The last batch of capers I made were pickled in vinegar, so this one, I think will be lacto-fermented after soaking a few days to release their bitter flavor.

I’ve figured out how much time it takes to forage capers vs how much it costs to buy them from the store, and capers are cheap enough hear that financially there isn’t really a point to pick capers, however, it is fun to do so and it’s nice to be able to say that you ate something that you made, even if time-wise it doesn’t pay off, and the flavors of homemade capers are nicer anyhow, so that’s why I still do it.

Though I generally use plantain leaf medicinally, as I don’t particularly care for the taste of their leaf as a vegetable, I did forage plantain for food today. But their seed heads, not their leaves.

Ever hear of psyllium husk, used as an egg replacement and additive in baking, specifically gluten free baking?
That’s plantain seeds- plantain seeds can be used the same way. I still have to separate the seeds from the seed heads and winnow them before I can use them.

The thing that most excited me about foraging today probably were these pears, though. Fruit generally are summer forages, but I haven’t really found any wild fruit ripe yet other than mulberries (which I haven’t been able to get in super large quantities); figs are still ripening, as are grapes, and prickle pears, and since our family goes through a lot of fruit, it’s nice to be able to save money on produce by picking my own.

We picked a good nearly 9 pounds of pears! We could have easily picked more, but we had to go…

I also brought home two types of allium flowers- these white ones…

…And these purple ones. I use them both the same. I tend to just stick them in my fridge as is, and then either use them fresh, or when they dry up, use them the same way. They don’t spoil in my fridge, just dry, and then I use them year round as well. They work any place I’d use garlic or onion in recipes- last thing I did with them was make a flavored oil for my gnocchi with them, and before that I used them in a chimichurri sauce. It’s terrific. And broken up, the flowers also work as a decent garnish.

Foraged anything lately? Any you’re particularly excited about? Anything you want to forage but isn’t ripe yet? 
If you’re not a forager (yet!), do any of these things look familiar? Have you seen them growing near you?