Fat of the Land

(photo courtesy of Langdon Cook)

Check this out!
Langdon Cook, located in the Seattle area, has been going wild with his new blog Fat of the Land. Langdon’s blog is very well written, and will keep pacific northwesterners abreast of seasonally available wild foods, along with delicious recipes to prepare them. He’s currently working on a book titled Fat of the Land and says, “The book will be very different from the blog – with more in-depth, character-driven narratives about foraging. Each chapter will focus on my efforts (and misadventures) to harvest a specific species, with healthy doses of natural history and conservation thrown in for good measure. Like the blog, the book will also have recipes.” Yeehaw!

So, how did Langdon get into this foraging lifestyle?
After a move to Seattle in 1991, he found himself easily strewn among the outdoorsy types, iconoclasts and other non-joiners the area is famous for. After a year living off-grid in southwestern Oregon, his confidence and experiences grew. He is now trying to peek outside the consumer food box as we know it, convince a few skeptics, and bottom line: have some fun! Langdon says, “You have to bone up on the life history of the species…this is gumshoe detective work at its heart. Once you hit paydirt, the next thing is to learn how to cook your catch. The entire progression jazzes me, from studying at home, pouring over maps, laying plans, going out into the field, and returning with free, nutritious booty to cook up into delicious meals.”

Since it ‘tis the season for dandelions for so many folks right now, click here to read one of his posts about dandelions as a superfood. In addition, he gives recipes for dandelion delivery cookies, dandy burgers, dandy muffins and bread, a dandelicious omelet and fried dandies. Stay tuned for more from this phat forager!