We have been experimenting with a few wild edibles from our yard and native plant garden recently. We’ve sampled wild strawberries, wild blueberries, munched on violet flowers, nibbled nasturtiums and picked dandelions for dandelion fritters.
Since gaining some confidence after taking a couple of workshops during the Wild Deer 1 Course with the Pine Project, I have wanted to make a meal with the vegetables and wild plants found in our yard and garden. I envisioned a field to table event where we would gather, harvest, clean, process, prepare, cook and eat a meal in one afternoon and all from our garden and yard. I invited a few of my fellow Wild Deer 1 participants over on a Saturday afternoon in late September to see if we could pull it off.
When the first few guests arrived we sat down and created a possible menu based on what was available in the garden and yard. The vegetable garden was busting with kale, onions, carrots, beans, potatoes, cucumbers, tomatoes, radishes, beets, squash, ground cherries, nasturtiums, marigolds and a variety of herbs. In season natives included chickweed, plantain, burdock, mint, nettle, sumac and goldenrod.
We considered an extensive list of possible dishes finally thinning the options down based on the number of guests and preparation time. The menu included goldenrod cornmeal, baby brassica and chickweed garden salad, roasted wild and garden root vegetables, green beans supplemented with veggie burgers, bison burgers, duck, grass fed beef hot dogs, my own fermented dill pickles and bannock dough. For beverages we made sun infused sumac lemonade and peppermint tea freshened with frozen organic strawberries, bubbly mineral water and maple syrup to taste.
We jumped right into harvesting the ingredients starting with digging a row of potatoes. The kids had fun digging through the dirt I turned with my pitchfork to grab the delicious spuds.
Diggin’ taters!
Then we moved on to picking the rest of the ingredients fresh from the ground.
Jake digging burdock root in the foreground.
Next came the cleaning and preparing.
Washing and prepping.
Choppin’ and chattin’.
We played around with some friction fire starting …
Friction fire prep and support crew.
Bow drill friction fire.
… then on to cooking!
Barbecuing buffalo burgers, veggie burgers, duck, hot dogs and roasted vegetables. Roasted vegetables included potatoes, beets, burdock rood, squash, carrots all tossed in herb de provence and sunflower oil.
Bannock roasting on an open fire.
And a special spin with hot dog in a bannock blanket.
We set the table …
… then sat down to enjoy the gifts of the earth and fruits of our labours.
Baby brassica, chickweed, cucumber, tomato, spinach, nasturtium flower and feta salad.
Burgers served on burdock leaves.
Diggin’ in.
Sun infused sumac lemonade.
Sun infused peppermint tea.
It was a glorious day and delicious meal with wonderful friends for which we were all very thankful. It was made all the more special by Emily singing a verse or two of Canned Goods by Greg Brown for grace: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0rmS1hbPoU
Looking to more “field to table” feasts next year. You’re all invited, just come on by …
urbancampersite 