Yesterday Cubby and I went out to the garden and pulled off some buds from the day lilies that grow along the fence line by the gully. It took me all of three minutes to gather enough for A. and I to have as a side dish at dinner. Not a pint, though. Maybe half a pint. It took another thirty seconds to rinse them off. I love that they grow high up and so don't get so filthy they require three changes of water to get clean. Like certain other foraged plants I can think of.
I sauteed them in butter for about five minutes. Although I think I maybe cooked them too long, because when I tasted one early on, when it was still crunchy, it had a certain not-unpleasant bitterness to it and a kind of green bean flavor. Once they were soft, they mostly just tasted like butter. Not that that's a bad thing, just not particularly exciting.
Verdict: I would certainly not pay the going price in New York City for them, but for something that I can pick right outside my house and have on the table in five minutes? Two thumbs up.
7 comments:
Maybe you could sell them to the local eatery.
My mother grows them and would let the kids eat them. When your Grandma lets you eat things from the garden bed, things your mother would freak out about, they taste wonderful. Or so I'm told.
Day lilies?
All I can think of is the little plant I put in the walkway by our garage. And I totally wouldn't eat those.
I think you are talking about something different and I am intrigued....
I've heard that daylily bulbs are edible, too. Anyone know?
Lindsey: As far as I'm aware, every kind of day lily is edible, though the ones I'm talking about are the orange ones that grow pretty much wild around here. Easter lilies, on the other hand, are extremely poisonous.
Daisy: The entire plant is edible. I'm just too lazy to actually dig the bulb up.
People will just buy any old thing they see in the farmer's market, is what I've learned.
Yes, you can buy dandelion greens, mustard greens, day lilies and so on, but...eh...why? They're only, like, EFFING everywhere.
I guess not necessarily growing in NYC proper, but still. It is such silliness.
I am, however, glad you didn't die or suffer a cruddy side dish in your experiment though. Always courageous, you.
you can make delicious daylilly fritters, but daylilly blossoms are also a staple of asian cooking. think hot-and-sour soup.
you have to have 'em.
Post a Comment