What if you could forage right here in Ballard for all of the ingredients you need to make a foraged feast?

Springtime is teeming with wild edibles, and you don’t need to look very far to find all the bounty nature has to offer.

But where are they?

The Ballard News-Tribune stopped by Golden Gardens Park last week and discovered at least four wild foods growing abundantly just off the trail – some in plain site. Although the plant are there, foragers should know that it is illegal to harvest plants in Seattle parks. However, a good way to find what you are looking for in the wild is to start by recognizing them where you live.

The most visible food within the park are Maple blossoms. It is the flower of the Bigleaf Maple, and these yellow clusters are sweet with a floral flavor familiar in maple syrup. It’s best to pick the younger florets because they have not yet bloomed and released their pollen -- but good luck reaching them. Known as “hangers” by some foragers, the young and fat blossoms just out of reach keep foragers coming with creative routes to gain their prize. Some foragers use a stick or a ski pole to gently pull the Maple branches down and pluck off the blossoms. More serious foragers looking for their bulk of blossoms use a ladder.

The Bigleaf Maple flower is sweet with a floral flavor familiar to maple syrup.

Blogs have raved about frying the flowers with a batter, but there is another way to enjoy maple blossom long after they have fallen from the tree: simple syrup. To make blossom syrup, first wash the blossoms and make syrup with hot water and sugar (two parts sugar, one part water). Next put the blossoms in a cheesecloth or strainer. There will be small particles from the flowers, so cheesecloth is probably the best option. The next thing to do is to simply pour the syrup mixture over the blossoms. Let the mixture cool and then store in a bottle in the fridge. The syrup is great for cocktails or a sweetener for tea.

Another abundant edible plant growing at Golden Gardens Park has to be Stinging Nettle (Urtica dioica). Yes, you can eat this burning brute of a plant, and not only is it delicious, it’s also really good for you, too. Nettles tend to grow in more wet areas such as ditches or lowland forests. Up near the dog park in Golden Gardens is where a lot of nettles grow, but being so close to the dogs frolicking amid a sandy field, the nettles there are not the most appetizing. They are probably tainted. There are plenty more nettles growing just off the trails deeper in the park. To harvest Stinging Nettle simply use a scissors to snip the tender top portion or “bud” off the plant. Be sure to wear gloves; your hands will be tingling well after the harvest if you don’t. Nettles don’t actually sting you like a bee does. Little hairs containing formic acid break open when they are disrupted. The acid creates the stinging sensation and red welts on the skin. However, when the nettles are cooked the hairs are broken and the formic acid dissipates. Since they grow like a weed in the region, it won’t take long to pick what you need for a dish.

Nettles can serve as a “gamey” – almost green tea flavor -- substitute for spinach or kale. They pair well with egg-based dishes, especially when using a bold cheese to mingle with the flavor of the nettle. Cheddar or Swiss cheese is great. Steamed nettle or a nettle pesto is also delicious. More importantly, eating nettles is also very good for you. They contain anti-oxidants and antihistamines that have been reported to have positive effects on overall health and allergies. Drying the nettles for tea is one way to get their essence without eating them.

A large bag of nettles picked by a forager on public lands. Foragers say it can take up to an hour of being hunched over and grabbing and cutting at nettles tops in order to pick a bag this size..

Golden Gardens has more to offer than nettles and Maple blossoms; fiddlehead ferns also grow widespread in the park. Lady Fern (Athyrium filix-femina) is edible and grows throughout the region. Some people even consider them a weed. But this weed tastes like asparagus. The curled fronds grow at the base of the fern and are covered in a brown, dry, hair-like husk. To pick them just cut close to the base. The husks make quite a mess, and so the easiest way to clean fiddleheads is to rub and rinse them in a bucket of cold water. For impatient folks, spraying them with the hose also works. The fiddleheads need to be cooked thoroughly, because they are believed to contain carcinogens when raw. To cook them, boil the fiddleheads and then chill them in an ice water bath. A simple preparation is best for ferns. They are delicious with a little butter and lemon juice, a Hollandaise sauce or served with salads or pasta.

Fiddleheads need to be cooked thoroughly, because they are believed to contain carcinogens when raw. The husks make quite a mess, and so the easiest way to clean fiddleheads is to rub and rinse them in a bucket of cold water.

Finally, for a foragers favorite: Miner’s Lettuce. The lettuce (Claytonia perfoliata) is bright green and grows in a rosette formation. It can have long stems with large circular tops that have a pink or white flower in the center. Small spade-shaped leaves also grow from its base. Varieties of Miner’s lettuce grow along lowland hillsides throughout the West Coast from Southern California up to Alaska. At Golden Gardens Park there are only a few patches growing in view from the road on the west-facing slope near the park facility building. The best way to harvest the lettuce is to use a scissors and gently grab the tops of clumps and cut near the base. Look for leaves that have a healthy green color and have not been fed on by critters. Also, watch for grasses and other plants that tend to grow with the lettuce. Try not to include them in your cuts because you will save yourself a lot of time from not having to sort out the inedible plants later. Miner’s lettuce tends to grow in thick “carpets” on the forest floor so starting on the edge and moving where you have already cut is ideal for foragers.

The best way to harvest Miner’s lettuce is to use a scissors and gently grab the tops of clumps and cut near the base. Look for leaves that have a healthy green color and have not been fed on by critters.

Miner’s lettuce makes a tasty base for salads, but be sure to wash thoroughly, especially when eating it raw. The lettuce is soft with slight firmness and is very similar to spinach in flavor and texture. Another way to prepare it is to steam the lettuce or sauté it with butter, salt and fresh pepper.

With all that the Pacific Northwest has to offer foragers, picking should be practiced responsibly and safety. Be sure to know absolutely know what you pick. If you are in doubt, ask someone who knows. Also, with fewer and fewer places to pick, the etiquette of picking is especially important in order to conserve fragile areas where some wild edibles grow. It’s good etiquette to not take all that a patch has to offer. It’s always good to leave some for the next forager who is on the trail for the same wild delights you just found. Leaving plants undisturbed also ensures they will be just as many sprouts for the harvest next year.