You’ve just mowed the lawn and are proud of the carpet of splendid greenery you’ve created. Then, in a matter of days, their yellow heads surface once more. Those darn dandelions!
But who says these bright yellow flowers have to go? One person’s weed is another person’s lunch. Dandelion leaves—picked young and tender—can be tossed into a salad or even stir-fried. Eating them is great way to get a healthy dose of vitamins A and C. Dandelion flower heads (minus the stems) can be made into a delicious marmalade jelly (see page 56 for the recipe).
Naturally, avoid dandelions growing on lawns that have been sprayed with chemicals.
1 tablespoon oil
1 onion, chopped
8–10 cups young dandelion greens, chopped
3 tablespoons raspberry vinegar (recipe on page 45)
2 tablespoons water
3 teaspoons sugar
salt and pepper (to taste)
¼ cup sliced almonds, toasted lightly until golden brown
¼ cup blue cheese, crumbled
In a large saucepan, add oil and onions and cook on medium-low heat, about 5 minutes, until soft and transparent (do not brown). Add the chopped dandelion greens and stir until the greens are wilted, about 5 minutes. Add raspberry vinegar, water, and sugar to the pan, and cook until the greens are tender (about 5 minutes). Season with salt and pepper.
Put dandelion greens into a serving dish and top with toasted sliced almonds and crumbled blue cheese. Makes 2–4 servings.
By tossing hot dressing through the dandelion greens, they wilt a bit and make for a very unusual warm salad.
6 cups dandelion greens
6 slices bacon
2 tablespoons bacon fat (or olive oil)
1 clove of garlic, minced
5 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
salt and pepper (to taste)
1 hard-boiled egg
Wash pnd dry the dandelion greens very well. Chop them into 2-inch pieces, put them in a large bowl, and set aside.
Fry 6 slices of bacon until very crisp. Put the bacon on a paper towel to drain. Pour off all the fat from the frying pan and measure 2 tablespoons of it back into the pan. (You can substitute olive oil for the bacon fat.) Put over low heat and add the minced garlic. While frying the garlic, scrape the pan to get all the tasty brown bits off the bottom. Cook the garlic until softened but not burned (about 3–5 minutes). Remove the pan from the stove and add the wine vinegar. (Stand back because it might splash!) Return the pan to the burner and add the sugar, salt, and pepper. Heat through and pour on top of the dandelion greens. Toss well.
Crumble up the crisp bacon and add it to the salad. Remove the yolk from the hard-boiled egg (discard the white part). With a wooden spoon, push the yolk through a fine sieve to crumble it. Toss it through the salad. Add more salt and pepper to taste and serve the wilted salad while it is still warm. Makes enough for 6–8 servings.
Fiddleheads grow in moist areas along the edge of rivers and swamps in early spring. Actually, fiddleheads are the very beginning of the growth of a fern; in about two weeks they will unfurl to become the leaves of an inedible plant. It is important to identify the fiddlehead you pick as being the onset of the Ostrich fern. When fully grown, these ferns grow in vaselike clumps, about 2 to 6 feet tall. You might have to check these out the summer before you pick them so you know what you are picking the following spring. At any rate, always check your field guide carefully as all ferns emerge in the fiddlehead formation. Ferns other than Ostrich could be toxic.
To clean your fiddleheads, place them in a brown paper bag and shake well. Or brush off their papery sheaths with a mushroom brush. Rinse well in cool water.
And be sure to wear your rubber boots when collecting. You might even tuck an extra pair of socks in your pocket, on your way to pick. Every time I’ve picked fiddleheads, water inevitably goes over the top of one of my boots.
4 pounds fiddleheads
4 cups water
½ cup white vinegar
¼ cup coarse salt
1 teaspoon sugar
In each jar put the following:
1 garlic clove
1 bay leaf
3 whole peppercorns
½ teaspoon pickling spice
Remove brown husks from fiddleheads and wash and trim ends to 1 inch or so from rolled-up coil. Blanch the fiddleheads in boiling water for 5–7 minutes, or until tender but not mushy. Then drain them well.
Place 4 cups of water in a saucepan; add vinegar, salt, and sugar. Bring to a boil.
Sterilize 8 half-pint jars. Put spices in each jar, then pack the fiddleheads tightly into the jars. Pour the hot vinegar mixture into each jar, leaving a half-inch head space. Make sure to remove any air bubbles that might be trapped by running the handle of a wooden spoon around the inside of the jar. Place hot lids on jars and tighten. Process in a hot water bath (see pages 14–15 for instructions). Makes 8 half-pint (250 mL) jars. Wait a few weeks before eating, to let the flavors mellow.
25–30 fiddleheads
3 tablespoons butter
salt and freshly ground pepper
fresh lemon juice
Clean fiddleheads by removing the brown paperlike sheath from them. Wash them carefully in several baths of cold water and trim ends if necessary. Put fiddleheads in a pot fitted with a steamer and steam them covered, for 5 minutes. Remove them from the pot and drain in a colander.
Melt butter in a frying pan, add fiddleheads, and sauté for 1–2 minutes over medium heat, turning them in the pan. Season with salt, pepper, and a squirt of lemon juice, and serve piping hot.
You may also let them cool and serve them at room temperature or chilled with a nice vinaigrette.
2 tablespoons butter
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic
1½ pounds fiddleheads, coarsely chopped
4½ cups chicken broth
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
½ cup half-and-half or milk
fresh parsley or chives (optional)
In a large pot, melt butter. Add onions and garlic and cook until softened (do not brown), about 5 minutes. Add fiddleheads and sauté for 5 minutes. Add chicken broth, salt, and pepper and simmer for 5–10 minutes, until the fiddleheads are bright green and cooked but not mushy.
Purée half the soup in a blender or food processor until smooth and return to pot. Add the half-and-half or milk and heat through, about 5 minutes.
Ladle into bowls and snip fresh parsley or chives on top. Makes about 6 servings.
Tender, young grape leaves can be steamed for 10 minutes; topped with butter, salt, and pepper; and served as a side dish (like spinach). But they are best when stuffed with various fillings, to make wonderful appetizers. For more information on wild grapes, see page 77.
40–50 young grape leaves (pick extra for lining the pan and in case of tearing)
1 teaspoon olive oil (plus extra)
1 onion, finely chopped
1 pound ground veal (ground beef or pork may be substituted, but drain the fat)
¼ cup cooked rice
salt and pepper (to taste)
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
3 tablespoons fresh mint, chopped juice and zest of 2 lemons
Take fresh grape leaves, remove stems, and blanch in salted, boiling water for 3 minutes. Then rinse them in cold water, drain well, and set aside.
In a frying pan, add olive oil and chopped onions. Sauté a few minutes, until the onions have softened. Add the ground meat and brown well. Remove the pan from the heat, drain any fat, add cooked rice, salt, and pepper. Mix well.
Place a softened grape leaf, vein side up with the stem end toward you on a work surface. Put about 1 tablespoon of the meat mixture at the point where the veins branch out. Starting with the stem end, roll up the leaf, then tuck in the sides and continue rolling, making a tight packet. Rub the entire surface of a deep pot with olive oil. Place a few grape leaves on the bottom of the pot to cover it. Place rolled packets tightly together along the bottom of the pot. Cover that layer with flat leaves, some chopped parsley, mint, and lemon rind. Add another layer of stuffed, rolled leaves, and cover in the same way. Repeat this until all the stuffed leaves are in the pot. Add ¼ cup water to pot. Cover the top with a lid or heavy ovenproof plate. Simmer over low heat, tightly covered, for 1 hour. (Make sure the heat is low as the contents might scorch if the heat is too high.) Remove pot from heat and uncover.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Arrange stuffed leaves in a well-oiled baking dish. Sprinkle with lemon juice and some of the liquid from the pot. Bake, uncovered, for 30 minutes or until almost all the liquid is gone. Can be served warm or cold. Makes 30–35 appetizers.
60 grape leaves
4–6 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, chopped
¾ cup long grain and wild rice mix, uncooked
½teaspoon ground allspice
½ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ cup currants
1¾ cups water
1¼ cup pine nuts, toasted
zest and juice of 2 lemons and 1 orange
Take fresh grape leaves, remove stems, and blanch in boiling, salted water for 3 minutes. Then rinse with cold water and set aside to drain. Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a medium-sized saucepan over medium heat. Sauté chopped onions until tender, about 5 minutes. Add rice (do not use seasoning packet), allspice, cinnamon, and currants, and cook for one minute longer. Add water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and let simmer until the rice is cooked and the water is absorbed (about 20–25 minutes). Let cool.
Place pine nuts on a cookie sheet and toast in a 300°F oven for 3–5 minutes, until the nuts are golden brown, stirring occasionally. Let them cool. Chop the nuts and add to the rice mixture. Add finely diced zest of the lemons and orange (save juice for later) and stir.
Cover the bottom of a heavy, large frying pan with 8–10 grape leaves, running them up the sides of the pan. (This will prevent the stuffed leaves from sticking to the frying pan.)
Place one softened grape leaf, vein side up, stem side toward you on your work surface. Place approximately a teaspoonful of rice mixture in middle of leaf and roll away from you halfway, tuck in sides, and continue rolling until you have a neat, tight package. Place stuffed leaves, seam side down, closely together in the leaf-lined frying pan. Drizzle 2 tablespoons of olive oil on top of the stuffed grape leaves. Add juice of lemons and orange (about ¾ cup of liquid) and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 40 minutes or until all the liquid is absorbed. (Make sure to watch to avoid scorching.) Let cool. Makes 45–50 appetizers.
This low shrub grows to about 3 feet high and can be found in bogs and peaty wetlands of the northeastern United States and Canada. Its leathery-looking leaves are 1 to 2 inches long and have rolled edges. The backs of the leaves are white or rusty colored and have a woolly feel to them.
Since this is an evergreen plant, the leaves can be harvested in all four seasons to make an aromatic tea. It can be served hot or iced. (The flowers, however, are not edible.)
A great alternative to imported black tea, Labrador tea has no caffeine and is said to be a mildly narcotic tonic, used by pioneers and natives for treating coughs and other irritations, and in childbirth.
For storage purposes, Labrador tea leaves can be dried. Lay the leaves on a cookie sheet and place in a slow oven until crispy. Put the cooled leaves into a glass jar and store in a cool, dark cupboard.
Chop fresh Labrador tea leaves into small pieces (if using dried leaves, crumble them). Measure about one heaping teaspoon of leaves for each cup of water (or for each person served). Pour boiling water over tea leaves and let the mixture infuse for 5–10 minutes. (Don’t boil the leaves in the water as it may release a harmful alkaloid.) The tea will be a pale shade of yellow-green when ready. Serve with honey, a lemon slice, or a sprig of mint.
These weeds seem to grow everywhere ... in vacant lots, roadsides, wastelands, and especially in your garden. But next time, don’t throw them into your compost pile. Lamb’s quarters taste wonderful–sort of like wild spinach (which is one of its nicknames, along with “goosefoot” and “pigweed”). The diamond-shaped leaves are said to look like the leg of a lamb, hence its name. Others say it looks like a goose’s foot. Why pigweed? I suppose pigs like the taste of this plant as much as humans do. The plants can grow as high as 6 or 8 feet tall and are plentiful all over the United States and Canada. The seeds are abundant (as many as 75,000 seeds have been found on a single plant!) and appear in late summer or early fall. They can be used as a cereal food in bread or pancakes. They also can be dried in a slow oven until crisp and then pounded into flour.
But best of all is the taste of the greens. The leaf itself is unusual, as it seems to have a coating on it impossible to make wet (water beads up and rolls right off it). The foliage of the lamb’s quarters is delicious all summer long. Just pick the small leaves that keep appearing on taller plants or find a plant under one foot tall and pick those leaves.
Unlike many other wild greens, lamb’s quarters do not have an inherently bitter taste, nor are they tough or stringy. They don’t need a lot of preparation time to make them ready to eat. Add lamb’s quarters shredded raw to salads. Or steam them like spinach, which can be eaten immediately or frozen for winter use.
An interesting spin on the classic Greek spanakopita, which generally uses spinach as its leafy green. Go wild and try this instead!
1 pound lamb’s quarters
1 tablespoon butter
2 medium onions, chopped
1 cup feta cheese, crumbled
½ pound (1 cup) dry collage (or pot) cheese
3 eggs
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon dried dill weed
salt and pepper to taste
½ cup butter, melted
1-pound package of phyllo dough, defrosted
Separate the leaves from the stems of the lamb’s quarters; discard stems and wash the leaves well. Steam lamb’s quarters for 5 minutes on stovetop or 2–3 minutes in the microwave, without adding any extra water (there is enough water from washing them). Let cool and remove any excess water by squeezing out the lamb’s quarters. Chop coarsely and set aside.
Put 1 tablespoon of butter and the onions in a frying pan, cover, and let the onions “sweat” (get soft and not brown) over low heat for 10 minutes or so. Set aside to cool.
With an electric mixer, beat together the 2 cheeses, eggs, nutmeg, dill, salt, and pepper until incorporated. (Go easy on the salt as the feta cheese is quite salty.) Add softened onions, then the lamb’s quarters. Beat all together.
Brush melted butter in the bottom and sides of a 9 x 13-inch pan. Put the first phyllo sheet at the bottom and nudge it in to fit (with the edges of the phyllo left hanging outside the pan). Brush with melted butter. Then keep layering the phyllo dough, brushing each sheet with butter, one at a time, until you have 8 sheets. Add half the filling and spread it evenly. Then continue with the phyllo dough and butter with 8 more sheets. Add the rest of the filling and top it off with more layers of phyllo and butter (roughly 6–8 sheets left in the package). Top with butter. Turn the edges up, making a border, and press it in place.
Bake in a 375°F oven, uncovered, for 45 minutes, until golden brown. Makes 6–8 servings.
spaghetti or spaghettini, enough for 2 servings
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped
½ pound lamb’s quarters
¼ cup sun-dried tomatoes
¼ cup Asiago (or very sharp cheddar) cheese, grated salt and pepper
3 tablespoons Parmesan or Romano cheese
¼ cup pine nuts, toasted
Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add pasta, and cook following package instructions.
In a large frying pan, melt butter and add olive oil. Add chopped onion and sauté for 5 minutes or until soft. Add cleaned lamb’s quarters and fry for another 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, rehydrate sun-dried tomatoes in boiling water for 5 minutes. (If they are preserved in oil, drain them.) Coarsely chop tomatoes and add to lamb’s quarters.
Drain pasta in a colander and put in a large serving bowl. Add lamb’s quarters mixture and toss it through the pasta. Add the grated Asiago cheese (use a sharp, aged cheddar if you can’t find Asiago), salt, and pepper to taste. Top with Parmesan and toasted pine nuts. Serves 2.
2 tablespoons oil
2 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
5–6 cups lamb’s quarters
2 cans (15.5 oz. or 540 mL) white kidney (or cannellini) beans
2 cans (10 oz. or 284 mL) chicken broth
2 cups water
6 slices baguette or french bread, ½-inch thick
1 teaspoon fresh chives, chopped (optional)
Heat the oil with one clove of minced garlic (reserve the other clove for later) in a large pot. Add the chopped rosemary and fry on low for 2 minutes, until the garlic has softened (do not brown). Add the washed lamb’s quarters, cover, and cook for 5 minutes on low, until the lamb’s quarters have wilted. Then add one can of drained white beans.
Drain the second can of beans and mash or purée them in a food processor. Add them to the pot along with the chicken broth and water. Simmer, uncovered, for 10–15 minutes.
Meanwhile, toast the slices of bread and rub one side of each with the remaining clove of garlic. Place one slice of toast in the bottom of each soup bowl. Pour hot soup on top of toast (sprinkle each bowl with chopped chives, if you wish). Serve immediately. Makes 6 servings.
Milkweed is fairly common and grows on roadsides and in fields. Many farmers consider it a noxious weed and have tried to eradicate it. Unfortunately, it is the major food source for the monarch butterfly.
For humans, nearly every part of the milkweed plant is edible—and tasty, too. But it bleeds a bitter, milky-white juice (hence the name “milkweed”). Luckily this bitterness can be blanched away (see below), and once this is done, the possibilities are endless.
In early spring, the young shoots are edible and can be used like asparagus. Later on in the season, you can eat the unopened flower buds, which are similar to broccoli. Summer comes and the pink flowers appear. These can be dipped in batter and fried as fritters. In midsummer, the unripe seed pods can be eaten as a vegetable or stuffed as hors d’oeuvres.
To blanch milkweed: Prepare a large pot of boiling water. Keep it boiling throughout this procedure. Place the milkweed in a smaller pot; pour boiling water from the larger pot over it. Boil the smaller pot for one minute, then drain it. Fill the small pot again with boiling water from the larger pot and boil once more for a minute. Repeat this step 3 or 4 times. Do not use fresh cold water and bring to a boil in the smaller pot. If you do, bitterness will set into the milkweed.
Salad:
30 or more clusters of milkweed flower buds
1 can of baby corn, drained and cut into bite-size pieces (frozen or canned corn kernels can be substituted)
½ red pepper, cubed
1 slice of sweet onion, chopped
Vinaigrette:
½ cup good olive oil
½ teaspoon fresh parsley, chopped
¼ cup lemon juice
½ teaspoon fresh dill, chopped
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon sugar
a few grinds of fresh pepper
1 garlic clove, crushed
Blanch the cleaned flower buds. After blanching 3 or 4 times, bring the buds to a boil again and test after 3–5 minutes. (You want the bitter taste eliminated, but you don’t want the buds to turn to mush.) When they are tender, pour cold water over them to stop further cooking. Put them in a salad spinner to remove most of the water, or in one or two tea towels and shake dry (don’t squish them). Put the clusters into a bowl.
Add the baby corn, the cubed red pepper, and the sweet onion. Toss lightly to mix, pour vinaigrette dressing on top, and incorporate it into the salad. Serve cold or at room temperature. Serves 4 as a side salad.
To Make Vinaigrette: Put all the ingredients in a tightly covered jar and shake well to blend. Test before you pour it on the salad as it might need adjusting, according to your personal taste.
½–¾ pound milkweed buds
¼ pound snow pea pods
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon soy sauce
½ teaspoon honey
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon hoisin sauce
1 tablespoon vegetable oil, for frying
2 teaspoons sesame seeds
Blanch the milkweed buds 3 or 4 times. Drain in a colander, transfer to a tea towel, and shake dry. Clean the snow pea pods.
In a small dish mix sesame oil, soy sauce, honey, vinegar, and hoisin sauce together and stir well. Heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in frying pan or wok until hot. Add the milkweed buds and stir-fry for 2–3 minutes. Add pea pods and continue frying for another minute. Pour sauce on top and stir-fry quickly until all the sauce has combined with the green vegetables. Put into a serving bowl and sprinkle sesame seeds on top. Serves 4–6 as a side dish.
Any of the following may be added and stir-fried: strips of red pepper, cubed tofu, thinly sliced scallions, water chestnuts, bamboo shoots, and/or mung bean sprouts.
24 (plus a few extra) milkweed pods (2 inches or less in length)
½ cup mushrooms, chopped
2 scallions, chopped
4 tablespoons cornflake crumbs (or bread crumbs)
2 tablespoons sour cream or plain yogurt salt and pepper (to taste)
3–4 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Blanch the milkweed pods in 3 or 4 changes of boiling water. Then boil the pods for 3–5 minutes until tender and bright green. Drain and rinse with cold water (to stop them from cooking any more), and dry on a tea towel.
Slit the milkweed pods down one side, remove the contents into a bowl and chop it finely. (Set the pods aside.) To the bowl add the rest of the ingredients except the Parmesan cheese. Stir together. Then stuff the empty pods with this filling. Lay them on a foil-covered baking sheet and top each pod with a sprinkle of Parmesan. Bake in a 400°F oven for 8–10 minutes (the Parmesan should be lightly browned and the insides of the pods should be warm). Makes 24 hors d’oeuvres.
Mint is everywhere in our lives. You’ll find it in toothpaste, gum, and candy; in scented toiletries; and in fresh-smelling cleaning supplies.
Outside the home, wild mint can be found growing in moist fields, beside tranquil streams, and in other damp places. It blooms in midsummer
Mint leaves can be used to make a refreshing tea, as a flavor additive in green salads, to decorate frosty drinks, and to make a mint julep. The leaves can also be dried and used during the winter months. Wild mint is full of vitamins A and C. A cup of hot mint tea will help alleviate an upset tummy or clear your sinuses if you have a cold.
How will you know if it’s really mint? It’s easily recognizable because it has a square stem. If all else fails, rub a leaf between your fingers. The pungent fragrance will confirm your find.
Instead of the standard boiling water, this iced tea recipe uses fresh cold water and the sun to make tea. It doesn’t go cloudy when refrigerated, like boiled tea tends to do, and the taste is fresh and clean. Just fill a quart jar with the following:
10 stalks of wild mint, 8 to 10 inches in length
4 tea bags (orange pekoe is best)
1 quart of water
Put the jar in a sunny location in the morning and let the tea steep in the bright sunshine, for 4–6 hours. It will become a lovely, rich color. Remove the tea bags and the mint and put the jar in the refrigerator. Once chilled, serve over ice, garnished with wild mint leaves and a slice of lemon. Or serve with wild mint ice cubes (recipe follows).
Collect and clean 20 wild mint leaves, separating them from their stalks. Put a leaf or two into each section of an ice cube tray. Cover with water and put in freezer. After 2 or 3 hours, check the leaves and poke them deeper into the partially frozen water (the leaves tend to float up to the top of the tray). When completely frozen, put some of the cubes into a glass and pour iced tea over them. These flavorful cubes will give a lovely taste to any iced tea or cold beverage.
1 cup packed wild mint leaves
¼ cup cider vinegar
4 teaspoons sugar
2 tablespoons boiling water
Rinse mint thoroughly to remove any sand. Remove leaves from tough stems and chop mint finely to make one cup. In a medium-size bowl, mix chopped mint with remaining ingredients and let stand for one hour or more. Serve in a gravy boat with a ladle, in order to scoop up some of the mint leaves with the sauce.
Both wild mint sauce and jelly taste great served with lamb. The jelly can also be served as an hors d’oeuvre. Spread some plain cream cheese on top of a cracker, and top with a small spoonful of wild mint jelly.
2 cups tightly packed mint leaves, plus some stems
2 cups water
¼ cup lime juice
3½ cups sugar
1 envelope liquid or powdered pectin
Coarsely chop the mint leaves and stems and place then in a medium saucepan. Add the water and bring to a boil. Stir occasionally and let simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside until cool (about 2 hours or so). Then strain through a sieve or cheesecloth, pressing the leaves to extract as much flavor as possible.
Measure the mint liquid and add 1¾ cups of it into a pot. Then add the lime juice and sugar. Bring to a boil and stir to make sure all the sugar has dissolved. Add the pectin, return to a boil, and let it boil for one minute. Then remove it from the heat. Skim off any foam that has formed on the top of the jelly. Pour it into hot, sterilized jars and seal immediately. Process in a hot water bath (see pages 14–15 for instructions). Makes 3 half-pint (250 mL) jars.
This salad tastes great stuffed into fresh pita bread.
1 cup bulgur wheat
2 cups boiling water
2 ripe tomatoes
6 scallions (white and green parts), sliced
¼ cup wild mint leaves
2 cups parsley
½ cup lemon juice
¼ cup olive oil
½ teaspoon salt
pepper to taste
Put uncooked bulgur wheat into a heat-proof bowl and pour boiling water into it. Stir and set aside for about an hour. Then drain well.
Finely dice the tomatoes and put in a large bowl. Add the scallions. Strip the leaves off the stems of the wild mint (discard stems) and chop leaves finely. Chop the parsley, too (trying to omit the large stems), and add both to the bowl. Add the lemon juice, oil, salt, and pepper and stir together. Then add cooked bulgur and mix thoroughly. Chill for 2 hours. Serves 6–8 people.
It is hard to miss the yellow fields blanketing the countryside in late spring or early summer. The culprit: mustard. It’s one of the most familiar weeds worldwide and is a relative of the cabbage, radish, and turnip (which is why it has a peppery taste).
Early in spring, the first basal leaves of the mustard plant are tender and can be served after steaming for about 15–20 minutes. (They reduce in bulk quite a bit, so pick more than you think you can eat.) Drain well and add salt, pepper, and butter and serve as a side dish, or add it to vegetable soup.
Clusters of the unopened flower buds can also be steamed briefly (for 3–5 minutes) and served as a vegetable, as you would broccoli. (Make sure not to include any upper-stem leaves while you are picking, as they are extremely bitter.) Seed pods can be pickled (recipe follows) and the seeds themselves are conventionally added to most pickle recipes. If you grind the seeds, you get mustard powder, the key ingredient in table mustard. The entire mustard plant is good for you. It is rich in vitamins A, B, and C, and the flower buds are rich in protein. The leaves are rich in calcium, phosphorus, and potassium.
Strip the seed pods off the mustard plants while the bright yellow flowers are still in bloom at the top or the pods will be too tough to eat. A grocery-sized plastic bag full of stalks and flowers will yield about half a pound of seed pods ... a bit of an arduous task to pick off the tiny pods, but these little guys are nice and peppery. Try them as a relish or pickle with poultry or fish.
½ pound mustard seed pods
2 cups white vinegar
½ cup water
6 teaspoons honey
1 teaspoon coarse salt
4 teaspoons pickling spice
5 garlic cloves, halved
In a colander, rinse the seed pods with cool water, making sure to remove any sand. Bring a pot of lightly salted water to a boil, add the seed pods, and return to a boil. Let cook a minute or so. Drain and set aside.
Mix together the vinegar, water, honey, salt, and pickling spice in a pot and bring to a boil. In hot sterilized jars, put 2 halves of garlic cloves; stuff the jars tightly with bright green seed pods. Then pour in the hot vinegar mixture, leaving a half-inch head space. Run a plastic knife or nonmetallic spatula around the jars to remove any air bubbles and seal tightly with sterilized covers. Process in a hot water bath (see pages 14–15 for instructions).
Let flavors mellow for a month or more before opening. Makes 5 half-pint (250 mL) jars.
Both of these leafy plants are common lawn and garden weeds.
Plantain has oval leaves that grow 6 to 8 inches long and about half as wide. The leaves taste best in the spring (at about 2 inches long), when young and tender. Otherwise their veins get too tough and stringy. The small leaves can be added to salads, cooked as greens, or put into soups. The flowering spikes, full of tiny seeds, can be dried and saved for bird food in winter.
Purslane is native to Persia or India and is prevalent in nearly every part of Canada and the United States. This succulent plant can be enjoyed from spring through fall. It is ground hugging, rarely growing higher than 2 inches, but can spread horizontally a foot or more. And purslane is good for you, too. It’s rich in iron and contains vitamins A and C, calcium, and phosphorus.
Purslane leaves can be eaten raw in a salad, cooked as a green vegetable, pickled, or frozen. They have a quality that is rather sticky and moist. Throw a few leaves into your salad and see how your guests react. Most people like the mucilaginous quality, as it is refreshing and very different. When purslane leaves are cooked, they are a little like okra (they get mushy) and tend to fatten up a stock or stew, giving it a thicker consistency. Try pickling the stems by using them instead of cucumbers in your favorite dill pickle recipe.
This soup never comes out the same way twice. That’s because it depends on what you find in your refrigerator and what’s available from the wild.
In a large pot, over medium heat, add:
2 teaspoons oil
Look in the refrigerator and add to the pot any or all of the following:
1 onion, chopped
celery leaves, chopped
several carrots, shredded or chopped
3 or 4 mushrooms, chopped
Let these ingredients sweat in the oil and release flavors. This should take about 10 minutes.
Add 6–8 cups of water or chicken stock to the pot. Then, go outside and see what you can find. Add some or most of the following:
¼ cup purslane leaves
5 or 6 dried day lily heads
a handful of shredded lamb’s quarters
a few small plantain leaves
Then check your cupboard for any of these items and add some of them to the pot:
¼ cup orzo or other small pasta
¼ cup red or green lentils, rinsed
a handful of sun-dried tomatoes
1 teaspoon of any of the following dried (or fresh) herbs, in combination: parsley, basil, dill, chives, or whatever else you want to use
Let the soup simmer for about half an hour, or until the orzo, pasta, or lentils are cooked. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and serve. If you have Parmesan cheese, sprinkle some on top. If you have croutons, throw a few on top of the soup, too. Serves 4–6.
