The O-town Scene - Oneonta, NY
Issue link: http://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/139921
Dandelions and Knotweed Make a Meal It's still dandelion time — actually, it's always dandelion time, as long as you don't use herbicides or pesticides on your landscape. Dandelion leaves are edible raw or cooked. Here are two favorite recipes of mine that can make a great meal for any day of the week. MARInAteD DAnDeLIon Root stIR FRY Ingredients: 2 cups dandelion roots, cleaned and cut into long strips, 1/8 cup soy sauce, ½ cup white balsamic vinegar, 1/8 cup extra virgin olive oil, 1 tablespoon minced garlic, 1 tablespoon minced ginger, ½ teaspoon cracked black pepper. Combine marinade ingredients and mix with sliced dandelion roots. Let stand for 4 hours. When ready to cook, heat a skillet with a little sesame oil in a high-heat-tolerant pan, such as cast iron. Stir-fry roots quickly for 5 minutes or so. Serve as is, or better yet, toss after cooking with a sprinkling of nutritional yeast. Oh my goodness, what a great, tasty, healthy afternoon snack for all to enjoy! JAPAnese KnotWeeD & stRAWBeRRY coBBLeR I know you've seen this plant many times on your travels here in our surrounding counties. Google their scientific name, Polygonum cuspidatum, to check out their adult stage photos. In our region, these "weeds" are seen as a seriously invasive plant with many plant organizations planning to eradicate them. A buckwheat family plant that grows as tall as 10 feet tall, and spreads by rhizomes, the stands of this plant erode stream edges, over crowd gardens and take over lawns very, very quickly. Do accurately identify this (or any plant) with a plant I.D. book and or take someone you know who knows them well. Harvest just the above ground shoots by cutting at ground level. Ensure that no herbicides or other contaminants have been used. Pick only 1-foot-tall shoots; any taller than this, and they'll be very tough and difficult to eat. As you remove the leaves, do not discard them into the compost, as they will grow in there! Discard into the garbage. Now why would anyone want to eat this strange-looking plant? Well for one, it tastes no different then does rhubarb, plus it contains the nutrient Resveratrol, an antioxidant that is the same nutrient present in red wine. And they freeze well, too, so you can store a whole bunch for future use. No blanching required. Ingredients: Flour mixture: 3 cups flour, ¾ cup maple syrup or sugar, 4 teaspoons baking powder, 1 teaspoon salt, 3/4 cup melted butter, 2 eggs, 1 cup milk or yogurt. Fruit: 4 cups Japanese knotweed shoots, cleaned and cut into 1-inch lengths, 4 cups cut-up strawberries, 1 tablespoon tapioca, 1/4 cup maple syrup. Arrange cut-up fruits in a 9-by-12-inch ovensafe pan. Sprinkle with tapioca and maple syrup. Mix flour, sugar, salt, baking powder. Blend eggs, butter and milk together, then turn into flour mixture. Spoon dough on top of fruit. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 45 minutes, or until bread is cooked. Allow to cool before serving. Blessings for a wonderful little meal, until next time. June 6, 2013O-Town Scene 11