I sometimes get nervous about sharing slice o’ life things, but maybe this will help someone else push their comfort zone a lil 💕
A break from April Fool’s posts to show you how to make FREE ONION POWDER with Allium vineale! IN SONG!
Why I chose the username blackforager! Also I’ve seen a few people calling me “the black forager”, and just a lil kind reminder I don’t have “the” in my username for a reason! I wanted to be sure that even if you couldn’t see my face, you knew that my work and recipes were coming from a black woman, but I’m not the ONLY black forager. Far from it ❤️
ITS THAT TIME AGAIN Columbus, Ohio
MAGNOLIA SNAP COOKIES! ✨ A throwback because every year I miss posting this recipe in time for my friends in the southernmost parts of the US and last year I SET A REMINDER and IT WENT OFF TODAY 🤣
Saucer Magnolia is my fave for this recipe (and usually the easier to find in cities!) BUT Southern and Sweetbay are EXCELLENT in these as well!!
Last summer, Dwight (the Midwest flower ferment master) gave me a sip of his NEON PURPLE spiderwort soda and i HAVENT STOPPED THINKING ABOUT IT!! So i made my own while im down south for werk!! This is also how i make my milkweed flower cordial!!
So glad I got to check Giant Spiderwort off of my flowers to see while in Austin list!! 💜🌱
ALLIUM VINALE aka CROWS GARLIC aka FIELD GARLIC 🧄 delish and FREE AND DOESNT TAKE AS LONG TO REACH MATURITY AS RAMPS!
Dry it and grind it for free onion powder!! Chop and top your ramen with it! Eat it straight off the ground like a sweet lil cow!
DAFFODILS ARE A TUMMY NO-NO
Whew! Went on a wee bit of a rant 😅 and I am 100000% for planting native species of your own if you have the space! But BOY GOLLY opening an article telling people not to forage, and instead garden is giving classism 🙃 let’s not forget that indigenous people were stewarding these plants for thousands of years, and the habit of over harvesting is DECIDEDLY colonialist. I’d love if the article, instead of chastising foragers, took the time to outline sustainable foraging habits, and ways to give back to the plants.
STINGING NETTLE CHIPS 🌱✨ MOVE OVER KALE CHIPS, THIS IS WHAT YALL WISH U TASTED LIKE
CLOVER VS WOOD SORREL ☘️🍀✨ happy paddy’s day! Columbus, Ohio
MAGNOLIA PICKLES! I go a lil feral this time of year 😅 after months of cold and reflection and rest I am so ready to RUN IN THE SUN AND EAT FLOWERS 🌸 🤣👩🏾🍳
Enoki (flammulina veluptipes) is usually a winter mushroom for us, but the weather has been KINDA BROKEN so???? 😅
PURPLE DEAD NETTLE 💜 “dead” as opposed to “live” ie STINGING nettle 😆 packing a punch of vitamins A and C and Iron and fiber all wrapped up in a cute lil package! I know it’s texture and flavor isn’t many people’s fave, but cooking it makes a BIG OL difference ✨💕🌱
EAT YOU WEEDS: ASMR EDITION 🤣 Reynoutria japonica, more commonly known as Japanese Knotweed is a VORACIOUS and TENACIOUS dude, who is famously hard to get rid of once they’re comfy. They have a tendency to choke out native species along our creeks here in Cbus, so I make a point of harvesting all I see when I come across stands of it!
Some loving warnings! If you gather knotweed, be careful not to drop any, as it could start a new plant! Also if you’re going to toss any after cooking, make sure it’s been thoroughly cooks before throwing it away (for the same reason!! They’re tough guys!)
Dandelion fritters (ft. PushPop) A springtime fave!! 🌼
BLACK LOCUST FLOWERS ft. MY MOM 💕✨
We took a quick jaunt down to ATL to see my sister perform, so you KNOW I had to take advantage of how far ahead they are, plantwise!! Black locust and wisteria ERRYWHERE! (Also POLLEN EVERYWHERE 🤧)
I think it’s amazing how this tree from my neck of the woods has become recognized globally. But with flowers that look, smell, and taste like that… it makes sense!!
MIND THE THORNS, SWEET BEANS 💕✨ Lawrenceville, Georgia
STOP CUTTING OFF MY VIDEOS IG 🤣 let’s try this AGAIN! With the last 15 seconds actually included!!
I LOVE!! REDBUDS!! 💕✨ (this is what I’m up to in between @sxsw sessions 😅🤣)
WILD ONION PARTY 🧅 Allium canadense is so dang good!! Be wary of lookalikes like Star of Bethlehem! Always smell test yer alliums ✨
This was a WILD RIDE 🤣 our Atlanta Airbnb had a TON of Fish Mint growing around it, so I HAD TO TRY SOME (AND @oksydneymichelle TRIED SOME TOOO)
Ramp season is often a… dramatic time to be in the foraging community. Their popularity in fine dining is often traced back to one Martha Stewart’s love of them. The city of Chicago is said to take its name from the French rendering of the Miami-Illinois word “Shikaakwa” (a word for Ramps!) Many of us in the Midwest know them as a familiar spring sight, but some states like Tennessee and New York have had ramps tiptoe onto conservation watchlists from over harvest. But awesome folks like Sam Thayer are also in the years long process of proving that sustainable harvest allows for more ramps over time. Lots of folks have opinions on whether you should or shouldn’t, whether bulbs or leaves, and I’m not saying what I do is the BEST way, it’s just the way that I’ve found works for both me and the patches I steward (I love to go back in the late summer and help spread the seeds out so the bulbs don’t end up cramped and stressed!!)
I’m lucky enough to live in an area not often touched by foragers who sell en masse to restaurants, but even knowing that, Salted Ramp Leaves (inspired by @66squarefeet !!) are GREAT because they stretch the flavor and allow it to be used all year 🌱 very here for reasonable discussion in le comments… but if I spot you being a booty, YER OUTTA HERE!
I’m in Miami Beach for @foodiecon having the TIME OF MY LIFE meeting new friends, people and plant and animal!!
I LOVE these cocoplums (also called “fat pork” in Barbados, Guyana, and Trinidad and Tobago), and I truly feel lucky to have gotten to try some. Shoutout to @sarrrr_bearrrr for trying one after I gave you SO LITTLE INFO 🤣
Folks in southern FL, costal Central America, and the Caribbean should mosey around and see if you find some growing near you! 💕
Everyone meet Dee! We talk about the REAL definition of foraging, lifecycles, and the Degenerate, a new sneaker from @unlesscollective made entirely from PLANTS that can harmlessly break down into dirt when you’re done with em!! Dee’s not just a little dirtbag, he’s my SMOL GREEN FRIEND! #thedegenerate #keepitgrowing #ad
