I had heard of lamb's quarters many times in the past, and I was aware that it was a weed that was commonly eaten in the Great Depression, but I did not realize until quite recently that that is the weed which tries to take over my garden every year! Chances are, they are in your back yard too. Here is a page which can help you to identify the plant.
It's also called Goosefoot, because the young leaves are the shape of goose feet.
Lamb's quarters, apparently, are highly nutritious--the leaves contain more calcium than kale, for one, and are also high in B vitamins. So, since my little herb gardens were full of lamb's quarters, I decided I might as well go ahead and give it a try.
This morning I pulled out a big handful of lamb's quarters, washed the plants very well, and then pulled off all the leaves. I sauteed the leaves with a bit of sweet onion and some olive oil, salt and pepper, and then added this mixture to some brown rice. Topped with a piece of fish, it was the perfect lunch! I only wished I had picked more lamb's quarters, because they cooked down quite a lot.
The cooked leaves tasted similar to spinach, but I also thought I detected the taste of asparagus--maybe that's just me. They were tasty, anyhow, and I would recommend giving this "vegetable" a try, if you are sure you can positively identify it. You can't beat the price!
After this delicious lunch, I had a piece of scrumptious homemade bread and strawberry jam for dessert. I wanted to thank once more everyone who gave me bread-baking tips. This time I made bread, I made 3 loaves instead of 2, and they were a better size. And, I set the oven at 345 degrees. What a difference that made!
The crust was totally soft and the bread was perfect. After taking it out of the oven, I did a bit of an experiment: I wrapped one loaf in a cloth, I spread butter over one, and I left one alone. I found that it made no difference at all to wrap the bread in a cloth. It did make the top of the bread a bit softer to put butter on top, but the main factor, it seems, is how hot the oven is. I'll never bake bread at a high temperature again--unless, of course, I want to have a crusty loaf.
Thank you for sharing this- only last year I was able to identify that the "weed" taking over my gardens was lambs quarters, and edible, and highly nutritious! Anyhow I found this out because someone shared it on their blog. I love making a discovery like that. :)
Posted by: Melanie~ Our Ash Grove | July 3, 2011 at 01:44 PM
I had no idea! This is all over my garden. Will definitely give it a try. thanks!
Posted by: Julie | July 3, 2011 at 01:53 PM
Yum! Home made bread is the best. :)
Feels so good to learn how to use something doesn't it?
Beautiful blog here.
Blessings~
Posted by: Dusti | July 3, 2011 at 10:45 PM
Thank you for this and the photos of plantain both! I'm very excited to try making the salve!
Posted by: Cate | July 3, 2011 at 10:52 PM
Nice to see your towels look like mine! Including the little holes.. :-). I'm happy you managed to have the bread you wanted! And didn't it take too long (that was the reason I wrote about this artisan book, because it is so quick. I'll try next time -tomorrow- if I can manage to get a soft crust using the recipe, but with the lower temperature. For today my bread is already baken.. Thanks!)
Posted by: Marijke - Petite Daphne | July 4, 2011 at 04:52 AM
More calcium then kale? Wow! Sounds like something I ought to try.... especially with all those B vitamins since I'm eating so little meat these days.
As for the bread, I'm happy it turned out the way you wanted. Baking bread is a real art. I'm still not even half way to where I want to be but it's such an enjoyable journey, yes? :)
Posted by: Chasingthesparrows.blogspot.com | July 4, 2011 at 09:39 PM
My neighbor recently showed me lamb's quarters. I made a few green smoothies and enjoyed the mild flavor to mix up the kale and spinach we normally use. Since my family doesn't drink much milk finding good sources of calcium is always a nice.
Posted by: lynnette | July 5, 2011 at 11:33 AM
I think lambs quarter is tastier than spinach! I used to can several loads every year. I didn't realize about the nutrition part though. Interesting about the bread too. I've used a bread machine for so long (16 years?) that I don't know if I'd remember how to bake it the old fashioned way, LOL
Posted by: Leigh | July 5, 2011 at 12:03 PM