edible

I used to eat the purple dead nettle from the backyard- but now don't make the only recipe I liked it in anymore, so pull most of it. However I took a blurry photo (the little white flower sits high on the stalk above rosette) to identify this plant which is all over the place in spring. When the flower heads turn into dry seedpods, they catapult the seeds everywhere at the slightest touch. 

I found out it's called hairy bittercress and it's edible! 

So I tried it. After plucking off only the cleanest, nicest leaves (no bug holes, mud or slug slime for me, thanks) gave them a good rinse.

I tried some fresh on leftover chicken and rice, some tossed into scrambled eggs and a bit more added to a soup, on different days. The name is a misnomer- you don't even notice the hairs (minuscule) and the taste isn't bitter- it just has a slight kick. Not as tangy as sorrel, and not quite so pepper bite as arugula. I liked it best with the chicken or eggs, not so much in the soup, though I haven't tried doing purée yet.

Oh, and my cat sampled some too: