It’s officially spring when the Big Leaf Maples are blossoming.
I made this little video about foraging on Bowen for the Bowen Island film fest last year.
My friend and Author of book The Urban Homesteading Cookbook Dr. Michelle Nelson, guided us down to the beach to experience how to harvest edible sea weeds in the Pacific Northwest It was extremely fun and very useful. A little mermaid came out of all of us!
She showed us 3 different edible seaweeds. I posted photos and some recipes below. Two of which are from her seriously fantastic book.
Always remember when foraging for wild foods:
To go out with an expert OR you have become an expert yourself; to ensure you stay safe and know how to practice sustainable harvesting.
Especially with seaweeds, you want to leave behind more than you take, to rinse off and return any sea creatures that may be on the seaweed before leaving the shore. Inspect the weeds very closely as even the tiniest of shell fish could be attached. Make sure you leave them in the water near the patch you pulled from.
Finding your own food is extremely rewarding and is something we all need to be taught, it makes you have a greater appreciation for the environment we live in and mucho respect for our Mother Earth.
You can follow Michelle and her adventures @therurbanist on Instagram.
Catch a sneak peak of our day here, Enjoy!