Author’s ‘apocalyptic life skills’ go on tour
Three large circular baskets dominate the dining table, evoking the palette of an artist.
But the colours in front of Helen Lehndorf are foraged dock seed and chamomile, as well as hops from her garden.
The Palmerston North woman is not a painter, but a purveyor of what she jokingly calls “apocalyptic life skills” – and she’s about to take them on tour.
On the back of the success of her nature memoir, A Forager’s Life, Lehndorf is bound for Womad in New Plymouth, where tomorrow she will be the focal point of two events.
The 51-year-old was excited to be taking part in the music festival, which was a return to her home region, while still coming to grips with the reception her book had received over the past 12 months and the opportunities it continued to unlock.
Foraging and nature writing was having “a bit of a moment”, which she put down to people’s experiences during the lockdowns of the Covid-19 pandemic, which sparked renewed interest in home gardens and food resilience.
“And more generally, across society right now, there is a yearning for more nature connection. Foraging is an excellent way to connect with where you live, because it’s a really slow practice and a really grounded practice.
“It grows your knowledge of where you live because you get to know what’s growing around you.”
There was also appeal in the rebuke of an increasingly digital, fast-paced and remote world through the seeking of analogue experiences – the opportunity to put down the cellphone and use one’s hands.
“It takes time to take a record out of its sleeve, clean it, put it on the turntable, and then you have to listen to it in the order the artist wanted. It’s a whole different experience. Foraging is similar. It’s very slowed down; it’s very mindful.”
A Forager’s Life chronicles Lehndorf’s experiences of exploring beyond the beaten track and offers reflections, tips and recipes.
On release in March 2023, the book spent a month in the New Zealand top 10 non-fiction list, leading to invitations for Lehndorf to speak at several writers’ festivals.
She will be part of a live interview with journalist Virginia Winder for Womad’s World of Words programme, followed by a cooking demonstration featuring foraged foods.
On Wednesday morning, she was out collecting dock leaf from alongside the Manawatū River. She planned to use the seeds for her wild seed crackers.
She would also be making a weedy pesto, as well as stuffed nasturtium leaves and flowers, filled with a zesty cream cheese. The key challenge for the latter dish was nasturtium, a delicate plant that went “wet and sad” when refrigerated and would need to be foraged on the morning of the presentation.
“You’re pretty safe with nasturtium – it grows all around the North Island until about late May, June, when it gets too cold. So we should be all right.
“But that’s why I’m pre-prepping the dock seed. I don’t want to be in a panic on Sunday morning, running around Taranaki looking for dock seed.”
Lehndorf said some foraged foods, such as a white peach tree in the wild, were delicious, but tolerance needed to be built up for others, such as bitter greens that could be stringy or chewy.
But perseverance provides reward. In addition to the joy of exploration, foraging helped awaken and sharpen one’s senses. “Our palates in the West are quite blasted with caffeine and sugar and processed food. I try to make my palate more subtle.”
Bitterness in food was a liver tonic, she said, and was recommended for those who liked to imbibe.
“If you like a few beers on a Friday, and a few wines on a Saturday, it’s good to on Sunday eat some very bitter foods, some bitter greens like dandelion seeds or something, that will help your liver recover from the alcohol.”