"Jim Elbrecht" wrote in message
...
"AJP" wrote:
An elderly lady was telling me she would make some good greens from
weeds that grew NEAR the garden.
They called them silvertops, and tasted sort of like spinach, but a
little more tender.
Does anybody know what this plant was??
If the other folks are correct -- and I think they probably are-
you're in for a treat with Lambs Quarters. I used to have them
as a pernicious weed in my garden, but I seem to have ammended my soil
& eaten them into oblivion. Now I have to look for them.
I'm surprised they aren't cultivated - at least I've never seen seeds
for sale. They are good raw in salads or wilted in a steam bath for
a minute or so. I prefer mine with a dab of butter & what must be a
companion plant/weed as I find them together often-- Purslane.
http://landscaping.about.com/cs/weed...a/purslane.htm
[I just learned that Purslane has Omega 3 fatty acids as well as its
concentration of Vit. C]
Purslane is more of an acquired taste-- it has a mucilaginous texture
and an almost citric flavor. [the above site calls it peppery. . .
I'll have to think about that next time I see some] But it goes well
with the very muted flavor of the lambs quarters.
Either are good by themselves.
Jim
Purslane actually was brought over as a cultivated plant -- by the
French, IIRC.
I like my lamb's quarters and purslane steamed. I generally add a
little salt and pepper vinegar [1].
Ray Drouillard
[1] I like to soak cayenne peppers in basalmic vinegar and use the
vinegar. When the bottle gets a little low, I add more vinegar. After
a few cycles of that, I dump the whole mess into the blender and make
hot sauce.