In this food-centric region that we live, it's easy to get a bit carried away with thinking that the cutting-edge, hunting/foraging/organic/sustainable stuff is centered around these parts.
But in truth, we're just tapping into a rich, global heritage of eating seasonally and sensibly and creatively (and deliciously). There are lots of people eating this way in California and along the coast. And although we tend to harp on about our love affair with Italian and French culinary traditions, the Brits have been some of the staunchest hunter/forager/gatherers of all time.
Perfect introduction to Fiona Bird's brilliant book The Forager's Kitchen. Fiona's a mother of six (a lot of them boys) and a BBC Masterchef finalist.
She divides her time between Angus and South Uist, on the Outer Hebrides where her husband is a family doctor. Foraging en famille is a way of life for Fiona, as clearly illustrated in over 100 recipies (most of them translatable to coastal Californian's) from her kitchen.
To everything there is a season. Hit the hedgerows around the county this summer and see what you can come up with.
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