The healthy forager

Gradually, slowly but surely, new life is emerging in the natural world. We’ve had a very cold (and wet!) start to the year here in Aberdeenshire and most of us are wondering when Spring will finally arrive. But if you look closely….

A few weeks ago the first hesitant larch flowers appeared. The female ones (in the picture above) are pink and upright. Once fertilized, they will become the seed-bearing cones that you can see in the background. The male flowers are much less showy, small green dangly things 🤭. They’re all edible, but I couldn’t bring myself to eating something this cute.

Talking of small green things, the first of our runner beans have sprouted. John has built a kind of wigwam in a planter in the front garden (you can just about see it in the background of the picture), where they are to live once they get a little bit bigger.

I love the excitement of going to my nursery in the morning and seeing what has popped up overnight. Seedlings evoke maternal feelings in me that nothing else can really match (except baby birds). I think I was destined to be a plant mother. And we certainly have a windowsill full:

At last, things are also happening on the mushroom front again! It’s been a very quiet few months, but yesterday I spotted the first Spring Cavaliers while cycling on the South Deeside Road near Durris:

They are very tasty, but there only were two (plus a tiny one) and I didn’t feel I could uproot them both, so I left them to spore. Maybe next year there will be more!

The wild garlic also runs riot around our locality. I know other foragers get very excited about that, but personally I’ve never found a good use for them. We don’t really eat pasta (which is what it seems to go well with), so if anyone has tips for lighter recipes, please let us know!

Finally, here’s a picture of today’s rain. There was a shower every 15 minutes or so, but with enough sun in between to make us feel it was Spring. I’m looking forward to cooking Ground Elder soup and making Sweet Cicely tea in the next few weeks!

It’s been a while since I last wrote. December through to April are times when I mostly rely on food from my ‘stash’, aka my chest freezers. Every day I’m tucking into a bowl of soft fruit that reminds me of summer. I picked several kilograms of raspberries and blueberries back in July – their vitamins are a precious resource in the darker months.

While food in the wild is scarce right now, I have noticed that it is worse than other years. The weather has been all over the place, with temperatures on Christmas Day in double figures, spells of prolonged heavy rain, sudden and short-lived frosts… Yesterday, while sliding around on icy pavements, I heard the birds singing their mating call. The natural world is confused.

Normally around now we find plentiful supplies of Velvet Shanks. Only a handful so far. My usual oyster trees have got nothing on them.

Thankfully today I serendipitously stumbled upon a nice log full on my way to the Post office:

My foraging knife finally got put to good use again – I could almost hear it breathing a sigh of relief. I picked enough to make us a tasty and fulsome soup for tomorrow’s meal.

The signs of the natural world are worrying me though. What will 2024 bring?

Whenever something catastrophic (human-inflicted) happens to the world, I find myself turning to nature for a sense of order, and reassurance.

Most mornings we are visited by Pidge, a handsome woodpigeon whose trust I somehow have earned. He lands on my outstretched hand – to eat seeds, to be gently talked to and to have his belly stroked. At the moment, more than ever, he symbolises Peace.

The past couple of weeks of watching the news also has triggered a strong counter response in me to spread love to other humans. I’ve foraged crab apples with the sole purpose to turn them into jam for my colleagues. I’ve invited them all round to our house to share in the bounty of food and fire.

It makes my soul sing to see that other people are sharing their food, too. While out cycling on the Deeside Way we came across a wheelbarrow full of cooking apples and a note to ‘help yourself’.

We gratefully filled a pannier and have been making crumbles and compote. I will most definitely return to this house with something to show my appreciation!

As we’re nearing November, a certain mushroom that I’ve been having my eyes on for two years, has made its appearance again. The infamous Clouded Funnel. It has a reputation for not agreeing with one fifth of the population. For the other four fifth, it is a delicious snack. I’ve been wanting to find out which group I belong to, but the possible side effects had thus far put me off. Two days ago, however, I took the plunge and ate half a cap. No bad effects. Yesterday I ate the other half. Same result. Fantastic!! The good thing is that they tend to grow in huge rings and that most foragers tend to leave them alone. So I’ve unlocked a great new food resource. Look at this beauty of a ring! It may not show up very well in the video, but each individual funnel is about 15 cm in diameter:

We feel blessed to live in a country of abundance, in freedom, in peace. In our own small way we can help by giving out as much love as we can to all living beings around us. ❤️

I intended to upload a video of myself picking apples on a very wet Saturday morning, showing the beauty and bounty of the fruit, and all that our little orchard is providing for us. But I decided not to. Because I saw the news of the fresh Hamas-Israel conflict.

There was one story in particular that jumped out at me. A woman, fleeing from gunfire, seeking refuge in an orchard. She lay still under the branches of an orange tree for several hours, until she heard soldiers speaking her language and she knew she was safe.

Those trees know nothing of the war. They grow their leaves in response to the changing seasons. The bees pollinate the flowers, regardless of the human atrocities. They have done so throughout all the wars in history.

I wish humans were more like trees. Growing, producing, in perfect peace.

We have now officially entered Autumn, and with that comes a bounty of produce! We have been able to eat fragrant, juicy tomatoes every day, and John has a regular raid of the plum tree. Courgettes are still going strong and every so often I discover a whopper of a cucumber lurking in the greenhouse. How’s this for a delicious lunch:

Two weeks ago I visited my family in The Netherlands. It was extremely warm weather (not just by Scottish standards but objectively so, 32 degrees C) and my parents and I went to their local community gardens. Apart from the sheer volume of tomatoes in a polytunnel, the memory that will stay with me is a vineyard of red grapes that were FREE to pick, however much we wanted!

They didn’t know how to make wine and it would otherwise all end up on the compost heap. I didn’t think twice but grabbed a bag and held it open while my dad started cutting off bunches of grapes. Back home my mum and I made the most wonderful grape juice. Sitting in the shade at the front of the house, we enjoyed a cool glass for free.

Back home in Aberdeen it’s all hands on deck for the great Apple Picking. As apples are my favourite fruit, I enjoy the challenge of trying to find as many as possible and creating an apple store that will last me all winter.

Our own trees are very productive this year, which helps. I have also filled my bags in Kincardine o’Neil and closer to home near Blacktop and Drumoak. And cycling home from Knockburn last week we found one along the Deeside Way. We went back later with a long stick-with-hook, to pick the ones high up the tree. Caution is advised: one of them fell into my face, nearly taking my front teeth out and leaving me with a huge top lip!

Last but not least, we ate a new fruit. It’s pretty special as I’ve been wanting to eat one for ages but never felt brave enough. What am I talking about….? The yew!

I recorded a video today, explaining how to eat the fruit. Apologies for the weird camera angle that makes my face look out of proportion 😆

And so the foraging continues… into Autumn where we might still come across more apples. Then there will be hedgehog mushrooms and porcelain fungus to enjoy. Every season our Shire fills our tummies with abundance and our souls with delight!

It does indeed! It’s amazing what prolonged summer rain does to the natural world. I’ve seen chanterelles popping up everywhere in places where I’ve not seen them before. In terms of porcini, the season already seems to have had its peak! I hope we will get another flush in September. Last week I was all alone on Millstone Hill where I found this beauty:

The path to the summit was lined with mushrooms, most of which I didn’t recognize. It was such a rich environment. I did bring a few tasty ones down to the bike and they later went into my meal:

With this abundance of food everywhere, there comes a point when I collect more than I can eat in a day. After finding a huge treasure trove of chanterelles, I decided to pickle them for when John comes home next week.

I have no idea what it will taste like, but if it works then it’s a great solution for dealing with a ‘glut’.

In the garden and greenhouse, some exciting things are popping up. I’ve harvested the first of the yellow courgettes and practically needed sunglasses looking at it:

In the same colour scheme, the rescued tomato plants are also doing their best to reward us:

I’m having tomatoes on toast for lunch every day now. Sometimes with some cucumber slices, as we have plenty of those, too! There’s a massive one lurking in the back of the greenhouse, which I’m going to keep to frighten John with 😆.

On my way back from picking gooseberries at Peterculter, I cycled past the retirement flats in Cults and couldn’t believe my eyes: a spectacular collection of Giant Polypore! This is one of my favourites as its so versatile with a texture of succulent chicken. As I got my knife out to pick some, I was very aware of all the net curtains and the elderly folk behind them! But who knows, it might have sparked somebody’s curiosity.

Last but not least, the cranberries have appeared in the hills. I walked up Hill of Fare yesterday and found lots of them near the summit. It seems very early, last year I didn’t find them until September.

It was soul-restoring to be up there, with a warm summer breeze and damp soil, the heavy scent of heather and peat, and the visually perfect combination of greens and pinks. I’ll leave you with a photo taken at one of my favourite places on this Earth:

There are several iterations of summer in Scotland. At the moment I would say we are in ‘high summer’, where the sheer abundance of fruit and mushrooms can feel a bit overwhelming! We’ve had several weeks of rain and boy, it shows. This week I found my first porcinis of the season:

It’s also proving to be an exceptional year for chanterelles. I already found them last week, and I’ve continued to find them on every single bike ride. Here’s a wee beauty:

In our greenhouse and on the windowsill, things are also happening. A few days ago I found myself the proud ‘parent’ of my first ever aubergine. It was huge and the colour intensely purple. I’ve done it justice in a wonderful oven bake with tomato and cheese.

Since discovering Barberries last week, I’ve been finding them everywhere. Mostly in people’s front gardens, where a knock on the door and a friendly question was all that was required to top up my stock. By yesterday I had enough for a batch of wine!

The living room is now a brewery, with two big containers doing the first round of bulk fermentation for our two wines; blackcurrant and barberry. By the end of this week it will all be transferred into glass demijohns and the happy ‘bloop-ing’ from the airlocks can begin!

Finally, my rescue tomato plant Shirley is bearing fruit! What an awesome transformation that has been, from near-death to absolutely thriving. Sadly her inaugural consumption took place in torrential rain today, but I did enjoy it!

Today marks a full year since I last had a cup of coffee (I stopped when I went ‘wild for a month last August). It also marks a year since I last ate supermarket fruit. Our Shire has been able to provide for us, 365 days – and counting!

It’s been a wonderful long weekend full of fantastic food surprises! Aberdeenshire is now at the height of summer and belting out the goodies, left right and centre. When I go for a bike ride I don’t need to take fruit with me anymore; just a pot and some yogurt, and the hedgerows provide the rest.

Mushroom-wise, the Chanterelles and Orange Birch Boletes are out, as well as several members of the Agaricus genus. I’ve been eating mushrooms and scrambled egg every day for the past week. It’s a simple and delicious meal!

On my ride yesterday I was treated to a huge patch of wild mint – absolutely tons and tons of it. I’ve taken enough leaves for a Kilner jar full, for John and me to enjoy as an after-dinner drink.

Also in the drinks department are Barberries. I never noticed them before but they’re actually growing in the hedges in our street. I’ve picked them to make cordial – it tastes like a cross between grapes and blackcurrant.

Talking of blackcurrants, I am preparing the ground for another round of wine making! Tonight I picked the required 1700 grams, and I’ve ordered the yeast online. When that arrives, brewing can commence!

Last but not least, I must share with you a beauty of an aubergine that’s growing on our windowsill. It’s not full size yet, but I often stare at it in wonder:

Aberdeenshire may not be the warmest place on Earth (thankfully not), but it has some of the finest wild produce. I feel very blessed to live here!