Category: Foraging, Wild Food, Fungi

Fungi Image Log: Temperate Climate (Autumn / Fall 2018) UK

~ Bushman All-OutDoors ~ Leave a comment

I’ve decided to start a series on my Fungi findings starting with the first real outdoors adventure where I found quite a lot of various species / varieties.

-this excursion was attached to a wild camping session I had just a few days before Winter Solstice, December 2018

The following were found in a boggy scrub / brush wood which lies near to an Ancient Oak / Hazel woodland, this particular wood mostly consists of Salix (Willow trees), Some Sambucus (Elder), Crataegus (Hawthorn), Corylus (Hazel) and mixed / some Fraxinus (Ash) and Quercus (Oak) with some scattered wild Malus (Apple / Crab apple).
This scrub wood is bordered between a Brook (Small river) and meadows – let’s give it a name shall we? Hows about the ”Ancient Scrub wood” ? So we all know where I am referring to in future posts …

For foraging, I at that time could only positively ID (thanks to the ”Essential Bushcraft” book by Ray Mears) the ‘Auricularia ariculi judae’ or Jelly Ears / Jews ears as it is commonly known in the UK , I did harvest quite a bit which subsequently ended up in stews and other dishes at home (Below) …

auricularia judae edible fungi
Auricularia ariculi judae ”Jews Ears / Jelly Ears” Edible fungi (grows on Elder) ”Survival Stew”

Below: Another shot of the above growing in a large group on another Sambucus ”Elder tree” and another fungi which lives off of dead wood (I still need to ID it, but have heard people refer to similar fungi as ”finger fungi”)

SONY DSC
SONY DSC

Below: Horses Hoof fungi ? I believe it is but have not yet looked into ID’ing these bracket fungi yet due to being overly obsessed with edible fungi …
PS: I passed by the wood a week ago (mid December 2019) and the below specimen is in-tact and happy as can be!

horses hoof bracket fungi bushcraft tinder
Horses Hoof Bracket fungi ?

Below: What is this??? I have seen this since in other woods recently but it is quite interesting …

suede like fungi
Suede-like textured fungi

Another look at the ”finger fungi’‘ (Below):

wood consuming finger fungi uk
Wood substrate consuming ”Finger Fungi” UK

Below: these are interesting and still, yet to be ID’d by myself …

wood consuming fungi uk
More wood substrate consuming fungi – growing through the moss – UK

And finally, the best shot of the lot … more Bracket Fungi but this time in a group on a large decaying branch.  (Still needing ID)
Note: The branch is mostly horizontal and so are the fungi, indicating that the fungi fruiting bodies grew after the tree / branch fell into the current position

bracket fungi bushcraft survival
What are these Bracket Fungi in this group? useful for Bushcraft / Survival? Medicine ?

Many thanks for joining me on this journey! I have had a great season this Autumn 2019 (Fall) and took many great shots of various fungi, plus harvested some newer specimens which previously have not seen when on the trail … this will all be included in this series chronologically starting from This trip in December 2018.

Feel free to share but under the condition you give credit to me when posting by ensuring the blog is linked! Thanks

 

Foraging Recipe: Stinging Nettle Seed x Eldeflower Smoothie

~ Bushman All-OutDoors ~ Leave a comment

I made an awesome smoothie today after foraging a small batch of Stinging Nettle Seeds, remembering I had some leftover Elderflower Water (Steeped Elderflower head/s in water), I decided to make a smoothie for the family ..

Foraged Elderflower Nettle Smoothie
Elderflower, Nettle, Avocado, Banana etc Smoothie – Foraged Smoothies

Ingredients:

  • Half or Whole Avocado
  • 1-2 Bananas depending on amount of servings (1 Banana for 2 adults or 3 kids),
  • Ginger Cordial (optional)
  • Elderflower Water (An Elderflower head steeped in water overnight in your fridge)
  • Cloudy Apple Juice
  • Stinging Nettle Seeds (Fresh but dry)
  • Spirulina Powder
  • Half Courgette (Zucchini) or Cucumber as alternative

Method:

  1. Break up the banana into pieces, throw in blender
  2. using a Table spoon, scoop out the acvocado and add in as well
  3. Add in a little ginger cordial, mine is very strong so I used about a tea spoon to spice it up a bit
  4. level or more teaspoon ful of Spirulina Powder
  5. using a potato peeler, remove the skin from the courgette (zucchini / marrow), chop up into chunks and throw in there as well
  6. try palm rubbing the nettle seeds to break them up off of their stems, add in to mixture
  7. I used a measuring cup and added about 40% Apple Juice with 60% Elderflower Water (One cup full of both mixed in that ratio)
  8. All went in, blended till smooth and enjoyed
  9. Spirulina powder taints it with a weird colour, but the taste was phenomenal – also, theres no need to add honey or any other sweetener!!

This is an excellent smootie that can really be tweaked depening on what is available in your home or fridge!

Thanks for joining me on this one
regards
BushmanAOD

Eaten An MRE Lately?

~ Bushman All-OutDoors ~ 4 Comments

Do you even know what an MRE is? It stands for Meal Ready-To Eat and is common food supplies given to military men and women the world over during military service but mostly during operations and war time…

My first knowledge of the MRE was from an American movie (Tremors 2, aftershocks) where Earl (the Soldier of fortune, military obsessed guy) mentioned them as part of his supplies in that scene of the movie … I must admit, for a few months that was my favourite movie – I was in my early teens.

Polish Army MRE Set Nr 4
Polish Army MRE Set 4 – Indywidualna Racja Zywnosciowa Zestaw 4 Review

Anyhow, I have come across some reviews as it seems that civillians have been getting their hands on them and some have even started making complete youtube channels dedicated to obtaining and reviewing MRE’s from around the world!
One such channel (Steve1989MRE) has just over 1.1 Million subscribers! < Yes, that many people actually want to see someone opening and eating an MRE on a regular basis!

I ordered my first MRE online, it was the Polish Army ”Indiwidualna Racja Zywnosciowa S-R Zestaw Nr 4-S-R4” or in english: ”Individual Food Ration Set Nr (Menu number) 4-S-R-4”
I wasn’t paying attention, I thought it was the typical 24 hour rations, it was not, this is for one main meal – which was:

  1. Hungarian Style Goulash 300g
  2. Smoked Sprats In Oil 125g
  3. Special Hard Biscuits 2x 45g < Definitely Special, like Special Forces Body Armour Plates!
  4. Honey 25g
  5. Lime Instant Tea Drink 15g
  6. pear flavoured fruit and nut bar 35g
  7. mint chewing gum 2 pcs
  8. coffee candy x1 and vitamin c candy x1
  9. salt 1g & pepper 0.2g
  10. paper napkin 1pc
  11. wet wipe 1pc
  12. toilet paper 1.5m
  13. plastic bag
  14. disposable spoon 1 pc
  15. drinking straw x1
  16. flameless chemical heater x1
  17. water needed for whole preperation: 320ml

So I headed out to a new woodland, one I have been looking at on maps and desperately wanting to recce and scout for future daytrips or overnighters …. after all the cycling I got hungry and whipped out the Romneys! …

Romneys Kendal Mint Cake Survival Snacks
Romney’s Brown Kendal Mint Cake – Survival Energy Snacks Bushcraft & Hiking

I decided to recce first, check out some spots for food foraging and entry / exit options to and from the woodland incase of using other means of getting there (Hiking, train etc.) I had my bike that time. I brought along the new Hammock to swing in and rerlax, plus to try it out in a new area and practice setting it up – here’s the rations loaded out:

Polish Army MRE Hungarian Goulash Set Menu 4
Polish Army MRE Hungarian Goulash Set Menu 4 – Full Review

The ration pack (We call them Rat Packs in South Africa where I originate) includes a flameless chemical heater that is water activated, basically you place some water into the plastic bag together with the sealed main meal container, fold and sit aside for 15 min’s after which, your meal will be hot and ready! I opted to keep the heater for another purpose and use my new GoHike Alcohol Burner in my Lixada Hinged Folding Stick Stove to cook the Goulash in my 10cm Billy Can.

 

polish army mre smokes sprats menu 4
Polish MRE Lime Tea w Green Tea Extract
Polish Army Hungarian Goulash Ration MRE Review

Overall I enjoyed the food and snacks, it did fill me up! What’s going to be my next MRE review? French army? Kazakstan? New Zealand? Russia? Lets See!

My only complaint being the 1.5m toilet paper, it was very bland and gave me incredible cotton mouth!

Keep an eye out here, I will uplaod the video on 4th April 2019

Cheers, Bushman AOD

 

Spring Wild Food Foraging. It’s EARLY This Year!

~ Bushman All-OutDoors ~ Leave a comment

Hi everyone, I hope you all are having a great weekend so far! This is a quick post just as a reminder for anyone interested in Wild Food Foraging, that due to the mild winter we have had, Spring edibles are popping out a little bit earlier than usual!

I managed to harvest ‘Auricularia auricula judae’ Fungus (Jews Ear / Wood Ear) all the way through February! Nettles up until December and already we have Hawthorn ‘Crataegus monogyna’ leaves shooting from bud and in some cases are already able to be harvested!

Hawthorn leaves are known as ”Tree Salad” and are not the only ones considered as such …

As an avid outdoorsman, I spend most of my free time outdoors so if you havent seen it yet, Head Out with your dump pouches because there is food available Now!

Below you can find a few pic’s on leaf identification, Hawthorn leaves remind me of Gooseberry leaves when they are young and still forming from bud.

As always, remember that if you cannot positively identify it, then Dont Try It!

young hawthorn leaves fresh from bud
Young Fresh Edible Hawthorn Leaves
Hawthorn Leaves edible
The Edible Leaves of the Hawthorn Tree

Winter Daycamp: Scrambled Eggs with Froaged Fungi, Home Made Italian Bread

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I went out a few weeks ago and had a nice little daycamp, I thoroughly enjoyed the trip despite having to film! In the below video I harvest some Auricularia Fungi Aka: Jew’s Ear / Wood Ear fungi which grows predominantly on Elder ‘Sambucus nigra’ which I add into my scrambled eggs, I eat this on lightly toasted Home Made Italian Herb Bread.

There’s more on Spoon Carving, Wood Processing, trying out a very delicious Banana Bread Beer and another IPA Ale, then finish off with a tree climb session, trying out a very nice ”Peanut Soup Drink” From Taiwan – then I also have a heartening talk about our fellow memebers of society whom are disabled in some way who simply cannot move around and experience certain things like Bushcraft or hiking in the wilderness due to access issues etc. I truly hope that one day soon more people would realise what life like that must be like so that we can all push for better access and facilities for them!

Thanks for visiting, I hope you make it through the whole video especially to the point where I talk about people with disabilities, hopefully you will be able to give your view/s on the subject too?

Cheers
BushmanAOD

We Had Real Snow – Finally!

~ Bushman All-OutDoors ~ Leave a comment

On Friday 1st February 2019 we finally had some good settling snow around London UK, I saw the weather ”report” but this time it felt real, I sensed it in the air that we were really in for some real snow (The previous week we had snow which was expected to be more than 10cm thick and we barely even got over 1cm!)

I would have camped overnight but I only got contacted Friday morning at 6:45am and told not to come in to work, which was a little bit of a bummer! I recently received some new Gear for winter time and would have loved to see how well it faired whilst doing an overnighter … ah well, all’s not lost! I did manage to head out in the morning, set up a poncho tipi (Polish Army Palatka) and cooked up some mushrooms with Polish sausages in Fusilli pasta, complimented by an IPA from Tiny Rebel and a Black Sesame Seed Cereal / Drink from Taiwan < This stuff is to die for!

Real Snow London 2019
Can You Spot The Snow Camoed Tent?
Disco Nap IPA from Tiny Rebel Brewery

Hover the mouse on any of the included photo’s for the captions 🙂

It was fun! I was so engrossed in it all that I left camp after ”Camoflauging” my Polish Army Tent (AKA Lavvu) with Snow or ”Arctic” camoflauge as some people call it, that I was running around filming and talking to the camera seeing whether the tent was distinguishable from the pathways or not etc. and In the end, I was seen by a couple dog walkers and they must have been thinking I was a nutter talking to myself! haha

I only sometimes come to this particular section of the large wild / woodland park but this is the first time I actually set up any kind of shelter or even lit a fire! I just figured that ”today of all days” was probably the best for being able to do so without interfearance … it was good as I love Birch trees and this is the only part with some in!

Love Birch Trees – portrait photo winter
Auricularia Fungi, on Sambucus Nigra (Elder)
Side View of Arctic Camoflauged Polish Poncho Tent

I was very delighted to find the edible ‘Auricularia’ Fungi (AKA: Wood Ear / Jew’s Ear) were fruiting quite well on many of the ‘Sambucus nigra’ – common Elder, In this Article I explain it’s uses – I harvested some for my lunch!

Food for the day was cooked fusilli pasta with sliced Polish sausage, mushrooms and Auricularia Fungi cooked into it with Parmesan cheese thrown in to serve! I kept aside two more of the sausages which were cooked on stick after the pot was taken off the stove.

Black Sesame Seed Drink for Bushcraft
Best Hot Drink For Bushcraft IMO! – Black Sesame Cereal

Above is the packet of my hot drink for the day (Black Sesame Cereal – from Taiwan), this stuff is so delish that you would be tempted to smash your cup / mug to be able to lick the bottom!!!

Arctic Snow Camoflauge
Polish Army Palatka setup
Maximising Use Of Space / Heat

Part of the point in going out was also to try out some new gear, I deliberately bought ”Arctic” Snow camoflauge for times I’m wild camping in such weather. Other items were some new Swidish Army winter pants (trousers) – these things are mental! It’s like having a sleeping bag dedicated to each leg! I was cosier than Jimmy Saville in a hospital mortuary.
I am also now the proud owner of a Wood Gasification Stove – these are similar to other twig / stick stoves except that (Through clever design) they help to burn off the excess toxic gasses which are emitted and are therefore more efficient and use less fuel – my stove is made by Lixada (The same Chinese brand as my hinged Stick Stove) and was a jaw dropping £12! I did go out last weekend and gave it a break-in burn in This – 4+Min Video.

The Swedish Army Winter Trousers outperformed my expectations! I was kneeling on the soppy ground (The snow had started melting before I got on site) and despite this, during the whole 4-5 hour little adventure, I had zero penetration within the pants .. even after I went on an hour long foraging walk after packing up!

I ended the day packing up, double-checking all the birch trees for Chaga – none was found 😦 and then walking around trying to find as much of the Aricularia fungus as I could forage, I think I brought home about 500 – 700 grams!

Thanks for dropping by, I will have this trip posted on Youtube in the coming days, if you would like to follow then your subscription would be very much appreciated!

Regards wherever you are ..
BushmanAOD

Foraging #1: Fungi – Wood Ear / Jew’s Ear ‘Auricularia’

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This is the first in a series of posts relating to food foraging, I have been on the path of self educating in this field and only recently started getting into Fungi.

This is pretty much one of the top 2-5 safest and easiest fungi to identify correctly for consumption (In the temperate climates) as it is so unique that there is not really any other fungi like it that could be harmful if incorrectly identified / mistaken.

The reason why it is so easy to identify is mainly in that you just have to look out for Elder trees and shrubs ‘Sambucus nigra’, known either as Elderflower trees or Elderberry trees. The fungi grows mainly on these trees / large shrubs, it is almost available all year round but mainly around Autumn.
(If it’s growing on an Elder Tree, and is not brown, jelly like / rubbery – and doesn’t feel like an ear – then it is NOT Auricularia and you should not risk eating it)

Auricularia Edible Elder Tree Fungus
Auricularia auricula-judae AKA Jew’s Ear / Wood Ear Fungus

On the last trip to my new woodland I am enjoying exploring the last month and half, I came home with at least 1kg of this fungus despite leaving quite a lot to spread spores and feed whatever other creatures consume it … including you fellow foragers!

The fungus consumes the host in either one of two ways, 1: Live parisitic = smaller fruiting bodies as it is growing as a weak parasite. 2: Fully on dead Elder wood, whereby you will see larger clusters with many fruiting bodies right after rain – this is due to the dead wood being fully colonised by the mycelium (the root system of fungi).

Note: I have personally found Auricularia on at least two Buddleija (Butterfly bush) shrubs in the last 5 years.

Nutritional Information of Auricularia auricula-judae:

The nutritional content of 100 g (3.5 oz) of dried fungus includes 370 kcal, 10.6 g of protein, 0.2 g of fat, 65 g of carbohydrate, 5.8 g ash, and 0.03% mg of carotene.

As mentioned above, the fungus can be dried and stored, it needs re-hydrating which is quite easy, I harvested dried fungus off of an Elder last week, crunched it up into my 12cm Zebra Billy can together with a little water and cooked them for my Scrambled Eggs with Foraged mushrooms on Home made Italian Herb bread breakfast!

I always considered Elder ‘Sambucus nigra’ to be a very important tree, not only physically due to what we get from them over Summer through Autumn, but also spiritually … now that I know it hosts an edible fungus … Ever More So! I will in the future write an article about the Elder and it’s many uses as I now consider it to be probably the most important tree to me.

Harvesting:

They can be harvested when young, and as well as when fully dried – if you ever got a huge harvest, you could slice some up and place on a baking tray in the oven at 50 Degrees C for half an hour to get them started on the drying process! they soon dry up fully in a couple days.

When young, place in a bag in the fridge and try consume within a week or so.

To harvest, simply pull off of the tree trunk or branch or you could cut it close to the wood with a knife, be careful not to damage the tree if it is still alive!

Nettle Foraging Tips, Bulgarian Bearded Carving Axe and Gear Sneak Preview

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I went out very early in the morning last Saturday, the aim was to catch the last of the Stinging Nettle patches that are still hanging on under woodland canopy cover, after foraging I filmed some fungi, got some Bird song audio which is included in the below video and gave a better look at my Bulgarian Carving Axe for one of my Youtube Subscribers.
I also show some other recently obtained Camping / Bushcraft gear as a build up to my Full Gear Review.

I will be uploading quite a few videos not only by Friday (at least two more videos) but more next week!! These include my Full Gear Review, perhaps some footage of a new woodland I scouted over a week ago AND hopefully one of my Three Wildcamps that have taken place in the last month and half.

I hope you enjoy the video, if you like my content and you have a Youtube account I would greatly appreciate your Subscription to help support me in my trek to bring you and others free knowledge and entertainment!

Cheers till next time!
Bushman AOD

PS: I will include Stinging Nettle recipes here in the future as soon as I have the time!