Marsh Greens and Wild Strawberries

On Sunday we met a man with a bucket on the beach who told us he was going to get some marsh greens for lunch. This immediately piqued my interested because I had checked the little bit of beach we frequent for edible plants and found none. I should have quizzed him, I suppose, but instead I let him get on his way and quietly watched him walk along the beach so as to be sure to know where I should look! The next day, armed with field guide to foraging, I set off before lunch to see what I could find. We took a short cut through a kind neighbours field and the moment I stepped onto the beach I found the plant I was looking for – must be the easiest bit of foraging ever!

Marsh greens, predictably, are known by many names. Goose tongue greens, seaside plantain among others. I found the most info online by looking for goose tongue greens. I was careful to follow advice to take only part of the plant, and not pull it by its roots, so it will be able to grow again.

Once home with the greens I set about deciding what to do with them. Most people seemed to recommend eating them with vinegar, as a side dish. I don’t tend to cook many side dishes. Maybe it’s being vegetarian, or maybe I just prefer on dish kind of meals. Anyway, my mind went “vinegar…..balsamic vinegar…strawberries” (perhaps a bit of a leap for some, but I love strawberries with balsamic vinegar) so Little R and I went round the outside of the house picking wild strawberries from the grass. I made a little collection and Little R ate hers.

I then had three ingredients on which to build a meal so I decided to throw together a pasta salad. It went something like this:

caramelized onion (done with balsamic and maple syrup)

noodles

feta cheese

marsh greens, boiled lightly

wild strawberries

in a dressing of olive oil with more balsamic vinegar and syrup and pepper

And then we ate it all up. Delicious. I will definitely be going back for more marsh greens!

Dandelion Greens Salad

I took advantage of the unseasonably warm weather to harvest some dandelion greens yesterday. I’m feeling pretty chuffed about harvesting local greens in March!

We ate the greens in a salad, with a bit of goat cheese, toasted almonds and a splash or raspberry vinegar. Delicious.

Stinging Nettle Yogurt Cheese

I almost titled this blog “Nettle Yogurt Cheese ; Because You Can!” Thing is, even though it may not be the simplest or even most practical approach, I find something very satisfying about gathering “wild food”. Even though I can grow my own food, or get my vegetables at the market, there is something special about locating a wild food plant that makes me want to use it just because I can.

When my aunt pointed despairingly to a large clump of stinging nettles in her garden something clicked and I remembered that you could eat them. Apparently, if you roll the leaves the right way, you can eat them raw, but I was not about to try that. What I had in mind was some stinging nettle cheese I’d sampled once. I haven’t yet made cheese but I’ve made yogurt cheese and right away I saw the possibility.

So, suitably clothed and gloves I approached the stinging nettles and cut off the freshest leaves. (I’d say the spring is a better time to do this, but I was not going to be dissuaded.) Back at the house I steamed them for a full five minutes until they looked like cooked spinach. Then I simply mixed the nettles and some salt and pepper into some yogurt and continued as for yogurt cheese. The result is a nice little spread, perfect for crackers.

I’m not sure the nettles taste so very different from spinach but the notion that I have tamed the stinging nettle into something you can put in your mouth is quite pleasing.