Survivalist: Edible Wild Plants Foraging & Uses Info @ GLP

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Free Food
Thread: Free Food


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Most excellent

Thank you!

I'll second that!

Thanks

nothing like free wild food

berry picking in a few weeks

I think berries and fruits are the only things I'm going to tackle drying/canning this first year of foraging.

Wild fruit costs an arm and a leg in any store!

Cool! I'm gonna bookmark this...
Thanks, AG!

Good reminder, Andromeda.

We've been eating wild for years here on the prairie. Food is everywhere. Wild plums, asparagus, herbs and greens, game, cattails, mushrooms.

Main issue is finding non-contaminated food. And preservation. We are even advised to avoid eating river fish more than a couple of times a week.

But yes. Food is everywhere in the country.

kudzu root. it's also used in a chineese med. it makes a very nutritious flour. wash the roots. pound them. cover with water, this soaks out the starch. after they soak like 12 hrs, lift them out, pour off water. pound them again and cover with water. do the same thing for a couple of days, until you can see they are not just totally starchy. pound them and dry in the sun. when totally dry, pound as fine as you can. a heavy roundish rock works the best. kudzu is that vine that smothers everything around here in ne tenn. it grows all over the region. smells like grapes when the flowers come on around the first of july.

Oh man, that is awesome... we have limited foraging for greens where I live because it's all privately owned property or woods. So I can find only the really weedy weeds like milkweed but not stuff like asparagus and herbs.

But I'm expecting major NUTS in the fall, and a lot of bramble berries, LOL.

You're really lucky to be living in a very bountiful region.

There are A LOT of problems with contamination. Have I posted yet, that people should avoid weeds growing under power lines or near major roads (sprayed with herbicides). Some commercial properties also spray herbicides around, so they don't have to mow, like power stations.

When I was a kid my Mom and I would go pick polkweed that grew along the railroad tracks. In the fall we would pull up the stalks of a plant related to sunflowers and harvest the root (more like a tuber) called a Jerusalem artichoke. Kind of tastes like a cross between a water chestnut and a potatoe.

You're welcome DR

Oh that is cool, jerusalem artichoke is one of the plants I have targeted to find on my list right now.

It's supposed to be really good

[link to en.wikipedia.org]

Getting them out of the ground, is more effort than the root supplies in calories. Negative calories are good for a USA diet but bad for survival.

But you can eat all parts of it, right? I don't have Kudzu around here but here are some southern recipes online...



You can eat Kudzu? Why sure! Find some vines off the beaten path and pick a mess!

To cook with Kudzu, choose only the smallest, most tender leaves. Large leaves are too tough. Even the small leaves have plenty of body. Fresh and tender, the leaves have a flavor similar to that of a green bean. That's because Kudzu is a member of the legume family.

Kudzu Blossom Jelly

Spoon over cream cheese, or melt and serve over waffles and ice cream. The blossom liquid is gray until lemon juice is added.

4 cups Kudzu blossoms
4 cups boiling water
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 (1 3/4-ounce) package powered pectin
5 cups sugar

Wash Kudzu blossoms with cold water, and place them in a large bowl. Pour 4 cups boiling water over blossoms, and refrigerate 8 hours or overnight. Pour blossoms and liquid through a colander into a Dutch oven, discarding blossoms. Add lemon juice and pectin; bring to a full rolling boil over high heat, stirring constantly.

Stir in sugar; return to a full rolling boil, and boil, stirring constantly, 1 minute. Remove from heat; skim off foam with a spoon. Quickly pour jelly into hot, sterilized jars, filling to 1/4 inch from top. Wipe jar rims. Cover at once with metal lids, and screw on bands.

Process in boiling water bath 5 minutes. Cool on wire racks. YIELD: 6 half pints.


Rolled Kudzu Leaves

Kudzu Leaves
1 can diced tomatoes
2 teaspoons salt
3 cloves garlic, cut in half
Juice of 3 lemons
Bacon Grease (optional)

Stuffing ingredients: 1 cup rice, rinsed in water
1 pound ground lamb or lean beef
1 cup canned diced tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon of allspice
Salt and Pepper to taste

Gather about 30 medium-sized young kudzu leaves. Make sure area has not been sprayed with chemicals to kill the Kudzu.

Wash leaves. Drop into salted boiling water. Boil a 2-3 minutes, separating leaves. Remove to a plate to cool. Remove heavy center stems from the leaves by using a knife and cutting down each side of the stem to about the middle of the leaf. Combine all stuffing ingredients and mix well.

Push cut sides together and fill with 1 teaspoon stuffing and roll in the shape of a cigar. Place something in bottom of a large pan so that rolled leaves will not sit directly on the bottom of the pan. Bacon grease is great for seasoning.

Arrange Kudzu rolls alternately in opposite directions. When all are in the pot, pour in a can diced tomatoes, 2 teaspoons of salt, and 3 cloves of garlic, cut in half. Press down with an inverted dish and add water to reach dish. Cover pot and cook on medium for 30 minutes. Add lemon juice and cook 10 minutes more.


Kudzu Quiche

Makes 4-6 servings.

1 cup heavy cream
3 eggs, beaten
1 cup chopped, young, tender Kudzu leaves and stems
1/2 teaspoon salt
Ground pepper to taste
1 cup grated mozzarella cheese
1 nine-inch unbaked pie shell

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix cream, eggs, kudzu, salt, pepper, and cheese. Place in pie shell. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes until center is set.


Kudzu Tea

Kudzu leaves
Mint
Honey

Simmer 1 cup of finely chopped Kudzu leaves in a quart of water for 30 minutes. Drain and serve with honey and a sprig of mint. If you prefer a sweeter taste use honey to sweeten the tea.


Deep Fried Kudzu Leaves

Pick light green leaves, 2-inch size.
Thin batter made with iced water and flour
Oil

Heat oil. Rinse and dry kudzu leaves, then dip in batter (chilled). Fry oil quickly on both sides until brown. Drain on paper toweling. Eat while warm.

[link to www.southernangel.com]

The strawberry hath a most evil lookalike thats toxic poisonous beware. If a strawb. appears to not have seeds or have foul acidic sour taste with no sweetness at all don't eat!

[link to images.google.com]


Lamb's quarter, is a wild relative of the spinach plant. It grows prolifically throughout most of the world. In fact, you probably have a good amount of it volunteering in your own garden starting in late spring.


This herb is one of the most nutritious wild foods you can eat.





Read more: [link to www.herbalremediesinfo.com]
Lamb's-quarter can be used as a replacement for spinach in soups, egg dishes, or vegetable dishes.




If you are blessed with an abundance of this herb in your yard or garden, consider making up a big batch of Lamb's Quarter Vinegar for a daily boost of minerals that can't be beat!


You can also add a big handful to your favorite pesto recipe for extra nutrition and a delicious, slightly nutty flavor.





Read more: [link to www.herbalremediesinfo.com]














[link to www.herbalremediesinfo.com]

Kudzu: feed to goats, drink goat milk, wait four years, eat goat, repeat.

Hey rachel. I've been trying to find lamb's quarters, but no luck so far!

Great thread thanks OP.

Thou are wise, ALS! Thanks!

Also I do a survival Saturday. Stay home and eat only survival food, using as much survival gear pots/pans harvest water etc. Found stuff I would NOT eat, survival food stuff that is real good. This thick dry veggie soup is excellent in my bought survival food, but the 'potato soup' was gritty. I Found potato flacks (good for three years) with bacos a very good and non-gritty replacement.
Wind and bugs are actually the worst part of survival Saturdays.

Easting edible weeds, grass and flowers is fine, but make sure you wash them first to remove the dog shit, cat piss, and insecticides/herbacides

[link to www.lacunatrust.com]

You can download a free sample chapter from the book, on Salsify.

Great post Andromeda!

Thanks for pulling all of this info into one post. Got it bookmarked.

I've been harvesting dandelion greens the last couple of years; since my landlord stopped spraying the lawn.

I saute the greens and add them to rice [a la flourentine] and/or pasta salads.

Am learning to better recognize other edible weeds, i.e., plaintain... and how to prepare it.

Thanks for reminding me... I think Aquarius 7 and some others had some dandelion threads this Spring. I will look them up and add them.

Thanks for the idea for florentine and pasta salads. Didn't even think of that!

Half the job of learning wild food is integrating it into your diet...

Last Edited by Andromeda on 06/17/2009 03:50 PM

Isn't it better to have a couple of chickens?

Here's another good site worth visiting.

[link to www.pfaf.org]