WILD EDIBLES CONTINUED. For sensational spring flavor, be sure to eat your weeds! Check out the continuation of a list of Mother Nature’s healthiest greens from the Farmers’ Almanac:

Violets

Violets are not only a beautiful sight in a field, garden or roadside, they are very palatable. The leaves can be added to soups as a thickener. Simple and mild in taste, violets are high in Vitamin C and A and pair great with more bold greens like those in the mustard family.

Nettles

This green is not for the faint of heart, but is well worth the trouble if only for its high nutritional value and superb taste. Nettles are incredibly high in vitamins A and C as well as iron and protein. But like any “prize,” the enjoyment of nettles as a food does not come without work. As their name suggests, nettles are covered in fine hairs that can sting skin. The best way to handle nettles is to simply wear a good pair of gardening gloves. Once the greens are cooked — they aren’t ever to be eaten raw! — the stingers fall away. They are a great soup and stew green and, once dry, make a wonderful and nutritious tea that’s great for supporting overall health during the colder months.

Wild Mustard Greens

Wild mustards are the forebears of modern vegetables like cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, turnips, kale and collards. Like most greens, mustards can be eaten raw in a salad when young, sautéed or added to soups and stews when they become older and tougher. The pretty yellow flowers, flower buds, seed pods and seeds can also be eaten. Try them in a stir fry!