Just have to tell you about my Foraging day out. It was a gift from my daughter. Fantastic. I have read several books about food for free and foraging for plants but not had the confidence to try any of it. The day was fantastic. A couple who own their own 18 acre wood - he is a chef, so there was plenty of advice as to what you can do with the food when you've picked it. What I realised is how important and helpful it is to get first hand knowledge of the plants in identifying them correctly. Books don't allow you feel or smell or taste the plants and that makes a huge difference to your ability to correctly identify them. I was amazed at how many (often common) plants are actually edible and some of the surprising flavours (wood sorrel tastes like Bramley apples, the young buds of ribwort plantain, like mushrooms.) During the day we had several trips into the woods to identify plants. We did some simple cooking making a pesto and baking some flatbreads in their clay oven which we ate with some delicious soup. If you have any interest in using wild plants from your own woods or the wayside I thoroughly recommend going on one of these courses. You'll come away with at least ten times your previous knowledge. I haven't been asked to plug this couple's enterprise but I'm going to give you a link to it anyway.
http://www.tastethewild.co.uk/
