The idea of this blog came from my (Natasha's) love for learning and understanding how this world works. As a clinical social worker and human lover, learning and understanding how this world (and my own brain) works has been a constant for me throughout my (almost) 34 years of life. In 2020, Austin (the A in All Nature's Bounty) and I dove into foraging for the first time. I will never forget, it was Easter Sunday 2020 and we weren't celebrating with family (like the majority of the world) but we wanted to do something special.
For me, a deconstructing former catholic, the place I connect most with the Universe is nature; something that Austin, a sensitive agnostic, science lover, can also appreciate. We had been growing our shared love of nature for some time by 2020; foraging was just our next step and upgrade in the process. So on this Easter Sunday, we jumped in the jeep and headed to our favorite spot. Because it was April, it meant that the ramps were out and we felt confidence we could find some. What are 'ramps'?
Ramps are also known as wild leeks; they have bright green leaves that look similar to the shape of lily of the valley and they pop up from a publish stalk. They often grow in clusters and can form beautiful blankets of green under the trees in wooded areas. They are best harvested when they are young, and our timing was perfect this time. We are lucky to have access to many areas that are bountiful for foraging.
You will absolutely know you have a ramp when you remove the leaf from the stem, you will almost immediately smell the mix of garlic and onion. They are very versatile in the culinary realm (although, arguably, I definitely did not know this at the time) and have a distinctive, yet mild flavor. Their season is short, and since this date, we have made our leek season one of the highest foraging priorities.
We were lucky in finding some ramps and a few trout lily leaves (another forgeable, but with a few more caveats than ramps in terms of consuming) on this trip and we took them back to the creek at our house that we had been living in at the time. It's important to us that we harvest these ethically, so we took only what we needed for that day; lucky for us, we have more than one spot that is plentiful in the spring.
We pulled out some pork chops, some ramen noodles, and a few other veggies and loaded up the cart to take out to the creek.
Our last home (that we just sold in November 2023) was beautifully positioned right next to Paris Creek; this was a reprieve for us often and was always a haven of a spot that we could retreat to on our small 3 acre piece of property.
Austin built a small little fire as I prepped our dinner. We brought the dogs out to the creek with us and they hung around while we listened to the running water and birds finally starting to emerge from the winter quiet.
The 'river shack' as we dubbed it, was also a fun little project that brought us together and into nature (you're going to notice a lot of themes with that, but it's a huge weaving factor in our story and the life we're building). We found a new sense of peace on this Easter Sunday; and we learned some new lessons. Because for us (two neurodivergent humans with very opposite internal hardware), every new experience really is an opportunity for learning. *I'm usually the one who takes it to a deep, emotional level that makes everyone around me uncomfortable (usually just Austin) and he's the one who googles everything in an attempt to learn everything he can about it.
The final product of the day was a tasty pork ramen with fresh leek and veggies; it was so tasty and even more rewarding. There was certainly a wave of new hormones rushing through our bodies and brains; new experiences will do that to you. We were filled with the wonder of possibilities of All of Nature's Bounty; and that was the start of something new (bonus points if you appreciate that as a High School Musical reference).
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