Slow Food

Slow Food: The torturously slow trials and tribulations of one man's attempt to eat nothing but wild food for an entire year.

It's kind of obvious I know, but blogging for me is futile in the sense that nutritionally speaking its value is worse than zero - resting and typing metabolism must be taken into account as sources of food energy consumption. That statement in itself should give you a good insight into my state of mind. Actually, in describing my anxieties and troubles (all of which seem to flow quite freely from the absurd task I've set myself: eating like a Stoneage man in the modern era - when I have so many other commitments other than just feeding myself) I would like to use the phrase, "perhaps I've bitten off more than I can chew". Yet, although it would be incredibly apt, taken literally it seems to imply a surfeit of, no doubt delicious - all be it challenging - nourishing chewables: Succulent, wholesome and delicious chewables, all reflecting a luxurious abundance which is light years away from my current reality - they reside somewhere on planet supermarket no doubt. I'm struggling. I'm struggling big time! I'm struggling spiritually, emotionally, psychologically, socially, philosophically and physically - amongst the many other ways one can struggle. Chewables abound but sourcing them is a full time commitment. I both want and don't want to give up and the ambivalent tension is quite disabling!

So, no time to blog. Time is at a premium and other resources must be called upon: discipline and faith, they're my current allies - despite my repeated efforts to rebel against them in the past. Now I shall get to know them face to face.

All I can offer is a few pictures from the last few days and a few unusual statistics.

Typical meals:

Pot roast pheasant cooked with chestnuts, japanese knotweed, apple juice and winter chanterelles, served with steamed hogweed shoots and stir-fried alexanders root and St.George's mushrooms.

Pot roast rabbit cooked with boletus fungi, sea purslane and wild garlic, served with burdock root mash and steamed sea kale.

...and slow food!

equals....

Steamed sea kale and reed mace stems with stir-fried morels and immature pine cones, served with wild garlic leaf curd cooked snails on acorn and alexanders root toast!

STATISTICS

777 snails take 1 hour to collect, 40 minutes to cook and 1 hour 5 minutes to shell.

777 snails in shell weigh 5 kg 200g.

777 snails gives 2kg 200g of cooked snail meat.

Also made my first wild vinegar mother from birch sap.....

.....and have been filtering sea water for salt

....as well as krauting the Sandor Katz way with sea kale, dittander stems, wild fennel and sea salt.

.......whilst taking advantage of the sun to dry plants for future teas and beers: lemon balm, yarrow, birch leaf, ox-eye daisy, fennel and fever few.

And finally, today's number one find: some lovely chicken of the woods fungi.

Have also been sampling my first attempts at wild wines - intoxicating!

So let's raise a glass to Fergus Drennan, self-proclaimed vegetarian and say, with glutenous snail-like voices, rest in peace vegetarian Fergus......