For all "yall" that plan to return to Cannon County during the Memorial Day holiday this year, you're in luck! The earlier poke salet crop was frozen out with the "late freeze" we had during early April. The second crop is now up and growing well. There will be those who bring this delicious meal to the reunions and dinners that will be planned around this holiday. Be sure to ask about it as many folks here still prepare this nature's delight. By the time you return home, you should have at least a half dozen different recipes for preparing it. Share them with family and friends when you get back home! Poke salet can also be frozen to enjoy year round. Jess has pretty accurately described the process in his posting below. The plant stalk has also been used to make a cucumber like food and I have heard of it also being battered and fried like okra. This native plant no doubt was introduced to our settler ancestors by the Indians who developed many different ways of preparing it for consumption. The plant is poisonous, however, and the key to safely eating it is in the multiple blanchings you must put it through as it is cooked. When cooked correctly, and smothered in boiled eggs and vinegar, it is hard to beat the taste of this southern delicacy. Enjoy! Danny Nichols Date: Mon, 14 May 2007 18:39:53 -0500 From: "Jess Lewis" <kr4oj@bellsouth.net> Subject: Re: [TNCANNON] Old times there are not forgotten To: <tncannon@rootsweb.com> Message-ID: <008401c79681$2c69d770$0301a8c0@JESSMAIN> Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="iso-8859-1"; reply-type=original You pick only the very young "shoots". The larger leaves are strong tasting & most folks don't like them. It is my understanding that the purple "poke berries" are actually the only poison part of the plant. Not to birds, though. They love them. Cook the "shoots" a couple of times and pour the water off. Some people cook it with eggs and make a kind of "scrambled combo". There are recipes on the internet. Some look pretty good. Jess