In the 1960s, Mississauga was a place of abundant natural resources, including a wide variety of wild plants and flowers. Aside from the area’s farms, rich streams, woodlands and meadows had a treasure trove of ingredients that could transform everyday meals into extraordinary culinary experiences.  These wild plants were not only edible but also packed with flavour and nutrients.

This article was inspired by an unknown author who published a selection of recipes in the Mississauga News on June 23, 1965 entitled “How to Cook Bulrushes”. The by-line promises, “a collection of Recipes for people who love to roam through the fields, river and stream and feast glorious on their findings”.  The main ingredients for the different and short recipes were sorrel, milkweed pods, bulrushes, plantain, dandelions, violets, lamb's quarters and elderberries.  The author wanted to celebrate the simple joy of wild foods and encourage Mississaugans to explore.  The rewards of doing so was not merely about the harvest but also about the symphony of flavours and the stories each wild ingredient holds.  These recipes portray a carefree lifestyle and appeal to readers who long for simple pleasures.

This act of publishing a recipe was more than just a way to provide cooking instructions; it was a means of preserving, documenting and celebrating food traditions and encouraging a deeper connection with nature.  In an era when urban expansion and technological advancements were rapidly changing our mode de vie, this emphasis on looking for and using wild ingredients served as a reminder of the value of natural resources.  It highlighted how food could be sourced directly from the environment, reinforcing the importance of sustainability and self-reliance.  It also represents an appreciation for the diversity of local and seasonal foods.

There’s a nostalgic and sentimental tone in the way the author describes the sensory experiences of smelling wild raspberries, feeling the sun, and recalling the taste of freshly picked strawberries.  This suggests a deep personal connection to these activities and a longing to share this connection with readers, like you.

As readers in 2024, revisiting these long-archived recipes reveal much about the author’s intentions, the cultural context, and the broader implications for culinary heritage passed down over generations.  UNESCO recognizes the importance of food culture by including traditional recipes in its Intangible Cultural Heritage list.  As UNESCO notes, traditional recipes are not just culinary practices but vital expressions of cultural identity and environmental harmony.  They are a testament to the wisdom of utilizing locally available resources, respecting the environment and preserving heritage.  Food and culture are closely linked, they often hold significant social and cultural meaning.  Recipes and dietary traditions play a crucial role in passing knowledge from one generation to the next.

As we revisit these recipes, we not only taste the past but also gain a renewed appreciation for the delicate balance between nature and our quest for knowledge.   However, the author also provides a crucial reminder: while exploring and using wild ingredients can be rewarding, it is essential to exercise caution.  Proper identification of plants is crucial, as insufficient knowledge can lead to unsafe consumption. Please enjoy the bounty of Mississauga safely.

Below are the recipes that were shared in the Mississauga News in 1965:

SORREL SOUP

There are two completely different plants bearing this name: One the Sheep or Field Sorrel (Rumex) is considered an annoying weed and is therefore to be found in cultivated fields.  Its basal leaves resemble those of the dandelion.  The other, Wood Sorrel (oxalis) is a wildflower found chiefly in sheltered woods. Its leaves resemble those of the shamrock.  Both kinds complement spinach. Both make this excellent soup.

Two large handfuls of sorrel and wash it well.  Remove the stalks.  Melt a piece of butter in a frying-pan and add the sorrel leaves.  Stir them until they become a greenish brown.  Now boil in a saucepan two peeled potatoes.  When they are cooked, put them through a sieve.  To this potato puree add the sorrel, with salt and pepper.  Put back in the saucepan and add about three cups of milk and a spoonful of butter.  Heat it and serve.

BOILED MILKWEED PODS

You will find milkweed growing in pasture fields and along the roadside.  It is recognizable at a certain stage by the milkweed pods, which are ready for our cooking purposes about halfway through August.  They will be a dusty shade of green and should be no more than one to 1-1/2 inches in length.  Gather enough to serve four.  

Salt some water and bring it to boil.  Toss the washed milkweed pods in, and boil for 10 minutes (but test of course, to make sure they are tender).  When you take them out, strain the water from them.  Place them in a hot dish and sprinkle with salt, pepper and, if you like, some grated cheese.  Dab each pod with butter as you eat it.

BULRUSH OR CAT-TAIL

It is the young flower spike we seek, in the late spring before it turned brown and sausage-like.  You may need to wear boots or waders, for the plant grows in water-filled ditches and swamps.  At that time of year, the flower is still encased in its long green leaf (it is rather like a long, very thin cob of corn).  

To prepare it for cooking, peel it as you would corn.  It will be of a dark; velvety green colour and texture, and in two distinct divisions.  Put the flowers into boiling water for about 10 minutes, when they should be cooked.  A little bowl of melted butter to dip them in, salt and pepper and you have a treat.  The inside, by the way, is hard core which you just nibble around.

SWEET AND SOUR PLANTAIN 

The plantain is a ubiquitous weed growing on lawns and in vacant lots.  Pluck young leaves in spring, a bagful of plantain leaves, 3 strips of breakfast bacon, ¼ cup of vinegar, ¼ cup vegetable water, 1 tablespoon sugar, salt and pepper, 1 egg hard boiled (optional).

Cook the plantain in two waters and drain when cooked (about 15 minutes).  Chop the bacon into small squares and fry it until crisp.  To the bacon add the vinegar, water and sugar.  Add seasoning and heat to the boiling point.  Arrange plantain in hot dish and pour sauce over it.  Garnish with egg, sliced thinly.

SAUTEED DANDELIONS

Since there is such an abundance of dandelions on lawns or in parks or fields, it is only sensible to pick the smallest, cleanest, tenderest leaves.  You may use the leaves even after the dandelion has flowered, changed from yellow to a gray-white fluff ball and finally blown away.  

Melt four tablespoons of olive oil or butter and add some chopped garlic.  Then put in the dandelion greens immediately once they have been washed and cook for 10 to 15 minutes.  They will come out crisp and tasty.

CANDIED VIOLETS

The idea of nibbling on a violet or a rose petal savours of luxury.  To some people the idea is not a pleasant one, as though it was a wicked waste of beauty.  This is nonsense of course, since eating them is doing anything but wasting them. You will need sugar, water, rosewater, or almond essence, and violets.

Make a syrup of sugar and water (not much water about ¼ cup to one cup of sugar) and boil for a while, stirring if it gets uppity. Add a little almond essence or rosewater and let the syrup cool.  Now take the violets which you have gathered and which you have allowed to dry out (to take violets home from the country and keep them fresh, wrap them up entirely in wet newspaper) and put some of them, a few at a time, into the syrup.  Let them stay there for a minute or so, being sure they are treated all over, then remove them to wax paper with a skimmer, or your fingers, and put more in.  If the syrup goes hard halfway through, cook it up again, adding a very little water.

Leave the candied violets to dry thoroughly before storing them.  You may store them in glass jars if you are going to use them all in a few weeks.  Otherwise it is better to store them in a cardboard box, in layers separated by wax paper.

LAMB’S QUARTERS FRITTERS

Lamb’s quarters generally grows in cultivated fields, and is usually considered merely a troublesome weed. In the spring and early summer, gather them when about six to 10 inches high. A bag of lamb’s quarters (about a quart), nutmeg, 1 tablespoon butter, 2 eggs, separated, grated cheese, and cooking oil is needed.

Boil the lamb’s quarters in a very small amount of water about 10 minutes over a medium flame, strain them well, then chop.  Put into a bowl, grate a fair amount of nutmeg over them.  Stir in a tablespoon of butter.  Add the yolks of two eggs, stirring them in.  Finally, mix in some grated Parmesan cheese.  Leave the mixture to cool.  When almost ready to serve, beat the egg whites and add them, and then drop the mixture by spoonful into hot deep fat or oil.  Fry golden on both sides.

ELDERBERRY CHUTNEY

The berries are borne on a compound cyme looking like an umbrella that is all ribs and no material, each rib having a tiny rounded berry.  Only purple elderberries are edible.

Pound all together 1-pound berries (2 cups), 1 onion, 8 cloves, ½ teaspoon ginger, ¼ cup brown sugar, 1 cup vinegar, 1 cup raisins, pinch of cayenne, 1 teaspoon salt, pinch of mace, ½ teaspoon mustard seed.

Boil 10 minutes.  Remove from heat, cover and leave until cold.  Then bottle.

Note: These plants are easily identifiable, but never eat a fungus, greens, root or berry of a plant you are not absolutely sure is edible. Please be enjoy at your own risk.