I love foraging. I've been at it since childhood, snacking on figs and berries while walking to friends homes, mushroom hunting in the Sierras, picking miner's lettuce in the back yard. This summer I harvested mussels, clams, and sea beans at the coast for the first time. Yumm!
Today Gail and I set out to find quince and nuts in and around Portland. Sadly, we didn't find quince. But a search for black walnuts, Gail's favorite, led to an English walnut tree on Sauvie's Island. Not exactly right, but easy pickings of tasty nuts. A web list of places to find urban food plants led us to two chestnut trees in a park.
Chestnuts are new for me. Last week Karen, Gail, and I found chestnuts (after researching the difference between the edible and poisonous)and roasted a few. I'd never had them before. Sweet, crunchy, soft, delicious! The pickings were slim. Maybe not a great year for chestnuts. That's why Gail and I were on the hunt again. We got a few more handfuls at the park.
Bonus for the dogs was a huge off-leash area and several friendly dogs to greet. Merlin is sleeping like a stone. I'm gonna have to mess that up 'cause he's in the middle of my bed. Sorry buddy!
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1 comments:
Talk to Shelia, she was telling us last week that she has quince trees. I'm also looking for chestnuts, I have a recipe for a soup I'd like to try for an event, plus the whole roasted ones. ;-)
I'd love to know a good place locally for shantrelles.
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