PREPS PART 20: FORAGING FOR FOOD OTHER THAN MEAT

LilRose8

LilRose8

Veteran Member
I got a request for this topic and I think it is a good one.

What wild foods are out there, besides meat that we can forage for? I know there are any # of folks on this board that have this kind of experience.
Mushrooms? This requires expertise and knowledge. Please share.
Wild greens? How to identify so we don't poison ourselves. Please include the part of the country you are in.
What about more exotic things? Didn't I read on here somewhere about eating part of cat tails?
Desert folks have a different set of wild goodies than forest folks.
We want to hear from you all.
 
Dinghy

Dinghy

Veteran Member
In the northeast there are a lot of wild foods, if you know how to find and fix them. I have eaten dandelion and sweet clover from our yard. There are other kinds of weeds you can eat as greens, but I'm allergic to weeds, so I haven't tried any! You can eat different parts of cattails and milk weed plants. You can make jelly and a drink of some sort from Sumac. There are leeks in the spring, and different kinds of berries in late summer. Beech nuts and acorns too. It would be a huge amount of work if we ever had to resort to gathering what we ate. Most of these things grow miles from our house and there would be stiff competition with the people who already know where they grow.
 
sandra

sandra

Inactive
Oh, this is my FAVORITE topic

I LOVE to forage.

I have been getting some cattails now.... the new shoots as they come up. I steam them and put them in salads, they are much the same taste and texture as palm hearts. I usually pickle some if I get enough to add to salads in the winter as an extra treat.

Someone mentioned Sumac.... this is not poison sumac. It is the large bush, almost tree that you see all over the northeast, and don't know where else they are. They have very large red/maroon colored 'fruit/flowers' on them. They are an almost pure form of Vit C and taste a lot like lemonade when made into a tea. You need to collect them as they are ripe and all fuzzy before a hard rain, as the fuzzy part on them is the most flavorful.

I have wild leeks growing on my property. I transplanted them here from a friend's home in PA. They like shade with some sun and they will not grow unless they are on the south facing side of a hill. In the South they call them 'ramps'.

I start with berries in June with the little black caps or black raspberries. I also have them growing all over my property.

I make a mixture for greens of dandelion, nettle, plantain and some other weeds. I usually jar some of these up to last through the winter. I also gather and eat purslane.... oh, boy this is really, really good... but it does not jar up well, so that is a real treat in the summer. I just fry it up slightly and eat.

I gather wild blueberries and make pie fillings, syrup for pancakes, jam and jelly out of them.

I gather wild grapes, though I do have some domestic grapes here also. But you cannot beat the taste of wild grapes for juice. I just boil them up with some water and then crush them with a potato masher and run it all through a jelly bag. I jar up the juice and use it not only for juice but for jelly making. Once it is jarred up, I can make it any time I want.

I gather elderberries and also make juice with them for the reasons mentioned above.

I do not gather mushrooms, though I did buy a book once.... darn if I can find the thing now. I havenot noticed many around me at any rate.

Later in the summer you can get the tiny new 'tails' on the cattails and bread them and fry them up.... boy, are they good.

I have wild horseradish growing here. But that is sure a job you want to go outside.... grinding it, that is. And be SURE to wear protective goggles when doing it. Be warned, your eyes can burn for HOURS if you don't... don't ask, don't tell.... LOL.

I gather wild apples and make applesauce and juice with them. For my apple pie filling, I do prefer to use commercial apples, but could use the wild if I had to. I also dry some of them for the kids.

In the fall, I gather the wild rose hips around me and also hawthorn berries. I then dry them and put them in jars. The rose hips, crushed and boiled as a tea is soooooooooooo good. Tastes lemony. But they are loaded with Vit C and can keep a cold in line. The hawthorn berries,,, they grow on my property on the hawthorn trees, are good boiled as a tea for keeping the kidneys functioning properly.

I also gather the wild blackberries that grow here on my property.

I find lots of things to gather, but usually go one step further and jar it up to be there when needed at another time. Since they are seasonal you have to get what you can while you can get it.

For anyone who wants to gather, the best idea is to search on the web for what you would like to gather and find a good photo of it, to make sure you have the right thing..... but the VERY best way is to learn from someone else who can show you. That is the way I learned most of what I know.
 
S

spinner

Veteran Member
Great post, Sandra. I use most of the things that you mentioned, too. The leeks have been exceptional this year. And we cannot seem to get our fill of dandelions. We froze some dandelion and garlic mustard pesto, it is wonderful. Do you eat the horseradish greens? They are very tasty. Also love lambs quarters, I think they are better than spinach. Dock is good though I think it is best mixed with other greens. Winter cress, young dock, dandelion, watercress, garlic mustard and leeks are a delicious salad. I dry some greens, a little of this and a little of that, and use as seasoning in soups, stews and casseroles. Nettles are good so many ways, make a very good and healthful tea. Pigweed (amaranth) will be coming soon and it is a very good green vegetable. Chickweed is loved by many, but I don't care much for it, a bit stringy for my taste. Milkweed is another delicious green vegetable, but I really love the flower buds cooked like broccoli with a little wild garlic. Seeds from "weeds" are also useful. I make a mix of garlic mustard seeds, plantain seeds, pigweed seeds, and add poppy seeds, sesame seeds and sunflower seeds to use in bread and as a topping for my loaves.

The wild fruits are abundant here, too. I use the wild elderberries for jelly, syrup, cordial and tincture. Chokecherries make a delicious jelly, syrup and cordial. Blackberries and Blackcaps (raspberries) are my favorites. I make jelly, and jam and freeze some, though this year I want to can some instead of freezing them. Juneberries will be coming soon, but I never seem to get them before the birds do. We have Japanese knotweed (doesn't everyone?), but I have yet to try it.

...gotta run... more later....

spinner
 
sandra

sandra

Inactive
oh my gosh, I forgot pigweed and lamb's quarters! I also like milkweed. I will have to try the flowers, that I have not tried yet and I have a lot of it around me.

I also use the mustard greens and horseradish greens. I have a stand of mustard here that has the biggest leaves.... most of them are small but these are really big and they come back in the same spot every year.

I leave the mustard seed for my finches. They really love it and I love to watch the gold finches go at it.
 
O

Onebyone

Inactive
Kudzu - will save the south in a TEOTWAKI :)

Have to go for a few mins but the entire plant leaves, roots and flowers are edible on the Kudzu plant. If you dry them into a powder you get almost 2000 grams of calicium and almost 2000 grams of potassium plus approx. 22 grams of protein for a 1/4 cup.

The roots are long tapers like carrots only they can get really large like 200 lbs. 3 to 9 feet deep. The roots can be harvested anytime but the flowers in the late summer.

Will post more and a good link when I return.

Here is link

http://www.kudzucuisine.com/

kudzu_leaves_for_kudzu_cuisine.jpg
 
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Windy Ridge

Veteran Member
You had best find out what the poisonous plants look like as well as the edible ones. My place currently has wild onions blooming - right next to the death camas. The best one over most of this country is probably the cattail. In addition to the shoots and flowers, the root contains a lot of starch. A good source for easily stored food is abandoned grain fields. Small grains often volunteer in fallow fields. Unharvested fields are even better sources - as long as they are truly abandoned. The local farm stores sell a lockback knife designed for cutting bale twine. It has a curved and heavily serrated blade that cuts grass and straw very well. It would make a nice addition to a bugout backpack. It could cut thatch, bedding, basketry materials and enough grain for winter and seed.

Windy Ridge
 
O

Onebyone

Inactive
Here is another wild edible.

Plantain (Plantaginaceae)

This is found in most all lawns and sidewalks as well as fields. It is the little plant you plucked the seed pod bent the stem and shot it at your friends like a rocket when you were young.

You can eat the young leaves raw and cook the older ones like spinach.

I has lots of Vit A, C and minerals.


Here is pic. It is the larger plant in the front with the tall rocket looking spikes. You eat the leaves at the bottom. I would say these need to be cooked.

plantago-lanceolata-1.jpg
 
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ioujc

ioujc

MARANTHA!! Even so, come LORD JESUS!!!
WOW!! I thought I was the ONLY one!! Too cool! Yes, Sandra and Spinner, I gather most of those too!
I use dandelion in salads and am going to make some jelly and wine from it this year I think. Sumac is new to me, but I have about 5 trees of the correct kind on my property. I plan to make tea and juice from it...sppossedly it reduces your body temperature when you have fever..I think I will try it to increase my ability to tolerat heat outside. I have used cattails before....all the parts, roots (tubers), shots and used the dried "tails" for torches. MMM! WATERCRESS...LOVE it on sandwiches!
Now about the horseradish...I can't find any around here, and it SHOULD be native here! I would LOVE to have some! Also use purslane, dock, and pigweed in salads and for greens, never tried canning them...now THAT's an IDEA!!
Now about the milkweed...I thought milkweed was POISON???? It's NOT???? It's ALL over here, but I was sure it was poison, or parts of it were???
Oh...and what about poke weed.....I have it every where! Kinda late for it here now...they are getting too big. I have one in my front yard that is already 6 feet tall!!
I am looking forward to the blackberries and elderberries this year...looks like it will be a WONDERFUL year for blackberries. And I know a place where there are HUGE Dewberries!! I have made chokecherry jelly before...but the electric company killed the two big chokecerries here when they sprayed!!! :bwl: :sht:
I LOVE elderberry jelly...to me it is MUCH better than grape jelly.....besides, all I can find around here are "possum grapes". It would take a TON to do anything with them. Also have a "secret" Paw Paw tree, and last year I kept some of the seeds to plant!.....gotta get that done SOON! Also have mulberry trees....I LOVE mulberries, for just eating, or making cobbler...they are DIVINE!! Also have wild pears here, and apples, and persimmons. Persimmons are NOT good made into jelly, jam or fruit leather!!! :kk1: It is MUCH too sweet!! You might be able to mix it with something else, but it is sickeningly sweet. I do enjoy a few right after they have fallen, and you can make a delicious bread from them, with walnuts if you have those...I do. Also have wild American Chestnuts here...
And of course there are the wild rose hips....I LOVE them, just to eat out of hand! But you can also make jelly with them....I usually dry them and eat them just like that during the winter. Also have American ginseng here, which I eat raw as a "tonic"....it is GREAT!! Let's ee, what else????
There are wild pears here, and I usually can some of those and make "pear butter" just like peach butter, but you use pears...and less sugar...
Also have lots of wild onions and garlic...lawn smells like an Italian kitchen if I mow some of them by accident. Also have wild buckwheat and Indian wheat, which is actually wild oats, which I feed the rabbits, but could be used to make flour. about 40 miles from here you can get all the wild rice you want....it is rice that has escaped from the cultivated fields and grown in the ditches so long it has become mixed with wild varieties...the problem is, it sort of peters out before it gets ripe...not enough water in the ditches during the middle of summer....

Now, 1x1...about kudzu....I know it can be used for many things, but it just takes over everything and kills it.....I have seen some about 3 miles from here, but I'm afraid to bring it on the property....just a piece of it casn start, and I have too many other things to have, which the kudzu would kill out!
If you areinterested in learning more about wild foods, here is a good link...but it does take a bit of studing and outdoor ID, and no one can really DO that unless you take it upon yourself to learn it...although They do have classes in the more metro areas where you can go and they will teach you. Anyway....here's the link:
http://www.wildmanstevebrill.com/...
it's a good intro...but to really get it, you will need to do a search and find pages on wild edible plants and STUDY them! :spns:
Happy FORAGING!!!
 
M

m801

Inactive
after tshtf -
protect against ingesting contamination from WMD aftermath.
get access to adequate detection equipment
fallout maps can give one an idea of contamination
distribution in relation to weather patterns.
 
O

Onebyone

Inactive
I totally agree with Windy Ridge. Make sure you are identifying a plant correctly before you eat it. Don't just go by the leaves or one identification. It is best to get a book on Wild Edibles with pics and hold it next to the plant until you can identify that plant very well by sight. Poison Oak and Ivy are sometimes growing with Kudzu and you don't want to be eating those two.
 
O

Onebyone

Inactive
Now, 1x1...about kudzu....I know it can be used for many things, but it just takes over everything and kills it.....I have seen some about 3 miles from here, but I'm afraid to bring it on the property....just a piece of it casn start, and I have too many other things to have, which the kudzu would kill out!
Click to expand...

:lol: I know what you mean. I read a funny story about how to plant Kudzu yesterday. In it, it said when you are getting ready to plant the kudzu go out and stomp the ground real hard a few times to let the ground know it is coming and also said drop the kudzu and run . Now that is about fact :D as we southerners know.

But I think it would be pretty safe to go harvest in small quanities in a black bag, bring it inside and clean and dry it making sure if you sweep the floor you put the dirt in dust pan in a sealed bag. Actually you can kill Kudzu if you cut it back to the ground three years in a row.

There is certainly enough of it around wild that you don't need to plant it, at least in the south there is. ;)
 
S

spinner

Veteran Member
Back for a minute.

I recommend having a really good field guide. Of course it is best to have someone to teach you - I learned mostly from my Dad - but there are some really good books. One that I especially like is "Edible Wild Plants - a North American Field Guide" by Thomas S. Elias and Peter A. Dykeman. I also use the Peterson field guides and particularly "Eastern /Central Medicinal Plants and Herbs." Caution is important, but common sense is too. If it smells like onions or garlic it isn't Death Camass.

IOUJC, no, milkweed is not poisonous. Some say that it needs to be blanched in boiling water before cooking to avoid any stomach upset, but I have eaten it without doing that. I think it is better if it is blanched though. All of the above ground parts are edible, young shoots, flower buds and young seed pods. You can make a spinning fiber from the mature stems, cordage also. The fluffy seeds can be used as stuffing and there are probably dozens of other uses, too.

spinner
 
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D

Deemy

Veteran Member
I teach wild food foraging at the local college one day a year for the wonmen's conference,although afew men have attened. Last year I had almost 50 people in the class! Instead of just taking printouts I took along food to be eaten. It's one thing to have head knowledge and another to actually taste it. I didn't notice anyone mention coffee from dany roots or chickory. Can't do without coffee
 
R

RC

Inactive
What about those of us who will be looking for something to eat in urban and suburban settings? (Yes, I know that's not the best place to be post-SHTF, but the reality is that's where many of us will be. Think seige of Leningrad.)

I'm assuming that in a famine situation, the squirrels and birds will be scarce. There is a lake nearby, but I assume it would be fished out within a few days of the famine starting. So far, my plans as an urban hunter-gatherer amount to finding acorns and dandelions. (And I would think that being somewhat discrete would be a good idea. Once words gets out that I'm eating the acorns, they will probably soon go the way of the birds and squirrels.)

Any other ideas? (I'm in Minnesota.)

I don't want to get to the point where I'm eating grass, but just in case, wouldn't I be able to squeeze a few carbohydrates out of the lawn? I would think that by letting it go to seed (I probably won't be mowing the lawn anyway in such circumstances) and harvesting the seeds, I could get some poor quality wheat substitute.

I'm guessing I have a lot more food on hand than most urban residents, and I'd probably resort to lining up for the government cheese before I started eating the lawn. But it seems to me that even in an urban environment, there are probably some options for extending the food supply by living off the land. So just in case the government never shows up with that cheese, any suggestions would be welcome.
 
O

Onebyone

Inactive
RC,

Do ya'll have Pine Trees up there?

You can eat the inner bark of the Pine Tree. Cook it in three different waters throwing out the water each time. Cook each new water with inner bark in it for one hour. It will be like noodles.

Also you can get a pot of hot water almost boiling and put some washed pine needles in it. Set for a while at least 20 mins then drink like tea. Will give vit. C to keep scurvey away.

Also the Plantain I mentioned above grows in all city, suburbs and country. You can most likely look out your door and see some.

Rock Tripe is another thing that grows everywhere. It is the papery like growth in the cracks of boulders. Soak it for a while to get the grit out then cook and eat. It is loaded with minerals. ;) You could say you are using the Rock Tripe for a craft project.

Juniper grows all over the place. You can use the needles for tea like the Pine needles and eat the berries. The Indians dried the berries and you can also mash them and spread on toast. Don't eat to often as it can be harmful to the kidneys if eaten to often. IMO I would eat it about once a week maybe twice.

Common Chickweed grows all over too, even under snow. It is a small plant in most lawns but if you find what it looks like with a good description you most likely will find it.

Please do a google search on these names of plants so you will know what they look like.
 
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WalknTrot

Veteran Member
A quick list:

Fiddleheads
Cattails
Dandelion greens
Rosehips
Hazelnuts
Puffball mushrooms
Wild rice
Blueberries
Strawberries
Raspberries
Gooseberries
Pin cherries
Chokecherries
Cranberries
Strawberry and Raspberry leaf tea
Willow bark tea (aspirin)
Rosehip tea (vitamin C)
Pine needle tea (vitamin C)
 
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ioujc

ioujc

MARANTHA!! Even so, come LORD JESUS!!!
One X One said:
Actually you can kill Kudzu if you cut it back to the ground three years in a row.
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I DIDN'T KNOW that!!! THANK you! GOOD thing to know1!
Thanks Spinner...I thought all parts of Milkweed were poison!
RC said:
my plans as an urban hunter-gatherer amount to finding acorns and dandelions.
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YES!! And you can grind it into flour too! The acorns I mean....http://www.selfsufficientish.com/acorns.htm
Store Acorn flour carefully, as it tends to mold.
I'm sure glad there are several of us here.....GOOD TOPIC!! :spns:
 
A

AWatson

Inactive
In west Texas there are Mesquite bean of the Honey Mesquite
bush or tree here is an address for more information and recipes, also many other plants and flowers in the desert southwest.I harvested Mesquite beans last year the beans have a sticky substance surrounding them that is sweet and tasty you cannot use a grain mill to ground the beans as it clogs it up but you can beat them with a rock to make a rough meal. Hope this helps.
http://www.desertusa.com/flora.html
Anitta
 
S

spinner

Veteran Member
RC, the link that IOUJC posted is devoted to urban foraging, in NYC. You will be amazed by what there is to eat in a city! Far better than rat...yuk!!!

spinner
 
Amanda Blue

Amanda Blue

Inactive
This is such a cool topic. I would love to learn how to forage for food. I need to get some books. I wonder if there is a class out here. I just can't tell my husband, or he'll make fun of me forever. He's already beginning to think I'm weird. ;) Since I'm in Clearwater, Florida, I'm surrounded by ocean water. Is there anyway to desalinate the water so I could drink it if needed?
 
C

ceeblue

Inactive
Creeping charlie is great. I eat it walking around the yard, put it in salads, use fresh and dried for tea. It makes a liver and gall bladder happy.

The old name for it is gill.

I couldn't get a direct link to copy. So for pics and info, go here, put "gill" in the search box, and click on: Names, thumbnails and URLs.

http://www.ibiblio.org/herbmed/php/index.php
 
S

Splicer205

Deceased
Another good thread LilRose! Many plants have already been covered, so I'll just back up what Windy Ridge and Onebyone said about finding out about poisonous plants. Along with a description, advice on using it, and a good book in hand, it's important to know that different plants have different uses at different times. The same plant can have an edible part and a toxic part. It's important to know which is which.

Someone mentioned Pokeweed. While it can be used early in the spring, it's best to boil, pour off water and boil again. Later in the year, that tasty plant can kill you. Even getting poke juice in an open cut can cause problems. It takes few berries to kill a child or animal. Same plant, different season.

Same thing with the strawberry. Everyone knows strawberries are delicious and nutritious and the dried leaves make a good tea. Some don't know that though the leaves can be eaten green, and are good dried, BUT halfway through the process of drying, a chemical is manufactured in the leaves that could kill you.

Those delicious mullberries are another one. Good to preserve the juice, makes a good cough syrup, excellent pies, jams, and all kinds of goodies, but it only takes a handful of green mullberries to go on a trip you'd rather not be on. It's hallucenogenic, much like LSD, and can cause serious harm or death to a child.

That rhubarb pie is another one with good stalks and poison leaves.
I mention these just to stress that it's important to learn all you can about the plant.

It's easy to say that the entire cattail plant is useful. From the pollen to the roots.
It's also easy to describe. But, if in the description, I forget to tell you that the cattail rhizome has an outer "peel", you could just as easy be digging the toxic wild iris. Lives in the same location, and has the same description.

Unless you've watched them through a whole season, and seen them flower, many plants can be mistaken for another. Because plants are divided into classes, sub-classes, orders, families, genus and species, you might find a perfectly safe genus with a poisonous species.

Havent' seen anyone mention yet about only taking what you need, and leaving more than you take, and replanting seeds of what you take. It may end up being important to future survival of the plant and human plucker.
:spns:

Generally speaking, a toxic plant can be tried, but NOT swallowed. If you wonder about a plant, it would be good to break the leaf, rub a little on your skin, and see if, after a few min. you have redness, itching, swelling, or irritation. If not, you might touch the leaf to your tongue and wait a couple seconds for any burning, numbness, tingling, etc. If not, you might try chewing the leaf but NOT swallowing it. After chewing, spit it out. Wait a few minutes and see if there's any reaction. If not, you might want to try the plant. In a very small amount. Wait a day and decided if it's something you want to try again. Remember though, these are very general rules and not hard and fast, I swear it won't hurt you rules.

Guess this post wasn't very helpful in learning what to use, but hopefully it will help in knowing what not to use. There are a lot of good books with illustrated pictures, and everyone can learn to gather safely and responsibly. Happy learning and hunting. :eleph:
 
Dinghy

Dinghy

Veteran Member
[Same thing with the strawberry. Everyone knows strawberries are delicious and nutritious and the dried leaves make a good tea. Some don't know that though the leaves can be eaten green, and are good dried, BUT halfway through the process of drying, a chemical is manufactured in the leaves that could kill you.

Now that's one I never heard of! I had thought it would be neat to dry some leaves from my plants for tea. Guess I'll just buy some from the store!!
 
J

jlee

Inactive
The Greeks eat grape leaves -- presumably from European-wine-type grapes.

Here in Illinois, I've seen people picking leaves from thick grape fences along some of the commuter railroad tracks. No idea what kind of grapes those are!

Does it matter what kind of grape it is? Are the leaves of American varieties edible too?
 
S

Splicer205

Deceased
Dinghy said:
[Same thing with the strawberry. Everyone knows strawberries are delicious and nutritious and the dried leaves make a good tea. Some don't know that though the leaves can be eaten green, and are good dried, BUT halfway through the process of drying, a chemical is manufactured in the leaves that could kill you.

Now that's one I never heard of! I had thought it would be neat to dry some leaves from my plants for tea. Guess I'll just buy some from the store!!
Click to expand...

Dinghy, sorry, I probably didn't word it very well. The leaves are fine when they're dried. You can dry your own. Just don't use them until they're totally dry. You can also use fresh. But when they start to dry, before they're totally dry, is when they have a toxin. Once they're dry, they're fine. :spns:
 
LilRose8

LilRose8

Veteran Member
jlee said:
The Greeks eat grape leaves -- presumably from European-wine-type grapes.

Here in Illinois, I've seen people picking leaves from thick grape fences along some of the commuter railroad tracks. No idea what kind of grapes those are!

Does it matter what kind of grape it is? Are the leaves of American varieties edible too?
Click to expand...
As long as they are real grapes you can eat the leaves.
Here is a good site http://mexicanfood.about.com/od/techniques/r/PGrapeLeaves.htm


With this easy method of preserving grape leaves you can have a supply ready to hand for making delectable dolmas any time.
INGREDIENTS:
• fresh grape leaves
• salt
• fresh cold water


PREPARATION: If you live in the Northern Hemisphere, gather your grape leaves sometime in July or August, and gather LOTS of them. It’s no more work to preserve several hundred than it is to preserve a dozen, and I don’t know about you, but when I make dolmas I always make at least 50 0f them, usually more.

Once you have your grape leaves home, rinse them well in cold water and drain or pat dry. Then sort by size. Small ones for appetizers, large ones for dinner. (I usually make meatless Dolmas in the small leaves for appetizers, and lamb in the larger leaves for dinner). Then, with a small pair of scissors, clip off the stem.

Now, if you are preserving your leaves in a crock or plastic pail, simply stack the leaves flat in the crock to within about 1/4 of the way to the top.

If however, you are going to preserve them in glass or plastic gallon jars, then pile the leaves in stacks of about 2 dozen, (sorted by size) and roll them into loose rolls, like a big fat cigar, and stand these rolls side by side in the jar until full.

Now for the brine. You want to make a brine, (salt and water) of 1 tablespoon of salt to each quart of water. Stir well to make sure all the salt is dissolved. Pour this over the leaves. Make sure that the grape leaves stay completely submerged in the brine. For the ones in the crock or pale, this is easy, you put a plate on top o them and a weight on top of the plate. For the ones in the jar, you will just have to see that there is no air space between the level of the brine and the lid.

Everything will start to ferment, just like you were making sauerkraut or kim-chee. Don’t worry. This is how it is suppose to be. Your leaves will be ready to use in about5 a week, and they will keep for most of the year. You do not refrigerate them. Just keep your crock or bottles in a cool, dark place and make sure that the leaves stay completely submerged.

If you are going to keep your leaves for a prolonged period of time, you will need to change the brine about once a month. Simply pour everything out of the crock, pale or jar, rinse the leaves off, put them back in the container and add new brine. By doing this, I can keep my leaves from one picking to the next. If some of your leaves should become exposed to the air, they will turn black, slimy and icky. Throw them away, but you don’t knead to throw away the entire batch. Also, it is likely that a sort of nasty looking film will collect on top of the crock or pale. Again, don’t panic, just skim it off and throw it away. To use your preserved vine leaves, just take out as many as you are going to need, rinse them well under cold water, pat dry and begin.
 
LilRose8

LilRose8

Veteran Member
Grape leaves are wonderful for stuffing, I generally make a filling from raw rice, ground lamb and spices ( a dash of cinnamon, allspice, pepper, salt) mix it all together and wrap in grape leaves. Layer them in the bottom of a dutch oven and gently cover with chicken broth. Weigh down with a plate and simmer for 1 hour. Add the juice of 1-2 lemons and remove to a plate. Drizzle with more lemon juice and serve with pita triangles. Save the broth and make avgolemono soup later.

I like this method too. I am pretty sure this is from the Ball Blue Book

preserved-grape-leaves recipe #84478
Preserving grape leaves to stuff with any mixture you desire using your own fresh young grape leaves.The grape leaves should be picked in the spring and remove the tough stem.
1 quart young spring grape leaves, about stem end removed
2 teaspoons kosher salt, in
1 quart water
1 cup fresh lemon juice or 2 1/2 teaspoons citric acid
1 quart water
2 pints Change size or US/metric
Change to: pints US Metric


35 minutes 15 mins prep

1. Bring salted water to a boil.
2. Add washed grape leaves and blanch for 30 seconds.
3. Drain.
4. Stack them on each other into 2 piles then form into loose rolls and stand each roll up in 2 pint canning jars.
5. Add lemon juice or citric acid to the second quart of water and bring to a boil.
6. Fill jars within 1/2 inch of top with the hot mixture.
7. Seal.
8. Process in a boiling water bath for 15 minutes.
 
L

LMonty911

Inactive
deemy (or anyone else!)- how does one make dandelion or other coffee substitutes?

wish you were nearby- I'd love to attend one of the lectures. have you considered taping the lecture and selling them on VCR or DVD's? I'd bet that survuval ring or someone else could help with marketing
 
LilRose8

LilRose8

Veteran Member
RC said:
What about those of us who will be looking for something to eat in urban and suburban settings? (Yes, I know that's not the best place to be post-SHTF, but the reality is that's where many of us will be. Think seige of Leningrad.)

I'm assuming that in a famine situation, the squirrels and birds will be scarce. There is a lake nearby, but I assume it would be fished out within a few days of the famine starting. So far, my plans as an urban hunter-gatherer amount to finding acorns and dandelions. (And I would think that being somewhat discrete would be a good idea. Once words gets out that I'm eating the acorns, they will probably soon go the way of the birds and squirrels.)

Any other ideas? (I'm in Minnesota.)

I don't want to get to the point where I'm eating grass, but just in case, wouldn't I be able to squeeze a few carbohydrates out of the lawn? I would think that by letting it go to seed (I probably won't be mowing the lawn anyway in such circumstances) and harvesting the seeds, I could get some poor quality wheat substitute.

I'm guessing I have a lot more food on hand than most urban residents, and I'd probably resort to lining up for the government cheese before I started eating the lawn. But it seems to me that even in an urban environment, there are probably some options for extending the food supply by living off the land. So just in case the government never shows up with that cheese, any suggestions would be welcome.
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I think this link is just what you are looking for
http://www.selfsufficientish.com/wildinthecity.htm
 
Dinghy

Dinghy

Veteran Member
splicerswife said:
Dinghy, sorry, I probably didn't word it very well. The leaves are fine when they're dried. You can dry your own. Just don't use them until they're totally dry. You can also use fresh. But when they start to dry, before they're totally dry, is when they have a toxin. Once they're dry, they're fine. :spns:
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Thank you!!
 
ainitfunny

ainitfunny

Saved, to glorify God.
Do not consider ANY wild mushrooms edible. EVERY YEAR SOME EVEN "EXPERT" MUSHROOM COLLECTORS DIE (sometimes taking their whole family with them) because they made a mistake in mushroom identification.

There is VERY VERY little food value to ANY mushrooms and certainly NOT worth the CERTAINTY of dying if one consumes even the amount accidently stuck under a fingernail. Even a small crumb of the most common "death angel" mushroom which broke off in your mushroom basket and gets into the "good mushroom" collection is enough to kill the whole family. INEXPERIENCED MUSHROOM COLLECTORS SHOULD ABSOLUTELY FORGET GATHERING MUSHROOMS IN SURVIVAL SITUATION IF YOU WANT TO INCREASE YOUR ODDS OF SURVIVING!
 
S

Splicer205

Deceased
LMonty911 said:
deemy (or anyone else!)- how does one make dandelion or other coffee substitutes?

We made ours by just digging the root, scrubbing it good, cutting it into small pieces, and drying it. Then, when ready to use, we put it in a coffee grinder. Chickory is definitely and acquired taste and usually is better mixing it with some coffee you're accustomed to. But it would be real fine if you didn't have coffee. :spns:
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S

Splicer205

Deceased
AWatson said:
In west Texas there are Mesquite bean of the Honey Mesquite
bush or tree here is an address for more information and recipes, also many other plants and flowers in the desert southwest.I harvested Mesquite beans last year the beans have a sticky substance surrounding them that is sweet and tasty you cannot use a grain mill to ground the beans as it clogs it up but you can beat them with a rock to make a rough meal. Hope this helps.
http://www.desertusa.com/flora.html
Anitta
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Oh yuum. My aunt mailed us some mesquite honey and it was SO good! I bet that meal is delicious. :eleph:
 
R

RC

Inactive
Thanks for the links everyone, especially this one:

ceeblue said:
Creeping charlie is great. I eat it walking around the yard, put it in salads, use fresh and dried for tea. It makes a liver and gall bladder happy.

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I now know that I won't starve, no matter what. :) And the next time my wife mentions something about the creeping charlie that's taking over the back yard, I'll let her know that we need to keep it there, because it might be dinner!
 
O

optimistic pessimist

Inactive
The PNW is chocked full of good food- in fact, I recall a story about some starving pioneers coming over the Blue Mountains in Oregon and the natives shaking their heads saying, "why you just CAME through the Blue Mountains- why are you hungry?"

http://wwwshs1.bham.wednet.edu/zodiac/Lessons/ethnobotany-99.htm


Some things off the top of my head-
red huckleberries, black huckleberries, wild salmon berries, wild black berries and black caps, dandilion., cattails, oregon grape, fireweed...smoke things with cedar...

Then if really needed to- worms, ants, bugs and the like. Wouldn't recommend the slugs, though- they can numb the toungue.
 
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