I spent quite a bit of time outside early today, cutting branches of flowering shrubs to bring inside for a 'Stick bouquet '. They look pretty good in the frosted pink vase I put them in, and will look even prettier when the blooms pop open...I picked Flowering Quince, forsythia, wild plum, bridal wreath, flowering pear, peach, hazel bush, Kerria/yellow rose of Texas, etc...The peony is putting up red stalks, and the daffodils are in full flower... As I walked along the garden fence I checked that special place and guess what I saw ? Yep, I saw POKE SALAT pushing up through the old dead stalks .Time ? Oh I didn't even look, but it was before the fog had burned off down in the woods..... As I snipped branches I checked the birds nest spotted a few days ago in the center of the Kerria/yellow rose of Texas my brother Robert gave me....a cardinal flew away as I walked towards her , but no eggs yet.. We don't crave green stuffs like our forefathers did after a long winter, but I'm really looking forward to cooking up a big pot of white beans , some corn pone and a mess of Poke salat ....Just in case you are city folks I'll tell you all about this most famous of the wild greens folks have been enjoying down through the years.....Look along fence rows and in new grounds for tall silvery looking dead stalks that have fallen over....there might be fat pinkish purple looking stalks coming up already. The old stalks may have dried up seed that look a bit like blueberries, only black and smaller.....Just break the green growing stalks off at the ground. If it's growing a foot or more tall a already just break the top out and it will keep on sprouting side shoots that you can pick later. Some folks just gather it in the Spring, but you can eat it any time it is growing quickly...like where small plants have come up in a burned pile or something....I have eaten it in the Fall , and during the summer as I found new growth, with no bad effects..... Poke salat is mildly poisonous, so you par boil it through one or two waters before cooking with meat grease.....This also takes away some of that 'whang' that lets you know you're eating Poke salat and not Spinach....Very tender stalks ? I parboil only once....Older leaves and tips later in the season I may do twice.....I wash the greens and chop them up stalks and all . Some cooks just use the leaves.....Keep in mind, it's got a laxative effect on some folks , so eat sparingly the first time......I pour off all the brown tinged water I par boiled it in and then put it in a skillet with some bacon grease...After the water is fried out I add a couple eggs and scramble it all up ....Sort of like spinach for country folks. You CAN cheat and use canned spinach....Just put the drained greens in a skillet with some meat grease , heat, then scramble in one or two eggs to a small can of spinach....That's the proportion I use.......If you have some Lambs quarters greens to mix in the Poke it would be good, as they are very mild tasting.... Poke berries are also mildly poison, but some folks take a few per day for arthritis.....The root is VERY poison and is only used grated up in poultices.........I used to lecture on eating Indian food and this is what I remember about it.....Naturally I ate plenty of polk when I was growing up on the farm and I still hunt it out every Spring ....... and I also pick about 8 different wild greens..including violet leaves....No blanching needed on those....Jeannie T ____________________________________________________________ Groupon™ Official Site 1 ridiculously huge coupon a day. Get 50-90% off your city's best! http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL3141/4d75d11ad4c801f0fm06duc
Jeannie T, Does/can your poke grow to a stalk 8" across and 6 to 8 ft. high? I have never eaten it, my dad started to grow it in his old neighborhood (Detroit) years and years ago from seed he brought from down south somewhere and he taught a lot of the black folks how to eat it. I hate that stuff growing on the fenceline here and kill it as soon as I see it growing, it can take over a yard quickly and is planted by the birds. Carol K in Michigan On Tue, Mar 8, 2011 at 1:53 AM, <askgranny@juno.com> wrote: > > > I spent quite a bit of time outside early today, cutting branches of > flowering shrubs to bring inside for a 'Stick bouquet '. They look pretty > good in the frosted pink vase I put them in, and will look even prettier > when the blooms pop open...I picked Flowering Quince, forsythia, wild > plum, bridal wreath, flowering pear, peach, hazel bush, Kerria/yellow > rose of Texas, etc...The peony is putting up red stalks, and the > daffodils are in full flower... > > As I walked along the garden fence I checked that special place and guess > what I saw ? Yep, I saw POKE SALAT pushing up through the old dead > stalks .Time ? Oh I didn't even look, but it was before the fog had > burned off down in the woods..... As I snipped branches I checked the > birds nest spotted a few days ago in the center of the Kerria/yellow rose > of Texas my brother Robert gave me....a cardinal flew away as I walked > towards her , but no eggs yet.. > > We don't crave green stuffs like our forefathers did after a long winter, > but I'm really looking forward to cooking up a big pot of white beans , > some corn pone and a mess of Poke salat ....Just in case you are city > folks I'll tell you all about this most famous of the wild greens folks > have been enjoying down through the years.....Look along fence rows and > in new grounds for tall silvery looking dead stalks that have fallen > over....there might be fat pinkish purple looking stalks coming up > already. The old stalks may have dried up seed that look a bit like > blueberries, only black and smaller.....Just break the green growing > stalks off at the ground. If it's growing a foot or more tall a already > just break the top out and it will keep on sprouting side shoots that you > can pick later. Some folks just gather it in the Spring, but you can eat > it any time it is growing quickly...like where small plants have come up > in a burned pile or something....I have eaten it in the Fall , and during > the summer as I found new growth, with no bad effects..... > > Poke salat is mildly poisonous, so you par boil it through one or two > waters before cooking with meat grease.....This also takes away some of > that 'whang' that lets you know you're eating Poke salat and not > Spinach....Very tender stalks ? I parboil only once....Older leaves and > tips later in the season I may do twice.....I wash the greens and chop > them up stalks and all . Some cooks just use the leaves.....Keep in mind, > it's got a laxative effect on some folks , so eat sparingly the first > time......I pour off all the brown tinged water I par boiled it in and > then put it in a skillet with some bacon grease...After the water is > fried > out I add a couple eggs and scramble it all up ....Sort of like spinach > for country folks. You CAN cheat and use canned spinach....Just put the > drained greens in a skillet with some meat grease , heat, then > scramble in one or two eggs to a small can of spinach....That's the > proportion I use.......If you have some Lambs quarters greens to mix in > the Poke it would be good, as they are very mild tasting.... > > Poke berries are also mildly poison, but some folks take a few per day > for arthritis.....The root is VERY poison and is only used grated up in > poultices.........I used to lecture on eating Indian food and this is > what I remember about it.....Naturally I ate plenty of polk when I was > growing up on the farm and > I still hunt it out every Spring ....... and I also pick about 8 > different wild greens..including violet leaves....No blanching needed on > those....Jeannie T > ____________________________________________________________ > Groupon™ Official Site > 1 ridiculously huge coupon a day. Get 50-90% off your city's best! > http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL3141/4d75d11ad4c801f0fm06duc > > > > > > http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~mbousman1/memory.htm > > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > MEMORY-LANE-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message >
Jeannie; My mother always used many "weeds" for food. I was never faund of then because of the heavy grease but learned to fix and really like them as a spinach like dish. Poke was one we always ricked as long as it was new young leaves anything older like rhubarb mom said was poisonous. Oh, Yes that first batch each year was a grand physic( a little went along way)as the weather warmed many other "greens were added and Mushrooms. Several roots. I think we might all be in better health if we used more WILD foods. Bud.PS remember make ink with poke berries?