Lamb's quarter, a Sandhill rite of passage

As we grew up in the Sandhills of Nebraska, there were some things that were kind of a rite of passage when spring came around. Mom's sister, Aunt Katie, lived up by Lisco, Nebraska, which wasn't but a quarter mile from the North Platte River. We would go up to Aunt Katie's and Uncle Buster's and pick asparagus. It seemed like it was everywhere. I assumed back then that asparagus was a weed that we ended up eating. There aren't many things better than fresh asparagus.

Another rite of passage was going bullhead fishing, especially in the spring. There was a super bullhead lake called San Puddin about five or six miles north of home, so we'd either dig some worms or shoot a bird on the way there. Most of the bullheads were 10 inches or so long and were pretty tasty coming out of cold Sandhill water.

One other rite of passage was gathering and eating some lamb's quarter. When Mom would pick lamb's quarter, it was pretty short. At most it was maybe 10 inches tall. Thinking back on it from the old side of 55 years ago, it was probably even shorter. Probably the shorter the better. We would find lamb's quarter everywhere. It was around the garden or in the corrals or along the fences. It was like it grew everywhere. But thinking back on it, lamb's quarter always grew in good soil that tended to be loose, almost like tilled soil.

Lamb's quarter in America is an edible species of pigweed, which is commonly called goosefoot. The technical term for lamb's quarter is Chenopodium berlandieri, or pitseed goosefoot. When you look at the leaves, they will have a green side with the other side of the leaf almost looking moldy or dusty and lighter in color. The best way of identifying lamb's quarter is to check out some pictures and have someone who gathers and eats it show you.

As a boy growing up, lamb's quarter reminded me of spinach. Mom would boil the lamb's quarter. I can't remember how she cooked it. But she probably would bring the liquid to a boil and then dump the liquid off. Mom probably put new water on the lamb's quarter and reboiled -- I really don't know for sure. All I knew was that we picked it and Mom cooked it. When it's cooked it looks a lot like spinach; it is a dark green color.

We usually ate our lamb's quarter with a little butter on it as well as some vinegar. One of my sisters said she added vinegar, and my other sister said no to vinegar. Mom probably put salt on it for sure, and maybe a little pepper. Looking back, I wouldn't be surprised if Mom didn't put a spoon or two of bacon grease in it as well. Mom always had a bacon grease container handy that you could use on whatever. I know I enjoyed it!

A friend of ours from northern Nebraska, Karen Cobb, said she would make a rue with melted butter and flower. She said she added milk until she got the consistency she wanted and then melted cheese in this. Once the cheese was melted, she poured it over the lamb's quarter. Man, this does sound good. For those who like things with heat, you could probably toss some hot peppers in the rue and cheese sauce.

I did some checking on the Internet and found out some interesting tidbits. Lamb's quarter grows in the U.S. and in Canada. Some who have tried it compare the taste to chard. If you like kale or Swiss chard or collards, you will probably like lamb's quarter. You can pretty much eat anything on the plant in moderation. The seeds contain a toxin, so should be eaten in moderation. Each lamb's quarter plant can produce up to 75,000 seeds, according to one source. That is a lot of seeds. If you don't have any growing where you live, I'll try and collect some seed this summer.

You can pretty much use lamb's quarter like you do kale. You can put it in a juicer, dry the leaves like kale or even blanch the leaves and freeze them. Some dry the leaves and use them in soups later in the year. Mom never froze hers. We had lamb's quarter in the spring and that's about it. But, honestly, we had lamb's quarter growing around our place here in Scott City up until the last hard freeze. Since lamb's quarter contains oxalic acid, it is best to eat it raw in small amounts. Cooking removes this acid so you don't have to worry.

If you are curious next spring, say toward the middle to end of May, give me a call and we'll go pick some. Once you see the plant and learn how to identify it, you will have an endless supply of greens.

Here's to spring and a bountiful harvest.

Until next time.