Free weed salad...yum!

We've all seen the summer lettuce selection:  leaf lettuce, mescalin mix, arugula, etc.  But what did our ancestors eat before there were such lovely cultivars available?  Look around you the next time you go for a walk and you may find yourself in a living salad bar.

In the dappled shade of the weeping willow where the mosquito and gnat thrive, I found some lovely greens that often get overlooked.  I picked small delicate dandelion leaves that have the slightest bite.  Grown in the shade, they are tender leaves with a milder flavor.  If you gather the ones in the sunny spots, they can be like leather and taste bitter.

Chickweed was next with its flavor similar to watercress.  Today, this will be salad, but I can almost taste it on top of an egg salad sandwich.  I gave a bit of it to my husband to taste and he said, "Yep, tastes like pasture."  Okay, so it isn't for everyone.

Near the garden plot, growing among the weeds was a patch of lambs quarters.  To some, this wonderful plant is known by the name pigweed.  Such a rude name for such a nutritious plant.  This relative of spinach can be used as a replacement in many Florentine recipes.  It is excellent in egg and cheese dishes or in a salad to add a crisp, strong leaf.  I'll be harvesting more later to add to my pasta sauce to add vitamins and flavor.

Add in a couple of leaves of catmint for a little something different.  I'll go back for more leaves later to make a nice summer mint tea.  If I don't like the leaves in the salad, I can always feed them to the cats or chew them after the meal to freshen my breath.

Finally, a bit of sheep sorrel to add a lemony zip.  This little distinctive plant with its Fleur De Lis shaped leaves contains oxalic acid, like rhubarb; and stimulates the same taste buds.  Wood sorrel does the same; it looks like a clover with yellow blossoms and has a wonderful flavor and color.

Tossed together with a mustard vinaigrette and you have a gourmet salad that comes from the yard.  If you are going to try this, DO NOT harvest these plants from a yard that is treated with chemical fertilizers or weed controls.  The whole point of it is to eat something nutritious and delicious on a budget.  I have several foragers guides and I've always loved gardening, so I am familiar with the plants that I eat.  DO NOT eat any plants that you aren't familiar with because some plants actually are poisonous and look similar to edibles.

Wildman Steve Brill has been foraging for years and has great information on his website.  I highly recommend it if you are curious about some of the free edibles that surround you.  It's worth a read even if you aren't planning to forage--his humor is evident in his writing.  Step outside the box and into the yard and add a few new nutritious, delicious plants to your salad and cooking that don't cost a thing.

http://www.wildmanstevebrill.com/