End of season Root Recipes! Sunchokes & Burdock!

Sunchoke Salad Toppers - Better then croutons!

4-5 Jerusalem artichoke roots
1 tsp fresh chives
olive oil

Wash and clean roots with a vegetable brush. Thinly slice roots.
Chop chives
Place chives and roots in pan with small amount of olive oil.
Cook over med high heat until roots are crispy and lightly browned.
Allow to cool and serve over fresh salad.

Jerusalem Artichoke Soup

•5 ounces fresh morel mushrooms, halved and cleaned- May substitute any mushroom

•1 pound  fresh Jerusalem artichokes, scrubbed and sliced

•juice of 1 lemon

•3 tablespoons olive oil

•2 shallots, chopped

•1/2 cup white wine

•4 cups chicken or vegetable stock

•2/3 cup heavy cream

•2 tablespoons unsalted butter

•freshly grated nutmeg

•salt and pepper to taste

Cooking directions:

1. Wash and slice Jerusalem artichokes and place in lemon water.

2.Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large saucepan. Add the chopped shallots and saute for 5 minutes while stirring. Add the Jerusalem artichokes, drained, and saute for another 5 minutes.

3.Add the white wine and cook until it's evaporated. Pour in the stock and season then bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 15 minutes until the Jerusalem artichokes are soft.

4.Stir in the cream. 

5.Heat the Jerusalem artichoke soup gently and adjust the seasoning to taste.

6.Warm the remaining oil and butter and saute the morel mushrooms for 5 minutes, season lightly and add the freshly grated nutmeg.

7.Serve garnished with morel mushrooms

Stir-Fried Burdock And Carrots

2 cups first year burdock root. Look for basal rosette.

2 cups fresh carrots

1 Tbsp. vegetable oil

1 tsp. sesame oil

2 Tbsps. sesame seeds

1 Tbsp. soy sauce

Wash and scrape the outer skin  of the carrots and burdock root(don't peel), then cut into matchstick-sized pieces. Place cut burdock root into a bowl of cold water to prevent them from turning brown.

In a large skillet or wok, heat the vegetable oil and sesame oil together. When it's hot, sprinkle in the sesame seeds and cook, stirring, for about a minute.

Drain the burdock and add with the carrots to the hot oil. Cook and stir over medium-high heat for about five to seven minutes or until slightly tender.

Add soy sauce and continue stir-frying for about ten minutes. The burdock will change color from milky white to shiny gray/brown. It will be crisp, crunchy, earthy, and delicious !

Serve over brown rice.

Jerusalem Artichoke Season!



Sunchoke

 The Adirondacks have experienced at least one frost. There have been 2 nights at my home where the temperatures have dipped to a refreshing 28-30 degree range.  I know it is now time to start enjoying Jerusalem Artichokes.

Jerusalem artichokes are not from Jerusalem and are not related to artichokes in any way. They are actually native to North America. The Native Americans called them "sun roots" and introduced these prolific tubers to the Puritan settlers who quickly adopted them as a staple food. The explorer Samuel de Champlain was first introduced to "sunchokes" when he visited a Native American vegetable garden  in Cape Cod, Massachusetts in 1605. Champlain believed that they tasted like artichokes and broght the tubers from sunchokes back to France. From France, the sunchoke traveled to Italy sometime before 1633. Tthe Italian word for sunflower, "girasole", which means "turning to the sun" was, as is so often the case, corrupted into the word "Jerusalem" .

Nutritional value:  327 mg. of potassium for a half-cup serving , 57 calories, 1.5. gr. protein, 1.2 gr. fiber, 10.5 mg. calcium, 10 mcg. folacin , a relatively high amount of iron and smaller amounts of niacin and thiamine.


Preparation:

Dig tubers after a frost. Wash and scrub with vegetable brush. It is not necessary to peel them as the skin is edible and tasty.  Place washed tubers in water with a small amount of lemon or vinegar to prevent discoloration before cooking.

Raw sunchokes contain a fairly high amount of inulin and should be sampled in small amounts as the inulin can cause discomfort in the form of "gas".

Raw:


Thinly slice sunchokes and add to salads.
Slice and serve with other vegetables and dips.
Shred them  and add them to coleslaw.
Use your imagination!

Stir Fry: Slice or shred and stir fry  with other fresh vegetables in a little extra virgin olive oil. Sunchokes  will  soften in about 4 to 6 minutes. For a more tender-crisp texture, stir fry about 2 to 4 minutes.

Roasted: Sunchokes can be baked whole or sliced. Toss them in a bowl with a little olive oil and place on a baking sheet. Add garlic, other veggies, parsley and seasonings as you wish. Set the oven temperature at 375 and bake 30 to 45 minutes for whole, and 20 to 25 minutes for sliced, turning them half way through.

Steamed: Coarsely chop and place into a steamer basket. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Continue at high heat and steam for 5 to 8 minutes. Test for softness. Remove and season to taste or mash like potatoes.

Boiled:  Bring water to a boil over high heat. Add sunchokes and boil for 10 to 15 minutes for whole, and 5 to 8 minutes for cut up. Season as desired or mash like potatoes.

Add sunchokes to soups and stews!

Sunchoke Pecan Sandwich is one of the delicious recipes in Zel Allen's cookbook The Nut Gourmet: Nourishing Nuts for Every Occasion published by Book Publishing Company in 2006.

Yield: 3 to 4 sandwiches

1 ripe avocado

1 1/2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon salt

Dash cayenne

1/4 to 1/2 cup (60 to 120 ml) organic canola oil

2 cups (480 ml) coarsely shredded sunchokes

1/2 cup (120 ml) raw or toasted pecans, coarsely chopped or coarsely ground

1/4 red bell pepper, finely diced

Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

6 to 8 slices whole grain bread

12 to 16 large basil leaves

3 ripe tomatoes, sliced

3 to 4 butter lettuce leaves

To make the avocado sauce, wash the avocado, cut it in half, scoop out the flesh, and place it in the blender. Add the lemon juice, salt, and cayenne and blend briefly. With the machine running, slowly add the canola oil, using just enough to create a thick, creamy sauce. Stop the machine occasionally to scrape down the sides of the blender jar and stir the mixture.

To make the sunchoke filling, combine the sunchokes, pecans, and red bell pepper in a medium bowl. Add enough of the avocado sauce to moisten and hold the mixture together. Season with salt and pepper if needed.

Spread a thin coating of the avocado sauce over one side of each of the bread slices. Spread the sunchoke mixture over half the bread slices and top with the basil leaves, tomato slices, and lettuce. Place the remaining bread slices over the filling and cut the sandwiches in half..


If you would like more sunchoke recipes, you may email me at adkshoer@aol.com  

Franklin County Fair

Wild Carrot Funnel Cakes with Dandelion Syrup

Thank you Dana Fast for helping  at Franklin County Fair  with the "Truly Wild" Queen Anne's Lace Funnel Cakes that were served with dandelion or maple syrup. Approximately 100 funnel cakes were served to people who had no idea that these prolific weeds could be made into such a tasty treats.

Queen Anne's Lace (Wild Carrot) Funnel Cakes

10-15 Fully opened Queen Anne's Lace blossoms - rinse in cold water and allow to dry on paper towling or

          a rack.

1 Cup flour (white, spelt, whole wheat)

1 egg

3-4 Tbs water

Vegetable oil.

Heat enough vegetable oil in a skillet, wok or frying pan to make the depth of at least 2 inches. 

Lightly beat egg. Add egg and water to flour to make a light batter. A small amount of maple syrup or honey may be added to the batter to lightly sweeten it if you wish.

Dip flower in batter.   Drop into hot oil.  Battered flower will float to the top of the oil. When one side is golden brown, turn over and cook the other side.  Drain on rack. Serve warm with powdered sugar, maple syrup, dandelion syrup or with a scoop of ice cream.

Franklin County Fair

Franklin County Fair, which is held in Malone,  begins on August 7th and ends August 15th. I will be putting a "Truly Wild" display in the 4H building with a "Name the Wild Food"  challenge for the public. On Wednsday, August 11th, I will be preparing and sharing Wild Carrot Funnel Cakes which will be sampled by people attending the fair. We will also have free locally grown baked potatoes with locally produced flavored butter. Hungry yet?  If  anyone would like to help with the display, making or serving the funnel cakes, let me know! I will get you free passes to the fair for the day. The fair theme this year is "Exploring our Agricultural Roots" . Stop in!

Milkweed Jelly

Milkweed is a favorite of the Monarch butterfly larvae. Please remember the forager's rule and leave much more then you take! Do not harvest from roadsides, near polluted water or near heavily sprayed farm fields.

Milkweed Jelly

3 cups of fully opened, fragrant milkweed blossoms – cut stem off (see photo)

Piece of cheesecloth big enough to tie flowers in loosely

4 cups water

2 1/2 cups sugar – Honey may be used
Directions:


Remove blossoms from stem. Rinse, drain and tie up in cheesecloth loosely  to allow the water to circulate through the cheeseclot bag.

Bring water and sugar to a full, rolling boil. (Do not use aluminum pot) Drop in blossom bag

Reduce heat, but allow mixture to simmer actively until reduced by about half.  Check jelly by placing small drop on cold surface or in ice water. It should become tacky and jelly-like.
Remove from heat. When cooled, remove bag of flowers and allow to drain into pot.  Squeezing the bag will make the jelly cloudy.

Pour into sterile jars. Cover tightly. Stores in fridge for 3 weeks.

Milkweed Jelly, Queen Anne's Lace "funnel cakes", Day Lily hors d'oeuvres

Stuffed Day Lily Hors d'oeuvres

Ingredients:

1/2 cup onion- wild onion, leeks or chives

1/4 cup garlic scapes

1 cup cooked greens (save the liquid)

(I used lamb’s quarters, day lily flower, rose petals, milkweed buds)

Olive oil

1/3 cup Vegetable broth

1 8 oz container of sour cream or plain Greek yogurt

1 package cream cheese

Preparation:

1. Pick day orange and/or yellow lily blossoms in the morning, rinse off with cold water, refrigerate until needed.

2. Chop the onions and garlic scapes.

3. Cook onions and garlic scapes in olive oil until well browned.

4. Parboil greens, save liquid.

5. If using milkweed buds, steam separately - Prepare first by dropping into boiling water for 2 minutes. 

6. Combine the cooked greens to the onions and garlic and stir.

7. Add half the vegetable broth, lower heat and cover.

8. Simmer 10 minutes, add remaining broth, cook until tender and most of the broth is gone.

9. Beat cooled veggie mixture into softened cream cheese and sour cream.

10.  Chill filling.

11. Remove day lilies from refrigerator. Pull the stamens.

12. Wipe blossoms with a damp paper towel.

13. Stuff mixture into each blossom and arrange on a plate.

14. Arrange on a plate with greens. Keep cold until served. 

*Cream cheese and sour cream may be ommited. Use just the green mixture for stuffing with chopped tiny shrimp.
( Will take a photo of the finished product tonight!)

This dish is pretty, tasty and definitely was a hit with both adults and 4H youth!

Dandelion Flower "flour"

Has anyone noticed that one of my all time favorite "weeds" is the dandelion? I have utilized this free-range vegetable in Jelly, syrup, fritters, salads, teas, greens, pasta, stir fry and even in bread.

Dandelion Bread

Spring dandelion blossoms. Amount? As many as you like. The dehydrated blossoms store well in jars.

• Rinse in cold water. Drain.
• Cut the yellow petals off using kitchen shears. I suggest doing this while watching a good movie.
• Dry the petals in a 1/4 inch layer on a drying rack . A clean, recycled fabric type window screen works well! Placing the petals on a screen in a vehicle with the windows closed will cut the drying time down and keep the petals from blowing away. Electric food dehydrators also work well. The dehydrated flower petals can be used as a thickener, tea and as a "flour" in pastas and breads.

Bread Recipe

5-6 Cups assorted flour

1 package Rapid Rise yeast or 1 1/2 Tbs bulk yeast

1 Tbs sugar. May be brown, honey, molasses, maple syrup

1/2 Tbs salt

2 cups warm water water

Directions:

Pour 2 cups warm water in bowl. Stir in yeast and sugar util dissolved.

Add 3 cups of flour one at a time and beat until smooth(whole wheat, spelt, unbleached white-your choice) beat well.

Add salt, stir.

Add 1-2 cups dandelion "flour". Stir.

Add 1 -2 cups additional flour to from a ball. If dough is too dry, add olive oil or softened butter. If dough is too moist, knead in more flour.

Knead on lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic.

Place in lightly oiled or buttered bowl and cover. Allow to rise in a warm spot until doubled in size.

Punch dough down. Form into round loaves and place on baking stone or oiled cookie sheet. May also be place in oiled bread tins or made into rolls. Cover and allow to rise until almost doubled.

Bake in 425 degree oven 25 minutes or until loaf sounds hollow when tapped. 15 minutes for rolls.

Remove and allow to cool on wire rack. Freezes well!

Eating "Local"

The Truly Wild 4H group that met in Lake Placid braved the rain to discover Jerusalem artichokes (aka sunchokes- not from Jerusulem & not artichokes but a native relative of the sunflower), the visible and scent differences between Queen Anne's Lace and hemlock, spotted jewelweed, mayapple, stinging nettle, thistle, day lily, burdock, and other plants in their early summer stage of growth. Luckily Gail brought extra umbrellas and the rain stopped before we were done.

Dinner was Truly Wild & Truly Local!

Salad-fresh spinach, self heal, red clover, day lily, wild strawberry, thistle celery, chickweed and wood sorrell. The dressing was local honey, with the only item not local-balsamic vinegar. Next time we will use all local products in the dressing!

Bread- Dandelion & Violet

"Flour" made from dehydrated dandelon blossoms & dried violets make this bread unique. Recipe will be in the next blog edition.

Milkweed & Rice Casserole- Everything but the brown rice was local.

Truly Wild Soup with Dandelion Pasta - Everything was locally grown or produced. The eggs were free range, blue/green and brown. * What kind of chickens lay blue/green eggs? The flours used in the pasta were locally milled. The soup was made from a vegetable base of : Lambsquarters, thistle root, burdock root, young burdock stem, thistle celery, evening primrose root, dandelion, and a handful or spinach from my garden. Frozen leeks, local garlic, frozen fiddleheads, daisy leaves, all sauteed in butter added extra flavor.

The Chateaugay Rec Park Truly Wild group also braved a rain storm to gather cattails, and other additions to our meal.

The tender center stem of cattail gathered from unpolluted water, is a very tasty addition to any stir fry, soup or salad. Pull the outer tougher leaves to expose the white "celery", rinse in cold water, slice and enjoy. Cattail root, stem, green "tail" and pollen were a staple of the Native American diet.

Milkweed Stir Fry - Milkweed buds, cattail celery, day lily, lambsquarters, and many other items were stir fried and served over dandelion pasta. We also enjoyed milkweed blossoms topped with butter! Milkweed was definitely a hit.

The boys nearly finished an entire jar of dandelion jelly with their dandelion bread! There will be a dandelion jelly making class in the spring just so Josh can have his own supply.

Milkweed is blossoming!

Milkweed Buds with Butter
*All parts of the milkweed plant are mildly toxic and extremely bitter if not prepared properly. Instructions: Gently rinse young plants, blossoms, or pods in cold water. Drop immediately into boiling water for one minute. Do not use aluminum cookware. Drain. Drop into boiling water for one minute again. Drain and use in recipes or serve with butter. Serving:Unopened buds are delicious served just with butter. The taste is sweet-broccoli-like. Buds may be lightly sautéed in butter until tender or cooked longer in boiling water until slightly tender.

Milkweed Casserole

Choose Milkweed blossoms that are still tight and unopened. Always pick blossoms only where they are plentiful. Never over-pick. Milkweed Rice Casserole
2 cups rice (try Wild Rice to make this extra special!)
6 cups water (if using Wild Rice use 7 cups water. Vegetable or chicken stock may be substituted )
4 cups Milkweed flower buds, pre-cooked
2 cups chopped onion, leeks or scallions 2 Tbsp butter or olive oil
2 eggs
1 cup milk
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp salt
½ lb grated cheddar cheese

1. Cook rice until tender.
2. Boil Milkweed flower buds (while still tight) gently for 10
minutes, strain.
3. Sautee onions in butter or olive oil until tender.
4. Whip eggs, milk, salt and minced garlic together.
5. In a large bowl, mix egg mixture, rice, Milkweed, onion and half of the cheese together.
6. Put in a 9x13 greased baking pan.
7. Spread the rest of the cheese over the top of the casserole.
8. Bake at 350° for 35-40 minutes.

Recipes!

Dandelion noodles? Using dandelion greens throughout the summer that are being cut and harvested from the garden insures that the leaves are small, tender and much less bitter then leaves allowed to grow to their full size.

Dandelion Pasta

1 1/2 C. whole wheat, semolina, unbleached white, spelt or other flour of your choice
1 Large egg
Approximately 4-6 tablespoons of water -water amount will depend on humidity, type of flour and egg size/freshness
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/4 C. cooked, chopped, drained dandelion greens

Gather approximately 1 cup tender, young dandelion leaves. Wash. Chop. Boil in small amount of lightly salted water until tender. Drain and press liquid through a strainer. Fresh spinach, Swiss Chard or other greens may be substituted.

1. Place flour in a mound either on counter top or in a bowl. Make a well in the center.
2. Drop egg into center
3. Pull flour into egg from sides of well
4. Add drained dandelion and mix into dough.
5. Add water a little at a time mixing either with a fork or your hands until dough forms a ball
6. Turn dough onto lightly floured surface
7. Knead until smooth. If dough is too dry, add EVVO. If dough is too moist, add flour
8. Let dough rest for 1/2 hour
9. Cut dough in half. Roll on lightly floured surface with floured rolling pin until very thin.
10. Using a pizza cutter, cut strips of dough into noodles. Noodles may be dried on racks, cooked fresh, refrigerated or frozen.
11. Drop fresh noodles into rapidly boiling water, soup or stew. Noodles will be done when they float to the top. Cook 2-3 minutes longer or until desired tenderness. Serve with grated cheese, butter, or sauce. Adding fresh noodles to a soup or stew will tend to thicken the broth.

Mashed carrot, mashed beets, mashed sweet potatoe added to pasta recipe will make orange, red and yellow pasta that is naturally colored!

4H at Adirondack Day, LP Quinn, Tupper Lake

I and Diane Dumont, also from the Franklin County 4H program, will be visiting LP Quinn's second grade class in Tupper Lake today for their annual Adirondack Day. I will be doing 2- 20 minute presentations on Adirondack Plant History. Any guesses as to what commonly thought of as native Adirondack plants I will be bringing?

Stinging Nettle & Answer to which one is wild carrot

Stinging nettle was prepared for dinner for the first time by a friend. Her comment was, "Stinging nettle is one kick {butt} vegetable!". I think she liked it. I've always wondered what ever possesed someone to try harvesting, cooking and eating a plant that is so unattractive and so unfriendly.

Did you correctly identify which picture was wild carrot/Queen Anne's Lace and which one was hemlock? You were correct if you said wild carrot was the photo on the left.

Photo of wild lunch

Here is a photo of a "Free Range Veggies" lunch I enjoyed with a friend this week. The salad consisted of : Fresh greens, Johnny Jump-ups, violet blossoms and leaves, daisy leaves, dandelion blossoms, sliced thistle celery, sliced wild carrot, wild garlic, purslane and some tender chickweed. It was topped with fresh brie. Dandelion syrup and balsamic vinegar was used as the dressing.

The main course was purslane, lambsquarters, wild garlic, violet leaves, wild carrot, evening primrose root, evening primrose leaves, thistle celery, parsley, mushrooms, and young burdock stems. All were sauteed in EVVO. Water was added to make a vegetable broth. The cooked wild rice was dropped into the veggies and broth and allowed to simmer down to a delicious rice pilaf.

All I can say is, "YUM".

Lambsquarters & Stinging Nettles

Top photo: Lambsquarters
Bottom photo: Early stinging nettle- Do Not Touch with bare flesh! Use thick, leather gloves to harvest. If you do get some on your skin, there are various plants whose leaves can be chewed and applied to a nettle sting to neutralize the pain. Spotted jewelweed-touch me not, yellow dock, yarrow, and plantain.

The rain yesterday helped bring a flourish of one of my favorite greens -lambsquarters. This common "weed" can be found in gardens, flowerbeds, and anywhere there is disturbed, relatively fertile soil. It is easy to identify, loaded with vitamins A, C and relatively high in calcium. Lambsquarters contain known anti-inflammatory nutrients, including Beta Carotene and Vitamin K. (If someone is on blood thinners, they will need to consult their physician concerning foods high in vitamin K as vitamin K is a blood coagulator). It has a very mild spinach-like taste and may be substituted in all your favorite recipes calling for any type green either raw or cooked. The tiny, black seeds of the mature plant may be added to soups as a thickener, or ground into a flour additive.

The plant will grow from 1-3 1/2 ft in height. The upper leaf is a lighter green while the underside of the leaf is a dusty , grey-green. Stems are smooth and hairless. The plant will have very little smell when crushed. Harvesting lambsquarters is simple: pick the leaves, rinse in cold water and use. 1 gallon of raw leaves will steam/cook down to 4 cups of cooked greens.

Another one of my favorite wild greens-

Stinging Nettle-This plant has hairs that line the stems and the undersides of the leaves that are actually hollow and pointed. The hairs inject formic acid into the skin when you brush against it. Formic acid is the same chemical that makes the bite of stinging ants so painful. Again- Do not handle without gloves.

Stinging nettle is usually found in wooded areas in patches or clumps where the ground is damp and in full or partial sun. The plants grow up to three feet high and will have fairly long-pointed, sharply toothed leaves which are opposite and occurring in pairs along the stem. Leaves are lined with hairs. The stem is thick, grooved, and also lined with stinging hairs. The clustered, small greenish flowers grow in clusters on small, tender stems that arch out from the bases of the upper leaves.

Preparation: Harvest the leaves. Luckily, dropping stinging nettle into a little simmering water immediately removes both the stinging hairs and the formic acid leaving a truly delicious and nutritious green! Sun drying will also get rid of the sting and is a great way to store this green for winter use. Freezing lightly cooked greens is the simplest way to store for winter use.

Fresh nettles may be simmered for ten to twenty minutes. The taste is spinach-like and rich in protein, iron, calcium, Vitamins A, C, and B-complex, and many essential trace minerals. Save the cooking water to add to soups and stews!

Use cooked stinging nettles in any of your favorite recipes calling for greens. Delicious in vegetable lasagna! Slightly less then a gallon fresh will make 4 cups of cooked greens.

Safety Rules

Remember these rules when you are "Free Range Shopping" (foraging).



1. Never attempt to use or eat any plant, seed, berry, root or bark that you are not 100% certain you can identify unless you are in a survival situation. Carry a good field guide with you.

2. If you are eating something for the first time:



*Do not pick plants closer then 50 feet from busy roadsides, near polluted water, on the edges of pesticide sprayed or herbicide sprayed farm fields, or or near dumpsites. (Isn't it amazing that all good books on foraging strongly suggest NOT eating wild edibles near farm fields that are sprayed with pesticides and herbicides but we all eat the vegetables grown IN those fields?)

• Smell plant, seed, berry, bark or root. The smell should be pleasant. Stay away from "bitter almond" smell.


• Break of a small amount of leaf, root or berry. Rub on the inside of your wrist. Wait at least 20 minutes. 1-2 hours is better! If a rash or redness appears - DO NOT go to next step.


• Crush a small amount and place it on your lip. DO NOT lick your lips. Wait at least 20 minutes. Again, 1-2 hours is better. If there is an urge to gag, swelling, itching or any other irritation - DO NOT go to next step.


• Place a SMALL amount on your tongue. DO NOT swallow saliva! If urge to gag, burning, excessive salivating, or any other unpleasant reaction occurs, spit out sample IMMEDIATELY - DO NOT go to next step. Wait 20 minutes or longer.


• Cook small amount of tested plant in water. Eat small amount. Wait several hours. If no side effects occur you may eat and enjoy.

Dinner...

Can you tell which leaf is from wild carrot (Queen Anne's Lace) and which is from the deadly poisonous hemlock? Wild carrot leaf will smell distinctly like carrot. The stem is hairy. The root will be white and a carrot-like single root. Hemlock may grow in the same area. The stem will be smooth, hollow and there will be little smell. The roots will be multiple. If in doubt....do not taste! Hemlock is the most potently poisonous plant in our area.

Stir fry tonight! Wild carrot, thistle celery, evening primrose root and some primrose leaves, all will be added to the "traditional" stir fry veggies. I love spring and "free range shopping".

Evening primrose- first year plant. Again, look for a basal rosette. Young leaves and roots are tasty stir fried or boiled. Root freezes well for winter use. If you would like some seeds or young plants to start your own primrose patch, I'll be happy to give you some! I will bring some samples of wild carrot and evening primrose to taste when we meet next time.

Off to cook dinner.

Pat

Spiny Treat- Thistle Celery

Remember this prickly plant from our first meeting? It is the common thistle. There are over 300 varities in North America. All have edible leaves, stems, and roots. Eating the leaves is only suggested if you have a lot of patience as all the spines need to be removed before a small amount of leaf can be enjoyed. It's hardly worth the effort!

The first year plant is a basal rosette and stays close to the ground. The second year plant grows to 3-4 ft on average. It is the pith of the stem of the second year plant that you will be able to eat and enjoy at this time of the year and throughout the early summer. It is known as thistle celery and can be snacked on "in the field", added to salads, soups and stews. Thistle celery, chopped, sliced or in chunks may added to anything you may wish to pickle.

Because of our unusually warm spring, the thistle plants are now about 8-18 inches tall. You will need a fairly large, sharp knife or small hatchet. Leather gloves are also handy for protecting your hands. Find some thistle stalks and carefully start cutting off all the leaves. Next, start slicing away the spines on the stem while it is standing. Cut the stem off at the base. Peel the stem much like you would any other vegetable. Eat and enjoy.

Thistle celery will stay in your refrigerator for several days. It also freezes well!

I found a video on the internet of some children in Louisiana eating thistle celery. Here is the link:

http://www.houmatoday.com/article/20100411/ARTICLES/100409375?p=1&tc=pg&tc=ar

In the fall, the root of the first year plant is delicious cooked! The root is very white and crisp when it is first dug from the ground. It turns black quickly because of the large amount of inulin present. Eating the root uncooked will cause large amounts of gas in humans as the inulin cannot be digested. Wash in cold water, lightly peel and cook as you would any other root veggie. Cooked, the root is sweet and delicious. Try roasting in on a baking sheet with other late summer/fall veggies topped with olive oil and your favorite seasonings. Add braised thistle root to rice dishes, stews, stir fry...use your imagination!

Another great website with video!
http://www.wildfoodforagers.org/thistle2a.htm

Please DO eat the Daisies.....

Some of your grandparents, and maybe parents, may remember a movie titled "Please Don't Eat The Daisies" circa 1960. Well, I'm going to encourage you to EAT the daisy leaves. They are a delicious additive to salads, and as a flavoring to soups and stews. The taste is a concentrated celery flavor. Chewing on the leaves also freshens your breath.

The common ox eye daisy is believed to be another European or Russian alien species.It is now found world-wide. It can be found on the edges of lawns, grassy fields, roadsides and waste places. It is almost never found in pine forests where the soil is acidic. It can easily be cultivated in any flower bed or garden that offers plenty of sun and fairly fertile soil.

Ox-eye daisy is not only edible but it is said to have medicinal properties. The flower's medicinal herb property is said to be a muscle spasm reliever, diuretic, and other blood building claims. It was once used to relieve bronchitis, whooping cough and other lung ailments.

Daisy Tea: To 1 tsp. dried, crushed flowers add 1 cup boiling water, steep for 10 min. strain and sweeten to taste.