They are down from their home in Aberdeen to start their very exciting adventure. They will be cycling around Britain, visiting permaculture centres and throwing seed bombs. All part of Operation Seed Bomb Britain By Bicycle . I had made some shortbread crunch bars (my own creation and recipe to follow) to sustain the three of them on their journey (for a few days anyway) and, packing them up with a card and piece of reflective gear, I set out to meet them in Finsbury Park.
We were meeting a group of people who had gathered to do a foraging walk along the Parkland Walk. The walk was organised by Urban Harvest and with the weather failing to produce rain, the conditions were great for finding lots of greens that could be gathered for free. Living in the economic slump that we are, I find the idea of getting some edible greenery from nature very appealing, and at this time of year there is a bounty of fresh Spring greens that can be harvested. I took notes and photos as the leaders stopped and showed us various plants so here is my take on the urban harvest.
Please note, eating wild plants without someone who knows which plant is which or training is not advised. This post is merely a collection of my experiences today and is not intended to be a field guide.
Common Hogweed Heracleum sphondylium
Not to be confused with giant hogweed which is incredibly toxic and easy to identify as it is generally, well, giant.
You can reach into the heart of the plant and pluck out the fresh, unfurled, stems. Steam them like you would asparagus and dress with a drizzle of olive oil and they offer a delicious vegetable. I think you could easily replace broccoli with this vegetable. The use of the hogweed doesn't end there though. When the umbels of flowers have been pollinate, the seed head develops. If you get them young enough, whilst they are green, you can eat them raw or even better put them into pickling vinegar to a delicious citrus tang. The older seeds can be ground and included in a herb rub for meats etc.
The young leaves can be chopped up and incorporated into a stir fry if you like.
Dandelions Taraxacum officinale
The old wives tale of bed wetting when you pick these isn't strictly true, their diuretic properties isn't that strong.
You can eat the leaves but unless you cover them when they are young to keep them white and pale, they will have a very bitter flavour. I've not tasted dandelion sap since I was a child, but it isn't nice. The petals however can be sprinkled into a salad for colour. Dandelion roots are best harvested in the Autumn, to then be used for root beer.
More common in Cornwall.
I'd never heard of this before but apparently it was, like many things, brought over by the Romans. It's flavour when eaten raw is like a mild celery. I really liked it and would consider growing it at my allotment, edible wild flowers are much more fun to grow in my opinion.
I didn't try the leaves but you can eat them apparently. I'd imagine that they are best when really young and before the tannins have built up in them as with other tree leaves. Other than that, they were a nice white bloom to look at when we walked along the path.
Not only a delicious black berry to eat in late summer, you can pick and dry the leaves to make bramble tea.
Pick the tips as they have not only the best flavour but also the thorns on those parts of the plant are soft. Pop them into a paper bag and hang it in a window which gets sunshine. Shake the bag every now and then to aerate the leaves. When they are dry, crumble them up and brew them in the same way you would make tea.
This is one that I'm a bit unsure of, it was edible and had a soft texture (like a marshmallow ironically), but it didn't have that much flavour. Add it to salads perhaps?
I didn't know this plant existed and was surprised to learn it is considered to be a pest of a plant. The flavour is stronger than wild garlic and has lingered with me all day, very delicious!
As you can see, the leaf is like a triangular prism, thus its name. I have a mighty bunch of this and will no doubt be stinking all week when I take it into work as a soup.
Along the route we saw this happy chap leaning out of a railroad arch,
Say hello to the Green Man, smiling down on us gathering his bounty.
This plant grows prolifically around the UK and is another one that is regarded as a weed by many. It had a peppery/citrus flavour. I can imagine it being quite tasty with fish, or in savoury scones.
Finally the end of our walk had a monster of a plant, revered and hated by many gardeners.
This plant is incredibly invasive and huge effort is needed to eradicate it. The problem is the structural damage the rhizome does to buildings and the rhizome is very large it takes a lot to kill it off.
It is edible apparently and tastes like rhubarb.
The issue with harvesting it, we were told, is that if it has been identified and is being killed off then it would be very toxic to eat due to the chemicals being used. Were you able to find a patch that hadn't been then perhaps it would be okay to eat. I'm not saying go and find it and certainly don't grow it, but I was very surprised that it was a plant that could be eaten.
We got to the end and went to the home of the sister of one of the guides for treats and tastings.
Forage topped bread, now that was a tasty slice!
It was washed down with,
Fennel seed infused vodka, it tasted like Pernod! I will be making this from the fennel I have growing in my herb bed at the allotment I think.
Finally we had some sweet treats,
Transition tarts, mini tarts made with vegan pastry, using British flour and oil and so called because they are made from the last apples from last Autumn and rhubarb from this Spring, so a transition of fruits (not that rhubarb is a fruit!).
Overall I had a great time and would recommend anyone to join them on their next forage. Check out their website for more information.
Good luck and much love to my cousin on her journey, be safe Laura and bike defensively.
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