More Love for Lamb's Quarter

I know I've mentioned that Lamb's Quarter is the bee's knees and it's still true. Why?

• It plants itself
• No care to maintain it
• It's free
• It'll grow about anywhere
• It produces all summer long
• It is incredibly healthy
• It tastes better than spinach
• Can be used in any recipe that calls for cooked spinach
• Easy to store/keep- you can can it or freeze it
• It probably grows in every state
• You can harvest and it regrows
• It grows fast

Lamb's Quarter, Pigweed or Goosefoot are common names for Chenopodium album and is related to the common spinach. The reason you must cook it is because it has a mealiness that is present on the under surface of the raw leaves that isn't very appealing on the tongue. 

Notice the white meal on the leaves?

Leaf (upper surface-below) for ID.

Today's Harvest (above)

was blanched and packed into freezer containers

Look! FREE food! 

Top favorite uses of LQ are: Palak or Saag Paneer, Spanakopita or in curry.

If you are interested in Wild Foraging here are the books I own and would recommend for different reasons:

I only have the California one because I worked in a wildlife refuge 

there one summer in college, but I've found the same weeds 

can be found all over this country.

Recipe: Palak Paneer- made with Walking Stick Kale, but could be made with any greens, including the above.

 Blanched & chopped kale. One cube of scape pesto.

Half a block of paneer (Indian cheese). One large carrot-diced.

1 onion & carrot sauted with 1/2 tsp cumin seeds & 1 bay leaf

later add 1/4 tsp turmeric, 1/2 tsp ground chili powder

1/2 tsp garam masala, salt to taste

 Fry paneer in a little oil. Set aside

Two handfuls of frozen pear tomatoes (thanks to Holly)

 It may not look pretty, but it was delicious.

After sauteing the onion/carrot, add all of the other ingredients, 

except the paneer and cook down. Use a hand-blender to puree it.

Serve over rice.

First Harvests:

Eggplant are coming in!

What's in Bloom?

 Wild Petunia ^

 Oriental Lily ^

 I was surprised to see this primrose, just grown from seed blooming

 Red Plains Coreopsis ^

 Whorled Milkweed- first time blooming here. 

Grown from seed last year along with the Purple Coneflower

Butterfly weed, also just grown from seed last year

I'm still working on my insect identifying skillz.

I think this is a type of Mining Bee. 

Anyone know? 

The wine colored beebalm has burst into bloom.

I like to end on a buggy note

Swallowtail on Dill

Happy Gardening.