2016  CSA Winter February 20  -Chickweed Pesto

• Rainbow Chard
• Baby Salad Mix 8×8
• Baby Arugula 8×8
• Baby Green Sorrel
• Flat Parsley
• Dill
• Cilantro
• Mint
• Poultry Herb Blend
• Butternut Squash
• Chickweed Pesto

Im so grateful that my Dad would take us camping and my Mom would teach us about picking the right kind of berries…this budded a fascination with what was edible out in the “wild”. And the wild was everywhere, even the city. My favorite plant drawing of my Dad’s is of a dandelion, coming up out of New Orleans’ pavement. Noticing the wild in the yard or sitting on electric lines wasn’t too hard in such a lush city as ours, but this backyard connection to the environment stayed with me throughout all my journeys. One plant epitomizes a thread in the tapestry of those experiences: Chickweed. Once i started studying plants with handbooks, Chickweed was a plant that seemed to thrive just about anywhere in my world, and i would find it hiking high in the mountains or strolling along a valley stream. Noticing it is still important to me as i regularly chomp on this stuff while working and use it for skin irritations or injury. Stellaria Media is the scientific name of this useful ally and crisp low-lying green. It has a demure white flower in the shape of a small bursting star. It is rich in vitamins and nutrients and carried some of the surviving Native peoples on the Trail of Tears being that it grows up twice a year, even under the snow! This strong plant is considered a weed by many, but maybe these folks don’t know how useful it is. Stellaria is the plant that healed our Sunny Girl when she was a kitten, having an abscess from a sting or a bite to the neck. This precious herb gives so much; i like to use it from the inside out. So this week, from our garden in the middle of winter, we bring you fresh ground Chickweed Pesto! Try this with a white fish or chicken and your sorrel for a yummy meal. The pesto can be used to turn your butternut squash into a savory treat by cubing the peeled flesh and rolling the squash in dobs of pesto, then roasting it.
The Chard, beautiful colorful and nutritious! Try this as a quick pan fry with walnuts. i like to use my cast iron skillet for just about everything…a little olive oil, adding nuts to roast a bit and then the greens at the end.

 Chickweed

Chickweed

Chickweed

To your health & pleasure, always, love, leslie.