A funny thing happened after I published yesterday’s post, the one that talked about the jungle of volly vegetation on the bank below the driveway. FedEx came by with a delivery for Deb, and when the driver handed me the package, he gestured toward the overgrown area.
“Y’all got some good-lookin’ poke sallet there.”
He was referring to the impressive crop of American pokeweed growing among the rocks. The species dominates the bank, both in number of plants and size. A few of the larger ones have reached eight feet tall, with leaves a foot-and-a-half long.
The driver went on to offer his favorite ways to prepare poke and raved about how much he loves it. And it’s true that the cooked leaves are a traditional dish in Ozarks and southern Appalachian culture, fixed like spinach or similar greens.
So yeah, poke sallet is a wild edible. It also happens to be toxic as hell to mammals, including humans.
Only the leaves (and perhaps the higher stalks) of very young pokeweed plants can be eaten without risking death due to respiratory paralysis. After those parts are carefully harvested, they must be boiled at least twice and the water drained, discarded and replaced each time.
If you ask me, part of the appeal of poke sallet is eating something that easily could kill you. It falls somewhere between ‘shrooming and snake handling.
Virtually all of the poke we have growing around the homestead has reached maturity now, deadly from root to top no matter how many times it’s boiled and rinsed. I’m not especially inclined to cultivate it as a food source, though I probably should learn how to forage for non-lethal parts and cook it properly.
I’m pretty sure that’s not something I’ll try picking up from watching YouTube.
There’s really not much to report here today. I enjoyed my morning coffee at the picnic table. I knocked out some routine chores. Y’know, the usual stuff.
An e-mail arrived this morning from Harbor Freight, which is running a “10 Days of Deals” promotion. Today’s deal was a five-tier shelf unit, one day only at 33% off the regular price, limit three per customer.
That was worth a drive to Mountain Home. I bought three.
One will find a permanent home in the shed. The other two, I think, will become temporary fixtures in the cabin. Having shelving we can use right away (’til we build custom storage and find a few fetching secondhand pieces) will accelerate our move out of the camper. And that’s the plan, of course.
I bought doughnuts at Harps and delivered them to Deb and her co-workers. She returned the favor by bringing home pizza.
Not a terribly newsworthy day. Not a terrible one, though. Life is good.
Volunteer of the Day: Winged elm (Ulmus alata).
Take care of yourselves, Patriots. Stay calm. Stay sharp. Stay free.
#WiseUp #LibertyOrDeath #Ungovernable
#LetsGoBrandon #FJB