New to foraging? Learn more about ethical and safe foraging (plus how to get started) here!

Throughout our lives, we dance in and out of relationships and interactions with many people, and it can be a beautiful thing to pause for a moment and recognize the marks they’ve left, even the little ones. 

My favorite song to sing in the shower was sent to me on a CD by my cousin about 15 years ago. I love sushi because a gallery owner took me out to lunch once in college and introduced me to it. Every time I hear that specific song, the memory of my first relationship crosses my mind, ever-so-briefly. My best friend in fourth grade taught me how to bake fresh squash with butter and sugar and I think of her every time I eat roasted squash. I have a thermal shirt in my dresser from someone I dated for a winter; it was too small for him so I claimed it to keep me warm on our snowboarding adventures. I started loving green when a classmate I haven’t talked to since graduation told me it was a good color for me on a day when I was feeling insecure. Every time I cook spaghetti noodles I think of our old family friends and how we mischievously tested the done-ness of the pasta by flinging it to the ceiling. (If it stuck, it was ready.) And every time I smell lavender I remember the comfort of a face that is fuzzy in my early life memories, soothing me to sleep. Even though many of these people are only distantly in my life anymore (or have disappeared completely), they left their mark on me. I think that is an exquisitely beautiful thing. 

As we move through life, interact with so many other people who give a tiny bit of themselves to us, little memories that stay woven into our skin beyond the parting of our ways. I find a deep, serene comfort in that; how very human it is to collect those parts of people like we collect a shiny rock or a pretty feather. Knowing that others are carrying bits of me with them - bits that I might not even remember or know about - is also deeply comforting. Our lives are connected to so many others in so many ways. What a beautiful mystery it is to wonder who thinks of me when they smell that fragrance or hear that word? The not-knowing is what makes it all feel utterly magical. 

While we enter a season associated with romantic love, let’s make a little room for all the loves in our life, including those pieces of past interactions you still carry with you, whether they are from someone who was (or still is) a big part of your life, or a particularly meaningful conversation with a stranger at a bus station. Perhaps you could set a timer for 15 or 20 minutes and just write down as many of those little recollections as you can. You may be surprised at how many there are, or how much emotion comes up with them! Then, you can save that list somewhere special or burn it, depending on what feels right to you in the moment. 

Wild Seeds and Crunchy Roots Salad: 

This colorful and dynamic late winter salad is an ode to connections long past. The sharp notes of thin radish slices whisper to me about muddy days spent in the garden with a childhood friend, daring each other to take bites of the pungent vegetable. The vibrant shade of thinly-sliced beets reminds me of some red lips belonging to that stranger that made my heart beat a little faster. The juicy tartness of fresh citrus transports me to picking fresh, aromatic oranges with distant relatives I haven’t seen in years. The crisp crunch of red cabbage reminds me of the clerk with a heavy accent at the European import deli near where I went to college, who always had a smile to greet my curiosity (and a scoop of cabbage slaw to accompany anything else on my plate.) The mustard seeds remind me of windy, briny days on the coast with a dear friend, foraging the dried pods to process and save for recipes just like this one, our picking punctuated with laughter. Little bits of many lives, mixed up together into a nostalgic and delicious bowl of refreshing nourishment. How many memories do YOU see in this bowl? 

Ingredients: 

¼  head red cabbage

2 medium beets

3-4 radishes

2 blood oranges

1 regular orange

1 c. freeze-dried strawberry slices

Vinaigrette: 

 1 c. chopped strawberries

1 tsp. Wild mustard seeds

¼ c. balsamic vinegar

⅓  c. olive oil

1 tsp. Dijon mustard

1 tsp. Honey

1 Tbs. poppyseeds

Lots of fresh black pepper, to taste

Salt, to taste

Directions: 

1. Slice the red cabbage finely and put in a medium salad bowl. 

2. Using a mandolin, carefully slice the beets and radishes into very thin slices. Sprinkle them on top of the cabbage. 

3. Remove the peel and slice the citrus into very thin slices. Add to the bowl. Toss lightly. 

4. Sprinkle with the freeze-dried strawberry slices.

5. To make the vinaigrette, add the strawberries, wild mustard seeds, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, dijon mustard, and honey to a blender and blend until smooth and creamy. Stir in the poppyseeds and season with freshly-ground black pepper and salt to taste. Toss with the salad right before serving. 

   
   

Love what you’ve read here? Don’t forget to Subscribe to get frequent updates of new posts!

Huge thanks to my Patrons that make sharing all of these lovely posts with you possible (without all of the pop-ups and ads that make browsing other blogs so annoying). If you’re feeling generous, you too can support the wonder with a monthly contribution of your choice. Even $1 helps a lot! Your donation will help to fund this blog as well as my surprise free events and gifts for strangers. Learn more about this program at the link below: