SC - Edible weeds

[Ron and Laurene Wells]

At 11:44 PM 7/17/2000 -0500, you wrote:
>Date: Mon, 17 Jul 2000 22:23:57 EDT
>From: LrdRas at aol.com
>Subject: SC - KUDZU-OOP
>
>In a message dated 7/15/00 12:13:34 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
>DianaFiona at aol.com writes:
>
><< Somewhere I have bookmarked an interesting website on Kudzu >>
>
>Recipes can be found at:
>
>http://home.att.net/~ejlinton/jelly.html

I'll have to have a look at this!  Thanks for posting it publicly.


>This plant is truly one of the most useful plants on the planet. The reason
>it is not being used is that commercial enterprise and big agribusiness chose
>not to run with the ball when it was originally introduced.

I've noticed the same phenomenon with Blackberries here in the 
Northwest.  They are considered WEEDS here in Oregon.  People buy poisons 
and hire Landscape Specialists with heavy equipment to kill them.  Even 
farms do this!  they make such wonderful fruit!!!  Why don't they use the 
local gift fruit?  Because it is too easy, is the only thing I can think 
of.  Why allow something to grow naturally, when you can spend thousands of 
dollars eradicating it and planting something else that is not native and 
needs more nurturing instead?

>Of course, this does not surprise me because even my neighbors try to
>eradicate the extremely useful dandelion from their yard for whatever bizarre
>reasons instead of using it.

Earlier this spring I fed my family a salad which included young dandelion 
leaves. (I never use poisons in my yard, so I thought after a year of 
living here without poisons it would probably be safe to eat.)  My husband 
spotted them, and with a look on his face that must have resembled Socrates 
after he drank poison said, "Are these WEEDS in my salad?!"  I got the 
distinct feeling that he did not want me harvesting the dandelions for our 
dinner table anymore.  It was so funny though, the look on his face, that I 
just couldn't help laughing.  I still giggle when I think about 
it.  :)  Dandelions are one of the most healthful plants growing on the 
planet, and they are so abundant making sure that there is nutrition enough 
for EVERYONE, and yet our society supports and encourages companies to 
formulate stronger and stronger poisons to kill them.  It seems to me that 
God has provided plenty of food for the entire world - there SHOULD not be 
anyone starving.  Yet greed and confused values have perpetrated an global 
society that allows millions of people to starve every day.

Maybe we should send packets of Dandelion seeds to Ethiopia and Calcutta, 
and the starving nations of the world?  Dandelions seem to survive 
ANYTHING!  Maybe there would not be so many starving people?  Of course, 
the governments might arrest us for importing noxious weeds... SIGH...

I once had a recipe for Dandelion Wine also.  I think it was written by 
someone who was downing a bottle of it while they wrote though, it's kinda 
long and wordy!
- -Laurene