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Top Ten Edible Wild Plants
A Journey of Deep Nature Connection
This book is dedicated to the plant wisdom of our indigenous ancestors, those who
were the caretakers of our Earth in honor of the future generations.
First Edition
eBook © 2014 Twin Eagles Wilderness School
All Rights Reserved.
By reading this guide, you agree Twin Eagles Wilderness School, Tim Corcoran,
and Jeannine Tidwell are not responsible for any use or misuse of the information
contained within this guide. This content is provided for informational purposes
and is not meant to substitute for the advice provided by your physician or other
medical professional. You should not use this information for diagnosing or
treating a health problem, disease or injury, or prescribing any medication. If you
have or suspect that you have a health problem, serious or otherwise, promptly
contact your health care provider. Information and statements regarding plants
have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration and are not
intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. You agree to work with
plants responsibly and safely for yourself and others.
Table of Contents
Why Learn Edible Wild Plants? .......................................................................... 3
How to Use this Guide ........................................................................................ 6
An Edible Wild Plant Primer ............................................................................. 10
Dandelion ........................................................................................................... 16
Broad-leaf Plantain ............................................................................................ 20
Cattail ................................................................................................................. 24
Stinging Nettle ................................................................................................... 28
Chickweed.......................................................................................................... 32
Red Clover ......................................................................................................... 37
Spearmint ........................................................................................................... 41
Common Burdock ............................................................................................. 44
Wild Strawberry ................................................................................................. 49
Wild Ginger ........................................................................................................ 52
Conclusion ......................................................................................................... 56
2
Why Learn Edible Wild Plants?
Edible wild plants present a powerful opportunity to all of us living in the modern
world to live a richer, more connected life. By taking the journey of eating wild
plants, we’re able to experience a vibrant state of health in body, mind, heart, and
spirit.
We reconnect with our earth based ancestry, and step into partnership with nature
once again. We take a step into responsibility for our nutritional needs, rather than
live in dependence of grocery stores,
farms, roadways, telecommunication &
power grids. We empower ourselves,
our family, and community as we
journey back to the simple roots of what
it means to be a human being living on
planet Earth.
In that way, we experience an
archetypal connection of what it means
to be a provider that brings with it an
unspeakably deep sense of belonging, meaning, and purpose to our lives. We
step closer to our original birthright, becoming fully human.
That is why we wrote this eBook, because we’ve enjoyed this level of deep
connection for years, and it is our passion to share that with you! Whether it is
learning to eat a dandelion greens salad for this first time, or going out on a
weeklong wild edibles quest, our great hope is that you connect with the essence
of the wild plants, the Earth, community, family, and self.
Nez Perce woman gathering Camas bulbs
3
Learning edible wild plants will give you confidence and peace of mind in an
emergency. Being able to provide wild food for yourself, your family, and
community is authentic security.
Whether you’re learning edible wild plants to experience a superhuman state of
health, to connect deeply with nature, or for wilderness survival, this journey is
sure to bring you to a place of living life to the fullest!
One of the reasons so many people love edible wild plants is that they're free. The
fact that you can get fresh food in season that has higher nutrient content than
store bought foods for less or no cost is pretty wonderful.
Store bought food has often been farmed using less than holistic practices, then
harvested before it is actually read to eat, then processed using dangerous
elements and processes, and then packaged and sat on a shelf for a long time
before you get to it.
Eating wild plants means seeing your food
in its natural environment, building
relationships with the plants, ethically
harvesting, minimal & holistic processing (if
any), and eating fresh. The full range of
nutrients, vitamins, and minerals are
present in the wild foods, and the tastes of
wild edible food is more complex and
delicious. The qualities of wild edible plants
also stimulate digestive juices that cause
you to assimilate the food more easily.
Wild Edible Salad
4
Building this kind of relationship to nature lends itself organically to connecting
deeply with family and friends. Some of our most treasured moments of
connection have happened while harvesting cattail roots and picking nettle leaves.
The experience of wild edibles connects you to nature in a very powerful way. It
asks you to slow down from the rushed pace of the modern world and step into
timelessness. Developing relationships with wild edible plants will bring greater
meaning to your life, and greater health to your body, mind, heart and spirit. That
is good medicine that we all need!
5
How to Use this Guide
Rather than looking at this as just another eBook, consider it a mentor. The
information, and more importantly the processes, that we suggest here will guide
you on a deep journey of connection. Take your time as you read through this
guide, and allow it to inspire you into action. We’re going for a change in practices
here, which will result in new outcomes in your life.
Always consider the big picture as you learn plants. Approach them as you would
a wild animal – carefully and cautiously with awareness. Where are they growing?
What is their natural cycle? Can you envision them growing from seed to stalk to
leaves to flower to fruit and back to seed? How do they relate to the rest of the
natural world? Are they common or rare?
How might picking them impact not just that
particular species, but the ecological
community that they are a part of? Take on
the mindset of the caretaker, almost like a
gardener of the wild, so that your actions
cause these flowering friends to flourish for
future generations.
There have been more than a few times when we’ve been very excited to discover
a new wild edible plant, but decided not to harvest it because it wasn’t growing in
enough abundance to warrant being harvested.
Most of all, get outside and start experiencing these edible wild plants!
The learning is in the doing.
Ponderosa Pine forest w/ Arrowleaf Balsamroot
6
Our Secret Most guides out there will just start you off learning plants in a fairly isolated
manner. Sure, you might acquire basic knowledge, but the deeper connections
are often missed entirely.
If you really want an advantage, and a deeper connection, adopt one place in
nature that you return to in all times of day, in all kinds of weather, in all the
different seasons. Go to this place regularly, at least three times a week for at
least 30 minutes at a time, and just observe.
We call this a “Sit Spot” or “Secret Spot”.
Open your senses and lose your mind.
Really. Quiet your mind and actually be
present to the natural world. Notice the
plants, and how they respond to different
weather/times of day/times of year.
Here is where you really begin to build a
deep relationship with the plants, and
experience them for what they are – richly interconnected with all of life. An initial
goal is to truly learn one plant deeply, that is build an intimate relationship with it.
That depth of connection will be transferable to other plants as your journey
continues.
Over time, you’ll learn – and more importantly deeply connect – with the plants of
this place. As you combine this deep connection with practically applied species
knowledge, you’ll develop an intuitive ability to determine how much and when to
harvest, in the way of a caretaker. As time progresses, your relationship with your
sit spot will flourish, and you’ll likely experience it as a treasured friend.
The Sit Spot
7
A good sit spot will be convenient, that is you can get to it easily enough that you
won’t later use the distance as a reason for not going. Natural edges – where
water meets land, where forest meets field, etc. are always more diverse, and
make great sit spots.
Remember, the most important thing is to go to your sit spot! Do what you need to
in order to make it work.
Processing the Experience As you learn and build lasting relationships to the edible wild plants, take the time
to reflect and integrate your experience. Reflect on the following:
What was my experience? What went well? What did I find challenging?
What am I learning from this experience? About plants, myself, and nature?
How is that like the rest of my life? What is the bigger life lesson here?
This is where the gold is. Modern brain science and native wisdom agree that we
humans learn most through recapitulation – that is we learn most by actively
looking back at our experience.
We encourage you to reflect deeply on these questions in a journal, or with a
friend or family member. If you really want to succeed, make a commitment to
someone as a plant partner. Go out and build relationships to the plants together,
then come back and process your experience with one another. Some of our
greatest times of learning have happened in such a context.
Take the time to draw pictures of the plants you are learning. Not by copying from
what you’re looking at, but by using a process called mind’s eye journaling. Look
at the plant. Really look at it. Notice shapes, colors, shadow, edges, texture, light,
8
and more. Close your eyes. Can you picture the plant, in every detail, as if you
were looking at it? Open your eyes and check. What did you get right? What
didn’t you notice? Keep doing this until you’ve got it all down.
Then go and draw your picture from this mind’s eye image. This is one of the
most deep and powerful ways of learning. This not only builds a very practical
muscle of actually noticing more, but also supports our journey as visionaries and
creators of tomorrow’s solutions. Again, modern science and native wisdom agree
that this process of mind’s eye journaling is excellent training for creative leaders
and visionaries.
Our indigenous ancestors had the process of reflection and integration built into
tribal life. Elders would hold space for the youth, as they asked them questions
like those written above. Thousands of years living close to the Earth taught them
the wisdom to ask artful questions from a place of care for the younger
generations. They knew that by asking good questions, and then listening to the
stories that the youth responded with, the youth’s journey of connection would
deepen and they would come into authentically greater relationship with the plants,
and all of the natural world.
This would influence their future role as leader and caretakers. This was a major
cultural element of how our earth based ancestors functioned, and successfully
maintained a regenerative culture. We have much to learn here. At Twin Eagles
Wilderness School, we consciously integrate this and other cultural elements into
not just what we teach, but how we teach. We notice that our modern community
tends to flourish in this context. This is one way that we can model ourselves after
our earth based ancestors, and bring back the deep social ties that so many long
for.
9
An Edible Wild Plant Primer
In this section we offer some important big picture information to integrate before
you set off learning the top ten edible wild plants. Check it out:
Hazard Alert – Poisonous Plants! There are wild plants out there deadly
enough to kill you. Did you know that if
ingested, just a pea sized chunk of water
hemlock root can kill an adult human?
Wow. Take your time here.
We have intentionally chosen the species
on our top ten list in part because they
don’t have poisonous look-a-likes. That makes them that much safer.
In the big scheme of things, poisonous plants are quite rare, relatively speaking.
You’re more likely to get hurt from a car accident, so long as you take the time to
learn and respect the poisonous plants in your bioregion. There are probably just
a handful that you need to know.
We’ve designed this guide for beginners, so you can feel safe learning and eating
any of the wild edible plants on our top ten list. However as your learning journey
progresses, be sure to learn the poisonous plants that are out there before going
much further with edible wild plants.
Once you learn the poisonous plants, it makes learning edibles easy, because
you've already "weeded out" the poisonous ones. We highly recommend you get
your hands on Peterson's Field Guide to Venomous Animals and Poisonous
Deadly poisonous Water Hemlock
10
Plants by Roger Caras and Steven Foster. This book will be your ally in identifying
poisonous plants.
How to Identify Wild Edibles It’s important to learn basic plant identification skills before gathering and eating
anything. There are many plant look-a-likes and you need to identify with 100%
certainty the one you're looking for. While it’s true that most plants are not
poisonous enough to kill you, there are plenty that will make you sick if ingested in
the wrong way.
You'll discover that it’s necessary to know which parts of the plants are actually
edible, and that there are certain processing and cooking techniques needed to
make your wild plants safe to eat.
People tend to overreact to hazards, so put what we’re saying in context here.
Apple and cherry seeds are toxic to humans if ingested in enough quantity, and we
have just learned not to eat them, and now take that knowledge for granted.
Some of the best ways to practice identifying edible wild plants is to learn the
plants in their various phases of growth. You can do this by visiting your sit spot
throughout the seasons. This will give you a chance to observe the plants in their
different stages. From there, journal the plants, using your mind’s eye, and use
field guides as a resource for learning.
This guide will give you a good introduction to basic plant identification skills.
Again, as you progress beyond the edible wild plants covered in this guide, we
encourage you to deepen your plant identification skills. We recommend checking
out Newcomb's Wildflower Guide by Lawrence Newcomb. This book has a simple
key system that makes it very easy to identify plants.
11
Harvesting Wild Edible Plants – How, When, and Ethics It's important to have the proper outlook when gathering wild edible plants. Being
honorable, sensitive, appreciative, and aware of the plants and animals that live
and breathe through the landscape every day is an essential part of that
perspective. When you gather from a plant, collect at most 5% of the plant stand
where you are. That way the plant can reproduce and maintain its integral role in
the larger ecosystem.
Our earth based ancestors took the time to give thanks for the life of the wild
edible plants. Imagine feeling their heartfelt gratitude of seeing the first burst of
chickweed leaves in early spring after a long hard winter. Life was literally being
renewed in front of their very eyes. How could one experience such a thing
without profound gratitude?
Life is so full of stress and challenges. Spending time in nature, slowing down,
and opening up our senses becomes good medicine for our all too often rushed
lives. Experiencing the beauty, simplicity, power, and life essence of edible wild
plants is inspiring! Authentic gratitude is a natural response, and sets the stage for
ethically harvesting edible wild plants. Of course we would want to conserve these
treasures.
When you gather plants in their appropriate stages, you create a beneficial
symbiotic relationship with you and the plant. You wouldn't want to gather the plant
in the wrong phase of its life cycle because the plant is busy investing its life
energy in its other parts. For example, you wouldn't want to harvest roots in the
middle of the summer because all the energy in the plant is above ground, working
hard to grow the stalk and leaves.
12
The general rule of thumb for gathering edible wild plants in season:
• Gather leaves in spring and summer
• Gather fruits in late summer and fall
• Gather seeds after flowering in late summer and fall
• Gather roots in late fall and winter
When you gather, it's nice to have a container or basket, a tool for cutting the
plants or a shovel for gathering roots. The methods are different for gathering each
plant and its parts simply because each plant is unique. Over time, you'll learn how
to become more sensitive to the plant and more efficient with your time and
energy.
For example, when harvesting burdock
roots, you’ll quickly discover that the soil
type makes a huge impact on how easy
or difficult they are to harvest. They will
pop right out of soft muddy soil, but they
will hang on for dear life in hard and rocky
ground. As well, you’ll find that a digging
stick makes harvesting those roots much
easier.
Processing Edible Wild Plants So you've gathered some amazing and beautiful wild edible plants; now it’s time to
process them. If the plant needs washing, depending on what kind of plant it is,
gently rinse the plant material in cool, clean water. For drying your bounty, there
are many ways of hanging, lying ,or drying such as using screens, paper bags,
bundled bunches, or food dehydrators. It’s mostly berries that get frozen although
Freshly harvested Common Burdock plants
13
you can freeze leaves as well. We have a variety of approaches and recipes
included in this guide to help you get started.
Tasting the Wild! Eating your Harvest Some plants can be appreciated when you combine them with others and some
plants are wonderfully savored on their own. Some are solely edible while others
are also medicinal. During your research with this eBook and beyond, be sure to
get to know the properties of the plant you’ll be working with.
Consider taking a moment to presence gratitude once again for your harvest. Feel
the connection with the food you're eating and send your mind's eye back to the
spot where it grew. Can you recall all the details of that special place? Can you still
smell the aroma of that patch of woods? Can you feel the same feeling in your
body as you did back there? This powerful connection includes you in the system
of giving and receiving, life and death.
Some plants need cooking before eating and some don't. It's different for each
plant so here's where research comes into the picture. Once you've got a body of
experience with wild edible plants, try to practice foraging and browsing on wild
edibles directly in the field, like the other animals do. Again, using recipes for
cooking edible plants is a great way to learn and experiment!
14
The Top Ten List of Edible Wild Plants OK, all set? With no further ado, we now present our top ten list of edible wild
plants:
1. Dandelion
2. Broad-leaf Plantain
3. Cattail
4. Stinging Nettle
5. Chickweed
6. Red clover
7. Spearmint
8. Common Burdock
9. Wild Strawberry
10. Wild Ginger
In the section below, each of these ten plants is expanded upon at length. Take
your time as you learn about these plants, and put what you learn into practice!
15
Dandelion
Dandelion is a very common plant. You
can find it almost anywhere. It’s a
perennial plant which means it comes
back year after year from the same root.
You can’t mistake dandelion. It has been
called the supermarket of the lawn
because literally every part of the plant is
edible. In the spring dandelion flower
heads are bursting with tiny yellow flower
petals splashing lawns, fields and meadows everywhere.
Field Marks • Green toothed leaves growing from the base of the plant.
• Grows 2 – 18” tall.
• Yellow flowers packed with petals.
• Seed heads: Tiny brown seeds are embedded in an airy sphere of silvery
fuzz, 1-2” wide.
Poisonous Look-a-Likes • None.
Flowering and Fruiting Season • Flowers spring and summer.
16
Habitat • Roadsides, woods, meadows, lawns, parks, in sidewalks.
• They love growing in low grass.
• Prefer moist soil and full sun.
Range • Throughout North America.
How to Harvest • Leaves: clip off leaves in the spring and summer.
• Flowers: pluck off flower heads in spring and summer.
• Roots: 1 – 2” around the leaves dig 6” or more straight down into the soil to
loosen and pull roots out.
How to Process • Leaves: Rinse in cool water and pat dry.
• Flowers: Pull the yellow flower petals out from the small green leaves
(sepals) surrounding them, then rinse in cool water and pat dry.
• Roots: Scrub well, peel if desired, rinse and let dry.
How to Preserve • Leaves, stems and flower petals can be frozen for later use in a container
or zip lock bag.
• Leaves and roots can be dried on screens.
• Store roots in an airtight container or glass jar for later use.
17
Dandelion Recipes Dandelion Salad
• Gather a hearty handful of small, young dandelion leaves. Wash and rinse.
Add to salad and toss with salad dressing (our favorite is extra virgin olive
oil and balsamic vinegar). The slight bitter taste of dandelion leaves help
stimulate and activate digestive juices, thus strengthening your digestion
overall.
Dandelion Root Coffee • In the fall and early spring the dandelion roots are storing the highest
amount vitamin A, C, iron and calcium. Thus, this is the best time to brew
up a cup of dandelion coffee. With a garden spade or shovel dig down
around the leaves and loosen the soil. The dandelion roots should pull up
fairly easily once the soil has been loosened.
• Once you’ve processed the roots (see above), roast in the oven at 125
degrees (or your oven’s lowest setting) until roots are dry. Grind in a coffee
grinder. Steep 1 tsp. in one cup of boiling water. Steep for 20 minutes or
more. Let cool and drink by itself or add cream and sweetener if desired.
You might just not drink regular coffee again after drinking this herbal elixir!
• Dandelion roots have many medicinal benefits as well. Dandelion root tea is
great for kidney and bladder ailments because it helps to eliminate toxins.
Dandelion also helps with weight loss, weak digestion and due to its high
fiber content, it also helps with constipation. Dandelion has a lot of vitamin
C in it which is good for the health of your liver. Try this drink even as an all-
around tonic or blood purifier for cleansing.
18
Dandelion Fritters Ingredients
• 2 cups dandelion flowers, rinsed
• 1 ¼ cups flour
• 1 egg
• 1 cup milk of any kind
• Olive oil, canola oil or butter
Preparation
• Combine flour, egg and milk and mix well. You can add a little more flour if
you want your batter to be thicker. Heat olive oil in skillet. Dip dandelion
flower heads into batter until completely covered and lay into skillet. Cook
just like pancakes to the brownness you like. Serve warm with dandelion
blossom syrup or other syrup, honey or applesauce. Dining on dandelion
fritters will re-awaken dreams of warm and balmy summer days when the
wind blows the dandelion seeds up to the sky, inviting you to float with
them.
Dandelion is a tremendously powerful plant. They are adaptable and courageous
anchors holding the soil with their long and hardy roots. They disperse themselves
by their umbrella-like seeds, floating through the air through many kinds of
weather only to plant themselves in the soil and take root under just about any
kind of condition. They’re like the networkers of the field and forest. Dandelions
are living legends in their own right.
19
Broad-leaf Plantain
Look down on lawns everywhere in the
spring and summer and you’ll find the
Broad-leaf plantain. Plantain leaves make
a great addition to wild salads, and their
seeds are full of Vitamin E which is a
natural mosquito repellant. When you’ve
got a wasp or bee sting on your hands at
the height and in the heat of the season
it’s plantain that will bring you immediate relief. Once you start searching around
for plantain it naturally becomes easy to find.
Field Marks • Long, oval and ribbed green leaves all growing from the base of the plant.
• 6 – 18” tall - tightly packed greenish-white flower head.
• Tiny indistinguishable flowers packed on a spiked body.
Poisonous Look-a-Likes • None.
Flowering and Fruiting Season • Late spring to early fall.
20
Habitat • Lawns, meadows, grasslands, roadsides and even disturbed areas.
• Prefer sunlight and moist soils though can survive in dry soils.
• Can be found growing near dandelion and/or clover.
Range • Throughout North America, except parts of far north.
How to Harvest • In the spring pluck young leaves from the base of the plant.
• In summer and fall, select the smaller, younger leaves for best results.
How to Process • Wash leaves and let dry.
How to Preserve Dry
• Lay out on a screen in full sun or a dehydrator for best results.
Freeze
• Blanch leaves by plunging them into boiling water for just a few seconds
and then follow with a quick dip in ice water for a few seconds. Dry them off
and place in a container in the freezer for future soups, stews or stir fry.
• This process sets the color of the plant without actually cooking it all the
while preserving the plant’s texture.
• Boil for 10 – 15 minutes when you thaw them for future use.
21
Broad-leaf Plantain Recipes Plantain Seasoning
Ingredients
• ½ Tbsp. sesame oil
• ½ Tbsp. Braggs or soy sauce
• ½ garlic clove
• A handful of roasted plantain seeds
Preparation
• Mix and let rest for 5 minutes. Enjoy sprinkled over rice, pasta or salad or
anything you’d like to try it as a condiment on!
Plantain Salad • Gather the fresh young plantain leaves in the spring and early summer.
Wash and dry. Add to your salad and toss with salad dressing. It’s that
simple!
Plantain Poultice • One of the simplest ways of letting plants heal wounds and injuries is
through making a poultice. Just chew up the leaf well and put it on the
wound, then cover with a Band-Aid to keep the plant matter in place over
the wound. Saliva and the moisture in your mouth contain many anti-
bacterial properties.
22
I (Jeannine) once took a walk in the woods with a group of children I was leading
at one of our summer camps. A young girl, Marina, suddenly got stung by a yellow
jacket that had emerged from a log she had stepped over. I described plantain to
the kids and lo and behold another child, Anna, wandered off and found a bunch
swiftly.
I had Marina chew it up and place the leaf poultice directly on the sting area and
sure enough she calmed down immediately. The medicine acted quickly. We then
sat for a while and shared with each other the amazing relationship that plantain
has with wasps and bees and the dependency that humans have with plantain as
a result of something like a wasp or bee sting. What started off as a challenging
situation turned out to be a moment of deep connection for all of us!
23
Cattail
Cattail has been affectionately called the
supermarket of the swamp. It is a very
important and common wild food, with a
variety of uses at different times of year.
Beyond its edible qualities, it has various
medicinal and utilitarian uses as well.
Field Marks • Green spike in spring leading to a brown spiked flower by the end of
summer and a fluffy brown seed head in the fall, up to 27” long.
• Long green sheath-like leaves growing up to 10 feet long.
• Stands up to 10 feet tall.
Poisonous Look-a-Likes • None.
Flowering and Fruiting Season • Late spring all through summer.
Habitat • Prefers open direct sunlight.
• Loves to grow in wet, damp soils, swamps and water.
Range • Throughout North America.
24
How to Harvest • To gather early shoots: In springtime, find the base of the plant and look for
the young green leaves poking out from the center. Harvest the shoots that
have not started flowering at the top yet. While mucilaginous and sticky,
with a good grip to the inner core they should pull right out with a good tug
to them.
• To gather cattail pollen: In summertime, bend the flower head at an angle
and put a paper bag over it. Lightly shaking will release the pollen into your
sack. It helps if you gather on a non-windy day. You could also try dusting
the pollen into your hands. See what works right for you.
• To gather roots: get a shovel and dig last year’s roots in the springtime. You
need to dig down quite deep as they are firmly planted deep in the mud and
other kinds of soil. You’ll get a good work out from digging up cattail roots
but keep working at it and they’ll come up.
How to Process • Shoots: Once you rinse them off well and peel them, they are ready to eat
as is like cucumber or asparagus. You can also add them to soups, salads
or stir fry. There’s a lot of Vitamin C and other vitamins and minerals in
these shoots.
• Roots: After washing them, you’ll either need to peel off the outer skin and
then lay them out to dry for pounding out the starch, or you can put the
roots in a large container of water and work to loosen the starch from the
roots for a bit, then let the water settle. After a while the starch will settle to
the bottom of your container and you can pour out the water and keep the
starch. You can thicken soups with this and it’s delicious. Alternatively, you
can mix this starch in with flours for various baked goods.
25
How to Preserve • Pollen: store in an airtight container in a cool place. Pollen can be put into
yogurt, applesauce, pancakes, bread, muffins or other kind of baking. You
won’t need to buy that bee pollen from the health food store anymore!
Cattail Recipes Asian Cattail Shoots
Ingredients
• ½ tsp. Plum vinegar
• 1 tsp. Braggs or tamari soy sauce
• ½ - 1 tsp. shredded ginger, to taste
• 1 Tbsp. Sunflower or other oil
• 1 cup cattail fresh cattail shoots,
washed, diced
• Toasted sesame seeds (for topping)
Preparation
• Mix first four ingredients together. Pour over cattail shoots as a drizzle.
Garnish with toasted sesame seeds.
• I (Jeannine) have made and served this many times at parties and events
and it makes a knock out side dish! People will be ooohing and ahhhing like
crazy over not just the novelty but the taste of this unique wild food!
26
Cattail Pollen Biscuits Ingredients
• 1 cup pastry flour
• 1 cup cattail pollen
• ¼ cup butter
• 1 Tbsp. honey or sugar
• 3 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• ¾ cup milk
Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 450 °.
2. Put flour, cattail pollen, salt, baking powder, and butter in a blender until it
turns to crumbs or a fine meal consistency. You can also do this by hand
with a fork and achieve roughly the same results.
3. Add honey or sugar plus the milk and mix until the dough is lumpy.
4. Shape into biscuits and bake on ungreased cookie sheet 10-12 minutes
until golden brown.
Cattail is a very versatile plant. The stalks have been used for arrows, the leaves
can be used for weaving and crafts and the flower heads can be used for helping
to make fire. And this is just the beginning. Medicinally speaking, cattail shoots are
loaded with beta carotene, niacin, potassium and Vitamin C. The mucilaginous gel
found in between the bases of cattail leaves can be used for wounds and sores
and can soothe pain just like aloe vera gel. The pounded roots make a powerful
poultice to put on wounds, sores, blisters and boils. This plant is unstoppable!
27
Stinging Nettle
Stinging Nettle can never be forgotten.
This very unique plant derives its name
from its characteristic trait of giving off a
sting when you touch the tiny invisible
stinging hairs on their stalk, which rise
from a gland and give off formic acid. It’s
a common perennial plant with tons of
uses and grows in many diverse places.
Field Marks • Spring: abundant concentrations of dark green serrated leaves growing
opposite each other 1 – 2 feet tall.
• Summer: Growing 7 - 8 feet tall.
• Tiny greenish-white drooping flowers arranged in clusters on slender
branched spikes.
Poisonous Look-a-Likes • None.
Flowering and Fruiting Season • Flowers: Summer to early fall.
• Fruits and Seeds: small, dry, oval-shaped yellow grayish brown fruit with
one seed
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Habitat • Stinging Nettle prefers moist woodlands and shady nutrient-rich soils
• They produce more seed in full sun.
• Often seen growing near catnip, burdock, or yellow dock plants.
Range • Widely distributed throughout the United States, Canada, and northern
most Mexico.
How to Harvest • If you are new to harvesting stinging nettle gather using gloves to protect
yourself from getting stung.
• Pinch off the tops of the plant in the springtime.
How to Process • Rinse and steam or boil for 2 – 3 minutes to remove the sting.
How to Preserve • Can also be dried for tea for later use. Drying removes the sting.
• Drying: Tie in a bundle and hang upside down in mid-air or place in a paper
sack and close up completely.
• Once dry, store in an air tight container.
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Stinging Nettle Recipes Pickled Nettles
Ingredients
• A handful of stinging nettles
• Apple cider vinegar
• Glass jar with a tight fitting lid
Preparation
• Gather a good handful of nettles. Wash and rinse them well. Pack them into
a glass jar and pour apple cider vinegar over them until they are covered
completely. Let sit in a cool dark place for up to at least 4 weeks. Shake
occasionally. Then drain the vinegar from the nettles and enjoy!
Steamed Nettles Ingredients
• Heaping handful of the new shoots and leaves of stinging nettles
• Steamer pot with lid
• Water
Preparation
• Gather a heaping handful of the new shoots and leaves of nettles. Rinse
thoroughly. Loosely chop them up and place in a steamer full of water.
Steam for 5 minutes or until nettles turn a dark green color. Eat like spinach
and drink the excess water like a tea. Nettle tea is great for aiding digestion
and stimulating the appetite.
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Spring is the best time to harvest nettles for eating fresh. High in vitamin A,
calcium, magnesium, and even protein, Stinging Nettle is highly nutritious and a
great spring tonic. Stinging Nettle tea is a wonderful remedy for allergies that start
to come up in the springtime. Stinging Nettle is a very handy plant to have around
as it can also be harvested for making natural rope or cordage once the plant is
fully grown!
Over the years I (Jeannine) have found that after gathering and interacting with the
nettles plant so often I don’t need to wear gloves or use clippers to gather the plant
any more. I find that every time I tune in and become aware of how sensitive these
plants really are I never get stung and can gather easily by just pinching the tops
of the plant off with my two fingers. I hope you get to that point with stinging nettle
too. It’s very gratifying to be able to venture out to forage for plants with just your
bare hands and return with a bounty of incredibly delicious and nutritious plants!
As well, stinging nettle provides a good source of vitamin C, beta-carotene and B
complex vitamins. Stinging nettle greatly helps with anemia, poor circulation,
healing wounds, purifying the blood, giving relief to allergies, arthritis and more. By
collecting and eating nettles on a daily basis in its ideal gathering season you are
restoring your life energy and boosting your whole body with dense vitamins and
minerals. Your body will thank you for it, too!
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Chickweed
Chickweed is a common annual plant that
comes up in the springtime. This tender,
vibrant and succulent green plant is a
delicious addition to salads, and also
makes for a great pesto, and has
medicinal qualities as well!
Field Marks • 2 - 6 inches tall.
• Tiny little white 5 petaled flowers, each divided in two, to make it look like
ten petals.
• Elliptical leaves are up to 3” long and 1 ¼” in diameter growing opposite
each other.
Poisonous Look-a-Likes • None.
Flowering and Fruiting Season • It can be found flowering and growing at its best in the spring and
summertime.
Habitat • Can be found in gardens, farms, roadsides, woods and forests.
• Loves moist soil but can be found growing in drier soils as well.
• Loves sunlight but can easily grow in shade.
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Range • Widespread in North America.
How to Harvest • Harvest in the spring or summertime.
• Harvesting chickweed is really simple. Get a pair of scissors and tenderly
snip off the plant, leaves, stem, stalk and all. Think of it like trimming grass.
The whole plant is edible, and chickweed grows back no matter how much
you cut it. Just be sure to not pull out the roots.
How to Process • Entire plant: After rinsing you are ready to eat chickweed fresh or you can
boil or steam for 5 minutes and eat. It’s great stuffed into a sandwich or
added to salads.
How to Preserve • Chickweed is best preserved when it is cooked or added to some other dish
(a great example is pesto). Follow recipes below.
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Chickweed Recipes Fresh Chickweed Salad
Ingredients
• 3 cups chickweed leaves and stems
• 2 tsp. lemon juice
• 2 tsp. oil
• Salt and pepper to taste
Preparation
• Mix together oil and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper. Add
chickweed and toss evenly. Serve fresh.
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Chickweed Pesto Ingredients
• 3 medium garlic cloves
• ½ cup walnuts
• 3 cups packed chickweed
• ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon sea salt
• 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast (optional)
Preparation
• Blend garlic and nuts in food processor until coarsely chopped.
• Add remainder of ingredients to food processor and blend till desired
smoothness. Yields approximately one cup.
• Eat mixed into pasta, spread onto toast or in a sandwich or with anything
your creative palette guides you to add it to.
• This will last for about a week in the refrigerator. We like to freeze
chickweed pesto in a container for the winter.
• I (Jeannine) once guided a group of people through the woods searching
for chickweed for making pesto. Upon having the pesto made we all sat
down to eat it with crackers. After a few dips one young man said, “Skip the
crackers, let’s just eat the pesto!” Indeed, it’s that good!
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Chickweed Tincture Chickweed tincture is a medicine which is good for all kinds of ailments including
asthma, arthritis, bronchitis, conjunctivitis, inflammation and helps aid in sleep.
Ingredients
• A big handful of chickweed
• Glass jar
• Knife
• Cutting board
• 100 proof vodka
Preparation
1. Wash and dry off chickweed. Chop up well.
2. Put chickweed into a glass. Pour alcohol over it until it just covers it.
3. Put the lid on tightly and shake it up.
4. Let it sit in a cool dark place for 6 – 8 weeks. Shake daily or every few days.
Then drain the liquid from the chickweed and label. You are now ready to
use it whenever you need it!
5. You can take one dropper full with a glass of water, juice or milk once a day
as needed.
The fresh leaves of chickweed relieve sinus headaches. This plant is full of iron
and B vitamins. It also makes a fantastic healing salve for cuts, wounds, itching
and other skin problems. Its soothing potential is the result of this plant being so
tender and succulent.
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Red Clover
In the summer months these soft purple
flowers adorn the landscape. This
perennial plant is hardy, robust, flexible,
and world renowned as an anti-cancer
herb.
Field Marks • This perennial plant has a green
stalk up to 2 feet tall with leaves alternating each other and is divided into 3
parts or leaflets. Each leaf has a white stripe/chevron in the middle of the
leaf.
• Flowers are puffy purplish lavender colored.
• Noticeable brown fruits with seeds.
• Can grow up to 24 inches tall.
Poisonous Look-a-Likes • None.
Flowering and Fruiting Season • Spring to summer.
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Habitat • Lawns, roadsides, fields, edges, woods and forests.
• Red clover grows best in moist soils with direct sunlight.
• The typical red clover can be found growing with all the other notorious
edibles like dandelion and plantain.
Range • Throughout North America.
How to Harvest • Snip off the leaves in summer or fall.
• Pluck off flower heads in the summer or fall.
How to Process • Wash leaves and flowers, pat or let dry.
How to Preserve • After washing, the fresh leaves and flowers can be added to salads.
• Lay flowers out on a cookie sheet, paper towel or dry flat surface. Flowers
are ready for storage when they are dry and turning lightly brown on their
edges.
• Store in a glass jar or air tight container.
• The flowers are a great supplement to muffins, scones and other baked
goods.
• Flowers can also be dried for tea.
• Clover flowers make for a great infused honey as well as a cough syrup.
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Red Clover Recipes Red Clover Cornbread
Ingredients
• ¾ cup cornmeal
• 1 cup pastry flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• ¾ tsp. salt
• 1 egg
• 1 ¼ cup milk
• 2 Tbsp. oil
• ¼ cup honey or maple syrup
Preparation
• Blend wet ingredients well. Combine dry ingredients and add to wet. Mix in
red clover blossoms thoroughly. Pour into a greased and floured loaf pan.
Bake at 425 degrees for 25 – 30 minutes, or until toothpick comes out
clean. Top should be golden brown. This is a very moist and rich cornbread.
Clover Tea Ingredients
• 1 – 2 Tbsp. fresh or dry clover flowers
• 8 oz. Boiling water
Preparation
• Wash and pat dry clover flowers. Steep in boiling water for 20 minutes or
more. You now have an infusion ready to drink.
• This tea is good for asthma, purifying the blood, coughs, bronchitis and an
external wash for sores, burns, and athlete’s foot.
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Red clover is an herb that dates back several centuries as an internal and topical
medicine. It has often been used in balms and ointments for alleviating the pain of
eczema, psoriasis, sores and burns. Red clover flowers contain the anti-
inflammatory combinations of eugenol and salicylic acid which guards against
ailments like eczema. This is one of a plethora of the healing characteristics of red
clover.
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Spearmint
A naturalized species originally native to
Europe and Asia, this hardy and robust
plant is often thought of as a weed
however it truly deserves a higher rank.
With a pleasurable aroma spearmint
offers many possibilities for enjoyment.
Field Marks • Square-shaped stems.
• Toothed leaves 2 inches in length, opposite each other.
• Leaves have pointed tips or “spears” and are 2 – 4” long and up to 1” wide.
• Small tube-like flowers are a pale purple color and grow in clusters.
Poisonous Look-a-Likes • None.
Flowering and Fruiting Season • Flowers summer to early fall.
• Tiny brown round seeds appear in autumn.
Habitat • Found growing in waste places, moist fields, gardens, wetlands, fields,
meadows, woodlands and forests, near streams.
• Prefers moisture and light wet soil.
• Enjoys sun and some shade.
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Range • Throughout North America.
How to Harvest • In the summertime gather the leaves by gently plucking or pulling them from
the plant.
How to Process • Wash leaves and pat or let dry.
How to Preserve • Tie spearmint into a bundle and hang upside down for drying.
• Place spearmint in a paper sack. Close completely and let dry for several
weeks.
Spearmint Recipes Spearmint Sun Tea
Ingredients
• An abundant handful of fresh spearmint leaves.
• A large glass jar or pitcher full of water.
Preparation
• On a warm sunny day gather a plentiful handful of spearmint leaves. Rinse
thoroughly. Submerge in water and set out in the sun for a full day. Flavor
with honey as desired or savor the taste of spearmint on its own.
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Spearmint Cucumber Salad Ingredients
• ½ cup fresh spearmint leaves, washed and chopped
• 4 cucumbers
• ⅓ cup chopped red onions
• ½ cup white wine vinegar
• 4 Tbsp. olive oil
• 4 Tbsp. other vegetable oil
• 4 tsp. sugar
• 2 tsp. salt
• ½ tsp. pepper
Preparation
• Slice cucumbers in half lengthwise. Scrape out seeds. Cut into thin slices.
Toss cucumbers with salt in a colander and drain for 30 minutes. Lay
cucumbers on towel and pat dry.
• Soak red onions in bowl of ice water for 10 minutes. Drain. Meanwhile,
combine cucumbers, onions, white wine vinegar, olive and other vegetable
oil, sugar, pepper and spearmint. Taste and season as needed. Refrigerate
for 10 minutes or more before eating.
Spearmint is an amazing herb. It helps relieve motion sickness, nausea, irritable
bowel syndrome, head ache, colds and toothaches. Spearmint is high in Vitamin
A, C, calcium, iron, antioxidants, and vital nutrients. There are many compounds in
spearmint such as carvone, linalool, limonene and myrcene that relieve fatigue
and stress. It supports the respiratory and nervous systems, and is deeply
refreshing.
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Common Burdock
Famous in health food stores around the world,
burdock is known for its large taproot and often
considered a weed by many. This plant is an
all-around great edible offering interesting
texture and flavor to fresh salads, soups, stews
and stir fry. This biennial plant (having a two
year life cycle) grows basal leaves in its first
year and then sends up a flower stalk in its
second year.
Field Marks • Large green heart-shaped crinkly veined leaves that are hairy on top and
downy gray underneath.
• 1” Flowers look like burrs in clusters and are pink to purple in color.
• Burrs found on the outside of the flower heads have hooked tips that cling
to clothing, hair and other surfaces.
• Burdock grows up to 4 feet tall.
Poisonous Look-a-Likes • None.
Flowering and Fruiting Season • Flowers summer to early fall with seeds forming inside burrs.
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Habitat • Lawns and gardens, alleyways, roadsides, woodlands and forests,
disturbed sites.
Range • Widespread throughout United States and most of Canada.
How to Harvest • With a shovel, dig young burdock roots in its first year in the spring through
to the summer when they are still small and have not become too woody
yet.
• Dig around the leaves straight down into the ground 6 inches or more to
loosen the soil. Wiggle the leaves and root tops and pull straight up.
• Leaf and flower stalks are edible in early spring. Cut at the base of the
stalks before the plant flowers.
How to Process • Wash and scrub roots, leaf stalks, and flower stalks thoroughly.
• Peel outer bark of roots and outer rind of flower stalks, rinse clean.
• Lay flat to dry.
How to Preserve • Burdock roots can be pickled or canned for adding to soups and stews
later.
• Burdock roots, leaf stalks, and flower stalks can be sliced up and eaten raw
or boiled in water with a pinch of salt and eaten once soft.
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Common Burdock Recipes Burdock Stir Fry
Ingredients
• 1 – 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 2-3 burdock roots, washed, peeled, sliced
• 1 sweet bell pepper, washed and chopped
• 1 medium-sized onion
• 1 garlic clove
• ½ cup snap peas, washed and sliced
• Sesame seeds
• Soy sauce
• Rice or noodles
Preparation
1. Heat olive oil in a pan or skillet.
2. Peel and dice garlic and onion. Sauté in a skillet over medium heat.
3. Chop, slice and dish all vegetables into bite size pieces. Add to skillet.
Continue to cook over medium heat stirring and tossing often.
4. Once vegetables are fully cooked, flavor with soy sauce and garnish with
sesame seeds.
5. Serve over a bed of rice or noodles. Serves 2.
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Pickled Burdock Ingredients
• 4-5 medium size burdock roots
• Garlic cloves to taste, peeled and
cut into a few pieces
• Apple cider vinegar
• Tamari soy sauce or Bragg’s liquid
amino acids
Preparation 1. Scrub roots well to remove any dirt and then peel away the rough outer
skin. On larger roots, the outer layer can simply be peeled away by hand
though on smaller roots you can try using a vegetable peeler.
2. Cut roots into 1 inch long segments and then julienne them into matchstick
size strips. Alternately, you can slice the roots into thin rounds; about 1/8
inch thick if you prefer a larger sized pickle.
3. Place your prepared burdock into a pan and just cover with water. Bring the
water to a boil for 2-3 minutes (enough to soften the roots slightly) and then
remove from heat. Remove the roots and place them in a clean bowl,
reserving your cooking liquid.
4. Add the garlic to the burdock and mix well. Then divide this mixture into 2 or
3 sterilized pint size mason jars, filling them to about an inch from the top.
In each jar, you will then fill with equal parts apple cider vinegar, soy sauce,
and burdock cooking liquid. Cap tightly. At this point you can refrigerate
until ready to use, or place them in a pressure cooker or water bath to seal
and make them shelf-stable.
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Medicinal Burdock Tea Ingredients
• 2 tsp. fresh or dried burdock root
• 2 cups water
Preparation
• Simmer 1 tsp. of fresh or dried root per cup of water for 20 minutes. Drink
up to 1 cup per day. This tea is a great medicinal tea which promotes
healthy kidney function.
Burdock is rich in many vitamins and minerals such as iron, magnesium and
thiamine. It is a cooling, alkalizing plant used as a blood purifier and liver tonic.
Burdock is used for expelling uric acid from the body and thus, helps treat gout
and rheumatism.
Burdock not only helps with internal functions but also external as well. Eczema
and acne are just a few of the skin ailments that can be healed by burdock.
Burdock leaves are used for making salves and ointments for these and other skin
ailments.
Our immune systems respond and adapt to the changing of the seasons. The
immune and endocrine systems are like the control panel for the body and thus,
need our support in order to function properly. Because our bodies respond to
changing and inclement weather, stress and more, we need that extra support.
Burdock to the rescue! It’s considered a tonic because it gently tonifies and
strengthens the body, from the digestive tract and liver to the immune system and
lymphatics. For this reason, ingest a little burdock each day at the change of the
seasons (spring and fall) to support your body as it adapts to the seasonal
transition.
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Wild Strawberry
The taste and fragrance of the wild
strawberry is unforgettable. In the spring
and summertime these delectable little
plants crop up for the wild forager’s
delight. One thing that makes this plant
unique is that the wild strawberry is not a
true berry. A berry is a fruit that comes
from a solitary ovary. The strawberry
forms a vessel that holds the ovaries. All
those tiny little yellow seeds on the outside of the strawberry fruit is one of those
ovaries with a seed inside it.
Field Marks • Grows up to one foot tall.
• Oval leaves grow in three parts with serrated edges with silky hairs
underneath.
• Small oval white flowers with 5 petals surrounding a yellow center.
Poisonous Look-a-Likes • None.
Flowering and Fruiting Season • Flowers in springtime.
• Seeds and berries ripen in summertime.
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Habitat • Grows in shady areas near forests, open woods, meadows, stream banks,
lawns and garden areas.
Range • Throughout North America.
How to Harvest • Snip off the leaves and flowers.
• Remove berries with a gentle tug or twist.
• Dig roots gently using a small shovel.
How to Process • Gently wash leaves, flowers, berries, and roots in cool water. Lay flat to dry.
How to Preserve • Berries can be laid out onto a tray or cookie sheet and put into the freezer.
Once they are frozen transfer to an air tight container for storage.
• Leaves can be laid out flat to dry. Once they curl up and crumble easily they
are ready for storage.
• Roots can be dried on screens.
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Wild Strawberry Recipes Strawberry Leaf or Root Tea
• Steep 2 tsp. of strawberry leaf and/or root in freshly boiled water for 20
minutes or more. Strawberry leaf tea is very rich in vitamin E, C and B and
a very refreshing drink in the spring and summertime.
Strawberry Honey Ingredients
• 16 oz. raw honey
• ½ cup wild strawberries
Preparation
1. Stir honey in a small saucepan over medium heat until it is thoroughly
warmed. Do not boil.
2. Gently add the berries and stir lightly to cover with honey.
3. Pour into a clean jar (rinse with hot water first).
4. Close the jar and let stand for three days at room temperature.
5. Serve over waffles, breads, pancakes, toast or anything else you’d like!
Medicinally, strawberry stems are useful for treating wounds. Strawberry leaf tea is
also good for a gargle for sore throats. The fruits can be used for cleaning teeth
and removing tartar by holding them in your mouth and rubbing them over your
teeth. Dried and pulverized strawberry leaves moistened with oil offers healing to
open sores. The dry powder of the leaves by themselves is a good disinfectant for
open sores as well.
Strawberry flowers are not often eaten because that eliminates the possibility for
the berries to grow from them once they have flowered. That said, the flowers are
fabulous garnished in salads.
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Wild Ginger
You need not forage for ginger in your
local grocery store when you have wild
ginger growing nearby. These exotic little
perennial plants hug the ground growing
along the forest floors, and have much to
offer the aspiring forager.
Field Marks • Large, velvety heart-shaped netted
or veined leaves, 2 – 4” wide.
• Deep red urn-shaped flowers 1” wide with 3 pointed lobes or tails growing
at the base of leaves.
• Leaf stems are hairy as are the leaves.
• Rhizomatic spicy-smelling 1/8” roots travel horizontally just under the forest
floor.
• Fruits are fleshy capsules.
Poisonous Look-a-Likes • None.
Flowering and Fruiting Season • Flowers spring to summer.
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Habitat • Moist shady woods, forests and foothills.
• Prefers moist soils and shady areas.
• Often found growing under trees or other cover.
Range • Wild Ginger (Asarum canadense) is present throughout eastern North
America. Western Wild Ginger (Asarum caudatum) grows throughout
western North America. Both species have the same uses.
How to Harvest • Gather leaves and roots late spring through the summertime. Clip off the
leaves and gently dig up and clip off roots making sure to cover with dirt
where roots were removed.
How to Process • Wash roots and leaves in cool water and lay flat to dry.
How to Preserve • Leaves can be laid out on trays to dry for later use for teas and spice.
• Roots can be laid out to dry or put in food dehydrator.
• Chop roots into pieces and store in a glass jar or airtight container for use
for tea or making medicine.
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Wild Ginger Recipes Refreshing Ginger Tea
Ingredients
• 3 tsp. fresh ginger root, washed and chopped into pieces
• 3 pints water
Preparation
• Wash and chop ginger roots into ½ to 1 inch pieces. Bring water to a boil
and add ginger roots. Boil for 20 minutes. Let steep for longer if desired.
You can add honey and lemon to taste if preferred.
• Ginger is a classic herbal tea that is both stimulating and pleasurable to
drink and is a great digestive aid at the same time. Ginger helps warm the
body and loosen secretions during the flu and is great to drink when you
have a cold.
Ginger Syrup Ingredients
• 1 cup ginger roots, washed and chopped into 1 inch pieces
• 2 cups water
• ½ cup honey
Preparation
• Place ginger roots in pot with water and boil for 20 – 30 minutes until it
thickens. Add honey and simmer 10 – 15 minutes but do not bring to a boil.
Strain out ginger roots and pour into airtight glass jar. Pour over pancakes,
waffles, muffins or on top of anything you want to add flavor to. Ginger is
sure to support you in digesting meals and bringing that zesty flavor to all
you eat!
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Ginger Cough Drops Choose a cool, dry day make these cough drops. Otherwise, they’ll be too sticky to
work with if the weather is hot and humid.
Ingredients
• 1 cup chopped ginger roots
• ½ quart water
• 1 – 2 cups brown sugar
• 1/8 cup confectioners’ sugar for lightly coating cough drops (optional)
Preparation 1. Wash and clean ginger roots thoroughly. Chop into 1 inch pieces.
2. In a stainless steel pot boil ginger in water for 10 minutes. Simmer, covered
for another 30 minutes. Strain ginger from water.
3. Add ½ - 1 cup sugar for every 1 cup of water.
4. Return to pot and simmer, stirring until thick.
5. Pour into a greased 9” x 9” pan and spread to a thickness of 1 inch.
6. When cool, cut the cough drops into further small pieces. Dust hands with
confectioner’s sugar and roll individually into balls. Let cool completely.
7. Store in an airtight container or glass jar with wax paper around them.
Traditionally used by Native Americans as a seasoning, stimulant, and appetite
enhancer, Wild Ginger is an unforgettable, strong plant with much to offer.
Medicinally, it has been used to treat a number of ailments including digestive
problems, dysentery, coughs and colds, scarlet fever, sore throats, cramps,
earaches, headaches, asthma, tuberculosis, urinary disorders, and more. Its
flower can be difficult to notice at first, as they are often hidden beneath its showy
leaves.
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Conclusion
We’ve put this eBook together as a guide to help you take some first steps in the
journey of edible wild plants. It can feel intimidating to look out into the natural
world and feel like all you’re seeing is a “wall of green” – tons of green plants that
all look the same. But remember the wise words of Lao-Tzu:
The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.
Take the time to learn some foundational pieces that we shared in the chapter on
“How to Use this Guide”. This will help your journey immensely.
Then set out to learn one plant at a time. Take your time. Remember, this is
about building relationships. Enjoy the process of connecting with the broader
ecological web of interwoven relationships, including water, soil, animals, trees,
birds, wind, sun, moon, rain, and stars that interact with them. You’ll learn
something about yourself woven into that intricate and complex web of
relationships as well.
We remember being so excited when we first started learning edible wild plants.
We would “learn” a plant, eat it once, check it off our list, and move on to the next
one. In our haste, we missed the most important part, the deep connection. We
didn’t really learn them either, as we didn’t remember most of those plants we
rushed through.
We learned that the only way to really learn the plants was slowly, through time.
To actually build a relationship with them, in many ways similar to how we would
build a relationship with a person. Spending time with them consistently,
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sometimes just sitting with them, sometimes harvesting different parts of the plants
in different seasons, trying out different recipes.
Can you imagine sitting down at your dinner table with friends and loved ones to a
meal that has been harvested from the wilds? Imagine the feeling of connection
weaving you together with the food, the people, and the natural world. The deep
sense of fulfillment and meaning.
Make the space in your life to take this deep journey of connection. Just like an
Olympic athlete, set up routines for success in your life to really make this happen.
Are you feeling inspired? Then make good use of that energy to drive you
forward!
Eventually, we really do build deep relationships with these plants. The deep
fulfillment and experience of connection that results is difficult to put into words,
but we believe that this is the same connection that our earth based ancestors had
with the wild edible plants that they depended on, and that were intricately woven
into their culture and life ways.
It is this process of being with the wild plants, experiencing ourselves as part of the
natural world, connecting deeply with our family and friends in nature, and truly
learning about ourselves that is so powerful, and such good medicine for our fast
paced lives.
In Closing The journey of building deep relationships with edible wild plants is a big one, and
this guide is merely intended to just get you started. As you continue forward, we
recommend you consider some other resources.
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Here are some tried and true field guides that we’ve worked with reliably through
the years. They serve as wonderful resources for identifying as many edible wild
plants as your heart desires:
• Newcomb's Wildflower Guide by Lawrence Newcomb
• Peterson's Field Guide to Edible Wild Plants (for your region)
We also recommend that you get some direct, in person mentoring on this journey.
Books are great, but they don’t take the place of person to person contact, and the
process of mentoring. This is how we humans have learned for generations.
Our organization, Twin Eagles Wilderness School, offers workshops and classes
where you can be mentored in a journey of learning edible wild plants and much
more. There are many facets of deep nature connection that we offer, including
wilderness survival, primitive skills, wildlife tracking, herbal remedies and
medicinal plants, permaculture, bird language, nature based mentoring, and
nature based personal growth. It is our great passion to mentor others on the
transformation journey of deep connection to nature!
Thanks for reading our eBook and blessings on your journey. If you enjoyed it,
please stay connected! If you’re not already, join our email list at Twin Eagles
Wilderness School to learn more about deep nature connection, and consider
coming out and taking a class with us. It just might change your life.
In Wildness,
Tim Corcoran & Jeannine Tidwell
Twin Eagles Wilderness School
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