Spring wild edibles are starting to pop up... Recipes will follow.

[RJB]

Just a heads up. Some of the early greens are shooting up: Chickweed, dandelions, chicory, stinging nettle etc. are popping up now. Soon we should see violets, spring beauties, shepards purses, pepper grass etc (and Morels). These are packed with nutrients that beat store bought greens and all have medicinal properties, and most important-- They're free.

[RJB]

Dandelion coffee is pretty good. Dig the roots of 'lions or chicory, scrub them well, bake on a cookie sheet at 275 F for four hours or until brown all the way through. It has a roasting smell similar to apple pie. Usually I only bake for 2 hours and the center is usually white. There's more medicinal properties with the 2 hour methods but it doesn't have the robust flavor. Grind in a coffee grinder or just smash them up, and use the grounds as you would regular coffee or mix to stretch out coffee.

I usually switch to Dandelion coffee for lent when regular coffee becomes more of a necessity rather than a boost. 'lions cleanse the system. German studies show them to work to get the bile to flow and as a diuretic (gets you to pee a lot to get rid of toxins) that won't leech the body of potassium. Try drinking the "coffee" for a week and see if you feel better overall. A day is all that it takes for me. It may take some getting used to but the taste does grow on you. They are one of the top three nutrient dense plants in North America (along with watercress and Lambs quarters)

Fry the flower heads like mushrooms and add them to eggs.

The greens are bitter (they were one of the bitter herbs used by the Hebrews for passover). I couldn't stand them at first but they grow on you like dark beer does. Then I realized it's best to eat them before the last frost. Early on in the season dandy greens taste like lettuce. When the bugs start munching on them they get very bitter.

Here's a recipe even my wife will eat. This is a Steve Brill recipe

3 tablespoon of olive oil
3 cups of chopped onions
2 cups of grated carrots (or another sweet root, I'll add grated turnip sometimes or better yet, wild burdock root-- that will really cleanse the liver!)
2-4 cups of chopped dandelion leaves depending on your taste.
a few chopped garlic cloves
2 tablespoons of soysauce
1 tablespoon of wine
black pepper and other spices you might want to add (sometimes I'll throw in a tomato)

Stir fry the onion until soft. Add the other ingredients and simmer for 20 minutes or until the flavors blend evenly. Enjoy. I'll use it as a side or add meat to it. But sometimes this recipe will stick to your ribs as a meal on it's own.

Chickweed is one of the few wild greens that modern americans can eat raw and enjoy. It's also packed with nutrients and traditionally used to help with obesity, coughing, and cool the skin and relieve itching (No sceintific proof with this one.)

[donnay]

Excellent thread! Unfortunately, none of these are starting to grow where I am.

Dandelion salad mix is one of my favorites.

[Dr.3D]

Still ice and snow here. Anything that would stick it's head up above the ground this time of year here, would freeze it off.

[Suzanimal]

Excellent thread! Unfortunately, none of these are starting to grow where I am.

Dandelion salad mix is one of my favorites.

Me too, my husband hates it in salad, he calls it "yard clipping salad".

[RJB]

For home brewers I recommend "Sacred and Herbal Healing Beers" by Stephen Buhner. It has a bunch of ancient recipes-- some taste like swill to modern folks (ancient/traditional hygene fermentation )

He has a beer recipe for this ancient tonic. I prefer mead for a dandelion/stinging nettle/burdock tonic. This 12ish% alcohol drink actually energizes. I use a 1 part honey to 4 parts water and my mead isn't too sweet.

1 gallon of honey
4 gallons of water
a few green tea bags (or even better Matcha)
about 2 to 4 cups of fresh dandelions mostly flowers but also greens and roots.
about 2 to 4 cups of fresh stinging nettle herb and a little root (the root encourages testosterone production )
about 1 to 2 cups of sliced fresh burdock root. (NO LEAVES!!!)
about 1/8 a cup or so of yarrow (optional-- yarrow keeps out bacteria and adds a refreshing bitterness. In larger amounts when extracted with alcohol, yarrow acts as a mild psychedelic, but can give horrible headaches if over done.
juice from a lemon or 2 or 3 or a few oranges.
1 packet of champagne yeast.
I usually add bee pollen, royal jelly, and bee propolis and other herbs, nutrients etc.

Boil two gallons of water. Add herbs. Dump honey in the fermenter (I personally don't boil honey. The mead may come out a little cloudy if it's not boiled.) Add herbs (throw out the tea bags) and hot water to the fermenter (I like to let the herbs ferment to get all the medicinal qualities.) Add 2 gallons of cool water. When the wort is room temp add a packet of yeast. Air lock it and set aside for a few months. You may want to rack it (siphon it to another container when it stops bubbling. This clarifies it.) Let sit for another month or so and bottle. It'll cure what "ales" you (pun intended )

[RJB]

Be patient. Spring is coming

I live in the Southern Appalachians. They are just peeking up now. Tomorrow I'll dig in my garden and eat a few weeds for dinner.

[donnay]

Me too, my husband hates it in salad, he calls it "yard clipping salad".

LOL! My father-in-law calls it "cattle grazing salad."

[Natural Citizen]

The rabbits usually get to mine. I saw Mr. & Mrs. Bunny out there earlier today come to think of it. Think I oughtta set a snare? Maybe have some fried rabbit with my yard greens?

RJB, what to you do with stinging nettle? I don't know if it's what I think it is but I usually get some tall weeds that when you grab them to pull them they release something from those pods they have up their stalks that burn the heck out of your hands or anything they touch.

[RJB]

If you simmer them they loose the power to sting. I actually planted a patch in my backyard. I use them to replace spinach. My wife actually likes them (mixed with green coneflower leaves.) They keep their texture and don't turn into a mush as easily as spinach when used in a spinach lasagna.

Have some hasenpfeffer

The rabbits usually get to mine. I saw Mr. & Mrs. Bunny out there earlier today come to think of it. Think I oughtta set a snare? Maybe have some fried rabbit with my yard greens?

RJB, what to you do with stinging nettle? I don't know if it's what I think it is but I usually get some tall weeds that when you grab them to pull them they release something from those pods they have up their stalks that burn the heck out of your hands or anything they touch.

[RJB]

BTW rubbing plantain or jewelweed on the stinging nettle stings will help relieve the sting.

[Natural Citizen]

BTW rubbing plantain or jewelweed on the stinging nettle stings will help relieve the sting.

I went to wiki to see if that was what you were talking about and it was. They do kind of have a nice aroma to them as I recall. The coneflowers I have everywhere. I didn't know that those were edible too.

Probably won't fiddle with the wabbits. They're good enough neighbors, I suppose. They'll probably hang out in the black eyed susans all season anyhow.

[RJB]

BTW. I hate to sound like a safety geek, but I guess I am. Get a good field guide, learn a bit of botany, and if you can, find someone who is experienced in finding wild edibles. There are lots of good primitive skills gatherings and rendezvous around to learn this stuff. Don't eat poisonous plants.

[pcosmar]

Be patient. Spring is coming

I live in the Southern Appalachians. They are just peeking up now. Tomorrow I'll dig in my garden and eat a few weeds for dinner.

I could hate you if I were so inclined.
we are getting 6 inches of snow. on top of the several feet still here.

This is our first week above 0.

Spring? I'll believe it when I see it.

[oyarde]

My chickens love dandelion leaves . For me , I like the dandelion wine . I planted onions last Sat , like Pete , that field is frozen again now .

[RJB]

For me , I like the dandelion wine.

Gotta recipe?

[mosquitobite]

Morels!!!

[pcosmar]

Morels!!!

Lightly fried in butter, salt and a spritz of lemon juice.

/drool

[donnay]

This is a great book.

[RJB]

That's a good one Donna. This one by Steve Brill is good too. He's actually lives on wild edibles and if he says a recipe is good, it is. He was arrested for giving a wild edibles tour in Central Park and was charged with eating park property (a dandelion.) He was let go because he consumed the "evidence."

[donnay]

Thanks RJB, I will check it out.


Here is another good book.



http://www.amazon.com/Field-Guide-Me...dible+plants#_

[Acala]

That's a good one Donna. This one by Steve Brill is good too. He's actually lives on wild edibles and if he says a recipe is good, it is. He was arrested for giving a wild edibles tour in Central Park and was charged with eating park property (a dandelion.) He was let go because he consumed the "evidence."

Thanks! I have it on order now.

[RJB]

Thanks! I have it on order now.

It almost reads like a novel. You won't regret it.

[pcosmar]

[Suzanimal]

You can also eat Kudzu!

The leaves, vine tips, flowers, and roots are edible; the vines are not. The leaves can be used like spinach and eaten raw, chopped up and baked in quiches, cooked like collards, or deep fried. Young kudzu shoots are tender and taste similar to snow peas.

Kudzu also produces beautiful, purple-colored, grape-smelling blossoms that make delicious jelly, candy, and syrup. Some people have used these to make homemade wine. The large potato-like roots are full of protein, iron, fiber, and other nutrients. They are dried and then ground into a powder which is used to coat foods before frying or to thicken sauces.
http://www.thekitchn.com/did-you-kno...at-kudzu-92488

[Suzanimal]

I just bought it off Amazon with the last of my Christmas Gift card $$. Yay, I'm so excited...I just hope I don't poison myself.

This is a great book.

[RJB]

Snow on the ground. I dug up some dandelions for salad and coffee as it started to fall. My chickens enjoyed the free worms from the digging.

Hopefully my kids and I will get a good snowball fight in today