Hurricane Irene part II

Before mowing the lawn I had to figure out if this one weed -- in the path of my lawn mower -- was Yarrow. I consulted Edible Wild Plants (Peterson Field Guides, by Lee Allen Peterson). In general I’m a lucky person and by consulting the National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Mushrooms I’ve managed to avoid killing myself by NOT eating any poisonous mushrooms. And while Northern Tooth was nothing to write home about the oyster mushroom and the most recent culinary adventure which might have been Angel’s Wings both turned out to be delicious.

The plant in the backyard was not yarrow but could have been either Poison Hemlock or Wild Carrot/Queen’s Anne Lace. I was hoping for the latter and lucked out. It had both a hairy stem and the root when cracked smelled of carrot. Phew.

I poked around for a bit, harvested a handful of mature roots and my thoughts turned as they always do (while I’m foraging) to those romantics who think they’ll live off the land eating “wild nuts and berries.” Good luck with that. The notion of surviving in the wilderness is dreamy but that’s about all it is. Two years ago I made a nasty knotweed and rhubarb pie. It was disgusting. My friend Lukas turned me onto the Stinging Nettle Quiche but the only thing wild in an otherwise completely domesticated recipe was the pound of nettles. Everything else was strictly Safeway.

I like that there is an abundance of Wild Carrot growing in my back yard. I have no idea how it got there. I like including as many “wild” calories into my diet as possible and I never harvest more than what I’ll consume.

Once power is restored I plan to braise these tiny carrots.