After a fine weekend at the Newfoundland and Labrador Mushroom Foray on Fogo Island, Marian and I dropped in to see our friends, Deb and Wilma, the innkeepers at the Anchor Inn and Suites. We stole them away from their duties for a foraging walk on the Top of Twillingate Trail and then along the coast. Our bucket, though not nearly full, was filled with a great variety of wild edibles.

Our first container was filled with the classic Newfoundland blueberries and partridgeberries. I love partridgeberry jam so much I had to be sure to bring enough berries home to make some. The blueberries were a bit sparse where we were, so we may need to work a bit harder to get off the beaten trail to find a place that hasn’t already been picked.

Around the back of the marsh on the low mist trail, we found a few squashberries and rose hips. The squashberries also can be made into jam and are a bit tart to eat right from the bush. Rose hips make a lovely tea and can also be made into jam. A few partridgeberries and raspberries snuck into the picture.

Also on the tea front, we picked a few Labrador Tea leaves. Steeped in hot (not boiling water), they make a delightful hot beverage that soothes the soul. It’s important to only take a few leaves from each plant. Labrador Tea is recognized by the orange fuzziness under the leaves.

Finally, down by the rocking and rolling sea (it was super windy today), we picked some sea rocket, sea peas, beach orach, and two raspberries. The sea rocket is spicy and can be made into a kind of wasabi. The sea peas (the ones in the picture are a bit past their prime) can be eaten like regular snow peas. The beach orach is another beach green that you can forage for…so a great bit of fun picking for the pot this afternoon in T-gate!

Note: please learn to identify all of the above from expert instruction rather than the photos and commentary above (a wee small bit of risk management).