I’ve been snacking on this lot at the moment. Spring is here. Green stuff is shooting up, ready to be made into salads, smoothies, fermented pickles and…erm… deep fried in tempura batter.

Cow Parsley (Anthriscus sylvestris) – I made this into a lacto-ferment and bunged it in my carrot soup. Deliciously tangy! It’s fairly close to Hemlock to recognise though, so unless you’ve gone out with me and I’ve shown you the difference, steer clear!

Below is Cow Parsley with a lovely flower included (not cow parsley flower)

I fermented the cow parsley leaves for about a week, adding some brine from my perpetual Chinese spiced ferment!

They really add some pizzazz to a soup or stew, or a sandwich. Or anything else really!

Above is a Carrot & Cow Parsley Fermented Soup.

Watch out, too, for fresh heads of Ground Elder coming up. It’s not related to Elder, it just looks like it. Amazing taste that is quite indescribable, but feels cleansing. Great with sausages or fatty food.

Hawthorn buds and leaves can be eaten to stave off hunger. This is what countryside children used to do when working in the fields.

Chickweed (Stellaria media) is below.

Chickweed, that winter stalwart, is still about and tastes great as a crisp and refreshing salad. Just give it a rinse, as it likes to grow in nitrogenous areas where manure and wee have nurtured the ground!

It’s chock full of Vitamin C and is also good for skin conditions. You can make it into a balm or a rinse.

On the way to the leisure centre (that was shut due to a chlorine leak!), i discovered a patch of Oilseed Rape. This is a member of the Cabbage family, which has no poisonous members in this country. Some taste better than others though!

Oilseed rape leaves are edible raw or cooked. Just don’t eat the seeds or extract the oil, as this needs factory processing to remove a toxin.

This is great in a warming, hearty root veg and lentil stew. You can add pork, that should stand up to the strong mustardy-cabbage flavour.

Et voila, Rosie and Jim! Oilseed Rape stew. Won’t my 8-year-old be thrilled! With a sprinkle of pine nuts.

Last but not least, some tangy Sheep’s Sorrel (Rumex acetosa). Lots of Vitamin C and a lemon-like taste! I’ll do some more recipes with this later.

Notice the forked back end of the leaf. The leaf is small and matte green, not large and shiny like the poisonous Arum Lily. It also likes to hang out in meadows in the sun, NOT woodland edge as the Arum Lily does.

You’ll soon notice the difference if you try to eat Arum Lily. It contains calcium oxalate, which is like eating white hot needles.

Yum.