Foxy Muffins...

Ever since my family started foraging, my eyes are wide open when I walk around town. 

I see wild edibles EVERYWHERE!  I mean everywhere!

Have you ever come across a group of unsuspecting grasses like the ones below?

If you need a better shot of these shy guys...take a look below...

This is actually known as Foxtail Grass (Setaria) and it turns out you can eat these things too!  Ok, not the plant itself...but the seeds.  Think poppyseeds...

We found a bunch at the end of fall last year.  When the plants start to turn yellow, you can shake them out in a bag and use them in recipes as you would poppyseeds.  I first read about them in Steve Brill's book "Identifying and Harvesting Edible and Medicinal Plants in Wild (and not do Wild) Places".  Mr Brill writes, "Foxtail grass, which grows in fields, disturbed habitats, and near the seashore throughout the United States, ripens in late summer and fall.  Collect when many of the seeds are dark colored, and readily fall into your hand or bag when you lightly rub the seed head." 

These grasses are also found in abundance in Canada too!

Mr Brill goes on to explain why you should have a light touch with the seed head...

"Never rub them hard, or the bristles will come off along with the ripe seeds.  What happens next defies science.  Physics recognizes four fundemental forces in the universe:  gravity, electromagnetism, the strong force and the weak force.  If you eat foxtail grass seeds along with the bristles, you'll discover they overlooked a fifth force, more powerful than the rest combined:  It attracts the bristles to the spaces between your teeth and holds them there until the end of time."  Wildman Steve Brill cracks me up!

Wikipedia has this seed grass listed as Foxtail millet (setaria italica) and says its making a come back because it is more nutritious than rice!  That being said, I couldn't find any nutritional info about it...sigh.

I had no idea these pretty, fuzzy things were actually useful!

Sadly, I found many postings about the dangers of foxtail grass seed.  If you own a dog, you don't want to get anywhere near these things, as they get caught up in the animal's digestive system causing severe problems.  As far as I can tell, there are no known problems for human consumption.

Hubbie decided to make muffins one day while I was at work.  I came home to a proudly smiling face saying "I just made Orange Foxtail Grass Seed Muffins!"  All I could say was "I'll need a shorter name for my blog post"....tee hee!

Without further ado, here is my fantastic husband's recipe for Foxy Muffins!

Orange Foxtail Grass Seed Muffins

2 cups sugar

3 1/2 cups flour

1 cup oil

2 tsp baking soda

4 eggs

1 tsp nutmeg

1/3 cup water

2 cups mashed orange segments

1 tsp salt

1-1 1/2 tsp foxtail grass seeds (dark in colour)

1/2 tsp baking powder

zest from one orange

Mix all the wet ingredients in a large bowl.

Mix all the dry ingredients in another bowl.

Add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients.

Bake at 350 degrees C for 55 - 60 min.

Makes 15 muffins or 2 large loaves.

The results were great!  I tried one just warm from the oven with butter.  The foxtail grass seeds didn't add too much to the flavour, but they added a nice crunch to an otherwise soft baked good. 

Since we didn't even know about this wild edible until we had almost missed its collecting season, we didn't have a ton of it around.  Next fall, we'll collect a bunch more and see what other recipes we can concoct.

We had these seeds in a small ziploc bag in our pantry.  It took up little to no space.  Storing wild edibles means you can take your time with experimenting.  You don't have to rush around and eat as much as you can while they are in season. 

Something to keep in mind that when you see wild edibles in the city. 

You must know what your particular town or city's position on spraying is BEFORE you start to forage.

It takes little to no time to find that info out in advance.  Also because you will get sick and it will have been entirely preventable. 

That being said, would you try Foxtail Grass seeds?

 

Family Attempts A Fall Foraging Trip

It has been a troublesome few weeks, with Noah getting over his back-to-school cold and Owen contracting a wicked cases of hacking coughs.  I have been trying to get our kids out for a wilderness hike but between illness and poor weather...it's been tough. 

I'm still a novice at foraging.  There are only a handful of things I can confidently identify and would bother to grab.  A few months ago, I ordered a few edible plant books in an effort to educate myself a bit more.  A side-line passion of mine is to identify wild flowers in South Frontenac...but foraging wild edibles is a bigger risk that just which kind of dandelion am I looking at. 

I had ordered the book "Identifying Edible and Medicinal Plants in Wild (and not so Wild) Places" by Steve Brill.  It just so happens I knew about Steve Brill from one of my favorite foraging blogs called "The 3 Foragers".  There are a family (not unlike Hubbie and I) with a child that loves the outdoors and the wonderful surprises that nature provides. 

http://the3foragers.blogspot.com/

The 3 Foragers posted a video that featured a nature walk hosted by Steve Brill or as he is known "Wildman Steve Brill". 

http://www.wildmanstevebrill.com/

Steve was reknowned as the "Man who was Arrested for Eating a Dandelion in Central Park"...but there's more to that story if you check out his website (link posted above)

I ordered his book without even putting it together that they were in fact the same man.  Literally days after I watched the video on Forager's blog, I received by very own Steve Brill book!  Coincidence?  I think not!

Hubbie and I packed the kids up for a hike in the backwoods of Desert Lake Family Resort (literally 15 min drive from our house).  We packed a bag of bags for collecting and a couple of useful books (see below).

Can't go wrong with the Audubon!

He started down the nature trail and it wasn't long before we hit the beaver dam.  It's a special place.  At night-time in summer, if you can brave the mosquitos, you can listen to the thundering sounds of a million frogs singing their night song to each other.

We discovered our first specimen!  I grabbed a stalk and stuck it on an old tree while Noah and I got the identifying books.  We thumbed through pages of berries.  The berries were orange-red and round.  That ruled out a lot of options already!  The leaves were oval, toothed and about 2 inches long.  That ruled out everything else.  We still couldn't identify it using edible guide books...so behind it stayed.  I'm not even sure I would have eaten anything that was growing out of a beaver dam....google "Beaver Fever"...trust me.   

These were growing right next to the other berries...and I couldn't find them in any of our books either.

Early Canadian writing paper! (aka birch bark)

Owen marches to the beat of his own drum...walking stick and all!

We live in an area with lots of mica.  You find it on the ground now and again.  This piece was the thickest piece I'd seen yet.  Early settlers used this mineral for stove glass due to its ability to withstand high temperatures.  There is an old mica mine in Frontenac Park...worth a hike to see it!

The boys were on a steady search for juniper berries.  It took them off the beaten trail.

AH HA!  Found em!

The juniper bush only sprouts berries on the female trees.

Some valuable father-son time spent in the woods.

Hubbie took this pic as we were coming back from our trek in the woods.  This is the long shot of the beaver dam were started out at.

In the end we came back with Foxtail grass seeds, juniper berries and cedar berries.  The cedar berries were just falling off the trees in bunches, so I grabbed some on the way out and decided to look them up after we got home.

Foxtail grass is found just about ANYWHERE!  At this time of year...you can take the tops and knock them into a bag and collect seeds very easily, provided they are dark.  Turns out the sell a form of this seed at health food stores under the name of millet!  You can add it anywhere you would normally add poppy seeds.  You can grind it up using a grain mill and add a bit to your general baking.  We'll find out and let you know!

We had gone fishing a day or so ago...and while the boys were busy catching rock bass...I was looking for vauable foragables.  I ended up finding some wild grapes right next to our favorite fishing spot in Verona!!!  It was like finding gold!  I grabbed a few grapes and had Noah and Hubbie try it out.  It tasted just like Welch's grape juice!  (be careful of seeds though) I'll be sure to keep an eye on that spot for next year. 

Foraging seems to be an act of patience.  It requires restraint and knowledge.

I look forward to many more trips out with the family...(i thought I spied some massive glasswort and want to go back next year when its sweeter and new...rather than late in the season and woody.)  I will endeavour to read up on stuff this winter.  Next year should be full of foraging surprises...

What have you found in the woods? 

If you've ever foraged before, let me know what's your favorite forest goody?