Continuing on our forage walk, with Santiago the Turkey in tow, we also learned about these plants:
Toothwort - this plant has a whiteish root-stock that can be used in place of horseradish, just mix with vinegar and a pinch of salt.
Jewel Weed is great for soothing poison ivy or the sting from nettles. The stem has a liquid similar to aloe which can be directly applied to the skin. Not surprisingly, this plant is normally found close to poison ivy - our Creator's way of giving a helping hand. The leaves of this plant are also edible and nutritious. Cook them up and add them to quiche for a delicious dinner.
Wild onions - this plant is getting ready to flower so the stem was a bit woody. On younger plants, you can use the stem just like spring onions or chives.
This is another plant that grows in our yard that I just assumed was a worthless weed. This is actually field mustard. Who'd a thought, right? This plant has a lot of nutritional value: vitamins A, B1, B2, and C. Mix the leaves with other greens to spice up a salad, saute like spinach, or add it when making pesto for a little zing.
This is Sassafras, which our family is very familiar with. We make home made sarsaparilla, which is the most amazing, refreshing drink. You can also use the root in teas as well. The leaves are dried and used to flavor gumbo - which was new information for me.
These plants might be a little less common for your backyard, but we have mustard and sassafras growing on our property. If you have any overgrown spaces, you may be pleasantly surprised at what you find.
I think this is outstanding! The fact that you were able to find some of these in your backyard and make use out of them is awesome! In other countries it is much more common for "weeds" to be used for medicinal purposes. So cool to see people looking harder at them! Great post! Nicole xo
ReplyDeleteIt dawned on my quite suddenly that we pay so much for organic greens when I have them growing all around me! It was really eye opening.
DeleteI'm so afraid to eat anything I just find...and when I do I'm not always sure if it's what I think it is or even what to do with it!
ReplyDeleteI am the same way - taking this 4 hour class really did help me. I thought, "Ok, now I know what the plant looks like in the wild. I think I can do this". It;s hard identifying things from books because they normally don't include all stages of a plant which can look very different.
DeleteThis is so fascinating! I've always wanted to know about edible plants in the wild...I'm afraid to actually TRY though, because what if I mess up and eat something poisonous! I have a hard time even identifying something common like Poison Ivy!
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