The Neighborhood Forager

Steve Pitt is a Toronto-based freelance writer and an award-winning journalist. He has written many young adult and children's books, including Day of the Flying Fox: The True Story of World War II Pilot Charley Fox.

Does lettuce leave you lethargic? Do yams make you yawn? Are you so
tired of the same old store-bought vegetables that you are afraid of
becoming one yourself? Then take a walk in your back yard, and what do
you see? Dandelions? Burdocks? Prickly pears? Robert Henderson wants you
to take a wok on the wild side and stir fry a little chickweed chow mein
or knock your friends dead with a nettle omelette. The best news of all
is that most of the ingredients can be found in your own back yard.

The book’s layout is slightly drab but, fortunately, Henderson’s
prose sparkles. His encyclopedic knowledge is counterbalanced by an
engaging writing style that both informs and entertains the reader as he
leaps effortlessly from science to folklore (including Asian,
Aboriginal, and European/American herb traditions). Most of the text is
devoted to plant description, known uses of the plant, and possible
dangers. Given the size of the book, the recipes are somewhat sparse.
Henderson is obviously more interested in teaching readers how to
forage, not cook. Most of the photographs are black and white, small,
and, unfortunately, sometimes underexposed or blurred. There are eight
pages of color photographs, but their function seems more ornamental
than informational; many of the plants featured (oxeye daisy,
gooseberry, dandelion) are already well known to most novices.

It is regrettable that Henderson’s text is let down by the format
because while foraging sounds like a fun way to embrace mother nature,
there are definite risks for the uninformed. Henderson does point out
which plants are likely to provoke an allergic reaction or mild
poisoning, but his warning would definitely be helped by some decent
illustrations. The large size of the book also prevents it from being
conveniently carried while outdoors. The result is a good armchair
introduction to foraging, but not a practical field guide.