In search of antlers and watercress

I love finding things. So joyful is the discovery of treasures, from morels and berries to agates and bones, that simply looking for them is among my favorite pasttimes. Jake and I spent our Saturday hiking around in different wet and boggy and woodsy areas, looking for two hallmarks of March, antler sheds and watercress. In the process, we found other exciting things.

Ancient riverbanks



Mink (we think) tracks

 

Wintergreen

No sheds, but in the last place we looked, watercress!

 Right in a spot where the spring bubbled up through the sand, a large healthy patch.

We snipped about a pound.

I made a soup for lunch, by sauteing leeks and the cress and some chopped potatoes in some duck fat (butter or olive oil would be good too, but when one has duck fat, one uses it), whisking in some flour and herbs, adding milk and broth, and simmering until the potatoes were soft.

If you go cressing, bring a scissors- the plants will grow back quickly if you don't remove the roots, and the bottom rooty parts of the plants are bitter, anyway. One last tip- careful where you snip! We found this ewwy mole floating in the first place we stopped.

Also, make sure you rinse your cress really well- there were wiggly little shrimpy guys in our batch, that the ducks were happy to snatch up.

We'll go back and collect more later this week... its just too good not to! Delicious, and so good for you. I think I'll try a cress pesto. Cressto!?

I hope you find whatever treasures you're looking for this week!