- Not a weed, a salad green!
Hello and welcome to my first blog post for Cook With What You Have!
I was playing outside with my three-year old the other day and he was digging in an empty garden bed on an unseasonably warm January day. I noticed that the raised bed’s edges were alive with the bright green little cress (actually called Hairy Bittercress and related to the commercially available watercress) that is always my first sign that winter is slowly on the wane. I’ve used this delicate, peppery green in salads for years despite its unpalatable name, which I just learned today. I think it’s mostly known to farmers and is a weedy nuisance but to city dwellers with little else edible growing at the moment, it’s a fun treat.
So look around your house and yard and see what you find. pull up the whole plant, wash well and then add it to a salad, a sandwich or quesadilla and enjoy.
Sarah says:
It worked! Here I am. Your Bread Blog is fantastic and I found Laura Mullet’s blog, read part, felt so happy and sent her a comment. Is this how one gets hooked on this social networking stuff?
Love, M
kate says:
Hello there,
I’m happy I found your blog, and so quickly after its inception, via the Boutard’s market email. I appreciate the close attention you’re giving this tasty little cress. Indeed, it’s peppery and sweet – and certainly abundant. I would only caution readers to beware of its enthusiastic self-sowing tendencies. One plant will produce hundreds of seedlings. Too much to enjoy in salads, no matter how avidly you might try – it can quite take over! But it’s lovely to see a delicious “weed” profiled on a food blog. Thank you!
Katherine Deumling says:
You are absolutely right. And I pull them up in my garden long before they go to see since they are a real pest. But, yes, fun for a few weeks before much else is around.