Andrea

I was out cleaning up the front garden bed, trimming back things, pulling up things I didn't get to last Fall, and getting ready for the new planting season. Lo and behold, my nettles are going to town! In fact, they never really died back this year. So, I clipped off all the old stuff and I have lots of lovely fresh green nettles to work with! My first thought was, YES, now I can dehydrate some! Thank you all for your responses about dehydrating nettles! I know I'm late in replying, but I wanted to let you know how much I appreciate the info!

I just made this last night. It is DELICIOUS! Definitely a keeper recipe! I think that next time, and there will be a next time because it's so good, I will decrease the butter by a third as well as the sugar. It was a bit too sweet for our tastes. But a great recipe! Thanks for sharing!

I've used the ice chest method also. It works great! I got the info from the Hillbilly Housewife link that Violet has posted.

Yep, I made 5 batches of jam and will be giving the majority of it away as gifts. Canned Nerd, that is too cool! I'm going to look into this!

Kathleen, freeze the broth that won't fit in jars in ziploc bags. If you lay them flat to freeze, they stack nicely in the freezer and take up less room! I came home to a surprise gift of a giant bag of kiwis on my front porch. Looks like I'll be making kiwi jam tomorrow - a LOT of it!

Hey, when did we get ? I LOVE this one!

Yep, I'm going to make some nonfat yogurt tomorrow myself, using the cooler method and then I'll turn it into soft cheese. It should be done in time for Thanksgiving! Yumm! Arby, I'm so glad your yogurt maker is working so well for you! Make sure and post your favorite/most successful recipes! I'm pretty new to the world of yogurt making, I've only done it a times, but I would love to learn more about it. We love the stuff and I have lotsof fruit in the freezer to flavor it with. If work ever slows down, this is an area I would like to explore a bit more.

AH - you basically end up with a soft cream cheese. I've only done it a few times but it's worked well for us. And just like the store bought soft cheese, you can mix just about anything into yours! We are particularly partial to chopped olives and diced green chilies! But I've made herbal spreads with bits out of the yard, and the family has eaten just fine! I think the favorite herbal blend so far has been chopped chives, a teeny amount of thyme, garlic powder, salt and pepper. At Christmas, I usually make a salmon spread. Maybe I'll make my own yogurt cheese this year!

Homemade Yogurt Cheese (Hillbilly Housewife) http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/yogurtcheese.htm Homemade Yogurt Cheese 1 quart yogurt, store-bought or homemade, dairy or soy 1 strainer paper coffee filters or cheese cloth or any loosely woven fabric that is clean, and preferably, pet-hair-free You may use homemade yogurt or purchased yogurt to make this recipe. I always use homemade because I keep it on hand regularly. Line a strainer with damp cheese cloth, or paper coffee filters or any clean loosely woven clean fabric. It will take about 3 or 4 paper coffee filters to line a standard sized strainer or colander. Spoon the yogurt into the filter or fabric. Set the strainer in the sink and allow it to drain overnight. The whey will drip out of the yogurt, leaving a smooth, creamy all natural cheese similar in texture to cream cheese or neufchatel. This recipe makes about 1-1/2 cups. I use yogurt cheese to stuff celery, spread on crackers, bagels or toast, and as a base for dips instead of sour cream. I also like it mixed with brown sugar and cooked whole wheat berries. This is particularly good as a snack or for breakfast. This cheese is also good spooned into a bowl and topped with fresh or canned fruit. See the recipes for Cream Cheese Sauce, Cream Cheese Frosting, and Creamy Fruit Dip, for ideas. A quick note for folks who have rogue nocturnal pets, specifically cats. I can’t drain my yogurt cheese in the sink overnight because cats will get into it and eat every bit of it while I sleep. To combat this, I set up my draining device and place it in the oven overnight. I find a large bowl or dishpan and invert a cereal bowl in the bottom of it. Then I place my strainer on top of the inverted cereal bowl. The inverted bowl acts like a rack, to keep the yogurt above the whey which drains out of it as it sits. The yogurt goes into the lined strainer as directed above. The whole apparatus goes on the bottom rack of the oven. I make sure the oven is turned off, shut the door and go to bed. In the morning, my cheese is perfect, having been well protected from lurking felines all night long. This method also works well if you want to save the whey to use in cooking. Some people prefer to drain their yogurt in the fridge, which is a great idea. My fridge is small though, so I’ve had to make other arrangements. Soy Yogurt makes excellent soy yogurt cheeze. It can be used to replace dairy cream cheese in many recipes. It tastes a little fruitier and sweeter than dairy yogurt. Many people prefer it to dairy yogurt cheese. If you’re vegan you owe it to yourself to give this a try at least once. It is very good.

Homemade Yogurt from powdered milk (Hillbilly Housewife) 3-3/4 cup warm tap water 1-2/3 cups instant nonfat dry milk 2 to 4 tablespoon store-bought, plain yogurt with active yogurt cultures (read the label to be sure) In a large saucepan combine the tap water and dry milk powder. Stir it very well, and let it sit a few minutes. Then stir it again. All of the dry milk should be dissolved. Heat the milk over medium low heat until it reaches 180°. This kills off any competeing bacteria so that the yogurt will respond better to the acidophilus cultures. Remove from the stove and allow to cool to 115°. If the milk is any hotter than this then it will kill off the yogurt cultures. Add the store-bought plain yogurt to the warm milk. Stir well. Allow it sit for a few minutes and stir a final time. This should dissolve the store-bought yogurt completely. Carefully pour the mixture into a very clean, quart-sized, wide-mouthed canning jar, or another clean, quart-sized container. Incubate the yogurt in a warm spot for 6 to 8 hours, or until it is set almost as thick as store-bought yogurt. Chill and eat. Each cook develops her own way of incubating home made yogurt through trial and error. I am going to describe my method, followed by some other common methods and ideas. But first there are a few things you need to know. Yogurt is cultured from acidophilous bacteria, which you can sometimes buy in powdered form at the health food store. I have never actually seen it, but I've heard tell about it. Yogurt can also be cultured from store-bought yogurt which contains "active yogurt cultures" or live bacteria. Read the label and it will tell you if the yogurt contains active cultures or not. I always use prepared yogurt as my culture. I buy a large container of plain store brand yogurt from the store. I bring it home and scoop it into a couple of icecube trays. Then I freeze it. When it is completely frozen, I take the frozen yogurt cubes and pack them in a plastic freezer bag. Each time I make yogurt, I use one cube as the starter. You can use your own fresh yogurt as a starter too, but eventually it loses it's power due to the introduction of foreign bacteria, usually after using it about 3 or 4 times. I like to use a new frozen yogurt cube each time I prepare yogurt. I've had my best results this way. When making yogurt with powdered milk, it is good to use more dry milk powder than you would to just make fluid milk. For instance, normally I would use 1 1/3 cups of dry milk powder to make a quart of milk. When I reconstitute milk for yogurt, I add an extra 1/3 cup of dry milk powder, using 1-2/3 cups of dry milk powder for a quart of yogurt. This makes the yogurt thicker and also higher in calcium. Even when preparing yogurt from fluid milk, the results are better if you add a little extra powdered milk for thickness. There are lots of ways to incubate your yogurt. I prefer to do it in my electric oven. I set the stove dial half way between OFF and 200°, or at approximately 100°. The light which signifies the oven is on, pops on for a moment, and then pops off when the temperature is reached. I set my jar of yogurt in the oven and leave it for between 6 and 8 hours, usually overnight, or while I'm out for the day. I take out the yogurt when it is thick. This method works every time for me. My yogurt has a very mild flavor, which the kids like better than the sour stuff we used to get from the store. There are many other ways to incubate your yogurt. Some people pour the warm milk combined with the starter, into a large preheated thermos and let it sit overnight. Other folks set the yogurt on top of a warm radiator, or close to a wood stove, or in a gas stove with the pilot operating, or on a heating pad set on low. Sometimes I have placed the jar in a pan filled with warm water, to keep the temperature even. This worked pretty well when I incubated the yogurt next to the wood stove. It kept the yogurt at a uniform temperature, even with occasional drafts from the front door opening and closing. The heating-pad method is supposed to be pretty reliable. You set it on low and then cover the heating pad with a towel, place the yogurt on top of it, and put a large bowl or stew pot upside down over the yogurt. This makes a little tent which keeps the heat in. I don't have a heating pad, and have never actually used this method myself, but a good friend swears by it. Another friend uses a medium sized picnic cooler to incubate her yogurt. She places the jars inside the cooler and then add two jars filled with hot tap water, to keep the temperature warm enough. After 4 hours, check the yogurt to see if it is thick enough. If it isn't then refill the water jars with more hot water, return them to the cooler, and let the yogurt sit another 4 hours. When I tried this method, it worked very well. It took a full 8 hours, but the yogurt was perfect, and I liked not having my oven tied up during the day. Also, there was little danger of getting the yogurt too hot while it incubated, and drafts weren't a problem because of the closed nature of the cooler. You should try to disturb the yogurt as little as possible while it is incubating, in ensure you get good results. After the yogurt is thick, place it in the fridge. It will stay sweet and fresh for about a week or two. You may prepare more than one jar at a time if you like. I included the method for a quart because this is the size canning jar I use. Narrow mouth canning jars would probably work too, but I prefer the wide mouth ones because it is easier to stick a measuring cup or ladel down inside of it, to scoop out the yogurt. I usually prepare two quart jars at a time. The prepared yogurt is good mixed with jelly, fresh or canned fruit, served with granola for breakfast, or substituted for sour cream in many recipes like stroganoffs. It is also nice pureed in fruit smoothie blender drinks, or stirred into gelatin or popscicles before freezing them. It can also be stirred half and half with regular mayonnaise to make a very tasty low fat mayonnaise. This mixture can be used in just about any recipe which calls for mayonnaise. Learning to make yogurt is a trial and error process. Most people don't have perfect or consistant results the first few times they make it. With a little practice though, anyone can learn to make it. When you get a little skill at it, the entire process becomes second nature, and you will have sweet fresh yogurt available whenever you like. http://www.hillbilly....com/yogurt.htm

I just had this epiphany this morning, so give me a few days! It also figures that I just put 40 lbs of this years raw almonds into the freezer! This might be a fun experiment if I had some free time - almond cheese takes a minimum of 2 days. I have a light week next week so let me see what I can do! andrea

You can still make herbed yogurt cheese from powdered milk?

Wow, you're right, AH. Soy Cheese is a pretty involved process: http://www.bryannaclarkgrogan.com/page/page/1999382.htm#cheese Interesting to know though. I think I'll stick with almonds since they grow so plentifully here and raw almonds will keep forever in the freezer. Hmmmm, I wonder if they would sprout though after being frozen? I need to research this!

You've got me thinking, AH. I've got access to tons of almonds but not so much soy. Check this out: http://www.ehow.com/how_2053821_make-raw-almond-cheese.html You can make cheese from almonds! Wooohoooo! Okay, back to the normally scheduled thread

NICE SCORE!

and yet more oregano . . . I think it's got world domination on it's mind . . . .

Apricot Jam - 2 batches of regular, 1 batch of sugar free

Very Cool! Thanks for the tip! I'm going to give this a try!

I either use the recipe from my Betty Crocker cookbook or the recipe on the back of the Krusteaz bag of pancake mix which I will buy from time to time if the price is right! I also cook extras of both waffles and pancakes and freeze for future use. As for limpness, we always heat them up in the toaster and this seems to solve the problem!

I snap mine off as soon as I spot them. Supposedly, the plant then puts it's energy into the bulb instead of the flower. I don't know if it's right, but it's what I've always done . . .

Really, it turns out good? I keep looking at this recipe wondering how on earth it would work. But really, it tastes great? It doesn't turn brown or anything? Okay, I'll have to give it a go. It would definitely make an interesting gift!

Hmmmm, any reason I couldn't do this with the pre-sliced mushrooms you can purchase in the grocery store?

Thanks Mother! Great Info! Kappydell and Mother, do you blanch the nettle leaves before dehydrating them or do they go straight from the plant to the dehydrator? I'm guessing the dehydration process eliminates the stingy spines? Your input would be very much appreciated! I have a lot of nettles that I hate to see go to waste! Thanks again!

Okay, I found these, but I think I might try a version of nettle quiche instead of spinach. I'll let you know how it goes! http://www.mariquita.com/recipes/nettles.html Note on Nettles: These are a great and healthful green to eat, but they are only eaten cooked. Take care when handling, they will sting while raw. It takes very little cooking to shed the stinging. What I like to do with nettles, from Julia 1) make a tisane (herb tea) with them. I like the taste of this tea, especially right after you swallow: it's delicious. Herbaceous, yes, bright green, yes. I just love it. recipe/instructions are below 2) order nettle anything on menus when I'm eating out. What did Chef A. or Chef B. do with nettles tonight!? I want to know. 3) use them as a cooking green. They're rather tender, and once they hit the heat the sting leaves nearly immediately and they are not only safe to eat, They are beyond healthy and quite delicious. I saute them with a bit of garlic, S & P and toss with noodles. Same as I would do with kale or chard in a basic noodle dish. Read on for more recipes. enjoy! RISOTTO WITH NETTLES Recipe by Joanne Weir thanks, Joanne! her blog 6 ounces nettles, stems removed 2 cups homemade chicken stock 2 cups water 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 1 small yellow onion, minced 1 cup Arborio, vialone nano or carnaroli rice 3/4 cup dry white wine, preferable Sauvignon Blanc Salt and freshly ground black pepper ¾ cup finely grated Parmigiano Reggiano 1 tablespoon unsalted butter To remove the stems from the nettles, be sure to use latex gloves. Place the chicken stock and water in a sauce pan and heat until it is hot but not boiling. Reduce the heat to low and maintain the heat just below a simmer. Place a ladle in the pan. Warm the olive oil in a large heavy casserole over medium heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, 10 minutes. Add the rice and nettles and stir for 2 to 3 minutes to toast the rice and coat with oil. Add the wine and simmer, stirring constantly, until the wine has reduced by half, 3 to 4 minutes. Add a few ladlefuls of stock to the rice and stir to wipe the rice away from the sides and the bottom of the pot. Continue to stir until most of the liquid has been absorbed. Add another ladleful of stock and continue to stir until the liquid has been almost absorbed. Continue to add stock and stir in the same manner until the rice is no longer chalky, 20 to 25 minutes total, depending upon the variety of rice. Season with salt and pepper. Remove the pan from the heat and add another ladleful of stock, the butter and the half of Parmigiano. Cover the pan and let sit covered off the heat for 5 minutes. Remove the cover and stir. Place the risotto in a bowl and serve immediately. Pass a bowl of Parmigiano alongside Serves 4 Nettle Risotto 1/4 pound young nettles 11 oz risotto rice (i.e. arborio) 2 leeks or 1 onion, cleaned and chopped small 2 Tablespoons butter or olive oil 1/2 vup dry white wine 6 cups or slightly less chicken or vegetable stock 1 oz grated Parmesan cheese S & P to taste Heat the stock in a large saucepan. Wash the nettle leaves. Blanch for 2 minutes in boiling salted water, drain and chop very finely. Cook leeks/onions gently in half the butter in a large saucepan for a few minutes until tender. Add the prepared nettles and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring. Add rice and cook over a slightly higher heat for 2 minutes while stirring. Pour in the wine. Cook, uncovered, until all the wine has evaporated, then add about 1 cup boiling hot stock; leave the risotto to cook, stirring occasionally and adding about 1/2 cup boiling stock at intervals as the rice absorbs the liquid. After about 14 - 15 minutes' cooking time the rice will be tender but still have a little 'bite' left in it when tested; take off the heat and stir in the remaining butter which will melt and make the rice look glossy; sprinkle with the freshly grated Parmesan cheese. Add salt and pepper to taste, stirring gently. CHEATERS VERSION: purists, close your eyes before you go on! yes, I sometimes make risotto in my pressure cooker, with results that satisfy a family staying home to eat that night. Just don't tell Nonna! Cook up the onions/leeks in the butter/oil in a pressure cooker. Add rice, stirring often, until lightly golden. Add nettles, stir them in. Add wine, stir to mix. Add broth. Increase heat to high. Continue to stir until it all comes to a boil. Close pressure cooker lid (use instructions that came with it, the newer versions are quite safe). Cook on the first red ring if you've got that kind. (I have a Kuhn Rikon) Adjust heat and cook on the first red ring for 7 minutes. Remove from heat, run the whole pot under cold running water until the pressure is safe/done so you can *safely* open the pot. Open up, stir in the parmesan cheese. It works for me! -Julia Nettle Frittata by Mark Gordon of Terzo in SF Yield: 6 portions ½ # Cleaned Nettle Tops 4 Tbls Extra Virgin Olive Oil 1 Garlic Clove, Chopped 6 lg Organic Eggs ¼ C Heavy Cream Salt & Pepper to Taste Preheat oven to 300º Cook 1/3rd of the nettles in one tablespoon of the olive oil in a non-stick pan. Cook until tender adding a small amount of water if needed. Repeat this 2 more times adding the garlic on the third batch. Place all of the cooked nettles on a cutting board and chop finely. Place the nettles in a bowl of a food processor with the eggs, salt, pepper and process until the nettles are incorporated into the eggs. Add the cream and process for 10 seconds. Heat the non-stick pan on medium with the remaining tablespoon of oil. Add the nettle mixture and with a rubber spatula move the eggs around to get the entire mixture warm. Place into the oven and cook for about 12 minutes. Let cool for 3 minutes then turn the frittata out onto a plate and cut. Nettle Tisane Nettle tea is pleasantly herbacious without tasting like you are steeping a suburban lawn. I find the ‘afternotes' especially pleasant and mellow. Nettle tea is reported to be a great blood and liver tonic. A nice thing about this recipe: you can use the whole leaf and stem, no need to remove the leaves from the stems. I use a little tea strainer when pouring the final tisane into cups. 1 pyrex measuring cup boiling water nettles to loosely fill 1/3 to 1/2 of the measuring cup 1. Soak the nettles in cool/cold water for a few minutes. 2. Boil the water 3. Rinse nettles, using tongs or dishwashing gloves to not sting your hands. 4 Place cleaned nettles in measuring cup or teapot or glass bowl, pour water over to fill cup, and steep the ‘tisane' (a tea made with fresh herb) for 5 or so minutes. Enjoy. Sauteed Nettles with Green Garlic & Olive Oil Created by: Armando "Tiny" Maes of Lavanda serves 6 1 ¼ # Nettles, Cleaned 3T Green Garlic (Chopped) 1/2 cup Olive Oil Salt & Pepper (To Taste) First preheat a large sauté pan on medium high heat, (one large enough to accommodate the nettles, you can even use a large pot as well). Second pour ¼ cup of the olive oil into the preheated pan. Then put all of the green garlic into the pan sauté briefly for about 30 seconds, just enough time for the green garlic to release its essential oils, being sure not to brown or burn the green garlic. Place the nettles into the pan and give it a good stir, let sit for just a second and then continue the stirring process. Once the nettles are completely wilted place them on a plate, drizzle with the rest of the olive oil and place a couple of lemon wedges for garnish. Note: The nettles do not have the water content like spinach or other similar greens. So it might help to put a couple Tablespoons of water into the pan after the nettles have started cooking, just to hurry the cooking process. Myself I do not put the water, because I like the texture of the nettles when you sauté them. It is like little crispy nettle leaves and it also brings about a certain nuttiness. Fettuccine with Nettle & Ricotta Pesto Created by: Armando "Tiny" Maes of Lavanda in Palo Alto serves 8 1# Fettuccine (Preferably Fresh) 1/2 pound Nettles 6 oz. Ricotta 5 oz. Pine Nuts 1/4 cup Pecorino 2 T Parmesan 3 T Green Garlic (Chopped) 1 ¼ cup Olive Oil 8 T Sea Salt 6T Butter First you blanch the nettles in salted water. Bring 1 gal. of water and 4 T of sea salt to a boil. Then place the nettles into the boiling water, just blanching them for about 1 minute. Take them from the water and place them into a strainer so that the excess water can drain away and so they can cool down to room temperature. Then rough chop the nettles and squeeze them dry as best you can. Place the nettles into a blender or food processor; add your oil, 4 ounces of pine nuts(saving the rest as a garnish) and the Green Garlic. Blend until all ingredients are combined about 30 seconds to 1 minute. Place the combined ingredients into a bowl, add your pecorino, parmesan and ricotta. Finish the pesto by folding in the three cheeses just until it looks like everything has come together. In a separate pot bring 2 qt. Water and 4 T sea salt to a boil to cook the pasta (you should be able to taste the salt in the water, if not add more). In a separate large sauce pan or large sauté pan place about just less then half of the pesto mixture, 6 T butter and about a ¼ cup of the pasta water, heat all ingredients just till hot but not boiling or popping. In the pot cook the pasta for approximately 2-4 minutes pull the pasta from the water and toss with the warmed pesto sauce, cook on medium heat for just about 2-3 minutes so that the sauce has time to infuse into the pasta. Nettle Soup by Maud Hallin Serves 4 ½ lb. fresh nettles 1 quart chicken broth 1 hard boiled egg 1 tbs. butter Rinse nettles. The soft stalks can be used. But if you pick nettles of fully grown plants, use only the leaves. Of course, the fresh young tops are the best. Be sure to wear gloves, as they sting, until they have been cooked. Put rinsed nettles in a pan with a quart of water. Put to a boil. Push down the nettles into the water. When all nettles have been softened, drain liquid from nettles. Puree the nettles, mix with the chicken broth. Heat up mixture, add salt and pepper to taste. Of course, you may add chives, or a dash of garlic. As this is considered a spring dish in Scandinavia and Russia, an egg, which symbolizes rebirth, is often added. You may add some lovely quail eggs, or half an egg. The white and yellow looks especially nice as a center piece of the soup. The most elegant version is to chop an egg and mix it with soft butter. Put mixture onto some plastic wrap, and form into a sausage. Refrigerate until hardened. When ready to serve soup, cut egg/butter mixture into thick slices and put into center of soup plates. Excellent for increasing your intake of iron. Nettles freeze very well. If you have a garden, or plants, save the liquid, as fertilizer. If you allow the liquid to ferment, it works nicely as a bug spray. What many modern city people don't realize is that nettles are considered in some countries as exquisite as wild mushrooms. Nettles are used in many other countries, but to people in the Northern Hemisphere, after a long dark winter, these very early spring greens add a very needed supplement of iron, and fresh vegetables, when the root cellar was getting pretty bleak. Martin's Nettle-Topped Linguine 1/2 pound linguine, cooked during nettle prep 2 Tablespoons olive oil 1 Tablespoon unsalted butter 1 bunch green garlic, or 4 cloves garlic 1 shallot or small onion Salt and Pepper 3/4 pound of fresh Nettles fresh Parmesan or Pecorino cheese to grate Nettle Preparation: Soak in cold water for at least 5 minutes while you put together the other ingredients. Completely submerge the nettles in cold water. Take care not to touch them yet. With a glove, remove the leaves from the largest stems. Some folks eat the stems too, it's up to you. Cook shallot and garlic in the oil and butter over medium heat. Spin dry nettles in a salad spinner. Toss the dried-off nettles into the garlic/oil pan when the shallot is softening and toss with tongs until the nettles are wilted. At 1/4 cup or so water, turn to low heat, then cover, simmer until soft. Add cooked noodles, season to taste, and serve with grated cheese. Potato Nettle Soup 2 cups Nettle Leaves (young shoots) 1 Onion 6 small Potatoes 8 cups Water 1 tsp salt 1 tsp. Parsley 3 cloves Garlic OR 3 stalks green garlic Puree onion, garlic, and nettles with 1 cup of water. Cut potatoes into small pieces. Simmer pureed mixture with potatoes and remaining water for 45 minutes or until tender. Use a potato masher to mash the potatoes making the soup thick and creamy.

Hey all! So, I grow nettles in among my tomato plants. Apparently, nettles and tomatoes are best friends in the gardening world. Anyway, I've always tossed a few nettle leaves in with my stir-fry but other than that, I've never really cooked with it. Last night, I had to trim my nettles back A LOT and figured I would cook some up. So, I tried this recipe for nettle soup found at this site: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe-Tools/Print/Recipe.aspx?RecipeID=165071&origin=detail&&Servings=5 I thought it was pretty good, but my family gave it a BIG thumbs down. Does anyone have any tried and true nettle recipes they would like to share? I've got lots of nettles to keep trimmed back (if I don't, I can't access my tomatoes!) Thanks!