how to eat NETTLES? and other green problems...

[kaybee]

Greens are in pretty short supply here--shouldnt be cuz its the middle of summer, but people just dont grow stuff here and most of the stuff in the greenhouse died because of inadequate ventilation from having to stay closed because of an overabundance of rabbits that decimated the stuff outdoors.... (greenhouse is at someone else's house, about 6 miles away...) i can get some kale, and i could get spinach, lettuce and cabbage from the shop, but I'd rather pass because its all non-organic.... so, Im trying to use "available" local food sources, and man, do we have ALOT of nettles. I know theyre supposed to be really good for you but they also STING.... suggestions on how to use them? There is also a fair amount of sorrel growing in the field around the garden, so if anyone has any new ideas on how to use this, besides just salads, that would be great too... basically, my greens are limited to kale, sorrel, and nettles, if i can figure out how to eat them.... i know im supposed to rotate my greens, but the stuff just isnt available...so i hope i dont end up with a nutritional deficiency.... the other green that is readily available here is Chard, which they call "spinach" but its NOT! its pretty bitter raw and even eating a leaf of it gives me a sore throat. the same with the amaranth leaves i have growing in my garden: sore throat. must be allergic or something. keep in mind these arent the only veggies i have access to; i can get carrots, beets, onions, and garlic with no problem, broccoli on occasion, sprouts on occasion if i go through the work of sprouting them, a few handfuls of basil here and there, an occasional cucumber or zucchini or some peas. oh yeah and I HAD lovely sunflower sprouts but they entailed getting to the greenhouse every day to water them...im gonna have to start that again though.

But anyway, back to the point: Nettles? Sorrel? help....

thanks--kaybee

[Ilse W.]

I have only had steamed nettles and nettles cooked in soup, but I would imagine that you can put them in a green smoothie. That's the way I get all my greens. You just make sure you wear rubber gloves when you pick and wash the nettles, pick the leaves off the stems and put them in your smoothie. I'm not sure, if the stinging goes away a while after harvesting, but I wouldn't really want to take a chance and put a nettle leaf in my mouth just to test the theory. I would try them in my smoothie.
Can you grow lettuce? It's easy and does not take up much space. You can even grow mesclun mix in saucers on your window sill. Same with the sunflower seeds. I grow wheat grass in saucers, although you need a juicer strong enough to handle the wheatgrass. Don't forget dandelions, I'm sure you can find those in the neighborhood?

[kaybee]

yeah, i guess smoothies might be the only way to do it.... ill give it a try... david wolfe said you can just roll and eat the leaves but every time ive done that ive gotten STUNG. ...

Ive had alot of problems growing lettuce; anything put outside the rabbits got (all my parsley, cilantro, nasturtiums, clear cut everything but the mint). now the outside is fenced but then theres a big old SLUG party going on there, despite the beertraps.... so...i planted inside the greenhouse....but without adequate ventilation, the lettuce got some kind of root-rot.... ive put some more down in a different garden for the fall, but im not counting on getting much out of it very quickly.... ill have to ask around about dandelions. i know about them at home but havent really seen them around here in ireland..... wish i could find someone here in ireland that knew more about wild greens and seaweed...so much easier when its already growing on its own....

[Eva]

I think I've read about people just putting them in a green smoothie.

[rawstrength]

Juice the nettles, add them to smoothies or blend them into raw soups.

[unbent]

Go to youtube.com and do a search for nettles and David Wolfe. He has at least to videos on nettles that I know of and mentions how to pick/consume them as well as their nutritional value.

Andy