Foraging for wild food with expert “Wildman” Steve Brill at Stone Barns Center
This past Sunday I joined America’s best-known foraging expert Steve Brill for a wild food expedition at the Stone Barns Center in Pocantico Hills, NY. Our two hour educational experience involved tasting the earth’s delicacies and learning the art of backyard dining. The tour began with Steve introducing us to his daughter Violet, a young lady ready to become the next “Wildwoman.” As we ventured outside to the spectacular gardens Steve introduced us to wild dandelion and dared us to try this bitter green. Dandelion is a tonic for the liver and very cleansing in nature. While most of the participants disliked the taste, I chewed this freshly picked nutrient well knowing that my vital organ would soon be filled with joy.
Next, we made our way over to daylilies and enjoyed the sweet mild flavoring that these long green stems exuded. Those that turned up their noses to the dandelion were excited to know that not all wild plants tasted like dirty soil!
Chickweed was among my favorites. Being that “Wildman” had a joking personality I was pleasantly surprised to learn that this plant did in fact resemble corn on the cob! For those worried about genetically modified foods (corn being on the top of the list), look no further. Chickweed is your new solution to a corn filled - GMO world! Steve suggested that we rinse and chop the chickweed at home and cook it over a low heat until wilted. In a separate pan he said to combine a dash of tamari, garlic and olive oil and then add all the ingredients together. I’m sure my friend Paul has already added this to next Saturday’s dinner party menu.
Let’s see…on our tour we also went foraging for common spice bush which is supposedly similar to all-spice tea. Again, we will have to interview my foraging friend Paul in a future blog to see if he agrees. Paul did try sauting (or maybe it was frying!) burdock root and claims that it caramelized in the hot oil. I’ve never had this happen but then again, I have usually cooked up my burdock with carrots or a blend of other flavorings.
If you like asparagus like I do, then you’d find hints of pleasure in the, “devil’s walking stick.” Although the wine berries were not quite in season, Steve gave us simple instructions for the next time we return to Stone Barns Center and decide to devour up these raspberry clones. His primary tip was to wear a long sleeved shirt and gloves to protecting us from being pricked by the dark red colored vine.
The consensus of the group was that cattails, which were picked by cutting underneath the mud layer, tasted delightful! They were described similar to a cucumber but looked quite like leeks. Peeling away the outer layers left us with tender inner shoots that could make anyone turn into a part-time nature eater!
We semi-ended the tour with oyster mushrooms which were not to be eaten raw. The real end to our adventures involved the Stone Barns signature hot chocolate with three tasty cooked foods. The first was a freshly baked apple whole grain muffin; the second a piece of hearty homemade bread spread with goat cheese and covered with diced beets and mash (I had never heard of this but appeared to be similar to arugula); and third was their homemade granola with all the fixings including flavorful coconut interlaced between the oats.
I rate this day a two thumbs up!
Alison Held
Nutritional Consultant and Health Coach
www.healthfuldirection.com