Spring is in the air and free ingredients abound! Say what? Yep, there is free food and ingredients every where if you just pay attention!
Jellies and jams can be made by what most call "weeds" and all those flowering trees can add to the pantry as well. You just need to do a bit of research and you can find all kinds of recipes for things that are out in your yard. Violets, dandelions, redbud, lilacs, roses, nasturtium, marigold, yarrow, crab apples, honeysuckle, peonies and even all those weeds that drive you crazy in the yard and flower beds.
You can use thistle, borage, purslane, lamb's quarters, chickweed and even stinging nettle for different things. You can simply type in "edible weeds" in your search engine and find out all kinds of wonderful information and uses.
God has told us He put everything on this earth that we need to nourish and heal our bodies. Maybe we should pay more attention. Natural is the best in my book.
I have made dandelion jelly in the past (tastes honey like) and I have made peony jelly (has a light floral taste) and have also made violet jelly. I pick and use purslane in salads. I have made honeysuckle jelly years ago when I had a flourishing vine. My brother often has dandelion greens in the spring. Mom made those when I was a kid. Back then they used whatever they had to feed families.
Click on pictures of recipes to enlarge and see them better.
Many 'weeds' or herbs can be used in teas and in tinctures and lotions of all sorts. They are quite beneficial. Next time you go to a health store - look around - I bet you find several of these yard pests on the herb aisle! These things aren't cheap to purchase - but they thrive in nature.
Flowering weeds - please DON'T kill!!! They are the first flowering items each spring and they feed the bees. We so NEED the bees - they make our gardens possible by pollination.
Nature is a wonderous thing. Not only is it pretty - but it can benefit us in so many ways.
NATURE ROCKS!!!!!
Wish I could teach Hubby to not pull the dandelions, LOL! He thinks they are weeds. Wish I knew more about purslane I haven't seen any growing in my yard here. But I have a lot of Hosta's growing and before they flower the shoots are edible, I guess they taste similar to asparagus.
ReplyDeleteShame on him!!!! I know lots of people get rid of them - but they really are full of nutrients.
DeleteThere are so many things we consider weeds that are so good for us and nature sure does provide!
I may have to try that with my Hosta plants.
This is a very informative post and I enjoyed reading it. Our dandelions are starting to bloom. I've never ate dandelions before that I know of. Just might have to try it. Blessings,
ReplyDeleted
Thanks. You can also dip the blossoms (like squash flowers) and deep fry. You want to get the green off the flower base - it can be bitter if not fixed properly.
DeleteBlessings
Dandelion cleans the liver so the greens were considered to purify the body after the long winter and they do! Borage makes a nice tea and it is great for purifying the lymph system.
ReplyDeleteSo many healthful benefits. Everything we really need is right here at our fingertips!
DeleteThanks
I love getting items for free that will feed us. Great way to save money.
ReplyDeleteYou and me both. I am a bit adventurous - some aren't. I will try MOST things once at least!
DeleteYears ago ladies would gather wild greens to serve their families. The Urban Farmer remembers his mom gathering greens and wilting them just like you would kale, spinach or fresh spring lettuce. Wilted lettuce in the spring was a favorite...so good. I would love to find morels again. The farm where I grew up had wooded areas and we would gather them by the bagful. Nowadays so much farmland has been ruined by chemical sprays. We found a very interesting video on YouTube about the importance of dandelions. There are a ton of fascinating videos on gardening.
ReplyDeleteSo true. Mom and Daddy always fixed dandelion greens. Oh wilted lettuce is sooooo good!!!! One of my spring favorites.
DeleteMy nephew goes hunting for morels on his home place. He has a lot of woods and finds them every spring. Those are so stinking expensive to buy if you can find them. Last time I saw some they were $35 a lb.
I love using nature for things.
Thanks
Be careful of "presents" left by the deer over the winter to! Lol
ReplyDeleteLOL - I hear that. We have no deer around my place, but plenty of other critters!
DeleteWise words!!!
Soooo true, Cheryl. I admire that you have made so many of the jellies; I would love to try them all. Recently, I watched a YouTuber (Vicky's Country Home) who recommended stinging nettle leaf tea for allergies. I bought some and it works! The antihistamine benefits last for about 4 hours, then just drink some again if you need to. I forget what mullein does, but it's a good one, too.
ReplyDeleteLove your posts, Cheryl~
Mary in San Diego
Mary thank you so much for that tip about stinging nettle tea. Allergies are really bad this year already for me - so I will be trying that.
DeleteThere are many good 'weeds' out there - it is just so amazing how nature works!
Nothing green coming up here yet, but once the dandelions start to come I usually start my "weeding". I have even used the root once dried to make a type of "coffee". Not really something I would have all the time, but once in a while is great.
ReplyDeleteGod bless.
WOW, nothing green yet? Everything has brightened up here. It is so pretty.
DeleteI bet if one couldn't get coffee that would be a good replacement. Nice to know alternatives.
Thanks
Fried dandelions are so good!
ReplyDeleteLove hearing you say that! It really does sound good!
DeleteWe always used dandelions, and there was another little weed that mom always used...it was an odd looking plant and grew even flatter to the ground than dandelions. And we used young polk. And used to cut up the stalks coat with cornmeal and flour and fry it. Only when the young plants were first coming up...
ReplyDeleteI was just talking to Sarah the other day...I do not worry about dandelions in the yard any more...I think they are one of the first flowers for the bees.
I remember having polk as well. Mom used to cook up the young leaves like other greens.
DeleteI have had battered dandelion blossoms - kind of like squash blooms.
So many 'weeds' are really good for us in all sorts of ways.
Yep, those little flowers were put there by God for the bees.