Foraging for Goodies, Saving Money
August 7th, 2008
By Colleen Rothe
If you are a hiker, you already know that there are scrumptious treats to be found along the trails. With today’s food prices, foraging could even be used to supplement the food stores in any outdoor active consumer’s cupboard.
You’ll need to check what’s what in your particular region, but berries, herbs, wild plants, mushrooms, etc. are all there for the taking. Some areas have no foraging rules, so be sure to know before you go. But, without a lot of effort, you could have fresh blackberries, huckleberries, apples, choke cherries, and the list goes on.
In the Pacific Northwest right now, blackberries are starting to get nice and plump and juicy. Both Mountain huckleberries and their lowland red cousins are feeding the birds. They can feed you, too. Considering that fresh blackberries and blueberries are running about $4 a pint in the grocery stores right now, foraging can not only save you money, but give you some exercise as well.
When you hike be sure to bring a sturdy container – for gathering. I have an old Tupperware container made for keeping produce in (it has ridges on the bottom to cushion and keep moisture from the fruit) that fits nicely into my trail pack.
Some of my really active hiking comrades even have set a goal that on their hiking days they only eat what they forage. So collapsible fishing rods and foraging guides can also be in the pack.
When it comes to harvesting berries, you might find that you are competing with birds. But that’s just another bonus – bird watching.
Therefore it can be a family affair; you can teach the children what’s okay to eat and what is not. Show them all the different types of birds in your area. And when you get home, you’ll feel refreshed from a day out in nature and can cook up the following.
Breakfast Berry Crisp:
Ingredients:
4 cups of mixed or single foraged wild berries (huckleberries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries)
¼ cup corn starch
4 tsp sugar
1 cup uncooked rolled oats
1/3 cup of whole wheat flour
5 tablespoons of butter (unsalted; or use smart balance or other butter substitute)
½ cup of dark brown sugar, packed
½ tsp salt
½ tsp cinnamon
½ cup pecan or walnuts chopped
Directions:
Set oven to 350 degrees. Add berries to a large bowl. Toss with cornstarch and sugar. If you have a lot of tart huckleberries, you may want to add an additional teaspoon of sugar. Pour mixture into a low baking pan. Using same bowl, combine oats, flour, brown sugar, nuts, salt and cinnamon. Dice cold butter (this can be made with good oil, like walnut, for a vegan dish) and cut into mixture until the butter is incorporated. It will look like a course meal. Pour the topping over the berries and evenly distribute without packing down. Bake for 35 minutes until the berries bubble and the top begins to brown.
This recipe creates 10 dessert servings or 8 breakfast servings. Tip: Serve with low fat vanilla frozen yogurt or have with vanilla yogurt w/ breakfast serving.
And you can have all this yummy goodness for a day outside.
The bottom line is that in order to toughen out the tight economic times, we need to get a bit creative in how we approach things. Looking towards ways to incorporate play and helping the budget is one way. Go off and forage!
August 11th, 2008 at 01:35 PM
August 28th, 2008 at 02:25 PM