If there’s interest in classes this year, they’ll be free again as in years past. I will be posting in the next couple days a schedule. If you don’t see one posted, feel free to send me a reminder!

I’ve started a new job as of this week, so I’m trying to learn about that, but I’ll still be free to do these classes!

-Tracy

Watercress is one of the earliest of local wild edibles

My daughter and I went out for a “date day” on Monday and were bicycling in the Air Force Academy when I found some watercress growing in the creek. Watercress is easy to pass by as it looks just like a weed growing in the water, however, it’s a great plant to find and use.

Related to broccoli, radishes, cauliflower, and other mustard-family plants, watercress offers you a spicy flavor to add to salads or sandwiches. It has 10 or more amino acids, and vitamins A , B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B17, C, D, E, K.  Here’s an interesting fact I got off of the website, Herbs Are Special:

Watercress contains more sulphur than any other vegetable, except horseradish. Sulphur rich foods play an important part in protein absorption, blood purifying, cell building and in healthy hair and skin.

Watercress is good as a food item and also medicinally (though I’ll always try to mention that medicinal uses are mostly anecdotal).

I’ll be posting a note in the next week or so about our 2011 class dates. Keep watching and let your friends know.

Thanks for reading.

-Tracy
The Colorado Springs photographer (and wild foods forager)

Join us for one of our many classes at Rock Ledge Ranch this season.

Below is the tentative schedule for our 2010 Wild Things You Can Eat classes. For those of you who may not know what these classes are all about, you can read the first blog post and learn why I graze the Front Range!

Once a class meets the minimum requirement for registrations, it will be on the calendar and will not be rescheduled. At that point, the only thing that will force us to reschedule would be the weather, or if I get really sick.

Currently, all classes are set to be done at Rock Ledge Ranch and the schedule will be:

• 10am class begins
• 11:45 class ends
• noon – lunch! Enjoy some of what you have harvested

More details about the class and what you would want to bring with you will be posted in the upcoming weeks, so stay tuned!

This class is best suited for students ages 10 and up. If a class doesn’t meet the minimum registrations, it will be canceled. Minimum number of students is 10. Maximum number of students is 30.

CLASS DATES

• Monday, 5/3
• Monday, 5/17
• Monday, 6/7
• Saturday, 6/19
• Monday, 8/9
• Saturday, 8/21
• Monday, 8/30

This is our 5th season of offering these classes. We would really like to continue doing so, and we have gotten LOTS of positive comments about our class. Once again, we are offering these classes for free, but please consider donating to support this educational opportunity for you and your children. It would be greatly appreciated.

To register, please post a comment on this blog and let me know your name and how many people will be in your group. The classes are open to all homeschools, private schools, or public schools.

Thanks for reading!

-Tracy

Watch the video taken with a camera mounted on the back of the world's fastest bird, the Peregrine Falcon

Although this has *nothing* to do with eating wild things (other than the fact that these birds eat wild things…) this was so impressive, I wanted to share it, and it seemed like those who have an interest in wild edibles would also appreciate something like this.

It’s just one more piece of amazing evidence for the design and divine creation of our environment and universe.

By the way, we’ll be announcing class dates THIS WEEK, Lord willing. We’ll have a full schedule this year so we can accommodate many more people and groups. We might even be asked to do a full class for the County Parks Department this year. More info on that will be forthcoming.

-Tracy
Grazing the Front Range

Wild oregano adds a great flavor to many dishes

Last week, I dug out some of the dried wild oregano that I have stored in the pantry and made a couple of items that we’ve been enjoying and thought I would share one with you.

Wild Oregano Fajitas
This makes enough for our large family of 8. You might need to adjust for your family.

(Marinade)
1 cup Olive oil
2/3 – 3/4 cup red wine vinegar
4 teaspoon dried wild oregano
4 teaspoon chili powder
2 teaspoon garlic powder (or, I prefer fresh garlic – to taste)
2 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
(can also add some chopped wild onions in season!)

Mix all of these in a glass bowl, then pour over thinly sliced meat of your choice in a 13″ glass baking pan, then put in the fridge overnight. Then broil in a pre-heated oven for about 10 minutes. Serve with sides of lettuce, salsa, beans, guacamole, and other Mexican dishes!

Classes are coming soon!

Don’t forget that our 2010 classes will be kicking off in the next couple months. Our schedule will be posted soon, so be sure to keep checking here to get that information.

Thanks for reading.

-Tracy
The Wild Foods Forager and Colorado Springs Photographer

I wanted to let everyone know that we will be putting together our schedule of classes for 2010 very soon and will be releasing that information here on the blog, so keep watching the posts here.

Thanks for reading.

Tracy
Grazing the Front Range… and Beyond!

Wild plums and elderberries

The season is almost over, but there remains a few survivors out there. As many of you know, I am a portrait photographer by trade, and last Saturday I was photographing a family in a local park. After the session, my son, Josiah, and I went searching for some wild things to eat. Here’s what we found! These are blue elderberries and wild plums. We came away with about a dozen of the plums and hands-full of the elderberries, which we enjoyed on the drive home and in our oatmeal the next morning!

So, there are still some things out there, but probably only for a few more days (or until I get to them!

-Tracy

Man Eating Bugs?? Check it out on 8/21 at 6:30 at Bear Creek Nature Center

This Friday, August 21, at 6:30pm, there will be a great Wild Edibles class at Bear Creek Nature Center.

There will be 3 of us teaching that night. You’ll have the opportunity to learn about edible plants, mushrooms, and bugs. Yes, you read that right. I said BUGS!

Plus, you’ll get to sample some treats from each category.

Before you start grossing out about eating bugs, remember that there are many cultures and civilizations on almost every continent which eats bugs, either alive or cooked. I’m certainly not saying that I enjoy eating bugs, but I have done it at this class.

So, if you’re adventurous, or you just really like unique gastronimic experiences, then head out to Bear Creek Nature Center this Friday and join us for the class. I’ll be bringing a salad mixed with some wild plants and some “lemonade” made with a very tart berry which grows abundantly at BCNC. Ken will be bringing some mushrooms cooked to perfection, and Todd is the man with the bugs!

Hope to see you there.

-Tracy

Jonathan is sampling (with much gusto) his first taste of lamb’s quarter. This ubiquitous yard and garden pest is one of our favorites to find. The best part is that you can find this just about anywhere the soil has been disturbed. Stories abound of people using this as a survival food during the Depression.

It’s very similar to spinach in its taste and texture. We like to use it raw in salads, but it can be used cooked too. I even found a YouTube video describing how to make quiche with it (real wild-food-eating-men don’t make quiche out of the weeds they find – yuck!).

In fact, as I point out in my classes, foods like this commonly have more nutrients in them than do their cultivated counter-parts, which makes them very good to be harvested and consumed.

REMINDER!

The last class of 2009 is coming up on Monday, June 8. Here is a list of people that I show as being registered for this one.

• Monument homeschool group (26)
• Winstead family (6)
• Gipson family (2)

We’re a little over-populated for this class, so plan for it to take a little longer than normal. We’ll try to be back to the pond area by about noon for lunch.

To get all the details on what to bring, where to go, and when to be there, read this post.

-Tracy

Well, we didn’t get any positive responses from the Pine Tea sampling yesterday. Here are some more reactions!

-Tracy