Nasty but tasty!

I am in search of the famed nettle.

O.K, maybe I don't have to search very far, in fact there

are plenty close at hand.

Healthy and many.

Up in the back of our property, in behind the hen yard, the nettles are at their prime.

Now is the time to use them as spinach, or in pesto as I'm doing...

"But wait!" you say.

"Aren't those things called stinging nettle for a reason?"

Oh yes!

Don't go hunting without these weapons of protection!

Gloves to save yourself from the histamines in these tiny spines on raw nettles...

...and clippers to snip the tops.

I find even with gloves, pinching them off can cause a sting

if you don't have leather gloves.

If you've never encountered the wrath of a nettle, believe me you NEVER want to.

The sting from these babies will be with you for days.

Kind of a combination of a burn and a bee sting.

BUT!

Nettles are so high in iron and good for blood purification, dandruff, allergies

and countless other things too many to mention.

A tea made from loads of them is great fertilizer for your garden.

The trick?

Steam them for about 2 minutes and the sting is gone.

I freeze steamed nettles on cookie sheets and pack them loosely in bags.

Use them for a spinach substitute, adding them to soups, spannokopita,

stews, tea or as I did, making pesto.

There are many recipes on the net for nettle pesto but

my take on it is that I still add some basil for flavour.

It's much more economical and probably more nutritious.

Just remember...

always use tongs and gloves and long sleeves and pants until

you've safely steamed them.

Good for your heart too!

So love them big time!