Rose season is quite possibly my most highly anticipated “plant season” of the year. Many of us bioregional herbalists mark the year in this way…April is Dandelion and Violet, May is Nettles, and Rose season here begins in June. Whether it’s Beach Rose growing wild on the coast, Wild Rose growing every which way with the brambles in the hedges, or a fragrant antique Rose growing in a hidden garden- I love them all.

All throughout the Mediterranean and SWANA region various iterations of this dish occur- the combination of greens, herbs, eggs, and some kind of cheese (often ricotta or feta) for the ultimate peasant food that's deeply nourishing and draws on seasonally and bioregionally abundant ingredients.

Ferments are already medicinally active foods unto themselves and the additional medicinal herbs elevates them even further. I personally enjoy enhancing fermented vegetables with herbs and spices- kimchi, sauerkraut, and root vegetables in particular- choosing the blend based on what’s really in its prime and available in my garden, local farms, and woodlands and meadows.

To me Dandelions equal spring and I’m always sure to make this fairy-fare recipe at least once a season, usually around Beltane. If you want to make these- be warned- Dandelion flowers have a fast season, usually blooming for just a few weeks, so my advice is not to wait if this recipe calls to you!

As soon as spring arrives the plant I’m the most excited to greet each year is Nettles. They’re a true harbinger of spring, one of earliest greens, and a vitamin and mineral-rich herbal multivitamin that also delivers the highest amounts of protein per serving in the plant kingdom- upwards of 30%!

Spring is all about wild foods and greens. Many folks forage for wonderful and abundant wild foods such as Nettles, Garlic Mustard, and Dandelion, however one often over-looked wild food I’d like to highlight is Japanese Knotweed (Reynoutria japonica syn Fallopia japonica syn Polygonum cuspidatum- so many names!).

This soup just might be my new favorite way to have Nettles! It’s so nourishing and soothing and incredibly easy to make! Stracciatella is a soup traditional to the Lazio region of central Italy and is essentially a version of egg drop soup, making it a perfect recipe for the spring when my chickens start laying again in earnest and the Nettles come back.

When spring finally comes here in the northeast it can sometimes feel like a race against time. After waiting months for the return of the green, the plants seemingly pop-up all at once, with wonderful exuberance, and at a pace that few of us can keep up with. Harvesting spring greens- if you let it- could easily be a full-time job!

Have you met Autumn Olive (Eleagnus umbellata) yet? I absolutely love this plant. It’s abundant, easy to harvest, is insanely good for you, and is wild plant we can harvest without concern of over harvest since it’s listed as “invasive” in many states (I prefer to call it “opportunistic”). Also called Autumn Berry and Japanese Silver Berry, this northeast superfood was introduced to the US in the 1830's.

The Nettles are in their prime right now and I've been eating them as often as I can, harvesting to dry for winter nourishing infusions, and experimenting with recipes my kids will like. This recipe was a win so I thought I'd share it. Enjoy!

Kichari is a classic Indian stew of white rice, mung beans, ghee, and loads and loads of spices. It's food as medicine at it's finest. It supports all the eliminatory pathways in the body (often done as a cleanse in Ayurveda), boosts metabolic fire, and provides a re-set to your digestive system, especially if it's feeling sluggish and overwhelmed.

The spring is an exciting, transformative, and expansive time. The plants and the earth are waking-up. And, since our bodies are a little microcosm of this larger macrocosm, a little spring awakening is happening within us too! Can you feel it?

Spring is all about the greens. It's absolutely true that many nutrient-dense wild greens are available all throughout the growing season, but for me the spring is when they especially shine. After I've spent the winter relying heavily on our winter farm share that's rich in tubers and roots, I can't wait to get outside and connect with the spring earth and fill my harvest basket with some liver-loving, chlorophyll-rich greens!

It's currently that weird in-between time when winter is turning to spring, and seasonal transitions are a time when we are especially vulnerable to colds and flus, as any of you who have had a dreaded spring cold can attest too! Here in New England, the weather famously goes back and forth much faster than our body's can keep-up with, and a week of warm weather in March can easily be follow-up by a blizzard.

If you have a garden in New England, you probably have Evening Primrose (Oneothera biennsis) volunteering itself as a weed! Since this plant loves recently disturbed soils, gardens are one of their primary habitats, although Evening Primrose is a plant I would say I "cultivate" only in the very loosest sense of the word!

Lately it's been all Nettles all the time....Nettles in my breakfast, Nettles in my lunch, Nettles for dinner!...I've been making a take on the classic Irish Nettles Soup (recipe below!), which has quickly become become a favorite springtime dish in our home, and it's kid-approved!

This is one of our first wild edibles to emerge in the spring and I just love it. These spicy and somewhat bitter greens (they get more bitter as they get older) are great raw in a wild salad or make a delicious pesto when blended with olive oil and sea salt- recipe below!