Today it is very rainy. I gathered my food in the rain. Then when I thought there was a break in the rain I shot my video. But the rain didn’t hold off.
Today I ate the tree my daughter planted in third grade. She is 29 now and the tree is over 40 feet tall.
It is a Linden tree. Also called a Basswood. The leave are one of the best salad leaves you will find in the wild.
These are very young leaves. If I would have been a few days earlier I could have eaten the buds. They are good too. Linden leaves have no strong flavor. Much like iceberg lettuce isn’t strong it takes various dressing very well.
The next item is Ground Ivy or Gill-,Over-The-Ground. This grows in many yards.
It is very aromatic. In fact it is used as an essential oil. Essential oils do not mean they are essential for life like essential amino acids or essential vitamins. It simply means it is the essence of the plant. Extracted as oil usually by steam extraction. They are often used for aroma therapy. Because of this Ground Ivy does have a strong flavor. It is all edible but probably best as an additive to soups or salads or other recipes rather than eaten by itself.
Finally, I have also collected a plant I have already talked about. Garlic Mustard.
But this time I am not using the low, fresh leaves for flavoring. After my last comments about the plant I was informed that the stems are also quite good.
They can be boiled, steamed or fried much like green beans or asparagus.
I was not aware of this. I thought they were too tough and stringy. But then so are many domestic vegetables until they are cooked properly. I also look forward to trying these pickled.
