Why on Earth would you even want to do that Lora-Jean?

It is no surprise to most that I like to eat from Mother Earth. I have been called everything from a Tree Hugger, Hippy, Granola, Earth Eater, Greenie, to just plain weird and strange and to state the truth, I do not mind either of these names. I like to take from the Earth what is there for the taking so this blog will be about taking and eating from what mother earth has provided for us and what our ancestors ate as main staple meals.

A few years back I was out along a country road. I parked my blazer, hauled up my skirt, took off my sandals and waded out away from the road about 100 or so yards into the boggy swamp. What I was after were cattail shoots and they were just right for the picking and they were calling my name. Before I even got 50 yards out, I was up to my waist in bog water with mud and silt up to my shins/knees and I was humming along thoroughly enjoying myself when I heard from the road side, "Hey, Lora-Jean, whatcha doing?" I looked over and it was my good friend Lori standing on the edge of the road, hands on hip and I could see her grinning from ear to ear. I waved and told her I was getting lunch and asked her if she wanted to join me. She laughed saying she would sit in the sun and wait for me to finish whatever it was that I was doing. I waved and went on making my way to the cattail patch with pail in one hand, guiding stick in the other and a paring knife cross-way my mouth, since my skirt didn’t have pockets. I had given up on trying to keep my skirt dry so I had let that go with the pail hand after a few steps into the water. I remember hearing her laugh as I reached down trying to keep my face out of the water, grab the cattail shoot, trim it off and throw it in the bucket. Once I had a pail full I retreated to the road and Lori was still sitting there with her jeans rolled up to just below her knees and her t-shirt sleeves rolled up making it a sleeveless T. She appeared to be enjoying the sun and downtime.

When I got back, close enough so we could talk instead of yelling to each other I asked her if she wanted to come over for lunch. I remember her saying something like, "Of all the crazy things I’ve eaten at your house, I’ve liked them all, so far." It was obvious she was skeptical of today’s meal though. Once I was on dry ground, I wrung my skirt out and sat down beside her to dry off in the sun. I remember her so plainly, looking into the bucket and said, "What the hell do you have in there!" I simply explained to her what they were and how thrilled I was to catch them ‘just right’ and how I couldn’t wait to have them for a meal. I then informed her that I had picked enough for the both of us for lunch. Although hesitant, she agreed to come back to the house with me and even allowed me to teach her how to peel down to the pith (the best tasting part of the shoot) and told her she would like those the best. By the time I was somewhat dried off, we each got into the blazer and drove to my house about 2 miles away. There, we rinsed them off and I ate a couple raw before we threw them in water to soak. She kept saying how nice the smell was as she was peeling them and if they tasted anything like they smelled she would surely like them.

While we waited, she said she also wanted to try the lily bulbs/tubers I had brought into work a few days prior. So, with shovel in hand, we went out, dug a few, and rinsed them off with the hose. While hosing down the tubers Lori’s daughter saw us outside and stopped by with her dad who had just come back from fishing and had freshly caught trout from Pingree Center. I had some dandelion greens left to cook so we cooked everything we had: cattail shoots, dandelion greens, trout and raw lily tubers! I had dug and roasted dandelion root for coffee weeks before and with that to compliment the meal, we had one hell of a feast from Mother Earth. The cattail shoots were a hit for Lori even though she did feel the need to have butter, salt and pepper on hers where the rest of us had them plain boiled.

After we were finished eating I remembered I had planned to have tomato soup with the cattails (trust me, they compliment each other as well) and when I mentioned that, Mike looked at me surprisingly and said, "Why on Earth would you even want to do that Lora-Jean? This is the perfect meal, why waste it by eating something processed."

I guess what I am trying to say here is that there are so many edible plants out there to eat that are full of nutrients and more than likely growing in your own back yard if you know what you are looking for. This meal was free, tasted EXCELLENT, minimal effort was put into it, and had no artificial ingredients. What could be better than that?

The food our ancestors ate sustained them well enough to have you. The Indians ate from nature’s garden and yet most of us wrinkle our noses at eating such things. I just don’t get how hierarchal people can be when mentioning eating foraged foods and would prefer processed/canned foods. Anyone can forage for wild edibles, they are all around you everywhere you go: lawns, ditches, fields, woods, wetlands etc. You would be pleasantly surprised at what you might like if you gave it a fair shot. Most people don’t even want to entertain the idea of eating "weeds" and are determined to hate it and call it disgusting before they even try it. On numerous occasions, I have had people try foraged foods and before they even get it in their mouth, they start gagging. I mean seriously, save the dramatics for the stage.

Important: Please do not try to forage for food out in the wild if you do not know what they are. There are so many look-a-like plants where one will fill your belly, the other will kill you before it even starts to digest. Please do not forage for will food unless you are 100% certain you know exactly what it is. If you’re not sure, go buy spaghetti-O’s.

Word of caution: It is very important that you can tell the difference between young cattails and calamus.  Calamus are very poisonous, and often times grow in amongst cattails!!!!!

Cattails:
This is the time for harvesting cattail shoots. You want the ones in length of your knee. You have to get wet and maybe even a bit muddy but trust me they are worth it. A knife really is not needed while harvesting them, all you have to do is reach down, grab the shoot with your hand and twist all the while pulling upward. It is then you take your knife and trim the end that just came out from the main root system and up until the green starts to show. Mostly you will get is a 10-12 inch shoot when the trimming is finished. Once you get the length trimmed it is now time to peel it. With your fingers as in like you would a cornhusk, peel back until you get a nice white shoot/pith. The average size round piece when peeled is about the size of a dime. Cattail shoots are edible raw but tend to be slimy if you do not rinse them off. They taste very similar to cucumbers, raw or cooked.

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