Garlic Mustard....Mustard

In the last few years, I was introduced to the lovely 'weed', Garlic Mustard.

It's one of those plants that came over with European settlers...

and has taken over ever since.

Seriously!  

There is no where in North America where you will have to adhere

 to strict conservation collecting with this one.

In fact, the Ontario Government has come out with a super cool website to tell you all about it!

It might take you a few seasons to make sure it is what you think it is.

Spring time looks like the above picture.

The cute, scalloped leaves are hard to mistake.

Once you identify these leaves, its hard to miss them.

You start to see them literally

EVERYWHERE!

The bright green spring leaves are a treat too.

They taste garlicky and goes great in a salad.

By August, they start looking like the above picture.

They shoot up and send out spindly shoots.

They sprout these wee seed pods.

Once the pods are dry...collect immediately!

I've checked one day and by the next day the wind has scattered them all.

Again, I can't stress enough...collect as many as you want...

You don't have to worry about this hearty plant coming back.

The seeds look like long poppyseeds.

They have a light mustard taste.

I've heard you can made mustard from grinding the seeds...

So that was our big experiment this year!

We collected the seed pods and slowly, patiently removed all of the seeds from each one.

Each pods contains anywhere from 2-10 seeds.

This process is time consuming...so plan a movie marathon or binge watch session.

A few weeks ago I actually got around to making the mustard I had set out to make using these seeds.

It turned out great!

I was amazed at the distinct wasabi taste.

Imagine...making wasabi in your own backyard!

I will admit I was a little disappointed...it didn't taste more like mustard.

Just being honest.

I guess I'll have to grow mustard greens in order to actually make mustard.

Even still...a very cool experiment indeed.

Thanks go out to The 3 Foragers for inspiring me to move beyond my comfort zone!!!

My Top Ten Foraging Posts

So I'm launching my foraging business!

I EAT WEEDS

I will be available for speaking engagements and tours.

You can either reserve a place in one of my home tours,

or I can come to your property 

and we'll take a look at what you have in your own backyard!
Learn about herbal first aid...
Tea making...
The list is really endless...

In honour of my new endeavour...I present to you my Top 10 posts on foraging!

10. Finding wild horseradish and how to pickle it!

9. Discovering wood sorrel and black haw...and how to make black haw squares!

8. Picking and storing wild leeks (aka ramps)!

7.  Fiddlehead soup

6.  Turn an invasive "weed" into Garlic Mustard Pesto

5.  Milkweed blossom capers

4.  Purslane in a stir fry

3.  Dandelion coffee inspired by Susanna Moodie

(an 1830's Ontario settler)

2.  Wild black raspberries

1.  My all-time, most read foraging post EVER:

Orange foxtail grass seed muffins!

SPOILER ALERT:  These seeds taste like poppy seeds!

Come join me on my other blog I EAT WEEDS for more forage-y goodness.

(don't worry...I'll still be posting here too....)

Get Lost...

Ok, so this post is actually about NOT getting lost.

Mainly all this warm spring weather has inspired me to do a post about getting out into nature.  Go for a hike alone or with friends.  Experience nature in a first person sense.  Not just through posters, photographs, artwork or watching the Discovery channel.

It's about the sights and smells of the woods. 

About following a trail...just to see what's around the next bend.

It's the feel of the wind through a field.

It's about the thrill of finding a big patch of something edible! 

A raspberry bramble.  A bright green bush of garlic mustard or lamb's quarter.  A crab apple tree.

Is that mutant glasswort?!?

It's about seeing nature as art.  Structural.  A tall rock formation.

It's about stopping to smell the fragrant mosses.

It's about sneaking up on something!

Like finding the evidence of animals in action...

It's about things that make you do a double take!

Or just plain creeps you out...

I recently picked up the 2012 edition of the Frontenac Provincial Park info guide.

Inside it mentioned what you should take in your backpack when you go on a hike, which I thought was particularily useful!  I'll mention the details below:

-Map

-Compass (even if you're carrying a GPS)

-water

-extra food & high energy snacks

-extra clothes

-first aid kit

-pocket knife

-headlamp or flashlight

-whistle (3 blasts is a standard distress call)

-cord

-large orange plastic bag (good visable colour for attracting attention and can keep items warm and dry)

-waterproof matches or a lighter

-fire starter (aka small sticks, bark, pine cones, newspaper)

-emergency blanket

-insect repellant

-sunscreen

-rain gear

Although this may seem like an excessive list for an afternoon's hike or walk, these items may just come in handy in the event of an unplanned detour or delay.

I remember years ago, we were invited to hike in to someone's campsite in Frontenac Park.  My wee son Owen not quite 2 yrs old at the time and I had no idea if he could sustain the energy for a hike of more than 1 hr.  As a family we had gone on many walks since Owen was born, but he was usually in a stroller for most of it.  I knew Owen had lots of energy...so I was willing to give it a shot.

I decided to test out if we could do it on a prior weekend.  Noah came along too.  He was probably only 8 yrs old at the time and had been playfully dragged along on many a hike through the Park.  When Noah was younger we started off with the shortest trail first and then worked our way up to the 2 hrs trails.

I figured since this was Owen's first hike through the park, we'd better take the short one.  Seeing as how Noah had already done the short trail a couple of times, we'd make it interesting...by doing the trail in reverse!  I brought my trusty backpack, which held all sorts of important things, like water bottles and snacks, along with a toilet paper roll, plastic bags, park map and insect spray.  We all had sturdy boots and hats on.

We first started strolling out on our trek, heading towards the "end" of the trail.

I quickly remembered why hikes were frustrating with children of a certain age...

My pockets were all full of every rock and pinecone Owen could reach.  Noah had to be perpetually reminded that it would be in his best interest to stay on the trail.

We didn't make it very far and all three of us were ready for a snack break.  That's when I knew this trip was doomed.  I had grabbed the backpack without checking it.  It had been seriously depleted from taking it along on the last fishing trip.  Normally I was a lot better at checking on these things, but it was a momentary lapse.  To make matters worse, it became apparent we had taken the wrong trail completely and I didn't know where we were.  We ended up at a parking lot I'd never seen in the park.  Sigh...I decided that the smartest thing to do was to follow the tar & gravel road that led away from the parking lot and hope that a vehicle of some description passed us by and took pity on us.  What finally worked on Owen was to get him to chase his big brother Noah ahead on the road.  It wasn't long before that plan backfired and Owen was too tired to walk anymore at all.  I had to carry Owen for the last hour and a half.  

After 3 hours, we were tired and exhausted but at least we had made it back to the main parking lot.  It was a bad experience, but I was completely to blame.  You have to pick your battles.  Frontenac Park is so wonderful for hiking, but even on the shortest trail you can't manage a stroller.  If you can't wear your child, then wait until they can manage rocky terrain on their own.  Many trails in Frontenac Park look like the trail below...

And ALWAYS make sure you have enough snacks and water in case of an emergency.  I trusted that I had been to the Park enough times to know where I was going and clearly shouldn't have been in charge of the map.

All of that being said, hiking and walking in the woods is one of my most favorite activities.  It's just so important to be prepared for the unexpected.  (And if you hike with children, make sure you bring another adult with you to share in the carrying.)

I try to get a hike in whenever the weather and time permits.

P.S.  Owen (now almost 5 yrs old) loves hikes, as long as he has a hiking stick with him.

And Noah learned to stay on the trail, after finding out what the rash caused by Poison Ivy looks like. 

Spring has Sprung!

Although I have been struggling with the idea that we are not putting in a garden this year...spring has decided to remind me of how lucky we all are.

Spring happens whether we want it to or not!

I was taking a look around our decidedly barren backyard...thinking about all of those thing I would be up to right now.  Starting seedlings in small peat pots...starting seeds in carboard egg crates...planning our trip to the greenhouse.

I was thrilled to find some things had already started growing....reminding me that nature continues on...no matter what's happening in our menial lives.

Our chives are back!  Bring on the baked potatoes...

Seeing these oniony green shoots coming up from the ground just makes me wanna barbeque!

(lucky for us, they come up right next to it!)

Here is a shot of the garlic chives we found growing on our property.  We originally found them shortly after we turned our garden for the first time.  After the first year, we moved them over to the garden plot beside the barbeque...mainly so they would be easier to harvest (right outside the kitchen door) but also to keep the regular chives company!  These chives grow very much the same way regular chives grow.  Two main differences between the two plants, one; being the wider, flatter leaves that shoot out of the ground and two; they taste more like garlic that onions. 

The rhubarb is also coming out nicely.  We transplanted 2 rhubarb plants to a sunnier location.  We had located them in a corner of our property and only seemed fit for spider consumption.  The leaves were miraculously lacey!  In their new home, they seem happier, and less holey.

Can't wait to crack off some leaves of rhubarb, boil them down with a bit of white sugar and spoon it over vanilla ice cream!

Last but certainly not least...the garlic mustard!  It's lining just about every fence we have on our property.  This bunch was right outside our side door and next to our barbeque!  We've already tried it in salads mixed with baby spinach...next we'll attempt to eat some cooked.  (I'd still like to try garlic mustard pesto...)

So let this be a reminder to all...no matter what's happening in your life...nature continues on...

What have you got growing already?

Garlic Mustard...

Like all things in life, you can look at any situation and see the good and the bad.

Let's take this winter for example.  My son Owen is extremely disappointed with the poor sledding and snowman-making conditions.  My step son Noah is pleased the weather has been pleasant enough that the ice fishing hasn't frozen his bits off like previous winters.  He also misses the snowmen we didn't get to make this year.  As a self-professed gardening addict, I'm more than a little glad to see the days getting longer and the ground showing through the ice and snow already.

We were getting out on the lake this past family day weekend and I happened to spy some GREEN on the GROUND!

The earliest showings of garlic mustard in our own back yard!  Note the wee heart shaped leaves which will grow to 2-5" in width.  The leaves are dark green, scalloped-edged, deeply veined, and long stalked.

Of course, once you get to know what garlic mustard looks like, you'll begin to realize you've seen this plant before...EVERYWHERE.  In fact, we recognized it immediately, as we've been weeding it out of our garden for years!  What a score...that's two things we've been ripping out and throwing away for no reason.  (The other wild edible we found was purslane)

The picture above is the garlic mustard from last year...you'll probably want to avoid it.  The taste is not great.  The texture of the plants are both frozen and thawed.  Mush....not so yummy.  Once you begin to see the new growth, you can have at 'er. 

Garlic mustard (alliaria officinalis), also called Jack-by-the-hedge or sauce-alone, is found all over North America.  It was originally brought over from Europe as a food crop.  Unfortunately, as with many imported plants, garlic mustard took over and is now considered an invasive species.  Lucky for us!  We can now feel good about harvesting as much as you'd like without the guilty feeling of if too much is picked, the plant will never grow back.

The best part is that garlic mustard has no poisonous look-a-likes.  Yay!

One of the reasons why garlic mustard is a favorite first plant of foragers is because it can be found almost all year long.  It survives under snow because it contains natural anti-freezes that lower the boiling point of water.  Steve Brill cautions in his book "Identifying and Harvesting Edible and Medicinal Plants in Wild (and Not So Wild) Places" that you should never put garlic mustard in your car's radiator...its not that kind of antifreeze. 

Garlic mustard is listed in many herbals as having warming properties as well as stimulating digestion.  Steve Brill says in his book that "garlic mustard is antiseptic:  Juice from the leaves is used for cleansing skin ulcers and eruptions.  People also crush the leaves until moist and rub them on aching limbs for a feeling of warmth."  Instead of running out for some Rub A535...trying looking around your yard for garlic mustard and give it a try! 

Basically any plant with the word "officinalis" in the latin name is a wonder plant used by the Greeks for medicinal and nutritional purposes.  Dandelions and watercress also are carriers of the officinalis name. 

When garlic mustard enters its second (and final) year of growth, the leaves become more pungent and less bitter.  The leaf shape itself changes from a heart shape to a triangle shape.  The four-petalled, white flowers that occur in June of its second year are good for garnishing salads and pasta dishes, according to Leda McDonald (who writes for the Food Down the Road newspaper http://www.fooddowntheroad.ca/ ).  Later on, in July and August, when the leaves have lost all their taste, the seeds can be harvested and used like mustard seeds.

I find it astounding that one single plant can have so many flavours.  While the leaves (when crushed) smell and taste like garlic....the seeds taste like mustard?!  Nature never ceases to amaze... 

At any time of the year, the roots can be harvested and blended into a horseradish-like puree.

Steve Brill suggests that "garlic mustard leaves are great raw in salads, mixed with more milder greens.   It's also good steamed, simmered, sauteed or in sauces.  Cook only 5 min or the leaves will become mushy."

Because Garlic mustard is such an invasive species, many areas have pulled together to make a community event out of it!  The Patapsco Heritage Greenway state park in Maryland hosts an annual garlic mustard event on the first Sunday of May.  After checking out the link, its sounds like a really fun event, complete with "Villan of the Valley" poster contests, garlic mustard pulling contests (2 hrs and judged by weight), cooking contests (winning recipes are posted on the same link), local music, kids games and historical and environmental displays.

http://www.patapscoheritagegreenway.org/garlic.html

Below is a link to a similar challenge in April in Vermont.  I just love the name of the article...sums it up perfectly..."If you can't beat em, eat em" featuring a recipe for garlic mustard pesto.  Follow the link and have a listen (its a radio show).

http://www.vpr.net/news_detail/90714/if-you-cant-beat-em-eat-garlic-mustard-pesto/

For even more information...check out the link below...Ontario Wildflowers

http://ontariowildflowers.com/main/species.php?id=163