Winter Salad Additions

Miner's Lettuce and Chickweed are two great edible leaves that come out in the winter and stay till spring.

Stellaria media

Chickweed is an invasive "weed" from Europe.


Claytonia perfoliata

Miner's Lettuce was named because the Gold Miners would use it as a source of Vitamin C.

Both of these lovely little plants make great fresh additions to salads and sandwiches.

Horehound - Marrubium vulgare

Horehound is a bitter tasting herb of the Mint family, and like other plants in this family it has some great medicinal uses. This herb is can be used to soothe the throat, expel excess mucous (expectorant) and restore appetite. Horehound can be made into a tea or a cough syrup.



To make a cough syrup from horehound steep whole horehound in a pot of water, let half of the water evaporate off, then add an equal amount of honey. You can store this in a bottle or jar and use whenever you need an effective cough remedy and expectorant. Other useful herbs to add to this cough syrup are Yerba Santa, Licorice, Anise, Loquat leaves, and marshmallow.

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Yerba Santa - Eriodictyon californicum

Yerba Santa is an herb found growing in California and Oregon. This plant has both medicinal and edible qualities to it. Medicinally Yerba Santa has been used to treat Asthma, cough, and hay fever. The herb is also an expectorant, which helps discharge phlegm and other fluids from the respiratory tract.


Yerba Santa Leaves

The leaves of Yerba Santa have a resinous texture to them. When chewed waves of bitterness and sweetness can be experienced on the tongue.


Yerba Santa Flowers

California Bay Laurel nuts - Umbellularia californica

California Bay Laurel or Umbellularia californica is found in the coastal hill and foothills of California and southern Oregon. This tree is in the same family as Avocado, Bay, and Cinnamon, which is quite evident of the way the fruits look and the leaves smell.


California Bay Laurel Fruit

After picking the fruit and placing them in a colander I took off the fatty fruit pulp.


California Bay Laurel Fruit and seed

Once all of the nuts were de-fruited I put them in a pyrex dish.


California bay laurel nuts or seeds

I roasted the nuts in the oven at 350 degrees until the kernals became a dark chocolate brown.


Roasted California Bay Laurel Nuts

When my wife and I tried the Bay Nuts she described the flavor quite well, "it taste like slightly burnt popcorn". In my opinion the texture is like that of peanuts, with a dark bitter flavor. Others have also described the taste as having a coffee or cocoa like flavor.

These nuts also make a very tastey beverage. I tried the drink plan and with sugar and cream. The plain drink has a spicy nutty flavor. The sugar and cream I added complemented the beverage very well, it reminded me of coffee with hazelnut creamer.

Landscape Plants - Society Garlic - Tulbaghia alliacea

Society Garlic is not a true garlic as it is not in the allium genus, but they are both in the same family. The botanical name is Tulbaghia violacea. This plant hails from South Africa where the native would use this plant for its culinary uses. The Corm or bulb, the leaves, and the flowers are all edible. Eating the leaves raw will render a very distinctive garlic taste in the mouth. The flower can be added to salads for both their edible value and their visual appeal. The bulb can be used like garlic would, and the leaves may be used like spring onion or chives would be used.

Pineapple weed - Matricaria matricarioides

Pineapple weed is a commonly found plant that grows in disturbed soil. The flavor, aroma, and medicinal uses are the same as chamomile. When harvesting this plant make sure it isn't grown where herbicides are used. It is also a smart idea to make sure there are no feces around the plant. While the whole plant may be used to make a tea, the flowering tops are where the flavor is. The Flowering tops may be eaten raw, they have a sweet chamomile like taste. The plant is antispasmodic, carminative, and sedative.