Pulled in both directions

It is always after I have already yanked out and summarily disposed of these...

that I'll see an article or three mentioning how delicious dandelions are.  There are wonderful recipes on offer everywhere you go.  And not just dandelions, there are all sorts of incredible edibles you might be surprised to find popping up in farmer's markets and restaurant kitchens these days.

Do a little research and you eventually run into somebody referencing an anecdote attributed to Ruth Reichl where she purportedly recalls a favorite salad consumed at a fancy dining spot in NYC that consisted mostly of field greens.  

Field greens.  That's menu talk for what most gardeners categorize as weeds, but these weeds have been harvested gently and are specially decked out to please your palate.  Past that, these weeds'll generally run you six to eight dollars a plate.

You know where I'm going with this, right?  Since you are already growing your own, it only makes sense to get out there to harvest and serve them yourself.

Field greens du jour?

Well hold on there, tiger.  It may sound easy enough but there are multiple tricks to safe foraging.  

For starters you shouldn't use anything that's been sprayed with chemicals or that's growing close to anything that's been chemically treated.  For that reason alone, you should probably stick to your own yard. Tempting as those weed riddled empty lots may be, you'd be foolish to take a chance eating anything unless you talked to the owner and determined the chemical history of that space.

Then there are some basic identification issues.  (You know me - there are always identification issues!) The spreading hedge parsley we get is often recommended as good in salads but it looks a lot like and is easily confused with hemlock.

Torilis arvensis texas, spreading hedge parsley

Yes, as in poison hemlock which is classified as invasive in our area and oh me oh my I've been watching too many crime shows on TV because I had to stop writing here for a while as my imagination ran wild after that discovery.

But it also looks like parsley, see?  Hence the name, spreading hedge parsley.

This is spreading hedge parsley minus the blooms.  (Or maybe it is hemlock..)

Plants can be really tricky that way.

Narrow leaf wood sorrel leaves can be used in salads and sauces for a bit of pungent brightness but you must be aware the stems and leaves

contain oxalic acid and some people are sensitive.  So, not poisonous per se, but use in moderation, yes?

Phew.  So you really need to know what it is you are pulling and how much you can safely use.  And this is the point where I discovered that a lot of what I was yanking out, christening "prettier than usual" dandelions, aren't, even.

As a matter of fact I'm not one hundred percent clear on what these are, other than entrancing.  I can sure enough tell you four or five plants they are not. Including dandelions.

Dandelions occur on rosettes with a stem supporting a singleton bloom.  These guys throw up stems with a multitude of tiny blossoms.  Pretty, but not dandelions.  Very likely edible, but still not dandelions.  I think they are some form of Crepis - a Hawksbeard of some type? (anybody who recognizes it feel free to weigh in). In Greece they use a local Hawksbeard raw, boiled, and steamed. Opa!

If I'm right, these too could be used in salads. If I'm wrong, well...(sigh..). Obviously, the only safe way to gather field greens is with a well informed field guide.

In the abstract, I have several candidates for the salad bowl popping up everywhere the soil was disturbed.  In practice, when I'm on the prowl to pull out what's unwanted, I somehow keep neglecting to see the "greens" in that sea of greens.  With a little care given to identifying what is growing in my spaces, I can change all that.

Fork to sky: Next time, salad!

*WARNING:  As I've taken pains to point out, there are safety issues to be considered when eating gathered wild plants.  I'm obviously not an expert and you should in no way rely on what you read here as expert guidance.  You guys, I can barely take care of myself, no way I intend to be held responsible for you.  We clear? Good!