Wolf College . . .

A couple weeks ago my friend Jill emailed me about a field trip opportunity.  She told me about Wolf College that meets in Sumas once a month during the school year.  She needed a few more families to register for the last class to make sure it would happen.  I said "SURE," even though I had no idea what to expect.

The classes are held during the day for homeschoolers to learn about nature and gain wilderness skill.  They're taught by Chris and Kim Chisholm who started the program back in the 90's I think.
The program holds the same class in Bellingham during the evening time for adults.  The class we attended was all about edible plants and outdoor camp cooking.   This class supplemented our scouting and camping knowledge perfectly. 

Chris recommended a few books in the beginning of the class.

Then we headed out to identify the top 5 edible plants.  We ate some grass.

I even ate some stinging nettle leaves.  I also learned how to touch them without getting stung.  

The leaves of the blackberry or salmon-berry plants can also be eaten.  They act as an astringent and dry out the mouth a bit.  They can be beneficial in the wilderness if an intestinal bug gets you down.

After that they talked about freeze dried, dehydrated and ready to eat meals.  Ahhhh, yum, the gut busting military MRE's. (meals-ready to-eat)  Blackberry leaves might be necessary after one of those.

But my favorite part was the real cooking demonstration and camp stove lighting lesson.  Fresh garlic, onions, spices, chicken broth, orzo and rice made the most amazing risotto.  I have to make it at home sometime.  

Here's a link to their website.  Wolf College.

The recipe is here.Link

They substituted 1 cup of rice for orzo.