Milkweed Sauté

One of my fondest childhood memories is running through Farmer Sowder’s over-grown pasture, collecting Milkweed pods, and blowing the silk-tufted seeds into the air. As they caught on the breeze and floated up into the sky, I would make a wish, imaging the tufts carrying my wishes to heaven. I could stand in that pasture for hours, simply watching the tufts disappear into the vast blue sky.

However, Milkweeds are more than just a plaything or nuisance weed. They are an palatable treat sought after by wild edible coinsures and bizarre foods adventurers. No, this is not an “I dare you to eat this” food. When prepared properly, Milkweeds actually have an interesting flavor, tasting somewhat like tart asparagus.

Foraging: The Milkweed has a unique, stately appearance, making it one of the easiest wild edibles for the novice forager to hunt. It is a sun-loving annual that grows prolifically along roadsides, railroads, fallow fields, and fence rows—just about anywhere it’s floating silk-tufted seeds may fall.   

Milkweeds have a stout, unbranched central stalk, 2-5’ tall, that is covered in downy fuzz. Attached along the top half of the stalk, in a symmetrical pattern, are large thick leaves, 2-4” wide, 4-9” long, oblong or oval in shape, with wide central ribs, the underside covered in downy fuzz. Large, spice-scented, lavender-purple flowers appear in midsummer. The large flowers have five curled petals, five hairy sepals, and five nectar horns. In late summer, the flowers give way to large horned-shaped pods covered in wart-like bumps. At maturity, the pods burst, releasing silk-tufted seeds. All parts of the plant exude a sticky, thick, milky sap when broken, hence the name Milkweed.

Caution: All wild edibles have at least one toxic doppelganger. The Milkweed’s poisonous twin is Dogbane. However, while Dogbane excludes the same milky sap when broken and occupies the same habit, Dogbane is not covered in downy but smooth, distinctly branched, and has tiny, pink-striped, bell-shaped flowers.

Always verify the identity of a possible wild edible before harvesting it! Reference a wild plants picture book, the internet, or ask your high school’s biology department. It’s better to be safe than sorry. Trust me, you won’t like the alternative.

Milkweed Sauté

Gather young Milkweed shoots, under 8” tall and with thick, solid stems. Cut off the root tips and leafy tops. (Although edible, the leaves are very bitter and will taint the dish.) Clean the stems, being sure to completely rub off the fine downy fuzz.

Milkweed sap also has a bitter taste, but this is easily removed by doing the following:

Plunge cleaned stems into salted boiling water and boil for 1 minute. Drain and immediately blanche stems in cold water to halt cooking.

Plunge a second time into fresh salted boiling water and boil for 1 minute. Drain and immediately blanche stems in very cold water to halt cooking.

Plunge a third time into fresh salted boiling water and boil for 1 minute. Drain and immediately blanche stems in very cold water to halt cooking.

The Milkweed stems should now be bitter free, and ready for cooking!

In a heated sauté pan, add equal parts of butter and olive oil.

Season oil with fresh or dried garlic.

Heat oil on medium high.

When oil starts softly turning, add Milkweed stems.

Season Milkweed with salt and pepper.

Sauté until tender.

Serve and enjoy!

This dish is also tasty served with a cheese or cream sauce.

Hint: When serving anything with “weed” in the name, it’s best not to tell your family and friends what they’re eating until after they’ve tasted it.

Wild Berry Cob-Cake

Red Ras, Black Ras, Blackberry, Dew—all these berries taste oh so good!

There is nothing like the taste of wild berries. Although they are smaller than commercially grown varieties, they are sooo much sweeter!

Most summer mornings, you can find me roaming along fence rows, battling the thorns and greedy birds as I gather buckets full of berries. Generous Mother Nature has blessed our property with four varieties of editable berries. All grow on thorny bushes with long trailing canes and ripen from June through August. Wild red and black raspberries are small, up to ½”, and round. Blackberries are larger, up to 1”, and oblong shaped. Dewberries are much larger than the other berries and have fewer fruit pockets. All varieties are sweet and tasty in their own way, and can be used in just about any fruit recipe.

I know that some of you are reluctant to use wild berries in dishes simply because they are seedy. Get over it! A few crunchy, itty bitty little seeds never hurt anyone, and contrary to popular myth, the seeds will not sprout in your stomach and grow out your belly button.

Wild Berry Cob-Cake

This is a curious old recipe that claims to be a cobbler, but bakes up more like a cake. This unique dish is my usual summer pitch-in contribution and always seems to be the most popular dessert at the picnic.

For the batter, gather up the following:

½ cup real butter

1 cup flour

½ cup cane sugar

2 teaspoon baking powder

¾ cup whole milk

 Preheat oven to 350º. Melt butter in an 8x8” baking pan. In a separate bowl, mix well flour, sugar, baking powder, and milk. Pour mixture over slightly cooled butter. DO NOT MIX TOGETHER.

For the filling, gather up the following:

2-ish cups of freshly picked, unrinsed berries (If you must, very gently brush off any minuscule bugs and debris, but don’t wash away that sweet juice!)

¾ cup cane sugar

2 tablespoons flour

Very gently mix berries, sugar, and flour together. Spoon berries on top of batter. DO NOT MIX TOGETHER. Bake at 350º for 40-50 minutes or until golden brown. As it bakes, the batter will rise, forming a beautiful crust over the berries.

Allow to cool then serve with homemade ice cream!

Yes, healthoholics can substitute ingredients with (chemically-made) margarine, (watered-downed) low-fat milk, and artificial sweetener, but you will be sacrificing flavor and substance. Embrace the gifts of nature! There’s nothing like the real thing!

Fried Dandelion Blossoms

May 2012 will go down in my personal record books as especially hot, dry, and pretty much morel-less.  I only found a handful of morels this year and that definitely was not enough to satisfy my mushroom cravings. So, I did what any worn-out forager would do with an empty gathering bag, I bought the morels. Needless to say, the morels weren’t cheap and they definitely weren’t choice—heck, they weren’t even homegrown but imported from Michigan!

Now that spring has come and gone, I know that there are many fungi fanatics who didn’t get a chance to enjoy a savory batch of fried morel mushrooms. Never fret, for there is a readily available and just as tasty alternative. I am talking about dandelions, that beautiful yet troublesome weed that heralds in spring and invades our summer lawns and nasal passages. While there are many culinary uses for the  dandelion, dandelion blossoms in particular, when fried, have the uncanny taste of fried morels mushrooms—really!

How to Fry Dandelion Blossoms

Collect dandelion blossom tops that are fresh and fully opened. (And that haven’t been sprayed with herbicides or poisons!)

Soak the blossoms very briefly (no longer than 15 minutes) in salt water to remove any buggies that might be hiding in the petals. Avoid over soaking! It’s not necessary and the blossoms will become mushy and tasteless. Don’t fret over rinsing out every single minuscule buggie. A little protein never hurt anyone.

Mix up your favorite dry coating. I like a simple half and half mixture of all-purpose flour and corn starch, generously seasoned with salt, pepper, and a pinch of cayenne.

Carefully heat vegetable oil in a small skillet over medium heat. The oil will be hot enough for frying when a bit of dry coating dropped into the skillet sizzles immediately.

Dip the dandelions, blossom side down, into the dry mixture and coat completely. (Eggheads may prefer to drench the dandelions in an egg bath first. Both methods are yummy!)

Carefully drop the dandelions, blossom side down, into the hot oil. Fry for about 30 seconds or until the edges start to turn golden. Flip gently with a fork and continue frying until blossoms are a uniform and appetizing light golden brown (about 30 more seconds).

Quickly place the fried dandelions on a plate (layered with paper towels to absorb the grease), and salt immediately while still hot!  

Allow a couple of minutes for the fried dandelions to cool, then enjoy!

Alright, they might not taste exactly like fried morels, but dandelions are a heck of a lot easier to hunt and are much cheaper than buying fresh or dried morels at the Farmer’s Market!

Fun fact: Dandelions are found throught out the world and are know by many nicknames such as Lion’s Tooth, Earth Nail, Swine Snout, Wish Flower, even Dog Pisses!