I just returned from breakfasting on wineberries and Asiatic Day Flower.
This morning’s hike took me to Inwood Hill Park in Northern Manhattan. No, I didn’t hike here from home base. I’m here on an assignment for a few weeks, which is convenient because “Wildman” Steve Brill will be giving three or four tours during my tenure in this area.
In addition to my breakfast, I easily gathered enough lamb quarters to freeze for winter use. Nothing tastes better than fresh frozen veggies. Many of the plants I eat raw in early spring are perfect steamed, sautéed or prepared the same way as commercially grown veggies.
“Wildman” has been encouraging me to develop my mushroom identification skills. Back home I’m ankle-deep in mushrooms, but my timing has been off. My biggest heartbreak this season was finding chicken of the woods mushrooms too late to enjoy them.
I always learn something from hiking with “Wildman.” This hike I learned that mushrooms do have nutritional value and that even the store-bought mushrooms should be cooked for maximum nutrition.
I’m still a lazy forager. I’ll pinch the tops of plants, so I don’t have to clean dirt off leaves. I’ll gather new growth, so I can just add olive oil and balsamic vinegar for salad.
But now that I’m beginning to fill my freezer with veggies for winter use, I may have just the motivation I need to test “Wildman’s” recipes.
A heat wave is coming in later. With any luck the wineberries will ripen in abundance - and maybe I’ll get a chance to expand my mushrooming skills.