Lamb's Quarters...compost or cook?

Lamb's Quarters - a weed I have been plucking from my gardens for as long as I can remember. This week, I heard that Lamb's Quarters are edible, and very, very GOOD for you. I saw a few reviews online and decided that I would let a patch in my garden grow and, if I was brave enough, I would TRY some.

 

Well today was the day! I went out and picked a basket full. It felt kind of grainy and it had a powdery coating on the leaves.

I carefully picked the leaves off the stalks, and then washed them. I didn't want to find any bugs later on...that would be a real turn off...so I washed them REALLY well. The white film washed off too.

I must admit, I really didn't know what to do with them at first. I had read that you could use them the same way as Spinach, so I cooked them with a bit of olive oil and lots of garlic.

They shrank a LOT! 

It tasted a lot like spinach and I liked it. I just wanted to do more!

Then I thought about the zucchini I had picked from the garden this morning.

I decided to make zucchini boats and stuff them with the Lamb's Quarters and other stuff. I cut them in half and microwaved for 5 minutes. Then I scooped out the seeds.

In a bowl, I mixed the cooked greens, onion, diced fresh tomato, fresh garden basil and a bit of Romono Cheese and stuffed it back into the zucchini.

Then I topped it all with grated cheese. I was out of Mozzarella so I used Cheddar.

Then I put it all under the broiler until the cheese was melted.

(I forgot to get an 'after' photo - I just couldn't wait to sink my teeth into them!)

It was DELICIOUS!

And to think that I ate a WEED with my dinner!

I'd do it again too!

EDITED TO ADD-if you plan on eating the weeds out of your yard, it is VERY important that you correctly identify them. For more info on identifying Lamb's quarters, click here.