Monday, April 5, 2010

Nettles for Breakfast


Nettles are one of my favorite food herbs, and I look forward to being able to eat them early each Spring. This morning was the first time I cooked with them this year, sauteing them & incorporating them into scrambled eggs. Last week I did have some Nettle soup & Nettle souffle, but someone else cooked those.

For many years, I had to go to wild places to harvest the Nettles. I didn't want to transplant them into my garden, but I really did long for them to grow there. Finally, about three years ago, they came! Two little patches in a nice out-of-the-way place beside the house. I was ecstatic! Then last year, she decided to add another little patch of herself right at the edge of the patio. Hmmm. A more challenging position. Still, I've decided to leave her there. I usually try to allow the wild plants that grow in the garden to choose their own positions - after all, they know where they'll be happiest. So, Nettle beside the patio? That will be an ongoing exercise in being fully present and attentive, won't it?

2 comments:

Comfrey Cottages said...

she is wanting front and center in your life isn't she sarah? lol yes, stay present while walking barefoot in your garden:)

Maritzia said...

I had to remove the volunteer nettles around the front of the house because the dogs kept getting into them, and since one of my dogs has very little hair, she kept getting rashes.

However, I have a beautiful patch of nettles under the trees in the corner of our bigger yard (outside the dog fence), from which I get an awesome crop each year. As a matter of fact, it's all around my compost pile, so they get the best of nutrition *laughs*. I'm going to let them go to seed this year to try them for cortisol based anxiety, which my husband and I both have.