whore snacks with stinging nettles and cures her vd

FIRST GROW THEM
Barely cover seeds to germinate in 10-14 days at room temperature. Start in spring. Transplant to full sun/partial shade, spacing transplants 8-12"/20cm-30cm apart. Nettles get 30-60"/75cm-150cm high. They are perennial down to -30F/-30C and can grow in warm climates as well. Plants can have male or female flowers, and they also reproduce through underground runners that can grow 5 ft/1.5m per year, so be careful in situating them. Pick just before the flowers open. Wear heavy gloves and don't allow animals to romp in nettles. It is probably best to plant them in a container given their rampant nature anyhow.here are very few gardeners, or children that have not had battles with the common yet ingenious stinging nettle, but there is more to this plant than may first meet the eye. Urtica dioica is a very common and widespread plant that can be found in Europe, Asia, N Africa and N America and its capacity for inflicting pain and infesting wasteland around abandoned houses is known to everyone. However this plant is more than just a simple nuisance in the garden, it is in fact a valuable herb and culinary plant, which is more than worthy of a mention!

An herbaceous plant growing to 1-2 meters tall and dying down in winter the nettle can occupy any piece of wasteland in the blink of an eye, particularly near human dwellings. Thriving on soils that are high in Nitrogen and phosphates its relationship is intrinsically linked to that of man, in that it can be found wherever human or animal waste has enriched the soil, rendering it a companion of the human for many a century. The properties of this common plant have been noted for centuries and its healing properties were well known to those industrious Romans who transported this plant throughout their vast empire, Europe, N Africa and, they were almost certainly responsible for introducing it to the UK. This weed was probably used even then, as it is to this day, as an expectorant for coughs, eczema, gout, kidney stones and even for urinary tract infections (Cystitis) in women. The nettle can, however, also be transformed into many fine, and respectable meals from salads to risotto's, or into a healthy and hearty, natural sugo for potato gnocchi that will impress any guest by following this simple and original Italian recipe

GNOCCHI WITH PESTO D'ORTICA (Gnocchi with stinging Nettle pesto)

• 150g Fresh, boiled nettle leaves (to make Pesto d'ortica)
• 600g Potatoes
• 4 Sun-dried tomatoes
• 50g pistachio nuts
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 200g Wholemeal flour
• 1 teaspoon of sea salt.

Boil potatoes, cut into pieces and pass them through a vegetable filter. Paste in the flour until well mixed, then separate the mixture into thumb-size lumps, or "gnocchi", cover them in sieved flour and leave them to sit for an hour or so.
In the meantime blend the tomatoes with the cooked nettle leaves, pistachio's and oil until creamy.
Drop the gnocchi into boiling, salted water and when they rise to the surface they are cooked.

Add the mixture to the gnocchi, decorate with a few pistachio nuts and enjoy with any red wine that you can find in the house...
The next time you are stung by this terror in the garden remember that revenge can be sweet, and can be sought by transforming it into a number of delicious and nutritious dishes - a just revenge I feel...!
Other useful varieties include; Urtica californica Urtica gracilis
Caterpillars of various butterflies like to eat nettles. General growing info  get them young as they will be tender but better for your health old,boil until they lose the prickliness obviously after washing .keep water put into a robot withif you like  rocket equal amounts add equal amount of spinach if you like but you can just stick with stinging nettles then robotise, the quantity is up to you. then add about half a pound of mature cheddar a little drop of milk or cream. once all is robotised one more time . add aboiut four boiled potatoes and robotise again then with enough flour to blend in start to make gnocchi.There are many versions of gnocchi. Depending on what part of Italy you are in, the ratio of flour to potatoes will vary greatly. Some recipes use eggs, some do not. For this version of gnocchi, I use 2 pounds of russet potatoes, 2 cups of flour, 1/4 teaspoon of salt, and 1 large egg.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake potatoes until easily pierced with a fork (about 45 minutes). You can also boil the potatoes, but baking creates a drier dough and a lighter, fluffier gnocchi. Let the potatoes cool slightly, then peel.
Pass the potatoes through a ricer or grate them into a large bowl.Add the egg (slightly beaten)to the potatoes.add above mixture, Mix well with a wooden spoon. Add the flour to potatoes a little at a time, mixing well with a wooden spoon. Add just enough flour so that the dough doesn't stick to your hands.

A Barrage Balloon, Green Lanes, Finsbury Park 1939

(art) Made by: Gross, Anthony (CBE) (RA) 1939 image: a barrage balloon floating above some tents and a vehicle in a park with a row of houses in the background.stinging nettles were eaten in hard times especially during the irish famine and in the wars.
When all the flour has been incorporated, bring the dough together with your fingertips. Remove the dough from the bowl and place on a slightly floured surface. Knead the dough as you would bread dough. Press down and away with the heel of your hand, fold the dough over, make a quarter turn, and repeat the process. Knead for about 5 minutes.

Form the dough into a ball and then divide it into 6 smaller balls. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough using your fingertips. The rope of dough should be about 3/4 inch thick. Cut the dough into 1 inch pieces

You can cook the gnocchi as it is now, but traditional gnocchi has ridges. To create the ridges, press each piece of dough against the tines of a fork. With your finger, gently roll the pressed dough back off the fork. This takes a little practice. If you find the dough sticking to the fork, dip the fork in flour before you press the dough against it. Place the gnocchi in a single layer on a lightly floured dish. To cook the gnocchi, place the dough into a pot of boiling water. After a few minutes the gnocchi will float to the top. Continue to cook for one minute then remove and set aside.Serve the hot gnocchi immediately, tossed with butter and a little Parmesan cheese or with the sauce of your choice. Here I have sauteed mushrooms and corn with a little red wine and butter for an earthy sauce that make an excellent accompaniment to beef