Second day of 30. And I’m hungry. Still looking for that hamburger tree. Just kidding.
Today I will start on two items that will become a staple of my 30 days.
First is Cattail.
Yes. That is a cattail. They aren’t very big at this stage and don’t have the familiar “cattail” flowering top.
But that is not the part I am eating now. Spring is the time for cattail shoots.
They are easily pulled out with a squeak. The white part on the end is what you eat. When you get to the green it starts to get tough. Also when they get over a foot or so tall they are too stringy and somewhat pithy.
I will be eating other parts of the cattail during this 30 days.
The next plant is one of my favorites.
Those are Daylily shoots. You may not recognize them now but if you are from around here I guarantee you have seen them growing along the roads. (Not a good idea to eat the ones along highways. The state sprays there.)
Every part of these are edible. Later, the flowers are delicious. Today I am eating the shoots and the tubers.
The shoots are similar to the Cattails above. But they are much tastier. They can be eaten raw, stir fried or boiled.
The tubers are like tiny potatoes. They too can be eaten raw but the flavor is a bit strong to eat too many this way. Cooking tames them a bit. The flavor is good though. And the crunchy texture is great. The can be cooked any way you would potatoes. Or as a garnish for other dishes.
The video contains a couple other plants but I will wait for another day to make them part of my meal.
By the way. When preparing wild foods I recommend two main seasonings. Jane’s Krazy Mixed-up Salt and Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning.
I will also start showing the prepared meals in a couple days when I get used to the video camera.