Wildcrafting & Foraging

Free Eats ~ Cooking Up Foraged Greens From My Backyard

Foraged greens - ready to cook
Foraged greens - ready to cook
Mixed greens from my backyard – ready to cook.

Cooking Foraged Greens

Free Food from My Backyard

I don’t have spinach or lettuce ready in my garden yet…heck, the snow just melted last week! But I have weeds and perennial greens coming up in my backyard, free for the picking.

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It’s a great feeling to go out and pick a bowl of greens to cook for dinner…no trip to the store, no checking for recall notices…just fresh greens from my garden and weed patch to the saute pan!

Cooking up a pan of foraged greens
Cooking fresh greens for dinner….yum!

Fresh Greens Ready for Harvest:

Try planting Perennial Vegetables for Self Sufficiency!

plate of cooked greens - foraged from my backyard
Cooked greens with a little honey mustard sauce drizzled on top…(almost) free dinner!


Cooking Up Your Greens

After harvesting enough greens for dinner, wash them thoroughly and braise them in a little bit of water on medium heat. When the greens are tender (about 10 minutes), remove from heat and dish up!

You can serve with butter, salt and pepper, soy sauce, a little dressing of your choice, or you can crumble bacon over the top.

Don’t waste the juice!

Don’t dump the juice down the drain. There are a lot of nutrients in it and you can drink it as a hot or cold tea, add lemon and honey if desired. You can also add the juice to water for cooking pasta or rice, or add it to your chickens’ water. If nobody wants it, use it to water your garden!

Forage With Care

Any time you are foraging for wild edibles, be sure to use a guide book to make sure you don’t get sick eating misidentified plants!

Do you forage for wild edibles or grow perennial vegetables in your garden? What are your favorites?


4 Comments on “Free Eats ~ Cooking Up Foraged Greens From My Backyard

  1. I love the idea of foraging for edibles. I’ve been interested in it ever since I learned of the book on the subject written by Former President Jimmy Carter. (I live in Georgia).

    1. I didn’t know that President Carter wrote a book on foraging…you learn something new every day. 🙂

      Thanks for stopping by, Mandy. I hope you find some wild edibles to try!

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