WWU's Hahn to talk foraging for food in the wild at April 28 event

Seaweed salad? Pickled kelp? “When the tide is out, the table is set,” goes the old Coast Salish saying.

At 7 p.m. Thursday, April 28, Jennifer Hahn -- writer, wilderness guide, and adjunct professor at Western Washington University's Fairhaven College of Interdisciplinary Studies -- will teach how to spot the "food at your feet" as well as the culture and cuisine of shoreline edibles.

The event, which is free and open to the public, will take place at Village Books in Bellingham.

“When it comes to eating within your own food shed, wild foraging is as local as it gets,” says Hahn, who recently kayaked solo from Alaska to Bellingham, harvesting wild food along the way to keep her kayak light.

In her presentation, Hahn, will explore more than 50 common edible native plants and share slides and stories from her new book "Pacific Feast: A Cook’s Guide to West Coast Foraging and Cuisine."

Attendees can discover a host of delicious and nutritious wild and weedy greens, trees, ferns, berries, flowers, mushrooms, sea veggies and shellfish that thrive along the Pacific Coast. Hahn will share a blend of natural history, stories about First Nation uses, personal anecdotes, nutrition, sustainable foraging guidelines and recipes.

Village Books is located at 1200 11th St. in Bellingham. For more information, call (360) 671-2626.