(no subject)

[xiphias]

Having recently read a book on edible plants in the New England area, I've started just popping things into my mouth while I'm walking around the neighborhood. I know, this is generally stupid -- they may have pesticides, I live in an urban area, so they certainly have car exhaust, and there are dogs around. . . but still.

Grass seeds are pretty darned tasty. And clover tastes AMAZINGLY good.

Comments

[quietann.livejournal.com]

There's a reason horses love clover, you know :)

And we have people anxiously awaiting next spring, when we will have a huge patch of fiddlehead ferns for the foodies

[rebmommy.livejournal.com]

Fiddlehead ferns! My favorite! I wait anxiously each spring until they are ready and enjoy them during their very short season. What, in your opinion, is the best way to prepare and serve them?

[quietann.livejournal.com]

I've only had them a couple of times, sauteed in olive oil. And they were tasty that way. I more meant that we have a list of friends to call when our ginormous fern patch starts coming up in the spring. However, the soil they are in probably has a fair amount of lead, since we have an old house and they grow right next to it. So serving them to children (if the children would eat them) is probably a bad idea.

[ailsaek.livejournal.com]

Sour clover is quite nice (I think the proper name for it is "wood sorrel"), and as a small child, Kathy really liked sumac seeds. They're kind of lemony. I'm very partial to nasturtiums in salads and sandwiches, but those aren't wild.

[plumtreeblossom.livejournal.com]

Clover is delicious in a salad. Try it some time.

Also, when spring comes around again, sample a violet. Yummy!

Poisonous?

[lesliet-ma.livejournal.com]

I sure hope you've read up on poisonous plants before doing this. I used to eat random plants when I was a kid, but now I shudder to think what I might have been eating.

There are lots of lists on the net. Here's one: http://plantanswers.tamu.edu/publications/poison/poison.html

Re: Poisonous?

[xiphias.livejournal.com]

Ayup, I have. Other than mushrooms, there aren't THAT many particularly poisonous plants that grow wild around here. There are some -- poison ivy, for instance -- as you can imagine, anything which is a contact irritant is far, far worse when ingested -- and a handful of others, but we've got NOTHING around here that's like, for instance, oleander, which can kill you dead by using an oleander twig to roast marshmallows on.

So long as you avoid mushrooms, and spit out anything that tastes REALLY bad, and avoid a couple of the obvious things like poison ivy, you're reasonably safe. In New England. I wouldn't do this anywhere tropical.

Re: Poisonous?

[felis-sidus.livejournal.com]

It's amazing that I'm still alive. We used to make leis out of oleander blossoms. Picking them and running the string through them involved a certain amount of sap getting onto our hands. Either we were more careful than I recall or we were really lucky we didn't poison ourselves.

Re: Poisonous?

[xiphias.livejournal.com]

It's possible, of course, that the oleanders they have in Texas are different than the ones in Florida. I know that people have died by accidentally throwing some oleander branches on their campfire and breathing the smoke.

Re: Poisonous?

[felis-sidus.livejournal.com]

I don't think they're different. We were warned that they were poisonous. What with all the poisonous plants in and around our yard, we were a bit casual about such things. We wouldn't actually EAT any of the forbidden items, but that was about the extent of our caution. There must be special angels assigned to watch over particularly clueless kids. Assuming we didn't wear out the lot.

[fibro-witch.livejournal.com]

Does it have a picture of timothy hay? Little OTF needs edible plants.

[felis-sidus.livejournal.com]

Even in New England, plants within, I think, 100 feet of a roadway concentrate heavy metals in their tissues. If you start feeling a bit less intelligent than usual, you may want to lay off the roadside fodder for awhile.

If you don't mind eating domesticated plants, roses are edible, too.

Oh, and stay away from anything that looks like wild onion. There are several very poisonous bulbs that grow wild and look like chives.

[xiphias.livejournal.com]

Yup, that last comment was in the book. "If it looks like onions or garlic, and it's NOT onions or garlic -- don't eat it."

[ellettra.livejournal.com]

realising this is OT, but i am hoping you can help me.
i got this gift card, and i would like to buy something. i'm looking at these artscroll siddurs, one of which i know you have mentioned before. would you clickety-click and tell me your opinion as to which one i should get? also, does artscroll (or anyone) make an interlinear AND transliterated book? or aside from these choices, do you have another suggestion? sorry to badger you with my wishlist, but i appreciate your help and your opinion. ultimately i am looking to be able to follow along, know what i'm saying, and be able to pronounce it reasonably well. i like transliterated stuff a lot, but i have little idea what i'm saying.

Transliterated Linear

Complete Siddur