Challenge: Can I actually cook a side dish using only wild edibles that my wife and children will actually eat?
We’ve been munching a lot of the plants around the yard lately. Perhaps me more than the rest of the family, but we’ve all partaken of the wonderful array of delicious and nutritious plants growing all around us. So now, I’m challenging myself to create a dish so delicious that the kids won’t be able to resist it. I can usually get them to eat what we make for them, but I’m looking for them to want to finish it and ask for more this time.
I was inspired to make this personal challenge while walking with a couple of friends ( @bluerthangreen & @truconspiracy )the other day. I was munching on some fresh Sassafras shoots with them and noticed some very large Plantain plants that hadn’t been mowed yet this year. Some of the seed stems were more than a foot long. I got to thinking, since I’ve been enjoying eating these free foods and writing about them, shouldn’t I try to incorporate them into our diet more?
THE RULES
Though I will be allowed to season the dish with traditional methods (people do the same thing to store-bought food), the actual substance of the dish will have to consist solely of wild edible plants. If the children will eat a reasonable-sized portion without hesitation, I pass the challenge. If I get compliments from them or a request for more, I pass with flying colors.
THE PLAN
My plan is to use the Plantain seed stems and Lamb’s Quarters as a base for my stir-fry. I’ll heat up some olive oil and butter in the pan with a little garlic. Once these are basically cooked, I’ll add in some chopped Plantain leaves, Dandelion leaves, and Common Yellow Wood Sorrel. I’ll season it a bit with some salt and pepper, add a little of Bragg’s Liquid Aminos to give it a stir-fry flavor, squirt a little lemon juice on top, and call it done.
To simply cover the whole dish in melted cheese may be a good way to trick them into eating it, but I'll try that later if need be. I would consider that to be cheating as far as this challenge is concerned.
THE RESULTS
"Pinky Pepper" - "It's Great!" (ate about 1/4)
"Snowball" - "Good!" (ate about 1/2)
"Meat-Man" - "Pretty Yummy... Super Good!" (ate all and asked for more)
Meat-mans 2nd plate (ate it all again)
"Zany Banany" was speechless...
And even licked the fork...
And finished her whole plate too.
I then had my wife try some, to which she replied,
"That is delicious! My mouth wouldn't stop saying MMMM, MMMM, MMMM! That was good!"
I finally checked it, and before I could realized what had happened, I had already responded,
"MMMM, WOW! WOW!"
I think that I can say, I passed the challenge. Or, perhaps more accurately, the WILD EDIBLES passed the test.
It was seriously such a success that I'll post an actual recipe for it shortly.
Your Challenge?
Follow the recipe when I post it, and reply with the results.
IT WAS SERIOUSLY THAT GOOD!!!
Since I mostly just eat THE EDIBLE OUTDOORS, well, outdoors and raw, I had never even come close to expecting these results from cooking them.
For help locating these common wild edibles in your own yard or neighborhood, check out the following posts:
Plantain
Common Yellow Wood Sorrel
Lamb’s Quarters
Dandelion
Just for fun, let's list the Vitamins & Minerals that got to come along for the ride.
Vitamin A
Vitamin K
Vitamin E
Vitamin B-6
Potassium
Calcium
Iron
Manganese
Magnesium
Niacin
Folic Acid
Riboflavin
Protein
Folate
Phosphorus
Thiamin
Copper
