It’s a damp October day, but I’m well insulated in army surplus and I’ve eaten my daily quota of garlic. It’s time to head up to Plantation Wood, quite a funky place with many native trees and some weird ones, such as the magnificent Redwood (Wellingtonia) with its spongy red trunk soaring up to the…

Having been commissioned to write an article on Wild Spices for US magazine Backwoods Home, I’ve been experimenting with scented and flavourful seeds of late summer and early autumn. Jack by the Hedge, or Garlic Mustard (Allaria petiolata) is an old friend of mine. Fans of earlier posts will know how much I love making…

I was overjoyed at finding Elm samaras in the Peak District, along the River Dove. They taste like mild peas, deliciously crunchy. I only munched a few, as I feel Elm is an increasingly rare tree due to Dutch Elm disease. (Plus, my son and his friend had a big barney, and I had to…

May is a mental month for foraging. All the greens are out, and many are flowering. Tree leaves burst forth. Animals are feeding, mating and chasing like crazy. I’ve written up an article on Nettles for Backwoods Home and one on Edible Tree Leaves (plus recipes) for Bushcraft Magazine. When tree leaves are young, you…

Well I’ve been having fun today. Harvesting all sorts of edible tree leaves, then turning them into food for an article (and me and my son) – life’s tough, huh 😉 Above are the aforesaid Haw Leaf Swirls. I added green pesto for flavour and to help stick it all together, plus a little good-quality…

This week, I’m going to show you how I make a delicious peppery, fermented spread/dip from Hedge Mustard (Sisymbrium officinale). No, it’s not the same plant as ‘Garlic Mustard’, which is Allaria petiolata!! This recipe for ‘Hwerneh’, hails from Palestine, where every Winter and early Spring the climate becomes wet enough for this Brassica (Cabbage)…

I finally got to make this classic Eastern European soup with my lacto-fermented Common Hogweed (Heracleum sphondylum). In case you don’t think i’m Ukrainian enough – I’ll have you know my grandad was from Eastern Europe, and he became Head Chef of The Savoy, London! Ok, so he was Yugoslavian/Hungarian, but that counts, right? Right!!…

This week I’ve been down to the riverside to check on the carpets of Ground Elder (Aegopodium podagraria). Spoiler alert: it’s not Elder (Sambucus sps). It is, however, very tasty and nutritious. It was brought over as a pot herb by the Romans, and left here to ravage our gardens with its invasive nature ever…

This week I found Norway Maple (Acer platanoides) in full bloom, its zingy lime-yellow blossoms looking like they’d been dyed with fluorescent marker pen. Maple blossoms, apart from Sycamore, are edible and taste like peas. Yum! Norway Maple has leaves much larger than our native Field Maple (Acer campestre). Norway Maple has 7 pointed lobes,…