Its been a long time

Hello nettle fans! it has been a long time since this blog has stretched its legs!  Hibernation of almost a year!!

Here is a simple recipe (aka guideline) for a spring treat.

Japanese Knotweed Slaw

few spring shoots of Japanese knotweed
a little shredded cabbage- napa or savoy ( or carrots!)
handful wild herbs- like fennel, lemonbalm, mint, and/or sorrel
an apple
apple cider
lemon, lime or vinegar
fish sauce
chili oil or salad oil

Peel knotweed stalks and slice thinly on diagonal. Place in a bowl and toss with cabbage and herbs. Cut apple in slices or dices and add to bowl. Drizzle cider, citrus juice or vinegar, a bit of fish sauce, and a bit of oil of choice over slaw to taste! Toss and serve.

Nettlemas this friday!

Nettlemas
Announcing a special event this Friday,
April 30th, 7pm

Celebrate the eve of May Day and the beginning of the warm half of the year with Nettlemas - a day for playfulness and mischief. Come join us for this feast featuring chinook salmon, spring greens, and traditional Irish foods. We promise not to sting you!!

$40 buffet dinner with a drink, includes a 2010 Illustrated Wild Foods Recipe Calendar.
Reservations only -  206-588-3607

Nettlemas was celebrated in Ireland as festive night before the important holiday of Beltane. Beltane is the traditional Celtic fire festival to celebrate life, purification and the bounty of the new season. The first of May is the halfway point between the solstices - the time when the sun is fully released from the grip of winter and able to warm the earth once again and nurture plant and human life through growing season. 

A Few Pictures

come visit soon!!!

Maija finishing up the Nettletown mural

counter service

beautiful kale raab from Nash's Organic Farm

the lemongrass elk meatball sandwich

little hippo loves turnip kokeshi

NETTLETOWN IS OPEN!!!

We are finally open. Opened on Wednesday with a partial menu, and ramping up for the full menu next week. Come in and say hi!

This Week at Foraged and Found Edibles 3/6

Nettletime in nettletown, la la la, la la la........

It is time to purge out the rich winter feasting, that indulgent casserole of fireside libation, cookie sharing, and braised meaty essences with a spring cleanse I like to call nettletime. Once you have been touched by the nettles holy health sting, every springtime becomes nettletime. I recommend beginning by slowly starting to introduce nettles into your diet, poking them in between the last of the winter habits, like pumpkin cupcakes and brisket. As your constitution allows pick up the pace with some form of nettle daily. The healers of ol' could of said "a nettle a day will keep the doctor away". Sip in tea, throw in soup, bake with eggs - anyway is a good way.

Check out my previous post here with many details of this uber seasonal superfood.

This week at the markets

Stinging Nettles

Fiddleheads

Miner's Lettuce

Restaurant Website Launch

Nettletown restaurant website launched today! The address nettletown.com will now go to the restaurant site. Access the nettletown blog through the blog link or at nettletown.blogspot.com.

We have an opening date for March 16th! We hope to see you all soon!

In Progress

Nettletown restaurant is starting to come together - sliding all the little pieces into the crazy puzzle that is a restaurant.

planing the beautiful salvaged wood for the bar top


sunny days make work a little easier


Jason is creating the bar to highlight the character of the salvaged wood

new custom bar shelving!

Jared hard at work smoothing down the rough spots, notice the old linoleum floor - now you see it!......

...now you don't! Freshly unveiled concrete floors and a new wall in the kitchen!! Thanks to the Choi family crew for all the hard work scraping and sanding that old tile off!

the kitchen is starting to come together