My Backyard Grocery Store

Several times this spring I've ventured out into my back yard with a colander and harvested an amazing array of delicacies. This year, I started with creeping bellflower (Campanula rapunculoides) and added mallow and wood sorrel. Such a delicious base for a salad! 

Bellflower is one of the several plants that go by the name "ramps." Sometimes wild onion or leek are also called ramps. Famous in folklore as the focus of desire of Rapunzel's mother, ramps have held worldwide appeal to a greens-starved populace coming out of winter hibernation.  

It's easy to pull up the plants by the roots and you want to do that because bellflowers are one of the most invasive plants in existence. As you can see by the photo above, they're coming up in the middle of my brick walk, in my flagstone patio, in my flowerbeds and throughout the garden, anywhere, sunny or shady, wet or dry. When small, the leaves look deceptively like coneflower or violets. They spread underground and through the air. They choke other plants mercilessly and carpet the forest. They have lovely blue flowers but don't be deceived! Don't let them get to the flowering stage or pulling them up becomes much harder. 

The stalks of bellflower are usually streaked with red like some poisonous plants. But I've never had an adverse reaction, even after eating a whole salad bowl of them. Still, it's best to start small--just nibble on a leaf. The next day, eat a few leaves. Ramps are delicious both raw and cooked. You might try them cooked as you would spinach for a start. 

Mallow is another green that grows prolifically in my garden. It is much more difficult to pull out because it has a long taproot. Instead, just pick the tender young leaves for your salad. Mallow is also good as an appetizer with a creamy spread such as Brie or goat cheese. It really doesn't have much of a flavor at all but is undoubtedly very nutritious. The fleshy root of mallow was once preserved in syrup and became popular as the treat marshmallow. Wood sorrel are the delicate sprouts that I used as a garnish in my salad. They have a delicious lemony flavor and scent.  

At right is the finished salad. I added shredded parmesan, chopped pears and croutons. A ponzu (citrus-based) vinagrette dressing topped it off. Protein, such as tofu, canned or sauteed fish or grilled chicken, could be added to make this an entree. Bon appetit! 

I've also enjoyed spring onions, chives, tarragon, purslane and arugula from my garden. It was fun to gather the tight buds of chives and dandelion and pop them into a brine to use later as capers. The grape vines are budding out and the tender leaves will also be brined to make dolmas, grape leaf rolls stuffed with rice and sprinkled with olive oil, lemon and Za'tar spice. 

I've saved the last for best: a harvest of hops sprouts, which are cooked just like asparagus but can also be enjoyed fresh from the vine. Hops grow fast in my back yard, so I can enjoy the sprouts to my heart's (and stomach's) delight.