When I set out earlier today, my goal was to find:
- Wood sorrel
- Purslane
- Black trumpet mushrooms
- Oyster mushrooms
- Wild blueberries
- Wineberries
- Huckleberries
I decided to challenge myself a bit, so today’s hike was in Minnewaska State Park, about 35 miles north of my usual haunts. I did not find the black trumpets, but I did find the good red russulas and oysters. I also did not find the wineberries, but I did find a few ripe blackberries in addition to the blueberries and huckleberries.
My big surprise was the tiny milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) pods I found.
Samuel Thayer says that some people eat the outer green part, which he calls the rind, either cooked or raw. I nibbled a bit of the tiniest pod in this group raw and parboiled for one minute. A little goes a long way, for my taste buds.
I did taste the immature seeds of the inner white part (Thayer calls it “milkweed white”) both raw and parboiled. It’s chewy and pleasant tasting. Thayer uses it cooked as a cheese substitute. I’ll have to play with that.
As for the rest of my foraging, I harvested the tips of wood sorrel, purslane and some new growth lamb’s quarters to add to salad. The mushrooms were sautéed separately in olive oil.
Huckleberries are great as a trail nibble, but their crunchy seed makes them less fun to eat than blueberries. I brought home a handful of berries, which tasted fine with soy yogurt.
I also got to swim in Minnewaska Lake, which is surprisingly free of sediment or human-made trash.
And there’s always the wildlife. It’s rare to see a spotted fawn up and moving around, let alone twins.
I’m going to try the scavenger hunt approach to foraging again. Who knows what I’ll discover next.