I am a forager by nature. As a child I ate rose petals, forsythia leaves,
crab apples and all sorts of greenery. No, I wasn’t hungry, just
a curious omnivore. My immigrant Lithuanian grandma took us
mushroom hunting every fall. She put up jars of chop suey,
of all things, using the mushrooms—quite an example of culinary
fusion or is that confusion. My own mother worried that I’d be
poisoned by the neighbor’s roses or grandma’s chop suey.
Didn’t happen. What did, was that I developed eclectic taste buds.
Especially in times of frugality (NOW!), it’s nice to know that there
are many delicious edibles free in your back yard. Provided you
don’t poison the yummy weeds with herbicides or fertilizer.
I still haven’t forgiven my neighbor for weed-and-feeling his lawn
and killing my dandelions with the drift.
Dandelions Are Dandy
Dandelions are not only edible, they are tasty and incredibly nutritious.
You can eat the flower and the leaves and make a coffee substitute
from the roots (though I’ve never gone that far!) Dandelion leaves
are sold in most produce sections at ethnic grocers, which is a good
thing to know if your neighbor uses weed killer. Puntarelle is the
Italian word, which sounds much sexier. The French word is our root:
dentsdelion or lion’s teeth. The slang for dandelions in French
is pisenlit or pee in the bed, a testament to dandelion’s power
as a diuretic.
Picked young and small, before flowering, dandelion leaves are a nice
addition to salads. They are bitter, or shall we call that piquant?
To tame more mature dandelions, blanch the leaves in a big pot
of boiling water. Prepare them as you would any other green.
My method is olive oil, garlic and a splash of good balsamic vinegar.
Great served over polenta or grits. Here are some links to other recipes: www.learningherbs.com/dandelion_recipes.html www.mariquita.com/recipes/dandelion.html
Hey, I’m a Chick, Too!
Chickweed is another one of my faves. This humble little plant got
it’s name because the seeds are a favorite food of, you guessed it,
chicks. Chickweed is vitamin rich (C, B, calcium). It is a mild laxative,
good for the kidneys and there are claims that chickweed tea can
help you lose weight. I actually saw chickweed pills in the herbal
section at Whole Foods. What have we come to? We’re killing the
plant in our back yards and paying big bucks for a processed version!
Personally, I care less about pharmacology than taste. Chickweed
tastes refreshing, like a cross between spinach and parsley.
The texture is not so much crisp as springy, like frisée. I just let
chickweed grow between rows in the veggie garden and pluck
as needed. Once you recognize it, you’ll find it everywhere.
Here’s a link to a little more info and a photo: www.altnature.com/gallery/chickweed.htm.
I’ve read that chickweed is good cooked, too, but I’ve never had
a big enough crop to try it.
A Succulent Succulent
One man’s weed is another’s vegetable. Purslane has tiny, rubbery,
paddle- shaped leaves, sort of like a miniature jade plant. It is a
succulent that stays close to the ground and is often found in
sidewalk cracks. In Latin American markets you’ll find the
cultivated version, which is called verdolaga. Europeans like it, too.
It’s “pourpier” in French. (For once, something sounds worse
in French!) As with most weeds, purslane is a nutritional powerhouse,
including being a good source of omega 3s. Sure tastes a lot better
than fish oil.
Purslane is a little lemony and gently crunchy. Cooked it thickens
a dish like okra does and becomes a trifle slimy for my taste.
Raw, it is yummy added to salads of all kinds. You’ll find tons
of recipes online. Just don’t confuse purslane with spurge,
which looks similar, grows in cracks and tastes AWFUL.
Here’s a link with photos: www.culinarymusings.com/2008/06/purslane-not-a-weed-but-a-wonder
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Dandelion Poppers
You won’t believe these delicious little tidbits are dandelions.
Try this and you’ll never weed and feed your lawn again.
1 cup of cornmeal
1 to 2 teaspoons of chili powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
Salt and pepper to taste
1 egg
1. Pick fresh dandelion flowers from an unfertilized, untreated
back yard at the very last minute. Rinse them, if necessary.
(I don’t use fertilizer, but I do have a dog.) Cut off the stems
and remove as much as possible of the green stuff around
the base, leaving enough to keep the flower together and to
hang on to. (It’s not poison, just bitter.)
2. Meanwhile heat at least ½ inch of oil in a deep heavy pan
to 350°. Combine the cornmeal, chile powder, cumin, cayenne
and salt and pepper in a shallow dish. Beat the egg with a couple
of teaspoons of water in another shallow dish. Dip each flower
into the egg and then into the cornmeal mixture, coating it
all around. Shake off any excess and toss it into the oil. When it
browns in about a minute, remove and drain on paper towels.
Serve with salsa or other dip.
Grazing Safely
1. ID the plant. Don’t eat it if you don’t know what it is.
2. Start with a
small bite. Most plants (the exception being certain mushrooms) won’t kill you. Mostly they won’t even make you sick unless you eat A LOT of them.
3. Know the “terroir”. You can easily get sick from ingesting pesticides or pollutants. Washing doesn’t remove all poisons. Never eat plants from roadside areas (heavy metals from exhaust are bad for you!) or other places that might have been sprayed or fertilized.
