Think you are low on food? Can’t afford to go to the shops? All you have to do is pop in to a field and if you know your plants you could find yourself a feast! Dandelion and mushroom salad? Nettle tea? Even elderberry cordial? All these things you can find in the wild – and this blog is about what I learnt on my Saturday at school with Craig from Edible Leeds.
We started off in the school grounds and you’ll be surprised on how much we found! A whole basket-full of dandelion leaves, yarrow, nettle tops and lots more. Craig also explained why there were a lot of plants right up next to walls. Well the answer is the wall works like a blocker stopping the seeds flying past with the wind or over it. Since the seeds are blocked by the wall they fall down to the ground and grow there. That, believe it or not is the answer. When we got round to the nettles I discovered that the stings are good for you! Just don’t go rushing to the nearest patch of nettles and say to your mum “Jonah told me to!” because I didn’t tell you to.
After our school scavenge we had a tea break with cake which was very essential and made of plums, slows and raisins. Soon we had finished our break and went to Witch Wood. We found a few Rowan and Hawthorne berries there and lots of mushrooms. I found all the elderberries. Even though I found them I wouldn’t recommend them. They definitely need a bit of sugar. We also found velvet shanks which are a type of mushroom. We found them on a rotting tree trunk. If you ever get the chance to see them, take a picture. They look so pretty! An orangey sunset colour on the cup and similar colour on the stalk.
As you can see, foraging is very interesting and is worth the effort learning about all the plants. After all that foraging I think you’d agree we deserved a meal, so we made one out of the many things we collected from our foraging. No-one was left out when preparing the meal – we all had special jobs to do and I was part of a group including Mrs Bickerstaffe and Julie. We were in charge of the chick-weed. Mrs Bickerstaffe washed the chick-weed and I dried it. After the washing and drying Julie took out all the bits of sneaky grass. It took us ages to pick out the grass but by the time we had finished, it was time for our lovely meal – and it was yummy. For starters we had a fish and mushroom broth, dried seaweed and lots of other bits and bobs which smelt delicious and was delicious! Next we had fried mushroom and salad. I quite enjoyed my salad in fact; especially with the Douglas Fir salad dressing. That was my lunch and dinner and I adored it!
Thank you Craig for that wonderful day!
We started off in the school grounds and you’ll be surprised on how much we found! A whole basket-full of dandelion leaves, yarrow, nettle tops and lots more. Craig also explained why there were a lot of plants right up next to walls. Well the answer is the wall works like a blocker stopping the seeds flying past with the wind or over it. Since the seeds are blocked by the wall they fall down to the ground and grow there. That, believe it or not is the answer. When we got round to the nettles I discovered that the stings are good for you! Just don’t go rushing to the nearest patch of nettles and say to your mum “Jonah told me to!” because I didn’t tell you to.
After our school scavenge we had a tea break with cake which was very essential and made of plums, slows and raisins. Soon we had finished our break and went to Witch Wood. We found a few Rowan and Hawthorne berries there and lots of mushrooms. I found all the elderberries. Even though I found them I wouldn’t recommend them. They definitely need a bit of sugar. We also found velvet shanks which are a type of mushroom. We found them on a rotting tree trunk. If you ever get the chance to see them, take a picture. They look so pretty! An orangey sunset colour on the cup and similar colour on the stalk.
As you can see, foraging is very interesting and is worth the effort learning about all the plants. After all that foraging I think you’d agree we deserved a meal, so we made one out of the many things we collected from our foraging. No-one was left out when preparing the meal – we all had special jobs to do and I was part of a group including Mrs Bickerstaffe and Julie. We were in charge of the chick-weed. Mrs Bickerstaffe washed the chick-weed and I dried it. After the washing and drying Julie took out all the bits of sneaky grass. It took us ages to pick out the grass but by the time we had finished, it was time for our lovely meal – and it was yummy. For starters we had a fish and mushroom broth, dried seaweed and lots of other bits and bobs which smelt delicious and was delicious! Next we had fried mushroom and salad. I quite enjoyed my salad in fact; especially with the Douglas Fir salad dressing. That was my lunch and dinner and I adored it!
Thank you Craig for that wonderful day!