"Identifying and Harvesting Edible and Medicinal Plants" by "Wildman" Steve Brill with Evelyn Dean. Hearst Books, $21.95.

Some of us thrashed the waters of Chesapeake Bay and the North Carolina coast in the late 60's, searching out nature's bounty of wet-watermeals. That was under the guidance of Euell Gibbons and his "Stalking the Blue Eyed Scallop," along with other "nature is your larder" books by him and others. Brownstone Brooklyn's own Alan Hall wrote "The Wild Food Trailguide" in 1973 with 85 plants that "are really worth eating."

These stalwart seekers of botanical goodies pretty much kept their roaming to the open fields, woodlands and waterways. If I remember correctly, Euell did get into neglected garden corners: among his finds was skunk cabbage. I think he tried to find a way to turn skunk cabbage into tossed salad. Drying in a garret for 5 or 6 years, in my memory, seemed to be the answer. Adam Hall stayed away from it. Steve Brill uses it as an anecdote.

Steve Brill? Yes, the very same guide to munching your way through Prospect Park and other New York City area parks has just published a book to guide you through nature as your greengrocer.

Steve Brill's reputation rests squarely on his ability to forage the city's parks and shorelines. After all, what made him famous was getting arrested for "eating Central Park." But his new book, "Identifying and Harvesting Edible and Medicinal Plants in Wild (and Not So Wild) Places," shows that he can range a lot farther.

Now, with a catchy title like that, you might think of a little handbook filled with Latin-named plants and lots or warning labels-the type you buy when off on vacation and never use. Not so with this book, an 8 1/2 x 11 beauty. It is user-friendly, covers most choice edible species in full detail, is arranged by seasons and locations (nation wide, with the exception of subtropical Florida) and-and this and is an AND-the illustrations by Evelyn Dean are worth buying the book for in themselves.

Featuring over 160 plants, Brill wisely feels that some marginal plants simply aren't worth the effort. The book offers complete information on the superior nutritional content of wild foods, how wild foods and herbs work in your body and safe, effective home remedies.

Leaving no stone unturned (and no leaf unchewed), Brill guides you from how to dress, what to bring and where to go when foraging-plus there are more than five dozen recipes with natural goodies like "Early Spring Chickpea and Violet Soup" and "Sea Lettuce Salad."

With fond memories of the "Outer Banks" firmly in mind, we decided to hop the D Train to Coney Island to check out some of the things in Brill's section on "sea food."

Where we would normally recommend going to Plum Beach for a jaunt like this, we wanted to find out how we would fare on a heavily-used piece of urban salt-waterfront. In a direct run to the beach from the original Nathan's Famous stand on Surf Avenue, it took a little under five minutes to find all three of the sea edibles that we were looking for: Beach Asparagus, Bladderwrack and Sea Lettuce.

The following is a recipe taken from Brill's "Cooking with Edible Wild Plants" section in which we really like the light and airy approach to recipes. Truth be told, it's all so much fun, it's hard to believe it's all so healthy for you too. Enjoy the reading and the gathering!