Weeding and Eating in the Summertime

A few weeks ago I was agonizing in the garden, pulling up weeds in the hot sun and wondering if it would be worth it. You see, very little was available to harvest yet and it seemed that all there was to be had was piles and piles of weeds. And then, as I pulled and grumbled to myself, I noticed something. The plant in my hand wasn't blooming yet, but it had a distinctive feathery flower head. Furthermore, there were most certainly veins of red running down its stem and the root was also distinctly red. Could I be uprooting amaranth? Well, if it's growing here, it's still a weed, and I certainly didn't want it to head out and spill its seeds all over the cucumber patch, what a disaster that would be!

I decided to turn to the internet for more information and confirmed that this plant was, indeed amaranth. Furthermore, I didn't have to wait for its tasty seeds to enjoy it. The whole plant is perfectly edible. Just to make sure, I checked a couple of websites and some books I had around the house. Sure enough, amaranth and dinner. I quickly gathered all the amaranth I could find and whipped up a batch of beans and greens, with amaranth greens. It was delicious, and, I'm told, incredibly nutritious. Weeding has suddenly become so much fun!

So I started to wonder, what else could I be throwing away that is perfectly good eating? A few more minutes' research and I had my answer; Lamb's quarters and purslane.

Lamb's quarters is actually a very cute plant with silvery green, arrowhead shaped leaves decorated with serrations and some sort of powdery substance. The stem is squarish, but not quite as square as mint. These are delicious lightly steamed or used any way you would spinach or collard greens.

Purslane has become my favorite wild green. It is a juicy succulent, refreshing on a hot day, even still warm from the sun, and it has a mild lemony flavor. It is great raw in salads. I've never tried cooking it. It is extremely easy to recognize, and to munch on while sitting on the lawn. It is, as I mentioned, a succulent, and one of the few that grows well in this area without encouragement. It spreads along the ground on juicy stems that are often reddish. The leaves are emerald green, very pretty actually and grow opposite on the stem. The whole plant is smooth and hairless.

Finding these tasty weeds in the garden really added to my enjoyment of it. I'm going to make a habit of checking the identity of any weeds I find to see if they are useful in any way and make use of them! They are bonuses! But please, don't take my word for it. If you think you've found an edible weed, look it up and compare it to several different pictures before serving it for dinner!

Dawn Black is an up-and-coming author featured at Motorcitypagans.net and The Sacred Hearth. She can be reached by email at dawnblack@motorcitypagans.net