nettle, hibiscus, rose and cinnamon
Combine 2 tablespoons nettles (Urtica dioica), 2 tablespoons hibiscus, 1 tablespoon rose petals and half a cinnamon stick in a teapot.
Pour boiling water over the herbs, put the lid on and let it steep at least 10 minutes. This jewel-toned tea tastes divine if you allow it to cool over an hour or more.
Replenish the teapot with room temperature water as required and enjoy this refreshing beverage throughout the day.
Flavour is another reason for using weeds in food.
Herbalists like myself love to talk about the wonderful nutritional benefits to be discovered in common garden weeds such as lambs quarters, stinging nettles, dandelion, chickweed and many, many more. The above link introduces you to how weeds make food more enticing in terms of taste. If herbalists are not so convincing when we go on and on about nutritious weeds, perhaps this article can convince you to try them for the flavour. I still remember the first time I tried a weed as a gourmet food. My neighbour, Eleanor, invited me over for lunch and she added chickweed to the salad. This weed tasted fresh, cool and sweet. The flavour reminded me of corn on the cob and it was simply delicious.
Do you cook with common weeds? I would love to hear about it.
(A note to the nature newbies! If you do not know how to identify plants, you should seek out experts who can introduce these plants to you.)
Thanks to Sarka, my good friend and the author of Wellness Intel, for passing along this article to me. I do love it!
Have a great weekend, everyone!
Stinging nettles (Urtica dioica)
fleurbain 