September Outdoors: Discovering Nature and Foraging Treasures 🍂
As September arrives, cobwebs start to weave their delicate patterns, signalling the changing season. 🕸️ With temperatures cooling down, it’s still essential to keep spending time outdoors for both your mental and physical well-being. 🍁 This time of year presents a fantastic opportunity for foraging and discovering nature’s seasonal offerings.
🌱 Broadleaf Plantain Seeds 🌱
🌿 Broadleaf plantain seeds are rich in dietary fibre, which supports digestive health by promoting regular bowel movements and improving overall gut function.
🛡️ The seeds contain antioxidants that help combat oxidative stress and protect cells from damage caused by free radicals.
💪 They are a good source of essential minerals such as magnesium, potassium, and calcium. Magnesium supports muscle and nerve function, potassium helps regulate blood pressure, and calcium is important for bone health.
❤️ Broadleaf plantain seeds also provide omega-3 fatty acids, which are beneficial for heart health.
🌾 Broadleaf plantain seeds are quite hard, so their best uses are those where they can be ground into a fine powder or used in a way that accommodates their texture. But you can use them without griding as well, it is just personal preference. You can play with it whatever works best for you.
Here are some suitable uses:
🍹 Smoothie add-in: Ground plantain seeds can be blended into smoothies, providing a nutritional boost without affecting the texture too much.
🥣 Breakfast cereal: Incorporate the seeds into cereal or yoghurt, but it’s best to grind them first to avoid a gritty texture.
🍫 Homemade energy bars: The seeds can be added to energy bars or granola, where their crunch complements other ingredients.
🥗 Salad topper: Toasted and ground plantain seeds make a good crunchy topping for salads.
🍞 Bread and baking: The seeds can be used to make flour by grinding them, which can then be added to bread dough or other baked goods. This provides extra fibre and a nutty flavour. Using the seeds in a ground form helps prevent any issues with their hardness.
💧 I also use broadleaf plantain seeds in chia pudding, soaking them overnight to soften and make them easier to digest.
😊 To get rid of the chaff when collecting broadleaf plantain seeds, just gently rub the dried seed stalks between your hands to release the seeds. Then, simply blow the chaff off with your breath – the lighter chaff will float away, leaving the seeds behind. Easy and natural!
😅 On this picture, I’ve got a bit more cleaning to do. I just got tired!
🌾 Dock Seed Flour 🌾
🌱 Dock seeds, particularly from the broad-leaved dock (Rumex obtusifolius), offer unique benefits:
🍊 Rich in nutrients: Contains vitamins and minerals like vitamin C, iron, and magnesium.
🌾 High in fibre: Supports digestive health and helps regulate bowel movements.
🍞 You can make dock seed flour by grinding the seeds and mixing it with your regular flour in a 2:1 ratio. This blend is excellent for baking and can be used in muffins, brownies, crackers, or even pasta!
⚖️ As always, everything should be eaten in moderation.
🍃 Pennywort 🍃
🌿 Pennywort is another wonderful find. It adds a succulent, delicate flavour to salads and dishes. 🥗
🩹 Beyond its culinary uses, pennywort has practical benefits:
🔥 I soothes minor burns and grazes.
🍃 I tuned my plaster a bit with pennywort. Just remove the lower surface of a leaf and apply it to the wound.
😣 I’ve ended up with a nasty blister on my finger, honestly I have no idea what I did.
🤔 I don’t usually wear plasters, but this is such an awkward place that I was relieved to find pennywort! 🌿
⚠️ Be gentle when picking the leaves, as the entire plant can come away from the ground if handled too roughly.
🌿 It’s important to gather pennywort responsibly, only collecting from areas where it’s plentiful and taking just a few leaves from each plant.
🍄 I stumbled upon three tiny mushrooms (better than nothing!), a bit of pennywort, and some hogweed flower heads. When I got home, I made a completely random wild pizza!
🍕 The base was a mix of chickpea and dock seed flour, with nettle seeds sprinkled in. Instead of tomato sauce, I used hawthorn sauce, added wild mushrooms with some chicken of the woods I found the other day, hogweed flower heads, broccoli, and finished it off with vegan cheese and pennywort. So random, but so delicious!
🍄 Blackening Polypore 🍄
🍄 The Blackening Polypore (Meripilus giganteus) grows in large rosettes at the base of Beech and Oak trees from summer through autumn.
🌰 This mushroom forms clusters of overlapping, flat brackets with caps that vary in shades of light and dark brown, covered in fine brown scales. Its colour and shape can differ, making identification tricky at times.
🍽️ Uses: Blackening Polypore should always be cooked before eating. It has a slightly sour taste, but younger mushrooms or the soft edges of older ones can offer a more pleasant, Agaric-like flavour. Harvesting early-stage mushrooms is ideal for a better culinary experience.
⚠️ Cautions: Be cautious when consuming Blackening Polypore, as it can cause gastric upsets in some people. Always cook it thoroughly and try a small portion first to check for any adverse reactions. Accurate identification is essential since it can be mistaken for similar species.
🍗 Chicken of the Woods: A Forager’s Delight 🍗
🍄 Chicken of the Woods is still abundant this season. This mushroom is versatile and has a texture similar to chicken.
🍲 Uses: Ideal for grilling, frying, sautéing, or as a meat substitute in various dishes.
🍛 Suggestions: Try it in stews, stir-fries, or any recipe where you’d use chicken.
⚠️ Cautions: Be cautious when consuming Chicken of the Woods, as it can cause gastric upsets in some people. Always cook it thoroughly and try a small portion first to check for any adverse reactions.
🌿 Common Sorrel: A Tangy Addition 🌿
🌱 Common sorrel leaves are still thriving and provide a tangy flavour to your dishes. Use them in moderation for a unique taste.
🌿 Sorrel can be used as a garnish, adding a fresh touch to your dishes.
🥗 It makes a delightful salad leaf, providing a tangy flavour.
🍲 You can also use it as a green in soups and stews for added depth.
🍰 Additionally, sorrel can be a sweet ingredient in cakes and sorbets.
🌍 Foraging Responsibly 🌍
🍂 Remember to forage responsibly. Respect nature, enjoy the subtle changes of the season, and make the most of your outdoor adventures.
I hope it inspires you.🥰 Happy foraging!🚶♀️🚶♂️
🚶♀️🚶♂️🍃 And enjoy your walks in nature!
From my heart ❤️ to your heart.❤️
