Steve Brill became an instant celebrity
in 1986 when he was arrested for eating a dandelion in Central
Park. The arrest brought Brill, who calls himself "Wildman,"
coverage in New York newspapers and guest spots on radio and
television shows like "Live with Regis and Kathie Lee."
Brill invited me on a foraging tour recently through Central
Park, and spent some time discussing his latest cookbook "The
Wild Vegetarian Cookbook: A Forager’s Culinary Guide (in the
Field or the Supermarket) to Preparing and Savoring Wild (and
Not So Wild) Natural Foods, with More than 500 Recipes"
(The Harvard Common Press, $29.95). Wearing a canvas hat over
a sweatband, polo shirt, shorts and carrying several water bottles
and bags to gather foraging treasures, he looked like every child’s
favorite camp counselor – the one with the goofy sense of humor,
who took campers on nature walks and lovingly described each
plant.
He is still a counselor of sorts, albeit a sophisticated one,
with three cookbooks under his khaki belt. His foraging tours
through New York area parks delight participants, who are "served"
edible plants carefully selected by Brill. (After his arrest,
then-Parks Commissioner Henry Stern hired Brill to lead tours
through the city’s parks. Brill now works as a freelancer in
Prospect Park and other parks, undisturbed by Parks employees.)
Those attending my tour were offered handfuls of redbuds (tiny,
lilac-colored blossoms that grow in lacy bunches on trees) with
the comment, "This bud’s for you." And children enjoyed
picking pale purple wisteria blossoms that have a honey-like
aroma and taste a little like apples.
When a woman asked, "How can I tell a poisonous mushroom
from a non-poisonous mushroom?" Brill deadpanned, "Feed
it to your in-laws."
The children were warned against eating white snakeroot plants
and were serenaded with Chopin’s "Funeral March" played
on the "Brill-O-Phone."
What’s a Brill-O-Phone? In the Wildman’s own words (he gave himself
the name Wildman 20 years ago while practicing yoga and listening
to Jelly Roll Morton’s "The Wildman Blues") the Brill-O-Phone
is "a personal, musical instrument made by clapping my hands
over my mouth." In reality, Brill played his "personal,
musical instrument" by shrieking a melody into his hands
loud enough to leave me momentarily stunned.
By the book
"The Wild Vegetarian Cookbook," Brill’s third following
"Shoots and Greens of Early Spring" (1986) and "Identifying
and Harvesting Edible and Medicinal Plants in Wild (and Not So
Wild) Places" (1994) is the definitive cookbook for those
interested in foraging for and cooking wild dishes. The book
is a pleasure to read with Brill’s offbeat humor apparent throughout
its 484 pages. The book supplies both new and experienced natural
food enthusiasts with techniques and advice culled from Brill’s
20 years in the wild foods forefront. But it’s the way the natural
world opens to us after reading the book that makes it so valuable.
In the introduction, Brill, a former professional chess player
and self-described "authority on edible and medicinal wild
plants," describes his evolution from health food novice
to wild foods enthusiast.
"I took a crucial step toward becoming hooked on wild foods
when, while riding my bicycle in a local park in Hollis, Queens,
I saw Greek women in traditional black garb who were busily foraging
for plants. I stopped to ask them what they were doing, but their
answers were all Greek to me."
After that experience, Brill began studying field guides to help
identify and choose edible plants, and started adding wild plants
to his diet. Cookbook authors, to whom Brill turned for wild,
edible plant recipes, proved to be a disappointment. What was
lacking in their books, Brill found, were recipes that preserved
the nutritional value of the plants and actually tasted good.
"The authors," he explained, "were botanists who
wouldn’t recognize a kitchen if one fell on their heads. And
wild food cookbooks offered recipes for death: Boil the nutrition
out of your greens or cook them in enough bacon fat to induce
cardiac arrest."
"The Wild Vegetarian Cookbook" fills the void in the
market for a wild food cookbook that offers instruction on healthy
cooking techniques and recipes that produce tasty meatless and
dairy-free dishes. His experience is evident throughout the book,
with a thorough introduction broken into sections with titles
such as "Foraging and You," that warns readers to "Use
only those wild foods that you’ve identified with 100-percent
certainty."
Interested foragers will need to refer to Brill’s "Identifying
and Harvesting Edible and Medicinal Plants" or other field
guides for illustrations and descriptions of plants. He goes
on to a discussion of "What Makes Wild Food Special"
that describes the benefits of a high-fiber diet and the ills
of modern diets, so often based on refined foods rich in fat
and carbohydrates and devoid of nutrition. Other areas covered
in the book are food preparation methods, an herb and spice user’s
guide and a "how-to" guide for turning tofu into an
assortment of dairy-free cheeses.
Many of the recipes that feature wild, edible plants offer suggestions
for cultivated plant substitutions making the book accessible
to those who will only forage as far as their supermarkets or
green markets.
One recipe for a mock coq au vin (chicken cooked in red wine
with mushrooms) substitutes wild chicken mushrooms for the usual
chicken. The success of many of the recipes lies in Brill’s ability
to season dishes with spices that can sometimes mimic the flavors
of traditional meat or cheese-based dishes. A Spanish sausage
recipe uses breadcrumbs, lima beans and spicy seasonings such
as hot paprika and chili paste to imitate the taste and texture
of a standard meat sausage. A recipe for coconut rice (below)
calls for coconut milk, tamari soy sauce and the unexpected addition
of vanilla extract. The rice tastes surprisingly beefy, and the
coconut milk gives it a creamy consistency.
Brill even takes on the much-loved, but unhealthy, fettuccine
Alfredo by substituting tofu cream cheese for the usual heavy
cream, and tofu grated cheese for Parmesan. (Recipes for the
cheeses are included in the book.)
Expensive taste
Of the 500 or so recipes included in "The Wild Vegetarian
Cookbook" several, like the coconut rice recipe, are simple
to forage for and easy to prepare – perfect starting points for
beginning foragers or natural foods cooks. But there are recipes
that will prove costly and overly labor-intensive for those readers
without a well-stocked natural foods pantry. Trips to green markets
and health food stores for provisions will be necessary – and
hours will be spent in the kitchen if a cook is committed to
trying dishes with "from scratch" cheeses and wines.
The wild blackberry cheesecake, for instance, calls for 22 ingredients
– basics like salt, corn oil and cinnamon would probably be stocked
in a home cook’s pantry, but more esoteric ingredients such as
liquid stevia (a natural sweetener), lecithin granules and five
different extracts, would need to be purchased adding up to a
very costly cake.
Since my meeting with the Wildman, I have found myself foraging
in unexpected places. I’ve created beautiful salads by picking
violets from my garden, (the flowers have no taste but the leaves
are slightly hot) and walking past a neighbor’s home, I spotted
a redbud tree in bloom, grabbed a handful of blossoms and ate
them. The neighbors, sitting on their porch, looked horrified.
"Redbuds," I said. "They taste like sweet peas."
I could imagine the Brill-O-Phone blasting as I walked away.
Wildman Steve Brill will lead a late-spring
"Wild Food and Ecology Tour" of Prospect Park on May
25 at 11:45 am. The four-hour tour begins at Grand Army Plaza.
$10 adults, $5 children under 12. To make a reservation, call
(914) 835-2153 24-hours in advance. For more information, visit
his Web site at www.wildmanstevebrill.com.
"The Wild Vegetarian Cookbook: A Forager’s Culinary Guide
(in the Field or in the Supermarket) to Preparing and Savoring
Wild (and Not so Wild) Natural Foods, with More than 500 Recipes"
by "Wildman" Steve Brill (The Harvard Common Press,
$29.95) can be purchased at A Novel Idea Book Store [8415 Third
Ave. (718) 833-5115] in Bay Ridge, BookCourt [163 Court St.,
(718) 875-3677] in Cobble Hill and 7th Avenue Books [300 Seventh
Ave. between Seventh and Eighth streets, (718) 840-0188] in Park
Slope.
Coconut Rice
Adapted from "The Wild
Vegetarian Cookbook"
Coconut milk is a common ingredient in lands where coconuts grow,
so it’s no wonder that this rice recipe tastes like something
originating in Southeast Asia, despite its wild American seasonings.
6 bayberry leaves (or 3 regular Bay leaves)
2 cups brown basmati rice
One 14-ounce can unsweetened coconut milk
1/3 cup red wine
2 cups water
2 small chilis, chopped, seeds and ribs removed, or 1/2 tsp.
Cayenne pepper
1 tbsp. tamari soy sauce
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. dried lemon verbena or mint, finely crumbled
1/2 tsp. dried wild ginger or regular ground ginger
1 tsp. Vege-Sal or 1/2 teaspoon salt
Put the bayberry leaves in a tea bag or tea ball or tie them
up in a piece of cheesecloth.
Place the bayberry leaves in a large saucepan with the remaining
ingredients. Bring the pot to a boil over medium heat, reduce
the heat to low, and simmer, covered, until all the liquid is
absorbed and the rice is tender, about 40 minutes. Remove and
discard the bayberry leaves before serving. Salt to taste.
If, after 40 minutes, the rice is still too chewy and the liquid
has evaporated, add another 1/2 cup to 1 cup of water and continue
to cook on a low flame until the rice is tender.