SC - Poke Salad- was Edible weeds

[Philippa Alderton]

Poke weed is all over up here, too. As Ras said, the leaves can be used when
very young, as can the stems. I like to cook it, boiling it in two waters
(boil it for a few minutes, drain it and throw out the water, do it again)
then use the poke as you might asparagus. It IS mildly toxic- that's why you
boil it like that, but it's safe after boiling twice. I would suggest,
however, that if you're one of those people who is allergic to everything,
that you approach it with caution, and don't decide, for some reason, that
you're going to have pokeweed with every meal for a week.

I said use it like asparagus for a reason. One of its nicknames is "Poor
Man's Asparagus", which it strongly resembles in taste and texture. Unlike
asparagus, though, which I usually like just steamed, with a rich sauce over
it, I like to take the already boiled-twice poke weed and gently sautee it
with some onions in butter. Very good ;-)


Phlip

Nolo disputare, volo somniare et contendere, et iterum somniare.

phlip at morganco.net

Philippa Farrour
Caer Frig
Southeastern Ohio

"All things are poisons.  It is simply the dose that distinguishes between a
poison and a remedy." -Paracelsus

"Oats -- a grain which in England sustains the horses, and in
Scotland, the men." -- Johnson

"It was pleasant to me to find that 'oats,' the 'food of horses,' were
so much used as the food of the people in Johnson's own town." --
Boswell

"And where will you find such horses, and such men?" -- Anonymous