I have for 57 years. Maybe that is the problem? I bore easily! Here is a roasted tomato beef stock I am working on today. I am not that wild and crazy! The first step in the miracle known as lasagna!
My grandfather had a large sassafras tree in his yard. Sassafras tea is quite tasty. Unfortunately sassafras contains carcinogens and liver toxins. I don't know if that explains why his sons and several of his grandchildren had cancers. Probably not my uncle, who witnessed atomic bomb tests. People sometimes mistake Tansy Ragwort for Tansy. That's bad. Tansy Ragwort causes venoocclusive disease of the liver. It's very toxic. Of course, Brugmansia, Datura, Oleander are quite lovely and very toxic, too. Some varieties of pawpaw contain high amounts of a neurotoxin that can cause Parkinsonism but I think it takes a lot. So I usually stick to things I know. Culinary herbs grow wild now on my homestead, because I planted them here and they spread - mints, lemon balm, chamomile, borage. For some reason, there are big stands of chamomile in the chicken yard. I guess they don't eat it. I've tried Linden leaves. Not too bad. Lambs quarters. They are a vegetable in some places. Nasturtium leaves are spicy and quite tasty. I like daylily flowers.
Supposedly, you can eat kudzu leaves. I read it on the internet, so it must be true, right? I like snowpea shoots. Some people eat sweet potato leaves. We have miner's lettuce wild in my yard. It's OK taste-wise. Tastes leafy. We have a lot of stinging nettle. They say it's good cooked, but be careful harvesting it. Very unpleasant, being stung by it. Purslane is another one that tastes leafy.
Nasturtium leaves are great in salads… there are many books on ‘edible plants’. Tansy is toxic Tansy ragwort contains pyrrolizidine alkaloids, toxins that are found in many plants . In Oregon a moth was imported which defoliates them and they die. Daniel which Linden leaves have your tried? I ‘had’ a messy queen Ann Linden . The horses were always eating the leaves. However cherry tree leaves are toxic to horses cattle. It a build up over time that effects the liver.I have a sour cherry tree they are for pies. As pretty as oleander flowers and shrubs are they are extremely toxic.don’t grow in my zone . Datura are also . Don’t do well in my zone. As a matter of fact there are not many plants in my garden safe for the horses or humans. Even my peony’s are toxic the deer don’t eat those but the squirrels eat the roots. So Confusing? oregongrape have berries that can be eaten but the rest of the plant toxic. I have white grapes and green grapes. The leaves are used to make baked rolls with rice meat and sauce.,similar to cabbage rolls. I have planted herbs around especially thyme is very hardy here, others not so much. I have a rosemary that is huge and love to add it to roasts. Most other herbs are annuals . I have a lovely strawberry tree Arbutus uendo… the red fruit look like strawberries hanging from the tree makes jelly and jams. Even rose hip made into jelly’s and jams. I usually feed them to the animals fresh off the rose bush for Vit c. My Male Ginko tree comes in handy .. beautiful leaves can be added to salads. Dried Bay leaves from the Portuguese laurels add to soups and stews.
Oh this is gonna be a fun day! New freezer arrived so DW had her way with the loading. I benefit! I have tarts and pies in my eyes!
Not all acorns are safe no matter what you do to them. Know which are and which are not before trying it !
Nutmeg Nutmeg comes from the seed of the Myristica fragrans tree. Indonesia produces the majority of the world's nutmeg. The spice flavors many dishes, both savory and sweet, in cuisine across the globe. It is sold either ground or in whole seeds. Both nutmeg butter and nutmeg essential oil are also widely available. In addition to being delicious, nutmeg offers many health benefits. However, you should never consume more than is ordinarily used in food preparation. In large quantities, nutmeg can induce hallucinations. It is highly toxic and can even be fatal. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4057546/
I like nutmeg. I keep nutmeg seeds in the freezer and sometimes take them out and grate some, usually for apple pie. Not often, it causes me some stomach distress. It's cinnamon I go for in a big way. Ginger and cloves at times, too. I tried growing ginger this year. Not very successfully. It needs a little warmer climate than here. Basil does great, and is really fragrant. I just collected the seed heads from this year's crop, for next year 's plants.
Someone pointed out that they saw mace as a refined nutmeg flavor and preferred it to nutmeg. Like they say- there is no accounting for tastes!
