Wild crisps

I sometimes chuckle to myself when I see an ad or an article about "living green". It's become the catch-phrase, the politicially-correct poster child, of the decade. The reason I smile is that I have a rather different spin on the phrase, and hopefully by now you are catching on.

I adapted this recipe from one provided by Melissa at Food Under Foot. You won't believe how good these are! Neighbor Tom, notoriously a meat-and-potatoes guy who doesn't experiment much, commented after munching a crispy leaf, "not too bad" - which according to his wife is high praise.



First gather some greens. You need 4-6 cups of clean, dry green leaves. Plantain is great. The sturdy leaf carries the sauce well. Dandelions are good, too, even large leaves aren't bitter after the baking. If you have some greens in your garden, try bok choi and beet leaves. Lettuce is a bit too fragile and shatters when dried - but the "lettuce dust" makes good seasoning for other things, if you want to try some.

These tasty crisps are what potato chips aspire to, and will never achieve because they just don't have what it takes - nutrition!



Make the sauce in a blender:

1/2 c. raw cashew butter (you could use peanut butter if necessary, or better still, tahini - which is made from sesame seeds)

2 T. lemon juice

1 tsp. sea salt

1 clove garlic

2-3 T. chopped chives

2 T. nutritional yeast (this is NOT bread yeast)

1 tsp. chili powder

2 T. tamari (or low sodium soy sauce)

Barely cover with water, then blend smooth. It will be thick, but should be pourable. Add a bit more water if needed.

Pour into a bowl. Immerse each leaf, covering both sides with sauce. "Squeegee" some off with your fingers, then place on a cookie sheet lined with parchement.

Bake at 250 degrees, about an hour or so. Don't let them brown or burn. The leaves should just get dry and crisp. They look weird, with a sort of tan coating in patches from the sauce. Looks deceive.



These are a knockout, fresh from the oven. They are good cooled, too. Better than potato chips - seriously! They do not store well, so eat hearty!

Share some with friends and neighbors...


especially the ones who have been raising an eyebrow over your weed harvesting.