TravelRoads.com
July 24th, 2015
Wild Food Adventures has us ready to go WILD. Is there truly a Garden of Eden in our backyard?
At the Stony Fork Picnic Area in Candler, NC we begin the No Taste Like Home Food Tour. Alan Muskat, founder of the first wild foods public education program in the world, leads us “off the eaten path” as we stroll the woodlands seeking wild foods.
Within a few feet of the shelter, Alan finds several edible plants. Some items are easily recognized, like wild strawberries and honeysuckle flowers, yet others are new. By a large tree, we spot the colorful reishi mushroom.
Alan is a wealth of knowledge, giving details on how to prepare each plant and its medicinal uses. Promising to show 12 different edible plants, we are thrilled as we roam the area and actually find 19. Fun to find turkey tail mushrooms on a log by a creek, a dollar plant with a peppery taste, a wild black cherry tree, stinging nettles, and more.
It’s like a shopping spree as we fill plastic bags with nettles. Lighting up a single burner camp stove, Alan cooks up a batch. Wow! Nettles have a nutty flavor.
Anyone seeking to learn more about food in your own backyard and healthy eating will really enjoy this tour. Be sure to follow the instructions of what to wear. We had sunny and rainy weather on our tour. Glad to have the rain gear!