Nettles is a good weed to have around. I tried cooking them up like any other green for the first time about 7 or 8 years ago. Tastes like greens. Add a little salt, pepper, vinegar, bacon grease or butter and serve with cornbread and you got a good meal. Not bad for the nasty stickery stinging things. I only cooked and ate ‘em once. But now I know I can and they are good.
Same thing with that ol nuisance Poke Weed...
I have had a couple of old folks who used to just love to come out in the spring and pick all the newly sprouted poke weed. Ate it like spinach. Geesh, only thing I thought it was good for was to make ink for kids... (Oh, and to get my dander up at how fast it grows and gets in the way!)
Never did try eating it though... Always had too much really ‘good’ stuff to eat.
I haven’t really cooked greens before - I know its more of a southern thing, but I guess I’ll try it. My grandma used to make spinach, but used the frozen (they didn’t have a garden, lived in the city) and she would saute some chopped onions, maybe garlic and add the spinach. Then she would add an egg or two and scramble it in. That’s how I grew up eating it and love it that way.