Wild Greens from the Backyard: 4 Simple Recipes for Lamb's Quarters

Lamb's quarters were abundant in my family's backyard as a child. My grandfather pointed them out to us and gleefully took some into the house to be cooked and served for dinner. Since that time, I had been hesitant to try them again. But times and tastes have changed. Being a "locavore" is both frugal and trendy. When I told my daughters that this "weed" was edible, they were eager to harvest the young plants and eat them for dinner this week. Their reason was not that they are so "with the times"; they were just wide-eyed and curious.

Not wanting to poison anyone, I scouted for online recipes and tips. Basically, I found lamb's quarters can serve as a stand-in for spinach. The greens were easy to cook and incorporated easily into what we were having for dinner as well. So I added them to our lentil stew, deviled eggs, and served them as a stand-alone green vegetable. Everyone enjoyed them in at least one of the variations I offered.

Most of these lamb's quarter "recipes" do not list ingredient amounts. The dishes are simple enough that I trust that most cooks can make them by apportioning the ingredients themselves. Or just use your own favorite recipe and add the greens. Expect healthy, tasty results.

Lamb's Quarters with Garlic

Ingredients:

-Young lamb's quarter plants, roots removed
-Garlic, minced
-Chicken or vegetable base, equivalent to amount of garlic used
-Vegetable or olive oil
-Salt, to taste

Saute garlic and lamb's quarters together over medium heat for several minutes. Add a small amount of chicken base (or vegetable base) and water. Continue to stir and saute until leaves are limp and tender. Add salt to taste if desired.




Deviled Eggs with Lamb's Quarters

Ingredients:

-Hard-boiled eggs
-Mayonnaise (about 1/4 cup per 5 eggs)
-Vinegar or Mustard (to taste, about 1 teaspoon per 5 eggs)
-Ranch dressing, optional (about 1 teaspoon for 5 eggs)
-Salt, to taste
-Lamb's quarters, steamed or sauteed until tender(at least 4 leaves per egg)

1. Peel shells from eggs and wash to remove any bits of eggshell. Slice in half lengthwise. Remove yolks carefully, placing the yolks in a cereal bowl. Put the empty egg whites on a serving plate.
2. Use a fork to mash the egg yolks until fairly smooth. Add mayonnaise, mustard or vinger, ranch dressing (optional) and salt to taste. Add chopped lamb's quarters. Blend with fork until smooth.
3. Scoop the yolk mixture into portions and fill the empty egg whites. Serve at least two egg halves per person (5 whole eggs for 5 people).





Lentil Stew with Lamb's Quarters

Ingredients:

1 cup lentils
5 cups water (add more if needed during cooking)
1 teaspoon chicken or vegetable base
2 sweet or mild Italian sausage links, cooked
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons oil
1 cup diced tomatoes (canned or fresh)
1 cup unsweetened tomato sauce (I like Midwest County Fare Garlic and Herb Spaghetti sauce--it has no sugar, no corn syrup and no horrible tasting sucralose, AKA Splenda)
Italian seasoning, to taste
salt, to taste

1. Bring water and soup base to a boil and then simmer lentils for 30 minutes or until tender.
2. Meanwhile, saute minced garlic in olive oil for 2 minutes.
3. After lentils have fully cooked, add garlic, tomatoes and tomato sauce. Simmer for 5 minutes. Slice sausage. Add sausage and simmer until heated through.

The next day for lunch, I added the leftover lamb's quarters to the pasta salad I made. This was the result:



Pasta Salad with Salmon, Garden Vegetables, and Lamb's Quarters

Ingredients:

- Pasta spirals, cooked and cooled
- Canned salmon, drained and skin removed
- Cucumber
- Carrots
- Lamb's Quarters, steamed or sauteed and coarsely chopped.
- Italian or Vinagrette Dressing (Drew's All Natural Italian Dressing is excellent)
- Mayonnaise
- Italian seasoning, to taste
- Salt, to taste

1. Peel cucumber and slice into thin rounds; cut rounds into quarter slices. Grate carrots or cut into thin matchstick-size pieces.
2. Combine pasta and salmon with cucumber and carrot pieces. Stir in chopped lamb's quarters, along with dressing and mayonnaise. Add Italian seasoning and salt to taste.

Join us at Heavenly Homemakers for the little Green Project!

Healthy Ramen Noodles? The Making of a New Addiction

Ramen: it’s cheap, quick, and full of flavor, making it a popular choice with the student and frugal shopper crowds. Yet this curly fried wonder is also loaded with fat: 7 grams in the tiny package I consulted. And it’s laced with MSG--unless, like me, you throw away the seasoning packet and eat the noodles dry and crunchy.

Because they are so unhealthy, I seldom buy ramen noodles anymore. Economizing is good, but there’s a balance between saving money on groceries and imperiling our health. Especially when we aren’t paying exorbitant sums for full coverage on our health insurance. If we are eating healthier, we are less likely to need all that insurance anyway.

Nevertheless, I still find the strong, salty taste and aroma of ramen noodles very enticing. I miss eating them. Predictably, my mind wanders back to those cash-strapped undergraduate years...

Snap back to reality. In our cupboard, I found some Asian-style wheat flour noodles, which were un-fried and looked promising. Wondering if they might sate my long-suppressed ramen craving, I dropped five or six noodle bundles into a pan of steaming water. Then I put in some no-added-MSG chicken bouillon paste, a heap of table salt, and--voila!

My efforts yielded a tasty ramen facsimile, with only a fraction of the fat (less than one gram) compared to the original fried noodles. And no MSG.



Then the trouble started. I had to resist gobbling the noodles and accompanying meat for my late night snack attack. Must...save...food...for...husband. I may just have to make some more “fake ramen” pronto. Does that mean I have self-control or not?

Returning to My Solar-Powered Clothes Dryer

For about 7 years, I spent part of every day outdoors and never had to load an electric dryer with clothes. I lived among millions of people who probably never considered owning such a power-gobbling machine. Lately I’ve been revisiting a simpler past with my solar-powered clothes dryer.

Not only does it reduce our carbon footprint, this drying mechanism also gets me outside in the fresh air, which is where I thrive. My clothes smell fresher than when they are tumble dried, too.

And the best thing is, I was able to make this energy efficient contraption with a $5 investment in some wooden clothespins and nylon clothesline. What a deal!

Now admittedly, since we are a family of five and every day is not so sunny, I still use my electric dryer. In the colder months, I go off solar power almost entirely.

But now that the sun is warm and bright, I have the perfect excuse, and three little assistants to help dry our clothes with the natural power of the sun and wind. And if my forgetful self happens to leave the clothes on the “dryer” overnight and it rains? Then that load gets an extra rinse cycle with no further energy expended.

These clothes, for instance, were rinsed twice before making their way back inside.

Going out to the line is also the perfect excuse to let cool green grass squish beneath my bare feet.







Outdoor bliss.

Baking in My Kitchen: A Simple Pleasure

Sure, there is oatmeal strewn about the kitchen. But my 22-month-old "master of entropy" also added a nice flourish of oat topping to my banana berry muffins, unasked and unassisted.





Baking is one of those things I enjoy but seldom get to do anymore. The main obstacle is the clean up that is required before and after (see counter in photo). Still, it is one of those things that I truly enjoy. Baking should not be so difficult, and in fact it is not, as my little guy proved today.

Two of my three children seem to suffer from "hollow leg syndrome." Baking more could help appease their seemingly insatiable appetites. Thus, baking is another simple goal to add to my list that already includes:

Sleeping
Exercising
Journal-keeping
Gardening
Singing as I clean the house


I resonated with another post, Simple Writings Bring Simple Pleasure, which conveys the joy of the quiet moments and ordinary tasks that each day can bring. Instead of complicating things needlessly, I aspire to live abundantly in simplicity.