Dandelion Greens

Yeah, you heard right. Dandelion greens.  Now when  you work on your lawn you can kill two birds with one stone because those ubiquitous weeds that plague your lawns are actually very healthy for you.

The whole plant, root, leaves & bloom provide so much nutrition for severe illnesses that are so common in the United States.  On top of that  there's actually a coffee substitute that can be made by roasting the roots. Different people have easier methods of  roasting the roots, I'd recommend looking at several pages.  The pretty yellow blooms have actually been used for fritters.  But for now let's just stick to the leaves.

Here they are in my default greens recipe with onions, garlic & some soy sauce.

Cooked male dandelion greens.

Now I'm not one for bitter flavors but even though dandelions greens are bitter, they're not offensive.  I found them enjoyable enough that I will eat them again.

I've read that they're not bitter if you pick them in the spring before the flower appears & the leaves mature.  I had just learned about them in the late summer so the ones pictured above were picked after the flowers bloomed.

I recommend them.  If bitter flavors don't suit your pallet, I'd try mixing them with other greens first as there really is nothing like eating well for free.

And just a word of caution, if you're going to pick dandelions from somewhere other than your own property, first make sure that they're not sprayed with chemicals (check with the owner).

Now I don't know how true the following is BUT I was told to only eat the male leaves (the ones that look like lion's teeth).  I wasn't told why, so I did some homework on it & this is what I found...

1. None of the pages I investigated made any reference to leaf genders.
2. All the pages I investigated only showed male leaves for consuming.
3. The only pages that showed female leaves were for illustration about dandelions only.  There were no references regarding consuming dandelions.

There's LOTS of information online on the nutritional value & all the medical benefits contained in these weeds.  For something that's so readily available I'd wager that it would be worth your time to google it.

W O O H O O ! ! !

Over 1000 page views!

Ladies & gentlemen, no pictures please. ;)

Purslane

As I was sharing my discoveries about Red Root to a friend (this time from Barbados), she pointed out another common root that is also edible.  I swear, more than anything, multiculturalism has benefited my diet this year.  If I wanted to learn about edible weeds growing all around me & how to cook them I'd probably have to pay for a book or a class.

Well boys and girls, today's lesson is about a common weed that is eaten in not just Barbados, but in India, Mexico & the Mediterranean as well and from what I've read is extremely rich in omega 3 fatty acids which is something that every vegetarian & vegan should take note of.

PURSLANE, also known as

• Pursley
• Pusley
• Portulaca &
• Little hogweed prefers warm dry weather but grows just about everywhere.

They say that just about everyone has it on their property and that it tolerates just about every kind of soil.  If you can't see it then it's probably just dormant.  Purslane seeds require sunlight to germinate.  Cultivate the soil as underground seeds have been known to live for up to forty years underground and it's probable that it will germinate & grow.

I slightly steamed & somewhat sautéed it.  I don't like to fully cook my greens as they say that it keeps the vitamins better this way.
Unfortunately I got the very last of it as it is the end of the season for Purslane.  It comes out a lot in the spring.  I did get a bit of flavor and a whole lot of crunch.  It had a lovely nutty feel.

I've also been told that it's good raw in salads.


I've googled info on Purslane if you're interested...
http://herbgardens.about.com/od/culinary/p/Purslane-What-Is-Purslane.htm
http://www.gardenguides.com/863-purslane-weed.html
http://www.canadiangardening.com/plants/native-plants-and-wildflowers/purslane-an-edible-groundcover/a/31791/

Red Root

RED ROOT

A friend offered me cooked leafy greens I thought was spinach. Much to my surprise it wasn't spinach at all. She called it Red Root, a weed that is more thought of in the west as a problem for gardeners & livestock owners. I'd never heard of it before and overlooked it as just another inedible weed growing on dunghills. I am also told that Red Root is expensive especially in the big cities. Expensive & free... I couldn't resist.



Here it is on a dung heap.

First I washed & steamed it. Oh, the aroma that it gave when I lifted the lid was wonderful.
(Oh and incase you're wondering, that light colored twig looking thing is, its Japanese Knotweed.)
 

 
Then  sautéed it with other vegetables...

 then wrapped it in a chapati.

It cooks just like spinach and tastes delicious. 

I will start blanching it for the winter.  It's worth it.

I couldn't help but to google it to see what it's medicinal benefits are. (As all things in nature possess.)

"Red Root herb grows in temperate climates and makes a great tea, in fact during wartime it was used as a tea substitute. Plus it can be taken as tincture and also in capsules and it works great for asthma, bronchiole diseases, and coughs too. The root is very astringent making it a good mouthwash for oral ulcers. Also works well for improving lymphatic circulation and thus helps with edema… and problems related to the spleen and liver… and now Red Root has been used for the treatment of prostate enlargement. Red Root also works well for internal bleeding and also healing skin lesions. Plus Red Root is a good antispasmodic and also helps relax and sooth away tension, and it’s a good antiviral and antibacterial agent, and Red Root is a powerful antioxidant."  http://paulhaider.wordpress.com/2012/01/30/health-benefits-of-red-root/

"Adenoid Enlargement, Asthma, Bronchitis, Cough, Cysts, Diarrhea, Dysentery, Dysmenorrhea, Epstein-barr Virus, Fatigue, Fever, Headache, Hemorrhoids, Hepatitis, Hodgkin's Disease, Lymphatic Congestion, Mononucleosis, Nosebleeds, Sore Throat, Spleen Enlargement, Testicular Hydrocele, Tick Fever, Tonsillitis, Tumors" http://theherbalfarm.blogspot.ca/2008/01/red-root.html

Herb Dressing

A friend shared this recipe she got from "Soul Veg", a restaurant in Georgia.  It's not just good on salad but on plain rice as well.
HERB DRESSING

• 1/4 cup of soy sauce
• 1/2 cup of soy milk
• 2 Tbsp. of lemon juice
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 1 Tbsp. of Italian seasoning.

Blend Together with...

• 2 cups of oil

Mix all the ingredients in a blender and add the oil last or it will not mix properly.

*It tends to separate rather quickly so shake before every use.

Ugandan Chapati Flatbread

A friend from Uganda showed me how to make an African flatbread called chapati.  I rarely use recipes & she doesn't use them at all but for the sake blogging I've googled a chapati recipe that was very similar to the chapati I made.  If you're interested, here's the link to the one I found.

CHAPATI (My version of it anyway.)

Granted they weren't perfectly round but they were good nonetheless.

• 2 cups of Duram Atta flour (or any flour of your choice)
• 1 tsp. of Adobo (or salt to taste)
• 1-2 tsp. of Chief Head Curry (or whatever flavors you like)
• 1/2 cups of finely diced onions (optional)
• 3/4 cups of water
• oil (for frying)

Adobo

1, Knead all the ingredients together.  The dough should stick together into a ball BUT should be dry enough so that it doesn't stick to your skin.  If it's to dry add a little more water.  If the dough is sticking to your skin add a little more flour.
2, Divide the dough into about seven balls.
3, Oil the surface for rolling.  Roll with a rolling pin until thin.
4, Fry in a skillet until brown.
Enjoy.

Chief Head Curry

My Steampunk Bed

In 2007 a friend and I were talking about our plans and projects.  His girlfriend interrupted very matter-of-factly, saying that our plans were never going to happen.  She said that because all she heard was talk and was completely blind to the fact that there were stages of planning and arrangements that had to be made before anything physical could have been implemented.

She had no insight as to the details of what we were talking about.  My mistake was in not letting her know that she was talking in complete ignorance.  When I asked her why she said that, she said that if we had ANY intentions whatsoever to carry out our plans we should stop talking about them and just do them.  I realized that she's just a very stupid woman who can't see anything past the bridge of her nose.  I personally prefer the company of those who like to challenge their boundaries and think big, in other words, people with a vision.

People without visions are very mundane, negative, exhausting, and stale.  They can never use their minds to create, only consume.

My friend and I had plans that incurred expenses.  Instead of giving up, or compromising, we chose to employ patience as a resource.  To help keep our projects alive we talked about them from time to time and brainstormed, exploring possibilities.

My plan, a four-post bed, is well under way.  The structure of the bed is complete; I just have a ton of aesthetic elements that I haven't gotten to yet.  It stands over seven feet tall. When completed, this bed will have included:

1. metalworking (cleaning, cutting, welding, grinding,  and possibly bending)
2. woodworking (and finishing)
3. painting (metal)
4. architectural design
5. painting (artistic)
6. framing
7. sewing (drapery)
8. electronics (wiring) and possibly
9. stained glass
10. tatting
11. mosaic (possibly)

What can I say… to much is never enough.

I didn't possess all the skills mentioned above so I did what I could and sought assistance, or education, where needed.  I didn't have the funds for the entire thing so I went to the local dump and found bed irons, cleaned them, welded them together and made four lamps for the tops of each bedpost. 
(I haven't stained the plywood above the lamps yet.)
I was about to painstakingly remove all the heavily laden rust from the bed irons when someone told me that If I get most of the rust off, there are paints that can be used over rust and the metal underneath will be fine.  I was so happy to hear that.

 A friend of mine was getting rid of old warped two-by-fours so I used that for the interior of the bed.  He couldn't recognize them after I cut them down and stained them.

What was the inspiration for this masterpiece?

I've always considered New York City my home and since I'm no longer there I wanted to incorporate architectural elements from NYC to remind me of home.  While I was visiting the city one day I walked across the Brooklyn Bridge and noticed the architectural elements of the Manhattan Bridge.  I saw the same industrial pattern on the George Washington Bridge and on the girders that support the trains above Myrtle Ave and Broadway in Queens and Brooklyn.  It was a metal X in a square.  There and then I decided to use that architectural element for my bed posts. 

While at the machine shop the guys would occasionally joke with me saying that I was going to be sleeping on a bridge.  At first they couldn't figure out what I was doing.  Some thought I was building a cage.  All they saw was me cutting tons of small pieces of metal. Afterwards they were blown away.  One woman said that I should get a black sheet with yellow stripes down the middle so that it could look like a street.  We laughed.

 Every time, and I mean EVERY TIME someone sees it for the first time, I get the "WOW" factor from haters and admirers alike, so I know it's coming out pretty awesome.  On several occasions people have told me that it is very masculine.  That's perfect because I didn't want anything "pretty".

The funny thing about it is that when people asked me what style I built it in, I honestly couldn't say because it has elements from different time periods. I use to say that it's primarily Industrial with touches of Victorian and Gothic. It actually is steampunk. While I designed & built it I had no idea that a steampunk genre even existed much less the word itself. As I was finishing the for metal bedposts my friend with the ignorant girlfriend came and described my bed as steampunk.
“What's that?” I asked him.
“Google it,” he said. So I did and found the genre of my heart. I love steampunk and I love my steampunk bed. 

Even though it's not finished and probably won't be for a good while, I'm happy with it.  It is beautiful, it is original, and provides me with plenty of storage above and beneath.

This bed is a big reason why I haven't been painting to much but I'm not down about it because I consider it a sculpture. Granted there are many things I would've done differently but for being my very first project in metal I think it's great.

I welcome all comments (ESPECIALLY if you're into steampunk).