Herbalist and gardener Carolyn Bateman gets into the weeds while delighting in the return of local salad greens. BEFORE THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION AND THE RISE OF FACTORY FARMING, most people survived the winter on what they’d harvested and stored the year before. By April, the root cellar was down to a few sprouting potatoes, the shelves of preserves were depleted, and planting season had only just begun. The “Hungry Gap” was upon them. We modern folk love spring too, of course, but I like to imagine how it must have been to live 200 years ago and happen upon the first wild greens of spring—a patch of stinging nettles on a forest’s edge or the verdant glow of sheep’s sorrel or bittercress popping out of the ground. Our bodies would crave this green nourishment after a winter of root vegetables and preserved foods—and so would our spirits. In a similar way, I feel the thrill of that return to leafy green eating when the first young sprigs of lettuce, kale, chard, and spinach start appearing in our gardens and farmer’s markets. Winter is truly over and, glory be, we survived and can eat fresh-picked salads again! Modern science backs up our body’s natural movement towards green food in spring. All systems of the body, from digestive to immune to lymphatic, are improved with a diet rich in dark, leafy vegetables. (And we’re not talking iceberg lettuce here, or even butter lettuce really. The darker the green and the more colourful the leaf, the more free-radical-neutralizing antioxidants it contains. Take that poster child for leafy green goodness, kale. Love it or leave it, it can’t be denied that a cup of raw kale delivers a whopping payload of A-Z nutrition: vitamins A, B6, C, E, and K; minerals copper, calcium, magnesium, iron, manganese, potassium, phosphorus, and zinc; a range of antioxidants; and, of course, fibre. All packed into about 33 calories and seven grams of carbohydrate. In fact, most dark, leafy greens will provide you with a similar multivitamin experience in your salad. So, as lovely as lettuce is, many other leaves are worth a try. There are the brassicas such as kale, collard greens, turnip greens, Chinese cabbage, and bok choy, including the piquant mustards mizuna and tatsoi. The bitter greens of the chicory family include curly endive (a.k.a. frisée), radicchio, and escarole, providing the bitter taste our digestive systems need. Amaranth greens such as chard, lamb’s quarters, and orach have the added benefit of more protein than most greens. And then there are all the wild and weedy species, like perennial arugula (hardier and spicier than annual varieties), watercress and bittercress, dandelions, miner’s lettuce, purslane, sorrels, mâche or corn salad, stidolo (also known as bladder campion), lanceleaf plantain, and chickweed. Young leaves can be torn and tossed into your salad, and more mature leaves chopped fine before adding, just to give your digestive system a little help. The oil in a healthy dressing will support the body in absorbing those important nutrients. You may not find all of these unusual greens in your local grocery store, but most salad mixes from farm stands, CSAs (community-supported agriculture), and farmer’s markets will include many of these varieties. For a complete list of Island markets, go to bcfarmersmarkettrail.com. You may even be able to forage some of these in your unsprayed lawn and garden beds (I love weeds if I can eat them). Greens don’t take a lot of space so they’re perfect in containers on a patio or balcony. Full Circle Seeds in Sooke sells three different salad-mix seed packets for cool weather, hot weather, and all-weather, giving gardeners an array of leaf sizes, shapes, and colours. Metchosin Farm’s all-weather salad mix seeds include lettuces, kale, mustard, orach, Swiss chard, and other greens. Saanich Organics’ Seeds of the Revolution offers gardeners a wide selection of unusual salad greens—make your own mixes or try one of theirs. And of course, you needn’t restricted yourself to salads. I sometimes sprinkle a handful of torn and tender greens on top of a pizza just after it comes out of the oven as they do in Italy. My springtime frittatas and stratas are more green than egg-yellow. And I love making a quick green aioli with a dollop of mayonnaise, one of Dijon mustard, extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice, lots of pressed garlic, finely chopped chives, and whatever salad greens I have on hand from the garden. It’s yummy with roasted sweet potatoes or drizzled on a grain bowl. Add some dill or French tarragon and you’ve made a tasty sauce for fish. Sometimes I’ll add miso for that unmistakeable umami flavour. You can whiz it in the food processor, but I prefer the chunkiness that finely hand-chopping the greens gives the sauce. That texture reminds me that these beautiful leaves came out of the rich and life-giving soil. “In some Native languages,” says author, scientist, and professor Robin Wall Kimmerer of the Potawatomi Nation, “the term for plants translates to ‘those who take care of us.’” From my "GOOD FOR YOU" bi-monthly column in EAT magazine. May-June 2023 PHOTO BY CAROLYN BATEMAN
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