Offset Your Grocery Bill – Foraging for Wild Edibles (with Lisa Rose)

Hey you guys and welcome to this week's Edition of The Pantry chat Food For Thought this week we are tackling a Really great subject I'm really excited About a lot of you guys have talked to Me about this and asked me questions and Um Today we are going to be discussing Foraging and really diving into some Urban foraging too not just what we'll Be covering them both but foraging in General but uh specifically Urban Foraging and I'm really excited to have Lisa Rose here she's the author of the Book Urban foraging Um so she she knows what she's talking About and this is really exciting I'm I'm glad you're here because I love the Idea of foraging and I do forage a Little bit we're on a lot of acreage We're surrounded by a lot of acreage so We have great things like morel Mushrooms up here and you know a lot of Fun things like that but as far as like Oh huckleberries huckleberries are a big One for our family but as far as like Really starting to incorporate these Things in a Mainstay way into our diet It's kind of been a little hard for me To bridge that Gap in a lot of ways so I I'm just so excited to have you here but So welcome first of all thank you thank You Um tell us a little bit about how you

Got started in to you know foraging into That entire world to start with well you Know first and foremost I'm so excited To hear you know that you've you've Already taken the first step and that You have a relationship right with the Huckleberries with the morels you know You have the the luxury right of having Land and you know wild space that that's Around you so that you can not just Yourself but you can take your family Out to explore the natural world and I Think that first and foremost that That's really that starting place is is Having that Curiosity and building that Relationship with the land and you know When I think people say oh how long did This take you know how long did it take You to learn this how long you know have You been doing this and I think gosh It's been my my entire existence really On the planet it's taken different turns Right as my life has shifted when I was A kid my mom you know she was she loved Morels we had a huge Garden you know in The city in Flint when I was a smaller Child and even all the way into you know My own adulthood she always was canning And preserving foods from the garden and Then also just just those memories of Walking you know to the lake shore I was Lucky enough to live by Lake Michigan For a good part of my childhood as well So being able to walk and you know snack

On the black raspberries right and Really those those moments are embedded Into my memory as a human and a lot of Us believe it or not even us in the city We actually have more memories than we Perhaps immediately recall so really I Love inspiring people to kind of dig Back and find their more playful side of Of their relationship with nature yeah That's so true I'm thinking back to a Point before we even lived out in the Country and my mom would take us out Blackberry picking and she'd go find the Wild Spaces and this was in Southern California yeah blackberries are not Everywhere it's not like the Pacific Northwest or something like that but she Would take us and find these little Tucked in places and we would take a Picnic lunch and go pick blackberries And we rarely got more than enough for Like a Blackberry oh yeah yeah but the Memories were so strongly you know the The associations to those memories are So strong Um so it's really neat that you that you Go back all the way that far There's a quality My mind people 's hash I mean even even myself you know I I have I do have a busy modern day Lifestyle right that that I do try to Incorporate to the much as much as I can Bringing the outside in and foraging but

By no stretch of the means of you know I You know am I a hundred percent of my Diet Off the Grid and from Wild foods And I I'd say it's more about having That point of awareness and Intentionality To bring that into your lifestyle you Know as opposed to making it the goal of A hundred percent off grid if you can Make it to that that's fantastic but Then there's also the other side of it That not all of us have access to Sufficient amount of land or resources Natural resources to sustain us to that Degree especially for those of us that Are you know adjacent to Central Park Let's say like we can't all turn to Central Park as our green grocer that Would be completely inappropriate right And an appropriate use of the the Resources that's there for a shared Space so Yeah it's about the quality of that Relationship tapping into that very Human connection that we have with the Land and then and then going from there And learning and and uh helping Cultivate then too the Wild Spaces along The way So I have a lot of questions for you That I'm excited to dive into but first I I've got to say one of the things that I really like about this book the urban Foraging book that I feel like a lot of

Foraging books don't have in them is What to do with these plants when you Bring them in I'm looking right here Aspen Woodland bitters Um or you know going into the culinary Uses here's a recipe for Elderberry Syrup in this section The Elderberry you know actually getting Into recipe yeah I love this one because I've actually made this one myself and That was now I've lost it I was there For a second but it was the prickly pear Cactus uh simple syrup oh yeah great for Cocktail hour dry January or not They're all sorts of amazing things and Um so you know I love that you put that In there but I've got to ask how do you Get from those early memories of mom and Uh you know picking those little bits of Wild greens to writing the book on Urban Foraging with all the recipes in it what What did that process look like for you You know it's really so this is my Fourth book Um all of all of the pieces I've Published to date have been focused Exclusively on our food system and you Know the past three books have been Field guides and this is of these of the Three for foraging this is more of a Hybrid so including recipes Meant to be used adjacent to your Regionally appropriate Field Guide Because I mean botany in and of itself

Across time and space Plants change they vary across you know Different regions So this is really again sort of a build On the different chapters I've had in my Own life so I've had my professional Career as one trained as an Anthropologist so as um you know from an Academic perspective I've focused on um Food and the origins of agriculture in The Neolithic how you know in the Middle East in Levant human communities began To cultivate seeds we began to practice Animal husbandry you know what that Looked like across time and space as Humans migrated to different communities How you know agriculture Co evolved Adjacent here in the in the New World North or North America and South South America So like that out the gate that I was Just always interested in in the the Origins of Agriculture so you know from There of course one wonders what do you Do as an anthropologist with a focus in Food why you move to Napa you live in France you kind of dabble and all the Things and you know I've been so lucky To have been surrounded by people that Care about the Earth That have a relationship with plants in The land that have a curiosity around Culture right so there's always been This really great intersection and

Culture share on recipes so you know in Urban foraging The recipes come from my personal Experiences with the plants and then Also adjacent people I couldn't you know Fit all of the stories into like why I Chose different recipes but each one has A story that's personal to me so you Know and there's a there's a person or Multiple people and and generally a Scenario that kind of said this is why I Should include this because it's it's It's a bit of me so that's something That you know we all have our that Personal Red Thread that goes through Our our Um current life and even past back into The generations right when you think of Those Family Recipes my mother's Um you know gosh she we would put up About 50 quarts of wild grape juice Every fall and it you know I actually do Know I have a threshold for purple for Wild grape juice that's the other kid I Maxed it out right right And so you know it's this again it's This culmination of experiences for me That have been Um actually just just wildly magical and And definitely delicious I love to eat And I love to spend time with you know With people and learn from other people Of Um you know it's not necessarily even to

Learn another recipe but it's it's the Um that exchange and that building of a Relationship that comes with with making Food Um with others especially others with a Different background and a different you Know point of view in the world so Hopefully Um you know I'll continue to build on That and you know I I am sort of one That I'm a more of a um a soup maker Than a baker so I kind of I sparingly Included baking types of recipes in There because anybody that know me would Know I'm full of if I was to go into the Baker Street to be like oh we know where She is the best baker definitely right Just to bring in that amalgam of of life Experience and I mean and you know this Too you come you accumulate those Moments right and those Foods really can Can And just be the highlight of those Moments well you're really talking My Love language now not a lot of people Know this but when I was back in college I really dove into studying his uh Prehistoric ethnobotany which is really A fancy way of saying Um you know understanding how different Cultures used plants before we had Recipe books right yeah 100 we had Written recipes and it was really out of This this desire to learn how to live

Within the area that I occupy yeah you Know if I live in Tennessee How do I exist there yeah you know with The meaningful surroundings if I live Where I am here in in northern Idaho how Do I exist there and we do that a lot of Times we can learn so much by studying The cultures that came before us in Those areas who had no choice you know Trading around what this was difficult It's what you ate was what you had Outside your door all the time and you Needed to make the most of it so I Really like that I want to jump in to Some um To some actual questions here to help People get started and to start thinking About how to integrate some of these Things into their life whether they're Out you know here in North Idaho Surrounded by Wild Land and 40 acres of Property and everything that we have Here or if you're in a city somewhere or If they're in a suburbs somewhere you Know one thing that we're really big at Here at homesteading family is Encouraging people to start right where They're at you don't need 40 acres To be able to develop a lot of these Skills and you may never need 40 acres For you and for what your goals are but You can start right where you're at and That's so important so I I gotta just kind of deal with the

Elephant that's in the room for me here Which is I think for a lot of people This idea of urban foraging the Immediate thing that we come up against Is they tell us not to gather food by The roadsides how in an urban setting How do you avoid the roadsides is that Really an issue can you just talk to This idea of like plant toxicity Runoff and all of these things it comes With foraging yeah in fact I love you Know I don't qualify that as the as an Elephant in the room in fact Um You know you can't talk about Urban Foraging and not address the the current State and the historical use of the land In our cities and adjacent to even in Our AG communities Um you know first and foremost I you Know I've You know I do have a framework for Considering and understanding how I Would Harvest plants and and it's there Are a couple of pieces to that first and Foremost absolutely a safety so you know From a botany perspective Um I I think botany and plants I think That that should be democratized so First and foremost like Demystifying some of the basics again Urban foraging Um is not a BL end all botany book by Any stretch of the means it should be

Used adjacent to a more detailed Field Guide that's regionally appropriate but Also to understand and to to make it not So Latin heavy and understand there are The mint family plants there are some Great you know the Nettles and you know The varieties of sunflowers lots of Different edible plants that have been Used you mentioned ethnobotany across Time and space now and so my first rule Is if you don't know what it is don't Pick it or put it in your mouth Definitely don't put it in your mouth Like okay right it's like what I would Say to my children You know you know it you definitely you Know verify that what the plants are Um are edible for use and then the next Piece of that understanding Um the local environment that you're in So I really love it that how you're Saying start with where you're at Because that's a really really really Important Um you know I think that it's a it's Being a good Steward of the land that You immediately occupy is it's almost a Requirement right so getting to know Okay so in my neighborhood you know I Live in Grand Rapids currently And I caught I'm co-located in New York City so where my office is and and where My home is in both places I I really Have done a double click in where I am

Adjacent to the Watershed what I know Has you know even as an Urban Gardener Down to soil tests what nutrients what Pollutants are in my soil on my on my You know plot of land that my house sits On right so understanding you know and Really making sure taking an inventory So to speak of the historical use of the Land how was the land used is it you Know Upstream in my Down River from Potentially a dairy farm or even you Know even a more Um Industrial commercial use of you know of Of of the lands you know most of our Cities are built on some sort of water Access right that there's a reason for That Industrial use large in part you know it Was to take away industrial toxins well That's resulted in a lot of Legacy Toxins so you know my family's Originally from Flint I don't know if You've ever followed the Flint water Story but you can't drink the water And I I don't laugh it's not funny at All in fact it's in my opinion it's it's A real tragedy and crime against the Citizens of Flint that the water has Gotten to that point Um but as a forager that doesn't mean That the crab apples can't be munched on If they're in a neighborhood or even in A more busy intersection right so then

It's it's like okay I've identified my Crab apples Has it rained where is this tree located What kind of air pollution is it and Quite honestly Um You know if I'm living in a city I am Cohabitating with these plants and trees And this is more jumps into more of a Philosophical you know discussion Um I'm exposed to those same Envirotoxins as the crab apple tree now That doesn't mean I should also take Free license and carefree gather you Know a doc species or even a nettle Um you know a plant that might take up Lead right the toxicity the heavy heavy Metals contaminants in the soil I I I'd Say you know I don't need to I'm not I'm Going to stay away from that you know Some of those plants if I feel there's Heavy metal contamination so What I really use to approach this is a Is a framework it's it's about having The right questions to ask and then Similar we'll just say eating sushi While pregnant right or having coffee or A glass of wine while pregnant Those decisions then remain at the Individual Comfort level am I Comfortable eating the crab apples from The city yeah quite frankly I am Somebody else might not be that's fine Um and so again it's there's there's

That framework of knowing your botany Knowing your plants understanding the Land use And then understanding what happens to The plants in those environments that Might make them more or less a problem Um in relationship to those potential Um toxins that we find in an urban well A field guide a good field guide give You that information or like how do you Find that type of information because I Know sometimes The things that we need to make the Decision the information out there Sometimes they're it's hard to find you Have to dig really hard yeah yeah You're you're 100 correct so So in the the field I can only speak to The field guides I've written and in all Three of my books I've included a safety Practices and considerations and that Covers everything from Wastewater Management to egg contaminants to Um you know I'd say easements railroad Tracks power lines right-of-ways right All of those have unique Um Histories of use that might make it more Or less something to be an area of Concern and then but but I don't write About like the super fund area areas of Concern right like if you live where I Where I'm you know in the Great Lakes Area we have multiple Superfund sites

Because of of our Indus you know we're In the Rust Belt right that's just That's just how it is right Gary Indiana Um you think you know along Chicago's uh River fronts and waterways we have a lot Of latent Um Legacy chemicals the pfas the pcbs like And honestly this is a problem that's Bigger than foraging quite honestly Right exactly it really is right and so For me it's like I don't want to Overwhelm anybody and I I want to Approach it again as a place to create a Relationship Um I could double click and go all the Way like super hard like I said like the Super fun type sites and go there but That's really Um like a different conversation it's an Important and adjacent conversation Right but this is that gateway to say oh My gosh what is around me what is around My my family what's in my water how do I Care how you can't be what you don't see So you know by way of foraging by way of Even peaking interest of saying what can You even do that It's seriously it starts a conversation Right and it's it starts with a what's Possible and and really helps us from That position of asking questions and And wanting to learn more that it Actually what it does is build more

Engaged Citizens in their natural in the natural World around them you know at the end of The day well it's it's kind of like Becoming the informed consumer Absolutely start learning you have to Start asking the questions and I've Often wondered how you know a lot of Field Guides of course we have best Practices we have to kind of give the The broad spectrum statements when we're Educating people about potential Concerns Um but you know in in my area I do have A road right out like right out this Window there's the road that goes Through there now it's a road that gets No heavy use from Industrial Equipment It couldn't stand up to it it's a very Rough road sure Um it gets maybe 20 cars on it this time Of year when it's mostly iced over and Barely sure yeah okay you know so a Couple of seasonal roads out here it's Just very very you know kind of rough Version of a road here out in the Country and you know how do I interpret The books that say something like you Know don't collect plants that are 20 Feet off the road Um on my road versus down in town which Does have a lot of trucks moving through All day every day versus going down to The big city and you know that's a whole

Different level of things we have to Kind of take it all with a grain of salt And really start Um Interpreting these things ourselves Which is a little scary because we take Responsibility back on right no yeah I Have anyways we just pretend that we Don't by like hiding behind the general Statement sometimes you bring up a Couple of good points Um actually multiple multiple good Points Um the the formula of don't Harvest 20 Feet off the road well that that's that That's not very descript that it's an Arbitrary it's arbitrary number right It's it's all the things you point out What type of Road what type you know I Think of our roads here locally in in Michigan across the seasons right we Treat some of our roads with salt we Treat some of our worlds with sand we Treat some of our roads with fracking Water you know it's it's we have a History of you know along the Lakeshore Our blueberry farms actually dying back Because of those chemical applications So it's it's again it's a variable Statement it's a variable equation And you know the responsibility part of It is that You know I go back to your your Conversation around ethnobotany and

Prehistory There was a a common sense ethos and Again I'll use the word framework like Things were learned and then you make Decisions with all the information you Have and in good faith right But you still have to go through those Series of like if this then that right And we don't we've we've not had to do That for about 50 years yeah right and And we've relied on industry to say What's safe Um and that that pendulum is swung back Where we're like um Teflon's not safe it's not working for Us anymore This is there's some there's some you Know I I'd go so far to say there's this Blatant lack of trust now in the Institutions to keep us safe Um particularly in the U.S I think there Are other I think because of we don't Even have to go there that's a whole Other adjacent conversation right it's Like you know I want to make sure that I have the best information available to Me and then I can make that that right Choice but then also it does require Um having our institutions be Transparent with what's on the road What's in the water holding Um you know accountability to what what Goes into those those shared resources Right like our babies are drinking the

Water In Flint my 94 year old's aunt was Drinking you know she's on Very engaged citizen drinking the water Out of her tap until you know until she Passed and she just felt like that was Her civic duty and I was like that's Interesting But you know she didn't she felt like She had this sentiment that um You know to to be with everybody else That was being Um I guess uh Hoodwinked and blatantly lied To of what was in the water right we we Need to really Have um we have to have clean water That's that's a that's a big deal right Right and from there let's let's have That information Empower us Um to be able to do whatever we can with The resources we have to make sure the Future is available for our children and Their children's children Um because this really this really is in The bigger picture also Um It's a larger piece of our in you know Environmental sustainability so I want To attack for a moment a fallacy that I Hear a lot of the time and I get a lot Of communications from people from all Over the United States all over the World and

Um this is one that just makes me cringe A lot and I just want to dive into this And I think you're the perfect person to Dive into this a little bit with but We'll also often hear Um Somebody say well When the World falls apart I've got my Field guide on my shelf and I'm just Going to go to the empty lot next door And forage We we hear this in context of gardening Too like oh I've got my pack of seeds And I'm just gonna grow a garden if the World falls apart and I can't get food At the grocery store now those of you Guys who followed us for a long time You'll know we are very Solutions Oriented we don't like poking at the Problem too much yes we all need to Recognize there's a lot yeah yeah yeah Community in the world but there's a lot Of solutions too to be proactive in Taking those and this is one of those Things though that makes me like it Makes me cringe and I think from the Gardening side I cringe because I know How many years I have totally screwed up A garden And I'm thinking these people don't even Know what they're doing and they're Going to wait till the most stressful Moment to pull out and learn yeah very Advanced skill but it's right the same

With foraging because do you know how Long it has taken me like in some cases How many years it has taken me to Identify a plant that is in books like Oh yeah and it should be all over the Place and I just can't identify well Once I do or somebody helps me oh it Really is all over the place I just Couldn't identify it for one reason or Another What like for somebody who's actually Ready to get out I mean obviously we can Kind of laugh at that scenario and go That's stressing me out actually To make you cringe too My family's uh Safety well-being to depend on me Learning a skill that fast but um For people who are actually ready to Like weighed in and start taking steps Right now which hate guys is the right Answer if you think you want to move Towards more foraging start learning it Now like don't worry Um What what would be the first steps that You would increase well first and Foremost I think we're in a really Fantastic moment in human history at Least in the past 60 70 years when you Know the last big movement toward Um this a collective desire to have Basic knowledge of how to grow your food Happen with the Victory Gardens in the

40s right so that was the really last And and you know there were there were Clothing coupons right where you used Your clothing coupon to get the material You needed to make your family's Clothing there like there was a huge Need to know how to sew right like to Know how to do these basic things and we Saw that during the pandemic Right like I we all have our own pandemic stories Um mine started a bit earlier like a Month earlier than those people in the US because my son was in um in South Korea at the time for school so we went To quarantine when South Korea went into Quarantine when I got him home so I kind Of had this like two-week lead time to Be like what do I need to have in place To make sure I can stretch my pantry Goods Um you know this was February in Michigan we had you know snow at the Time yeah yeah I'm like okay well I know What I have on hand I have my seeds I Have I didn't go full on prep or I did Order a box of toilet paper and figured That was good enough I didn't have to do A whole run like on all the toilet paper But I did buy a box That became a valuable box of toilet Paper we can you know we can talk about It now I did like I gave my children Like their ration buckets like you got

Like each roll like you just didn't get Like the toilet paper that reappeared in The cabinet right like you each got your Own role like you'd have to bring it in With you bring it out when you're out That's your month's worth [Laughter] But I knew to your point like I had and Again it's not just my 40 years of Experience but it's also my mother's Ability That she taught me how to can she taught Me how to cook she wasn't she was a very Functional cook right my stepmother she Grew up in southern Germany after the War and I mean she had her own POV about How I mean let's talk about extreme like They had nothing in the in you know Southern Germany you know the they were All eating out of trash bins right and And so I had that skill set and the fact Is is that we don't have that skill set Large in part so this isn't just like a One-off kind of situation But I think even when you look at Market research for Gen Z they want to Have these very tangible skills they They have this desire to know how to be Self-sufficient now I mean that's that's Kind of in tandem with also being super Connected some of these other really Interesting cultural Trends that we're seeing But it's like the first thing first if

You're interested get outside right get Outside get to understand where the sun Rises and sets get to understand or at Least start to notice the patterns right Because to somebody that's not gardened At any point in their life and I've done A lot of work Environmental Education Work with people in the city You go out into the forest one it's Quiet and that's dissonant out the gate Right if you're used to 24 7 traffic and You go out into the the the the woods You don't you're taught not to go into The woods Like that's just not a safe place right So It's it's Exposing yourself to the outdoors it's It's getting in you know getting engaged And starting to learn what those Seasons Look like I mean you as a gardener and As a homesteader Um I you know we have a shared Understanding of how the Sun and its Position across the sky will subtly Affect the quality of light and then Subtly affect the temperature in the Soil and then subtly affect the weather Patterns which then will affect when we Plant and start our seeds and then Harvesting right like we and that takes A long time to not just know but to know And to be able to Intuit right so Starting to get outsides and that's

That's part of the concern I have Um Right now is that You know I love technology I really do I Think it's fascinating as a tool and as Something that can bring us together That you and I can sit adjacent you know Nine ten states away right 2 300 miles Apart four hours time difference and Have a chat Um but I think that we do need to have That broader skill set and and knowing How again like how to keep your family Your family fed yourself fed and it's Not just having a go kit right like yeah You should or have some degree of mental Checklist of what you're going to have To go you know having your go box but Really you know start to and that's why I like to make it fun because once you Go doomsday like that's that's a whole Mental Paradigm that's not very fun to Live in right no it's not it's not Supposed It was all of us in pandemic right You know but I think again and we saw This during pandemic people wanted to Learn sourdough of starters and how to How to really You know part of it might have been Boredom but I do think it's fueled by This Um human need To take care of ourselves right it does

Transcend just a fad or a trend Um the prehist the prehistoric Ethnobotanical knowledge That's latent I Believe in Us and I Think that the the more recent times Have sort of kind of woken us up a Little bit and said hey Remember how you're supposed to be as a Human Um because we have a long pre-history of Doing this to Keep Us Alive we have the Luxury right now to make it fun right Get it embedded into our education Programs encouraging our our communities Um I always say if you're new to Gardening and you're interested in Gardening and then the City generally You'll have a couple of Um you know Community Gardens in town Well go see if you can you know low low Low risk right like you're not tilling Up your own your whole front yard and You know taking off your neighborhood Association It's very small start make it Incremental and foraging the same way You don't have to flip your entire diet To be you know barks and berries and you Know your acorns I love having acorns on Hand all year Um but at the same time if if you start Bringing the mint in and drying it for Mint tea and then blending it maybe with Some some either rose petals to maybe

Make a nice relaxant tea add in some Lemon balm right just to just kind of Approach it in a really fun playful Delicious way You'll be much more likely to stick with It and Garner more interest than like Trying to you know eat Process the Aspen bark and think that's Going to really you know as much as I Love my Aspen bark as a culinary agent That's probably not the the Gateway I Might maybe recommend mid Nettles crab Apples the delicious ones right so right Well and it's it's such a good thing to Be you know like you say getting outside Going for walks and just looking at What's around you you know and seeing What's right there because if that's if It's right there you grab a handful of It and you garnish your dinner with it You toss it into your salad that you're Gonna have yeah in your cup of tea you Can do these things and it just starts At such a low commitment level that it's Not Um this heavy pressurized thing that it It could become if you were like yeah Like this is an end of the world skill I Have to have right now or else yeah that Just that's really not the way to start Anything and it's not fun no it's not it Won't stick you don't want to do that so You know and even going back to when my My kids

Um were quite little and I you know I Love raw milk I love making cheese from Scratch I love clarifying butter uh I Remember 2 A.M you know I was like There's so much pressure that I had to Make my own just to finish the jars of Cream into butter because oh my gosh I Think I gotta do all these things Perfect and I'm like What am I doing I need to go to sleep So I'm sort of post-modern in that way Of like looking back and be like girl if You're doing it that way I might Recommend just like making some tea go To bed And that's something that I tell people All the time is you have my permission To say no no you know you don't have to Do it all if the moment comes to it Where you do for the survival of your Family you'll figure it out you know That's a different question But you don't have to do it all but gain The skill in a in a more relaxed way Right now and if that's as simple as Going for a walk and finding what you Know and pointing it out looking at it You know bring a little bit of a home And nibble on it but it doesn't like you Said you don't need to switch your Entire diet over to a forage food right Now hey if you do because you love Something so much and you have those Resources great it's probably with you

For you anyways but um but just you know Don't don't pressurize the CIS the thing That yeah yeah how do you get kids Involved in the foraging side I know We've got a lot of kids around here and Honestly Huckleberries are a great way to go Packets Probably blackberries raspberries Whatever you have like that but let's Say I'm like you know we've We Live Well I think everybody lives in a dandelion Rich environment right Um and getting them to go pick dandelion Greens for me is not nearly as easy as Uh picking huckleberries so do you have A method for getting them involved at Least so that they're learning the skill On a real light level yeah I think all The things that you just mentioned in Terms of well so mine my children are Now Um how old are they 17 and 20 and you Know when they they had no choice they Were sort of brought into the world Um you know I always maintained a garden Um you know I I long time food advocate So being engaged with our farmers Markets my kids were had the luxury of Getting to know all of the farmers and You know I I think that You know there are some things about Gardening that just aren't fun and There's things about Gathering food that

Just aren't fun and there are some Things in life that just aren't fun Right you have chores I'm sorry picking the greens it's just Not like Yay I'm gonna go pick greens I Mean I sometimes feel that way and I try To look at as I get to go Harvest fresh Greens out of my garden right like the Ghettos versus uh I have to right Um you know I think integrating those Fortunately I think a lot of our Communities now have have really good Green markets and farmers markets so I Think that actually is a really good Starting point adjacent to Wild Foods Right because it introduces kids to the Broader picture right like many of our Children just know fruits and vegetables Going into the grocer and seeing the 30 Varieties that every you know Kroger Aldi You know Meyer has in the grocery store Right it's very limited You get into a farmer's market you start To see different varieties and then you Start to make a connection and if your Farmers Market offers opportunities to Go to the market you may be community Supported agriculture is a really great Way for families with kids to get Involved Multi-generational opportunities are Amazing right if you have the luxury of Having your grandparents also be able to

Be engaged it creates this really unique Again lasting memory right so I think That You know part of me I you know I talk About with my own grandmother who's 96 This week Um I learned a lot from her and her Approach they had a dairy farm in the 30s actually they had an entire Dairy Fleet of trucks milk trucks that were Powered by electricity of of all things In the 30s I know they were so Progressive Um you know but she she'd never she'd Never Um Really she'd always be very direct on Like these were ways of of surviving Right but I think it it's good though to Have that intergenerational dialogue so We can see you know you know and and Also get handed down some of those tips While our older generation is still Living so you know I think Do coming at it from a whole bunch of Different angles in fact early in my Career it was the food nutrition Education programming gardening with Kids Community gardening that really Was a big part of my life and um getting Kids to taste new foods getting adults To taste their Foods right Um tying it into a curriculum for those That homeschool there's a lot of online

Resources now that can help bring in the Sciences bring in the literature bring In um all like from a multi-disciplinary Approach right kids would say to me you Know if we're tasting new foods Let's say you know it was arugula Miss Rose this is nasty okay so fine you say It's nasty that's that's that's fine That that's your first descriptor but Can you tell me more why you have that Reaction help me understand what you're Tasting is it fuzzy Is it slimy is it spicy maybe what I'm Hearing you say it's spicy not Necessarily nasty but spicy it's not Familiar to you yet can you tell me more About that right and it's it's almost Like the kids version of wine tasting Right yeah I love my taste shoe leather Yeah well that's a problem actually but Yeah yeah but Um but yeah no I really like that idea Of really bringing out and asking them To explore the flavors of what they're Tasting we had an experience the other Day that really stood out to me and this Was a moment when Um I had the seven-year-old at the table Do something that Josh and I have done Over and over again and we haven't Always done it intentionally but it Happened in a way that made me go wow We've been doing something right on the Food side that I didn't even realize it

Was kind of unintentional But she sat down at the play at the Table we have very non-picky eaters Because we don't allow picky eating it Or not it just isn't gonna happen Um We all have opinions but it doesn't mean We get to be picky but She sat down she looked at her plate and She was like we grew those potatoes and Those were our green beans and though That was the chicken that we raised here And she went through everything on the Plate and she identified how she was Involved in the process It was it was this moment where Josh and I have done that over and over again at The table just trying to Circle back Around you know we picked those months Ago at this point yeah and so how Valuable to look at that again and say Do you remember that day we were all out There and we were doing all that Together and it was hard work then but Here it is we're still eating this stuff You know like that's such a blessing That's amazing so being able to bring That experience full circle for the kids Too of like this is the cobbler that Came from those blackberries that we Picked and yeah Horns and all the everything that we had To reach through yeah and just making That a positive memory and framing it

For the kids how how valuable that Really is now I want to Pivot just a Little bit I I gotta first say yeah I Got this job Dividends Sometimes Successes that we don't we're like oh That was good like let's keep doing that Hang on to that one Um so with inflation the way it is at The grocery store and it is high this is Hard for a lot of families to eat We also have some of these issues with Inflation I don't know if you live in a City you may not experience this because You have a lot stronger supply lines Coming in but here in our little town we Have two grocery stores and they're kind Of mainstream grocery stores But uh one of the main grocery stores Announced early this last winter that They were no longer going to be bringing In the more delicate produce fresh Produce for the winter because they Couldn't get a good enough quality it Was rotting too fast and people weren't Able to afford it so they were going Down to things like root vegetables Cabbages stuff that could sit on their Shelf now this is this is a grocery Store that usually has a beautiful Selection of different types of organic Kale and you know like you've got a Really nice selection and it really

Um Shut down what the selection was that Was available especially over winter When there's not a lot of ground Available but I just want to tie that Around how can foraging save money on Groceries in a practical way You know and like you said it might not Be that you're just like I'm just gonna Forage all my food next month right That's probably not practical for most People but there are some ways that it Can actually help You know I think uh you again the the Current reality of our food system Um you know the inflation is is is Significant you know conventional eggs Now are 650 a dozen in our in our local Grocer right we're not even talking Free-range pastured happy chickens right So there's that Um You know and I think that the travesty That happens when you are even in a Rural environment so you have food Deserts in the city but we also have Rural food deserts right the irony that That that you know it's very dissonant To think about that but you know not Having that ability to have that produce Brought in leaves a big gap so I think That not even just a foraging Um Paradigm but rethinking how do we Create a resilient Community where we

Have the resources for that long winter Season right so it comes in multiple uh Different from multiple different angles How do we think about food preservation How do we you know bring forward how do We partner because back in the day this Was not all done at the family unit Level solely you had generational Engagement you had multiple families Living nearby right the load was shared We don't have that right now so the Burden primarily falls back to one Caregiver generally within a household To think about seasonal Um food prep so that's so there's an Opportunity to think okay how do we Fill that Gap and pool our resources to Do some food preservation how do we Leverage Um you know the different Um extra Surplus so gleaning we have More we have a food distribution problem In the United States we don't have a Food quantity problem we're going to Talk about agriculture right so So how do we start to think a little Differently and say okay How do we rebuild those local networks To say I have extra this this this this And it's going to look different for Every Community right in the city that Might be that might be Urban gardeners Sharing produce it might be working with The food pantries it might be a myriad

Of networks right and you might not have That diversity of networks within a Rural infrastructure at least in in the Number of them but you also have I think A An ability to tap into those more Connected networks I think I you know I Know that that isolation and loneliness In a rural environment is real But also it's a little different than in The city where there's also isolation It's a really you know you know what I Mean it's like so there's There's an opportunity to come together And rebuild those communal Infrastructures that help us Leverage The Surplus help us rebuild the Information that works right because You're not going to be able to just go Forage out the gate and start picking Things and expect it to be amazing on Your plate if you've never cooked Gardens or Gone outside It's gonna be a steep learning curve Right So how how can we start to You know those of us with those broader Networks like you yourself you have a Large community base right that you can Help pull together be a convener say how How can we you know solve this Collectively so we have a better Likelihood of success and a higher rate

Of resiliency right like I really think That Um foraging what you do learn is the Interconnectivity and and this the Inter-reliance of systems you start to See how that plays out right and so Using that Um that approach for our communities I Think will also help us build resiliency Um as we face you know this this Inflation issues is not going to go away Anytime soon yeah right it's it's just Like We have fall you know we this isn't an Economics conversation at all but you Know when you look at subsidies and and All of the true cost of of growing our Food and distributing our food you Brought up you know Transport of fruits and vegetables from Salinas Valley you know to Idaho that's You know to keep your romaine lettuce Happy right a lot of inputs That's like that lettuce it's a first Class ticket to Idaho Right climate controlled right exactly Um and that's not that's not Um we haven't paid that price at the at The supermarket and just now we're Starting to see Those systems right so hopefully we can Take a a page out of the the natural Worlds Playbook and and look at those Systems of interdependency and resource

Sharing and To hedge against Um gosh what so many people are facing Right now it's really it's it's people Are foregoing medical care they're Foregoing you know they're they're Starting to miss mortgage payments you Know it's it's the layoffs continue just To roll through like this and um We have enough we just have to rethink How we're Sharing resources and and and Building Community yeah and that takes Getting a little intentional about it And actually looking at the problem and Dealing with it so We I'm going to throw questions at you Real fast we're going to do sure around Okay speed round this is uh foraging Speed ground I have not given Lisa any Heads up on these questions But but okay uh 30 seconds or less What's the fastest way to clean greens That you have forged that come in filthy Uh first I wouldn't pick them filthy if They come in filthy I might raise my Eyebrows so it depends on the mud on Them but I would quickly rinse them off In a blast of cold water with my sprayer Reevaluate and go from there next Question good how did de-stem Elderberries the fast way oh de-stemming Elderberries the fast way bring them in I usually use a large sheet and I'll

Just kind of loosely shake the umbles on A sheet and then pick out the embols and Bring it together and go from there cool What is your most favorite forage food That you're eating right now I'm using My Acorn flour as a very delectable Cuisine as as Breads and and porridge And and I'll put homemade maple syrup on Top and that's kind of my Indulgence Some of some of my favorite cookies ever Were Acorn flower cookies they are so Good It was your biggest disaster or the one That comes to mind the first when it Comes to foraged food and experimenting In the kitchen my favorite forage food Slash disaster it wasn't a disaster but It was like the end of June my first Year in my apartment in college and I Made a foraged mulberry pie and did not Include enough corn starch but I Overlooked all of that because it was Amazing because I made it myself To become ice cream topping instead hey You know I just kind of yeah exactly a Little a little aloe mode and a dish and It was fine Are there any Foraging absolutely there are legal laws In terms of using Um communal land or Municipal all the Way to Federal lands and and removing Plants animals natural materials so Check your laws

Private property are there any plants That are legally protected you have to Check with your local state and local Resources to see what's on you're Threatened or protected list okay could Be then good and best tools to take with You when you go foraging always take Your pruners a little hoary hori if You're digging Roots Um good shoes good gloves a sun hat and Some butter all right I love it okay In 30 seconds It was good I didn't actually have a Timer oh shoot Next time I'll get my act together Lisa Thank you so much for coming on it's Been a great discussion I think there's So much to talk about here we could Probably I think you and I could uh Enjoy a uh you know forage to pie yeah a Nice long conversation about food Security and some of the things that we Would love to see worked out a little Bit better here but Um where can people get a hold of you if They want to hear more of what you have To say well I certainly appreciate Connecting with you and I want to Continue the dialogue I love the Intentionality then thoughtfulness and The depth of consideration that even our Conversation has had so it's it's lovely To be connected with you and our Community of food

Beyond this forum Google Lisa M Rose Foraging the Googles will put you put me Up to the top web Uh books are all at places that all good Books are found I love our our brick and Mortar shops those are always always my Favorite Um and I hope to hear from folks if they Have their own stories shoot me an email And happy to respond and entertain the Conversation definitely that sounds like A lot of fun check out her books I am Gonna go get myself some of the field Guides too because yay not seen any of Your field guides so I'm really excited So thank you guys for hanging out with Us for this great conversation very Thought provoking and make sure you Leave us comments if you're watching This on YouTube or on a video video Platform if not if you're on a podcast Feel free to uh you know connect with Lisa or send an email over to Homesteading family and uh you know let Us know what what you're thinking about And if this prompted any thoughts for You or any directions for you that you Haven't thought of going yet because It's a good conversation to be having so Thank you have a fantastic one to Continue absolutely we'll see you soon Goodbye bye