Treasures from the sea: how to harvest and dry your own seaweed

No, this is not a gnome's dirty laundry. This is my 4 year old son's souvenir from a day at the coast. Hand picked seaweed, drying on the line. Have you ever wanted to harvest your own? Then I have some good news for you: it's super easy. Easier than going to the store and buying some.

Seaweeds are ridiculously good sources of minerals, and true iodine bombs. Other than land plant species, they are are a complete source of protein. Because seaweed grows in the sea, it has a natural salty taste. It's also one of the school examples of umami flavour.

And here's the perfect news for all beginners in foraging who are stopping themselves to do it because they are frantic with worry about picking toxic species: none of the marine species are toxic. Not all of them are pleasant in taste though, but species like sea lettuce (Ulva lactuca) and dulse (Palmaria palmata) are very easy to find, and delicious. You've probably seen sea lettuce countless times on trips to the beach. It looks like a head of lettuce floating in the sea. Next time you'll spot it, you'll know it IS a head of (sea) lettuce floating in the sea.

Pick and wash thoroughly. This may surprise you, as the plant comes right out of the water, but especially on sandy coasts a lot of sand may come off.

Remove any stones or shells attached to the plants.

Make a fancy DIY drying line, using some sophisticated tools such as the trunk of a tree, a couple of twigs and some raffia. You can use any kind of rope, but as the seaweed dries, it hardens and then it's really easy to slide it off if you have a smooth rope. It will dry completely in only a couple of hours!

Dancing in the sea just a few moments before, and now dancing in the wind.

See the sea creature in this one?

Watch that green of the sea lettuce. Personally, I can't get enough of it.

And there you have it: dried seaweed.

We love this in vegetable stock or miso soup, sprinkled on avocados or in cucumber salads.
It's also one of the ingredients we use for making our own herbal salt.

Here's the recipe:

• 2/3 cup sea salt
• 1/3 cup chopped herbs, anything you have in your herb garden, this time we used thyme, rosemary, parsley, hyssop, lovage, lemon balm, nasturtium leaves... and some seaweed
  
  

You can use the herbs either dried or fresh. I prefer to use them fresh, as the salt breaks down the plant cell walls and really draws out the good aromas, but the downside is that your salt will be slightly more crumbly. You could add some rice to solve this, but personally I don't bother too much as it will dissolve anyway when you use it in the kitchen. 

To prepare the herbal salt, put herbs (including seaweeds) with salt in a blender and mix. Put in jar, label, done. How easy was that? Now you have year-round access to the summer herbs of your garden. And the sea. 

The sea does not reward those who are too anxious, too greedy, or too impatient. One should lie empty, open, choiceless as a beach - waiting for a gift from the sea.
                                                                                                                           Anne Morrow Lindbergh