Comments on: Eating Weeds: Recipes & Information

By: dee

dee — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 22:34:05 +0000

I took the eat a weed workshop at Bernheim Forest, Clermont, Ky. U.S.A. We ate Daylilies, Flowers and tubers and they were delicious, Queen Anne’s Lace was good too, just don’t confuse it with Water Hemlock, that would be deadly.

By: insins

insins — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 01:13:18 +0000

What kind of weed is the second picture?

By: Arabella

Arabella — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 11:47:12 +0000

I’m in the UK so can’t help with Oz weeds, but the great good news in the UK is that the appalling garden pest Ground Elder is not only edible, but good. Cook the leaves like spinach. You can’t get rid of it, so enjoy it as free food.

By: chuck maltbie sr.

chuck maltbie sr. — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 01:27:29 +0000

hello, so nice to know there are others who want to eat weeds to. I have not personally tried it but am looking to start, when I feel it is safe to do so. still trying to find sorces. will let you know how it works out.

By: Rob

Rob — Sat, 02 May 2009 07:06:57 +0000

By the way Initcirc, you might find this Wikipedia article helpful:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_beneficial_weeds

By: Rob

Rob — Sat, 02 May 2009 07:03:49 +0000

Thanks for the comment Initcirc.

You made a smart move getting reassurance on Smartweed being edible.

I’m yet to find something edible here in Australia – we have different weeds to the rest of the world. All the weeds mentioned on the sites seem completely foreign to me with the exception of Pigweed which seems vaguely familiar. When I come across it next time I’ll check it out and do some Google’ing!

By: initcirc

initcirc — Sat, 02 May 2009 06:29:49 +0000

btw I love Susun Weed’s pioneering work in the rediscovery of weedeating, and the repopularization of herbal medicine.

By: initcirc

initcirc — Sat, 02 May 2009 06:27:40 +0000

Excellent post, thanks!
I love love love to eat weeds! I like the photo of the sunburnt sow thistle a weed often stolen by aphids!
My favorite way to eat dandelion leaves is in a quesadilla, a sandwich or mixed wild and tame salad. My favorite way to eat the roots is cooked and served with some chopped tomato and olive oil and black eyed peas with rice.

I have a bunch of recipes for weeds and work on them daily. SOmeone in my neighborhood just cut back a prickly pear cactus, so I am working on how to best enjoy the prickly pear. Such a tricky vegetable!

Also be warned, every time I have gone on a garlic mustard binge I have landed a bad case of injured tummy, maybe ulcers?

Burdock blows my mind, and I wouldn’t recommend allowing the roots to boil. Cook long on low, or even if tea in a pot, simmer without boiling. It is said to destroy some lovely volatile super powers of the plant.

I have been eating chickweed for years, and lamb’s quarters and amaranth and purslane. The last three all have the common name pigweed. One interesting thing in the Susun Weed article you posted link to is the mention of smartweed and the allusion to the fact that it isn’t edible.

I didn’t think it was either, and when a friend assured me repeatedly that it was, I still made him provide at least two concrete publications which stated it was. He did, even though we were camping, and I tried it.

Yummy surprise! It is also known as lady’s thumb and had been a harassment in my big gardening endeavour. Now I just love finding it. It can be thrown in salads or snacked on. I haven’t heard smartweed or lady’s thumb as a common name for any other plant.

Well blessings and thanks!
May the wild spirits be embraced!
In every unique taste!

Initcirc Gaia