Chickweed spring salad soothes inflammation & assists weight loss

A sneak peek inside From the Wild

Spring Salad recipe from From the Wild (out September 3rd)

Spring has sprung and its the perfect time of year to make this gorgeous salad with an abundance of Chickweed to found in gardens across the country. Maybe a bit early for those of you in the south but up here in the subtropics its growing like crazy after plenty of rain! I thought I’d share this sneak peak recipe from From the Wild coming September 3rd!!

Chickweed Spring Salad (Fairy Food) 

(20 minutes, serves 2-4) 

This salad is what I imagine fairies eat. It is so pretty and delicate in looks and taste and is so cleansing and purifying. Chickweed contains a lot of a compound called saponins, which act like dishwashing detergent on a greasy pan and literally help break down fats in the body including your winter muffin top. 

The edible herbs and flowers are bursting with fibre, vitamins and minerals that help detoxify the body from accumulated toxins and hormones. It is an excellent source of vitamin C. 

The fennel is calming to the gut and helps improve digestion. The pears are soothing to the digestion, help regulate bowel movements and are low glycaemic, helping blood sugar regulation. The edible flowers can be bought in some health food shops or collected from your garden or local area. Common edible garden flowers are, nasturtiums, violas, violets, pansies, calendula, roses, hibiscus, chamomile, lavender and dandelion flowers. 

Ingredients 

1 cup of chickweed 

1 cup of salad leaves (add lots of wild edibles like dandelion, nasturtium, gotu kola, purslane, nodding top, cobblers pegs, oxalis, fennel, herb robert and mallow). 

¼ fennel bulb 

1 pear 

½ cup of edible flowers (nasturtium, viola, violet, pansie, calendula, rose, hibiscus, chamomile, lavender and dandelion) or whatever you have in the garden, or your area. 

Dressing 

1 orange 

1 lemon 

1 dessertspoon of maple syrup 

1 dessertspoon of olive oil, or another cold pressed seed oil 

1/4 teaspoon of salt 

Method 

Wash and drain the chickweed and salad leaves and shake out the water, or pat dry. 

Add the leaves to a salad bowl. 

Slice the pear and fennel into delicately thin strips and add to the leaves. 

Toss the salad. 

Pour on the dressing (do not add the dressing until just before serving or serve on the side and let people add their own) 

Add the flowers last so they do not go soggy. You can delicately place them over the top of the salad for maximum prettiness. 

Note: this salad should definitely be eaten wearing a tiara, fairy wings, or at the very least a dab of glitter or a sparkly bindi. 

Pre-Order Bonus!!!

If you have pre-ordered From the Wild just email me with a screenshot or forward of your purchase receipt with the email heading ‘Bonus’ and I will send you bonus content from From the Wild that we didn’t use due to lack of space. This content has not been used or endorsed by Murdoch so is less polished but its still very useful.

The plants that we left out are Fleabane and Paddy’s Lucerne and contain recipes for fleabane pet shampoo and insect powder (great for chickens!) and Paddy’s Lucerne anti-diarrhoea drink and cough syrup.

What’s happening on The Wild World Substack

For paid subscribers for the rest of 2024 I will be sharing The Wildcraft Series where we study one plant in depth over 4 weeks, looking at how to identify it, it’s herbal monograph (folklore, historical use, scientific use, indications and cautions) as well as recipes and how it can be used in everyday life.

Update on Live calls

I was going to offer regular live calls on here but am putting these on pause for the moment due to illness in my family which is needing my energy at home. All will be well, but I just need to put my family first. I’ll revisit them down the track and there are lots of courses and events coming up where we can connect. See below.

Upcoming courses and events

I have updated my website with lots upcoming events starting on the 3rd of September when From the Wild comes out. If you would like to join me to make an anti-inflammatory gel (Noosa Library), do a weed walk (Cooroy Community Gardens), talk about using weeds as food and medicine and in agriculture (Kandanga Farm Store, Agvention), make an anti-inflammatory gel (Inspired Festival,Canberra), or have wine and vegetarian canapés inspired by From the Wild designed by head chef Cameorn Matthews using Falls Farm produce (Hinterland Writers Festival at Mapleton Public House) then check out the all the details here.

I would like to acknowledge the Kabbi Kabbi/Gubbi Gubbi peoples on who’s lands I live and work. I acknowledge that sovereignty was never ceded and pray this truth be acknowledged and respected by all who live, work and govern these lands.