Foraging for food [Archive]

Jonny69

10-10-2009, 20:16

We've had a bit of a bonus day with regards to free food. We normally scoop up sweet chestnuts locally and in the park but they were huge and fat this year and the squirrels were literally throwing them down for us! Then we decided to go scrumping on a piece of derelict land that's going to become a building site, because we'd seen loads of apple trees and blackberry brambles. We missed the blackberries unfortunately, but this was what we could stuff in our pockets:

http://www.jonny69.co.uk/uploads/cooking/foraging/IMG_5257.JPG

The three apples on the left are sweet and juicy and the two on the right are sharper. No idea what variety but they aren't cooking apples. More chestnuts than we know what to do with and sprig of rosemary stolen from the park for our potato bake tonight. There were loads of mushrooms growing round the trees too, just a shame both of us hate mushrooms because they so looked delicious :D

Edit: there were more apples but they got eaten on the way home ;D

Jingo

10-10-2009, 20:36

Be careful with the mushrooms you pick! I'm sure over your way things might be a little different, but some in the woods 'roun'these'ere'parts could either cause a torrent of instant-vomit, or make you believe the watering can with glowing eyes is trying to get you ;D

Great haul btw! What plans have you for the Chestnuts? :)

Knipples

10-10-2009, 20:45

BD worlds biggest conker fight!!!!!!!!!!

;D

Jonny69

10-10-2009, 20:46

We roasted some of them, hot oven for about 10 minutes, maybe boil some of them so they're soft and stick them in a cake or mush them down with a bit of sugar and serve with cream. Bacon, leek and chestnut risotto, loads of stuff :)

We're going back for more tomorrow.

Burble

10-10-2009, 20:59

My Mum gets oodles of blackberries when she's out walking the dog. Year round blackberry and apple pie = NOM!

Princess Griff

10-10-2009, 22:19

Chestnuts roasting on an open fiiiiiiireeee.....
Jack Frost nipping at my nooooooose......

Dear God - Its Christmas soon!

Knipples

10-10-2009, 22:41

You know im gonna have to kill you for mentioning the C word now dont you? :p

Princess Griff

10-10-2009, 22:51

Nooooooooooooo!!!

Jingo

10-10-2009, 22:55

Clunge?!

Fayshun

10-10-2009, 23:57

My dad forages for sloes, to make sloe gin.

Mark

11-10-2009, 07:24

Chestnut cake for the nom! It's a bit of a speciality out in Madeira. :)

Jonny69

11-10-2009, 08:19

Hmm, that sounds good, especially since we've got some freezer burnt ones left over from last year.

Tak

11-10-2009, 10:50

Year round blackberry and apple pie = NOM!

*drools*

Chestnuts roasting on an open fiiiiiiireeee....

That smell makes me retch :(

Glaucus

11-10-2009, 17:47

Always keep my eye out for mushrooms and sweetcorn (well the cattle version grown in uk, still nice hough).
I could get loads of fruit, but don't particularly like normal fruit apart from made into puddings and being on my own I don;'t think it's wise making loads of puddings.

One of the upsides about walking a few miles a day in the countryside. Especially when it's mushroom season and you can get giant puff balls and the like.

It's all about the plum spunge... *drools*

Someone I use to work with, got a lot of his meet from the track. One day he got back to the van with a bloody deer on his back. His opinion was as long as it was still warm and soft, he'd have it. He gutted and skinned so many things on the side of the track. And anything he thought was slightly dodgy he would give to his ferrets.

Jonny69

12-10-2009, 19:18

One of the weird things that happened in the park is I offered a squirrel one of my shiny chestnuts and it came running over and took it out my hand. I need to get a net.

Feek

12-10-2009, 19:28

Yes, you do. I understand that squirrels are quite tasty!

Burble

12-10-2009, 20:16

*drools*

:D I must ask Mum if she feels like making me one in the not too distant future. Maybe I'll wait until the fruit cake I grabbed from her is gone first though.

Jonny69

20-10-2009, 16:33

Yes, you do. I understand that squirrels are quite tasty!
I thought so, squirrel with sweet chestnut stuffing. All provided free in the park, to the horror of the local kids ;D

SidewinderINC

20-10-2009, 21:26

hmmm, you legally allowed to do that? :p

Treefrog

20-10-2009, 22:49

I'm pretty sure you are, what with grey squirrels being classed as pests. I believe you have to take due care not to cause any undue suffering to the animal on it's journey between tree and plate however. Nor can you hunt them with dogs ;)
Your best chance would be if you know a farmer or landowner with trees on his land that would allow you to shoot squirrels with an air rifle in return for some free pest control.
And of course the more squirrels in an area the more nuts, etc that they feed on