Wild Food Day

By Diane Forrest,

An old timer who grew and collected much of the food he ate used to say something like this:

"The plants I grow in my garden and the foods I collect in the woods have to fight off the same bacteria, molds and viruses that I do. The ones that live in this area near my house. They've developed immunities over hundreds of years to survive here -- the fiddleheads, wild leeks, mushrooms and blackberries. When I eat them I get the benefit of some of that evolution. When you go buy fancy vegetables from California and fruit from South America or some faraway place, what good does that food do you? None of the bugs it’s had to fight off live here. It might even do you some harm."

My son grew up in boy scouts, from the time he was a cub, til he reached the rank of Eagle.  They would go on many overnight camping trips in the woods in our area.  During these trips they would learn about how to survive in the wild.  The would locate and identify edible plants, as well as learn how to trap and prepare animals, clean and cook the things they gathered as well as other useful information.

There is a certain satisfaction in knowing that you can survive off of the land and catching and preparing your own food without the use of a grocery store or microwave.  Many men and women in the south are known for their skills in hunting and fishing.  They claim that the first day of deer season should be considered a national holiday.  Each year during deer season, our local paper is full of hunters with their kills.  They take great pride in being able to supply food for their families.  They grow up learning the rules and skills of hunting and tracking, and pass this knowledge on to their children.  If you take care of nature, it will take care of you.

It has been my experience ( since I am not much of a chef) that men have a knack for cooking wild game, so I am giving you a recipe from an experienced deer hunter called Deer Meat Supreme:

• Venison
• Salt
• Pepper
• Meat Tenderizer
• Flour
• Margarine
• Lemon Juice
• Accent
• Eggs
• Lemon Pepper

Tenderize venison that has been aged properly.  Place meat on cookie sheet and sprinkle with lemon juice.  Add pepper (heavy), lemon pepper, salt (sparingly) meat tenderizer, Accent and marinate for 1/2 hour.  Turn meat and repeat process and marinate for 1/2 hour.  Flour meat, dip in beaten egg and flour again.  Fry in cast iron skillet with about 3/4 inch hot bacon grease for about 2 to 3 minutes.  Turn and try another 2 to 3 minutes.  For a different taste, you can skip the egg and flour and fry in 1 stick butter.  Do not overcook.  Enjoy!

One of my favorite recipes with deer is deer sausage.  The sausage is made at meat packing facility.  Of course you can make your own, but it’s easier to have it prepared.  You can also have hamburger made from deer meat as well.

I like the link sausage and my daddy's old scout recipe for biscuits.

Boy Scout Biscuits:

1 cup self rising flour

1 heaping table spoon mayonnaise

Milk

Preheat oven to 425.  Mix flour and mayonnaise, then add milk until the mixture is thick, not too dry, and not too wet.  Spoon onto cookie sheet and bake for 20 minutes or until done.  Makes about 6.

Slice sausage down the center and place in skillet.  Fry until done and place on hot buttered biscuit.

For other information about wild food and recipes click here http://theforagerpress.com/fieldguide/basics.htm

Today is wild food day, so try something different and see what you can find in your yard.  Just make sure it is edible and not poisonous first!