Post here your recipes for foods found in the wilderness. Please include pictures of the item.

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Just in case anyone is interested in a really good and healthy snack.

4 cups dried meat - depending on how lean it is, it can take 1 - 2 lbs. per cup. Use only deer, moose, caribou, or beef (not pork or bear). Get it as lean as possible and double ground from your butcher if you don't have a meat grinder. Spread it out very thinly in cookie sheets and dry at 180° overnight or until crispy and sinewy. Regrind or somehow break it into almost a powder.

3 cups dried fruit - to taste mix currents, dates, apricots, dried apples. Grind some and leave some lumpy for texture.

2 cups rendered fat - use only beef fat. Cut into chunks and heat over the stove over medium heat. Tallow is the liquid and can be poured off and strained.

Unsalted nuts to taste and a shot of honey. ***

Combine in a bowl and hand mix. Double bag into four portions. The mixture will last for quite a while without refrigeration.

HINT: Vary the fat content to the temperature in which it will be consumed. Less for summer. Lots for winter. Not only is it good energy food for canoeing, hiking, and hunting, but an excellent snack for cross country skiing.

***Honey is a fantastic preservative and has antibiotic properties.

2 lbs. fresh dandelion greens
2 cloves garlic
2 T. oil (olive oil preferred)
salt and pepper to taste

The young leaves are the most tender. Larger, older leaves are
bitter. Clean and wash the leaves. Do not eat the stem or the flower. Cut
the leaves in half. Heat the oil and garlic in a saucepan. Add the leaves,
and pepper. Cook about 12 minutes or until tender. Add water if it gets too
dry. Serve hot. A pat of butter of margarine is optional.

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Use a large quantity of greens because they boil down greatly as they cook.

Boil young leafy stems in a small quantity of water about 5 minutes
until tender.

Good with a sauce of olive oil, diced onion, and crisp bacon,
chopped fine. Lamb's quarters can also be added to stronger flavored potherbs to make them milder.

Lamb's Quarters are also known as Goose Foot and Pig Weed.

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Dig up the Burdock and remove the roots...SAVE the roots.

Peel the roots, slice about 1/2 inch thick and boil 20 minutes with a pinch of baking soda. Change the water, and boil again until tender.

You can also simmer pieces of the cooked
flower stalk in maple syrup to make candy.

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Roots: Get the roots of the cattails. Peel away tough leafy layers to the tender core, about 1/2 inch in diameter and maybe 12 inches long. This can be
eaten raw, like celery, or sliced into a salad.

Or, cover the cores with lightly salted boiling water and simmer about 10 minutes. These make a good potato substitute.

Or boil them about a half hour, and mash well, then strain the fluid, removing what is left of the core. Return to heat and slow simmer until the water has evaporated. This will leave you with a very flavorful starchy flour that can be used as you would use any flour.

You may pick the green bloom spikes of the cattails, remove sheathes, and boil in water until tender, and eat like corn-on-the-cob, with butter and salt. This is one of my favorites.

After the blooms ripen and turn brown, collect the pollen by placing a small paper bag over the bloom, turn it spike downward, and shaking the spike. The pollen can be used for making wonderful pancakes or biscuits. Simply cut the flour in the recipe by half and replace with the pollen. For instance, if the pancake recipe calls for 1 cup of flour, use 1/2 cup flour and 1/2 cup pollen.

(The leaves can be used for weaving baskets and the like, and the 'fluff' from the bloom spikes can be used in floatation devices...they will waterlog eventually, but simply dry them out and they are ready for use again.)

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Cattail Casserole

2 cups scrapped spikes
1 cup bread crumbs
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup milk
salt and pepper
1 onion diced
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Combine all ingredients in a casseroles dish and place in an oven set to 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Serve when piping hot. You can add sliced hot peppers or bell peppers for a contrast in color and flavor. Anything that will go good with corn will make a good addition to this casserole. Extra casserole freezes easily and stores for 6-8 months.

Ingredients

2 c cattail flour
1 ts salt
2 c water
1 vegetable oil
1 honey (clover honey is best)

Instructions

Scrape and clean several cattail roots. Place on lightly greased
cookie sheet in a 200F. oven to dry overnight. Skin roots and remove
fibers. Pound roots until fine. Allow to stand overnight to dry. (Or prepare the flour as listed above.) Ina saucepan, bring salted water to a boil. Remove from heat and fold in flour. Beat until mixture forms a thick paste. Cool to room temperature.

In a deep fryer, heat about 3 inches of oil to a
temperature of 400F. or until oil smokes. Spoon out dough onto a
floured cookie sheet to form a cake 1/4 inch thick. Cut strips 1/2
inch wide and about 5 inches long, more or less. Carefully lift strips into the
hot oil. Deep fry for 5 minutes or until golden brown, turning at
least once. Lift out and set on a paper towel to drain off grease.
Serve hot with honey spread on top. This is also good with home made jellies.

2 c cattail pollen
2 c all-purpose flour
4 ts baking powder
1 ts salt
2 eggs
1/2 c evaporated milk
1 1/2 c water
1 tb honey

Instructions

The Cattail Pollen gathers on a long spike that extends from the
brownish fruit on the end of the flower stalk. To gather it, bend the stalk over and cover it with a small paper sack, then
shake the fruit or brush the pollen off the spike into the sack. Combine the
pollen, flour, baking powder and salt. Beat eggs lightly, combine
with milk, water and honey. Beat dry and wet ingredients together
very gently. Pour into well greased baking pans, bake in a preheated
400-degree oven 15 to 20 minutes. Yield: 1 Cake

1 tablespoon toasted sesame, peanut, or olive oil
1/2 cup peeled and chopped cattail shoots
1 cup shallots or boiler onions, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
3 cups cooked brown rice
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon chili paste or 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Heat the oil in a large skillet over a medium flame. Add the cattails, shallots/onions and garlic and saute for 5 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients and cook until the rice is hot. Stir often to prevent sticking.