Stuffed Grape Leaves Galore

Last summer, with some regret, I’d given up my long distance garden half an hour away at my daughter’s. This decision saved me time, energy and gas money; the downside, not as many vegetables, but a side benefit— more opportunity for searching out local, edible, wild plants. Foraging requires no effort on my part, aside from harvesting. I like this frugal, new approach on food “shopping.”

Coincidentally, while perusing food related websites, I’d discovered this inspiring and informative blog site, https://alongthegrapevine.wordpress.com. It is organized according to harvest timings, complete with enticing photos and interesting recipes. It was on this site that I saw a blog about preserving wild grape leaves, by fermentation.

Wild grapes grow prolifically along the bike trail near my neighborhood. The vines connect bush to tree in the adjoining woods, shrub to shrub, spilling over onto the path, unrestrained.

Last July, one early morning, I set out on my bicycle, armed with clippers, and plastic bags, making sure I also had my saddle bags in which to tote home my harvest. My Mom, my first foraging role model, used to pick grape leaves from our two vine “vineyard” in our backyard. I only remember them being very tough to chew, so, I was determined to find tender, young leaves this day. Timing is so important when foraging. Fresh and young is best.

I was at the park within half an hour. I felt confident that there, away from roads, my urban foraging would be as toxin free as possible. Mid-way into my gathering, a woman walker sporting a babushka approached, and spoke to me with an accent that I did not recognize. “Are you going to make dolmades?”

Fancy that! She explained how she stuffs them with ground meat, rice and spices, to make dolmas (alternate name).

“I’m vegetarian,” I interrupted. She then made some alternate suggestions, and indicated that my veggie variation would likely work out, and still be tasty, while she repeated how much better they’d be were I to add meat.

I scurried home, saddle bags laden with arm loads of the medium green, heavily veined foliage. Since I had so many fresh, home grown garden vegetables in my frig and no immediate need for more, I brine pickled my stash of leaves in salt and lemon juice, and tucked the gallon jar away in my basement. I knew that in the future, they’d be a treat, instead of just “one more project for which I did not have time today, or even soon.”

This week, I decided to use up what remained of my preserved, cigar-shaped, rolled bundles of wild grape leaves. I whipped up some delectable, if I do say so myself, Mediterranean cuisine.

I read on Wikipedia that dolma originates from the Turkish word, dolmak, which means, to fill.

Boy, did I fill… and roll. I made two versions, one with rice, the other with quinoa and buckwheat, both cooked in oily lemon infused broth. To both recipes I added dried fruits, nuts and vegetables. I varied the spices for the two batches, one leaning toward sweet, the other, toward savory. 

This was a great meditative project—spreading, folding, rolling, spreading, folding, rolling…

I ended up with two huge troughs of these little bundles of tangy, tasty tales of summer. After devouring as many as I could, and then giving some away, I froze what remained to enjoy in the future when I want a quick and fulfilling meal.

I since learned that the Department of Agriculture qualifies grape leaves as dark green veggies. Very low in calories (3 per leaf), they are packed with vitamins C, E, A, K and B6, plus niacin, iron, riboflavin, folate, calcium, magnesium, copper and manganese. A great source of roughage, the leaves also provide fiber. 

Come summertime, I will definitely harvest even more than last year. Maybe I will run into my Lady of the Dolmas, and let her know how much I enjoyed my adventures in fruitful foraging and food frolic, as well as having met her.

As for my commitment to not buying any food ingredients for several months, I notice that I no longer peruse fliers for sale items, don’t update my shopping list when I run out of an item, and don’t spend time shopping. I no longer even have a shopping list. Now, I have replaced time saved with writing about how I am using my reclaimed hours.

As I am emptying my pantry, one day at a time, I am more appreciative of having had ready and easy access to food items. I definitely relished those chips and salsa that I downed, that I happened to have bought before I started my project. Had I known that I would be doing this moratorium, I likely would have planned ahead, and stocked up on certain items. As is, I am enjoying the spontaneity of the decision I made two weeks ago, and the challenge it is adding to my experiment.

The other day, I drove past Trader Joe’s. I had the thought that, while in that neighborhood, I should stop and pick up some items, then remembered my personal quest, chuckled to myself, and kept on going...

home for some dolmades.