At this time of year especially, I try to take advantage of the nutritious foods growing freely in the area around my house. This can include the yard, fields, woods, or even the trees across the road in my neighbor's yard.
When my sister an I first started working with herbs, we went to an herbal potluck. A salad filled with violets and pansies stole the show for us, and it started me on my way. That fall I found Billy Joe Tatum's wild food cookbook - and foraging became a part of life. Maryanne isn't as keen on wild plant foods as I am, but she tries some of them.
Today I took the mail out to the mailbox, and got a handful of redbuds from the tree nearby. Then I swerved over for some violets, a grape hyacinth spike, and a dandelion. Although I had a "normal" salad all mixed up in the fridge, there were still lots of wild greens waiting.
Then there were the 2 spears of asparagus that broke ground over the weekend, and they deserved to be celebrated in just such a beautiful salad. Nearby a bunch of wild onions grew along with small dandelion leaves. There are also some small horseradish leaves up, and they are delicious, but they were left behind for something requiring that heat. Raspberry leaves called to be included.
I added some chicken (use your protein of choice) and made it a complete meal.
If there was no salad waiting for embellishment inside, other greens could easily have been added. More chickweed, garlic mustard, and dandy leaves for starters, and then things like wild mustard, dead nettle, and plantain - among many others. Depending on where you live, there are other good greens to try. We don't have miner's lettuce here, but I'd love to try it, and as the summer rolls in there will be others. In fall, we can add some roots, too.
Give it a try. Just one or two at a time will give you the idea!
