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Testimonials

From Maria Muscarella of Viriditas Healing Center & Apothecary, Asheville, NC
www.viriditashealing.com

   "As an herbalist and homesteader attempting to live sustainably, I was floored by the amount of information in this book!

    “I've made myself Nettle Casseroles and Lamb's Quarter's stir fries for years, but Linda takes it much farther than a few recipes by telling you how to identify, harvest, prepare, and store these wild foods for year round meals.

   “The book also provides nutrient values of over 50 plants, which is a fantastic resource for eating a balanced diet.  The pictures are beautiful, the recipes (and there are lots) are easy and delicious!

   “My fields are full of red clover right now and no one better cut them down, because that is next year’s flour! 

   “I can't say enough about this book!  I am buying one for all my friends!”

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A heartfelt testimonial from Joyce Vanselow to Linda:

   “I just got your latest mailing and visited the new website. Very nice indeed. I was thinking about your popsicles the other day and how much my kids loved coming to see you and having a pop. I want you to know, even after all these years, that I encourage folks to check out your work and get reoriented about food and about preparedness. I have always seen the wisdom on preparedness. Now is a time when it is even more important to have the knowledge. Knowledge is power, right? 

   “And Linda, it's harder than ever to make ends meet for young families. If you'll remember, back when you and I met and were working together, my family was quite young and we were quite poor. I was never worried about meeting nutritional needs with good quality of simple foods because I was able to supplement our daily menus/diet utilizing plants that grew around us.

   “Those ‘dashes’ of wild foods here and there made simple foods exciting to prepare and to eat! Clover blossoms in a simple green salad are a beautiful surprise, chopped wild greens enriching a soup, brown rice and lentils wrapped in plantain leaves looks good, great taste and superior nutrition—you can't go wrong! We often think back and know that we may have been financially wanting but we were very lucky to have such opportunity to be creative in our cooking and to have beautiful, yummy and healthy food to eat.

   “A thousand thanks to you for all that great knowledge. I have always regarded my time learning from and working with you as a HUGE gift in my life, for which I am always so very grateful. Why? It was empowering! And preparedness is about empowerment and not about fear. It's time to release fear, get grounded and choose empowerment, in my opinion. Here's why: With the unsafe nature of our world and of our food sources at this point in history, fear is useless. Education empowers preparation and there is no reason to fear.  It's so important to learn to forage and grow one's own food, and integrate those skills now, more than ever before. There are two very big reasons this is true:

   1) Getting close to the land and the plants and nature in general, will open us to the true nature and power of our relationships to Nature, the planet and all life. Learning and foraging the plants creates a respectful pathway for relationship with the plant world. Our world is currently lacking that respect for all other life and we must somehow cultivate it again, bringing our children into it so that we are taking responsibility for the possibility of a planetary future.
   2) Growing and foraging food means we are in fresh air, sunshine, valuing water, getting dirty, getting exercise and generally supporting our optimum health.

   “And there is one more BONUS reason for families to learn to forage and to grow their food as much as possible: Being together in Nature will support healthy, natural, peaceful family life. I honestly do not feel any fear relating to possible breakdown of infrastructure because we have learned, because of our past work and friendship with you, that with preparedness, comes peace. And heaven knows, we need to create peace in any way we can on this planet at this time.

   “Sorry to go on the way I have, Linda, but you must know the value of the knowledge you share, which is: enriched, empowered, peaceful life in the face of uncertain planetary future. Knowledge is Power, and that power brings peace. 

   “I have so many good and important memories of my work with you and still talk about your work and encourage others to learn to forage.

   “Much love and respect come to you from all of us up here in the boonies.”

Joyce V.

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From Lucy Watkins, Vegetarian Baby & Child, www.vegetarianbaby.com

  “One of the great things about living in the country is having access to inexpensive land and lots of it. But, it takes all day to mow the yard, and much as I love our land, this can be such a chore on hot, humid days of summer in Texas. That’s how I felt about it until I read Linda Runyon’s book From Crabgrass Muffins to Pine Needle Tea: A National Wild Food Guide. I’ve certainly never had to live off the land and, frankly, never had much interest in foraging. I’ve always thought of a yard as something that had to be manicured, maintained, fertilized, and weeded. However, after reading Runyon’s book I’ve begun thinking of our glorious eight acres as bounty rather than work. Now, when I see dandelions in the yard, I not only see their beauty, I also realize there’s a snack lurking in them.

   “I’m amazed by the wealth of the author’s knowledge and the depth of the coverage in this book. Runyon shares stories of her life as a homesteader and many of the lessons she learned during that time. This is not just a book for identifying edible plants, though. It is a book full of all sorts of natural secrets. Every page contains information about a different plant: which parts are edible, which parts are not, how to identify it, where it grows, how to prepare it, and its uses. She includes pictures of the plants, a series of rather impressive recipes using foraged wild foods, nutritional content, and a list of poisonous look-alikes.

   “I’ve not only benefited from the knowledge in Runyon’s book, my children have as well. As we walk in parks, in the woods, or in their grandparents’ yards, we can point out edible weeds and talk about what can be done with them. The greatest effect this book has had on me and my family is that we truly see Earth’s bounty everywhere. This book is a wealth of information for anyone, city dweller or country folk, who think they know what Nature has to offer. As much as I respected and loved nature before reading this book, I am now in awe of it.

   “Buy this book now!”

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