Red Clover

As a child, I would pluck the heads of these tall clover and eat them like candy. The earlier you pick them the more they taste like honey. I continued this habit and eventually passed onto my daughter, who spent many a summer day hunting for fields of clover.

Most often thought of as an annoying, hard to kill weed, the dandelion is actually extremely beneficial when eaten. In the Spring I’m am often found picking and eating the dandelion heads from my yard.

Parts used- Flowers- seeds, leaves, flowers, whole plant
Seeds- crush and put in cereal; sprouted seeds are edible in salads and have a crisp texture and robust flavor.

Leaves- eat raw, steamed, boiled, sautéed. The cooking liquid may be drunk as a tea. Add raw leaves to salads, soups, stews, sandwiches and casseroles. Add to rice dishes. Dry the leaves and crush into flour. Leaves taste better boiled in salt and butter.

Flowers- eat raw, steamed, boiled, sautéed, fried, drink cooking liquid. Dry the flower heads for tea and use in wines. Full of sweet nectar. You may also French fry them using a batter you like. Use in salads, wild clover wine, chop with butter and serve on toast.

Whole Plant- dry the whole plant and put through a grinder when dry and crispy. Bake with clover adding a little at a time to your favorite recipes until you have a ½ and ½ blend of flour. Great way to make bread. The entire plant is also steamed or boiled and used in soups and stews.

Medicinal- as a tea: 1Tbsp. Of dry flower heads added to 1 cup of boiling water. Steep for 10 minutes, sweeten to taste. Drink warm for upset stomach and couch.

Nutritional- Vitamins- A, B1, B2, B3, C, K; Calcium, Chromium, Magnesium, Manganese, Molybdenum.


Magical- (from Scott Cunningham’s Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs)
Added to the bath water, aids you in dealing with financial arrangements of every kind. Also used in lust potions and the infusion is sprinkled to remove negative spirits.
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Gender- masculine
Planet- Mercury
Element- Air
Deity- Rowen

From time to time I will be posting information on various plants, herbs, etc. As with anything taken medicinally, you should contact your doctor first to make sure it is safe for you. If you think you have an allergy to any of the herbs, plants, etc that I talk about you should stop using it immediately and contact your doctor.
If you are eating anything that you are picking or harvesting yourself make sure that you are properly identifying the plant. Many plants look very similar and are hard to identify. Make sure that you do your own research on an herb before consumption. Make sure that you are not eating plants that are growing by the side of the road (car exhaust and road dust is not healthy), near a swimming pool (chlorine can splash onto the plants), where you think an animal has defecated or urinated or anywhere else that is subject to fertilizers, weed killers or any other chemicals.