It’s Harvest Time!

Article by Becky Fillinger, photos provided

Last week brought the last full moon of summer, called the Corn Moon by the Algonquin people. Lakota Sioux call it the "moon when the plums are scarlet." We’re in the season of harvesting – whether corn, plums, barley, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, etc. It’s also time to forage for some delicious fruits and vegetables in our urban and rural areas. We asked some of our favorite foragers about what they’re gathering now.

Bob Rice harvesting wild riceBob Rice of Pow Wow Grounds is harvesting wild rice (known as manoomin in the Ojibwe language) for use in the shop’s muffins and wild rice soup. He’s been foraging wild rice for 45 years - it is hand harvested and processed using homemade machinery. 

Tom Foerster, volunteer park steward, foraged this weekend on the East Bank for black walnuts, acorns, crabapples and wild grapes.

He will make flour from the acorn harvest, after leaching tannins from the nuts. The gluten free flour makes a nutritious and delicious bread or pasta. I even saw a recipe for Acorn Brittle – yes please!

Black walnuts and acorns

Wild grapes and crabapples

Tim Clemens, of Ironwood Foraging Company, recently foraged for the last of summer mushrooms, the first of fall mushrooms and wild rice.  He was lucky to find Chanterelles, Cornflower Boletes and a mix of Leccinum/Suillus species of mushrooms. Curious about foraging but would like to start with a master? Tim conducts many workshops – check it out.

Wild rice harvested by Tim Clemens 

Chanterelles

What are you harvesting? Let us know!

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About Becky Fillinger

I’ve been a resident of the Mill District only since July 2019, but have visited the Guthrie, the Farmers Market, restaurants and friends in the area for many years prior to making the leap to Minneapolis. I’ve lived in many places (and climates) in the US and can testify that our cultural events, bicycle and hiking trails, parks and green spaces, museums, diverse neighborhoods and wonderful restaurants put Minnesota and Minneapolis high on my best places list. I’m a member of the Mill City Singers and look forward to our choir practices and performances.

One of my main interests is community - a very broad concept. For me it means bringing people together with common interests to form meaningful relationships. I look forward to reporting on businesses and individuals in our neighborhoods. Feel free to drop me an email at becky_fillinger@hotmail.com with your thoughts and ideas for stories.