Offerings for the Spring Table
Originally published 2024-04-12. By Stewart Kahn Lundy.
Applied Biodynamics No. 11, Spring 1995
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by Betsy Cashen, R.D. (registered dietician) reading by Stewart Lundy
“Spring stresses sudden and surprising emergence
Especially after a period of concealed existence.” - Noah Webster
Spring comes in on a palpable wave of warmth and refreshing scent, marking the time for pushing out of bud and leaf that follows on the heels of winter. If you take the practice of Spring cleaning to heart, and are looking to ally yourself with the regenerative forces at work in Nature, there is a pair of edible plants that lend themselves as Spring tonics par excellence! Two biodynamic preparations that will be familiar to biodynamic practitioners are the biodynamic compost preparations stinging nettle (Urtica dioica), BD 504, and dandelion (Taraxacum officinale), BD 506. Along with the value of these plants as compost preparations is their value as freshly harvested foods to eat at this time of year.
Photo by Natalie McGill © 2024 All Rights Reserved. Used by Permission.
In his Agriculture Course, Lecture Five, Rudolf Steiner speaks of stinging nettle as the “greatest benefactor of plant growth in general”; a “jack-of-all-trades”; a carrier of sulfur, calcium, and potassium, with radiations of iron that it carries into the whole course of Nature similar to the iron radiating through our whole blood system. “In the world outside it is wonderfully similar to what the heart is in the human organism.” Its effect in the compost pile and for the earth “is like a permeation of reason and intelligence.” This is the picture given for nettle’s relationship to the soil of the farm and garden.
The image given by Steiner for nettles’ sphere of activity is wide and applies as well to its role in human health. Recognizing the functions of nettle throughout the body–in metabolic, rhythmic, and nerve-sense systems–is one of the ways we can read its basic signature, and its essence as a restorative tonic.
Nettle provides iron, magnesium, and other minerals for blood-building and treatment of anemia. The minerals present have been taken up into the living plant substance and are lifted out of the pure mineral sphere; they are enlivened. They form part of the organic matrix we know as the plant, and, because of this process, these minerals are better absorbed and used by the body from such plant forms.
In its astringent qualities, nettle helps to tone the digestive tract–healing irritated mucus membranes. Its action is to bind and tighten tissues, and it has uses in wound healing, as well as where there is bleeding. Nettle enhances excretion by the kidneys. It has diuretic effect, which can help to understand its uses in the treatment of acne and eczema. In supporting kidney excretion, the organ of the skin is relieved of an excretory process that belongs primarily to the kidneys. In addition, nettle is beneficial for rheumatism, pregnancy, and lactation. If you sense some sluggishness lingering from the winter months, look to nettle to cleanse and invigorate.
Look for this perennial plant growing in rich, wet soil, often near barnyard, garden, and greenhouse, as well as along the banks of streams. Stunning nettle will grow to a height of three feet or more. The small nettle (Urtica urens) also carries the above healing qualities and is an annual plant that reaches a height of six to ten inches. Both have hairs that deliver their infamous stinging and tingling sensation. Harvest can be done up until late spring and before the plants form their little flowers. Early in the day, head out with scissors and gloves or a cloth to grasp the prickly stems. Cut the tender tops of the plants and head back to the kitchen. From here you have a few options:
Cook the greens and enjoy them as a vegetable, soup, or sauce. Once cooked, the fresh nettle spoils rapidly, so plan to eat it promptly.
Make tea from the fresh leaves.
Bunch the stems and hang in a shaded, dry place for a few weeks. Store the dried leaves in a sealed container, protected from sunlight, and use for tea or as a seasoning herb.
The formic acid that gives the plant its sting does not survive the heat of cooking. Try simmering the leaves in water or vegetable stock for ten to fifteen minutes, until they are tender enough to eat. Enhance flavor with the addition of garlic, onion or salt. Or, drain the cooked greens and blend with yogurt to make a sauce for rice or vegetables. Another option is to add carrots or other greens to the cooking liquid and end up with a tasty Spring soup.
Tea can be made by simply pouring boiling water over a handful of fresh nettle and letting it steep. For dried leaves, use one to three teaspoons per cup of water. Drink a cup or two of nettle tea on a daily basis to reap its benefits.
One of my first tastings of nettle greens was on an oppressive hot and humid day in early summer when my energy for doing anything was at a low. Friends had prepared nettle soup for lunch and by the time I left their home I felt like I had been reactivated on the inside. A pulse of energy was coursing through my blood. My experiences with nettle since then have not always been so dramatic, but you only need to witness its potent effect once to develop an appreciation of nettle. (For more nettle inspired recipes and ideas)
Rudolf Steiner offered dandelion to the biodynamic practitioner for making a preparation that enables the plant to draw just what it needs from both the immediate soil surrounding and the larger area in which it grows, through the mediating and transmitting functions of silica. The flower of the dandelion is specifically used for the biodynamic compost preparation, but in the case of a Spring tonic, it is the leaves and roots to which we turn.
Photo by Natalie McGill © 2024 All Rights Reserved. Used by Permission.
Out of a consideration of the dandelion, I find myself overcome with awe. First, at the wealth of nutrients present and the plant’s powerful healing action. Second, at how determined dandelion is to grow anywhere and everywhere. Is this all-pervasive presence in response to our great need for just this nourishing plant in a time when our lives (and our livers) are overburdened?
With the first chews of a fresh leaf of dandelion the bitter taste is revealed and the juices of digestion are roused. For someone who has lost interest in eating (common in the elderly), the bitterness can awaken an appetite. Dandelion’s activity extends to the liver, the main filtering organ for our blood, which circulates through the liver at a rate of three pints per minute. In this way, the blood and the lymph circulation connected with it are cleansed of various chemical contaminants and breakdown products from metabolism. Dandelion supports this detoxifying as well as the task of building up bile needed to digest fats from our food.
The bonus of the leaf’s diuretic action on the kidney is that it provides ample amounts of potassium, a mineral that is flushed from the body with many conventional diuretic drugs.
Look to the leaf as a storehouse of substances known to carry vitamins A and C activity and other minerals, including calcium, iron, and phosphorus. To distinguish dandelion from chicory leaves (when you have no flower for comparison), look to the underside of the leaf. Dandelion leaves will have no hairs along the midrib. The milder-tasting leaves are picked in early Spring or late Fall when there is no flowering process.
Mix dandelion greens in with other lettuce greens for a salad, or combine washed, chopped greens with yogurt or quark (mild yogurt) and some seasonings for a dip. For cooking greens, use about one cup of fresh leaves per person, cover with water, bring to a boil, and cook until tender. Amend the greens with your favorite seasonings, such as sesame oil, a dash of salt, sauteed garlic, and other items. Also, use the fresh leaves to make tea.
The earth-bound root of the dandelion can be harvested and used for an even more potent liver cure, digestive stimulant, and tonic. Spring-dug roots are most concentrated in taraxacin (the medicinal bitter substance) whereas roots dug in the Fall have higher starch and sugar content (to keep the plant nourished through Winter). Dare to try fresh roots in a soup, stir-fry, vegetable dish, or cook sliced roots in water until tender and then follow by sauteing with olive oil and garlic. Fall-dug roots, when dried and roasted, can be ground and made into a dandelion coffee drink. For many enticing recipes see Susan Weed’s book, Healing Wise.
The rhythms of growth given here for nettle and dandelion pertain most of all to the seasonal pattern of the Northeast and are bound to vary in other regions where winters are particularly mild. However, the potent effects of the regenerative forces at work in Nature occur in all regions.
