ecobites.com

Making your life greener - one bite at a time.

We let part of our garden grow freely to see what wild flowers would appear. Making a mad dash to the veggie patch, staking out there territory, digging in and refusing to be removed....  

For some reason that evades me now I began to weed the beds, a small section at a time. The weeds were laughing and the joke was on me. I soon realized the futility of what I had undertaken. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em! In the front row of the invading forces was chickweed - Stellaria media - its long thin stems quickly engulfing any unsuspecting vegetable that had been foolish enough to break out of the seed, in which it was safely encased, to the soil.

Chickweed is another plant of Eurasian origin that's made itself quite at home in the States and everywhere else that European people have traveled. It is now a common weed almost world-wide. Chickweed is an annual, but is somewhat unusual in that it often germinates in the fall (though it also germinates year-round), and hangs on through the winter, flowering and setting seed in the early spring, and dying off by summer. It's at its best in the spring and fall, as it greatly prefers cool and damp conditions, and will not survive where it's dry and hot.

I now proudly show off my chickweed 'crop' to visitors and then follow up with Chickweed and Pea Soup served with Chickweed Rolls or Chickweed Quiche served with Chickweed salad.

Chickweed is generally used as food. I often nibble on it when I'm out in the yard. It has a mild, refreshing flavour. The leaves and stems can be added to salads, cooked as greens, or added to anything you might add greens to (which, to me, is just about everything). Just don't cook it for more than a few minutes. Chickweed is particularly high in ascorbic acid (vitamin C) and mucilage, and also provides rutin, para amino benzoic acid (PABA), gamma linolenic acid (GLA, an omega-6 fatty acid derivative), niacin, riboflavin (B2), thiamin (B1), beta carotene (A), magnesium, iron, calcium, potassium, zinc, phosphorus, manganese, sodium, selenium, and silicon. The seeds are also edible. The plant can be dried for storage. Chickweed is a fairly safe food, however, as almost everything is somehow toxic if you use enough of it, over-consumption of this plant may give you diarrhea.

Medicinally, chickweed is tonic, diuretic, demulcent, expectorant, and mildly laxative. It's often recommended for asthma, bronchitis, or congestion. It's also said to help control obesity and is an ingredient in some herbal weight loss preparations. Externally, chickweed relieves itching and inflammation and is generally soothing and moisturizing. It can be used for any minor skin infections or irritations, and is an ingredient in a number of commercial skin care products. As far as I've been able to discover, this common plant has yet to be thoroughly scientifically studied.

Chickens and many other birds love chickweed, and eat both the plants and the seeds, which is how it gets its name. If you keep birds and guinea pigs as pets, you can sparingly feed it to them too.

Chickweed is also one of the primary targets of various broad-leaf herbicides, but as I feel rather strongly about contributing poisons to the ecosystem, I would recommend weeding instead for those people who can't learn to like this useful little plant.

It is just the way you look at it, so don't abuse those weeds - use them.

Chickweed and Pea Soup

500g (1 lb 2 oz) shelled peas
750 ml ( 1 pt 7 fl oz) vegetable broth
Chickweed (2 medium handfuls)
3 dessertspoons organic plain yoghurt / sour cream
1 heaped tablespoon organic butter / coconut oil
celtic salt, nutmeg

Bring broth to boil. Add peas and boil for about 10 minutes. Wash chickweed, drain, chop finely. Let peas and broth cool off a little. Put into blender with chickweed. Blend. Return to medium flame and gently cook soup for 5 minutes whipping continually. It should become foamy. Take off heat, stir in yoghurt and butter. Add salt and nutmeg to taste.
Garnish with a few fresh chickweed leaves and eat with fresh baked organic bread.

Chickweed Rolls

150 g (5 1/2 oz) chickweed
400g (14 oz) organic wholemeal flour
100g (3 1/2 oz) organic fine cornmeal
8 level teaspoons baking powder
2 cups yoghurt
1 egg
100g (3 1/2 oz) organic butter / coconut oil
1 egg yolk

Wash chickweed, drain and chop finely. Preheat oven to 250 C.
Mix the flours, baking powder and seasoning in a large bowl.
Mix together the yoghurt and the egg and then add to the flour mixture in the bowl and mix.
Add soft butter and mix to a dough.
Mix in chickweed.
Dust table with flour and roll dough out until about 2 cm thick.
Cut out rounds using a glass or biscuit cutter.
Dust baking tray with flour, brush rolls with egg yolk and 2 dessertspoons water mixed together.
Bake for about 15 - 20 minutes at 260 C.

Chickweed Quiche

4 organic eggs
2 cups milk of choice
1/2 cup flour
Seasoning if desired and dash of organic coconut oil
150 g (5 1/2 oz) chickweed leaves

Stir in additions, pour into lightly oiled pie plate and bake until set for 35 - 40 minutes.
Add any additions eg spring onion + 1/2 cup grated cheese + chopped herbs, leftover canned fish or sliced tomatoes, herbs, onion, asparagus, leftover cooked pasta, cheese.

Chickweed Salad

150 g (5 1/2 oz) chickweed leaves
1 bunch scallions / spring onions
200 g (7 oz) beetroot
celtic salt
3 tablespoons organic coconut oil
2 tablespoons wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon mustard
 
Rinse and drain chickweed. Cut onions thinly.
Slice cooked beetroot or grate beetroot raw.
Mix above. Make up dressing and toss through salad.
Serve immediately.

Enjoy!

Selected References
National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Wildflowers, Niering and Olmstead
Peterson Field Guides Eastern/Central Medicinal Plants, Steven Foster and James A. Duke 
Peterson Field Guides Edible Wild Plants, Lee Allen Peterson
Field Guide to Edible Wild Plants, Bradford Angier
Stalking the Healthful Herbs, Euell Gibbons
Identifying and Harvesting Edible and Medicinal Plants, Steve Brill
The Encyclopedia of Edible Plants of North America, Francois Couplan, Ph.D.
Tom Brown's Guide to Wild Edible and Medicinal Plants, Tom Brown, Jr.
A Modern Herbal, Volume I, Mrs. M. Grieve
Weeds, Alexander C Martin