Eat Your Weeds

The whole world, including the internet, seems to be covered in garlic mustard right now. While most hardy perennials are just starting to peep out, huge mounds of garlic mustard appear overnight. There are plenty of warnings and alarms about how evil this plant is, how invasive, how it could potentially ruin forests. I tend to get kind of excited about having wild ginger, as it's also called, growing outside my door.

Garlic mustard is edible, and that's why it was introduced here in the first place. I like the approach of keeping these weeds in control by eating them. It's spicy, like horseradish root.The roots are long, but thin, and can be prepared just like horseradish. A lot of people seem to make pesto out of the leaves and roots. And I'm finding the huge roots useful for adding flavor (and good bacteria) to my nuka pickling bed.

Garlic mustard is plentiful during these spring rains, so weed and enjoy.