I've been out foraging. Not from the hedgerows, but from parks, canal banks and graveyards.
I've been out foraging. Not from the hedgerows, but from parks, canal banks and graveyards. There's a lot to be gathered from open spaces. I've yet to find wood sorrel or expensive truffles, but I've gathered wild garlic and strawberries, nettles, elderflowers, blackberries and cherries.
I cycle to and from work along a canal towpath. It's a lovely way to travel, and I feel somehow part of the seasonal shift throughout the year. I know spring has arrived when I see the first dandelions push through the ground. (I love dandelion leaves. There're so crunchy and refreshing after a winter of meagre salads. The trick is to pick them before they flower, after which they can taste bitter.) Then the nettles and wild garlic appear (which together make a delicious soup). Before I know it I'm dodging blackberries, pears and plums on the towpath instead of ice and snow.
Just last night my girlfriend came home with a bag of cherries she'd plucked from a tree in our local park. They were delicious and sweet, not like the fat, flavourless cherries currently in the shops. Even with attention from the birds there was still plenty for us.
Of course, not every foraging trip or cookery experiment works brilliantly the first time. Once my mum and I gathered rosehips to make rosehip jam. Rosehips are wonderfully rich in vitamin C, and you can make all sorts of soothing concoctions from them for sore throats and colds. But we made jam. We spent about two hours cutting them up and removing all the seeds and hairs (the hairs are incredibly itchy and it turned out we didn't need to do it because you have to sieve it all anyway). They took ages to soften and the whole process took all day, rewarding us with one jar of very average-tasting jam for our efforts.
Most recently I made elderflower cordial that fermented and smelled of stale beer. I drank it anyway, though no-one else would (except my mum, but that's what mums are for).
That aside, the best thing about foraging is feeling at one with nature, even if you live in a big, smelly city. It's the best antidote to city life I know.
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