Along with the veggies in our garden, there are a bunch of delicious, edible flowers in our yard.
We have a ton of day lilies which last, of course, only a day. So each evening I gather up that day’s blossoms and put them in our salad. I love the way they taste, a bit like you’d expect a flower to taste, but not quite so floral. Not like a rose, a little more celery-like. Sam’s even started picking them off the plants to sample!
The beet greens are up and are making an appearance in our salads. I try not to pick too many though, so the roots can keep growing big; I love beets!
I even put a few pansies in this batch! We don’t have as many of those though, and they don’t replenish themselves as quickly as the lilies, so they’re more of a treat.
I also tossed in whatever herbs needed to be pinched off and trimmed back; basil, dill (my favorite!), cilantro…Last night we baked up some home fries, put a little goat cheese and turkey on the salad and had it with a fried egg; it was the perfect quick and satisfying summer meal. I love summer food!
Another thing I’ve been wanting to add to my salads is weeds(!); we certainly have plenty! When I was growing up my dad would gather dandelion green and buds (those were my favorite part) and Pig Weed (also called Lambs Quarter) and steam them like you would spinach or any other green. They were delicious with a little vinegar or lemon juice. I know you can eat nettles, purslane, ramps and quite a few others; I just haven’t taken the time to really get into it yet.
Do you do any wild foraging, or add anything unusual to your salads?
