Edible Leeds - Wild Food Foraging Courses and 4 Wild Seasons Pop Up Dining Events

The gang going fishing Part 1. Saturday 22nd July. There are many fantastic locations around the UK for foraging - I'll not delve into all those but I'll write a little something up at a later date - and whether you choose to start on your doorstep (always a good place) or, head to the woods, meadows and waste grounds, eventually & hopefully, you will explore the joys of coastal foraging. For me personally, all foraging has it's place. I generally avoid pinning myself to 'favourites', as all aspects of foraging have something to offer and (avoiding favouritism here), coastal has a certain air of 'special appeal' about it. I wrote some blurb for the introduction section of my coastal recipes page &you can read that here:  https://edible-leeds.blogspot.co.uk/p/coastal-recipes-fish-shellfish-seaweed.html Anglesey has an energy, allure and delight that just appeals to the visitor, whether you are there for adventure, relaxation, nature immersion...

Wild Food Walk & Feast @ Skelton Grange Environment Centre I was very excited and proud at the prospect of hosting events at TCV Skelton Grange Environment Centre this year (click on the following link for more details about www.tcv.org.uk/skeltongrange ). The first event held was the wild food walk and wild food feast. There was a lovely chilled vibe on the day and a really great turn out. The grounds and centre at Skelton are an excellent location for this kind of event and indeed for all the other environmentally themed events hosted there. Lot's of different habitats playing host to a plethora of edible and interesting flora. A huge thank you to Caroline Crossley for her kind and generous support throughout the day, taking photos, warming food, cleaning dishes, opening/closing the centre etc etc... and for making everyone feel extremely welcome. I'm really looking forward to hosting similar events there in 2015. Sloe fruits   Wood Aven...

The summer episode of, Walk On The Wild Side, was held in Barnoldswick, or Barlick, as the locals call it, on Sunday 6th July. Barnoldswick, which is in Lancashire, borders Yorkshire and despite the fact that Yorkshire was gripped by the fantastically, fabulous, fervour that was Le Tour De France - and rightly so, what an historic and momentous occassion - what a fabulous turn out we had! Huge thanks, from Danielle and myself, to everyone that joined us and made the walk the amazing experience it was. The route took in country lanes, open fields, wooded streams (?) and parkland.The plants we focused on included; Ramsons, Meadowsweet, Hogweed, Ribwort/Broad-Leaved Plantain, Cleavers, Common/Wood Sorrel, Pignuts, Elder, Vetch and Wild Rose This shaded little lane still had Wild Garlic Seeds prime for the picking. A sampling of sweet pickled Wild Garlic Seeds had to be had. I'd taken along some pickled Hogweed Seeds for sampling, yet none of the Hogweed along the lane...

Fabulous turn out on Saturday 28th June (fully booked!). Big thanks to such a wonderful group for helping make the event so enjoyable. Quite an international feel to it aswell, had folk from New Zealand, South Africa, France and Australia, great to have so many folk from different countries interested in wild foods in the UK. Plants along the route included; Elder, Raspberry, Nettle, Hogweed, Hemlock Water-Dropwort, Common/Wood Sorrel, Reedmace, Oyster Mushroom The wonderful and amazing Elder ( Sambucus nigra) has many stages of use, buds, flowers, berries and so many uses (book on a walk to find out more...). It would be so very rude not to dedicate time to discuss it. Don't forget to ask permission from the spirits before harvesting though :0) Sampling, Elder Buds pickled in Sweet Magnolia Vinegar and Colsfoot Vinegar (left). Elder buds can be used in a variety of dishes. It's great knowing what's edible but so important knowing what's not ed...

Well, what a fantastic start to Edible Leeds' 2014 Wild Food Walks. Spring was definitely in the air on Sunday, March 9th. Beautiful weather, beautiful people, plenty fun and tasty treats - thank you Rachel for bringing along and sharing your gorgeous banana, chocolate and hazelnut cake! Thanks to everyone that came along and made it such a great walk - Leon, thanks for the photos n jokes! A closer inspection and a nibble.                              Wild Garlic, Goats Cheese &                              Caramelised Onion Tarts for                              the walk. Re...

Due to the unseasonably mild winter weather Edible Leeds will be hosting a Winter Salad Wild Food Walk on Sunday, 23rd February 2014 . For more information please go to the Types of Walks and Dates page on Edible Leeds' blog site. Alternatively, email:  edible.leeds@gmail.com  or call Craig on 07899752447.

On Saturday, 26th October, Edible Leeds (Craig Worrall) teamed up with Meanwood Valley Urban Farm to host and deliver a forage and cook up. Great turn out, great weather, great foraged finds (fungus, berries n wild greens) and huge amounts of fun. A big thank you to all who took part especially when it came to helping prepare the 'light lunch' & tidying up at the end. I hope you enjoyed the event as much as i did and that you enjoyed the wild mushrooms that you took home! The light lunch menu consisted of: Goats Cheese & Sorrel Quiche  Sweet Chestnut & Roasted Pumpkin Soup Salad of Wild Foraged Greens & Fresh Sliced Porcini Mushrooms: Chickweed, Dandelion, Sorrel, Nasturtium (leaves & flowers) and Porcini Mushrooms with an Elderberry & Freshly Grated Horseradish Vinaigrette A Selection of Freshly Baked Breads A Selection of Homemade Jams, Jellies & Pickles: Elderberry Pickle, Sea Buckthorn & Crab Apple Jelly, Rosehip & Crab Apple Jel...