Ironically, one of my early New York City discoveries in the early 1980’s was naturalist and forager “Wildman” Steve Brill. He not only identifies the plant, but has an extensive knowledge of the nutrients, and any number of inventive recipes.
After a long absence from the area, I got lucky and found out that Steve was leading a group in nearby Bear Mountain State Park yesterday. My time was well invested.
As we gathered chickweed, garlic mustard and several other elements of my wild edible salad, I marveled at his commitment to creating exciting and delicious vegan cuisine.
With his trademark pith helmet, high-powered magnifying class and recycled jokes, Steve’s passion for the earth and attention to detail will take me to the next level.
I actually learned new benefits of garlic mustard (natural estrogen), discovered I can successfully parboil and freeze most wild greens and that wintergreen oil is found in black birch (betula lenta) as well as the tiny wintergreen (gaultheria procumbens), nature’s aspirin.
While I like to play with my food, I typically seek raw or simple cooking methods to satisfy my hunger. I do make exceptions. I’ll work hard to make acorns palatable. Now, I’m actually motivated to look for a walnut cracker and a small dehydrator.
It’s quicker to purchase food than to forage for wild foods, but I’m newly inspired to spend more time foraging.
I’m going to study that wild vegan ice cream recipe. All I have to do is follow the directions. Hats off, Steve, for the hours of experimenting you must have devoted to coming up with that successful recipe.