Food As Medicine

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Spring Green Salad

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Spring brings forth such nourishing vital greens up out of the Earth. Here in and around the Garden we have wild and edible greens alike. Gathering wild miner's lettuce (Claytonia perfolatum) and chickweed (Stellaria media) is a delight, especially when finding it trailside. They both have exquisite tiny white star-shaped flowers as they mature; early on the miner's lettuce is as pictured nestled amongst the ferns: rounded triangular shape. (This is when they are at their sweetest and tastiest. Once they've gone to seed, like many greens, they become bitter.) Tender, and loaded with vitamin C, both plants are lovely additions to a salad. We've added fava greens and flowers as they, too, are abundant in our garden now (as winter cover crops). As with any foraging, be sure to only take a small amount, leaving some to reseed and for wild ones to eat. Do not forage next to a road.

If you aren't fortunate enough to have these wild greens nearby, this salad is delicious with cultivated tender greens, too.

Ingredients:

Miner's lettuce

Chickweed (look for the square stem with a stripe of tiny hairs on one side)

Baby greens: spinach, lettuce, kale 

zest of 1 orange and 1 lemon or lime

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil

1/4 teaspoon finely grated ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon sea salt

Edible flowers like borage, calendula petals, forget-me-nots or fava flowers for garnish

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Gather the greens (from the wild, your garden, the farmstand, or produce section of grocery store). Place in a medium sized bowl. In a small bowl, zest the orange and lemon (please, please choose organic citrus for zesting.)  Combine zest and juice with olive oil, ginger, cinnamon and salt, whisk together. 

Options: add sliced avocado for more healthy fats and glutathione, or chopped green apples for a sweet crunch, soluble fiber, and lots of Vitamin A and C.