Eat weeds and stuff

[brewmaster15]

So today in the yard is another fine weed, "Red Dead Nettle" /"Purple Dead Nettle" aka Lamium purpureum

This weed is also European and Asian origin and was used extensively as a food, medicinal herb, and salve.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamium_purpureum

Young plants have edible tops and leaves, used in salads or in stir-fry as a spring vegetable. If finely chopped it can also be used in sauces.^[16] The flowers can be crystallized using sugar and egg white.^[5]

The herb has a venerable pedigree in the folk medicine of England, featuring as it does as one of three medicinal/symbolic plants called for in the Anglo-Saxon herb charm Wið færstice [wið ˈfæːrˌsti.t͡ʃe] (meaning 'against a sudden/violent stabbing pain'). The charm in question (dating, according to scholarly consensus, probably from the late ninth century) calls for the three herbs involved (the other two being feverfew and plantain) to be heated in butter to prepare an ointment, which is then rubbed on the site of the pain with the blade of a knife, while the lengthy charm is recited by the folk practitioner, who thereby aligns herself (or himself) with the patient – in contradistinction to the evil supernatural beings believed to have caused the pain with their magical arrows.^[17]

To this day, herbalists use red dead-nettle in many herbal remedies. One of these is a salve prepared from the plant which can be used topically to soothe irritated, itchy, or sore skin.^[18] Studies show a strong antioxidant effect.^[19]

Its fairly abundant here in my yard and often is given to my hens. I haven't tried it as tea but am planning on drying some. I have eaten it raw from the yard and in salads .Its an interesting texture, kind of like eating the skin of a kiwi. but instead of sweet its got an earthy bland taste that really is great with olive oil and a splash of vinegar.

[brewmaster15]

That bread looks great!

Thank you!

[brewmaster15]

There's a good amount of that around here, never knew what it was. Might have to give it a shot.

Just saw this... that's pretty interesting:

Yes, supposedly the young plants are edible raw and used on Salads, but need to be chopped up.

al

[Vanman]

That bread looks great!

[jwcarlson]

There's a good amount of that around here, never knew what it was. Might have to give it a shot.

Just saw this... that's pretty interesting:

Young first-year garlic mustard plants contain up to 100ppm cyanide, a level which is toxic to many vertebrates. Once the plant is chopped up, the cyanide gas is eliminated.

[brewmaster15]

As part of my renewed interest in gardening and field botany I have been focusing on relearning things I once knew and forgot, like all the useful weeds growing out there..

This time of year in CT the plants are just waking up and starting to grow., we still get freezing nights so planting is not an option. But amazingly theres a bunch of edible weeds and plants coming up already. My egyptian onions and wild scallions are up, Theres plenty of dandelions in my yard, My garlic chives are growing, as are the plantains here. My chicory is started up and I have transplanted a ton of seedlings i sowed outdoors in the fall. Wild grape leaves are just starting to open, and the maples are in flower, soon the leaves will be open. All of these plants are edible and usable. By far though the most common weed here in my yard this time of year is Garlic Mustard (Alliaria petiolata). This plant was brought over from Europe in the 1800's. It was prized as an herb and medicinal plant as well as a food.,

Garlic mustard is one of the oldest spices used in Europe. Phytoliths in pottery of the Ertebølle and Funnelneck-Beaker culture in north-eastern Germany and Denmark, dating to 4100–3750 BCE,^[26] indicate its use in that era.

In the 17th-century Britain, it was recommended as a flavouring for salt fish. It can also be made into a sauce for eating with roast lamb or salad.^[7] Early European settlers brought the herb to the New World to use as a garlic-type flavouring. Its traditional medicinal purposes include use as a diuretic.^[27] The herb was also planted as a form of erosion control.^[28]

Today, the chopped leaves are used for flavouring in salads and sauces such as pesto, and sometimes the flowers and fruit are included as well. The leaves, best when young, taste of both garlic and mustard. The seeds are sometimes used in France to season food.^[27] Garlic mustard was once used medicinally^[29] as a disinfectant or diuretic, and was sometimes used to treat wounds.^[27]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alliaria_petiolata

In North America it is a problem as it is poisonous to some rare butterflies, inhibits beneficial soil fungus and crowds out native plants. Nothing really eats it here... but we can.

Its leaves smell like garlic and its slightly bitter. The whole plant is edible, even the roots which can make a great horse radish sauce substitute. Today I picked a bunch of leave and made an awesome pesto,with olive oil and fresh home made garlic bread,, wow...tasty.





al