Printable View
Since the weather is so great...it's time for hiking again and enjoying all those spring flowers! But what I'd also like to do this year is educate my family and myself on how to eat off the land if we needed to. Reading about the Boutenko kids doing this, and thus never having the fear of starving...I thought that was very cool. It also would be a great homeschooling project for my daughter.
Do any of you have a book on edible wild food that you have enjoyed and would recommend? Thanks!!:)
Excellent request, I would love to know. As it is I can't wait to make fresh dandelion salad.
Yeah, I'm waiting for a title suggestion too! All these eager Raw beavers! I truly think the energy of wild Raw food is......loaded with mystical energy that will be conveyed to us upon eating it. Actually, I'm wondering if any of our local community colleges have a walk-about course on this subject. Hate to brag, but I'm in the land of lushness here in the Oregon rain forest. There would be so much for wildcrafting!
When I first came to the desert I took a class with an expert and we made our own book. Now almost 30 years later I wish I still had it. (kinda dried up and fell apart.) There are also many websites with info and possibly under old threads here about foraging.
My first idea would be: 'the juicing bible'. It has a great section about wild edible plants.
Look for some book about healing with plant. Every edible plant is also a plant to someone from something. Same with our nutrition as a whole.
I'll have to go hunting then....
The one I have is Identifying and Harvesting Edible and Medicinal Plants in Wild (and not so wild) Places by "Wildman" Steve Brill. It has detailed drawing of the plants with what to look for. I confess I haven't used it yet though. There's still snow everywhere!
David Wolfe recommends 'WILD EDIBLE PLANTS: A NORTH AMERICAN FIELD GUIDE' he now sells it on his web: I got one from Barnes & Noble and thoroughly enjoy it. Joz
This just made me think, my grandparents popped in for a surprise visit this past weekend and I had just finished putting in a new flower garden. I had transplatted a bunch of lily's from my backyard to my new garden. I accidently planted planted garlic in my garden too! It was a nice surprise the leaves looked so pretty. My grandmother is the one who spotted it and she just laughed and laughed at me. So maybe I will turn my new little garden into a herb garden, lol!
Katk and Wyjoz~
Thanks so much for the referral of a good book. I'll go get one!
gazing at the flowers,
Mishka
Sergei Boutenko of the Raw Family does four-day hiking/camping expeditions in the summer time to teach people wildcrafting. Sounds like fun huh?
I loved the part where they ran out of food and they made a wild salad. I do this often after reading that.
(in victorias book)
I'd love to go with Sergei...it would be easy to learn from someone who knows what to look for. I live in another state tho , so am unable. I'll have to make sure those books have good pictures. I'm going up to Sonora next weekend for a picnic and hike with friends, so I'll let you know what I find:D
Warmly,
Mishka
Peter Ragnar has a great book that comes with little laminated field cards - awesome!!
My favorite wild edible food books are:
Peterson Field Guides: Edible Wild Plants
Edible and Useful Plants of California by Charlotte Clarke
The Wild Food Trailguide (and other books) by Alan Hall
Mushrooms Demystified by David Arora
and anything by Euell Gibbons. Even though many of his recipes are cooked, these are good guides for getting to know the edibles. Caution to vegans: the Blue-Eyed Scallop book does include some wild edible sea creatures like clams/mussels/scallops but might be good to have in an emergency for family members who are not raw.