Okay, so everybody has their little hobbies. One of mine just happens to be edible weeds. I know, it’s a little weird. But I have good authority for it, no less than Euell Gibbons, beloved guru of the nature-loving sixties, and our thoroughly reliable National Museum of Natural Sciences. Both books are pictured below.

This photo shows Lamb’s-Quarters, chenopodium album, a very common garden weed and one that doesn’t get pulled in my plot. I pick it while it’s still young and tender, long before the seeds begin to form. It’s great as a steamed green, just like spinach. My favourite ways to use it are in quiche or stir-fry.

By the way, it is a very close relative of quinoa, chenopodium quinoa.

Lambsquarters

Edible Garden Weeds of Canada

Edible Garden Weeds of Canada

Stalking the Wild Asparagus

Stalking the Wild Asparagus