I couldn't believe it the first time our fearless teacher told us that you could eat Nettle!!??! I couldn't help but think just how hungry I'd have to be before THAT happened. Really, teacher claims that Nettle is nutritious and good. I was in no position to doubt it's food value...but good?? Oh, get serious.
This past Winter it seemed as though I put Nettle into every horse formula that I made. Nettle whispered and coaxed me through the long snowy season. This Spring when Nettle's tender leaves pushed through the ground I was bravely there. Into the pan went Nettle, with a little olive oil and garlic. It looked just plain weird on my plate. I psyched myself up as best I could.......and tasted it. Hm, it's not too bad. I'll try another little piece. No, this isn't bad at all. In fact, this is yummy!!
So went my first Nettle tasting. I'm curious, leave me relpy post...have you tried Nettle?

Hi Shelly,

Yes, this spring one of my goals was to wildcraft some nettles and make spanikopita (Greek spinach pies) with it because 1) I wanted to get over being timid of these stinging things, 2) I knew nettles were good for you, and 3) I knew you can use nettles for spinach in any recipe calling for spinach. The surprise came when I found them growing in a very small waste strip between us and our neighbors (I had been planning on going to a co-worker's place to harvest hers). How I missed my own in the past is beyond me, but I suspect they only recently got there with the help of a bird (?)
Anyway, did I like them? They were a bit strong (probably needed to harvest them a little earlier, but I liked them. My husband really loved them, though - he thought I had just used spinach again because he hadn't seen me harvest them. It didn't bother him in the least when I told them what they were- he doesn't know much about plants anyway- all he knew was that they were "really good". I will definitely do it again next spring.

Great story Alise! I am amazed too at how once you show an interest in a plant it 'shows' up! I love it.