Backyard Smorgasbord

**preachtheWORD** · 04-12-2010, 01:59 PM

Now that spring has finally arrived in the mountains, the wild edible plants are making their appearance. I decided to see what kind of wild edibles I could find in my backyard in about 5 minutes without too much effort. (Translation - I don't want to dig, peel, cook, or do anything but wash the stuff off and eat it.)

It turns out that you can make a pretty mean salad behind my house.
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TOP ROW (L-R): Violet greens and flowers, Daylily sprouts (the tender part),
Dandelion flowers and leaves (the blanched part at the bottom), Wild Onion (I was too lazy to dig for the bulbs, which are small this time of year anyway).
BOTTOM ROW (L-R): Broadleaf Plantain (very small this time of year), Redbud flowers (these were NOT from my backyard, but about a 5 minute drive away), Wood Sorrell, Sheep Sorrell, and Mint.

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The resulting salad was considerably more bitter and "peppery" than the typical salad of store-bought ingredients, but it was pretty good with some Italian Dressing. I wish I could have thought of some kind of "wilderness salad dressing" to go with it so it could be completely "authentic."

You certainly couldn't call it eating like a king, but there is a very rewarding feeling of self-sufficiency to know if it came down to it, you could live off of the weeds in your backyard for at least a little while.

**Ken** · 04-12-2010, 02:02 PM

Amazing what a little lemon juice will do to those greens.

**preachtheWORD** · 04-12-2010, 02:10 PM

Originally Posted by Ken

Amazing what a little lemon juice will do to those greens.

Now if I just had a lemon tree growing nearby to forage from ...

**Batch** · 04-12-2010, 04:54 PM

A wine vinegar should be straight forward. I believe if you just ferment your wine without an airlock then you'll get a vinegar. You won't be able to do that with store bought wine because they add inhibitors to the commercial wines.

I know you can distill oils from plants. I would assume there are other things that can be pressed to get oil out of like they do with olives.

**Ted** · 04-12-2010, 08:16 PM

I like your style PTW! I thought I was the only one here that sort of thing. I firmly belive everthing that can be eaten raw shold be eaten raw.

Now load me up a bowl please, got some creamy cucumber dressing!... lol!

**crashdive123** · 04-12-2010, 08:23 PM

Looks like a colorful lunch. Nice.

**your_comforting_company** · 04-12-2010, 09:51 PM

I'm curious how filling it was versus the energy you felt you got from it. I bet it wasn't nearly as heavy or filling but did a number on your appetite.

Those are all readily available in my yard too, maybe I'll try this recipe

**lucznik** · 04-12-2010, 09:59 PM

Originally Posted by preachtheWORD

I wish I could have thought of some kind of "wilderness salad dressing" to go with it so it could be completely "authentic."

You could pull a "Bear Grylls" and just pee on it. I'm sure he'd descibe it as a "yellow wine vinagrette."

**Rick** · 04-12-2010, 10:35 PM

Why couldn't you thin some honey with water for a salad dressing? Any kind of fruit like persimmon or berries could be added to provide some flavor. Or...mix in some soft cheese with the honey and heat it. That should render something on the order of a dip. Just some thoughts off the top of my head.

**preachtheWORD** · 04-13-2010, 07:39 AM

Originally Posted by your_comforting_company

I'm curious how filling it was versus the energy you felt you got from it. I bet it wasn't nearly as heavy or filling but did a number on your appetite.

Those are all readily available in my yard too, maybe I'll try this recipe

It filled the tank for a while, and a whole lot better than a salad of iceberg lettuce would. I imagine there is a lot more fiber in wild greens. At least, it was a lot more challenging to chew!

I think it did provide some energy, although I did get hungry again pretty soon. (But then, I'm always hungry.)

After eating my first real bowl of "wild salad," here is my verdict: I would eat it again, and it was pretty good. I would say that you could sustain life off of it for a while. But very soon I would be wishing for some PROTEIN!

By the way, great ideas for the dressing, guys. (Besides the "Bear Grylls Vinagrette.") I will have to try some of those things!