Garlic Mustard Pesto Pasta

Garlic mustard, Alliaria petiolata in the Brassicaceae family, is loved by foragers and hated by environmentalists.  It is considered an egregious invasive weed.  Thus, the best way to deal with this plant in honor of both groups is to just eat it!

It is super good for you as it contains vitamins A, C, E and B vitamins. It also contains calcium, iron, potassium, magnesium, manganese, selenium, and copper.  It is a heart shaped thin delicate leaf with a flavor of mild mustard and a hint of garlic.  The flowers are white with four petals shaped like a cross.  If you try to dry the leaves, they become nearly transparently thin.  The best way to enjoy the plant is fresh.  Just a warning, it wilts quickly. The older it gets, the more bitter it becomes.  It is also more bitter under dry environment conditions.  It likes to grow in shady edges of woods.

vitamins A, C, E and some of the B vitamins. In addition this wild weed contains potassium, calcium, magnesium, selenium, copper, iron and manganese as well as omega-3 fatty acids. - See more at: http://www.ediblewildfood.com/blog/2012/04/eating-garlic-mustard-is-a-win-win/#sthash.ZNQMJifM.dpuf

vitamins A, C, E and some of the B vitamins. In addition this wild weed contains potassium, calcium, magnesium, selenium, copper, iron and manganese as well as omega-3 fatty acids. - See more at: http://www.ediblewildfood.com/blog/2012/04/eating-garlic-mustard-is-a-win-win/#sthash.ZNQMJifM.dpuf

Garlic Mustard Pesto Pasta

Ingredients:

Garlic mustard season is now!

1 box of your favorite pasta
4 cups garlic mustard leaves
1/2 cup pine nuts 
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Directions:

Add ingredients into food processor as listed and pulse until finely chopped.  Mixture will be stiff until olive oil is added, and then it will smooth out.

Meanwhile, boil pasta and drain.

Mix pesto into pasta a little at a time until desired consistency.  Freeze any remaining pesto for other use.  Top with additional Parmesan and serve!

Tons of garlic mustard!

Turkey, Anyone?

You can totally hunt wild turkey, and it would be so fitting for this blog.  But I didn't.  Instead I bought six frozen young turkeys (12 lbs each) this week at GFS for .49 per lb.  I definitely did not have room in my freezer for turkeys so I decided to can them.  Yes, I spent my week baking and boiling six turkeys.  Phew! We will be eating turkey for the next year.  However, considering I only spent around $36, I think that is a great deal!  It will make throwing together dinner so easy.

To can turkey, all you do is cook it, cut it up, put the chunks in clean jars, pour either water or broth over them and pressure can them at 75 minutes for pints or 90 minutes for quarts at 10 lbs.  I chose to use broth which I made by boiling the bones plus balsamic vinegar, a couple of pieces of ham hock (to give it a smoky flavor), and some wild seasoning (garlic mustard, dandelion greens, garlic chives).  If anyone is interested, you can fully cook a turkey in two hours by boiling it, so long as you have a pot big enough!  I cooked two of them this way and really could not tell a difference in the meat after skinning and cutting.  You can use the broth from this cooking method to can as well.

Six young turkeys produced 34 pints of turkey and 28 pints of broth.  I have an additional three sets of turkey bones in the freezer for future broth making, which I would have done, but ran out of steam!

Spring Park Foraging!

I like to take walks in our local parks at different times of the year because you will find unique plants at each visit.  These photos are from Concord Park in Brentwood, Tennessee and the Franklin Recreation Center nature walkway in Franklin, Tennessee.

Violet, flowers and leaves are edible.  The leaves are great for salads and can be used as a spinach substitute in recipes.  They are also a tonic for the body’s lymph system and are rich in vitamin C.  The leaves are not stringy like plantain but are chewy.  They taste a bit spicy and nutty.  These plants are abundant right now!

Wood Nettle, Laportea canadensis, cousin to Stinging Nettle, the darling of foraging and a plant I have yet to locate in this area.  This can be used just like Stinging Nettle.  The stings on Wood Nettle are not as virulent as the Stinging Nettle but you should use gloves to pick.  It is a powerhouse of nutrition.  Once boiled the stings are gone.  This is great to flash blanch and freeze for future recipes!  It tastes green with a peppery zing, a favorite among foragers.

Star-of-Bethlehem, Ornithogalum umbellatum, not edible, however the bulb of the plant has been used in herbal medicine.  It contains chemicals that have an action similar to a prescription drug called digoxin used for congestive heart failure.

I am not an expert on mushrooms so I submitted this to a mushroom group to which I belong.  Their determination is that this is Pheasant's Back, aka Dryad's Saddle, Polyporus squamosus. It smells a bit like a cross between watermelon and cucumber! You can dehydrate them, crush them and used them to flavor different soups. You can treat them like any other mushroom...bread and fry.  It is one of the few mushrooms that can be eaten raw.  Always confirm mushrooms identification through multiple sources before eating!

Virginia Blue Bell, Mertensia virginica, flowers and leaves are edible.  Native Americans used this plant to treat respiratory illnesses.

Fleabane Daisy, Erigeron philadelphicus.  An herbal infusion of the roots has been used by Native Americans to treat coughs, colds and diarrhea.  Supposedly it is a bug repellant, thus the name Fleabane.

Close up of Garlic Mustard.

Garlic Mustard, aka Jack-by-the-Hedge, Alliaria petiolata, to some an invasive noxious weed but to others a favorite wild edible.  It has a two year growth cycle, the first as a small plant when it looks similar to Violets and Creeping Charlie, and in the second year, it can grow up to three feet high.  It is mild tasting with a garlic flavor that hits you about ten seconds after you chew it.  In April, look for the white flowers with four petals in the shape of a cross.  You find this most at the edge of woods with partial sun.

Common Plantain, Plantago major, a ubiquitous edible wild plant.  It can be cooked and eaten like spinach.  In the fall it will produce a seed head that can be ground for flour if you have the patience to collect the seeds!  Medicinally, it is a fantastic skin healer and wonderful in salves.  You can even chew it up and put it on a bug bite or sting for relief.  Also in the photo is dandelions, one of the first wild edibles that most new foragers try as it is easy to identify and tasty.  The flowers make great syrup that tastes just like honey.

Dogwood tree.  Some Dogwoods, like the Kousa Dogwood produce red berries in the fall which are edible and have been used to make wine.  The blooms are out now so scout out some Dogwoods and check back in the fall to see if there are berries!  This one probably will not have the fruit as the Kousa Dogwood's petals have a more pointed flower petal.  But it's worth a look!

While I diligently research and use what I post, please remember to do your own research and be 100% sure of what you are trying.  It is best to try just a bit of a new plant first to see if you have an unknown to you allergy or reaction!  Keep in mind, one of the reasons that plants are in the grocery store is because they are the most tame and acceptable to the majority of people.  Wild plants are less predictable but are often the most nutritious!

Garlic Mustard Curry Egg Salad!

Garlic Mustard in bloom with white petals shaped like an "X".

This is a fantastic egg salad recipe with wonderful flavor!  I know this not just because I adore it, but because my mom took some home and texted me the next day saying how great it was on a sandwich at work!  She's never done that. Garlic mustard is growing in profusion in Middle Tennessee.  Now is the time to locate some and give it a try!  I have recently located this plant at Concord Park in Brentwood and at the Franklin Rec Center if you are local.

Garlic Mustard Curry Egg Salad

Ingredients:

1 dozen eggs, boiled, shelled and chopped
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup chopped garlic mustard leaves (about one handful)
1 small onion, chopped fine
1/2 t smoked paprika plus a few dashes for display
1 t curry powder
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Prepare eggs and chop vegetables.  Reserve a bit of chopped mustard to top dish.  Add eggs and vegetables to bowl and toss.  Add remaining ingredients.  Top with reserved mustard and dashes of paprika.

Serve as a salad or on crackers or bread! I served this on Ritz's Bacon Crackers which was fantastic.

Optional:  Celery is also a great addition to this salad if you have it available.