My Book: The Girls of Adirondack Woodcraft (Boys') Camp

 Those of you who enjoy a wholesome coming of age story set the wilds, In this case, the Adirondack forest in the mountains, will enjoy this book. I'm hoping that some of you will share this with your daughters or granddaughters. It is a wholesome story based on my childhood but fast-forwarded into what I could imagine as a 13-year-old living in the same boys' camp that I lived in as a child. 

My father managed the food services of colleges in the fall, winter, and spring months. My family lived in a tiny cabin at Adirondack Woodcraft Camp during the summers so my dad could manage the food sevice at the boys' camp.  

In this book I explore what it might have been like to be a young girl (Molly) with artistic sensibilities and an interest in foraging living in the camp with Chief's granddaughter (Pam) as her sidekick.

This is a very wholesome story that touches on navigating miss-matched friendships, betrayal, first crushes, love, the natural world and so much more.

Here is a link to the kindle  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0HHG39XPN

And... The paperback  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0HHFWXKDN

I hope you love it as much as I loved writing it.  And if you are feeling generous, please leave a review on Amazon or Goodreads.

I’m excited to say… We just got a grant!

 We have property in Cherokee County that is bordered by two creeks and contains two hayfield and a forest. We’re going to take part of the hayfield and turn it into a pollinator garden. Thanks to a government program that we applied for and received permission to create. This is theA Many wild edibles already and now want to give back. I’m hoping to find someone who wants to keep bees on the property. If you know anyone in Cherokee county near Hulbert or Tahlequah put them in touch with me.

This is a painting from the entrance into our property... the hay field.  This is where we will plant

I just found this review that was published back in 2017. Who knew! Thanks Amber Shehan!

 

Margaret Aycock is a talented artist who is also an avid forager. She works to share her knowledge and art with her community through schools and is a resident artist at her local hospital.

Here’s the official blurb about Claire Goes Foraging:

Once upon a time in America and around the world, people knew which wild growing plants they could eat, and which they could not. In modern times that knowledge is almost lost to us. Thankfully, Claire has a neighbor, Celeste, to whom the knowledge has been passed down. Follow Claire and Celeste as they explore their own back yards and create a meal from foraged “weeds.” Learn along with Claire which plants are edible, nutritious, and delicious.

This book is ideal for anyone who wants to share their love of foraging and awareness of the bounty of the world around them with young people in their lives.

The story is sweet, and the art is simply beautiful. I love watercolors, and Margaret is quite adept at weaving a beautiful natural world that blooms before young Claire’s opening eyes. There are many recipes and simple monographs for the most common edible weeds, making this a wonderfully multifaceted book.

It is completely worth it to get this book in physical form, rather than the ebook. The art deserves to be appreciated on the page, and the recipes and monographs are easier to read and use in print versus the small screens of readers or phones.

Margaret Aycock regularly posts recipes and more foraged food goodness at her blog: Claire Goes Foraging.

Grab a copy of Claire Goes Foraging today!

Poor man’s pepper

 Great plant to dry and add to your herb mixes. Spicy!

It’s wilted dandelion green salad time!

 

The basic recipe, like Mom used to make is: fry up some bacon, nice and crispy, set it aside on paper towels. Keep some of the grease in the pan and wilt tear dandelion greens. I usually chop mine up kind of fine. Add a little bit of vinegar, Sugar to taste and then add back your crispy bacon, and you have the best salad in the world.

Just a simple walk in the alleyway behind my house for less than one block

 

Baked cornmeal coated squash, blossoms

 Well, every now and then I feature something that only people with Gardens might consider eating because you won’t find these in the grocery store. I had so many squash blossoms both on my pumpkins and squash that I decided that before I sell this old-fashioned cornbread muffin maker that I would do an experiment. They turned out great. I kind of made my own recipe, but you can easily find a cornbread or corn muffin recipe and use that to dip your squash blossoms in. I like to add a few jalapeños too.