Back to the Dome--Wild Veggies

growing on the side of the driveway

They pop up out of nowhere. These bright green nettles, with their hairy chemistry, burn, burn, burn. So don’t brush up against them! You’ll be sorry if you do.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stinging_nettle

There’s only one way to get back at their February proliferation and their poison. Cook ’em!

Before you tackle that job, you have to pick them without getting burned. That calls for gloves; but if you don't have gloves, get your fingers underneath the plant to grab it at the root. It pulls up easily and you’ll avoid those pain filled stems.

grasp the root where there are no painful hairs

Wash the nettles; you don’t want to eat soil, do you? Toss them in a colander blasting a stream of water over them. Soaking them like spinach also works well. If you don't want to eat those fibrous stalks, cut the leaves off or use just the tops of the nettle plant.

cut leaves off leaving the stalks for a mulch pile

You can find lots of recipes online. Here's one website that includes a tea I can't wait to try:

http://www.mariquita.com/recipes/nettles.html

I’m lucky enough to have an old cookbook with a recipe for Young Nettles and Potato Puree by Anton Mosimann. The taste is superb; so are the health benefits.

From Cuisine Naturelle by Anton Mosimann, Maitre Chef des Cuisine of the Dorchester Hotel, London