I had the great pleasure of spending Saint Patrick’s Day harvesting the GREEN. I am visiting my son Yarrow Willard and family for the weekend and we went out to harvest Nettles. Oh it is so great to be out harvesting again!! The freshness of the air, the slight sting of the nettles and the dreams of enjoying their tastes. Here is an article that my son put on his webpage for the nettles.

Harmonic Arts

http://harmonicarts.ca/2012/03/nettles-springing-up-everywhere/

Nettles springing up everywhere!

Spring is fast approaching and Nettle Season is upon us. When young, nettles are a great fortifying tonic in the spring to help us prepare for the new season of the sun. They are best enjoyed as food when 6 to 18 inches tall and should be cut 5 to 7 inches from the top with scissors or a knife and gloves. If you have inflamed or arthritic hands or wrists it is best to harvest without gloves as the stinging will be a helpful dose of healing for the season. Nettles can be rolled in gloved hands or blended fresh to reduce the stinging and eaten raw, but are best digested cooked or steamed. As they are packed full of minerals and nutrients, it is sometimes good to blend them with other spring green, like chickweed, dandelion leaf, lambs quarter, daisy, poke shoots, chopped fir tips or conventional greens like kale, spinach and chards. However you like your nettles, the experience of picking and eating this precious yet abundant spring green is rewarding.

Some of our favourite dishes to cook nettles into are:

– Nettle-kopita: making a basic spinakopita recipe with nettles mixed in with some spinach. Try using garlic butter for the phyllo!

– Tortilla pie with nettles, layer tortillas with rice, beans, cheese, tomato sauce, and… Nettles!

– Nettle Frittata: this egg and nettle combination is hearty enough to take you through a full day or even for a quick easy dinner meal. Simply steam the nettles lightly before adding them to your egg mixture in any Frittata recipe.

Don’t have any of these recipes handy?

Nettle Spanokopita

Watch for more recipes to continue . . .