Nettle-kopita (a new version of Spanakopita) Recipe

Prep ingredients…

Prepare filling…

Layer filling and phyllo…

Slice before baking…

It’s golden brown after an hour of baking…

Serve with a fresh wild herb salad, french bread and a hearty red wine.

Ingredients:

1 cup cooked brown rice
3 – 4 quarts fresh young nettles
1 onion, finely diced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 T olive oil
Basil, oregano, marjoram & thyme to taste
1 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 c provolone, grated
2 eggs
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 package frozen phyllo, thawed
1 cup feta, crumbled

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Precook brown rice.
2. While rice is cooking, prep your nettles by rinsing in a colander, and trimming stems off. Remember to use gloves as they will sting until they are cooked. Chop onion and garlic.
3. Saute onion and garlic in olive oil. Add rinsed nettles. Press the nettles down and cover. Cook for 5 minutes until nettles have shrunk down and are tender. Add herb seasonings to taste (1-2 t of each should be adequate). Pour saute into a large bowl. Add ricotta cheese, provolone, and 2 eggs, and mix well. This is your filling.
4. Roll thawed phyllo out, and place phyllo under a damp dish towel on the stack to keep the phyllo moist. This is important, and you must work quickly with it as it can get dry and brittle and is hard to work with if exposed to the air too long.
5. Butter the bottom and sides of a 9×13 baking pan. Place a layer of phyllo on the bottom of the pan and brush lightly with butter. Place another layer and do the same. Repeat this process until you have used half the phyllo.
6. Pour your filling over the phyllo and sprinkle crumbled feta liberally on top.
7. Repeat layering phyllo until you have used the rest in the package.
8. Cut nettle-kopita in diagonal pieces before baking.
9. Bake in oven for an hour. Top will be golden brown.

Serve with a fresh wild herb salad, french bread and a hearty red wine.

(Recipe is compliments of Heather Loyer of Dancing Maidens Botanicals. To sign up for an herbal workshop on Gabriola Island, BC, call 250-247-8514.)

A Mom’s Love

Today my son was asking to look at his baby pictures and I came across this one of me holding him when he was around 3.5 months old. I remember just absolutely delighting in this little man that God gave me. He was just so darn cute and sweet… Look at him in his little man outfit. I want to reach into that picture and kiss those little round cheeks again.

Then I remembered a picture I have of my mom holding me when I was around the same age my son was in the above picture… It does my heart good to see my mom’s delight in me as a baby, and makes me miss her all the more.  Every year as Mother’s Day is upon me, I wish my mom had the chance to delight in my son.

Nettle Workshop Part 1 – Tea, Identification, and Harvesting

Heather the herbalist welcomes us to her Nettle Workshop with a hot mug of nettle tea and some handouts:

We located some nettles growing wild close to Heather’s home:

Heather demonstrates the best way to cut nettles when harvesting (don’t forget the gloves – they sting!):

A basket of fresh nettles that we harvested:

Trying to Stay Positive

Last night we got a 6 month notice to move out of our lovely home. I’m beginning to feel a bit like Job these days. First my unborn baby is taken… now my home (which also houses our business)… What’s next? I feel like begging God not to take my other child and husband!

On March 10th I started a new job working night reception, and quite frankly I have too many balls in the air that I’m trying to juggle and I’m about to drop one (or more) of them. Between doing year end for the hair salon, putting in twice as many hours at work as I anticipated (for training), taking a foster parenting course one night a week (in the city which means yet another late night coming home), and now having to find a new home and move… yikes!

Usually I have The Plan when faced with life challenges, but The Plan right now is merely to get through today with my sanity. I’ve been through MUCH worse events of course, but I’m just feeling defeated today. If you have time to post something encouraging, maybe some hugs or prayers, this Organique Gal would appreciate it.

PS I’ve decided to abandon garden plans since I won’t be here to harvest it, so will be buying all my veggies from the local organic farm around the corner. Going to start bagging up all my lovely mulch to take where ever we end up moving, as soon my garlic is ready to harvest.