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.

This post contains affiliate ads…you will not pay any extra for these products, but I will make a small commission from the sale. Thank you!

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!

Fresh Greens Ready for Harvest:

• Dandelion greens and flower buds
• Stinging Nettle
• Garlic Mustard
• Horseradish leaves
• French Sorrel
• Egyptian Walking Onion

Try planting Perennial Vegetables for Self Sufficiency!

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?