Well, in fact I don't recall that anyone actually did. And I suppose had Keith been welding the day after I foraged for nettles, the metal shop wouldn't have been an environment conducive to the project. But he wasn't, and I had the ingredients, the equipment, the time...and the welder's permission to use the table for a culinary project.
One of the benefits of eating seasonally and locally is that it accords with the earth's wisdom on the topic of what we should be eating when and where. Stinging nettles have been shown to be an excellent liver tonic, and they are ready to harvest in spring - at precisely the time that the liver's influence over our physical and emotional health is prominent (and when the liver needs to divest itself of toxins accumulated during the winter months). Blackberries are ripe and ready to support the digestive system when it is experiencing its greatest annual hurdle: The shift from summer to fall. Autumn pears moisten and tonify the lungs, the dominant organ of those months. And on it goes.
I look forward to stinging nettle season, especially in winter when invariably I have used up the last of last season's vinegar. Given the common name's adjective - stinging - nettles can seem off-putting to consider as an object of one's foraging desire. Get a pair of garden gloves, though, and you're in business. With scissors, take just the top growth of not more than 1/3 of the plants in any given area, taking care not to trample tender wildlife, mid-March to mid-April. Collecting about a quarter pillowcase-full will be enough to put up a couple quarts of vinegar, a couple pints of pesto and a batch of soup.
Take the nettles home and rinse them. To make vinegar, soak the tender tops in apple cider vinegar for 6 to 8 weeks and strain. There are many recipes for nettle-potato soup, nourishing and capable of boosting energy levels, especially at a time of year when we are feeling collectively soggy here in the Pacific Northwest. Risotto is another option. The highlight for me, though, is the pesto. I far prefer it to the traditional Genovese variety, and use walnuts in place of the pine nuts Langdon Cook's Fat of the Land blog calls for. Tip: Don't discard the blanching water. Strain and drink as a tea for an immune system boost.
Once you've got the pesto, the only question is what to do with it. Whether you toss it with pasta and spring garden peas, spread it on crostini, or use it as a dip for another seasonal companion, asparagus spears, nettle pesto is a local seasonal treasure not to be missed.
http://fat-of-the-land.blogspot.com/2009/03/stinging-nettle-pesto.html
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