PANDEMIC FOOD
PANDEMIC FOOD
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| Urtica dioica Credit: Giovanni Dall'Orto |
On Friday the 13th of March, 2020, my classes met in person for the last time because of the Covid pandemic. We were told we would meet again in two weeks, but I knew that wasn’t going to happen. It was sad to see my students for the last time and I tried to reassure them that everything would be OK.
One of the classes I teach in the fall semester is “Plagues and Pandemics”. My Plagues students and I had been talking about the Covid virus since January, watching its progress as it went from devastating cruise ships to its deadly march through the nursing home in Seattle. We were ahead of the societal curve because we could see the life saving importance of masks, PPE and social distancing. If Covid spread, my students knew we wouldn’t be in school for long because of the lack of social distancing and the potential for the virus to spread.
So we all went home for the long quarantine.
At first, scientists weren’t sure how the Covid virus spread. We were advised to shelter in place at home. Of course, people rushed to the grocery store to stock up on supplies. You remember the toilet paper shortage? My wife and I were already stocked up pretty well so we had no need to worry.
After about a month of staying at home, we ran out of fresh produce. We realized that eating something fresh and green was pretty essential to our well being. By now, it was past mid-April. The snow has usually stopped by this time of year and the perennial plants begin to sprout. Fortunately, I had some perennial greens popping up in the backyard.
Most people wouldn’t recognize these plants as food. They would see them as a pest, as a weed. What I harvested: young stinging nettle shoots and young dandelion leaves. I don’t have a dog in my fenced yard (No worry about urine) and I don’t spray pesticides. We were good to go with eating some organic weeds.
Stinging nettle is an amazing plant. It is covered with tiny hypodermic needles filled with biochemical irritants (histamine, serotonin, acetylcholine and others). This covering of chemical filled needles stops mammals from chewing on the leaves. What a great protection strategy! If you have ever touched stinging nettle, you will never forget the sting. The feeling doesn’t go away for an hour or more. You have a dull ache for a while.
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| The stinging hairs of Urtica dioica Credit: Jerome Prohaska Free Art License |
Needless to say most people don’t want stinging nettles in their backyard.
Fortunately, I don’t mind stinging nettles. I allow some to grow and just avoid them. This coexistence came in handy during the pandemic because we were able to eat them. It was so great to eat some fresh food. I felt like an early American pioneer eating the first greens after a long, cold winter.
You can eat stinging nettles if you steam them. The heat of the steam destroys the chemical irritants and makes the greens edible. To me, nettles are delicious coated with a little butter or olive oil, and salt. Nettles are remarkably high in vitamin C and fiber. I also like to steam them with potatoes. The combination makes a nice flavor.
It’s best to eat the stinging nettles when they are young in the spring, but you can eat the leaves (after steaming) later in the season. In July and August, you want to avoid eating the stems because they are too fibrous.
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| Urtica dioica (Prof. Dr. Otto Wilhelm Thome 1885) |
One time, I didn’t steam the nettles long enough and I could feel a Zing in my throat as I swallowed the nettle greens. Evidently, I hadn’t destroyed all the irritating chemicals. My uvula was overstimulated. Fortunately, the discomfort wasn’t as great as when I’ve touched stinging nettle by accident with my hand. This stinging throat experience was a reminder that I needed to make sure I cooked them thoroughly.
The dandelion greens we ate were delicious and appreciated too. We steamed them as well. It is best to eat dandelion leaves when they are young and smaller because when they get bigger, later on in the season, they taste bitter. Although, you can still eat them. They just don’t taste as good. Sad that people today hate dandelions in their lawn because every part of the plant is edible and nutritious. You just want to make sure you pick them from an area where pesticides haven’t been sprayed nor animals have been roaming about relieving themselves.
In a few more weeks, the Covid outbreak began to subside so I got up the courage to go to a grocery store. I got all suited up with a mask and gloves. I rushed through the store grabbing things as fast as I could to minimize my exposure to other people. When I got home, I stripped off my pants, coat and shirt outside and ducked into the house. I didn’t want to bring the virus indoors as we still weren’t sure exactly how the virus was being transmitted. We even wiped down our packages with alcohol. Fortunately, we did not get the Covid virus. With so much uncertainty at that time, it was better to be safe than sorry.
The moral of the story is: There is really no such thing as a weed or bad plant. It’s all about how you interact with a plant at any given time. I was thankful to eat fresh greens during a tumultuous period. The stinging nettles and dandelion greens were a welcome addition to our diet during the early days of the Covid pandemic. I’ll probably eat some more this spring because they are delicious and it will remind me of our Covid quarantine last spring. We have so much to be thankful for and things are looking up as more and more people are vaccinated.
Check out my new book "Organic Gardening for Beginners and Students" on Amazon.com. Here is the link:
About the Author
Edwin McLeod has been gardening for 45 years. He studied Botany at the University of Michigan, receiving a Bachelors Degree. After graduating, he worked for Dr. Lloyd Andres at the USDA Biological Control of Weeds Laboratory in Albany California. During this time, he conducted a survey of 20 organic farms in California to find out how they control weeds without using herbicides. Shortly thereafter, he managed a small farm owned by Benjamin Berg. In the early 80s, he worked for Amigo Bob Cantisano at Peaceful Valley Farm Supply. Edwin McLeod is the author of “Feed the Soil” - a book about how to improve soil fertility through natural methods and green manuring. He has taught high school students Biology and Physics for the past 30 years. “Organic Gardening for Beginners and Students” is an outgrowth from his Biology of Food class at the Center for Advanced Studies and the Arts in Oak Park, Michigan.
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