EPAZOTE: Nature's Beano

We were very fortunate to have two Mexican workers help us for 5 years.  Not only did we learn a little Spanish but we were able to have some lessons in harvesting the wild surpluses around our house.  We were treated to Bar-B-queing fish encrusted in salt.  I can't even begin to describe this succulent fish.
We were introduced to eating corn on the cob with Mayo or cream cheese on it.  The boys would constantly save the purslane they pulled to take home with them.  I googled it and tried it.  The taste was fine.  I tried it chopped in a cream cheese spread and steamed with butter.







One of the most beneficial herbs they taught us about was Epazote.  We have found so much about the plant which contradicts what is said about the plant.  The following two sites have the history of the herb and how they use it.

http://www.los-dos.com/yucatecan_cuisine/verarticulo.php?IdArticulo=200

We have found our epazote is milder than what people refute it to be.  Ours is very heavy on the citrus side.  The creosote smell to us is more akin to the oil of citronella smell on the mosquito candles. (Too much of the herb can impart that flavor when cooked with legumes.)  We cooked it with lentils and found it did prevent gas.  I had the same findings when I cooked chick peas. 

How much is needed in a batch of beans I don't know.  I do know I put 6 stems in a 1 pound batch of dried beans and was able to taste the herb.  It wasn't a bad taste but it was there.  I will probably cut the amount in half the next time.  Knowing it works for us as de-gasser, I went looking for methods to preserve it (I had tried drying it one year and didn't like the results.)  The same thing happened with freezing it.  Googling provided me with information I already knew.

I remembered I had blanched basil to make pesto.  The results were a fabulous pesto which stayed green, not turning black.  I am one to experiment in the kitchen.  I have plenty of epazote so I gave it a try and blanched some.  Voila..it worked.  I dried the excess moisture off and froze it.  Then I thawed it to see what I had.  The only loss I experienced was a little of the flavor, which I compensated for by putting more in the package.  I used it in northern beans I cooked for baked beans.  The anti-gas substance was still there along with a nice citrus flavor.

Blanch it by dropping it in boiling water, stir it around for one second and take it out, placing it in ice water.  Dry it by rolling it in a flour sack towel (a lint free cloth).  Then I divided it into serving sizes and placed each in a sandwich baggie, squeezing out the air before closing the bag.  Each bag was made flat so they could be stacked in the freezer.  After they froze I put them all in a labeled freezer bag.

As always, I suggest to you to, read everything you can about new foods especially wild ones.  Make sure they will be a good addition to your diet.  When collecting wild foods make sure you know positively what you are picking (poison ivy would not make good quiche but lambs quarters does).
 http://organicinstlouis.blogspot.com/2012/03/lambs-quarters-healthy-choice.html
Remember peanuts, which are a good food, can cause health problems.

The picture on the right is a young plant.  A little larger than this is when I pick them. 

 For more blogs by me visit at:

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LAMB'S QUARTERS: A HEALTHY CHOICE

LAMB'S QUARTERS,
A GOURMET DELIGHT

When you have an organic garden, weeds are a fact of life.  You are pulling them, mulching them, or grubbing them out.  Lamb's Quarters falls into all three categories with an exception, it is a desirable weed.  When it is young, like on the left, the leaves are a wonderful substitute for spinach.  When it has bloomed and set seeds, the seeds can be harvested and ground into flour (at least that is what I have been told, I have never tried it.  I have tasted the seeds and they have a very nutty taste.)

If you have a fertile garden with plenty of nitrogen sources you will have Lamb's Quarters popping up.  I consider this a free food because I don't have to till the garden for it, I don't have to plant it, I just need to wait until it is ready to harvest.  Harvest time occurs within a couple of weeks of the first sign of sprouting.   It grows very quickly especially in protected areas like our cold frame/green house.

The perfect size to harvest is about 6-8 inches.  The growth on the left is the correct size (the larger plants).  The smaller plants are also very good, but it is easier to pull the sturdier plants getting the root systems.  You  want to get the roots.  Any root left with a little stem will re sprout and the root system gets very strong.  They are a deep rooted plant.

I harvested the path on the left.  I will tell you how I harvest and freeze this vegetable.  If you like spinach you'll love Lamb's Quarters.  BTW it is very high in calcium and vitamin K.  If you have kidney problems you might not want to consume them or only having them occasionally, they contain oxalic acid. 

LAMB'S QUARTERS IDENTIFICATION

This is a close up for what you are looking for, sometimes it is a darker green.   Notice the center leaves.  They look like they have talcum powder dusted on them.  You can also feel it when you touch it (it will rub off). 

All the leaves have some of this "dust" on them but the center leaves, as they are just opening up, have an abundance of it.   It is not poisonous, nor is it anything wrong.  I am only pointing it out as a means of identification of the plant.   I haven't noticed this on any of the other wild plants I forage for.

Another close up on a pink napkin, see the frosted look the "dust" gives the leaves.

This is the plant you are looking for when it is young.   I have found it usually doesn't grow just one solitary plant.  Usually a lot of seeds fall in the same spot and you have a plethora of plants.

In "Spring Flora of Missouri" by Julian A. Steyermark he spells the name the way I am using it here.  Other names are Lambsquarters, goosefoot, and pigweed. His discription of the"dust" is:  "Leaves and flowers covered with a white mealiness."



HARVESTING LAMB'S QUARTERS

The above pictures are what I do when I pull the Lamb's Quarters.  The picture on the left is my hand grasping a bunch with the roots all the same direction.  I grasp the plants just below the major bulk of the leaves (the top 2 or 3 segments).  In the right picture you can see I clipped off the roots close to my hand.  The clipped remains made a happy trip to the compost pile.  The leaves are nestled in a plastic bag till it's filled.

PREPARING LAMB'S QUARTERS FOR FREEZING

This is the bag of Lamb's Quarters in a 13 quart stainless steel bowl.    The copper thing is a biscuit cutter for size comparison.  The first thing you need to do is a little difficult to picture but easy to understand.  You need a very large pan or even a bucket. Fill it with water about 2/3 full.  What you are going to accomplish is washing as much of the "dust" off the leaves as you can.  I usually wash the leaves about 3 times (the dust on the plants leaves a film on your teeth.  That is the reason I wash it off).  I also wash the pan with soapy water between rinses (the sides of the pan seem to velcro the "dust").  Do not soak the leaves.  Put them in the water and swish them around, like the agitator in a washing machine. Rinsing in running water will not remove the "Dust".  After you have removed all the loose "Dust" drain the leaves.   While they are draining put a pan to heat with adequate water to immerse the leaves.  Bring the water to a roiling boil.  Have another large pan handy with ice water in it. I use two, eight quart stock pots for this.

When the water comes to a boil throw in your rinsed and drained Lamb's Quarters.  Stir them constantly until they turn a beautiful dark green (this takes less than a minute).  Immediately fish them out throwing them into the ice water. Stir them so all leaves are exposed to the ice water, chilling them down, stopping the cooking.  Drain in a colander in the sink.  If they are still warmish...run cold tap water on them in the large pan and drain again.  At this point I can picture the next steps.

The picture on the left is the blanched Lamb's Quarters.  This is to show you the quantity you will get from the above un-blanched amount.

After blanching the Lamb's Quarters you need to remove the excess water before freezing them.

The Lamb's Quarters are placed between two linen dish towels (flour sacks or cotton pillow cases will work).  Make sure what you use is lint free.

I roll up the "sandwich".  You can see there is a blue towel underneath.  It is a very thick one.  You will be rolling your rolled sandwich in this. 

Treat it like you would delicate lingerie.  You don't want to wring the Lamb's Quarters.  You want to apply slight pressure, squeeze and roll the contents.  The towels are to wick the water away from the leaves.  You don't want the leaves interior juices to be "wrung" from them.  You want to remove the excess blancing water. 

This is the dried Lamb's Quarters (half of it already chopped).  Next you grab your chef's knife and start chopping.  I do not think a processor would work for this.  I think it would make mush out of it. 

Once it is chopped you can divide the amount into plastic bags.  I put 8 ounces in each bag (I use the zip lock sandwich bags).  After it is bagged, I flatten all the bags and layer them in a gallon freezer bag which has been labeled with the contents. (Three bags will also fit in the Zip Lock heavy duty quart size freezer bag.) 

For another comparison, here is the chopped  Lamb's Quarters in the original bowl.  I have always been impressed with the quantity you end with compared to what you would with the equal amount of spinach.  Once you have tried this you will see why I don't try to plant spinach in the spring.

I hope I have encouraged you to forage for your veggies.  I have used Lamb's Quarters for any dishes I have florentined.  I have creamed them. They are delicious with sauteed onions and butter.  A famous person once said, "Try it you'll like it."

For more blogs by me visit at:

http://gloriouscreations.blogspot.com

A blog mostly about quilting, but cooking, poetry, prose and a little gardening,

 

 New Article on my blog: 

 http://gloriouscreations.blogspot.com/2013/07/a-mystery-in-making.html

"A MYSTERY IN THE MAKING"

A mystery quilt designed with the novice in mind

First Clue to be presented October 16, 2013.

 

http://glosgarden.blogspot.com/

Not a garden blog.  There are articles which have nothing to do with creating or gardening. 

There are blogs on the new born baby kittens we found and are mothering.  It is a blog where I will sometimes voice my opinions which will always be environmentally friendly.

As always, any pictures or writings are my own,

if not credit will be given to the contributor.
Please do not use without permission