It’s officially Summer! Hurray! The temperatures are finally warming up enough to encourage some of those tender crops, like beans and cucumbers, to start growing. The strawberries have just begun producing and the haskap berry bushes have been harvested for juice, jam, and baked treats. It’s already time to wrap up the asparagus and rhubarb harvests so the plants can rest and recharge for next years’ crop. The peas are just starting to flower and the carrots and beets are past that critical seedling stage making them much easier to tend.
Gardening is my favourite way to increase my personal food security, save money and have healthy organic fruits and veggies available to feed my family, but there are so many amazing foods right out in the forests and rivers and lakes just a short jaunt from our backyards here in Golden. All you need to do is grab a bucket and go outside to look for them. We live in the information age where almost every plant you come across out there can be identified with an app on your phone that will also tell you if it’s edible and how to prepare it. If you are new to foraging here are some ideas to get you started.
Many locals have been out foraging for morel mushrooms in the last few weeks. Last year’s fire season combined with the cool wet spring has facilitated a bumper crop this year, but even so, they are still fetching a good price from the mushroom buyers for those who want to make a few bucks walking through the woods. For those who are picking to increase their personal food supply, morels are one of the easiest foods to air dry. They dehydrate quickly just sitting outside in the sun for a few days and last for many, many years. Morels add so much flavour and nutrition to any meal. There are some poisonous look alike mushrooms out there, so go with someone experienced who will show you where to look and how to tell if it’s really a Morel or not.
The rivers and lakes are abundant with many varieties of fish, and I feel like the flavour and quality of early summer catches is far superior to any other time of year. Now is a great time to get out there and start stocking up on your supply of fresh fish. Be sure to purchase a fishing licence and learn the regulations for whatever body of water you want to try your hand at. It’s easy to find reasonably priced tackle and licences are cheap so fishing can be an economical way to increase your food security in a very pleasant way. Almost any variety of local fish can be frozen, smoked or pressure canned to last you well into the year. Some of the coarse fish, like the Northern Pike Minnow that would normally be thrown back because they are so bony, can be pressure canned bones and all like salmon.
Pressure canning softens the bones to an eatable consistency and the flavour is very nice. And the best part is that they are plentiful in the Columbia River, easy to catch and there is usually a high daily limit. If the Northern Pike Minnow is not your cup of tea, the rivers, and deep freshwater lakes around Golden also boast some of the best eating Rainbow Trout, Cutthroat Trout Kokanee and Eastern Brook Trout (my all-time favourite!) that you could find anywhere in the world. Their vibrant salmon hues make them a very healthy and delicious treat to have in your freezer. They are all excellent to smoke and one of the best ways to preserve them, in my opinion, is to smoke them first and then pressure can the smoked fish, bones, skin and all. What could be easier than opening a jar of home canned fish for all those quick salmon salad sandwiches, or fried trout patties for dinner? I’ve never found any tinned fish to be comparable.
The wild rose bushes are blooming profusely right now, and the unopened flower buds and the newly opened flower petals can be collected, dried on a kitchen table, and used to flavour tea throughout the year. The delicate petals do not stand up to a dehydrator very well, so they are best preserved by air drying them and they will make your house smell amazing in the meantime. They are very high in vitamin C and many other antioxidants to help get you through the winter.
At higher elevations spruce tips and wild asparagus, or false Solomon’s seal shoots, can still be found. They can both be eaten fresh or steamed, and the young shoots of Solomon’s seal can be pickled like you would pickle cultivated asparagus.
Saskatoon berries are just starting to ripen and can be gathered with ease almost anywhere. They love to grow along country roadsides and logging roads with wild raspberries that will begin producing fruit in mid-July. Then, of course, there are the huckleberries. Most locals won’t tell you their picking spots, and there are some areas where you are limited to a certain amount per person, because they are a very important food for bears as they begin to fatten up for their winter naps, but usually the amount per person is still a sizeable quantity for the freezer that will delight you all winter. Just don’t expect to harvest enough to sell.
Many medicinal plants and herbs are at their most potent right now, just before they flower making this the perfect time to wildcraft.
If you don’t have the time or space to garden, and even if you do, foraging can round out your pantry with healthy, delicious foods for cheap or free. So, get out there! We live in one of the very best places for finding local food.
