backwoods menu/Wild tea.

I just ran across this article at:

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/ad...ants-0610.html

"Toss It: Dandelions are high in vitamin A, calcium, and iron and can also be surprisingly tasty. "The trick," says John Kallas, "is to harvest them in late winter or early spring, when they're getting moisture from the soil and very little direct sunlight." Julienne the leaves and sprinkle them onto a salad; boil them for three minutes and eat them like you would cooked greens (it's best to discard the lower third of the leaf); or use the petals to make a dandelion soup."

I eat dandelions all summer long but never thought about using them in the winter. I just thought they froze over winter.

EDIT: I found another article on Native American Cuisine. If you scroll down, there is a list of edible plants with links to articles about most of them.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Native_American_cuisine

Quote:

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Originally Posted by trax

I've seen deer, they almost never let their meat loaf.

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I saw a couple of deer today that let their meat loaf...come to think about it, maybe they were taking a break from foraging.

Anybody catch the news blurb about the guy who found the Deer in his living room when he came home from walking his dog? He had to wrestle it to the floor! It had messed itself up pretty bad breaking through a window and had to be put dow. The guy's saying he's having that Deer for Christmas dinner!:cool:

That's pretty forgiving, Sarge. I mean the guy finds a deer that's broken into his house and then invites him to dinner? What a sweet guy.

I found a really great site with a lot of information on edible plants. There are a couple of dead links on it but a lot that do work and lead to other good sources (including this forum).

http://therucksack.tripod.com/edibleplants.htm

Bon Appetite!

coooool, thanks a lot people, and thanks for the links Rick !

2 lbs. turtle meat, cut into 2-4 inch pieces
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1 tsp. salt
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup plus 1 tbsp. milk
2 eggs, separated
2 tsp. Bacon fat
1/8 tsp. salt
I pt. Wesson oil


Combine turtle, vinegar, and 1 tsp. salt. Cover with water; simmer 1 hour or until tender. Drain and set aside.

Combine flour, milk, egg yolks, olive oil, and 1/8 tsp. salt; mix well. Beat egg whites until stiff; fold into batter.

Dip turtle pieces into batter; fry until golden brown in deep oil heated to 375 degrees F. Drain well on paper towels. Yield: 4-6 servings.

yo baxter i think that orangevill has a wild edibles club also look up ontario wild edibles and aslo common lawn mushrooms also go to wildwood survival he is ontario based great info he has lots of websites..

yep, i already know about wildwood survival, i had already checked the wild edibles there but it hadn't mentioned any of the plants that would be edible in winter. it is a great site though. and i'm gonna check the orangeville club, i think i may have stumbled upon there site once....

thanks wareagle.

I took some time and browsed through my field guide of edible plants and pulled out only those that are edible during the winter months. I looked for any plant that said All Year or any that specified the winter season. This information comes from:

Edible Wild Plants of Eastern/Central North America. A Peterson Field Guide

I highly recommend this book. There is just a ton of information in it.

A couple of words of caution. I make no claims about the validity of the information. Many of these plants I have never eaten or identified in the field so I don't want your survivors to send their process server to my door because you croaked on something. Also, the field guide offers cautionary statements on some of these plants because they can sting or cause a dermatological reaction if touched. That sort of stuff. In addition, there are look alike plants for some of these that are poisonous. KNOW WITH CERTAINTY WHAT YOU ARE HARVESTING BEFORE YOU EAT IT! If in doubt leave it alone. That said:

Edible Winter Plants

Labrador Tea leaves
Horseradish roots
Watercress leaves and stems
Spurge Nettle – Tread Softly tubers
Spikenard, Life-of-Man roots
Wintergreen, Checkerberry leaves
Wild Leek or Ramp bulbs
Day Lilly tubers
Water or Purple Avens roots
Black Crowberry fruit
Wild Onion bulbs
Groundnut tubers
Lamb’s Quarter, Pigweed seeds (fall - early winter)
Amaranths seeds (fall – early winter)
Cattail (small horned shaped sprouts at the end of the root stock) winter,
Cranberry fruit
Balsam Fir pitch
Pines needles
Black Crowberry fruit (late summer – winter)
Saw Palmetto terminal bud
Wild Raisins fruit
Yaupon, Cassina leaves
American Hackberry fruit
Common Spicebush twigs and bark
Redbay leaves
Sycamore Sap (late winter)
Creeping Snowberry, Moxie-Plum leaves
Wintergreen Chuckerberry leaves
Chufa, Yellow Nut Grass tubers
Dulse fronds
Irish Moss fronds
Edible Kelp midrib, lateral fronds
Laver fronds
Sea Lettuce fronds
Rock Tripe entire plant
Reindeer Moss entire plant
Iceland Moss entire plant

There is no doubt some plants are missing from this list. Some indicated the plant was good during a specific month, December for example, and I did not include it. If you learn how to identify all of these there's little chance you'll go hungry while in the bush.

How many egg yokes, how much olive oil? Cause I'll try it.

Eggs yokes from the 2 separated eggs. 2 tsp. olive oil.

Wild Goose
Salt and pepper
Chopped onions
Chopped celery
Apple slices
Thin bacon slices
Dry red wine
Flour for gravy

Allow one pound of Goose per person. Dry them thoroughly inside and out and rub inside with salt. Fill the insides with onions, apple and celery. Place in an uncovered roasting pan, cover breasts with bacon. Add dry red wine and cook in a 325 degree oven for 10-12 minutes per pound for rare Gooses (really marvelous), 15-20minutes per pound for well done. Baste frequently with drippings to which the dry red wine was added.

Mix cold water with drippings and thicken with flour for gravy.

i've never eaten goose but here is how my grand dad told was the only way to cook it.

1 cleaned goose
1 large presure cooker
1 cedar plank
salt and pepper

Salt and pepper goose. split cedar plank in two pieces and place in gooses cavity. Place goose and plank in cooker and seal. Cook for 2 hours. Let cooker cool. open , discard goose and eat the board! serves 2

I guess he didnt like goose.
but your recipemakes me doubt ole Gran Dad

You would be hard pressed to find anything greasier than a goose. But I will say this, there is nothing better for a cold than goose grease generously applied to the chest and covered with a flannel rag!

I've eaten the stems and bulbs of lilly pads all year round, they are a tad bit bitter but easily found in ponds and along rivers here in Montana. Have a slightly bitter taste but not that bad and great for throwing in stews.

here there are wild mustard greens and dandilions are in bloom (South Alaqbama) look here for my pics of them http://www.freewebs.com/clarkshomestead/wildedibles.htm

My nephew just told me that he was watching somthing last night that said if you have to eat a partner, eat the liver. Most nutritious part.

Still in bloom? Dude, that is just sooooo wrong. There's snow on the ground for pity's sake. Well, at least here there is.

Did you look at him with an insidious smile and just agree? "Where exactly is your liver, nephew? Can you point it out for me?"

Or just say, "I've always thought so."

last time it snowed here was like 1995. those pics were taken yesterday (new site)

Well the site is sweet. You did a nice job. Now, about not snowin' since 1995. Is Alabama actually in the U.S.?:rolleyes:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Rick

You would be hard pressed to find anything greasier than a goose. But I will say this, there is nothing better for a cold than goose grease generously applied to the chest and covered with a flannel rag!

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You have never eaten racoon then ,eh Rick? greasy.

As far as painting the hutches go Pan (checked out your site) just remember ,the rabbits are gonna chew on everything around them,paint included,so painting them may not be such a good idea.

wow, thanks Rick. you really didn't have to take that time to browse the book for me. thank you very much. that is really helpful. i gotta find me a copy of that book.
thanks again guys.

chapters i know they have em in T O

Indeed I have. I think I posted somewhere else on that. Anyway, I agree, a coon is a greasy little critter but so is a fat goose.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by nell67

As far as painting the hutches go Pan (checked out your site) just remember ,the rabbits are gonna chew on everything around them,paint included,so painting them may not be such a good idea.

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Yea I was mainly talkin about painting the exterior. But had considered the inside too because it wil be easier to sanitize. But thanks for the thought. Ill probably paint the inside too and make sure they have plenty of toys and chew wood. Maybe it'll go well. If not I guess I'll build all wire cages next time. But with free Materials, hey, if they last a year or two and dont make my rabbits sick... Kool

Yea got the ever last night so today i went a picked some Dandelion and mustard and coocked up a big pot with some ham hock. I ate it all and drank the flavorfull liquer. Man was it good. I may have over done it a little though. Did I mention that dandelion and mustard are both GOOD COLON CLEANSERS! So anyone who is in a survival situation eat in moderation till your stomach is tuned in to the wild again.

2 pounds carp fillets
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup biscuit mix or pancake mix
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon dried lemon flakes

Method:
Take your carp fillets and cut them into chunks. Place each chunk fillet piece into a shallow dish or pan for coating. Next you will pour the buttermilk over the chunk fillet pieces. Allow the fish to stand for a half hour in the buttermilk, making sure to turn the pieces over once during that time. Stir the salt into the biscuit mix. Remove the fillets from the buttermilk and coat them in the biscuit mix. Cover both sides. Fry the carp fillets in a deep fryer or hot oil in a frying pan will do. Fry the pieces for 5 - 10 minutes until they are both cooked through and brown on all sides. (Note: If the oil is too hot, the fillets will brown too fast and not cook through.) Remove them to drain on paper towels. Serve the fillets with lemon wedges, or sauce if desired.

Serves 4-6

Aw, jeese, Corndog. Carp? Those things have so many bones it scares an orthopedic surgeon. Grinnell are too skinny. Dogfish, well they just look so sad with those pouty little lips hanging down. How 'bout Long John Silvers?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Rick

Aw, jeese, Corndog. Carp? Those things have so many bones it scares an orthopedic surgeon. Grinnell are too skinny. Dogfish, well they just look so sad with those pouty little lips hanging down. How 'bout Long John Silvers?

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Carp is just "Crap" misspelled!:rolleyes:

One good thing about trash fish is there are no limits or seasons...fits well with wilderness survival.

I like my carp around 7-10 lbs. It's a good idea to remove the midlateral strip of darker flesh before cooking; it can infuse the meat with a strong, musky flavor. Carp bakes, fries, and poaches nicely but I don't care for canned carp. The draw-back of carp is the mossy, earthy flavor sometimes evident in carp tends to be stronger in the warmer months; carp harvested from November to April will have less of a river-bottom taste.

Some folks in Pa. would catch suckers in early spring. While the water is still cold. Claiming their bones were softer at this time. Grind them up and make fish patties with them. I've tried them and they werent to bad. But that was the first and last time I ever tried 'em. I Love to fish but can wait for a nice catfish or bass or anything that aint got lips the size of my washing machine boot. However in a pinch ..............

Hmmm. Maybe there's a reason that carp don't have a season or a limit.:rolleyes:

If you are cooking over a campfire, here's a handy reference chart to guage the temperature of the fire

Temp.............Type of Fire........# of Secs you can hold your hand over coals
250-325..............Slow..................6 - 8 sec
325-400..............Medium..............4 - 5 sec
400-500..............Hot...................2 - 3 sec
> 500.................Very Hot............1 sec

You can also use the "Mississippi" test. Holding your hand 20 inches over the coals, count 1 Mississippi, 2 Mississippi, 3 Mississippi and so on. A medium to slow fire will let you hold you hand over the coals about 6 counts. A hot fire only 2 or 3.

There is a portion of cat-tails that is edible in winter, but retrieving it takes time and effort.

There is always reindeer moss - at least that's what I think it is called - the cancerous warty tubular looking stuff that grows on rocks all over the Canadian shield. Tasteless and terrible, it will keep you alive. You can also make spruce tea - which will give you vitamins including (I believe) vitamin C.

10 pounds crawfish
2 3-ounce packages Crab Boil Seasoning
4 ears corn, each cut into 3-inch pieces
1 1/2 pounds small red potatoes
1 gallon water
1 large lemon, cut into quarters
8 medium white onions, peeled
4 artichokes, each cut in half
3 carrots, peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces
1/4 cup hot sauce (Louisiana hot sauce, Baumer Foods Crystal or McIlhenny Tabasco)
1/2 cup salt or Creole Seasoning
1 pound andouille sausage or kielbasa, cut into 2-inch pieces

In very large saucepot with removable wire basket, heat water, crab boil, salt, hot sauce and lemon to boiling. Add onions, artichokes, carrots and potatoes; heat to boiling. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer 20 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Carefully remove vegetables.

To boiling mixture, add corn, crawfish and sausage; over high heat to boiling. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer 5 to 8 minutes until crawfish are tender. Carefully remove.

To serve, arrange vegetables, crawfish and sausage on large platter or place on newspaper or brown paper. Serve with plenty of cold beer and French bread.

Serves 8.

What is your usual menu when out and about in the woods? Mine is wild meat or fish, bread cooked in a skillet and coffee.

always take sticky cornbread, bannock [pretty much bread product you can mix ahead of time, add water and cook in a pan or over/under embers, which is a long list], coffee or yerba mate, brown sugar, nuts, a bag of my secret curry mix, dried greens during deep summer, or winter if i'm in a northern/montaine area and beyond that, it sort of depends on what i have on hand.

i usualy try to use what greens, roots, fruit, nuts and meat i can find localy where it is available. if there are rivers or lakes or an ocean nearby, i tend to plan my trips around them. there is a tlingit/haida proverb that when the tide is out, the beach will be your table and when the tide is in; the forest.