…and we had mission successful! Yay!
The back-story: A couple of months ago we planted out three of the small areas in our suburban sized block, affectionately known as the Chickie yard, the Lower Paddock, and the Rabbit yard, with perennial grass and herb seeds. All of that has then come on really well with the combination of rain and sunshine over autumn, but it’s not the only greenery that was growing well. A whole bunch of nettle seedlings had also appreciated the fertiliser and tender care give to the area’s and I was faced with the need to get into those area’s and weed out the many nettle seedlings before they had much more off a chance to get established and reproduce! On the one hand, I love having fresh nettle on hand, on the other hand, I have kids who love to run barefoot in the backyard….nuff said!
So, over two days I spent a couple of hours harvesting every nettle seedling and mature plant that I could find, whilst treading carefully, sparingly, on the new grazing plants that I’m trying to get established. Those area’s yielded me a full 10 litre bucket of nettle stems and leaves; a very nice harvest indeed.
One recipe I’ve been keen to try, using fresh nettle if possible, is this one at Fresh Bites Daily: http://www.freshbitesdaily.com/orange-nettle-drink/
I already include dried nettle where I can into our recipes, such as scrambled eggs, casseroles, pasta dishes, etc. As a health nurturing, nutritious herb, it’s a highly valuable addition to any meal. But this was a new venture, well worth the attempt under the circumstances!
Therefore, two nights ago I boiled up a pot of water, added in the nettles (using dish-washing gloves!), popped the lid on and then left it on a kitchen bench to infuse away! Last night we strained the mix (twice!), and from that I bottled 6 and a bit litres of nettle infusion. What fascinated me was that although the soaked nettles were all still a bold green in colour, the liquid was an amber colour. Then, lo and behold this morning, the smaller bottled portion (the other bottles were all full), was green, like it’s counter parts had been…but, the liquid contained in the full bottles are all still an amber colour. They have all been chilled in a fridge since last night, so I’m quite uncertain about why the difference. It will be interesting to see if anything continues to change. Interestingly, mine was not the texture described in the above link. Mine is quite watery, and not unusual in texture. Another mystery.
My plan is to freeze 5.5 litres in half litre lots, to then take out and defrost for a weeks use at a time. The balance I’ll use over the next week.
Yes, I have tried the orange juice and nettle infusion together. How was it? I could smell the “green herbal tea” scent as I lifted the glass to drink (not at all unpleasant, just “there”), but the taste was decidedly in favour of the orange juice. and quite refreshing to drink. A “thumbs up”!
Certainly consider having a go folks!! 🙂
If you’d like to learn why I see this as such a versatile and important herb, and why I am keen to put it to good use in our family diet, please click on the following link for more information: http://herbsarespecial.com.au/free-herb-information/nettle.html
Isabell’s “How Do I Use Herbs In my Daily Life” book has been an invaluable addition to our family, and I’ve been most grateful many a time for her trusted references and advice, connecting our garden and it’s riches to our family’s health and healing.
Maz's Multitasking 