Foraging ~ Purple Dead Nettle ~ Pesto and Tea Making ~ Dandelions

 Any foragers here?  I have a few reference books, but zero information in them in regards to if Purple Dead Nettle and Henbit both have the same nutrition/medicinal benefits to the body.  Anyone? I know, it's crazy question, and there are not many homesteading blogs still blogging anymore these days.

Spring rain is great for a lot of things, but it is always the reason we get stuff planted so late.  The gardens are soaking wet, and this is what most of the vegetable gardens look like.  Not kidding.  They are too big to cover for winter.  We use a lot of space.  They are full of purple dead nettle and chickweed.

The last few warmer days should start to dry up the gardens for us.

I have added spring chickweed to salads and other meals in the past, but according to my blog (and other notes), we have not yet tasted purple dead nettle.

Foraging was pretty easy (just look at the above photo, ha ha!).

I did a lot of reading, and yes, I have a few foraging books (not all of them have pesto recipes).  I used to follow a blogger that posted all about their meals being foraged, based on the seasons.  However, like many bloggers, they stopped blogging several years ago.

I try to not add my parmesan cheese until we are ready to eat it, so if I am freezing the pesto for future meals, I leave that out until the day of preparing meals with it.  It's just my preference.

Pesto is our number one recipe for this medicinal/healthy Spring "weed."  If you want to try it, you can research the recipes available online or check foraging books from your library.

I like to dehydrate some more purple dead nettle for tea.  

You can find more recipes online with dead nettle and even chickweed.  There are even classes online to (you have to pay a fee) to learn to forage too.  We had local classes a few years back, but those are hard to come by anymore.

Dandelions are up now too.  I see some dandelion flower bread, or other foraged meal. 

I actually have a cookbook for dandelions.  Yes, I have made dandelion jelly, but the work vs. the flavor are not that amazing to us, so we only made it once.  There is more flavor (in my opinion), with wild violet jelly and Queen Anne's lace jelly (on my blog too).

Happy foraging!

Foraging ~ Purple Dead Nettle ~ Pesto and Tea Making ~ Dandelions ©  April 2025 by Kristina at Pioneer Woman at Heart

Strawberry-Rhubarb Jam ~ Dandelion and Pumpkin Seed Pesto

In 2016 I missed out on getting any strawberries put into the freezer.  Zero.  In 2015, I put up a lot, so we were lucky to have enough for 2 years.  

We are down to the last 3 bags of frozen strawberries and I wanted to use them up before this new season starts.  

I decided to make strawberry-rhubarb jam next.  We also did the taste test on this the same night.  We eat a lot of peanut butter and jelly/jam over summer (when I have zero time to cook).

Now I can't decide on which to gift for Christmas.  Hm.  

We grilled out again.  It was a bit chilly, but the sun was out all day and it got up to 60°F.  I also made dandelion and pumpkin seed pesto pasta dish so the vegetarians had something.  Truthfully, I wanted to taste the pesto myself. 

You can find the recipe here online.  I used 3 somewhat smallish cloves of garlic, so next time I'll be sure to add a bit more.  It was very good!!  The dandelions were not bitter.   A hunger/crowd pleaser for sure.  You could use any pasta or any other dish for the pesto.  I had a box of organic spaghetti noodles that worked perfectly.

It's raining again today.  It'll be a crock pot dinner, so I can attack my rainy day to-do list with gusto.  I need a clean house for a graduation party next month, and I am way behind in getting those dust bunnies to disappear. 

Then again, I need to restock my freezer with homemade noodles too.  Hm.  Tough decision.  Most likely "dust bunnies" will win today.

Wild Weeds ~ Dandelion Syrup

The recent rain brought us some of these golden goodies. It's dandelion season.

Dandelion Bread

Sunday my morning started in muck books, then my afternoon in biker boots, then to the evening with my apron, then back to biker boots, and lastly in muck boots.  We never made it to the garden, ha ha!  It's still too wet.  I checked it early, while Hubby and Son made a trip to recycling, just to be sure we stayed on track for the day.

My morning started with this.

Hubby was teaching Son how to use the riding mower, and I went running frantically to ask them to stop, and to wait.

Hubby helped.  Although reluctantly, as he was eager to take me on my first motorcycle ride.

Random Tidbits ~ Dandelion Greens

Not sure how many interesting posts you will be blessed with this month.  After cranking out 3400 words yesterday (bringing my total word count to 5200), I literally ran to the porch to get some "me time" in, but did not even get there until 5:45pm,  Dinner was spaghetti and meatballs, and I had to make a fresh batch of meatballs, so time was of the essence. 

Dandelion Vinegar Update and "Mr. Clean"

Remember the dandelion vinegar I made?  

This is a late update on it, but I drained my quart jar, and got about a bit over a pint of the dandelion vinegar.  Sadly, I have to buy all of my greens, and salad mixin's this season, but the vinegar adds a nice flavor.

Dandelion Vinegar and other tidbits

The weather warmed up nicely, and after getting our last kid (doeling) disbudded, I headed to the flower beds.  It was a perfect time to pull all the grass weeds I left there last fall (gulp).

Journal Junkie ~ Nature Journal

I recently mentioned our Queen Anne's Lace Jelly, and thought I'd share my Nature Journal.  

Visioning Porch Time ~ Dandelions

I've been watching the location of the sunrise each morning, and it's getting closer and closer to "porch time" once again.

Until then, I continue to clean and organize.  I'd like to do some stencil painting in one room, but I'll have to wait for open-window weather.

Oodles of "Noodles" and Dandelion Flower Tea

I'm learning a lot this summer.  Did you know that my homestead is growing oodles of noodles?

"Honey?  Did you know that dandelion stems can be cooked as "noodles" in a recipe?" I asked with excitement.

"Honey, I love you," replied Hubby grinning from ear to ear, and shaking his head side to side.  

I know what he was really thinking - that woman is crazy!

I had no idea you could eat the stems.

The Front Porch ~ Our Simple Pleasure

Last night was quiet around here.  We thanked God for that.  Things are in action, and people are working on our situation as well as us.  The Deputy Sheriff called us last night while we were at a school choir concert, and of course I went into panic mode, thinking something happened at the homestead.  However, it was good news.  He caught located the 4-wheeler guy who ran off and charged him with a few violations.

Dandelion Poultice ~ Homesteading Tidbits

We are blessed with an abundance of dandelions this spring.  As I was looking out at the grass that needs mowed, I got a text from my older brother.