A foraging we go, hi ho the derry-o, a foraging we go! Got a cutie for everyone today! I know, i know, this one is a real pest for gardners everywhere. But hopefully after you read the article i will insert in this thread, you might think twice about pulling this one and tossing aside. This is a womans bestfriend. Men also, but women really benifit from it. Chickweed! The Little Star Lady! The Shining Star. This weed is so good for our bodies i don't know where to start. First of all if you have ever had surgery, here is the healer for you. If your overweight, melts it right off. I won't go into detail about all this, i will let the article by a favorite forager of mine do all the talking,,,Susan Weed. I have been eating and drinking chickweed for yrs and yrs...... please read, then i'll show you whats for dinner! http://www.susunweed.com/Article_Chickweed-A-Star.htm Okay i hope that got your attention, because the little star lady is one whopper of a plant. Here she is. One thing the article didn't tell you is the way to tell if its the real thing or not. There are imposters,,,take the stem with leaves and flower if its flowering and hold it up to the sun, or a light source. There should be little hairs, only on one side of the stems, thats chickweed. The others won't hurt you but there is no benifits from them, and they don't taste the same. The flavor of chickweed is so amazing! Its,,bright. Its,,so green. Its so fresh tasting its hard to describe. If you like sprouts and all that, this is up your ally because it tastes fresher, and more flavor. Okay, whats on the menu tonight. Well as i was out working on the fields at Selnes today i went to the back of the barn and attacked my personal supply of chickweed. I also picked some dandelion heads only. Also some wild onions....okay here we go. take some left over pasta or make pasta of your choice. grate one carrot chickweed, i used about a forth of that pile a few wild onions dandelion flowers opened and removed from the green salt and pepper to taste apple cider vinager and a little oil grated paramasian cheese as a topping when it hits the plate. Now just put it all together except the cheese, add that when your ready to eat...and there you go, you have one mouth watering side dish or main dish. I serve this cold, its how we prefer it. Also in the pic of ingredients, i have started my tea. You can cook with chickweed and add like any other green veggie or eat it raw,,, its just darn good for you. So think twice before you throw it away, and give it a try!
I see you've used the dandilion head this time. The leaves are used for teas, what herb nutrient comes from the head of the dandilion?
How interesting Biita... and that bowl of noodles at the end looks positively delicious. I appreciate this posting. Thanks.
The whole dandelion plant has all the same nutrients. I like to use the 2 together, chickweed and dandelion (in some form or another) because as the chickweed breaks down all the impurities from your body, the dandelion helps to get rid of it from your body,,,(potty time) they don't call them pee-the-beds for nothing,,lol. Thanks all, and Sjoerd the roasted chicken that went with it was just as good too! lol.
I don't know that I have every found it in my yard but I will be looking closer at the weird things I do find out there. I think a trip to our favorite herb shop is in order this weekend to see if she has it dried. If it tastes good I might be able to get my youngest to drink some daily in her effort to loose weight. A tea of chickweed and dandelion flowers would be even more helpful wouldn't it?
I think just the chickweed alone as a tea is just fine,,, i only combine the 2 when i have them raw. If its drank as a tea, i like mine plain, but KB has to have honey in it. It is really good tasting. just make it sweet enough and she will like it. Have you ever seen in your yard the ground creeper, that has little miniture flowers on it that looks like 10 petels, but its actually only 5,, then it might be chickweed. just hold it up to the light or sun, if you see little things that look like hairs, only on one side, of the stems, thats it. I eat the flower and all.
Oooooh, I'll eat it when I see it. We haven't got much of that in our garden, but now I know I won't throw it away while weeding. I'll just call it a snack instead.
I use chickweed quite a bit Biita. It's great to cook with, have in salads, eat raw or garnish dishes with. I've never tried it as a tea though so I'll give it a go.
Interesting. I'm not sure if I've ever seen it around these parts. I guess I'll really have to look hard. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks all for reading. I love chickweed, just an all around good plant for you, in taste and for the body... please do try it. Thats why most of our "weeds" are there! Ahhh another fellow forager,,,Eileen we have bonded. (poor woman now she will never get rid of me...lol)
