We Can Offer Fresh Leaves This Spring and Summer

Wild Greens

Cochan, Sochan (Sochani) Greens are available in the spring

We can offer fresh leaves this spring and summer.

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$12.00/lb. , plus shipping (overnight).

1 lb. is a gallon bag size full, but we ship in paper as plastic makes the leaves deteriorate faster.

We can now offer home canned in pint size canning jars. $8.00/jar plus shipping.

3 jars $23.00, plus shipping

6 jars $45.00, plus shipping

"Sochan (“Rudbeckia laciniatum”), called green-headed coneflower by non-Indians, is one of the most prized spring greens the Cherokees gather. They sometimes call it “sochani.” Many of their gardens have semi-cultivated patches of the plant in protected areas. Closely related to black-eyed Susan (“Rudbeckia hirta”), it grows to 10 feet tall in wet areas and along damp woodland borders. The flower heads that appear in mid-summer are about three inches wide with drooping yellow rays and a center disk (unlike the purple disk of black-eyed Susan) that’s greenish-yellow. The Cherokees recognize sochan as soon as it comes out of the ground in mid-spring by its distinctive irregularly divided leaves and smell. Consult your wildflower field guides for flower and leaf-shape diagrams of green-headed coneflower. Then you will be able to locate the plant this summer along backcountry roadways when it’s in full bloom. Mark the spot and return next spring for greens. Prepare the young shoots and leaves (boiled with several changes of water) have a rich texture and zesty flavor. It’s even good cold as a snack with a little vinegar added. In the opinion of many - this writer included - sochan is the very finest of the traditional potherbs gathered in the Blue Ridge region."

Lamb's Quarters - dried greens (leaves) $5.00/oz. plus shipping. Can be added to soups, stews, etc. for added nutrition. Can also be used as a spinach substitute in most cooked recipes calling for spinach.

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Creecy Greens - Barbarea verna -

Betty Ann Creecy Greens are no longer available in any grocery stores. McCall Farms has taken them off their products list. This ethnic Southern dish will be missed.

We still have six cans left and they are probably the last you will see that haven't been opened. This would be for a memorabilia item and probably you would not want to eat them. The code on the top of the can says Best By Mar 2009. They would be a very novel addition to your kitchen decor.

Each can is $20.00, plus $13.00 shipping. Yes they are expensive and that's because they can never be replaced.

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External Resources for Storage of Food and More

§ Storing Food Safely : Food Storage for Safety and Quality

§ Food Safety : Food Storage Chart

§ Preservation : Storage and Handling

§ ABF UPack : Pod Storage

Gone but not forgotten.....

Young shoots/sprouts that are no more than eight inches long can be prepared in a number of ways: like asparagus; cut and fried golden brown in a cornmeal batter like okra; and fried whole or cut up with scrambled eggs. Young leaves are prepared as a potherb green in two changes of boiling water, then fried.

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Allen's has stopped canning poke. Please email them with a request to continue the delicious product!

http://www.allencanning.com/

Poke Plant (Phytolacca americana)

Poke Salad Greens (also called in the South as "salat, sallet, salet, sallit, or sallat") cannot be eaten raw in a "salad", poke weed, poke greens).

We no longer have any of the Allen's canned poke greens. As far as I know, Allen's Canning Company may consider re-opening production of them at a later time.

We are now offering a limited amount of canned poke greens in glass pint jars. Please inquire for availability.

Even though we package properly, this is considered a very fragile shipment and as such I would advise getting insurance on the order in case the post office causes damage. Insurance is not expensive. Please inquire and we can advise price.

$10.00/pint size canning jar, plus shipping. (limited quantities) - SKUpoke

One jar weighs approximately l lb. 7 oz.

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Fresh poke greens are seasonal and available as Mother Nature dictates, usually early spring to summer.

1 lb. fresh greens is $12.00, plus USPS Priority shipping. If you live in the mid-west or on the west coast, we have to ship UPS because the USPS office takes 5 days to delivery even if sent Priority. Greens hold up well for no more than 3 days shipping. We can ship via UPS second day ground.

2 lbs. $23.00, plus shipping (two pounds can fit in a USPS Priority Flat Rate Box.

3 lbs. $35.00, plus shipping (please advise zip code and can advise shipping cost).

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Overnight Express is available but costly.

If you want just the stems or stalks for pickling for frying like okra, please advise amount and we can quote a price per pound on just the stems.

Just about everyone who was born and raised in the South has heard about poke 'salat' greens. Among the Appalachian mountain people here in Tennessee, it is and was known as a nutritious, tasty spring green. Native Americans introduced this plant to European settlers and fast became such a popular potherb that seeds soon were being cultivated back in Europe.

Salat is the German word for salad, and probably came to the Ozarks with German settlers.

In the spring, the tender young shoots are picked and boiled in two changes of water to help remove any toxic properties. Traditionally the drained leaves are then seasoned with salt, pepper and bacon drippings and then fried in an iron skillet. Some people add eggs and/or corn meal. Personally, any way you fix spinach or other greens will work with poke greens. They have a bland taste but can be combined with other green for an interesting mixed green dish.

The nutritional value is outstanding. One half cup of the greens will provide 35 calories (calories from fat 10), no cholesterol, dietary fiber 3g, and 90% of Vitamin A, 60% of Vitamin C, 8% calcium, and 6% of iron. (Percent Daily Values based on a 2,000 calorie diet.)

Wild Mustard Greens (December - January - February)

Wild Mustard (Brassica rapa L.), also known as Field Mustard, bird's rape, birdsrape mustard, wild mustard,
wild rutabaga, and wild turnip can be found throughout the United States. It is delicious fixed with any recipe calling for mustard greens.

Seeds are available.

1 lb. of fresh greens is $10.00, plus over night shipping

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Rapistrum rugosum p

Bastard cabbage

Synonym(s):
Family: Brassicaceae (Mustard Family)

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Two subspecies of this plant are recognized: R. rugosum ssp. rugosum and R. rugosum ssp. orientale. Bastard cabbage is also known as turnip-weed, common giant mustard, ball mustard, wild turnip, wild rape and tall mustard-weed.

Distribution

U.S. Nativity: Introduced to U.S.

Native Origin: Native to southern European (i.e. France, Portugal, Spain, Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, Italy, Yugoslavia, Ukraine and southern Russia), the Azores, the Madeira Islands, the Canary Islands, northern Africa (i.e. northern Algeria, Egypt, northern Libya, Morocco and Tunisia) and western Asia (i.e. Cyprus, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan).

U.S. Present: CA, HI, IL, IN, LA, MA, MO, NJ, NM, NV, NY, PA, SC, TN, TX, WI

(source: http://texasinvasives.org/plant_database/detail.php?symbol=RARU)

The leaves are somewhat like the common mustard plant, but they are smooth and not coarse. The taste is much milder and similar to collard greens.

1 lb. of fresh greens is $12.00, plus over night shipping

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Branch Lettuce - Saxifraga micranthidifolia

http://www.gardensoftheblueridge.com/shade_wildflowersr-z.htm
1 lb. of fresh greens is $12.00, plus over night shipping - shipped with roots wrapped in wet paper towels to preserve freshness of leaves - minimum order is 3 lbs.

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Killed Lettuce - wash 1 lb. branch lettuce greens and put in bowl. Fry a few strips of real bacon in an iron skillet, reserving the grease. Chop a bunch of wild onions, or if you can't get wild onions, use green onions from the grocery store. Put the chopped onions in the bowl with the branch lettuce and pour the very hot bacon grease over the greens. Break up the bacon and put in the bowl too. Serve immediately and don't tell your doctor what you been eating or he'll tell you bacon grease is bad for your health. Yeah, and mountain folk lived a long time and they ate a lot of real bacon too.

Real, old fashioned bacon from Benton's Smoky Mountain Hams. Benton's Smoky Mountain Country Hams - 2603 Hwy. 411 North. Madisonville, TN 37354-6356 - Phone: (423) 442-5003 - E-mail:

Sheep Sorrel - spring (February - March) out of stock

1 lb. greens

Dandelion Greens - out of stock

1 lb. fresh greens is $10.00, plus shipping

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Coming Soon ! Check the recipes link for recipes for poke greens!

Here's a "MUST READ" on poke recipes from

SouthernAngel.com - Poke Salet: The Versatile Veggie By: Angela Gillaspie

Edibility
"EDIBLE PARTS: Young tender leaves eaten only as thoroughly cooked greens (in two waters). Cooked berries are safe for making pies. CAUTION: Berries, roots and mature plants are poisonous, therefore, only use as new, young growth. Also any red-tinged plant material should be discarded. To avoid possibly collecting part of the toxic root, do not cut below ground level. HARVEST: Only collect young shoots from areas you know have NOT been treated with pesticides. Collect in early spring. SAFE HANDLING PROCEDURES: Wash young shoots thoroughly with warm water. Do not use dish detergent or any type of sanitizer. These products can leave a residue. Peel and parboil tender young shoots (less than eight inches) in two changes of water several minutes each. Boil in a third water until tender and serve like asparagus. Young stalks less than one foot tall, with leaves removed, and before red tinged, can be cut and rolled in corn meal and fried like okra. They can also be pickled. Young leaves taken from stalks less than one foot tall can be parboiled in two changes of water for several minutes each and boiled in a third water until tender. To freeze, parboil leaves twice, cook, pat dry and place them in plastic bags. SOURCE: Larson, Ken. 1995. God's Free Harvest, Rhema Publishing, Inc., Suwanee, GA. 231 pp."

Pickled Poke Stalk Recipe

(Pokeweed pickles are often used in Japanese cuisine)

otwild

Collect tender stalks. Parboil to remove skins. Pack into jars. Combine 1 cup vinegar, 1/2 cup sugar, 1 tsp. salt, 1 stick cinnamon, several whole cloves. Boil; pour over poke stalks. Seal.