Nights for Wednesday 18 April 2018

The white flowers are onion weed or three cornered leek. This is just coming up now in autumn and will be here all winter as wild and free spring onion type vegetable. The leaves and flowers can be eaten. The leaves are great in scrambled eggs or salads, smoothies or stir fries. The flowers look great in salad. This plant contains sulphur which gives it the onion flavour. If this is eaten regularly it helps reduce blood cholesterol levels, acts as a digestive tonic, and stimulates the circulatory system. It is also antimicrobial. It also contains chlorophyll, fibre, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals.

The white flowers are onion weed or three cornered leek. This is just coming up now in autumn and will be here all winter as wild and free spring onion type vegetable. The leaves and flowers can be eaten. The leaves are great in scrambled eggs or salads, smoothies or stir fries. The flowers look great in salad. This plant contains sulphur which gives it the onion flavour. If this is eaten regularly it helps reduce blood cholesterol levels, acts as a digestive tonic, and stimulates the circulatory system. It is also antimicrobial. It also contains chlorophyll, fibre, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals.

Dandelion, Taraxacum officinale = remedy for disorders. Most health giving, nutritious, abundant wild edible I have come across. To identify it - it has a single, hollow flower stalk with one large yellow flower, the leaves are hairless and the leaf stem is also hollow. It has long, deep tap roots. There are three other look alikes - catsear, hawksbeard and hawkbit. Dandelion is the most medicinal the leaves containing Vit A, B, & C, potassium, calcium, iron, phosphorous and other minerals. They are also high in protein 100gms contains 19-32%. The leaves are bitter to taste which stimulates saliva secretion and improves digestion. The roots can be dug in autumn and winter when they are sweeter, cleaned, cut up and roasted in a 100degree oven until dry and hard and you start to smell a lovely roasted aroma. The roots can then be ground or the pieces boiled in water for ten minutes producing a coffee like drink which you can sweeten if you like with honey. This was the only coffee available during WWII during times of rationing. Very good liver tonic.

Dandelion, Taraxacum officinale = remedy for disorders. Most health giving, nutritious, abundant wild edible I have come across. To identify it - it has a single, hollow flower stalk with one large yellow flower, the leaves are hairless and the leaf stem is also hollow. It has long, deep tap roots. There are three other look alikes - catsear, hawksbeard and hawkbit. Dandelion is the most medicinal the leaves containing Vit A, B, & C, potassium, calcium, iron, phosphorous and other minerals. They are also high in protein 100gms contains 19-32%. The leaves are bitter to taste which stimulates saliva secretion and improves digestion. The roots can be dug in autumn and winter when they are sweeter, cleaned, cut up and roasted in a 100degree oven until dry and hard and you start to smell a lovely roasted aroma. The roots can then be ground or the pieces boiled in water for ten minutes producing a coffee like drink which you can sweeten if you like with honey. This was the only coffee available during WWII during times of rationing. Very good liver tonic.

An annual getting reestablished now that the weather is cooler, and moist. It prefers shady cool positions and shows that a garden soil is rich and fertile. A nice way to identify this plant is to snap the thin stem and pull it gently apart. You’ll see a stretchy thread in the centre of the stem. It grows in a mass, the stems supporting each other. It is a wonderful autumn, winter, spring salad green and I use it in smoothies and pestos a lot. It contains saponins which make a smoothie frothy, these saponins help the absorption of the nutrients and minerals found in Chickweed. For example, it is a rich source of Vitamin C, calcium, chlorophyll, carotenes, folic acid, essential fatty acids and protein. It is calming, soothing and strengthening. It is calming for external skin conditions like eczema, dermatitis and psoriasis.

Plantain with Flower Heads.

An annual plant that people either love or hate. It is a vegetable in Colombia called Guascas and enjoyed there in a chicken stew known as ajiaco. Here it is cursed and called ‘marching soldier’ as it spreads easily. But it is easy to pull out and doesn’t get very high, plus it dies down in winter and is gone until the following spring. I have had it come up like thick microgreens which I called ‘weedlings'. I cut them at ground level and end up with a nice bowl full of little plants that I turn into a fabulous salad. It means I am harvesting fresh greens between the rows while my parsnips, beans or carrots grow. Galinsoga is a fantastic plant for salads and smoothies and for drying for winter use in stews or casseroles. It has a distinctive flavour which is what the Colombians associate with home. It is rich in calcium, Vitamin A, magnesium, potassium zinc, B1(thiamin), B2 (riboflavin), B3(niacin) and Vitamin C. Galinsoga is flowering now and will die down soon. I don’t use it when it gets longer stalks and is more stringy.

An annual plant that people either love or hate. It is a vegetable in Colombia called Guascas and enjoyed there in a chicken stew known as ajiaco. Here it is cursed and called ‘marching soldier’ as it spreads easily. But it is easy to pull out and doesn’t get very high, plus it dies down in winter and is gone until the following spring. I have had it come up like thick microgreens which I called ‘weedlings'. I cut them at ground level and end up with a nice bowl full of little plants that I turn into a fabulous salad. It means I am harvesting fresh greens between the rows while my parsnips, beans or carrots grow. Galinsoga is a fantastic plant for salads and smoothies and for drying for winter use in stews or casseroles. It has a distinctive flavour which is what the Colombians associate with home. It is rich in calcium, Vitamin A, magnesium, potassium zinc, B1(thiamin), B2 (riboflavin), B3(niacin) and Vitamin C. Galinsoga is flowering now and will die down soon. I don’t use it when it gets longer stalks and is more stringy.

An annual plant that people either love or hate. It is a vegetable in Colombia called Guascas and enjoyed there in a chicken stew known as ajiaco. Here it is cursed and called ‘marching soldier’ as it spreads easily. But it is easy to pull out and doesn’t get very high, plus it dies down in winter and is gone until the following spring. I have had it come up like thick microgreens which I called ‘weedlings'. I cut them at ground level and end up with a nice bowl full of little plants that I turn into a fabulous salad. It means I am harvesting fresh greens between the rows while my parsnips, beans or carrots grow. Galinsoga is a fantastic plant for salads and smoothies and for drying for winter use in stews or casseroles. It has a distinctive flavour which is what the Colombians associate with home. It is rich in calcium, Vitamin A, magnesium, potassium zinc, B1(thiamin), B2 (riboflavin), B3(niacin) and Vitamin C. Galinsoga is flowering now and will die down soon. I don’t use it when it gets longer stalks and is more stringy.

This is a hardy annual from North America. It prefers cool, damp conditions and is growing again now. The leaves are fleshy and tasty. Its name comes from its use by Californian miners who ate it to prevent scurvy because of its high Vitamin C content e.g. 10gms Miners lettuce contains 850mg Vitamin C, 20x more than lemons. It is also high in Vitamin A which is good for the eyes, skin and heart. It is great in salads all winter and in smoothies. The first photo shows Miners lettuce going to flower and seed and the little one below is a young plant.