Watercress or nate as it is also called is a fantastic salad vegetable and contains proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals. The risk that we suffer from scurvy today is minimal, but if we had, watercress could have been used as a cure. In addition, it is generally strengthening and is considered cleansing because it stimulates the lymph (which in turn clears waste products from the body, so be careful with it!). Watercress is best before the little white flower blooms. Use it in the same way as sprouts – in salads as a topping on dishes or in smoothies.

White Galium boreale

At about the same time as the nettles appear, you can also glimpse small shoots of white nettle, nettle or yellow nettle. You should take advantage of them! Nettle shoots are probably one of my favorite vegetables in spring. You can recognize them by their narrow leaves that grow in a wreath around the stem with a few centimeters between them. The shoots have a juicy texture and the taste is reminiscent of green peas. Use the shoots in salads in smoothies or sauté them in butter or oil together with nettle shoots and serve as a side dish for fish, for example. Nettle is also considered purifying and therefore you can make an infusion of the shoots to drink a few times a day as a cleansing spring cure. Put a handful of leaves in hot water and let them steep under a lid for about ten minutes.

Field thistle Cirsium arvense

Thistle and its relative, the road thistle, are a persistent weed but fortunately are also very good food. No, I promise, it's no joke! Despite their thorny exterior, thistles are an excellent vegetable. I pick young shoots and cook them in the same way as spinach or kale. With the emphasis on "cooking", eating them raw is not recommended because of the thorns. Try them boiled, fried in butter or blended into smoothies and soups. Cut away the coarse leaf veins on older leaves. The stalks can be peeled and boiled or fried and served in the same way as asparagus served with butter and lemon.

Thanks for today, I'm looking forward to going out into the woods. More next time.

If you want more wild tips and clear illustrations of the plants so you know what you are picking, I can recommend my book Vildvuxet (Bonnier fakta). Or take a look at my online course that you can buy and follow. There are clear pictures of the plants and videos where I make my best recipes. https://www.brillbee.se/profiler/lisen-sundgren/?aid=LSUN

The Lisen

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