When we were extending our driveway, the construction guys dumped a big pile of TN clay dirt right next to our house. At first we thought it might be useful to fill in holes or ditches, but now it has become quite an eyesore.

If you can see that little carved out spot on the right, that shows where Al and I labored in the heat, sweat running down our faces in torrents, just so we could start moving that ugly pile of dirt and hide it behind the pond. Here it is in the beautiful golden hours of the morning after my jog looking its best:

Pile

Definitely not adding to our house’s curb appeal!

In our excavations of the pile of dirt, we did discover one gem however! This tall beauty:

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Lamb’s quarters (chenopodium album) also known as wild spinach, goosefoot, or pigweed

A humongous lamb’s quarters plant! I had eaten this wild weed back in GA where it grew by the field-ful, but hadn’t seen any since moving here to TN. They’re pretty easy to identify because the backs of the leaves have a distinctive silvery powder.

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Some lamb’s quarters leaves can also be less notched than these

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Lamb’s quarters have a distinctive silvery powder on the backs of their leaves

Lamb’s quarters are a bit like spinach. Their leaves are quite tender and don’t have too strong of a taste, but like spinach they do shrink a bit when cooked. However, don’t let this wild weed fool you. It actually has more fiber, protein, vitamin A, vitamin C, and calcium than regular spinach! Can you imagine, you might have this bit of gold growing among your weeds too!

So of course, I sent Al out to harvest some for supper. Even thought it was a pretty hot day, Al’s favorite food is Asian noodle soup, so what was for supper? WEEDS!

Soup

Lamb’s quarter soup for supper

But more specifically, buckwheat noodle soup with garlic, onion, carrots, tofu, lots of lamb’s quarters, and seasoned with a little ginger, mushroom seasoning, and salt.

Here’s Al going at it:

EatingSoup

Mr. Crumb Saver devouring his homegrown weeds

We were both surprised how tender and tasty the lamb’s quarters were. The flavor was very subtle, a little “earthy”, and perfect for a fresh summer soup!

Since we’re still planning on demolishing and relocating our dirt pile, I harvested the rest of the lamb’s quarters and froze them to be eaten this winter.

Freeze

Extra lamb’s quarters ready for the freezer

So now that you’ve been introduced to lamb’s quarters, why don’t you to go out and check your backyard for this scrumptious new addition to your supper menu!