With the rise of interest in local ingredients, “New Nordic cuisine”, and sustainability – foraging has become quite the buzz-word. What does it actually mean to forage? What does foraging look like in a place like New York City? We find out this week on Eat Your Words, as guest-host Talia Ralph chats with Ava Chin. A native New Yorker from Flushing, Queens, Ava Chin forages throughout the five boroughs and the tri-state area, writing about her finds for places like the NY Times City Room and Saveur magazine. Her memoir Eating Wildly: Foraging for Life, Love, and the Perfect Meal (Simon & Schuster, May 2014), about being raised by a single mother and loving Chinese grandparents, reveals how foraging and the DIY-food movement helped Ava to heal up from the wound of an absent father and taught her important lessons in self-reliance. Tune in and get an insightful primer on foraging! This program was sponsored by Fairway Market.

“As a foraging when I think about edible weeds – these are the things that to me are gold. When you put a plant in the category of weed – you render it useless, it’s as if it has no purpose. But in fact, edible weeds are pretty amazing.” [03:00]

“If you can recognize a dandelion, you’ve already started on your foraging journey. It’s as simple as that.” [20:00]

–Ava Chin on Eat Your Words