'Tis the Season to Harvest Nettles

I've grown up in the high dessert mountains which means scrub brush, poison oak, Mojave Green rattlers, and stinging nettle. The nettle always seemed to infest the best fort making areas... shady cool spots under trampolines and under sage brush branches. Now, I know where to expect it... cool, shady, moist areas with healthy soil such as creek beds. Nettle favors areas near berry bushes, specifically blackberries, sometimes even choking the plant.

Like many herbs and plants with medicinal uses, stinging nettle is considered painful and an invasive weed. In our garden it has taken over the spot for potatoes and lines all of our raised bed boxes. I harvested about four pounds of nettle shoots and leaves this morning alone! 

The first step to nettle harvesting is ensuring that you are properly protected. Thick gloves, a heavy jacket, tough jeans, and boots are a must. I made the mistake of using garden gloves and my hands are riddled with stinging bumps. The best time to harvest nettle is from late March through April when the leaves are tender and between one and three inches wide. If the plant is flowering, you are too late, but you will have twice as much next year to remind you. (Note: there are other uses for mature stinging nettle plants not addressed in this post.)

How to Spot Stinging Nettle 

When you look up descriptions of nettles, they use words like ‘rhizomatous’ or ‘dioecious.’ While it is good to know that there is a male and female nettle plant and the root system sends off shoots, that won’t help locate or avoid it. It commonly grows in shady wooded areas with other weeds in a ‘chain’ of plants because the root system sends out shoots to grow more plants. There is never just one plant... nettles need other nettles to pollinate and grow more nettle plants. On average, the plants are two feet tall with pointed egg shaped leaves and serrated edges. It is entirely covered in tiny hairs.  Any Boy (or Girl) Scout would also know that there are 3-5 main veins on the leaves with hairs that are like needles which inject inflammatory chemicals, creating a burning sensation.  

Harvesting and Processing

Once you are protected and have found a patch of nettle, you’re all set to forage to your heart’s content. The best way I’ve discovered is to start furthest away from the biggest plant working your way in, so you don’t accidentally bury your knee in an unseen plant. While jeans are tough, the little buggers can worm their way through almost anything. Don’t cut it at the base, but trim about a third of the way from the top. This will ensure that the plant will continue to grow and seed for a future crop. Also the lower leaves are tougher and more difficult to process. I filled a plastic bag with trimmings in about twenty minutes. You can also just trim the leaves off, but it takes longer on the harvesting end. I prefer to take the stalks and trim the leaves straight into the pot. 

After this, soak the leaves in a full pot of water for about twenty minutes and then rinse them about 3 times. At this point most of the stinging hairs will be gone, but I wouldn’t advise rinsing with your bare hands. 

After rinsing well, fill the pot back up with water and simmer for five to ten minutes. After this you can do a couple things. I strained and dehydrated the leaves for medicinal use and reserved the simmered broth for tea. Nettle greens are as nutritious as spinach and delicious with a little butter and pepper, giving it an earthy flavor. Nettle Soup, made of the broth and leaves from the cooked green, is a well known early spring dish. 

Stung... Now What?

I always end up with a couple stings even when I use the right gear. It can be annoying and even painful if you get an armful of the tiny needle-like hairs. Traditional remedies include a “tough luck” from your mother, aloe vera, and a paste of baking soda and water. Like most semi-poisonous plants, the remedy grows near by. Yellow dock, another edible plant, takes the sting away. (It can also be used in salads and as a laxative.)

If your sting is keeping you from work, look for the smooth long leaves (that are almost more prolific than stinging nettle!). In the fall they can develop red spots which makes it easier to notice them. I usually make a paste by chewing it a bit and caking it on the stung area. The more delicate individuals just rub it on. 

If you can’t find dock, plantain works just as well, but only if it is fresh. They sell dry plantain leaves, but those work best as tinctures and infusions. Also used in wild salads, it is claimed to be an anecdote for many poisons and toxins ranging from spider and snake bites to worms and laryngitis. It usually has long slender leaves, but sometimes you'll find the more mature plant with fuller oval leaves. 

Why Bother? 

It is difficult to gather and mess with nettle... it can seem more trouble than its worth! But... nettle is high in iron, calcium, and silica. It is considered a tonic food and given to people with anemia, circulatory disorders, and rheumatic problems. It can reduce inflammation and assist in tissue repair. Traditionally, joints would be flayed with the leaves to reduce swelling and in a recent double blind study, it worked. It is excellent for the skin helping with eczema and psoriasis. It also helps children prone to nosebleeds, allergies, asthma, and hay fever. For the more vain, it is a good hair rinse leaving a slightly tingly feeling in the scalp. NOTE: It should not be taken by pregnant women as it can cause miscarriage and was used as an abortive herb in ancient Rome. 

As with any foraging adventure, there is usually more to the story... gathering stinging nettle is not for the faint of heart and certainly not boring! You can read my own hunting mission and mishap on my post... Mountain Girls Eat Nettle.

Forage on...

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The Pantry Fridge... A Very "Mini" Tour

On my last post I showed you a picture of my pantry refrigerator; a dorm size ice box with a mini freezer inside. I actually purchased this last year when our kitchen fridge broke down and was out of commission for over 4 weeks during the summer. We were very blessed that it happened when the produce was actually coming out of the garden and we soon realized our only need at the time was a cold space for the goat milk. (Seriously, I was considering ditching the big fridge altogether and go totally "off grid" as I was so completely frustrated trying to get it fixed at a reasonable price, but that's another story for different day).

But back to the little fridge...

I had to keep the milk cool, so I picked up the small dorm size ice box thinking I could resell it if necessary once the big fridge was repaired. Instead, I found it was just right for all the new endeavors I had embarked upon in the last year or so. Cultures, rennets, herbs, seeds... just to name a few. Things that were taking up so much space in the main refrigerator... Okay, so perhaps I don't REALLY want to chuck the electricity completely. Not yet, anyway. There just really isn't a viable alternative to refrigeration for us at this particular time.)

So if I am going to keep most of these things in my all-to-warm pantry, the dorm size ice box seems to be the ticket for keeping them both dark and cool, which is what most of the items must have in order to stay fresh. It frees up space in the kitchen where I keep the fresh food and allows me to group things together based on use. Here's a little tour of what I keep in the smaller unit...

• Seeds

All my seeds are organized in two containers that fit nicely in the back of the shelves. This helps preserve their integrity so that the majority of them sprout the next season.

• Cultures

Any kind of culture starter is kept in the bottom drawer until I'm ready to use it, whether it's for sourdough or kefir or anything in between. I can also store my starters that are "resting" in this fridge.

• Pectin

I use natural pectin and sometimes I don't use the entire packet. Either way, I always keep it in the refrigerator just to keep it from getting too hot. The Pomona's Pectin requires you to make a calcium water mix, so this can go in here, too. It's nice to keep it separate since family members may mistake it for something else if I don't write on the jar what it's for. They don't venture in this fridge much (if ever), so things are kind of protected in here.

• Rennets

All those little bottles of rennet for cheesemaking... they go in here, too. I TRY to remember to write the expiration date on top so that I can keep an eye for when I need to replace it.

• Yeasts

I'm hoping to move away from conventional yeast altogether, but occasionally we are still using it. So I keep that on hand as well.

• Ginger Ale

I don't get sick too often, but I do occasionally get an upset stomach. And it's always around 2 a.m. To keep my husband from having to make a late night run to the store, I keep non-alcoholic ginger ale (a.k.a. ginger beer) on hand to settle my stomach. This particular brand (Reed's) is a natural ale that really does the trick (has an extra strong ginger flavor due to it's real ginger ingredients) and I'm not getting a lot of the bad stuff with the good. They actually make a "Nausea Relief" brew and a Kombucha, but I haven't found either locally yet.

• Herbal Remedies

This is a biggie... I have all my herbal mixes in here. Like the seeds, they need a cool, dark location and this makes it particularly quick for making up the daily doses for the animals (and humans!). As you can see in the top photo, the jars are starting to take over (I have even more since these pictures were taken!)... I hope I don't out grow this space soon!

• Probios

Probios is my "go to" item of choice for any animal with just about any medical need.... it's basically probiotics for the goats, chickens, etc. It just gives them that needed boost, so I keep it on had at all times, although I usually give herbal remedies in conjunction with it.

• Ice Packs

Having an ice pack ready to go is always helpful. You never know when you'll need one. Plus, I usually have a friend do my goat's blood draws for annual testing, so I use these for shipping blood samples.

So there you have it... the mini tour of the Pantry Fridge. If we ever get the barn built, I'm sure we'll move this out to the milking area so all the herbs are on hand for dosing where we need it, not to mention, I can chill the milk if I need to stay in the barn longer, tending to needs out there. Of course, the seeds, cultures, and starters will have to find a new home at that point, but this solution works really well for the time being.

I suspect there's a lot of dorm refrigerators out there just sitting in garages taking up space... perhaps a few of them can find a new life in the pantry?

How do you store your herbal remedies, cultures, and such? Is anyone blessed with a root cellar and if so, how does it work for these kinds of things?

How To Make Homemade Jerky

My girls dream of this stuff; beg for it as they pass it in the store; would barter and trade it for all their candy if they could just get some jerky. But alas, their mother always says... 

NO. 

Seriously, have you read what they put in this stuff?

Here's one brand's list of ingredients:

Ingredients: beef, corn syrup, dextrose, less than 2% of salt, natural smoke flavor, hydrolyzed corn and soy protein, flavorings, water, vinegar, sugar, molasses, sodium erythorbate, soy sauce (soybeans, wheat) yeast extract, citric acid, caramel color, and sodium nitrite. Contains soy and wheat.

Oh, my! I won't go into a rant about all the issues I have with these ingredients, but suffice it to say, there's more I'm opposed to than in favor of in this list. And what about GMOs? Between the soy and corn alone, it's got to be over the top in this food item!

So, let's try an organic jerky:

Other ingredients: beef, sugar, water, soy sauce (water, wheat, soybeans, salt), flavorings, apple cider vinegar, salt, paprika, smoke flavoring, citric acid.

Much better, but I don't care for my family to eat a lot of white sugar, and what's liquid smoke made of? I'm always suspicious; I just don't trust a lot of food companies anymore. At least the soy is organic, so it should not have GMOs unless it was contaminated and they didn't know it.  So, I looked into liquid smoke and this is what I found:

Liquid Smoke contains: Water, Natural Smoke Flavor, Vinegar, Molasses, Caramel Color and Salt.

Another reads:

Water, Natural Hickory Smoke Concentrate.

That last ingredient is very suspect and very broad! And so is the "natural smoke flavor" and carmel color. These could be anything! However, I'd say, it's a far cry better than the conventional jerky, but I just felt I needed to know what was in it before I let my girls eat. And organic jerky isn't usually cheap. I needed something more affordable, especially the way they go through snacks. (I monitor them very closely, but they just keep growing and burning calories!).

Growing up, my mom and aunt would make venison jerky right in the oven. But it's oh, so much easier with a dehydrator! And the dehydrator is much more economical to run. If you're in the market for one, please consider my affiliate, Excalibur. Although I've had another kind of dehydrator and it was just okay, I sold it because I was extremely pleased with my Excalibur and all it could do! Plus it was much easier to use and clean because the trays are flexible.

In keeping with my desire for simple ingredients, I found the following recipe and liked it fairly well. Keep in mind that it's not spicy, so if you want it to have some kick, add something else to give it that punch. Our first batch was small because it was just a trial to see how we liked the flavor. Other than needing a bit more salt, I think it was very good. It tastes more like seasoned venison than just a bunch of artificial flavors.

Simple Jerky Marinade

2 lbs. lean meat (I used venison)

2 - 4 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 C. honey

1/2 organic soy sauce or tamari

5 T. fresh lemon juice

1/2 tsp. pepper

1/2 tsp. sea salt (I would increase this to 1 tsp.)

Homemade Jerky

1. Trim away all excess fat (this is easier if your meat is partially frozen).

2. Slice meat very thin or grind.

I used a Kitchen Aid Food Grinder that attaches to the front of my mixer. Works great!

Marinade your meat overnight or if ground, a couple of hours. 

Next, using a jerky gun, like this Oster model which we picked up at Walmart for around $13, pack it fairly tight with the meat.

Using a funnel helps!

Select what type of form you want for your jerky based on what comes in your kit. We tried all three of ours, but like the "slim jim" round sticks the best. Screw ring on firmly.

Begin pushing the meat out by pulling the trigger gently. You'll need to practice a bit and re-stuff the meat back in the gun until you get the hang of it. Even if the meat falls apart a bit, just stick it together because when dried, it seemed to do fine. You do want it to lay fairly flat, and we found that it could ripple or bunch up if you're not moving the tip back at the right pace. 

Because the meat was dripping a bit, I put some foil under the tray for easy clean up, but it didn't touch the food. 

I dried the jerky on 155 degrees for about 8 hours. The flat type could have been removed earlier (but I was asleep), while the rolled variety was just about perfect! And all of it was oh, so good!!

What a treat! And we have lots more to do now that we know we like the marinade.

Do you have a great marinade recipe for jerky that's healthy, too? I'd love to know about it so I can try more!

Canning Tutorial: Tattler Re-Useable Lids

I've been using the Tattler Canning lids for a while now, and I can't recommend this product enough! Yes, Tattle is an advertiser on this blog, but I'd be singing their praises with or without the ad. In fact, that is why I asked if they would like to be an advertiser... because I can whole heartedly recommend their product.

What's to love? Let me count the ways...


• The lids won't rust, so they always seem so much cleaner to me.
• They're reuseable, so you don't have to buy more lids all the time.
• They're BPA free! You can use them with confidence that the lids aren't leeching toxins into your food.
• They're easy to work with (and I'm going to show you how).
• The folks over at Tattler are so nice! (I like dealing with nice people.)


When I first heard about the re-useable lids, my hesitation was how to actually process foods with them. Sometimes I just get a bit intimidated and I am not the most confident canner to begin with. Tattler is changing that for me. Somehow I just feel more assured with these lids that they are actually sealed and working correctly for me. I hope this mini-tutorial will help you to feel confident that you, too, can use Tattler Re-Useable Lids!


Using Re-useable Canning Lids


Bring a small pot of water to a boil...

drop lids and rubber rings into the boiling water and turn off the heat source...

wipe the rim of your canning jar to be sure it is clean for a good seal...

remove one lid and ring at a time and place the rubber ring on the underside of the lid.

Place the lid on your canning jar...

add a metal band and close completely, but not tight...

then turn the lid back to loosen it by a quarter inch (1/4"). This step is crucial so that it can vent, but not as scary as it seems.

Process as you normally would in either a water bath canner or a pressure cooker. As you remove the jar, just be sure to tighten it down completely (another crucial step, but easy to do). The jar in the photo below is cool because I forgot to take a picture earlier, but you will need to use a couple of towels or oven mitts to do this because the jars are extremely hot as they come out of the canner (but you knew this already!).

Don't you just love a sight like this! Let the jars sit overnight to cool down. You will not hear the popping sound of metal contracting like you do with traditional lids. I know this will disappoint some of you, but after a while, you'll get use to the quiet! I have noticed that the white Tattler lids look a bit like they are being pulled down in the center ever so slightly. 

The next morning, remove the metal band and check to be sure the jars have sealed by trying to lift up on the lid. If it did not seal, it will come off almost instantly;  you won't have to pry at all. I've had one that didn't seal, but on reflection, I remember thinking I had forgotten to tighten one of the jars as it came out of the water bath canner. Then when I found it loose, I was sure I'd forgot!

There are a couple of drawbacks with the Tattler lids, but I find they are fairly easy to live with. For one thing, if you plan to give the jars as gifts, you'll want to be sure the recipient returns the lid and rubber ring. Or you could just use a few traditional lids for gift jars. Personally, I find that the cost of these lids is reasonable considering the life of the product. However, I don't want to just give them away either. So think about this as you're canning.

9/21/10 Update: I've come up with a little poem to request that the lids be returned which can be written on a tag and attached to the product...

"These lids are re-useable 

and kindly for that reason, 

please return me to my home 

if you want some more next season!"

The other drawback has to do with closing the jars once you've opened them. The two piece lids are a bit cumbersome when getting in and out of jars on a regular basis. It's certainly possible to patiently re-adjust each rubber ring and lid when you get into the food item, but most family members are in a hurry and the rubber ring falls into the jar and food gets on it. I've found a solution that I'm happy with for now... plastic storage caps from Ball. 

These caps are not suitable for processing in a canner, but they're great for items that you're currently using as well as for canning jars that you use for dry storage. The lids I purchased were from WalMart, but unlike the boxes below, they were in the new bright green box and on the bottom right front it clearly stated "BPA-Free". I'm not sure if they changed their formula or if they've always been BPA-free, but be sure the caps you purchase state that they are! Ball has not been openly responsive to customer complaints about their traditional canning lids containing BPA, but apparently they may be getting the message.  

I really like it when things are simple to use as well as clean and neat! It will be nice to say so long to this...

To read more about Tattler lids and how Homestead Revival™ readers are using them, check out this topic on the Community Forum.

Pickled Green Beans

Today's post is a recipe reprint. I hope you have a bountiful green bean harvest this year! I'm still waiting on mine... and anticipating Dilly Green Beans!

I am not very confident when it comes to canning, but the more I do it, the easier it seems. I made these pickled green beans and believe me, they were very easy.(I would highly recommend this as an item for beginners to try.) Surprisingly, it was much easier than making jam or jelly! Now they must cure for about 3 weeks, but in the meantime I think they really look lovely in the jars! 

Pickled Green Beans

from Matthew Molus at food.com

You will need 10 one pint jars and basic canning equipment including a water bath canner.

4 lbs. green beans

1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes, per jar

1/2 tsp. mustard seeds, per jar

1/2 tsp. dill seed, per jar

1 whole garlic clove, per jar

5 C. vinegar

5 C. water

1/2 C. salt

Clean and cut beans to fit in one pint mason jars. Place the red pepper flakes, mustard seeds, dill seeds, and garlic in each jar. Add beans until full. Bring the vinegar, water, and salt to a boil, then pour over the beans in each jar. Tighten the lids and process in boiling water for 5 minutes. Be sure to add additional time based on your altitude.

How do you preserve all those extra beans from the garden?

Dehydrating Blueberries

It's blueberry time and my husband goes wild! He loves these little gems. Last year, he came home with about 50 pounds! You can read about how I froze and canned them here. So this year, I decided to try dehydrating a few in my Excalibur Dehydrator. I love blueberries in my granola, but since I can't get them fresh and organic all year long, the next best thing is dehydrated.

Dehydrated Blueberries


1. Remove all stems and blossoms from the blueberries. Eat all the ones going mushy as fast as you can and before the rest of the family figures out what you're doing. Or you could be really nice and share! They do taste sweeter that way.


2. Blanche by placing blueberries in a boiling water bath until the skins begin to split. This should only take about 30 seconds. If your water isn't a good rolling boil, it will cook your blueberries before it causes the skins to pop. (I know... I did this). And don't leave them for a second or you'll miss the window of opportunity with these!


3. Immediately remove with a slotted spoon or strainer and plunge into an ice water bath to stop the cooking process.


4. When blueberries have cooled, remove them to dry off excess water on an old towel. They don't have to be completely dry, just not dripping wet.


5. Place blueberries on dehydrator trays and dehydrate until they are pliable like a raisin. I set my dehydrator on 135 degrees.


6. Store in an airtight canning jar. This is where I love to use my food saver with the jar attachment in order to remove all the air. And by all means, if you have a Tattler Reusable Canning Lid, be sure to use it! (See Tattler Lids here and enter the give-away!)


7. Enjoy often.

Thinking Ahead To Preserving the Harvest

Hopefully by now, most readers have at least planned their garden even if you haven't started planting yet. But have you thought ahead to what you will need toward the end of the season to save all your produce? If you wait until late August or September to gather supplies, it will be too late to obtain certain items. For example, canning jars often are low in selection by the end of July!

Photo Credit: thebittenword.com

Harvest Preservation Supplies


• Books. Do you have a good book on food preservation, one that includes canning, dehydrating, and fermenting? Or what about storing produce in a root cellar? Consider purchasing one or two that you can use all summer long as a reference for recipes, techniques, and troubleshooting. I'd love to hear about some favorites in this category from Homestead Revival™ readers!

• Water Bath Canner. You can pick up this item at a reasonable price at a hardware or discount store! Definitely a must for every kitchen and a great first purchase if you're just starting into food preservation because the investment is relatively small.

• Pressure Canner. If you like to can most vegetables, you'll need this item, but keep in mind that it is not the same as eating "fresh" produce as it cooks the food in the jar to some degree. It will also can meat, which is a big plus in my book. Have you ever had home canned tuna? Be still my heart! It's unbelievably good! Keep in mind that this is an investment purchase. Also, there is a difference between a pressure cooker and a pressure canner - it's called SIZE! You want your jars to fit inside. And I recommend getting the kind with the dial you can actually read. My wish list includes the All American Pressure Canner - the cadillac if you will of pressure canners. (Each season you should have your county extension agent check your pressure gauge for accuracy.)

• Dehydrator. I personally love the dehydrator for drying herbs, tomatoes, fruits and this summer I hope to try drying some new things as well, such as veggies. I've had two different types of dehydrators, and may I recommend the Excalibur? It is also an investment item, but it does so much more than the round models that utilize rising heat only! (I think I need to devote an entire post to this kitchen jewel. Another day, another post.).

• Vacuum Sealer. My number one favorite kitchen tool after my VitaMix. And to think I nearly didn't buy this because I wasn't sure I'd use it. Silly me! It's perfect for freezing the summer harvest at it's peak without cooking it to death in the process. However, the freezer can fill up quickly if you use this a lot. The attachment hose and jar sealer make it ideal for the dehydrated produce as well. (And can I mention how much I love the meat marinader that works with it?).

Photo Credit: thebittenword.com

• Canning Jars and lids. I use to be forever frustrated that the size of jar I need was sold out when I went to the hardware store until I realized I could often order on-line and get free shipping. Ace Hardware on-line will deliver it to your local store for free, then you just need to pick it up, but they aren't carrying as much as they use to. Perhaps the selection will increase mid-summer, so keep your eyes pealed. Watch garage and estate sales, Craig's list, and discount stores, making sure you pick up a variety of sizes that you will need at the end of the season. And figure on extra! When selecting lids, keep in mind that most, if not all metal lids contain bpa. Leifheit use to claim they were bpa-free, but recently I've heard through bloggers that they now claim they do contain bisphenol A. Weck makes a lovely bpa-free jar and lid, however, they are a bit more of an investment. You might wish to purchase a few each year to add to your collection. Another product to consider are the Tattler Reusable Canning Lids that are bpa-free. I'd like to acknowledge the reader who told me about these, but forgive me... I can't remember who it was! My brain! (Please leave a comment if it was you so I can give the credit where it is due!). Anyway, I plan on trying these myself this summer.

• Accessories. Don't forget the necessary things like jar lifters, cherry pitters, bags for your Food Saver, good knives, etc. Look through the recipes you hope to use and make a list!

• Tomato Press. Oh, how I wish I had this last year! And I only canned a few jars of tomatoes. This year I planted 15 Roma alone, just so I could make lots of sauce, so I bought a tomato press at the end of the season last year to have on hand for this season. 

• Natural Pectin. I had no idea there was such a thing, but there is! Pomona's Pectin. Check it out and order some now! I can actually get this at a large health food store in the big city, but I've ordered it on-line as well. 


• Spices. Last year I looked everywhere for dill seed, which is apparently hard to come by. I could find dill weed, but not dill seed. Most local grocery stores don't always carry it. Again, go through your recipes and see what you might need.


My first choice would be to eat produce fresh from the garden and thus, my goal to garden year-round. In the meantime, however, I like to use a variety of preserving methods depending on the fruit or vegetable I'm storing. Consideration is always given to how it will retain it's most nutrients when preserved.  And because of the expense in acquiring items for preservation, I've had to make a wish list and prioritize the things that are most important to me and spend my dollars there first. Be sure to tell family members in case you have a birthday coming up! 


If you can't afford something you need, consider teaming up with friends who might have the necessary tool. They might really appreciate your help when veggies are coming off the vine faster than any one person can preserve them. And the fellowship is always a wonderful bonus.