poke for supper

[ralph]

found a good size patch of poke today fixed some for supper and froze a little i wilted down then put it in the frying pan with beacon scrambled an egg in and some salt and pepper that is how i have always had it and love it that way do any of you make it any other ways?

[patricimo54]

Hey ralph. Do you pre boil/ how many times before actual cooking?

[ralph]

two times

[badger]

I remember the first time I had polk and eggs was at Ann and Andys! That was a long time ago. For those who didn't grow up where Ralph and I did, that was a bar run by a bunch of good friends. In our early twenties, we all spent some time there. Place is gone now.

Thanks for the memory Ralph! ;D

[mark85]

What is this poke or polk you speak of ?

[ralph]

its a weed you can eat grows in most of the country i think look down the list here for JC 's topic wild plant info needed theres a pic of it there

[vabeagler]

Jun 24, 2009 21:32:27 GMT -5 ralph said:

found a good size patch of poke today fixed some for supper and froze a little i wilted down then put it in the frying pan with beacon scrambled an egg in and some salt and pepper that is how i have always had it and love it that way do any of you make it any other ways?

I love poke salad cooked just like your talking about only difference I saute some onions in with mine.

I didn't know that you could freeze it. Please tell me how you go about it.
Thanks

[hillbillyken]

Poke Weed as it commonly known, but can go by other names such as poke, pokebush, pokeberry, pokeroot, polk salad, polk salat, polk sallet, inkberry or ombú. It is a perennial plant(which means it will grow back year after year)

The plant grows from 1 to 10 ft. tall and I have even heard of some growing as tall as 14 ft. It is native to North America, South America, East Asia and New Zealand. Poke weed has single alternate leaves, pointed at the end, with crinkled edges. The stems are often pink or red. The flowers are greenish-white, in long clusters at the ends of the stems. They develop into dark purple berries.

Poke weed can be eaten and has been a staple in Southern cooking for years.


WORD OF WARNING: Poke berries and roots are poisonous and should NEVER be eaten, but the young leaves can be eaten after boiling in water for 5 min. at least three time to remove some of the poison. The water MUST be discarded

Pokeweed contains phytolaccatoxin and phytolaccigenin, which are poisonous to animals. However, the berries are eaten by birds and are not affected by the toxin because the small seeds with very hard outer shells remain intact in the digestive system and are eliminated whole.


The berries can be used in making natural dyes and give a very pretty red color. A rich brown dye can be made by soaking cloth in fermenting berries in a hollowed-out pumpkin.
In fact Native American used the dye to paint there horses before going into battle. The United States Declaration of Independence was written in Poke weed ink.

Picture of the leaves and berries

The whole plant as you would view it.

picture pictures curd-icy of the following web sites.
www.clevelandcountyschools.org/.../pokeweed.jpg
www.thefrugallife.com/BCCblog/2006/08/poke-weed-berries-for-wildlife.html

[ralph]

a lot of good info there ken thanks we ate the rest for supper with beans cornbread fryed Tatars some deer sausage and chow chow a feast for any hillbilly karma to you

[ralph]

to freeze it i just boil it two times drain it good then put it in bags or freezer containers but the info ken put up you may want to boil it three time

[hillbillyken]

Jun 26, 2009 22:35:53 GMT -5 ralph said:

a lot of good info there ken thanks we ate the rest for supper with beans cornbread fryed Tatars some deer sausage and chow chow a feast for any hillbilly karma to you

Ralph

that is making my mouth water right now. when are you inviting me to dinner I like to eat my callored green and poke greens with a couple dahes of hot peppers soaking in vinegar. ;D