If you are visiting from the Make It From Scratch carnival, welcome to Out of Debt Again! Thank you 11th Heaven’s Homemaking Haven for the fantastic effort of hosting this event, (I LOVE that you included photos!) and including my post!
A couple of weeks ago I learned that the weeds coming up in my garden were actually edible! How much more frugal can you get than to use free greens growing in your yard or garden, or maybe on the sidewalk in front of your house? I know some of you city folk might think I’ve taken leave of my senses, but this particular weed is very similar to spinach. Now if you hate spinach, let me ask you, have you ever had it fresh from the garden? It’s incredibly delicious.
When I learned that purslane is edible (it is sold in local stores that cater to the Hispanic community and known as verdologas or Mexican spinach) I made a post with photos for identifying purslane, its nutritional makeup and how to make sure the weed you are eating is edible.
Here’s the recipe I made up with that is simple, delicious, satisfying and best of all, CHEAP!
I used lentils for protein, and I made chicken broth from our own homegrown chicken.
4 cups chicken stock (broth)
4 cups water
1 onion, diced
1 T. butter
1/2 cup lentils
1/3 cup barley
1 large bunch of purslane, chopped (stems removed)
I cleaned the purslane by rinsing it in a sinkful of water. Then I removed any stems that I couldn’t break easily with my thumbnail (it’s kind of like asparagus, you know how the stems are tough?). I chopped what was left into 1/2″ pieces.
Melt butter in the pan and add the onion. Saute for 3-4 minutes, then add the lentils and barley. Cook for 40 minutes on a low boil. Add the purslane and cook for another 10 minutes.
That’s it. Let me know if you try it. I promise, you’ll love it.
Yours Truly,
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Holy cow, that’s awesome! I have the sudden urge to run outside and see if I have any edible weeds in my garden! I don’t think there’s any purslane out there, the weeds in your pictures don’t look familiar at all. But I know I’ve got dandelion, and I want to look up what else I’ve got out there. You’ve inspired me! 🙂
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Hi Stephanie! LOL, I felt the same way when I realized I could use all these weeds growing in my garden! I was going to make another pot of “Weed Soup” this past weekend and today I went to check on my garden and the weeds are all twice as big as they were just four days ago, and that’s without watering at all! I might have to give some to the chickens after all! Let me know if you figure out if any of your weeds are edible! Thanks for visiting and thanks for commenting!
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As a weed whisperer, I love seeing others enjoy these wonderful friends. Great soup! I would caution against eating sidewalk weeds though. They are very likely sprayed, or almost definitely full of pollutants from vehicles. But hey, each their own.
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