Spicy invasive flowers add some kick to this sweet cornbread recipe.

Goldenrod Preparation

Canada goldenrod is a weedy native in the US Midwest and Canada but considered quite invasive in Europe and Asia.  You’ll help slow the invasion with this recipe by removing flowers (the plant’s reproductive organs) from their stems.  To prepare flowers for cooking, begin by rinsing the flowers off under cool tap water.  Lay the flowers flat on a cutting board and scrape from the base of the flower to the flower tips with a paring knife to remove them.

Canada goldenrod flowers ready for preparation

Goldenrod flowers removed from their stems

Ingredients

3/4 cup Jiffy corn muffin mix

1/2 cup Jiffy yellow cake mix

1/2 cup Canada goldenrod flowers

1/2 cup milk

1 egg

Directions

1.  Preheat oven to 375°

2.  Combine all ingredients in a medium mixing bowl and mix thoroughly; batter may be chunky

3.  Bake in an 8″ x 8″ pan for 25 minutes or until cornbread is golden brown

4.  Enjoy warm with butter or honey

Goldenrod cornbread slathered in butter and ready to eat!

Ingredients:

Directions:

Bruschetta on garlic bread. Photo Credit: Ra Boe via Wikimedia Commons.

Surprisingly light and refreshing, this unique pesto is sure to be a nice compliment to your next Italian meal! 

 Ingredients

1 cup Canada goldenrod leaves

1/4 cup sliced almonds

1/3 cup olive oil

1 Tbsp lemon juice

1-2 cups fresh strawberries with tops removed

1 tsp salt

1 tsp black pepper

Ingredients for strawberry-goldenrod pesto. Photo credit: Matthew Barnes

Directions

1.  Combine Canada goldenrod leaves, almonds, olive oil, and lemon juice in food processor and pulse to achieve a chunky paste.  The stringy midvein of the goldenrod leaves may resist processing; just use a spatula or spoon to stir the contents of the food processor occasionally between pulses.

2.  Add strawberries a few at a time and pulse until creamy

3.  Add salt and pepper and mix briefly

4.  Chill and serve cool.

I enjoyed my strawberry-goldenrod pesto on garlic bread, but it would taste great on pasta or as an ingredient in other dishes. Photo credit: Matthew Barnes

Although it’s often unfairly fingered as a culprit behind hay fever, Canada goldenrod still represents an invasive North American export to Europe and China. 

Canada goldenrod (Solidago canadensis) is a common wildflower throughout the United States and Canada.  From its creeping rhizome and shallow root system arise stems that may grow up to 6 feet in the right conditions.  Like other members of the genus Solidago, the stems of Canada goldenrod are capped by a mass of small yellow flowers.  A more detailed description of the flowers and leaves can be found here.

Canada goldenrod photo courtesy of www.gardenwiseonline.ca

Throughout North America, Canada goldenrod often receives unwarranted blame for causing hay fever, although goldenrods tend to be insect-pollinated, and allergies are caused by wind-pollinated plants such as common ragweed.  In North America, Canada goldenrod can represent an unwanted weed in agricultural fields and many other habitats, as it is often one of the first colonists to appear following a disturbance.  But this plant has reached truly invasive status in Europe and China, where it was originally introduced as an ornamental plant.  Canada goldenrod grows aggressively and can crowd out native vegetation.  Few goldenrods grow native outside of North America, so Canada goldenrod invasions in Europe and China may also benefit from escaping herbivores.

For the interested invasivore, dried Canada goldenrod looks great in flower arrangements, and the leaves can be eaten like any fresh green.  The flowers can be steeped for tea.  And soon at invasivore.org, we’ll try our hand at making flour out of the seeds!