Food stretching experiment

[GirlNextDoor]

hey were all soft enough today so I put them in my blender (Magic Bullet) and liquefied them, Skin, bones, etc & a bit of broth. It went great on the dog's kibble and they really seemed excited about it. Plus, with the broth/stock/ dunno what to call it already hot instant store brand stuffing I picked up on clearance was a snap. Add a stick of real butter to an 8x8 pyrex dish, add 3 cups broth and two boxes of stuffing mix. Wait 5 minutes and Viola!

[Leah]

I call it stock. Tastes wonderful, doesn't it? Chock full of nutrition, too!

[TurtleMama]

Pine needle tea is indeed a wonderful source of vitamin C. It has been used to prevent scurvy, and it seems almost as if it were MEANT for that purpose...seeing has how evergreens are one of the few plants that stay green and fresh throughout winter, when scurvy would be most prevalent (were it not for our unnatural system of growing and distributing food out of season). God provides.

 

I never heard that needle tea could cause miscarriage...definitely a good thing to know.

[Gibbs]

I just wanted to bump this up. its a good thread. Maybe we can add to it.

 

I remember as a little girl my nana would always boil the peel of banana's and aloe and make me drink it in the winter time esspecially if I had a cold. She grew up in Chile.

[urbanforager]

Pine needle tea is indeed a wonderful source of vitamin C. It has been used to prevent scurvy, and it seems almost as if it were MEANT for that purpose...seeing has how evergreens are one of the few plants that stay green and fresh throughout winter, when scurvy would be most prevalent (were it not for our unnatural system of growing and distributing food out of season). God provides.

 

That's a really good point -- something we tend to forget, as we get farther from the earth's natural rhythms.

 

I tried pine needle tea (white pine) last winter when I made White Pine Cough Syrup. It was good -- tasted quite delicate and rather mysterious. DH liked it too.

[urbanforager]

You can add crushed shells to plain vinegar and let it sit for several weeks to make a mineral infused vinegar.

 

Okay, now I'm picturing how I can use all the kombucha vinegar that I have sitting around 'cause it's WAY too sour for me to drink straight!

[urbanforager]

And to get more on track with the topic. I don't know if this counts as stretching food but weeds are really nutritious. We have mallow, purslane, lambs quarter and I think amaranth (otherwise known as pigweed) growing in the yard. I've tossed some nice weeds in with the normal salad fixings and everybody ate it all up. Besides, with enough salad dressing everything tastes good

 

MMMMmmm...weeeeeeds...

 

Seriously, has anyone else here tried nettles? Or milkweed? I like milkweed shoots even better than green beans. Wow, they are GOOD. Loves me some lambs quarter, too.

 

I pick bunches of nettles every spring and dry them for use throughout the year. (They don't sting once they're dried.) I make my kombucha every Sunday morning, and that's what goes into the pot with the tea and sugar -- a generous fingerpinch of dried nettles. If I'm thinking of it, I'll crumble some into soups, too.

 

[Grace&Violets]

I simmer my stock for at least 24+ hours, too, but I've never considered using the bones in a meal. Something for me to think about...

 

As for the head cheese, When I was about 2 1/2 months pregnant, I took my Gram grocery shopping. We went to a local store that sells head cheese and she asked for some at the deli. Well, as soon as they took it out of the case, I immediately had to run to the bathroom! One of those first trimester aversions that I don't think I'll ever get over, to be honest. I'm sure I must have eaten it when I was a kid, since she bought it all the time and cooked at our house a lot. I think I have some preconceived ideas/notions that I know I need to deal with, as far as food is concerned.

 

Since the OP mentioned getting as much nutrition as you can from your food, I think I'll bring up ferments. Ferments have tons of probiotics, which are very important to overall health and immunity. Milk kefir is a good way to add nutrition and digestibility to dairy. A bite of lacto-fermented veggies with each meal can help with digestion. Water kefir is made with just the grains, water and sugar. I'm not sure what you could use if sugar is scarce, because honey will ruin the grains... Probiotics are important in keeping your gut healthy, and if your gut is healthy, you will be able to absorb nutrients better.

[kappydell]

a nutrition guru from the 60s (adelle davis) (a Phd in nutrition) wrote a cookbook in which she recommended saving all bones, leftover food bits, etc in the freezer then cooking them into a soup stock when enough accumulated. She also recommended putting vinegar into the stock liquid to help leach out the calcium into the broth. If you can find a used copy of her cookbook, "lets cook it right" it is interesting reading.

[Cat]

 

This is the thread I was remembering!

[CrabGrassAcres]

Kappydell, we must have had all of those books. Really took them to heart at the time.

[Dora]

The bones simmering on the back of the stove is a foundation for Eternal Soup. Just add bits and pieces of meat and veggies and thin out with water as you use the soup. Remember the old song Peas Porridge Hot ... nine days old?

Edited April 30, 2012 by Dora

[Amishway Homesteaders]

So here comes Summer when prices for Fruits and Vegetables SHOULD be cheaper BUT with all the weird weather around here things will not be cheap, IF we can get them at all! No upstate Apples due to freezing temps in early Spring. No Cherries either (just got the word we will not be picking this year). Peaches are hit and miss, and others are not coming down in price at all this year and bins are stores are low and not the best pickings.

So If you plan to can what are you doing to save money at the markets?

 

I thought this post might be a good reminder of what we can do.

[kappydell]

Im studying up on 'alternative veggies' like sweet potato leaves, pumpkin leaves, pea shoots & leaves, brassica leaves, and such that are not generally recognized as food in this country, as well as expanding my usage on peels, cores, and trimmings for everything from veggies to fruits to meats. Learning some cool stuff, and BTW sweet potato leaves are deeeelicious.

[Cat]

OK, kappyDear... ( )

 

Tell us how *you* fix them.

[kappydell]

OK, kappyDear... ( )

 

Tell us how *you* fix them.

 

The leaves and the stems of sweet potatoes are good raw...kinda like a cross between snap peas and asparagus eaten raw. The vine tips have a 'silk thread' (such a beautiful euphamism) that needs to be pulled off like stringing beans. Then cut to about 1 inch lengths and steam, saute, or cook like tender green beans. Leaves can be cut up and added a little after cause they cook faster. My favorite is stir-fried with garlic and/or onion depending on my mood. MMMMMM. Also excellent raw with a hot bacon dressing....used as a spinach substitute with anything 'florentine'.....many filipino cooks saute them with a minced red pepper for bite....if you like leafy greens, this one is very tasty. I ALMOST like them better than the tubers, so I was interested to read that adding nitrogen fertilyzer would increase leaf output.

Pea leaves and shoots are cooked similarly, and taste like peas (no surprise there!). Im talking about the curly tendril tips, with leaves the size of a quarter or so, not pea-sprouts.

Pumpkin and squash leaves must be very young, and smooth (before they get their prickles) and are eaten only cooked. They are generally boiled or sauteed in a mixture with other foods (stir fry, stews, etc). I was not impressed, but they are not unpalatable, either. I'd eat them for the vitamins. The outer leaves of brassica were a pleasant food, but then again I like all that cabbagy stuff. Cauliflower leaves, de-veined like collards and cooked similarly, were milder in flavor than the white heads (!); broccoli leaves tasted like broccoli but easier to fix than peeling the stems was, brussels sprouts leaves I remove anyway to make the sprouts get bigger, and they taste like brussels sprouts (I steam and cream those), and Kohlrabi leaves taste milder than the kohlrabi did this year (maybe because our drought made the root part a little strong). Some of the cabbagy relatives leaf stems are tough and stringy so you just cut those out then roll and shred the leaves (like collards). I especially like the idea of 'extra veggies' for free, and they don't taste too bad, either! Radish leaves are spicy-hot, so I used them sparingly, cooking them in a stir fry to add a little heat (similar to horseradisy flavor but mild). They can be eaten raw if you pick them prior to the radishes forming, but I cooked mine since I pulled the radishes and there was no bulb (doggone drought) and I was hungry for radishes. (Did I mention I like greens of all kinds?)

Edited July 7, 2012 by kappydell

[Mt_Rider]

Just as a caution: Are there any veggie leaves that should NOT be eaten?

 

I've heard rhubarb plant leaves are toxic [tho I've got an idiot GOAT that runs straight for them when I graze her].

 

Beet and turnip greens are traditional sources of nutrition. DH loves them but the turnip greens are a bit strong [bitter] for me. I don't like bitters.

 

 

Heard of a friend who had lots of radishes and she sliced and fried them with good results. You can grow radishes in a pot in a window.

 

 

MtRider

[kappydell]

I just found this recipe, looks easy yet exotic...

 

pumpkin leaves in a peanut butter sauce:

 

1/2 pound of young, soft pumpkin leaves

 

2 Tablespoons of smooth peanut butter

 

1/2 teaspoon of curry powder or other seasoning

 

1/2 teaspoon of salt

 

1 cup of Water

 

1 medium-sized tomato, sliced

 

1 small onion, finely chopped

 

Preparation

 

Wash the pumpkin leaves under cold water and let them drip dry. Remove the leaves' threads by breaking off a piece of the stem and pulling the strips down the leaf. Slice the leaves thinly. Place pumpkin leaves and onion into a seasoned cast iron saucepan on medium heat. Cover the pan and do not open it until the leaves begin to steam, or about five minutes. Add a little bit of water, if necessary.

 

Simmer the leaves and onion for about ten minutes, or until the leaves are tender. Add the tomato, and leave it for another five minutes. Add the peanut butter and stir it all together until the peanut butter is dissolved and mixed with the vegetables. Add seasonings and simmer for another five minutes. Ensure that the product does not burn.

 

Serve this dish hot on freshly boiled pasta.

 

======================================================================================================================================================================================

 

As to what should NOT be eaten, Im sure there is more than just rhubarb with poisonous leaves. I generally stick to this chart, but I am always looking for new threads to run down regarding this. I may or may not try the watermelon rind, if I buy a small melon I may try the soup recipe I found for it. It is supposed to taste like Chinese Bitter Melon.

 

======================================================================================================================================================================================

Vegetable Common Edible Parts Other Edible Parts

======================================================================================================================================================================================

Beans, snap pod with seeds leaves

Beans, lima seeds pods, leaves

Beets root leaves

Broccoli flower leaves, flower stem

Carrot root leaves

Cauliflower immature flower flower stem, leaves

Celery leaf stems leaves, seeds

Corn, sweet seeds young ears, unfurled tassel, young leaves

Cucumber fruit with seeds stem tips and young leaves

Eggplant fruit with seeds leaves edible but not flavorful

Kohlrabi swollen stem leaves

Okra pods with seeds leaves

Onions root young leaves

Parsley tops roots

Peas, English seeds pods, leaves

Peas, Southern seeds, pods young leaves

Pepper pods leaves after cooking, immature seeds

Potatoes, Sweet roots leaves and stem shoots

Radish roots leaves

Squash fruit with seeds seeds, flowers, young leaves

Tomato fruits with seeds leaves contain alkaloids

Turnip roots, leaves ----------

Watermelon interior pulp and seeds rind of fruit

 

April 2002 issue of Vegetable Production & Marketing News,

edited by Frank J. Dainello, Ph.D., and produced by Extension Horticulture,

Texas Cooperative Extension, The Texas A&M University System, College Station, Texas

======================================================================================================================================================================================

 

The pumpkin leaves came from the multitude of accounts of Africans, Indians and Asians eating pumpkin leaves as a cooked vegetable. Frankly, I was not impressed by their taste. I also stay away from tomato leaves. They are muy bitter!!!

[dogmom4]

Interesting. What about green bean leaves?

[dogmom4]

So here comes Summer when prices for Fruits and Vegetables SHOULD be cheaper BUT with all the weird weather around here things will not be cheap, IF we can get them at all! No upstate Apples due to freezing temps in early Spring. No Cherries either (just got the word we will not be picking this year). Peaches are hit and miss, and others are not coming down in price at all this year and bins are stores are low and not the best pickings.

So If you plan to can what are you doing to save money at the markets?

 

I thought this post might be a good reminder of what we can do.

Things are coming in here but later than usual. I just harvested my first tomatoes yesterday. Usually I do by June 1. But we've had cooler than usual weather. I just paid 2.50 a pound for a few peaches from our farmers market. Delicious but expensive. My trees are still only a few feet tall.

[kappydell]

Interesting. What about green bean leaves?

 

edible raw or cooked, just like the beans themselves. (They were fairly tasty, but texture was pretty limp when cooked - almost spinachy.)

[mimi]

Tomato leaves????? Now, that is just wrong. Tomato is a nightshade plant and the leaves are toxic!

[sassenach]

AH I have been seeing a few bags of local McCortland apples being sold here in town. But they are more expensive than I have ever seen them, as is everything if its fresh.

[homeschoolshe]

Squash flowers (pumpkin, zucchini, acorn, pretty much any) are delicious dipped in egg, rolled in flour, and fried. Garden doesn't look very promising for much of anything this year though. -She

[kappydell]

Squash flowers (pumpkin, zucchini, acorn, pretty much any) are delicious dipped in egg, rolled in flour, and fried. Garden doesn't look very promising for much of anything this year though. -She

 

I saw one recipes where they were folded shut to hold a finger of cheese, then dipped in egg, crumbs and deep fried. Kinda like cheese curds with a flowery emvelope. Since I don't fry things much I didn't try it though it looked interesting....

I have a few small squash coming on, but we have been watering like crazy as long as there are not yet any ban on it. Picked some cherry tomatoes, ate boiled kohlrabi (oh that was gooood!) and new potatoes last nightfrom our little patch. Corn is pitiful around here.