Foraging Archives - life from the ground up

Homemade Violet Jelly

May 21, 2020 By: Gabe1 Comment

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Wild violets are among the first splashes of color that appear in spring to break up the drabness of winter. As the name would suggest, they’re most often a deep purple-blue (although some varieties are white or yellow) and are borne amidst heart-shaped leaves.

To many, they’re weeds, but as you know, my definition of weed is vastly different from most others’. That, combined with the fact that we’ve been stuck at home for the past two months and looking for sources of entertainment, inspired a foraging trip (across the driveway). The result of that trip was violet jelly, the prettiest jelly I’ve ever made.

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Eat Your Weeds: Purslane

June 26, 2015 By: Gabecomment

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Every now and then, I do a little piece highlighting one of the edible plants that grow nearby, often without us even realizing it. There are so many things that we classify as weeds that, in reality, are completely edible, often very healthy, and surprisingly delicious. And the best part is, because they’re weeds, you don’t have to do anything to take care of them. It’s quite fun to go out and gather a salad consisting of nothing that you actually planted.

Today’s weed is purslane, a low-growing succulent. If you think that it looks like that portulaca that you plant for flowers, you’re right: it’s a member of the same family. It will radiate outward along the ground for a foot or more if you let it. The reddish stem is covered with fat, fleshy, rounded leaves, and the flowers do resemble the ornamental portulaca’s, though they’re much more inconspicuous.

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Detox With Dandelion Tea

September 8, 2014 By: Gabe1 Comment

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Ahhh, dandelions. That ubiquitous lawn weed is the nemesis of suburban homeowners everywhere (don’t fight them; it’s useless). But actually, as is the case with a lot of “weeds,” dandelions are chock full of goodness, and have been widely used in traditional healing for millennia.

They’re one of the best leafy green sources of beta-carotene and vitamin A, and also contain significant amounts of vitamin C, fiber, potassium, iron, calcium, magnesium, and a variety of other trace minerals (for further reading, go here). In fact, dandelions are widely recognized to be better even than spinach, one of the original “superfoods.” If Popeye ate dandelions greens instead, he’d be an absolute beast. So if you feel the need to wage war, at least put them to good use!

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Tired of Potatoes? Try Sunchokes

November 8, 2013 By: Gabecomment

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What’s in a name? Apparently nothing, because Jerusalem artichokes have absolutely nothing to do with the Holy Land, nor do they resemble or belong to the artichoke family. But aside from those minor details, it surely is deserving of such a majestic label.

Actually, they’re also known as sunchokes, which I prefer, primarily because… SUN-choke or Jer-OO-sa-lem AR-ti-choke… that’s two syllables vs. seven, and for those who’ve met me in person, you know I like to keep my syllables to a minimum. That, and sunchokes are actually a member of the sunflower family, native to eastern North America. So of course, when I first learned about them, I was thinking “Sweet – native, perennial, edible, low-maintenance. Let’s get some of these suckers in the ground.” And so we did.

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Chicory, the cheap and easy backyard coffee substitute

September 23, 2013 By: Gabe4 Comments

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I’ll be upfront: I don’t drink coffee, so I don’t know if that makes me ineligible to be seeking a coffee replacement.

I do drink tea, though, and I’ve noticed chicory root while casually reading the ingredients on some tea labels. Never really paid it much attention, until I figured out that those ubiquitous blue flowers found along roadsides and in empty fields are the same chicory that’s in my tea (okay, probably a different variety bred for bigger roots, but same family). And of course, the slightest whiff is enough to send me off on my next pursuit, so in that instant, I decided we (okay, I) were going to dig up some chicory, roast it, and drink it.

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