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Greens?

post #1 of 17
6/28/01 at 11:54am
Thread Starter 
I'm looking for input on what you can use say, in a salad or stir fry, etc

Examples: radish greens, carrot top greens, pea sprouts, corn shoots, dandelion greens, beet sprouts....

I haven't used any of these but would like to know what is used out there, can be used out there and what might be poisonous and needs to be avoided.

:)
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post #2 of 17
6/28/01 at 12:09pm
Are you looking for salad ingredients or stir-fry ingredients :confused:
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post #3 of 17
6/28/01 at 12:33pm
Cchiu, In a stir fry I use a variety of whatever is available...peppers, both red and green, carrots, celery, mushrooms, waterchestnuts, broccoli, green beans, snow peas...Our vegetarians like the stir fry with Jasmine or Basmati rice with no meat or seafood added, while our other girls like either chicken or shrimp. Some even like beef. I'm not quite sure what your question is either, but when I do an oriental meal for the college kids I also do a salad bar of oriental vegetables, dressings and mandarin oranges. I hope I can get some more ideas here at Cheftalk.
Oh, I think I understand now :) You're looking for new ideas too. Vegetables that are out of the ordinary :)

[ June 28, 2001: Message edited by: Pastachef ]
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post #4 of 17
6/28/01 at 12:58pm
Great Pastachef!

All of the above plus little baby corns (fresh, not canned). They are hard to find sometimes but so delicious! We get them from Thailand.

Cchiu, if you live near a Chinese market or Chinatown, try the fresh waterchestnuts.

In salads, I try to find fresh lychees to throw in. I guess that could be considered "new and unusual"!

:p

[ June 28, 2001: Message edited by: Kimmie ]
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post #5 of 17
6/28/01 at 1:09pm
Thread Starter 
Kimmie, all of the above.

Ok, maybe I should clarify, I am definitely open to the suggestions above. But my question more directly deals with green leaves, the tops of root veggies like turnips and carrots that are normally discarded, the scape of garlic, the immature sprouts of things like corn, peas, beans and beets that are about 3 inches long and edible and can be incorporated raw or cooked...

Not necessarily veggies that are out of the ordinary, but the parts of the vegetables that are normally never eaten but can be....

[ June 28, 2001: Message edited by: cchiu ]
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post #6 of 17
6/28/01 at 1:13pm
Gotcha Cchiu!

Sorry I can't help you with that though. Do a search for scape of garlic. I think Shroomgirl knows what to do with those!

:eek:
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post #7 of 17
6/28/01 at 2:04pm
I'll bet Shroomgirl knows, also. So, you're looking for ways to use up the parts that are normally discarded. Good economics, but I've never tried it. Have you tried any of them that you mentioned? This is a very interesting slant, Cchiu.
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post #8 of 17
6/28/01 at 2:28pm
Thread Starter 
Kimmie,
Actually, I think I knew about scapes before shroomgirl did, I just didn't know what they were called, and I have posted more info for scapes under that topic. Thanks for the link to the smoothie recipe. I don't think anyone here reads every topic under every forum.

Pastachef,
Although it is good economics, that's not really my motivation. I have seen recipes using such "parts" and am intrigued, hoping some of you at cheftalk will have some ideas, input, and first hand experience either eating or preparing them for consumption. For instance, popcorn corn shoots, about 4"-5" long apparently have a licorice flavor...

"Have you tried any of them that you mentioned?"
I have not really tried any that I mentioned. Once I have zucchini blossoms on my zucchini and have pollinated the females, I'd love to fry the male blossoms. (But you can use either.)

"This is a very interesting slant, Cchiu."
I try Pastachef! ;)

[ June 28, 2001: Message edited by: cchiu ]
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post #9 of 17
6/28/01 at 3:11pm
I know, it's sometimes hard to follow especially if you're not on every day, and BTW, you're welcome!

;)

OH and thanks for the link on scapes!! I guess I lost track of that thread too...

[ June 28, 2001: Message edited by: Kimmie ]
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post #10 of 17
6/28/01 at 4:06pm
That IS intriguing, Cchiu. I'll be looking forward to the posts that follow. Hopefully you will get some responses. Just the description of your ideas and the things you've tried have my mouth watering. Exotic!
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post #11 of 17
6/28/01 at 4:19pm
Cchiu- those greens are most definately edible, beet greens are some of my favorites.
Radish tops, carrot greens adn dendelion greens should be picked Young! Otherwise, they are very bitter and rather unpalatable, though beets and turnip greens are good larger. Wash them well before cooking (steam, braise, or saute)as they trap a lot of grit.
You may also want to try some purslane and lambs quarters-now very popular in NYC. These are glorified weeds. I can't tell you how sore my back used to be from pulling them out of the veggie garden, but here they are, on the menus of the fancy restaurants in NYC!
Go figure?! But I won't turn up my nose to free food I find growing wild.
Happy greens!
Oh, my favorite way to cook any of these greens is to saute them in a little olive oil and garlic, then sprinkle on a little soy sauce just before eating.
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post #12 of 17
6/28/01 at 4:53pm
Thread Starter 
foodnfoto,

That's the kind of response I'm looking for. Keep 'em coming!

What other greens do the rest of you use?
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post #13 of 17
6/29/01 at 8:43am
Pepper leaves from a sweet pepper or chili pepper plant. I love the taste of green pepper leaves added to a corn soup or to a chicken soup that my mom makes that also has chayote. It imparts a subtle, peppery taste. It's also very good in sauteed corn dishes.

Other plants that are edible but haven't tried: stinging nettles (there may have been a post of a nettle soup on this site already), thistle, nasturtium leaves and flowers.

Here's a link to the website of Steve "Wildman" Brill who was arrested for eating a dandelion in Central Park:
Wildman's suggestions
Check out the links under foraging and cooking at the bottom of the left frame.
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post #14 of 17
6/29/01 at 11:10am
That's hilarious Risa, LOL!!!

Cchiu,

I just remembered having a recipe for Dandelion Salad served with a warm vinaigrette. I don't have the book on hand but it's in SALADS [Good Cook series -Time Life], if you can get your hands on it.

Try here if interested. In the search section, type the following:

Title: THE GOOD COOK SALADS
Publisher: Time-Life
All bookstores
Country: USA
Any binding
Order results by lowest price

:rolleyes:

[ June 29, 2001: Message edited by: Kimmie ]
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post #15 of 17
6/29/01 at 7:31pm
Teny tiny baby turnips and beets with greens...slice roots if big enough to slice and saute in alittle lite olive oil...not heavy flavored one...add greens after a few minutes and put in a dallop of butter, salt and pepper...
carrot greens not had
Dandilion are raised commercially here....4" in a pissonolet salad, lardons crisped, poached egg, dandilion greens and a vinegrette...I adore this salad.
Snow pea shoots or tenderals....in salads with an Asian bent. or stir fried with garlic and hot red pepper flakes and romano cheese (or parmesan) bizarre but good.
Baby corn shoots not had...
I have had corn smut....interesting, very interesting. Grey and when you tell farmers they have it LOOK OUT!! They think it is a scurge. I saw a Mexican eat it raw, NO WAY JOSSE> recipes say cook like a shroom whatever that means....
Chanterelles are foraged....other threads for those recipes.
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post #16 of 17
7/4/01 at 6:46am
Pepper leaves? You must not eat very many, then. Pepper, like tomato, eggplant and potato, is a member of the nightshade family, and eating greens off any of 'em is NOT recommended! None of them would kill an adult, but too many might make one feel definitely oogly.
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post #17 of 17
7/5/01 at 7:49am
Yes, it is true that capsicums belong to the same family as deadly nightshade, Solanaceae. This plant family has many poisonous members and their toxicity depends on the type of alkaloids present in each one. In the case of chile peppers, the primary and most noxious alkaloid is capsaicin which is what makes the peppers hot and is concentrated in the fruit. Unlike tomatoes which also belong to the same family, it is actually the fruit of the chile pepper that is more "toxic" than the leaves and although the toxicity in this case is usually just skin and bowel irritation and some of us love chile peppers because of the capsaicin. Like chile peppers, the fruit of potatoes, berries in their case, are the most poisonous part of a potato plant. This is the case for many other members of the solanaceae family. That's why tomatoes were thought to be poisonous by northern Europeans for a long time. Anyone know how the oogly-inducing Jimson weed got it's name? Now that's a somewhat culinary-related tale. :D (scroll to the bottom of the link for the story) Anyway, it's easy to confuse one member from another, so that's why people are generally told to avoid members of the Solanaceae family (same goes for mushrooms).

Here's a couple of useful links on poisonous plants:
Canadian Poisonous Plants Information System
Colorada State University

Sorry for the lengthy post, but it's not often I get to use my Botany degree and ethnobotany was one of my favourite subjects.
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