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Poke Salet


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Poke Salet (Phytolacca Americana)

The farmer who is my first stop at the Annapolis Farmer's Market had sold his entire bushel of asparagus to one customer when I arrived 15 minutes after the market opened at 7:00 a.m. :) In a way, I don't blame him, but it would have been nice if he'd held some back so that others could have enjoyed it too, because he's the only one who sells it.

But he had a couple of huge bundles of a green I'd never seen, and told me it was wild poke salet, was very tasty, but that it could only be eaten in small amounts because of what he described as its laxative effect (which wasn't exactly what he said, but close enough.) Intrigued, I bought a bundle for a buck, along with some beautiful new rhubarb. Googling it I was alarmed to find so many references to it being poisonous. An order woman who walked up told me she boils it, drains it, and tops it with a vinegar/sugar/salt marinade "like for German potato salad" and serves it like spinach. Anybody have a clue how to prepare it so it tastes good and I still wake up alive the next day?

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Anybody have a clue how to prepare it so it tastes good and I still wake up alive the next day?

No, but I strongly suggest you never plant it in your garden. I don't care how important a food source it is for native wildlife, etc blah blah blah, it is a most noxious and troublesome weed. And an ugly plant. And birds shit the berries onto your car or deck or patio and it stains everything reddish purple. It took me years to kill it where it invaded the garden at my current house. It is a vile plant. I hate it.

That is probably my most useless post ever. Let me know how it tastes once you figure out how to cook it.

Oh, and fer Chrissakes don't go buying the stuff! It's everywhere in the DC region. You could pull onto the shoulder of a country road and pick bushels for yourself.

pokeweed

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Oh, and fer Chrissakes don't go buying the stuff!  It's everywhere in the DC region.  You could pull onto the shoulder of a country road and pick bushels for yourself.pokeweed

For a buck, I didn't think I had anything to lose if it turned out to be awful. [as compared to the $4 plus my daughter relentlessly harangued me into spending on some Starbucks crapola after our run this morning. feh. I know better.]

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But he had a couple of huge bundles of a green I'd never seen, and told me it was wild poke salet, was very tasty, but that it could only be eaten in small amounts because of what he described as its laxative effect (which wasn't exactly what he said, but close enough.) Intrigued, I bought a bundle for a buck, along with some beautiful new rhubarb. Googling it I was alarmed to find so many references to it being poisonous. An order woman who walked up told me she boils it, drains it, and tops it with a vinegar/sugar/salt marinade "like for German potato salad" and serves it like spinach. Anybody have a clue how to prepare it so it tastes good and I still wake up alive the next day?

Hey, Elvis sang about poke salad, so it can't be all that bad ('cause we all know the King had exemplary dietary habits).

"Down there we have a plant

That grows out in the woods and the fields,

Looks somethin' like a turnip green.

Everybody calls it Poke salad. Poke salad.

Used to know a girl that lived down there and

she'd go out in the evenings and pick a mess of it...

Carry it home and cook it for supper,

'Cause that's about all they had to eat,

But they did all right.

'Ceptin for that laxative effect"

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