I ain't mad at cha...

You never know what you're going to find in a German forest, sometimes it might be an edible plant and sometimes it might be this--

 

 But you know, Tupac ain't mad at cha for putting this sticker in the most obscure place EVER. 

And I ain't mad with the bounty I scored...tons of choice dandelions, wild garlic and stinging nettles. I brought them home to the place where I'm couch surfing this weekend and promised a meal. The Italian guy said, "My girlfriend told me you were going to feed us with things you found on the ground for dinner." But wait, isn't most food from the ground in one way or another? Eh, whatevs. Needless to say, we made a rad dinner if I do say so, and I even managed to cook with the bottle of wine I bought the other day which was undrinkable from its opening.

Dinner

 

dandy salad

* dandelion greens + flowers

* sliced/diced/chopped kohlrabi + raddish + cucumber +  tomato+ wild garlic

* canned corn--Germans like to add this to salads and pizza

* balsamic + EVOO + spices to taste

veggies + red wine tomato sauce 

(adapted from stone e soup's 5 ingredients | 10 minutes-- pasta with butter beans & red wine)

* soak stinging nettles in hot water to remove sting

* chop then saute onions + EVOO 

* add spices + chopped zucchini, aubergine, tomatoes, mushrooms to the sautee

* after browned, deglaze pan with red wine

* after a couple minutes add tomato sauce OR more whole fresh tomatoes + wild garlic

* cook until flavors are melded together

* add chickpeas or pasta if you like

* top with parmesan

notes on Stinging Nettles: Where I'm from, nettles don't just grow everywhere, you really have to search, but here they're everywhere.  When I first moved here, I mistook nettles for lemon balm, and was sorely surprised when I reached out to touch the plant and was stung. Now I know how to deal with them--DON'T touch. Though, the Danish farmer I work with calls the stings health injections--yikes! 

Here are the medicinal uses for nettles--allergies (especially hay fever), arthritis, immune health, treating dandruff, lactation, topically for inflammation of all types, urinary tract infections. Also, allowing the plant to sting an area with pain, is said to reduce the pain. 

For eating nettles, pick young leaves--spring is the best time to indulge since the leaves are all new. Nettles have vitamins A, C, iron, potassium, manganese, and calcium. Nettles can also be dried and used as a tea.

As a companion plant--they are high in nitrogen and can be a good fertilizer. They also grow where there is abundant phosphorous.