Presentation continued

Some Other Common Weeds

Cattails have many food uses throughout the year. The young roots and stalks can be prepared like asparagus for a pleasant cooked vegetable. Even the immature flower spikes can be eaten as a vegetable. As with acorns, cattail pollen can be collected, dried, and used as a flour. Flour can also be made from mature rootstock gathered in the fall. Crush and pull fibers from the root core in a pan of cold water. The rootstock’s starch will settle to the bottom. Rinse and dry the flour before using.

Chicory, like dandelion, has similar uses. A coffee-like drink can be made from the roasted root of either plant. The drink is a pleasant, non-caffeinated beverage. The sky blue flowers are also edible and make a terrific addition to salads.

Day lilies are another versatile edible wild plant. The young flower buds can be eaten as a cooked green, not unlike green beans. The flowers are also edible. As will dandelion buds, batter and fry them as fritters. However, exercise caution when collecting day lilies. While most parts are edible, the roots are toxic.

Oaks have long been revered by ancient people and believed to be the first tree created. Acorns when shelled and boiled with several water changes, make a pleasant snacking nut or candy when dipped in sugar syrup. Acorns can also be ground and roasted to make flour. The flour has a delicate, nutty flavor. Because it is a heavy flour, it should be mixed with lighter flours before baking.

Cultivated Greens:

* Arugula * Asparagus * Beet greens (tops)
* Bok choy * Broccoli * Carrot tops
* Celery * Chard * Collard greens
* Endive * Escarole * Fresee
* Grape leaves * Kale (3 types) * Mitsuna
* Mustard greens * Pumpkin leaves * Radicchio
* Radish tops * Rhubarb * Spinach
* Romaine lettuce green and red leaf (no Iceberg or light colored leaf)

Do plants “want” us to eat their trunk and roots? Nope. Without roots, plants would instantly die. That is why the roots are hidden in the ground. The sweetness in roots is meant for specific beneficial microorganisms in the soil that are fed off of tiny rootlets. The trunk is also vital for the life of the plant and is purposely covered with hard and bitter bark. And what about the greens? Here, plants demonstrate their perfect ability to develop symbiosis with different creatures. Plants “allow” humans and animals to eat ALL of their fruits, but only PART of their leaves, because plants need to have leaves for their own use - which is manufacturing chlorophyll. However, plants depend on moving creatures for many different reasons, like pollination, fertilizing the soil, and hanging around to help eat the ripe fruit. For this reason, plants accumulate a lot of highly nutritious elements in their leaves, but mix these nourishing ingredients with either bitterness or very small amounts of alkaloids (poisons). That is how animals are forced to rotate their menu and that is why all wild animals are browsers. They eat a small amount of one thing, then move on to many other plants during the course of the day. The body is capable of easily detoxifying small amounts of a great many things, but it is much more difficult for the human system to get rid of a large amount of one type of poison. This is why it is crucial for us to learn to rotate the greens in our diet. Chimpanzees also rotate the green plants they eat. They go through approximately 117 different plants in one year.[2] We humans need to learn to alternate our variety of greens as much as possible instead of eating only iceberg lettuce, spinach and romaine.
Despite their names and appearances, cultivated greens have similar nutritional content. To meet our nutritional needs, it is essential that we learn to include greens from a number of totally different plant families into our daily diets.

Weeds:

* Borage leaves and flowers * Chicory greens and flowers * Chickweed
* Clover * Dandelion (greens and flowers) * Fiddlehead ferns
* Lambsquarters * Malva * Miner’s lettuce
* Plantain * Purslane * Sorrel
* Stinging nettles

Wild edibles often contain more vitamins and minerals than commercially marketed plants. Weeds have not been “spoiled” with farmers’ care in contrast to the “good” plants of the garden. In order to survive in spite of constant weeding, pulling, and spraying, weeds had to develop strong survival properties. For example, in order to stay alive without being watered, most weeds have developed unbelievably long roots. Alfalfa’s roots grow up to 20 feet long reaching for the most fertile layers of the soil. As a result, all wild plants possess more nutrients than commercially grown plants.

Sprouts:

* Alfalfa * Broccoli * Clover
* Fenugreek * Radish * Sunflower

Approximately from the third to the sixth day of their life, sprouts contain higher levels of alkaloids, as a means of protection from animals nipping them off and killing them.[3] That doesn’t mean that sprouts are poisonous or dangerous, but only that we cannot live on sprouts alone. Most sprouts are rich in B-vitamins and have a hundred times more nutrients than a fully developed plant because sprouts need more nutrition for their fast growing period.
(from an article by Victoria Boutenko, she also wrote a book "Green for Life")

Amaranth

One of the more interesting edible plants in North America is Amaranth. This plant’s use dates back to the pre-Columbian Aztecs and has long been used for its grain and medicinal purposes. In Mexico, the seeds are roasted for a traditional drink called “atole”. Peruvians use it to make beer and in other regions to treat toothaches and fevers.
Amaranth is a bush plant that grows 3-10 feet tall. There are vegetable and grain varieties. Plants will produce up to 50,000 seeds each. Amaranth is very hearty and will grow in your garden, or just about anywhere and reseeds itself. The grain is very nutritious, and the leaves are on par with spinach, which it’s related to.
Amaranth is high in protein, lysine and methionine, essential amino acids. It’s higher in fiber than wheat and has calcium, iron, potassium, phosphorus, vitamins A and E.
There are many varieties, one of which, Spiny Amaranth, is shown to control blood glucose, which could be very useful in a long-term crisis situation.
To harvest the seeds, cover the plant lightly with a non-pourous bag, gently tip the plant to the side and shake. You’ll need to winnow to separate all the debris that may come along. Amaranth grain must be cooked before eating. You can use as a cooked cereal, ground it into flour, pop it like popcorn, sprout it and toast it. You can also add the grain to soups and stews as a thickener. Amaranth flour is useful in pasta and all baked goods, but must be mixed with other flour for yeast breads as it contains no gluten - which makes it perfect for those with gluten allergies.

Boil 1 cup of seeds in 2 1/2 cups liquid for about 18-20 minutes, until they are tender. It has a sticky texture, so shouldn’t be overcooked as it will become gummy. It has a mild, nutty flavor almost like Quinoa, but without any bitterness.

To store the grain long-term, package in an air-tight container with oxygen absorbers. It should store in a dry, cool place for up to two years. Amaranth has a hard outer shell which makes it store longer than buckwheat or Quinoa.

You can cook the young leaves like spinach and you can use the sprouts in sandwiches and salads.

Interesting Links to check out:

- www.northernbushcraft.com/plants/index.htm - Wild Edible Plants of the Pacific Northwest - this guide covers wild edible plants of British Columbia, Oregon, Washington, Montana, Idaho, and the Rocky Mountains.
- www.herbvideos.com/ewpindex.htm – click on “mountain” for list of plants that grow in our region
- buybcwild.com/buy-bcwild-directory - A free guide to products from the WILDS of BC. It includes lots of recipes, too. Click on the picture of the book to get the download (pdf).
- www.for.gov.bc.ca/hfd/pubs/docs/Lmh/Lmh03.htm – for a free downloadable (pdf) guide to over 300 plant species native to BC.

(There was also a chart about edible weeds - but it wouldn't import properly into the blog....)