Leaves That You Can Eat...Who Knew?
 

I've been prowling around the foraging sites and blogs lately and found out that there are lots of leaves and shoots that we normally throw out that can be eaten. Some are actually good for you.

We have a big Cascade Hops plant that takes over a corner of our porch every year and threatens to strangle anyone sitting close by. Yesterday I tried Hops shoots and leaves. I sauteed them in a little olive oil and garlic. They were ok...not bad. The garlic really helped a lot.

I also read that the leaves and shoots of young summer squash can be eaten. If the leaves are too prickly, the author suggested that you take a scrubby to them and knock off the stickers before cooking, or serving in salads. Hummmmmm...I'm going to try that in about another month, when the squashes are exploding with growth.

Some fern shoots are also edible and are all the rage right now.

What else?

Re: Squash Leaves -- One of the things I found at my Seattle area farmer's market were pumpkin vines for soup! Here's a video showing harvesting and cooking. There are many recipes, both Hmong and Mexican based.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtuz...nnel=hmongfood

Ricotta stuffed squash blossoms...mmm......

You can also use some flowers for edible garnish and to make jelly. I am going to a peony farm next week and going to make Peony jelly for Christmas baskets.

Watson

Many of the “weeds” we routinely kill in our yards are edible and good for you. White clover, dandelions are just a few.

Green pine needles are loaded with vitamin C. My grandmother said when she was a child, everyone always chewed on a green pine needle, her grandmother told her that her grandmother said the Indians did that and had good teeth. She grew up far away from a town so fruit was rare except wild berries.

There are so many natural flowers and herbs that are fun to grow and use in cooking and making teas with. Rose petals can be eaten if they are organically grown. They have a peppery taste and are so pretty in a salad. Martha Stewart used to dredge them in egg white and then a fine sugar to use on cakes. A very fun subject. Thanks for bringing it up.

I pick poke around my place. Anytime I look at wild things we can eat, I never see poke. My dad used to take us out in the woods and show us things we could eat. For instance wild plums, persimmons, possum grapes.

Growing up we had sassafras tee, mulberry tea, and elderberry tea. My grandmother was a big fan of drinking hot drinks especially in the spring.

Ooooh...the elderberry flowers are blooming right now. However, I think that I'm going to wait for the berries and make a syrup with them this year.

Thanks! I'll have to go look at the video.