Blog Elements

First up is Hawthorn leaves (Crataegus monogyna). The leaves appear in early spring and have a distinctive, lobed shape. I’ll be eating the leaves raw in salads, and as a snack straight from the tree. My favourite use for them is to flash fry them in hot oil (10 seconds max) and sprinkle with sea salt for a nutty, leaf crisp.

You can find a video recording of the Hawthorn Wednesday Weed Waffle here, also included are an audio recording and an accompanying eBook.

Stinging nettles (Urtica dioica) grow just about anywhere but they particularly like waste ground and road side verges. I could literally fill a day with talking about nettles, but my favourite use for them in spring time is to make cordial for refreshing cold drinks and warming hot drinks.

You can find a video recording of the Stinging Nettle Wednesday Weed Waffle here, also included are an audio recording and an accompanying eBook.

Wild garlic (Allium ursinum). I can’t talk about spring without mentioning wild garlic. Although nasties grow alongside it, there’s nothing that looks like it and smells of garlic so you can’t really go wrong. Much like everyone else, my favourite use is to make cheese and wild garlic scones.