salmon-nettle soup with all native ingredients

[DOSphantom]

hmm... I usually just shoot(reactive target) and chop horsetails before they over take the yard, which happens fast.

When it comes to nettles I use those in drinks. Hops are expensive so I forge for things to substitute in my home brew, and in WA there's quite a few things growing in any given urban area.

[n2488]

the Romans brought nettles and rabbits to England to eat or make wine with (not the rabbits) yet no one eats them today they just moan about them

[MacNutz2]

Many of the farmers and other Irish people who survived the Irish potato famines did so with the help of nettle soup and other natural foods that were plentiful but invisible if you don't know what to look for. Prepared correctly natural/wild foods are really good to eat as well as nutritional.

What good is it?? What good is it to learn anything? Ignorance is blis...ters

[ssmayer]

They taste great, really. They are incredible with butter. We see them growing everywhere, they aren't exotic in these parts whatsoever. My Aunt Sylvia (Friday Harbor,) would serve them with mixed with beet greens.

[permados]

Nettles are hardly exotic here in Montana. They tend to grow really well in disturbed landscapes. Plenty of those around.

[IamDemetri00]

Great video! Keep em' coming!

[Breal191]

Umm, gimmie some, salivating.

[vutEwa]

Thanks for sharing Paul! Have you got anyone with recipes or ideas for using the greens of Salvia Hispanica? (Chia).

[MrMadmax478]

Didn't know Nettles were eatable....

[opcn18]

What toxins are our bodies supposed to be cleansing themselves of? No one on the planet seems to be able to speak specifically about this.

[hbohan08]

@opcn18 Good question: here is one specific answer from Mathew Woods- Book of Herbal Wisdom- Nettle 'removes uric acid waste products [which we get from eating our American diet in heavy doses] ... by using protein building-blocks and not allowing them to pass uselessly into the general economy of the system. Nettle is a remedy that gets the job done." There is also a specific constituent whose name I am tracking down, that helps release toxins/fats that have attached to the intestinal lining.

[opcn18]

@hbohan08 I looked it up, and while it seems to be a diuretic I doubt that it would flush a great deal more uric acid from the body than simply drinking a glass of water (which you have to drink anyways after you have a diuretic). Uric acid doesn't build up from preserved foods any more than fresh foods, and I can't find any data on pubmed about Nettles and gout. I think that it is unlikely that uric acid is a "toxin" and nettles help flush from the body.

[permados]

@opcn18

There are lots of things the body could stand to cleanse itself of that we commonly ingest. Pesticide and fertilizer residues come to mind. As well chemical additives and preservatives that appear in our most common packaged foods. A toxin could be anything that negatively influences the healthy functioning of the body. Even things the body needs when ingested in heavy doses would be toxic.

[opcn18]

@permados And what specific toxins are Nettles supposed to be clearing out? That's my question. For someone to have made the claim that they clear toxins surely some one must have some sort of evidence that they clear a specific toxin? Or is the claim just one person after another parroting a false statement?

[pankisst]

nettles are nutricious and mildly medicinal, they make plants growing near them healthier, they're a compost accelerator, the fibres can be treated and used just like linen. they can be cooked like spinach, blended raw into a smoothie, the stingers are gone once blended, make a system tonic tea, and more.

[hbohan08]

Many of us are working towards more healthy, sustainable food systems & these wild foods have an important place in many peoples diets, & are more and more widely distributed to restaurants, markets. Many of these foods are 'weeds' which grow in empty lots, alleys, roadsides etc in abundance or can also be cultivated or managed for harvest. My work with this is specifically related to restoring traditional food and knowledge for native communities for health, so this is far more than a hobby.

[chickenbonewatt]

Love it. Ate my first small salad with some dandelion and sorrel leaves in it and I am looking for some nettles to cook now that I have some recipes (courtesy of Paul and his gang!)

[vention4wh]

Man I got to get out to my property on Whidbey island. There are massive amounts of nettles out there. They spring up like weeds every spring and you have to knock a bunch down to clear the camping spot. Last year while clearing a spot a big nettle whacked me hard across the face (OUCH!). Glad to hear there's a use for those things. I like making bean soup with lettuce, onions and such. I'll try adding nettles as soon as I get them.

[MrOnionbags]

I like to see people enjoy all the wholesome goodness of these exotic plants, but seriously what use does the Average person have for this?

[paulwheaton12]

@MrOnionbags For one thing, you can walk out your door and probably find nettles easily.

Since nettle season is here (for many states) I'm trying t push up my nettle footage.

Plus, I do like to see all of these other wild foods getting eaten. With knowledge of wild foods comes a huge freedom - once you have the knowledge of how to live in the wild, you go to work each day as a choice, not as an obligation.

[ahnamay]

@MrOnionbags Gosh, there are many reasons this can be useful to the average person. In addition to what Paul said, nettles grow earlier in the wild than most any spinach or cultivated green in the garden and they are more nutritious, too. Wild harvesting, or encouraging these kinds of plants in your yard or garden, means free food. What average person wouldn't want a lower grocery bill?

[opcn18]

@MrOnionbags The average person has access to lots of different but strange edible plants. The average person just lacks the knowledge to maker use of them. This video is a start towards providing that knowledge.

[behindthewaterfall]

@MrOnionbags Couple of thoughts:

1. I too think of these plants as "exotic" but in reality they are the exact opposite (if you live in the PNW). It probably says a lot about our society today that we think of native plants as "exotic".

2. If you grow native plants in your yard, generally speaking they require much less resources and care than non-native plants. In most cases they require NO care once they are established.

3. They provide food and shelter for native species, especially insects.