Forage Walk, Captured

Photos: Michael Grimm

On my last scheduled plant walk of the summer, on a very, very hot Sunday, we walked through the coolth of Prospect Park. I changed our route to follow the trees. It was nice to have along several neighborhood friends, as well as walkers who attend so often they have frequent walker miles (FWM - I am working on appropriate rewards...).

Ground elder (Aegopodium podagraria) - very invasive in New York - is in prolific bloom in June. Its celery like spring leaves are a very good salad addition, raw. Cooked they add depth to vegetable and as well as meaty stews, stocks and soups. I have had a lot of fun with ground elder and its early flower buds, this year. Many recipes have evolved. Now, the flowers themselves are flavourful, and a little later the seeds, resembling fennel, but without its anise, are a year long spice rack staple.

Purple flowering raspberry - above - is the beautiful and indigenous Rubus odoratus. Its fruits are like flattened raspberries and look a lot like its close relative, thimble berry (Rubus parvifolius), which has white flowers. Wineberry (Rubus phoenicolasius), to be confusing, is an invasive cousin with glossy berries and very furry red canes.

We found late second year garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata) plants, setting seed. If you are patient enough to gather them, the dried seeds, contained in those narrow pods, are a very good and hot mustard.

 Good walker, taking notes.

And after all the walking and talking, we get to picnic. We shared a yogurt ramp cheese with mugwort crackers, quails eggs with ground elder and mugwort dipping salts, cattail pollen and honey and elder cordial madeleines, and serviceberry tartlets. A bucket of ice each would have been a nice touch. One day.

While the scheduled walks have come to a close as I work on my wild foods recipe book, the door is still open for pop up walks and impromptu cocktail strolls. If you would like to be on my mailing list, please get in touch. You can also follow my daily foraging adventures on Instagram, @66squarefeet.

(For the photos, thank you to Michael Grimm, who joined the walk and took many pictures, despite the dark looks I gave him.)