My Taste of “Tuli”

Posted on November 25, 2011 by Alicia Funk

Tuli (noun) = Maidu word for grasshopper

Although I co-authored a book on “Living Wild” and regularly teach classes encouraging locals to sample our native foods, I found my personal edge when I was asked to eat our local grasshopper.

Farrell Cunningham

The day started out well, with a beautiful fall sky and a group of eager students ready to explore Bear Valley, a meadow habitat just east of Nevada City on Highway 20. I was assisting Farrell Cunningham, a Maidu language instructor, in teaching how to use our native plants for food and health.

We had only walked about 100 yards down the trail, when a multitude of small grasshoppers began to energetically hop on and around us. Farrell immediately stopped our group and began to talk about the traditional use of grasshoppers as food, both by the Maidu and by many cultures around the world.

It was then that I made the unfortunate discovery that Farrell did not just want to discuss traditional insect cuisine, but wanted to demonstrate how to eat grasshoppers as part of the class. I quickly tried to think back on what we had agreed to teach and knew grasshopper-eating was not part of any previous conversation. But I didn’t want to appear unwilling to try a new local food, since I firmly believe that our carbon-neutral future depends on it.

With Farrell’s encouragement, all the participants frantically jumped around in an attempt to catch as many grasshoppers as they could, proving the insect-diet could also serve as a

Roasting Tuli

good workout. When he determined we had enough to feed the group, Farrell dug a shallow pit in the mud, lined it with pine needles, lit them on fire and threw the grasshoppers in. Less than a minute, the fire was out and the insects were ready for tasting.

Farrell advised us to remove the wings and legs and imagine the taste of shrimp. I have to admit that I’m a bit squeamish and couldn’t bring myself to eat their little heads. But I did eat the rest and it actually tasted quite good. Roasted grasshopper might be just what Americans need to get healthy—a good workout followed by a small portion of truly local protein. It’s even okay to ask for seconds.

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Maidu Plant Journey in Bear Valley

Posted on November 19, 2011 by webadmin

Discover native plants and their uses through the stories of Farrell Cunningham, a Mountain Maidu. Enjoy native plant snacks and drinks, traditional songs accompanied by elderberry clappers, and hand games.

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Enjoying the Fall Forest

Posted on September 8, 2011 by Alicia Funk

What do I think of when fall comes? I imagine the abundance of the forest coming alive. I think of acorns falling from the trees and kids laughing as they race to pick them up. I make plans to continue my annual search for the elusive nut of the California Nutmeg, hoping even a single nut will finally reach my taste buds. I remind myself to return to the creek where I first tasted the delicious kalmata olive-like flavor of our local Blackfruit Dogwood. As I gather resin-covered Yerba Santa, I wonder at how a forgotten roadside plant, can effectively, without needing any healthcare dollars, decongest a winter cold. I look forward to November, when I will search high above the mature branches of the orange-red Madrone tree, for a delicious Sierra Nevada fruit, filled with three times more antioxidants than a blueberry or pomegranate. I think of how much I don’t know and wish I could rewrite history and show reverence for the native people of this land that knew how to live here in sustainable abundance. This fall, instead of staring into a screen, I remember to go outside and let the wild in.

- Alicia Funk, Co-Author, Living Wild

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Seasonal Plants to Enjoy this Fall

Posted on September 7, 2011 by Alicia Funk

Fall Plants to Enjoy

8 Photos

Alumroot | Saxifrage Family
Small-flowered Heuchera Heuchera micrantha Pink Heuchera Heuchera rubescens
Other Names Heuchera, Coral Bells
Habitat & Elevation Heuchera micrantha: moist, shady, rocky slopes below 8,200′; Heuchera rubescens: 4,900′ – 13,000′
Collection Root: fall; Leaf: spring, summer

Bay, California | Laurel Family
Umbellularia californica
Other Names Oregon Myrtle, Pepperwood, California Bay Laurel
Habitat & Elevation Hillsides, near streams, upper foothill and mixed conifer belts, and moist canyons below 5,000′
Collection Leaf: all seasons; Fruit: fall (purplish-brown in color when ripe)

Blue Flag, Western | Iris Family
Iris missouriensis
Related Species Sierra Iris syn. Hartweg’s Iris (Iris hartwegii); Slender Iris (Iris tenuissima); Ground Iris syn. Long-tubed Iris (Iris macrosiphon)
Habitat & Elevation Moist areas 3,000′ – 11,000′
Collection Root: spring, summer; Seed: fall

Dogwood | Dogwood Family
Cornus species
Habitat & Elevation Red-twig Dogwood syn. Red Osier Dogwood (Cornus sericea sub. occidentalis): shrub in moist habitats below 8,000′;Pacific Dogwood syn. Mountain Dogwood (Cornus nuttallii): wooded areas below 6,000′; Blackfruit Dogwood syn. Miner’s Dogwood (Cornus sessilis): near streams north of Calaveras County; Brown Dogwood (Cornus glabrata): moist areas throughout the Sierras
Collection Fruit: fall; Twig, Bark: all seasons; Leaf: spring, summer

Fern, Giant Chain | Deer Fern Family
Woodwardia fimbriata
Habitat & Elevation Wet areas below 5,000′
Collection Root: fall

Grape, California Wild | Grape Family
Vitis californica
Habitat & Elevation Streamsides and riverbanks below 3,000′
Collection Leaf: early summer; Fruit: fall

Madrone, Pacific | Heath Family
Arbutus menziesii
Habitat & Elevation Dry, wooded slopes and canyons below 5,000′
Collection Berry: fall; Leaf: all seasons

Nutmeg, California | Yew Family
Torreya californica
Habitat & Elevation Diverse soils from shaded forested areas to hot, dry habitats 100′ – 7,000′
Collection Leaf: all seasons; Nut: fall

Oak | Oak Family
Quercus species
Habitat & Elevation Canyon Live Oak (Quercus chrysolepis): moist hillsides and canyons 3,500′ – 6,500′; Blue Oak (Quercus douglasii): dry hillsides below 3,000′; Valley Oak (Quercus lobata): formerly common in valleys below 3,000′; Interior Live Oak syn. Sierra Live Oak (Quercus wislizenii): dry hillsides and valleys 1,500′ – 4,000′; Black Oak (Quercus kelloggii): foothill slopes below 7,000′; Brewer’s Oak (Quercus garryana var. brewerii): 1,000′ – 5,000′; Huckleberry Oak (Quercus vaccinifolia): steep, subalpine forests 2,800′ – 8,500′; Scrub Oak (Quercus berberidifolia): chaparral and foothill areas 1,000′ – 4,800′; Leather Oak (Quercus durata): chaparral, foothills, woodlands 500′ – 4,800′
Collection Bark, Twig: all seasons; Nut: fall
NOTE Valley Oaks are an indicator of good soil since they typically grow in valleys that were stream and river floodplains. Development and dams have contributed to their decline. Hybrid species are fairly common. For example, a natural hydrid called ‘Oracle Oak’ grows in some areas where Interior Live Oak and Black Oak overlap.

Oregon Grape | Barberry Family
Berberis aquifolium
Other Names Barberry
Related Species Berberis aquifolium var. repens
Habitat & Elevation Rocky slopes below 4,000′
Collection Root: fall; Berry: summer

Rose, California Wild | Rose Family
Rosa species
Habitat & Elevation California Wild Rose (Rosa californica): dry hillsides below 5,000′; Dog Rose [naturalized] (Rosa canina): woods, banks up to 2,950′; Bridge’s Rose (Rosa bridgesii): conifer understories 2,950′ – 8,200′; Wood Rose (Rosa gymnocarpa): shaded wooded habitats below 6,000′; Mountain Rose (Rosa woodsii): moist areas 2,500′ – 10,500’; Ground Rose (Rosa spithamea): forests, chaparral below 5,000′
Collection Flower: summer; Fruit (hip): fall

Walnut, California Black | Walnut Family
Juglans californica var. hindsii
Habitat & Elevation Canyons and valleys below 1,500′
Collection Leaf: summer, fall; Nut: fall
NOTE California Black Walnut is included in the California Native Plant Society inventory of rare and endangered plants.

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Fertile Valley

Posted on September 4, 2011 by webadmin

©2011. Alicia Funk. All rights reserved.

Down the road
beyond the bridge
a fig tree,
a fig giver
of delicious fruit–
free fruit grows
right there,
right past where
we drive every day,
but forgot to look.
Forgot to know, when
figs are ripe,
blackberries
deep black,
and sweet,
gooseberries,
dandelions,
acorns, nutty
and pure,
walnuts,
mushrooms,
textured, meaty.
Even the bright, exotic
oranges and grapefruit,
fall and rot
on the ground
past where we drive.

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Wild Roses

Posted on September 2, 2011 by Joshua

Driving an old levee road I’d not visited for some time, I chanced upon a bramble that looked different from the blackberries and wild grapes so common on the Delta. I caught a glimpse of a bright red berry, so surprising in November that I slowed my car and noticed it was a small, bulb-looking fruit. It took me a second to realize – wild roses! As my gaze expanded from that one, tiny hip, I saw that the entire patch was covered in a delicious Fall fruit.

California’s wild roses (9 species in the genus Rosa) provide quick and easy forage for essential nutrients and great taste during a season when these characteristics, in tandem, grow scarce. Wild roses are easy to identify – they look just like domestic roses, but with smaller flowers and fewer petals – and their hips are easy to gather.

Some guidebooks recommend picking wild rose hips after first frost. On the Delta, where frosts rarely come, they are ready when they turn bright red, and still good after a couple of months on the plant. I stop picking them when they turn completely black.

Rose hips taste great right off the plant as a “nibble” – like an apple with a citrus tang. Only eat the flesh, as the seeds are unpalatable. They offer vitamin C and other vitamins and minerals in significant quantities.

Rose hips really shine when cooked. Whether syrup, glaze, or tea, wild rose hips bring a unique flavor: a subtle aroma that both stands out by itself and enhances other flavors in the dish. A typical rose-hip experience involves pancakes, which is great, but don’t stop there: wild rose hips can glaze anything from green beans to walnuts, from fish to duck. And their flavor and properties as a tea are legendary.

Preparing wild rose hips is easy. Cut off and discard any green parts and stems and cover the hips with water. Bring to a boil and simmer until they get really soft and mushy, and then strain out the juice.

Wild rose bushes offer another valuable gift: their shoots. Wild rose shoots often grow exceptionally straight, making wonderful ‘stavelets’ – thin, strong, flexible shafts for building small trellises or arrows. I’ve made arrows for my nephew and daughter’s homemade bows, and when fletched with discarded feathers from our laying ducks, they fly fast and true. To prepare wild rose shoots, find the straightest shoots without branches, cut them at their base, knock off the thorns and strip the bark (easily done with a sharp machete). They bend fairly well and work as a green wood. If you are making arrows, bundle them together in groups of a half dozen or so and set them in a dry, warm corner of the house. Every couple of days, straighten the shoots by hand or wait a few weeks and straighten with dry heat. Place feathers on the skinny end of the shoot.

Wild roses exemplify California’s bounty of plants, providing us with an opportunity to connect with this land and place.

Joshua Stark is a naturalist, guide, outdoorsman and environmental advocate. His blogs, on ethics and the environment and home agrarianism, can be found at Agrarianista and Enviroethics.

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The Fungus Will Soon Be Among Us

Posted on September 1, 2011 by Daniel Nicholson

Moving toward the cooler temperature of September brings a taste of fall. A cooler breeze earlier in the day, some dew in the meadow again, and before even a drop of rain…mushrooms. Most fungi do require lots of moisture, almost always precipitation or fog. But the exceptions are remarkable and massive.

Laetiporus sulfureus

Perhaps in late august above 5,500 feet and in the red fir zone I can find an old tree with some Laetiporus conifericola, also called “chicken of the woods.” This species is the best desired of west coast varieties. Mature Red Rir can also produce giant (2’ across) Ganoderma orogonense – the Oregon Reishi which is a choice medicine for our immune system among other benefits. On the forest floor beneath the mountain conifers little cracks in the earth may open to provide lovely sustenance with edible red capped butter boletes (Boletus regius) or even white chanterelles (Cantherellus subalbidus). All of these fungi are relatively easy to identify for naturalists and botanists who have experience with plants and fungi. The Laws Field Guide to the Sierra Nevada illustrated by my friend John Muir Laws, contains descriptions and drawings of these edible species.

Boletus regius

Moving down to around 3,500 ft. and lower, we have a different fungi group emerging. They are certainly in want of water after our usual five months of no rain, but again there are exceptions. Another species of chicken of the woods (Laetiporus gilbertsonii) appears in late to mid-September, predominately on black oak trees. Chicken of the woods is best collected when soft, bright yellow, and watery. Chicken of the woods can be moderately toxic when older (interpreted as woody, dry, and brighter orange) or undercooked. Proper preparation and cooking is accomplished best by parboiling slices for ten minutes and then preparing as usual (grilling, frying, baking). Uncooked or undercooked chicken of the woods will cause nausea and vomiting. Inedible but remarkable Boletus marshii comes out on the dusty September trails in half-pound specimens. Another fascinating fungus erupts through the driest cracked earth or even a paved driveway is the Pisolithus tinctorius, or dead mans’ foot. This grey-green fungus darkens wool and is an important mycorhizial inoculant in the growing of native conifers. And finally, three weeks after some good rains, Boletus aureus, the Queen bolete occurs under madrone, tan oak, manzanita, and black oak trees. A dark-capped, yellow-pored, non-staining bolete that provides abundant food for people, deer, mice, and maggots. Check some of those leafy bumps in the forest at this time.

Foray Tables Dec. 2010

I will be busy investigating all the rare fungi that I can locate in the southern cascades this fall as well as journeying to Yosemite high country and Sonora. On December 10^th, Nevada County residents can enjoy the 14^th annual fungus foray, sponsored by the Yuba Watershed Institute. With your participation, new species will be added to our growing list of 465 distinct Nevada County mushroom species, and you will become part of growing the knowledge of our watershed.

Daniel Nicholson

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