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Edible! Mettle Maker #452 and Holy Eucharist for 4/6/25
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What’s the weekly mettle maker?
Training tips and educational info in support of our free programs, that’s what! What’s mettle? Mettle is, “The ability to meet a challenge or persevere under demanding circumstances; determination or resolve.”
Kylie (L), Fr. Mitch (C) and the Immortal Mark Hatmaker (R)
PRAYER REQUEST: Please pray for Kylie Hatmaker and her husband Mark (see pic on right). The brain tumor Kylie dealt with a few years back is growing again. Kylie is Mark’s primary co-conspirator, best friend, power animal, goddess, gourmet chef, pistol-packing bodyguard, and hoochie-coochie dancer in residence. A finer lady you’ll never meet. God give her strength, we pray thee, Amen.
Mettle maker #452: EDIBLE!
Spring is here, and the time is right for foraging practice. It’s highly advised that you take a class from an experienced primitive skills instructor. But if you insist on going it alone, be sure to take the following precautions before you eat a plant you have harvested from the wild:
BEfore Eating a Wild Plant
Don’t try to eat wild mushrooms for survival. They’re low in calories and not worth the risk. Trained mycologists and survival experts have misidentified mushrooms and died. Don’t be an idiot.
Consult at least two different sources when checking for edibility.
Don’t just trust Google image search or some blog.
Start with the Peterson’s Guide for your neck of the woods and then consult at least one more reliable source.
Don’t rely on just visual ID.
Is it growing in when and where it should be?
Is it sprouting and flowering during the time of year the field guide says it should be growing?
Does it smell the way the guide says it should smell?
If it smells horrendous, trust your senses and don’t eat it. You’ve probably made a mistaken ID.
If it tastes awful, trust your senses and spit it out! Again, you’ve probably made a mistaken ID.
When in doubt, use the U.S. military edibility testing method (see below) outlined in the Survival — Army Techniques Publication No. 3-50.21. It is an excellent resource and is recommended reading for all rough ‘n’ tumblers!
Want to get fit and learn Rough ‘n’ Tumble self-defense? Sign up for the Rough ‘n’ Tumble Distance Learning Program today!
U.S. MILITARY PLANT EDIBILITY TESTING
4-57. Select plants that grow in sufficient quantity within the local area to justify the edibility test and provide a lasting source of food if the plant proves edible. Plants growing in water or moist soil are often the most palatable. Plants growing in shaded areas are less bitter. There are exceptions to every rule, but isolated persons should only select unknown plants as a last resort.
4-58. When selecting unknown plants for possible consumption, remember the poisonous characteristics to avoid. Apply the edibility test to only one plant at a time so if some abnormality does occur, it will be obvious which plant caused the problem. Once a plant has been selected to be tested, proceed as follows:
Step 1. If there are any unpleasant odors such as a moldy or musty smell coming from the plant, stop testing and disregard as a possible edible plant option. Also, if the plant gives off an “almond” scent, disregard it as a possible edible plant option.
Step 2. Crush or break part of the plant to determine the color of its sap. If the sap is clear, proceed to the next step.
Step 3. Touch the plant's sap or juice to the inner forearm. If there are no ill effects, such as a rash or burning sensation to the skin, then proceed with the rest of the steps.
Step 4. If a there was not an ill reaction when touching the inner forearm, place some of the plant juice on the outer lip for eight minutes. If a reaction occurs, stop the test.
Step 5. If still no reaction, taste a small pinch of the plant and leave it in the mouth for eight minutes. If there is an unpleasant taste, such as bitterness or a numbing sensation of the tongue or lips, stop the test. If a reaction does not occur, swallow the pinch of plant.
Step 6. After swallowing, wait eight hours. If there is no reaction after eight hours, chew a handful of the plant, swallow, and wait an additional eight hours. If no reaction occurs after eight hours, consider the tested plant part edible.
Step 7. Eat any new or strange food with restraint until the body has become accustomed to it. The plant may be slightly toxic and harmful when eaten in large quantities.
Holy Eucharist is LIVE on YouTube every Sunday at 10 am EASTERn. Click HERE to watch live. To view and print a copy of the program for holy Eucharist, CLICK HERE.
Homily for the Fifth Sunday of Lent 4/6/25 – Father Mitch
Readings: Isaiah 43:16-21, Psalm 126:1-2, 2-3, 4-5, 6, Philippians 3:8-14, John 8:1-11
John 8:1-11 World English Bible
1 Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.
2 Now very early in the morning, he came again into the temple, and all the people came to him. He sat down and taught them. 3 The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman taken in adultery. Having set her in the middle, 4 they told him, “Teacher, we found this woman in adultery, in the very act. 5 Now in our law, Moses commanded us to stone such women.* What then do you say about her?” 6 They said this testing him, that they might have something to accuse him of.
But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with his finger. 7 But when they continued asking him, he looked up and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw the first stone at her.” 8 Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground with his finger.
9 They, when they heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning from the oldest, even to the last. Jesus was left alone with the woman where she was, in the middle. 10 Jesus, standing up, saw her and said, “Woman, where are your accusers? Did no one condemn you?”
11 She said, “No one, Lord.”
Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you. Go your way. From now on, sin no more.”†
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Brothers and sisters, in North America most folks have a life expectancy somewhere in the 70s. Now, let’s say you found out that you were going to pass away earlier than that, say age 65. That might well change your financial plans. You might say to yourself, “Well, I guess I don't really need to save for my retirement.” Or, if you’re married, you might say to yourself, “I need to put sufficient money aside so as to provide for my spouse after I’m gone.” Some of the stuff you were worried about falls away.
And what if you found out that death was coming to visit even sooner? Let's say you’re in your thirties and find out you’ve only got fifteen more years. Perhaps then you might say yourself, “Wow, I need to hustle up and get my kid’s college fund topped up.” Or you might say, “I guess I shouldn’t put off that trip to Europe I always dreamed of” or “Gosh, I better get cracking on my bucket list.”
Now I want you to imagine that the deadline keeps moving up, and up, and up. What happens when you find out you have one year to live? How much of what you think is important is no longer a concern? What happens if the deadline is moved up to 24 hours? Now what’s important? If you only have 24 hours to live, would you spend it web surfing, reading a book, or playing a one-person video game? I doubt it.
What happens to your viewpoint when think you might not make it another fifteen minutes? I can tell you what happens, because I had a heart attack a few years ago. It’s just like St. Paul says in today’s reading. You will “consider everything as a loss.” You will consider everything as “so much rubbish.” Everything will fall away. And only one thing will remain.
And that is love.
When you think you might have minutes or seconds to live, you will say to yourself, “Does everyone I care about know how much I love them?” You will say, “Does every loved one I have wronged know how sorry and regretful that I am? Does every friend, mentor, and family member who has contributed in any way to my happiness and success understand how much I appreciate their love and support?” In that moment, everything falls away except for Love.
And there's a reason for that. As you approach death, you are approaching your face-to-face meeting with God. God is love, and God is infinite, and therefore God’s love is infinite. You are going to run head-on into love with a force greater than a train wreck.
God loves us so much that he doesn't force good behavior. He allowed Adam and Eve to rebel, and the world to fall into sin, out of a deep and eternal love. He loves us so much that he will not force our compliance. What he wants is for us to participate in, and cooperate with, his love. Listen now to what God asks in our reading from Isaiah today,
“Do you not perceive it? In the desert I make a way, in the wasteland, rivers. Wild beasts honor me, jackals and ostriches, for I put water in the desert and rivers in the wasteland for my chosen people to drink.”
God doesn’t want us to stone us, or for us to stone one another, for our bad behavior. What he wants is for every rock, tree, plant, animal, man, and woman to voluntarily turn away from sin and sing together in a united chorus of love.
Join in his love now, before it’s too late.
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* 8:5 Leviticus 20:10; Deuteronomy 22:22
† 8:11 NU includes John 7:53–John 8:11, but puts brackets around it to indicate that the textual critics had less confidence that this was original.
