Salad with Spring Flowers

There are several edible flowers blooming now. Yellow and purple go really well together, don't you think? So maybe Redbud and Forsythia flowers together would look nice on a salad.

Some people have described Redbud flowers as tasting spicy, but I couldn't detect that flavor. They're just incredibly sweet and yummy. The Forsythia flowers didn't have much flavor, but they were necessary for the color scheme to work.


Chickweed Salad with Forsythia and Redbud Blossoms

Actually, the taste of the flowers got lost in the taste of the stronger greens. I think I'll try the Redbud flowers on ice cream instead. That way the flavor won't be overwhelmed and they'll still look really pretty.


A Young Thistle

If you've ever tried artichokes then you've eaten a thistle. Wild thistles can be eaten as well. This one isn't to that stage yet, but when it flowers (if it can dodge the mower) it will have a flower spike that can be harvested at a foot or two high. Peel it and you've got a tender vegetable that you can steam or eat raw. It's really pretty good, kind of like celery.

I suppose you could eat the leaf bases as well, as long as they were peeled. Haven't tried that yet though. There may not be enough tender flesh to bother.


The Nettles Are Getting Lanky

I'm going to pick the tender tops of these nettles. They may be getting a little old so I'll let you know how they turn out. It's getting ready to freeze and I don't know how cold hardy these plants are. I guess we'll find out!

Once nettles get tough and flavorless, you can still use them to make a great hair rinse. I suppose that an infusion steeped from the older leaves would also be full of vitamins and minerals. Nettles are a nutritional powerhouse.