Tag Archives: langdon cook

A book reading

September 18, 2013

I’ve been absent for a couple of days as you may or may not have noticed. I decided to go to Austin somewhat last minute and I had posts ready to go for the days I would be gone but I got too busy before I left to actually schedule them. It’s alright though I’ve been learning lately to let some things go in order to enjoy myself more fully.

Before I left for Austin (which I’ll be sharing about soon) I went to a book reading by Langdon Cook. When I first moved out to Seattle I read his first book called Fat of the Land all about foraging in the Pacific Northwest. His newest book is called The Mushroom Hunters and as you probably guessed is all about mushrooms. I’ve been following along with his blog so when I saw that he would be doing a book reading at the local book shop I planned to attend.

We were supplied with a mushroom pate and wine and an ample amount of body heat as the tiny room filled with people. It was worth it though because everyone was fascinated by his stories and of course the morel giveaways during the event (I did not win). When the reading was over I waited in line to get my book signed and biked home happy and intrigued to do some mushroom hunting of my own (with professional guidance of course).

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May project: foraging

May 2, 2013

It’s day 2 of the blog every day of May challenge. The topic today is educate us about something you know a lot about or are good at. I chose foraging. I’m not an expert by any means but having grown up in the woods and on a summer camp I’ve picked up a thing or two. If you’re starting from scratch though I would recommend a few things.

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-DON’T ever just eat something you found in the woods unless you’re absolutely sure it’s edible and even then proceed with caution.
-take a foraging class with someone who has been doing it for a long time
-I don’t recommend foraging for mushrooms unless you’re with an expert (they are easily to mistake with deadly consequences).
-borrow from the library or buy some foraging books with good photos.
-it’s good to know which plants have poisonous look a likes.
-take a walk and test some of your skills but I wouldn’t recommend eating anything until you’re more than 100% sure of what you’ve found.
-when you’re more comfortable with identifying edible plants I would still start off with the most recognizable ones like wild strawberries, raspberries, blackberries or if you live in a place like Texas-pecans.
-if you don’t feel comfortable with what you’ve found just don’t eat it.
-I pretty much stay away from anything that looks like a wild carrot because it looks so much like poison hemlock and that is not something you DO NOT eat.
-if you’re looking for a more informed foraging blog to follow I recommend Langdon Cook’s blog. He’s a forager in my neck of the woods and he knows what he’s doing.

I’ve been foraging for years but I stick to what I know-mainly wild berries, cherries, apples, wintergreen and their berries, juniper berries (for tea not eating), sorrel, and a few others.