Fall Salads from Weeds and Flowers - original photos and foraging ID quiz
I had a really great salad yesterday, from weeds and flowers I picked here on my homestead. It didn't take long, just a quick walk around my yard. I really enjoy these kinds of salads. They are so fresh, tasty with complex flavors from having so many different plants, and really filling because they are so dense with nutrients!
Can you identify any of the 16 things that went into my salad? There are 14 different species in the mix.
I'm sorry you missed out on being able to read my post about foraging a fall salad from weeds and flowers. I removed my content because Steemit's 30-day period of active comments has expired - and I want to be able to hear from you. If you are interested in eating weeds, let me know in the comments to one of the active posts on my Steemit page. I will be happy to re-post my article on request.
I want to hear from you!
What weeds are you eating in your salads this fall? What weeds do you look forward to seeing again in the fall? If there are any specific plants from this salad, or others that I've posted about, that you want to know more about, let me know. I'll put together a post about it.
I write about foraging because I believe that we can all have lives that are richer, more secure, more grounded, and more interesting by getting to know the plants and the land around us – in our yards, our parks, and our wilderness.
I would like Steemit to be the premier site for Foraging on the Internet! If you have any thoughts about foraging, or experiences to share, write a post and be sure to use the Foraging tag. And check out the @foraging-trail to see curated quality posts about foraging. Happy Foraging!
** Haphazard Homestead **
*** foraging, gardening, nature, simple living close to the land ***
All content is 100% Haphazard Homestead - photos and all!
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*** foraging, gardening, nature, simple living close to the land ***
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Dandelion leaves, agreed. I usually pick up a few along with the plantain herb leaves. Munch. Haven't died yet.
Thanks for posting!
Glad you enjoyed it. Dandelions are so underappreciated. Plantain even more so, lol. Munch on!
I wish you lived close to me!
Thanks for those nice thoughts! You would probably be eating more weeds, if I lived close to you!
seriously cool...that's a gourmet looking salad. I munch on dandelion leaves on principle now when I see them. Even stopped the landlord pulling some out.
We have a really ratty looking mallow that grows out of the concrete hereabouts. I'm not too sure about it, but apparently the flowers are edible, so I'll let some go. We also have an epic little borage shrub that's just flowering, and the bees love it. When they're done I'll grab some. My in-laws do boil the leaves and add them to the table.
It sounds like you are a veteran weed-eater, too! :D
Some plants, like dandelions, have the best greens where they can grow fast and un-stressed. Where they are in the concrete, their greens are not so good. But, those scrawny, stressed plants can be a great source for flowers, as long as they aren't in a toxic location. I get some great dandelion flowers from plants that are in such bad shape! It sounds like your mallow is in the same situation.
I like borage, too. I think there's at least one salad that has it, in my post on making wild spring salads in 15 minutes or less. I'll try them cooked sometime, too. Thanks!
Thank you for posting. It was very knid of you to number and identify the different greens and such for your readers. Dandelions are always a favorite as are wild chives....thank you for giving information regarding other greens for foraging. Do you have nettles available to you? They were used by the English during War Two as a green...much like spinach....in quiches and such.
I'm glad you enjoy dandelions and chives! Nettles are good, too, but I don't have them right in my yard. I'd have to go down to the river to get them. I definitely like nettles in soup -- and in quiches, too, like you suggest. Enjoy your wild greens! :D
@haphazard-hstead - the master salad forager of Steemit :)
I do like my wild salads! There's more choice of greens to eat growing wild, than there are at the grocery store, lol. :D
Bagged salads must taste like strips of plastic after all that wildness!
Bagged salads just don't have much flavor at all, compared to fresh wild plants. Even fresh-picked garden lettuce isn't as flavorful as wild greens. But it does help to mix a lot of different greens together, because each one brings a different flavor - and it's the combination that is really special.
Nature 1 Bagged plastic crap 0 :))
Nature wins in the end, most of the time... weeds, especially, lol!
I would love to be able to forage myself but I am always afraid I will poison myself. I used to have a vegetable garden but it took so much time. Plus I got to admit going to the supermarket is just so much easier.
You put allot of work into this post naming all those species. Very educational and fun.
Not sure if I may give critique but I feel like your end salad picture could use a better styling. It doesn't look very appetizing. Of course in a world where we need to forage to live this wouldn't matter but we are not there yet and as of yet we still eat with our eyes as well.
I hope your post does well. It deserves it.
Thanks for your encouragement, even if you don't like what my food looks like. Do you think it's the photography that's off-putting or the food itself? We're not fancy here at Haphazard Homestead, and this is what I actually eat (and it is delicious). But I don't want to turn folks off of eating weeds, either, just because it looks bad.
I love to cook and I think the food itself must taste amazing. It must taste so fresh. The problem is that on a photo you can't smell or taste the food so the picture must make the food shine. I think you made the plate like I make a plate when I'm home alone. A big mountain of food. It's delicious but it doesn;t work as well for a photo. Try to keep it simple.
I would suggest that you reduce the amount of food on the plate. Put the salad in the middle and use a complete white plate so the salad looks extra green. Also try to play with different angles when taking photos. Considering the salad is the star of the dish I would only put a little bit of the mushrooms /onions/potatoes on the plate with the salad. Now it's 50/50, taking away the stardom of the salad. You could even consider using a separate plate for the condiments and put them in the background of the photo.
I was looking for some easy photo examples on google for inspiration:
I hope this helps.
I do appreciate you effort and views. I've been thinking, since your comment, about "homestead cooking" versus restaurant cooking or cooking for photo-shoots. This is what a I really eat. It's my dinner. I definitely see your point about having a separate dish for the salad vs. the mushrooms and potatoes!
Maybe my wild spring salads in this post are more in line with your recommendations, here: making wild spring salads.