We love the taste and cleansing of wild spring greens. Grandmother would take us out early in spring when the sheepshowers would burst forth and have us eat as much as we could. An old wives' tale-maybe, maybe not-claimed that sheepshowers placed in a jar and allowed to turn to gel, when applied would cure skin cancer. It was a family remedy passed down and now I take my own granddaughter out to eat those soury sheepshowers first thing in the spring.
There's no more savory taste than that of fresh brook watercress with crumbled bacon, diced onions and drizzled with hot bacon drippings! Add the salt and you have a dish fit for the King of Kings! It must be served hot for the best taste. When I'm preparing this dish , I let the oil get hot and then let out a yell," OK, I'm getting ready to pour on the grease!" Everyone else starts yelling the same thing and running for the kitchen. Plates are grabbed and prayers are said. THEN, the grease is poured over the greens and quickly "tonged" to each waiting plate. It's delicious and such a treat after a long winter.
Wild onions grow so plentifully in this area and it's not hard to obtain plenty for a fresh mess or extra to clean and dice for the freezer. They're small and it takes patience to gather and to clean, but so well worth that pungent little taste. I saute the onions in butter until translucent and then mix in fresh farms eggs and scramble. We enjoy them best fresh, but what a treat this past January during that severe ice storm, when I found a small package hiding in the freezer!!
And then...............there's poke greens or poke sallet! This is probably the most popular of those wild spring greens! It's plentiful around barnyard or field fence lines. Best picked at a tender height of 5-10 inches, these greens are best eaten in moderation. Poke Sallet is poisonous eaten raw, so if you don't want to end up in the ER , make sure you know what you're doing. I wash the greens 3 times, chop and place in kettle and just cover with water. Add a 1/2 cup of lard or oil and let boil until almost tender. Rinse off greens and place back in the kettle with 1/4 cup of lard or oil and cook until tender. I also rinse this off and then add just a little canola oil and salt OR I place in a frying skillet and scramble in some eggs. Delicious by themselves or with the eggs, we eat these for several nights in a row during the last part of April and first of May.
These beautiful and tasty greens are such a delightful treat after a hard winter and such a lovely prelude to the strawberries coming in May!
There's no more savory taste than that of fresh brook watercress with crumbled bacon, diced onions and drizzled with hot bacon drippings! Add the salt and you have a dish fit for the King of Kings! It must be served hot for the best taste. When I'm preparing this dish , I let the oil get hot and then let out a yell," OK, I'm getting ready to pour on the grease!" Everyone else starts yelling the same thing and running for the kitchen. Plates are grabbed and prayers are said. THEN, the grease is poured over the greens and quickly "tonged" to each waiting plate. It's delicious and such a treat after a long winter.
Wild onions grow so plentifully in this area and it's not hard to obtain plenty for a fresh mess or extra to clean and dice for the freezer. They're small and it takes patience to gather and to clean, but so well worth that pungent little taste. I saute the onions in butter until translucent and then mix in fresh farms eggs and scramble. We enjoy them best fresh, but what a treat this past January during that severe ice storm, when I found a small package hiding in the freezer!!
And then...............there's poke greens or poke sallet! This is probably the most popular of those wild spring greens! It's plentiful around barnyard or field fence lines. Best picked at a tender height of 5-10 inches, these greens are best eaten in moderation. Poke Sallet is poisonous eaten raw, so if you don't want to end up in the ER , make sure you know what you're doing. I wash the greens 3 times, chop and place in kettle and just cover with water. Add a 1/2 cup of lard or oil and let boil until almost tender. Rinse off greens and place back in the kettle with 1/4 cup of lard or oil and cook until tender. I also rinse this off and then add just a little canola oil and salt OR I place in a frying skillet and scramble in some eggs. Delicious by themselves or with the eggs, we eat these for several nights in a row during the last part of April and first of May.
These beautiful and tasty greens are such a delightful treat after a hard winter and such a lovely prelude to the strawberries coming in May!
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