Free Food!

Stinging nettles.  As a kid, I avoided these prickly plants at all cost – youch!

Well, we ATE young nettles for the first time a couple of years ago as last-minute dinner guests at a monastery.  The gracious nuns had no idea we were coming, but supplied an elegant meal anyway.  When I asked about the delicious "greens," I learned they were nettles from the woods - young plants that hadn't yet reached knee height. 

So guess what?  Nettles are growing profusely at the back of our new property across the street!  And we had some for dinner last night! I mean really, who can resist FREE FOOD – especially organic free food that is chock full of nutrition?

It goes without saying (but I’m saying it anyway just in case you’ve not encountered nettles personally) I wore rubber gloves when harvesting these scratchy leaves.  BUT! Within the first 30 seconds of boiling in a pot of hot water, the prickles disappeared.  After a few minutes, the wilted leaves looked and tasted similar to cooked spinach.

Here are some nettles growing in their natural habitat at the edge of the woods.

And here they are in my kitchen pre-and-post boiling.

To complete this little documentary, they finally they made it into a pie plate as the lead ingredient for a rich nettle soufflé (I made it up, sort of like something I used to do with spinach) which was served alongside button mushrooms sautéed in coconut oil:

 

In case you’re curious (or freaked out) as a result of this report, I’ll include an excerpt from a web site called Organic Facts: 

“Some of the most important health benefits of stinging nettle include its ability to detoxify the body, improve metabolic efficiency, boost immune health, increase circulation, improve energy levels, manage menstruation, minimize menopausal symptoms, heal skin conditions, protect kidney and gallbladder health, lower inflammation, increase muscle mass, regulate hormonal activity, prevent diabetes, lower blood pressure, soothe hemorrhoids, and improve respiratory conditions.”

You can check out more info here if you’re inspired:  http://www.organicfacts.net/health-benefits/herbs-and-spices/stinging-nettle.html