Nettles

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Nourishing Nettle Spring is returning and so has Nettle.. Perhaps you’ve already met nettle during a walk in the woods. If you’ve brushed against this feisty beauty you cannot have missed its sting. Nettle calls us to wake up and pay attention. I’ve had many curious hikers ask me what I do with the nettle I’m harvesting along my favorite trail. I love these opportunities to tell people about delicious nettle soup, nettle lasagna, and nettle tea. Remember, nettle does sting so consider wearing long pants, long sleeves, and gloves when you harvest. Pick the top leaves, bending the stem and finding its natural break point. (The number of leaves will vary with the size of the plant.) If you take only the tops, you leave your nettle patch healthy and growing so that you can harvest again and again until the plants

begin to flower. You want to have your nettle harvest completed by the time the flowers appear, so pick plenty. Cook some and dry the rest (lying them out on screens in a dry place out of direct sunlight, or putting them in a dehydrator on low) for future use. When I think of our family’s herbal medicine chest, stinging nettle definitely figures prominently within it, though you might not recognize our use of it as medicinal. Nettle provides deep, herbal nourishment. Its leaves are packed with vitamins and minerals and they are a great source of protein. We start picking nettle leaves when the first plants are about 4 inches tall, and integrate them into our diet right away. Those first leaves give our bodies a wonderful boost to help with our transition from the dark, still winter into light and busy spring. As I’ve apprenticed herbalism over the last few years, I’ve come to realize that using medicines to treat a

particular ailment is only a small part of maintaining health. Nourishing, healing herbs have become part of our family’s regular diet, helping us to continually build and maintain our health so that we don’t catch the bugs that are circulating through our community, and our bodies are able to heal quickly when necessary. To make a nourishing nettle soup, sauté onions and carrots briefly in a soup pot. Add potatoes and chopped nettles (leaves and tender stems). Add stock or water to cover the vegetables and simmer about twenty minutes. Add tamari or soy sauce to taste. This soup is a staple spring food at our house, and during my pregnancies it easily boosted my iron levels so that I didn’t need a supplement. I also drank nettle infusions throughout my pregnancy and the first couple of years after giving birth. Infusions are basically very strong teas. To make one, put one ounce of dried herbs into a quart jar (and pour enough boiling

water over them to fill the jar. Cap it and let it sit for at least four hours. Strain it and drink it at your preferred temperature (warmed, chilled, or as is). I am in the habit of making and drinking an infusion every day. I start the infusion steeping while I’m making breakfast, and usually drink it with my dinner. I think of it as my daily multi-vitamin. Because I’m drinking it as a tea, my body is able to easily assimilate the nutrients. Now that I’m past the childbearing part of my life, I find myself adding nettle to my infusions when I’m feeling particularly tired or worn out. The beautiful deep green color and earthy smell connect me immediately to the healing green world, and I relish the taste and the feeling of energy and health in my belly and body. – - Learning Herbs Suzi What is a weed? A plant whose virtues have not yet been discovered. health/ http://suziesgoats.wholefoodfarmacy.com/ http://360./suziesgoats

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