Billy wrote:

> In article >,
> Bjørn Steensrud > wrote:
>
>> Billy wrote:
>>
>> > In article >,
>> > Bj?rn Steensrud > wrote:
>> >
>> >> Billy wrote:
>> >>
>> >> > In article >,
>> >> > bigwheel > wrote:
>> >> >
>> >> >> Todd;1839892 Wrote:
>> >> >> > Hi All,
>> >> >> >
>> >> >> > My favorite weed: Purslane.
>> >> >> >
>> >> >> > Great for us.
>> >> >> > Cooked: 1 cup, 4 grams carb
>> >> >> > Raw (my favorite): 1 cup, 1 gram carb
>> >> >> >
>> >> >> > According to tis proponents, it is the single most
>> >> >> > nutritious plant on the face of this earth. More
>> >> >> > Omega 3 that even fish oil.
>> >> >> >
>> >> >> > 'Purslane Recipes from Prairieland Community Supported
>> >> >> > Agriculture, Prairieland CSA, PCSA, Champaign, Illinois'
>> >> >> > (http://www.prairielandcsa.org/recipes/purslane.html)
>> >> >> >
>> >> >> > Mark Sisson (Mark's Daily Blog) has a nice write
>> >> >> > up and picture too:
>> >> >> >
>> >> >> > 'Why Does the FDA Call This Omega-3-Rich Green a Weed? |
>> >> >> > Mark's Daily Apple'
>> >> >> > (http://www.marksdailyapple.com/purslane/)
>> >> >> >
>> >> >> > The stuff grows in my rocks all around my house.
>> >> >> > I don't water it. I step on it. No TLC whatsoever.
>> >> >> >
>> >> >> > Love to eat it raw. In salads, on burgers, just
>> >> >> > by itself. Tastes a little bit like watercress.
>> >> >> > And, I always feel better when I eat this weed.
>> >> >> > My Wife's eyes sparkle when I pick and wash her
>> >> >> > up a hand full. It doesn't last more than a few
>> >> >> > minutes in the house.
>> >> >> >
>> >> >> > Okay, for those of you who haven't gone through
>> >> >> > an Economic Botany course in college, a weed it not
>> >> >> > what you think it is:
>> >> >> >
>> >> >> > 1) It must be a previous agricultural "discard"
>> >> >> > (Dandelions, plantain are other good examples).
>> >> >> >
>> >> >> > 2) its seeds must be very small or mimic those
>> >> >> > of other seeds. (Purslane's are really small.)
>> >> >> >
>> >> >> > 3) it must grow on "disturbed" soil, like were I
>> >> >> > walk. (Ever notice that Dandelions grow in cow
>> >> >> > pastures but not on wild land?)
>> >> >> >
>> >> >> > So, EAT THE WEED! (I will control myself, eventually.)
>> >> >> >
>> >> >> >
>> >> >> >
>> >> >> > One person's weed, is another persons delicacy!
>> >> >>
>> >> >> Wow never even heard of that stuff. Swear hanging out on here is a
>> >> >> little going to night school at college. Sorry to hear about the
>> >> >> weed definition. Im thinking of one which aint never been an aggie
>> >> >> discard..got nice sized seeds and dont like having its soil messed
>> >> >> with too much. Somebody will need to rename Wacky Weed..hmmm
>> >> >
>> >> > "A weed is but an unloved flower."
>> >> > - Ella Wilcox
>> >> >
>> >> > "What is a weed? A weed is a plant whose virtues have not yet been
>> >> > discovered."
>> >> > - Ralph Waldo Emerson
>> >>
>> >> A grandchild invited herself and her sister to grandma's nettle soup.
>> >> A little late in the season, but grandpa went out to pick the raw
>> >> materials, grandma made spinach soup with stinging nettle instead of
>> >> spinach, with delicious result. Also with more vitamins and other good
>> >> stuff. Try it next spring - pick the tips before they sprout flowers!
>> >> Nettle was also used as a source of textile fiber - in the fall, so
>> >> don't wait too long to try.
>> >
>> > Late in the season?! My god, did they have to do a tonguectomy? I
>> > thought that once nettles became painful, all you could do was make tea
>> > with them. It's not that bad. Stinging Nettle is also supposed to be
>> > very good as a companion plant for bringing out the flavors of culinary
>> > herbs.
>>
>> :-)
>> Thanks for the tea tip!
>>
>> To prepare for soup, just dip in boiling water until soft - a few seconds
>> - then chop, or run in blender, also a few seconds. Then proceed as with
>> spinach. "Late in the season" means that the lower part of the stems are
>> developing fibers, similar to linen fibers. Cloth is made from nettles in
>> much the same way as linen, but much softer,
>> closer to cotton in feel. Has probably been used that way for about 4000
>> years ...
>
> Just to make sure that we are all on the same page, we are talking about
> stinging nettles (Urtica dioica), right? THere are all sorts of nettles.
> Nettles constitute between twenty-four and thirty-nine species of
> flowering plants of the genus Urtica in the family Urticaceae, with
> mainly a temperate distribution.

Urtica dioica is the one, yes, it's a perennial. Here there's also a small
annual species, Urtica urens, much rarer and also stinging.

> More . . .
>
> <http://www.thekitchn.com/stinging-nettles-8-recipes-for-145582>
>
> Stinging Nettles: 8 Recipes for Spring Cooking

Thank you! Bookmarked.

> (Makes my mouth hurt just thinking about it.)

Why? It's not as if they can still sting after cooking? Unlike chili peppers
that keep burning my mouth for a long time ...