Text and photographs are © by Ellen Spector Platt & Ellen Zachos, all rights reserved.


Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Backyard Foraging!

This week Other Ellen asked me to tell you about my new book,
Backyard Foraging: 65 Familiar Plants You Didn't Know You Could Eat.

So what makes this book different from all the other foraging books out there?  Well, I approach foraging from a slightly different point of view, perhaps because I'm a gardener by profession, but also perhaps because I'm a little sneaky.  See, I know some people aren't comfortable roaming the fields and mountains searching for wild plants to bring home to feed their families.  So I encourage you to start in your own backyard, where you (hopefully!) already know what's growing.

Lots of our traditional ornamental plants are also delicious, but somewhere along the way, we've forgotten.  Have you eaten roasted hosta shoots, pickled daylily buds, or baked dahlia tuber bread?  Ever tasted wild ginger snaps or rose hip soup?
Lest you fear you'll have to sacrifice aesthetics for deliciousness...don't worry.  As a gardener, I understand it's important to have your hosta and eat it, too.  To that end, I've included tips on how and when to harvest both for optimum taste and to maintain the beauty of your garden.

This is a book I've wanted to write for years, and I had so much fun putting it together, it really didn't feel like work.  Rob Cardillo's photographs are gorgeous and illuminating and the design by Storey Publishing is everything I wished for.  I hope you like it.

photo by Rob Cardillo


5 comments:

Sweetgum Thursday said...

i hope you are eating and selling like mad. congrats.

Ellen Spector Platt said...

And if you get an opportunity to hear EZ speak on Backyard Foraging, GO.
She's an inspired and inspiring presenter.

Ellen Spector Platt said...

And not just because she's my dear friend!

Georgia | local ecologist said...

Congratulations! Will you be touring with the book?

Ellen Zachos said...

Yes, Georgia! So far I've been to CA, MA, NH, and NM with the book. I'll be back in MA in May, NM in June, NYC in July & August, and WI in September.


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