Food for free

[Deleted member 8180]

Only once have I done 'roadkill' and that was when I hit a big Pheasant on a country road...the car hit it's neck and passed cleanly over it...it went into the boot.

Pah! ran over a pheasant on the way to Scotland and the bugger broke the drain valve off the fresh water tank... did however fish one out of the river Ure whilst paddling down it.

 

[n brown]

when my eldest got married,i borrowed a circus tent off a mate and on the way to my smallholding spotted a warm dead deer at the side of the road.at that time i was also liberating discarded but in date food from the back of supermarkets to feed my pigs, and had most of the cheese counter,everything from the bakery section,loads of choccy bars and fruit etc.couple of bottles of cheap fizz and a posh wedding with venison etc all for about 15 quid .who needs money?

 

[Arjun699]

Puff balls fried in bacon fat yummy. But there was a de'arth of them in Suffolk this year. wish I could cultivate them. In a good year you can get a slice of puff ball or beef steak fungi with your bason and sausage sarny on Ely market as long as you are there when they are setting up, any later and it is all gone.

Also in answer to day walks. Thetford forest is a great place for these starting from Brandon Country Park. But it does depend on the weather during the couple of days prior to going out , so can be a bit hit and miss. Although there are always loads of tree growing fungi about at most times of the year. I do beleive there are also classes in other forests. I shall search for them as soon as I get a min. and post

I'm totally agree with you man.You'r 100% good here that puff balls fried in bacon fat yummy.Thetford forest is a great place for these starting from Brandon Country Park.Man i found it from the google.Next time i will be post about it.







Cabinet Finishes

 

[Somelier]

I'd rather go to Tesco!!!:wacko:

 

[Robmac]

Crayfish are easy to catch in a drop net baited with rotten meat. Especially as we are now being invaded by the much larger American Signal Crayfish. You can find them in most clean rivers, but you should first obtain a license to catch them.

 

[donkey too]

I'd rather go to Tesco!!!:wacko:

I am glad about that. The more people who go to Tescos, the more free food for peeps like me.:mad1:

 

[donkey too]

Crayfish are easy to catch in a drop net baited with rotten meat. Especially as we are now being invaded by the much larger American Signal Crayfish. You can find them in most clean rivers, but you should first obtain a license to catch them.

They are classed as undesirable in our rivers, yet we have to have permission to catch them? Typical UK.

Funny though you dont need a licence to catch and kill grey squirrels and they do no damage at all. They are better than rabbit in a stew.
My favorite dish of all time in the wild has to be squirrel stew with biscuits. (The USA kind of biscuits like a scone though) made very easily on a griddle pan. I carry a pack of ready mix "bisqick" which I get from the base here, brilliant stuff.

 

[donkey too]

Why did the hedghog cross the road?

He was going to see his flatmate.

 

[msbombastic]

I wonder to any of those guys in the series do 'day courses'...it would be interesting to go off on a walk and see 'exactly' what these wild herbs looked like for real.

My brother does. On Gower. Weekend survival courses, including food foraging.

 

[scampa]

Flatfish

Here's a method that provided me with plenty of fresh fish in the past quite easily, though I haven't tried it for a few years....

If you're near a big sandy beach or estuary, watch as the tide goes out and you may see some big shallow lagoons left behind, separated from the sea. Very often, a variety of flatfish will be stranded in them, and will settle into the sand until the tide returns. They are naturally camouflaged to protect them from predatory seabirds etc, so will be very difficult to spot.

Experienced old-timers will paddle bare-foot through these lagoons, carefully feeling for any fish with their feet before grabbing hold of them. Another way is to use something like a garden-fork, sharp stick or home made trident to stab the sea bed as you slowly go along.

Some people use a much quicker and more effective method, though it may seem a bit barbaric. The idea is to fix a big treble fish-hook into the end of a lump of lead (a 7 or 8 ounce torpedo shaped fishing weight is about right), then using a beachcaster rod and line, cast out and retrieve over a wide area. I've seen a lot of fish caught in a short time with this method, but I'm not convinced that it's a very sporting or humane way to catch fish.

As always, in any tidal area, it's always vitally important to consult a local tide-table and be extremely wary of the tide coming in behind you via creeks or streams and cutting you off. And also be careful in case your "shallow" lagoon suddenly drops down into several feet depth of water!

 

[mikeakabigman]

Heres a great fungi to look out for, easy to ID and very good eating, cooked with bacon fat or seasoned with garlic and herbs. Its commonly called Chicken of the woods.

 

[msbombastic]

Experienced old-timers will paddle bare-foot through these lagoons, carefully feeling for any fish with their feet before grabbing hold of them. Another way is to use something like a garden-fork, sharp stick or home made trident to stab the sea bed as you slowly go along.

Experienced old timers will be aware that water distorts visuals....it's extremely easy to stab yourself in foot if not aware of this. Dab fishers hazard

 

[Rubbertramp]

Experienced old-timers will paddle bare-foot through these lagoons, carefully feeling for any fish with their feet before grabbing hold of them. Another way is to use something like a garden-fork, sharp stick or home made trident to stab the sea bed as you slowly go along.

Experienced old timers will be aware that water distorts visuals....it's extremely easy to stab yourself in foot if not aware of this. Dab fishers hazard

One thing to be aware of while doing this is the Weever Fish sting. They live in the sand at low tide (in Cornwall anyway) and can give you a poisonous sting if you step on or near them. I've been had a couple of times while surfing. It's an interesting experience as you can feel the pain travelling up your leg as the poison spreads through your bloodstream. For most people it wears off after about 30 minutes however, sooner if you bathe your foot in warm water. It can be a nasty shock though if experiencing it for the first time. A good idea is to wear a pair of those rubber "jellies".
Weever - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[scampa]

Oh well, I've seen and successfully used those techniques plenty of times without incident. Did I forget to include common-sense in my description?

It may be best to confine ourselves to stalking our fish in the aisles of Tescos?

 

[Viktor]

Heres a great fungi to look out for, easy to ID and very good eating, cooked with bacon fat or seasoned with garlic and herbs. Its commonly called Chicken of the woods.

NO!!!! According to recent camping instruction DON'T unless you know exactly what you are doing......get it wrong and you are in trouble!!!!

 

[Rubbertramp]

Oh well, I've seen and successfully used those techniques plenty of times without incident. Did I forget to include common-sense in my description?

It may be best to confine ourselves to stalking our fish in the aisles of Tescos?

I'm really sorry but I don't think I said don't do it.....it's absolutely a great idea! Just giving a little bit of info for anyone who hadn't had this rare experience as it can be quite shocking but ultimately harmless. I'm the last one to want to put a dampener on things.:bow:

 

[scampa]

Apologies Rubbertramp, I was thinking more of accidentally stabbing myself in the foot, though I've no doubt that has been done! Maybe they mistook their foot for a sole??

 

[Goaskalys]

Chicken of the Wood

Has anyone ever found or tried 'chicken of the woods'? It's orange and lives high up old oak trees...its supposed to have the texture and taste of chicken? I regularly gather chanterelles and boletus to make pasta sauces but never found any of this tree chicken yet! Do you look for telltale signs underneath the trees...:egg:

Hi there, I've been collecting and eating fungus for 20 years and chicken of the wood is very nice when young and orange colour. So you need to find it early on in the summer/autumn mushroom season.

The best book for identifying edible mushrooms is published by Collins 'How To Identify Edible Mushroom'. This book is arranged to on one page it describes, lets say, chanterelle, where you find it, how to cook it, etc and on the opposite page what it can be confused with. This is most useful when out in the woods and you are just not sure what you have found, after all if you get it wrong you can make yourself very ill ...... or worse.

My favorite mushrom is the Parasol, huge (dinner plate sized), firm texture and a delicious taste. Dipped in egg and breadcrumbs and fried. Yum.

 

[Oasis]

Funny though you dont need a licence to catch and kill grey squirrels and they do no damage at all. QUOTE]

Not true!!!

"Grey squirrels cost the British economy an estimated £14 million per annum according to a study published by the international scientific organisation CABI for DEFRA, Scottish Government and the Welsh Assembly.

Grey squirrels are identified as having a wide range of impacts from reduction in wood production to an adverse effect on biodiversity. Squirrels were found increasingly to be doing damage to property where they build dreys in lofts, tear up insulation, chew timber, wires and stored goods."

From grey squirrel damage

 

[Somelier]

Funny though you dont need a licence to catch and kill grey squirrels and they do no damage at all.

I don't know where you get that statement from. Grey squirrels are probably THE most damaging wild animal we have in the UK - they cause CONSIDERABLE damage to trees and are a major problem for the forestry industry, they are responsible for huge losses of songbirds every year and they are a contributing factor to the demise in our true native squirrel, the red.

So, eat as many grey squirrels as possible. The sooner they are eradicated from the U.K. the better!!!