Chinese Elm Seed Pod Salad

So I was at the playground with my kiddos yesterday.  K- was hungry because she insisted on going to the park before she ate her lunch.  We have a habit of nibbling on grass and finding edible plants provided by nature. I noticed that the Elm trees surrounding our park were coated in seed pods. I handed her a handful and we discovered they were quite tasty and hit the spot.  I remembered my husband mentioning that he used to eat them as a kid. Since they are in season I figured I better hurry up and publish this post while they are green and tasty. I put the ingredients in red font.

We came inside and I started making dinner. I figured they would be an excellent addition to my spinach salad.

Notice the little green pods: They are kind of like a seed or nut and they are also like a green.  I find they are very tasty like the flavor of sweet peas in the pod.

So generally I plate salads for my family, to make sure they eat their vegetables (plus green salads don't always keep so well).  I hand tore spinach leaves (laid down a good amount), went outside and just pulled down the small branchlets and the pods came right off into my hand. I got a pretty good-sized handful for each plate.  I washed them in my salad spinner but I think it was unnecessary.  Next time I won't bother with that step.  I toasted some slivered almonds in butter and finally a sprinkle of feta cheese.  I served it with the choice of Poppyseed or Italian dressing (both homemade, I'll post these recipes later). I'm just using what I had in my fridge.  Try adding it to your favorite salad or make something up.  I love salad; I feel like there are no rules to break. 

This salad was a perfect side for the Chicken Tomato Mushroom Alfredo Pasta I made for dinner (that post is also coming soon).

Enjoy!

If you are looking for Chinese elm trees here are some links:
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