My Nipples are Wort?
On Saturday, a day that dawned glorious and sunny, i took a class with a friend wherein we learned to identify edible wild plants.
Evidence of glorious day.
The class was taught by a very earnest and knowledgeable couple.
Evidence of earnest couple. This is how we dress for everything in the Northwest, from foraging to the opera.
We started on the lawn. To my surprise, much of the local flora is not only edible but tasty. One of the most common plants in this area is called Nipplewort. Upon learning this, i took a personal vow to find a way to work the word 'Nipplewort' into my conversation as often as possible.
This is the salad the instructors provided for our lunch. It contains Mallow, Sheeps Quarters, Chive blossoms, Black Lotus flowers and of course, Nipplewort.
Veins on the back of a Cottonwood Tree leaf, also known as Balsam Poplar. These are the trees that make it look like it is snowing around here right now. No reason to ahow you this picture, i just thought it was pretty.
This plant is not edible, as implied by the name. Picture is out of focus because my arms, for once, were not long enough.
We had a wonderful time, and the class was greatly enhanced by the food that was passed out along the way, the most surprising of which was nettle dip. Doesn't that sound appetizing?
Nipplewort out.
25 comments:
"Wort" is what you call the early stages of beer...
So the mere mention of nipplewort sends some of us guys into tremulations of the unmentionables...
It's just too much all at once...
that Cottonwood Tree leaf picture is beautiful, could i steal it?
A new show on Fox news: Nettledip and Nipplewort. (I'll leave as an exercise for the reader to figure out which is conservative and which is liberal).
Oh FREE FOOD in the backyard! Now I really should move to Seattle! :)
Btw, the Nettle plants (or something like that) which you wrote a post about making Nettle Soup. I can't find it here Nemo! :(
And the stuff in your salad bowl picture - I don't think I have seen any of that here in Bend.
We do, however, have plenty of weeds like dandelions and clovers - which are probably edible too.
Your picture composition is really good btw.
scott, well wort'll you know! Beer and boobs, a potent combo.
furious, sure, steal away. let me know if you want me to email it to you w/more pixels.
bob, i can hear it now. "You, Mr. Nettledip, are a complete idiot." "No Mr. Nipplewort, it is you who are the deluded fool."
mother hen, I am all over the free part of this. And thank you!
What the hell? All this nipplewort business and you didn't even show us a picture of it? Now I'm gonna have to go look this stuff up. Thank you for the poison hemlock picture tho - always wondered what that looks like.
The salad looks wonderful! Don't you wish they could come with you whenever you hike (to keep you from killing yourself)?
You can't fool me. That looks like a bowl of lawn.
And nettle dip? My throat is itchy and stinging just thinking about it. I'll need a big glass of dock leaf soda to wash it down.
We had actual drifts of Cottonwood "snow" on our street.
I wouldn't be able to say "Nipplewort" without laughing, which would completely ruin the whole point of working it into the conversation!
That salad looks deeelish. It would have been fun to take that class with you ~ we could have shot each other raised eyebrows from across the circle.
fiwa, sorry, i thought the link would be enough. It's just a green leaf thing.
mrs4444, i never eat anything i am not sure of. Well, except at my mother's house! :)
daisy, pretty much, but without the spiders.
de, isn't it pretty? I just think they look like magic flying around.
sari, me neither, that's the point.
qt, it was wonderful! You would have loved the class. It was a PERFECT day, weatherwise too.
Cottonwoods are lovely but my nemesis... AAHHHH CHOOOO
Love me some chive blossoms.. one of my favs!
Hey. I want Neil Young's hot brother to talk to ME about nipples...something. Did you have to eat it plain or did you make some sort of mushy green dressing too?
I certainly wouldn't recognise nipplewort if I saw it. I'd probably recognise a nipple wart though.
I think your nipplewort salad could use a slab o' beef on it. Just sayin'.
Heh. :-D
Sounds like a fun outing. You know I'm about to google Nipplewort though!
I kind of agree with Mrs4444 and would be a bit afraid of eating something that I THOUGHT was okay but really wasn't. I figure it is safe if it were grown at Safeway.
cheesy, i know lots of people are affected by them. I'm sorry, but they are pretty.
mignon, there was a wild huckleberry dressing that was magnificent. Mmmmm.
nick, ha ha! You're funny. Happy to say i've never seen a nipple wart.
cagey, oh, i'm all over the beef too, but i do love my veggies.
vanessa, it was fun, make sure you spell it right. :)
dick, coward! As if food "grown" at Safeway is all good for you.
Nipplewort! I love that name.
I've had lamb's quarters - is it the baby version of sheep's quarters?
Magpie stole my question. I used to eat Lamb's Quarters in Austin. We have them here, too.
Look out, Google images, here I come.
My partner thinks the yard is covered in weeds, I look forward to telling him it's just a salad in disguise. Of course, violets and wild strawberries are not as exotic sounding as nipplewort.
I've been told we can forage here for wild mushrooms to eat, but I'm afraid of making some horrendous mistake and either having a whole family of psychadelic highs or worse, some poisoned stomachs.
Nettle Dip does sound good. Nipplewort salad sounds even better.
Clover blossums are nummy.
I have been mourning the cottonwood tree that sprang up all by itself in the perfect spot to the right of my kitchen window. It keeps me company, but it must go so the roots don't grow into our house foundation.
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