Wild Edibles Test Kitchen (Ep. 07): Prickly Lettuce Soup with Bacon

You can also cut the plant back to calf height and it will grow back with new leaves quickly from spring and keep cutting back so it keeps from going to seed until autumn then let self seed or mow down to 10 cm high. Real dandelion will only grow one true stem with one flower head. All meat should be grass fed, with no chemicals used within the animals, instead find out what weeds they can eat in the paddock, rotate the animals into a fresh area paddock each time they have left enough manure which you then can grow vegetable crops into them. You can grow a mixed bed of wild gluten-free grains. Mustard greens can be sown in another paddock to turn the soil into a green fertiliser. Beans of all kinds can be grown up a chain wire fence. Sunflower seeds can be harvested and you can eat the kernels. Pumpkin seeds have green kernels inside which are called petitas in the health food shops. There is so much wild food available you will be surprised once you start knowing what you can pick and what parts you can use for medicine or as a roasted or ground tea. You can grown your own coffee beans or cacao trees (for chocolate) as well. Avocado trees are best bought already grafted and like most plants, multiple grafting of the different varieties can be grown on the one bush for most year round picking. Some plants may need more protection in frost areas and bottling for preserving is essential for year round food. Many crops can be grown next to each other for protect from some pests and raised beds are very good for most plants and netting can be thrown and secured to keep out bats or birds. Bees need to be kept in hives near by if you want high yielding. If you have trouble with animals getting under raised garden beds, first put down a couple of layers of chicken wire at the base then and mesh and stones, mulch then soil and a green mature crop on top, then add posts and top with netting. Companion planting is also a good book to read to know which crops grown best next to each other and those that will not. I make my own home made bug spray which is cheap and does not contain harsh ingredients.

You are a blessing in my life. Not only my life but my husband’s as well. We are totally excited about you and your extensive experience. I have been searching for you. I have watched many different foragers on YouTube and you have sold me. So right!

I would eat that soup for sure! It's beautiful

absolutely No worries for the bacon! Who are we to tell you what is best for you. I'll keep following the plant based path myself and I'll forever be grateful to you for the green smoothie video i saw 10 years ago. this changed my life. Thank you Sergei!

I have watched this channel for a few years now and enjoy seeing what I can eat and how it can affect my body. I'm waiting to see a movie on the lives impacted by green smoothies and how people recover faster when adding only one quart a day - not changing any other aspect of their diets. Then again when you drink a quart of healthy greens and fruits a day the diet changes because the body naturally gets healthier. Can you imagine if his wife's clients had less pain and quicker rehabilitation times than the rest of the country? People would be beating a path to their door!

OMG - I've been out of the Sergei loop, but I'm so glad to see more of these! Good on you for doing what is best for you and your family especially since it's based on your prior experiences!! No one could reasonably ask for anything more. bacon on a TORTILLA!!!! BRILLIANT!!!!! Cheers!

Definitely would try the soup. Great video.

I’ve made the tincture of wild lettuce as a pain reliever and can say that it is very effective but definitely bitter. Never tried to make it into a soup before but definitely will try this. I get a ton growing in my property and love to find other uses for it. Thank you, Sergei!

Love this video! Love the outspoken commentary in the beginning as well. Definitely gonna try this soup when i see some wild lettuce growing!

I think she’s got a watch or something pricey in that basket! Raw Family flippin’ watermelons! Ah great story! I so miss Shop n Kart! You’re so industrious, that’s what I admire most about you.

Thanks, Sergei! I love one-pot meals, and this looks lovely for any season. I have a very low tolerance for bitterness, and so have never considered bringing home the serriola (also known as 'compass plant' because of its stiff sun-oriented leaf habit). Perhaps I'll try it in the winter, before flowering, when the bitter compounds may be less developed. Meanwhile, I'd substitute my favorite lettuce-y weeds, the sow thistles (Sonchus), which are rarely bitter. Your tortilla hack is genius! I'd not have been able to resist cooking the bacon first, so I could add the fat to the quinoa instead of butter. But perhaps you had other plans for it? My mom always kept it to fry eggs, and a generous dollop to grease the cast iron pan for cornbread.

Wow the soup looks so delicious! I'm going to try your method of cooking quinoa. I've waited until the water boils then add quinoa. Thank you I truly enjoyed this video.

i have tried different combinations in my healing journey..all raw...all vegan..now im eating nutrient dense but with some meats. like you small amounts of meats but from local grassfed, organic humanely raised meat. lower quanities, higher quality. for me, i do best on bone broth with small amounts of meat..and lots of greens and homegrown fruit and veg. i think we all need to see what works best and dont judge others. Thanks sergei for showing us foraging..always good to learn new ways to feed ourselves quality food for less.

My family ate a similar soup just last night! Yours looks yummy too.

Would totally eat this! I’ve been eating prickly lettuce since I was a kid. My grandma would pick the young leaves, as well as dandelion leaves and miner’s lettuce for salads. Vinegar, oil and salt. Delicious! And that bacon hack - brilliant to use tortillas for absorbing the grease.

Cooking up some prickly from my weed patch garden❣️ Thank you for this recipe!

I make similar soup in Scotland but use either barley or noodles but will try Quinoa now you have shown me how to cook it thank you

Thank you. I'm going to make it tonight!

Thats some tasty looking soup,all best Will 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿👍🍃

Sergei: "In it's wild form, it's like getting kicked in the face by a horse." Me: " Here! I want to try!"