Herbal Sauté

A beautiful spring-like day, although it's still just the first week of March. My lawn, however, is brown, dead-wintry grass...except for my dandelions, ground ivy, and henbit.

So, let's harvest some of my wild herbs and make a healthy, tasty, unique lunch!

First, I scout my available resources. Here's a small, but healthy patch of young dandelion (Taraxacum officinale).

A young dandelion plant will be less bitter than it would be when it begins to flower and go to seed. The flowers, though, are not at all bitter, and they offer just about as much nutrition. I did find one bright yellow flower to add to my lunch, and one unopened flower bud. The flower buds are actually my favorite...they have a texture that reminds me of a bit of meat.

Here's some ground ivy, creeping Charlie (Glechoma hederacea). It's very young, tender, with just a very slight minty taste.

Amongst the creeping Charlie, henbit (Lamium amplexicaule) is starting to reach out for the sun. Henbit is also slightly minty, with a purplish, square-shaped stem. It grows quickly, and I harvest the little bit that I can find before it gets older and less tender.

Okay, grab a pan and pick some tender dandelion leaves, creeping Charlie, and henbit. Rinse it in cold water and get ready to cook it.

You can see my one, lonely dandelion bloom, and just to the left of it is the one unopened flower bud that I found. This is a view of my freshly rinsed bunch of dandelion, creeping Charlie, and henbit.

While my skillet heats up I will gather some of the seasonings and condiments I'd like to try.

Garlic powder, onion powder are almost obligatory, as is ordinary salt and pepper. I'll sauté the herbs in olive oil, and I think the balsamic vinegar will add a nice highlight.

The skillet's heated to a medium heat and I've added my herbal mix. I immediately cover the skillet, letting the wet herbs steam for about two minutes.

After about two minutes, I take off the lid and stir the herbs several times as it cooked down. I don't want to burn the leaves, but I do want them tender, without being mushy.

It's ready! I present my lunch on our new dinnerware, accompanied by carrots and seedless red grapes.

Before sprinkling with the vinegar, I taste the sautéed herbs with just the salt, pepper, onion, and garlic.

It's good, and I could eat the rest that way and be satisfied. But, adding the balsamic vinegar is a real treat. It's tangy, contrasting well with just a slight bit of dandelion bitterness.

A very good lunch!

Reference Links

• Dandelion
• Creeping Charlie
• Herbal Teas
• Henbit

Herbal Teas: Creeping Charlie and Henbit

Just finished a couple of herbal teas, made from two different plants I harvested from my yard today.

First cup of tea: Creeping Charlie (Glechoma hederacea)

Result: I like it!

The taste was richly "green", much like a well-steeped cup of green tea, smelling deeply of freshly mown grass, with a gentle taste, absolutely no bitterness. I usually must sweeten my tea, whether herbal, green or black. But I was intent upon giving my Creeping Charlie tea a fair shake, so I prepared it with no sweetening. It had a comfortable, "healthy" taste.

Second cup of tea: Henbit (Lamium amplexicaule)

Result: Acceptable.

This tea was a bit more stronger, with a decidely "dry" feeling. Again, I prepared it with no sweetening, but next time I probably will add sugar or honey. The taste was acceptable, but I really preferred the smoother taste of the ground ivy, Creeping Charlie.

Preparation:

I found both plants growing together in a sunny spot of our yard next to our driveway. They are very young, very succulent. I picked a handful of each and washed them together in a strainer held under running cold water.

I heated a potful of cold, filtered water on the stove while I separated the two types of herbs and chopped them finely.

Just as the water was beginning to boil, I put four teaspoonfuls of Creeping Charlie into an empty teapot (two teaspoons per cup of tea, plus "two for the pot") and poured in enough hot water for one cup of tea.

The covered teapot steeped for five minutes and then I poured the tea through a strainer (my teapot infuser) into a mug.

The same process was followed for the Henbit.

Potential Benefits of Creeping Charlie:

• Tinnitus (ringing in the ears)
• Catarrh (mucous membrane inflammation, especially respiratory)
• Diarrhea
• Bile disorders
• Hemorrhoids
• Tonic (invigorating)
• Tuberculosis
• Lead Poisoning
• Ulcers
• Asthma
• Cancer

Creeping Charlie contains a high iron content and may be useful for its antibiotic or anti-inflammatory effects.

Caution:

Because the plant contains the essential oil pulegone, women who are pregnant or lactating should avoid it. And common sense requires that anything remotely approaching excessive use would be extremely unwise.

Potential Benefits of Henbit:

• Rheumatism
• Laxative
• Stimulant
• Diaphoretic (sweat-inducing)
• Febrifuge (fever-reducing)

Reference Links:

• Natural Standard
• Gardens Alive
• bobodod.wordpress.com
• Plants For A Future

Henbit (Lamium amplexicaule)

All around the hillside is all spring: wild mustard, clusters of henbit, rabbits, my footprints, and the sounds I make are the sounds I hear, the ringing of pulse in the ear, the swish of grass, my footsteps. --- Nathaniel Perry, "Vision" Common Names: Henbit, Deadnettle, Giraffe Head Scientific Name: Lamium amplexicaule

Description:

A member of the mint family. Stems droop, turning upward, growing to as tall as 16 inches. Stems are square, green to purplish and can be smooth or hairy. Leaves are up to 1-inch long, opposite, dark green and hairy above, lighter below. Lower leaves have petioles and the upper leaves attach directly to the stem. Leaves are triangular to circular with palmate venation. Leaf edges have rounded teeth, crinkled at the edges. Flowers are tubular, pink to red to purple, up to 3/4 inch long. [1] Amplexicaule means clasping; Lamium is probably from the Greek Lamia, meaning female man-eater, a grotesque creature in Greek mythology. This image is echoed in one of the common names for henbit: giraffe head. The common name, Henbit, like chickweed, comes from watching chickens eating it. [2] Henbit is closely related to purple dead nettle, which is also edible. Henbit leaves are heart-shaped, with scalloped edges, growing along the entire length of the stem. Purple dead nettle has triangular-shaped leaves growing in clumps. "Dead" in this case means non-stinging. Both are nutritious, high in iron, vitamins, fiber and anti-oxidants. [2]

Uses

The young shoots, leaves and flowers of this plant are edible and, once washed, can be simply cooked by adding to frying pan with a knob of butter some spring onions and plenty of seasoning. When sautéed for ten minutes they are ready to consume. Ideally, finish with a twist of fresh nutmeg and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice before serving. The tops of young plants can also be used in salads or can be stir-fried as a spring vegetable. The flavour is best when the plant is in flower as it can be very insipid when young. [3] To harvest henbit for food, pick and wash the ascending tips. Jan Phillips, author of "Wild Edibles of Missouri," recommends cooking the henbit tips "slowly in no more water than is necessary, then add a dab of butter and season. Spring onions will give a neat touch." Henbit harvested in early spring will also add a nice mint flavor and pretty color to jazz up your salads. [4]

Seven Herbs of Spring

• hotokenoza (henbit)
  
• seri (dropwort, similar to watercress)
  
• baby daikon
  
• hakobe (chickweed)
  
• nazuna (Shepard's purse)
  
• suzuna (turnip)
  
• gogyo (cudweed)

On January 7th it is customary to eat nanakusa-gayu (seven herb rice porridge). This is o-kayu (rice porridge, Japan's version of congee) cooked with haru no nanakusa (the seven herbs of spring). These herbs were traditionally foraged for in the fields, and being wild and fresh were very nutritious. Being so healthy, it was thought that eating nanakusa-gayu will prevent illness in the coming year. [5] From left to right: suzuna (turnip); hakobera (chickweed); gogyou (cudweed); hotokenoza (henbit); nazuna (shepard's purse); seri (watercress); suzushiro (daikon radish) [5] [1] http://www.purdue.edu/envirosoft/lawn/src/pest/broadleaf.htm#Henbit [2] http://www.eattheweeds.com/www.EatTheWeeds.Com/EatTheWeeds.com/ [3] href="http://www.celtnet.org.uk/recipes/ancient/wild-food-entry.php?term=Henbit%20Deadnettle [4] http://idigmygarden.com/forums/showthread.php?t=17265 [5] http://blue_moon.typepad.com/blue_lotus/2005/01/o107_dinner_nan.html