Eat Your Weeds- Purple Dead Nettle

 

Today's post is a perfect example of "Yard to Table".

It all started this morning when I went out to check on my baby strawberry plants like the Impatient Farmgirl that I am.  I noticed these beautiful yellow flowers and ran to look them up to see what they were.  I have always had a fascination with Herb Lore and Herbalism, and for some reason, today was the day I actually did a little bit of it!  I found out the pretty yellow flowers were Lesser Celandine, which is an edible herb but not that popular.  While I was googling I figured I would look up the pretty purple plant that was hangin' out with my Lesser Celandine.

This plant turned out to be Purple Dead Nettle.  

Now Purple Dead Nettle was pretty much all over my yard, and I was thrilled to find out that it too, was edible and had medicinal value as well!

Here's what I found out thanks to Livestrong.com.  

Purple dead nettle is a medicinal plant used in folk medicine in Europe and North America as a complementary treatment option for controlling and reducing allergies. Also known as Lamium Purpureum, purple dead nettle is a nonstinging species of nettle that can be eaten, or dried and made into a tea or percolated into a tincture. 

Anti-Inflammatory

Purple dead nettles are significantly anti-inflammatory, according to a study published in the "Journal of Ethnopharmacology" by Gazi University in 2008. Researchers tested different varieties of nettles, including purple dead nettle, and found all of them possessed anti-inflammatory and pain-reducing properties. Purple dead nettle works through inhibiting the release of the hormone prostaglandin-2, the principle mediator for inflammation in allergies and chronic inflammatory conditions.

This was exciting info for me as I have been in a lot of pain with Plantar facciitis and carpal tunnel since last May and really hate taking meds.  

Antimicrobial

During a study published in the "Hacettepe University Journal of the Faculty of Pharmacy" in 2007, researchers discovered purple dead nettle had a wide range of antimicrobial and antifungal properties. Extracts of purple dead nettle fought many microorganisms, including staphylococcus, enterococcus, e.coli, pseudomonas and candida. Purple dead nettle is a rich source of antibacterial essential oils, such as germacrene D, which explains its action against these organisms. Taking purple dead nettle when you suffer from allergies will help protect against these pathogens and prevent secondary infections of the sinuses, throat and lower respiratory tract.

How cool is all of that??

I promptly went back outside and picked a bunch of it.

I brought it inside and plopped it in the sink to wash and de-dirt it so I could prepare a tincture, a few bundles for drying, and a green Dead Nettle Smoothie, which tasted better than it sounds.

Step 1:  Wash your herbs

 

Step 2:  Lay out on paper towels to dry 

 

Step 3: To Make a Tincture:

 Put herbs in blender with high proof Vodka and make a vodka smoothie-

But don't drink this- this is your tincture that will be strained in a few weeks!

 

 Step 4:  Tie a few bundles with twine to hang and dry for winter use.

  

Step 5:  Make a smoothie to drink right now!

 Purple Dead Nettle Smoothie Recipe
In a high speed blender, mix 
1 1/2 cups filtered water, cold
large handful Dead Nettle tops
1 ripe banana
2 or 3 slices of fresh Ginger root
2 scoops of chocolate Organic Protein Powder

When all ingredients are beautifully smooth- pour into a beautiful vintage glass and enjoy!!  I plan on using DN in my smoothies every morning with kale now.

What a fab way of using your weeds.  Just make sure when you are gathering, that you do so from a non sprayed, non fertilized area, away from car exhaust... so don't gather from the side of the road or if you use weed killer on your lawn!!!

 

I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did making it and sharing it with you!!

xoxo Tobi :)

 This is Chickweed- I can't wait for more of it to grow- it is supposed to burn fat!!!  YAY!!

I will write about it soon :)

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 Today's "Healthy Yum" come from The Novice Chef. 
I was captivated by the beauty and simplicity of the dish- hope you enjoy it as much as I did! xoxo Tobi

ingredients:

4 Organic chicken breasts, Skinless
Celtic Sea salt
Telicherry black pepper freshly ground
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
3 large garlic cloves, minced
2 pints cherry tomatoes, halved
10 large basil leaves, finely chopped
8 oz fresh buffalo mozzarella, sliced in 1/2 inch thick slices
balsamic vinegar reduction

directions:

Salt and pepper both sides of the chicken breasts and set aside.
In a large sauté pan over medium-high heat, warm 1 tablespoon olive oil. Add chicken, cover pan, and cook for about 10 minutes. Flip chicken breasts and continue cooking until the chicken is cooked throughly (or has reached an internal temp of 165°F).
While chicken is cooking, in a medium sauté pan over medium-high heat, warm remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil. Add garlic and cook for about 1 minute, or until fragrant. Add tomatoes and continue sautéing until tomatoes skin starts to soften/wrinkle, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in basil. Set aside.
Once chicken has reached desired doneness, top the tops of each chicken breast with 2 slices of mozzarella. Pour tomato mixture on top. Cover pan with lid once more and let the mozzarella melt, about 1-2 minutes.

Lastly, drizzle with a splash of balsamic vinegar and serve immediately.

The Impatient Farmgirl- Bubble Wrap Success!!!

Well my sparkly friends. my bubblewrap snow protection worked like a charm!
Look at my lil babies!!

The Impatient Farmgirl- Strawberry Growing in the Snow...Yay Spring!!

 

So yeah, remember in my last post how I figured I could plant strawberries in March in New York?

This is what I woke up to about a week later!

 

 The good news is that I totally didn't panic.  When I heard that we were in for a possible snowfall, I carefully covered them with bubble wrap and plastic sheeting, then held it in place with some wooden pickets and a few bath towels!
Here's what that looked like



































 

 

 Then I went out front to my Tulips and Hyacynths and covered them with aluminum baking pans left from Christmas

Funny thing was this beautiful winter wonderland completely melted by the afternoon!
But not before I took some last minute wintery pics- enjoy!!

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The Impatient Farmgirl- Growing Strawberries in March!

So a few weeks ago I went to Costco and Sams and saw the first "spring bulb" displays out in the aisles.  Beautiful neat rows of white handled bags with pictures of sunripened sweet fruit beckoned to me.  "OH- Strawberries!!  Oh Raspberries!!!" I thought to myself excitedly, picturing my raised beds brimming with buckets of fruit that i could make jam with.

Photo from a great post on  houseofjoyfulnoise.com

They immediately triggered my "I better get these before they are all gone" response, and before I knew it-well, my cart was full.
It was such a strong pull from deep down that made me know that NOTHING was going to get me to miss out on this find!!
In hindsite- I am noticing that for the past several years I really believe that the stores have been conditioning us to "get it now or forget it" buying by offering seasonal and holiday items ridiculously early every year.   We  have become conditioned to get into crazy early pre-purchasing frenzy for pretty much everything. 

Back to the strawberries.  So there I was, in early MARCH in NEW YORK, looking at stuff I wasn't supposed to plant till May!!
Needless to say, not only did I get strawberry plants (for fear that if i waited till planting season they would already be gone)
but I also got blackberry and raspberry bushes, lillies and hollyhocks.

I justified it all to myself: the weather had been unseasonably mild for New York early spring, so I figured to ignore the steadfast rule to not put stuff in the ground till Mother's Day.

Heck- rules are made to be broken anyway- right??

So in the ground they went!!  I actually planted them all quite nicely in my raised beds!

I figured with the weather we were having- we most certainly wouldn't have to worry about snow...