Presidents’ Day Herb Walk and “Stone Soup” Picnic

Join Ojai herbalist and forager Lanny Kaufer on Presidents’ Day, Monday, February 17, for an Herb Walk and “Stone Soup” Picnic at Euterpe Farms in Ojai. He’ll walk the borders of the farm adjacent to the Ventura River Preserve identifying edible and medicinal plants such as sagebrush, purple sage, white sage, and elderberry. Then he’ll gather the group around an oak wood fire for wild food processing demos and a “stone soup” picnic based on the folk tale of the same name. The soup will be built around a California bay leaf (in place of the stone) and dried creek nettles.

A foraged side salad topped with local wild black walnuts might include seasonal greens such as miner’s lettuce, chickweed, thistle, sweet fennel, and mustard. The group will also process wild-harvested oak acorns and prepare savory acorn pancakes.

The walk will begin at 9 a.m. At 11:30 a.m. the group will begin preparing for the picnic which will conclude around 1:30 or 2:00 p.m. The cost is $35 including all materials other than vegetables and herbs contributed to the stone soup.

Please visit the event listing at HerbWalks.com to register or call 805-646-6281 for more information. Confirmed registrants will receive an email in the days before the event with detailed instructions and directions. Afterwards, they will receive a follow-up email with plant list, recipes and much more info. No dogs or smoking, please.

ABOUT LANNY KAUFER:

Lanny Kaufer, Ojai herbalist and native plant educator, is enjoying his 44th year of leading “Herb Walks” and nature hikes in Ojai, Santa Barbara, and the surrounding area.  A retired public high school teacher with a Biology degree from the University of California, Lanny specializes in making learning about edible and medicinal plants accessible and fun for people of all ages.

Lanny acquired much of his plant knowledge in field study with well-known herbalists and ethnobotanists, including the late William LeSassier and the late Chumash teacher Juanita Centeno. He has co-led workshops, field classes and expeditions with noted experts such as the late herbalist and author Michael Moore, author-herbalist Michael Tierra, author-forager Christopher Nyerges, author-herbalist Amanda McQuade Crawford, Professor James Adams of USC School of Pharmacy, Chumash educator Julie Tumamait-Stenslie and others. In 2015 Lanny began offering plant classes through the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, a branch of the California State University, Channel Islands, Extended University program.

Lanny is the founder and director of the Ojai Herbal Symposium and Ojai Medical Cannabis Conference. He is currently writing a book on medicinal herbs of California, due for publication by Globe Pequot Press in the Spring of 2021. For more information about him, visit his website at HerbWalks.com.