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Foraging Food that Hurts You

18 Apr ’12

I once fell into a patch of stinging nettles. Something like that stays in your memory and makes you wary of willingly wading into them with the idea that you’re going to stuff them in your mouth.

The plant has many hollow stinging hairs called trichomes on its leaves and stems, which act like hypodermic needles that inject histamine…

I was shocked to find out that my friend Tara had gone out gathering nettles and neglected to call me. Of course, she graciously went about explaining how the nettles she gathered were likely too small, and she’d be happy to try again and show me the ropes, all the while promising a bigger and better harvest. We’re busy people, though, and it has taken a few weeks to set this up—and nettles are only good while tender in the spring. This morning, I got a tentative call. “You know, it is a bit wet out there. Maybe we should postpone.” “ARE YOU KIDDING ME?” my brain exploded into a green frustration, “It’s Seattle. It’s always wet! I’m dressed, and I am coming to get you!” “Well, then you need to bring me some gloves. I have forgotten my mine at mother’s.”

By the time I joined her for coffee, the sun was out, the day was warming, and you could feel the nettles just trying to push through the concrete around us. It was going to be a successful day.

Here’s the thing about foraging: stuff is just there, and you pick it. Maybe somethings try hiding or have strange environments that make the whole proposition challenging, but nettles are not those. They are everywhere. Vicious, sure, but everywhere. As long as you’ve got a good set of gloves—and Tara recommends full rubber gloves like the kind you might use for refinishing furniture, you can snip away to your heart’s content. It sure seems that way. As she mentions on her blog, though, “nettles are considered ‘dynamic accumulators,’ because they draw up nutrients from the soil. This also means they can draw up pollutants. Make sure wherever you are foraging is not polluted.”

I now have a giant bag of nutritious spring food. I plan to follow Tara’s suggestion and cook it down and then freeze it in small batches to pull a bit of the freezer to add a boost to soups, tarts, and eggs. I have a recipe for a Spanish shrimp and nettle tortilla that I’ve wanted to try. Finally, my pal, Lisa, reminded me of the days I used to bake focaccia and suggested a nettle and shallot focaccia might be just the thing for a weekend brunch in the garden.

FoodForaging
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4 Comments


jake
19 Apr ’12 at 8:32 am
Reply

nice post…it’s great to see a bit of green. It’s still mostly post-winter brown here, only a few green shoots here in the Alberta Foothills (near Calgary) Foraging is a favorite passtime, not a lot of variety, but whatever i can find – dandelions, saskatoon berries, chokecherries, weedy-greens (purlane, chickweed, etc), tea herbs (monarda, horsemint), rosehips, tansy and goldenrod for dyeing, aspen/poplar buds for soap. Occasionally morels, a few violets. I haven’t found nettles around here, it’s pretty dry most of the year, so likely not the best habitat.

I went to Vancouver, BC last weekend for a does of spring…great to see green grass and leaves, so many flowers. A big fan of the Pacific NW.

I really enjoy you blog.

Cheers,
Jake.

P.S. my sorrel patch is up…so there is a tart in the near future.



    Knox
    20 Apr ’12 at 7:49 am
    Reply

    Ah, I think I would go a bit crazy still waiting for Spring in late April! It is often hard enough with the damp soggy two-seasons we really have here in the PNW!

    Glad you like the blog!

Michelle
19 Apr ’12 at 10:32 pm
Reply

Can you make me some nettle soup? Oh,and come help me with my garden rain or shine?



    Knox
    20 Apr ’12 at 7:48 am
    Reply

    Glad to make you some nettle soup, if you go pick the nettles!!!

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