Strange vegetables in our garden

[chattius 2,519]

We do a 1225 years celebrations of the oldest still existing document mentioning our village. So something like a historical market place will be done, basket weaving, broom making, using flails to thresh wheat, milking the cow festival (bathtub filled with water coloured white, rubber-glove at the hole, tiny holes pierced with a needle and it is more or less like normal milking), ...

Our family will do traditional vegetables which were used for centuries but nowadays are no longer found their way into modern cooking:

 

Erdbeerspinat = strawberry spinach = Chenopodium foliosum. You take the leaves like normal spinach, The fruits are eatable, but are mainly used for decorating. If anyone has a recipe for them I want to know.

 

Guter Heinrich = wild spinach = Good King Henry

 

Haferwurzel, Austernpflanze = vegetable oyster, roots taste a bit like oyster.

It has nice flowers, nicked Jerusalem Stern(star)

 

Spargelerbse = translates asparagus pea, young seeds taste a bit of asparagus =Lotus maritimus. It is not the same as winged beans, even it looks and tastes like them.

 

And guess what this is: We found these recipe in internet:

Roasted oyster-plant roots, wrapped with bear-garlic leaves, wrapped with serrano ham...

 

We did some experiments: each of the 2 oldest daughters, the third supporting me. So we tried 3 variants to surprise my wife when she returned from her hoispital shift at sunday evening.

 

Oldest:

oysterplant-roots wrapped in beargarlic

roasted in olive oil

wrapped with serrano ham

final short roasting of the total wrapping in olive oil

 

Second:

oysterplant-roots wrapped in beargarlic

braised in a vegetable bouillon

wrapped with serrano ham

final short roasting of the total wrapping in olive oil

 

Our 7 year old with a tiny amount of help from me:

oysterplant-roots, beargarlic leaves and roasted ham from wild boar braised in fruit wine

roots wrapped with braised leaves and then with braised ham

some more braising in the fruit wine liquid

smearing a chilli-quinces jelly on the rolls

caramelization to make a cross surface - supports a bit the nutty oyters tastes of the roots

Giving the remaining liquid as a sauce

 

With all the current unknowns about the origin of the EHEC infections in germany we are using a lot moer plants from our garden now.

[Delta! 985]

interesting topic Chattius. The roasted oyster plant roots wrapped in bear garlic and serrano ham looks goooooood, I suppose Parma ham or coppa will also taste delicious. and I love the 3 different ways in which you prepared them.

 

Too bad I don't have any recipes for you to try with the strawberry spinach.

 

Delta!

[gogoblender 3,066]

Great topic! This idea of "ancient vegetables" so old that are only growing in your backyard...just the concept is fascinating. Why do you think these aren't in supermarkets.

Do vegetables actually go out of style? Are the flavors too strong, colors not proper?

 

I'm with Theuns here, the parma wrapped plants look delicious.

 

 

gogo

[chattius 2,519]

We took the ham we had at home. Serrano from a party and wild boar ham is self made. I think traditional german ham: black forest ham or something like this would be best. Serrano is air dried and conservated while german one is normaly smoked to conservate it (because of colder climate, preventing molds when drying). So Serrano is a bit to dry when roasting it. Braising the wild boar ham in wine kept it more juicy but wild boar ham is a bit too strong in taste: hard to taste the oyster root. But it are nuiances, very good results for a first test with a herb we are not used too.

 

GoGo:

I think it is a difference if you do the plants in big glas-houses independant from weather or in the open. In the open the plants have to survive different possible weathers, so normally people used to split the vegs: one variant optimal if it is dry, one for its taste at optimal weather, one if it all time raining, ... The old 'original' variants are good for weather extremes, less harvest than the optimized ones in a good year, but no starving at a bad.

 

At glass houses the plants are rather optimized for taste and cheap farming, weather is not a factor. And with ships and planes now: quick transports so you can get vegs from places with a good climate.

 

Same goes for our hens. They are a sturdy race, can be out in snow and still find food, dig out mouse nests, ... But they are not social... if they have no room, they hack at each other, so they sorta died out when every chicken farm used cages, nobody wanted the race.

 

Or our caddle- as old as the celts. Small race for feeding in woodland, but also slow growing, not much milk, ... The race was mainly for pulling wagons or plows for the typical small farm with 2 cows and no horses. They survived in our state mainly because of an outdated law: while all other german states had that the oldest son got the whole farm and had to pay his siblings, here the farms were splitted and splitted and splitted between all siblings. The result that most farms were done in a way that the farmer worked as a steel worker in morning and run the farm when returning from work in evening. So this caddle was optimal for this, same for the hens: they could look for themself.

[chattius 2,519]

Gartenmelde - mountain spinach - Atriplex_hortensis

 

 

Less oxal acid than spinach, my kids like it way more than normal spinach. Also nice: there are green, yellow, red and violet variants. So if you want some colour on your dinner plate or garden - these are nice ones. The plant was also used to dye hair and fabric in midage.

 

More colours than just green:

[chattius 2,519]

Klaräpfel - not knowing the english name

 

 

This sort of apples blossoms very late in year and ripes in record speed, to be the first apples harvested (mid to end of july). But because of their quick riping they can't be stored for more than a few days. If kept too long they dry out quickly and loose their sour and juicy taste.

 

Makes a great cake, using yeast dough, and laying apple pieces, pieces of roasted nuts, raisins on little dough pieces. Then the pieces are rolled and put together in a baking form to create a bigger cake:

 

[gogoblender 3,066]

Gartenmelde - mountain spinach - Atriplex_hortensis

 

 

Less oxal acid than spinach, my kids like it way more than normal spinach. Also nice: there are green, yellow, red and violet variants. So if you want some colour on your dinner plate or garden - these are nice ones. The plant was also used to dye hair and fabric in midage.

 

More colours than just green:

 

 

I love Spinach, trying to add it my everyday fare, it just drops sugar for me like a hot potato. Chattius, does that mountain spinach you posted stay purple even after cooking>

 

 

gogo

[chattius 2,519]

@GoGo - Gartenmelde

 

Yes it keeps its colour. Found an article why farmers prefer spinach: less costs for seeds, better germination, ... But mopuntain pinach / orache has less oxal acid so better for kids. We do it in garden and buy fresh seeds every 5th year, the other years we get our own seed from plants we let blossom and ripe.

 

http://www.ladybugletter.com/?p=69

[gogoblender 3,066]

@GoGo - Gartenmelde

 

Yes it keeps its colour. Found an article why farmers prefer spinach: less costs for seeds, better germination, ... But mopuntain pinach / orache has less oxal acid so better for kids. We do it in garden and buy fresh seeds every 5th year, the other years we get our own seed from plants we let blossom and ripe.

 

 

 

 

That's good info for me. I have spinach in my fridge all the time, I like it's robust feel, flavor and way it tastes in my omelettes^^

 

I know that color is an important part of good eating, I'll see if our local ethnic grocer has ever seen anything like this.

 

 

gogo

[chattius 2,519]

The plant can get as high as 8feet. My wife does normally groups of 6 plants: 2 yellow, 2 red, 2 green. So they are not only eatable but also look nice.

 

Some quick photos I found in internet:

 

Size of an ripe plant used to get seeds:

 

Decoration in a vase (pink leaves from young plants):

[chattius 2,519]

Spitzkohl

 

Spitzkohl would translate as pointed cabbage. It is a variant of white cabbage and can be used to make Sauerkraut, raw salade or wrap boiled leaves around a meat filling, ...

It has softer leaves than white cabbage and a bit softer taste. It leaves are more flexible and better fitted to do fillings for this reason and because the longer and less wide shape makes rolling easier. Disadvantage to normal white cabbage for supermarkets: ball like white cabbage takes way less room, is easier to harvest and transport, ... So Spitzkohl seems to be really rare or expensive, but its taste convinced us to do no longer white cabbage in our garden. If we want white cabbage it is easy to buy at a market, in difference to Spitzkohl.

 

 

 

[chattius 2,519]

Bear garlic time again. Most will be grinded, mixed with salt and oil and stored in glasses. A quick base spice with garlic taste, a bit like pesto. Can be used to dip fresh farmer breads in, or with some olive oil and spaghetti as a fast meal,... An advantage od bear grlic over garlic: same taste but less smell when sweating.

 

Of cause some 'normal' real bear garlic pesto and as a first time: Trying out this year: lard mixed with bear garlic to make the beargarlic storable.

 

Have to harvest them before they are in full blossom. I cut away a few twigs and branches away so the bergarlic has more light and can expand. Beargarlic can build real fields in a forest. I started with around 2 square metresvand I am now at around 25. Still some years to have this:

 

 

[wolfie2kX 528]

The plant can get as high as 8feet. My wife does normally groups of 6 plants: 2 yellow, 2 red, 2 green. So they are not only eatable but also look nice.

 

Some quick photos I found in internet:

 

Size of an ripe plant used to get seeds:

 

Decoration in a vase (pink leaves from young plants):

 

Rhubarb..? The stalks are sort of like celery in shape, but reddish.

 

They're used to make pies with.

[chattius 2,519]

Rhubarb, hmm, at least here each garden used for some kitchen usage has a plant. So I didn't know that it is forgotten/lessused in other places.

 

 

 

Rhabarberstreuselkuchen

 

Yummy

 

I think wild silver dollars, Judas-pennies, are more forgotten?

 

 

The plant is nicked Judas-pennies here because it has like 30 seeds looking like silver coins. The wild multi-year plant has long oval seeds, has a very nice smell which it omits when it gets dark. We have some around a bank which is placed to look sundown at the horizon. Leaves have cabbage like taste and roots and blossoms can be used for a salade.

 

 

[gogoblender 3,066]

The leaves are gorgeous, huge! It's been a while since I've been able to taste the succulent and tart taste of a fresh rhubarb pie.

 

Desert calls

 

 

gogo

[chattius 2,519]

Don't know what a Kraterbeet is in English: crater bed?

You dig a hole and use the dug out earth to make something like a wall around the hole. Then you place big stones as a wind block in main wind direction. The stones will also store heat from sun-shine. The bottom in the hole will be wet and wind blocked and warm: tomato and paprica.

top of the wall you plant herbs like thyme which doesn't like too much water. Mid high salades...

We sacrifice some gras and green around the house for them. Gras is useless in these times, easily available food has higher priority. Do our former green keeper (geese) know that they are reclassified as easy avalable food?

 

 

 

[Bondbug 32]

I just popped in for somewhere quiet to sit and contemplate my mispent youth, middle age and old age, and what the wife is busy cooking up in the kitchen, and your Kraterbeet  looks about right for my purpose if I can find a space to sit.

As a retired architect, town planner, conservationist, environmentalist etc etc., I am shocked to find that I have not met with this super little spot before and can't find an english name for it. I will ask wife when she emerges from the kitchen later.

 

[chattius 2,519]

Edit seemed I missed something: Happy Birthday Bondbug

The idea is very old. Monastry gardens or castles under siege used it to maximize food on a minimal space.

A Burggarten (castle garden): In times of piece they were just looking good, the statue as wind block and heat sun heat storage:

 

On the vulcanic island Lanzarote the technic is used for grape vines:

This picture is named perma garden, perma culture garden. Not a crater but the same idea: remove earth from a place for plants which need it wet and make a stepped hill for plants who want it try. In your case I would do it like this in a bigger garden, a mix of a crater bed and raised-bed gardening. Add some step stones and a small staircase. But, heh, you are the architect ;)

Main reason was to keep the kids busy in a time without school or university. By brother and his wife work in a high risk for corona envireonment so we have my nieces and nephews at our place too.

Our third and oldest niece learned how to use the hydraulic shovel of our unimog for most of the crater bed work. Something they wouldn't have learned at school. Researching herbs. how much or less water they need, medical usage of certain herbs. Biology in practice. No school isn't that they should stop learning. Just the priorities more turned towards practical usage.

Biggest crater bed will have 4metres in diametre and a small pond in the mid for eatable water plants. Smallest ones are two metre and for tomatoes in the mid. Totally up to them how to design and build them.