As a small child in NY I used to like to nibble on the little heart-shaped leaves off a grassy weed called sorrel, easily mistaken for clover. My mom pointed it out to me as edible and I liked its tangy tartness. Nowadays, we have several weedy bunches growing in our yard. Amy calls it sourgrass and when Micah saw me nibbling it as I picked it out from among our onions, he tried it and developed quite a taste for it.
I vaguely recall hearing that it can be put in soups, so I was excited to see "Potato Sorrel Soup" on page 73 of the Greens cookbook. We had the potatoes and the sorrel, so I decided that Micah and I could make it together.
Amy wasn't so sure about this-- she thought there might be another kind of sorrel, and was worried that our garden weed was toxic. Well she was pretty much right. I checked Wikipedia, which was good for what it usually is: disambiguation. It turns out that both the Oxalis and Rumex genera are commonly known as sorrels. The latter are also known as Docks and are sometimes grown for their edibles leaves. These are what I was supposed to use for the soup. The former are known as Wood Sorrels. Wiki says:
A characteristic of many members of this genus is that they contain oxalic acid, giving the leaves and flowers a sour taste, refreshing to chew in small amounts. However, in large amounts, these species are toxic, and interfere with proper digestion.
The recipe called for 6 to 8 cups. We made potato-leek soup instead.
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