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Ah! The fresh smells of spring are in the air and are calling me outdoors. I love to use new spring greens to make a wild herbal salad. Such a salad is a perfect spring tonic. The energy of the plants is moving up from the roots into the new leaves and flowers. These early spring greens are just the medicines our bodies are seeking. They nourish our livers and cleanse our bodies of the heavier winter foods, allowing us to make a smooth transition into the emerging season.

GATHERING My first stops are in the garden and back yard. Here I can gather a bunch of chickweed (Stellaria media [see Cooling Chickweed, Issue #11]). This common plant is a favorite of mine. It has a delightful, mild taste and is packed with nutrients. Susun Weed, in Healing Wise, describes it as "optimum nutrition." Chickweed is high in ascorbic acid, potassium, calcium and other trace minerals. This plant is especially nourishing for our glandular and lymphatic systems. Many of the vitamins are present right on the plant surface. If greens are collected carefully and don't need to be washed, we have access to even more of their nutrients. Chickweed will make up the base of the salad instead of lettuce.

Also here in the yard, I can gather some plantain (Plantago major), some sheep sorrel (Rumex acetosella) and, of course, a few new dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) leaves (see Plantain, Issue #2 and Dandelion, Issue #6). I collect these in smaller quantities than the chickweed since their flavors are stronger. The sheep sorrel has a strong lemony flavor, and the plantain and dandelion are both bitter. Their leaves will become increasingly bitter as the year progresses, so now is the prime time to add them to our diets. These plants are all great sources of potassium and calcium. Dandelion is also especially high in vitamin A, and it nourishes your liver and aids in digestion. To access these vital spring energies and plant nutrients all year long, I like to make infused vinegar (see sidebar). Gather extra dandelion and plantain leaves for this use. These vinegars will be great salad dressing ingredients as well.

Delicious Dijon Dressing My favorite salad dressing to make with herbal vinegars is honey mustard. I make it by combining ¼ cup of olive oil, ¼ cup of vinegar and a tablespoon each of honey and Dijon mustard. Stir it well and serve. Invigorating Herbal Vinegar A wonderful way to add herbs to your meals. Read the recipe. Healing Wise by Susun S. Weed (Ash Tree Publishing, 1989) Healing with Whole Foods by Paul Pitchford (North Atlantic Books, 2000)

The first violet (Viola odorata) flowers are also opening. I love eating food that looks beautiful, so this will be a perfect touch to put on top of the salad. Plus they are high in vitamin C and have a delicate smell and taste.

Moving to the forest, it doesn't take long for me to see some miner's lettuce (Claytonia sibirica), so named because early miners and settlers used it as a salad vegetable. It's high in vitamin C and is mild enough to help fill out the base of the salad, so I gather quite a bit. I also see tiny yellow Oregon-grape (Mahonia nervosa) flowers. Tangy and surprising, these bright yellow flowers will certainly liven up the salad. What a treat!

Yellow dock (Rumex crispus) leaves are a good addition as well. Like dandelion and plantain, they are bitter, high in potassium and calcium and best eaten in early spring. These bitters will help nourish our livers and ease stress and tension, which Paul Pitchford, in Healing with Whole Foods, says is especially important in the spring.

ASSEMBLING To assemble the salad, just tear the chickweed and miner's lettuce into pieces and put them in a bowl. Chop the other greens pretty finely, so there are just small tastes of their wonderful flavors. Mix those in with the chickweed and miner's lettuce. Top the salad with the violet and Oregon-grape flowers, add your favorite dressing and enjoy this delicious spring tonic.

Kimberly Gallagher, M.Ed., and her husband, John, run a family business that helps people learn about herbs. Along with an Herbal Medicine Making Kit, they created "Wildcraft! An Herbal Adventure Game," a cooperative board game that teaches about edible and medicinal plants. See www.learningherbs.com. Kimberly is an herbal apprentice at RavenCroft Garden in Monroe, Washington. See www.familyherbalremedies.com for more of her herbal-remedy articles.

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