#weed salad

[sexy-stoners-420]

[aeolas89-blog]

From start to finish 😋 Hawaiian Dutch, Forbidden Fruit, Dead Prez, Bloodhound, & Sour OG

[jarl-wulfnar]

Good morning all!

[lairmistress18]

Huckleberry, Alaskan Thunder Fuck, and UK Cheese 😋

[mountaineersbooksblog]

5 Tips on Edible Weeds

Okay, so. First off: No. NOT what you are thinking. Now that that's out of the way, why yes, the title of this post is exactly what it means -- some of those weeds that you see growing everywhere is, in fact, edible! And we are not talking about a crazy, "look-at-me!" stunt you do in fourth grade either. We are talking about nutritious, delicious, and downright fancy recipes here! As always when you are foraging plants: ALWAYS check to see if your body can handle these plants before gorging on them. And if you aren't sure what you picked is poisonous or not, remember the age-old trick of not eating it. Hey, speaking of poisons and passed-down aphorisms... 1. Flavor is not a good indicator of plant safety. For instance, yew berries are quite sweet and juicy, but their seeds can be fatal if ingested. There's a reason yew berries are also called "death berries" (side note: what a great name for a band!)

Yew Berries. DO NOT EAT THIS

It's a good idea to not go by those old "tricks" such as "if a bird eats it, it's safe" or "the blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice." And if you think "oh, I'll just taste it with my tongue and spit it out" is a good idea, might I introduce you to the petty spurge, a plant whose sap is so irritating that it's used to remove warts. Still want to put THAT in your mouth? 2. For a less skin-burningly plant, a good choice would be cat ears. Often mistaken for a type of dandelion (parts of which are also edible), cat ears tend to be less bitter, as nutritious, and also smarter -- cat ears has "learned" to grow lower than dandelions to avoid mower blades. Some places in Europe serve cat ears with garlic and olive oil. 3. For those who feel like they need a change of fortune, why not try some white clover? Bees love them, and many farmers grow white clovers in hopes of producing clover honey.

Careful, don't step on bees in a clover field!

Clovers are amazingly versatile, and not just as food: It's perennial, tolerates and improves soils, hardy against cold, frost, and droughts, and as if that's not enough, it emits a wonderful scent to boot. And oh yeah, the entire plant is edible and nutritious! High in protein for a plant, you can try younger leaves in a salad. For the older leaves, try it in your baking for vanilla-esque goods. 4. For something a little fruity, give Sweet Briar Rose a try. A weed related to the apple family, and their leaves, flowers, and hips are all edible. The hips, again being related to the apple family, can grow as big as crab apples -- how's that for a big, giant, weed? A good use of rose hips are to use them in baked goods, where they can provide a fruity, spicy flavor. Now if you'd just stop giggling when I say these are some great weed brownies. 5. And it goes without saying, you can eat dandelions. Often the gateway weed (yes, puns. Wait for it...) for budding weed-foragers (...there!), dandelions are probably the most common weed found in North America.

Look, someone left a salad in the middle of the field

In North America, some people make dandelion wine; in Belgium, some make dandelion ale. And dried, ground dandelion root makes a pretty good coffee substitute. Best of all, it's very safe plant to eat. Though, as always, every body handles things differently, there's really no major poisonous look-a-likes to dandelions; the closest may be the cats ears covered above, and those are pretty delicious in their own right. So there you are! The next time an HOA complains about you letting your weeds grow out of control, you can say you are growing a farm! Adapted from The Front Yard Forager by Melany Vorass Herrera

[exposedspine]

More salad

[jaackalope-blog]

Wheres a smoking buddy when you need one