory and spicy with a nice level of heat!
As our discussion of weeds moved through sour grass, purslane, dandelions, pigweed, lambs quarters, chickweed and dock, this woman kept nodding her head and saying “Oh, yes, we eat this.” I could not begin to tell you the names she used! However these little friends of mine are found in countries around the world, that is perfectly clear!
[Another woman commented that she had gone on a trip to Iceland and points north where dandelions still grew! These plants are so good for you, and found everywhere. Doesn’t that tell you something?]
Finally I stopped talking and asked my new friend to show me what she picked and cooked for the supper. Spreading her hands over a place that was not anyone’s garden plot, she told me she just pulled out the grass (unwanted it turns out) and cut off everything else with scissors and cooked it! There in a 3’x3’ plot was a wonderful combination of pigweed, lambs quarters, purslane, and some mustard – all tiny and all so tasty! Simple and delicious greens for dinner? A big YES in my Urban Forager book!
So next time you are weeding your garden, set aside the edible weeds for dinner while your other greens grow. You’ll have twice the amount of produce from your beds and lots more nutrition! You also know exactly what’s been done to the ground and don’t have to guess if they are safe! Ahhhhh! That’s the good life!
Sauteed Greens
05/29/2012 by Leave a Comment
With all the rain we’ve had, unusual for this time of year in Denver, the most delicious greens are available for the picking! A group of Urban Foragers joined me on Saturday to find out what was available to eat right now. We found so many delicious plants, we hardly left the backyard of People House at Federal and 25th Ave! Even though we found over a dozen different plants of interest, next month we’ll expand our search to another part of this neighborhood. I’d like to share a recipe with you for the greens you pick. Today I’m focusing on Dandelion Greens because you all know what they are, and they can even be bought at some grocery stores if you don’t have time to bend over and pick your own.
Sauteed Greens:
Saute chopped onion, garlic, and a hot dried pepper if you like until soft, add washed, chopped dandelion greens and any other greens you have on hand (Dock, kale, escarole, collard greens, etc). Stir them into
the hot oil until wilted and bright green. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste and serve with a splash of your favorite vinegar. Enjoy!
If you want to know what wild edibles grow around your home, I can do a walk with you and your neighbors. Just contact me! I also love to take older school children, all sorts of groups, and gardeners who would rather eat the ‘weeds’ they pull than just throw them out!
Chickweed and Dock
04/24/2012 by Leave a Comment
This morning the light is so wonderful outside, I just had to go out and take some pictures of the greens available for our lunch and/or dinner! Keeping it simple is the ideal way to start, so I will only introduce you to two more of our green friends today.
The first one is Chickweed. This little low growing plant is very tender and doesn’t last long here on the Front Range unless it gets regular moisture. So look for it where it is relatively sheltered and damp still during the Spring. If you were back East, it is sometimes considered a pest plant because it is so prolific. Not here, except in tiny moist eco-niches. It is too dry and in many places the soil is too sandy. Chickweed is a delicious little addition to a salad and some think it has a taste similar to beet greens. If there is a ‘bite’ to the plant, it is more on the lemony side, not bitter. All the aerial parts are edible after careful washing. It is also an amazing addition to salves for rashes and scrapes and you can just chew it a bit and put it right on a rash if you are outside and it is available.
My other yummy plant today is curly or yellow Dock. It is a fast growing plant that in some places has already put up a flower stalk. The leaves are quite spinach like and can be used as a quick cooking green. The ribs can be removed on the larger leaves or left on. They are a bit chewy but good. The leaves can also be used for roll-ups or wraps if you steam them for a minute to make them a little more flexible. Just cover one side of the leaf with filling and roll up! Delicious! Many people used to pick Dock on the way home from work to have fresh greens for supper. That’s still a good idea.
