Japanese Knotweed Pie!

On Saturday morning I attended an invasive weed talk about the unfortunate prevalence of the non-native invasive plant variety known as Japanese Knotweed.  I learned a few important things, first that this stuff is really nasty and tough to get rid of, seriously seriously persistent (complete removal can take up to and often more than 5 years of concentrated efforts) and second, that it is edible, has a flavor comparable to rhubarb, and makes a mean piece of pie.  So naturally I had two immediate reactions: First, I should sign up for a site to try to do my part, and get rid of some of this stuff.  And then second, and perhaps more obvious, I should make a pie.

So today, first I walked the site that I "adopted" and learned that this time, I might have bitten off a bit more than I can chew.  This stuff is everywhere man, well maybe not everywhere, but where it is, there is a lot of it, and it's well established.  I walked the rail trail in Johnson today, from Parker and Stearn's just to the ball park, and in that short strip I found 4 large and established patches of Knotweed.  After that I checked down the bank at the back of the ball field, where the bank slopes down to the Lamoille River, and there I found a Knotweed forest the stretched almost the entire length of the park.  I don't have ARCGIS but I ripped off a little scrap of satellite photo from google maps (so thank you google, and please don't sue me!) and made myself a map of my little infestation, to help me keep track of what needs to be done (and maybe to recruit some volunteers...anyone wanna help?) so here's my map, complete with photo points, because I'm a dork, and I love this kind of thing and I haven't had the fortune of using this side of my brain in a long time!

(Click to enlarge)

Photo point 1: Patch of dried up stalks of last years knotweed (and plenty of hard to see new babies) on the rail trail facing Railroad Street and Parker and Stearn's

Photo point 2: Another patch on the side of the rail trail overlooking the park

Photo point 3: Patch of knotweed on the side of the rail trail abutting a private property.

Photo point 4: Patch covering both sides of the rail trail at the entrance to the park

And this ones not on the map, but its the patch from the last photo continuing along the drainage ditch on the other side of the road.

And finally, photo point 5: The bottom of the bank.

So there's that whole depressing story, hopefully I can do my part to cut these guys down to size.  Now on to more positive topics: Pie!  After my reconnaissance mission, I collected a few of these frightening looking stalks to bring home and clean and make a pie!  I used this fabulous recipe from Yankee magazine, which I of course edited slightly because I can't leave anything alone.  I used about 2 cups of peeled, chopped, knotweed, 2 to 2.5 cups of sliced strawberries, and one peeled, cored, and chopped pink lady apple (because it added extra volume, cut down on the strawberry costs, and allowed me to cut out a bit of the sugar) and here is a collection of photos of the resulting pie:

 

  Yummm!

And the hardest part of making this whole pie: not throwing the scraps in the compost (remember, these little buggers are invasive, and they'll invade your compost heap too!)  The pie was delicious, not as tart as rhubarb, a not unpleasing texture (I was concerned because the uncooked knotweed had it's "slimy" moments).  All in all I'd say it was a success!  

For more information about the problems associated with invasive weeds and best management practices for their removal, check out the Nature Conservancy's information page for Knotweed or their section on all of the Invasive Plants in Vermont.  And finally, a more comprehensive pdf of all of the different invasive plant species in Vermont is available here for free download.

april showers, hairy grass, and pink strawberries

April showers drenched this little town today, and i learned that the grass here is just a little bit...hairy.  It makes the rain hold onto the grass in big beautiful droplets, you can just barely see the hairs in this photo on the edge of the blade of grass, and if you look at the big droplet you can see where the bottom of it pokes out where its hanging onto grass hairs! (click on the image to enlarge and get a better view)

And those big beautiful droplets of rain have been keeping my plants happy and healthy!  Just take a look at my first amazing little strawberry baby!  

oh and P.S. those little cheesecakes that i made last night were a BIG hit!  and so easy to make!  2 thumbs up for that recipe for sure!

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early update!

I'm posting my photo early today because I won't be here this evening and I don't want to forget again.  So what do I have for you?  Whats this?  A strawberry with a rosie-reddish hue?  Thats right...these little buggers are ripening!  My first strawberries that I have grown all on my own!  Hurray!  Look at how cute too!  Photos can be a little deceiving sometimes, I know it looks pretty large, but its really about the size of a marble....still, its awesome! :o)

Also, I made some fabulous rocky road fudge this morning from this recipe I remembered from longggg ago, the last time I made it I still lived in Peru.  It is the easiest fudge recipe in the world and you can find it online in millions of places under the name Super Easy Rocky Road Fudge, but I'll put the recipe here for you, since its so simple.  I know that I originally found this recipe on the inside of a label of a can of sweetened condensed milk, so I'm sure its by Nestle or something...anywho here it is, seriously give it a try.  You won't regret it!

Super Easy Rocky Road Fudge

• 2 cups Chocolate Chips (I used Ghirardelli 60% Cacao chips)
• 1 14oz Can of Sweetened Condensed Milk
• 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
• ~3 cups Mini Marshmallows
• 1 1/4 cups Chopped Walnuts

Line a pan with waxed paper or lightly greased tinfoil.  Combine condensed milk and chocolate chips in a large, microwave safe bowl.  Microwave on high for 1 minute and then stir, if the chips are not completely melted continue microwaving in 10 second intervals and stirring until mixture is smooth.  Stir in vanilla extract, then fold in marshmallows and nuts.  Press into a 13x9 pan (for ~48 thinner pieces) or 9x9 pan (for ~24 thicker pieces) and refrigerate until set.  

This is the basic recipe, but you can mix in anything you want....some of my favorites:  peanut butter chips and mini pretzels, coconut and butterscotch chips, mint extract and crushed oreos.  I dare you not to love these!

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bug-eyed strawberry monster!!!!

this is what i get for not going organic.

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whats this you say?

An itty bitty strawberry?  Persevering through the snow and the rain, my strawberries live on!  

Even my basil babies appear to be pulling through!

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art? or salad?

I've been on a food kick lately, so you get my dinner for tonights photo...spinach and herb salad with cheddar cheese, sliced strawberries, and flax seeds.  And, of course, a pale ale.  Yum!

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Strawberry Lemon Cheesecake

So yesterday I mentioned some cheesecake, and here it is. Now you know me, I started with a recipe, but things got a little switched around along the way and I ended up making it my own.  Adapted from this recipe, mine is a little bit smaller with a little bit different topping, but i'm pretty sure it contains the same amount of delicious.  This was the easiest cheesecake I've ever made, and the quickest...so without further ado, here is the recipe, just in case anyone wants to give it a try.

For the Crust: Combine 6 tbsp of melter butter with one sleeve of crushed graham crackers and press the mixture into the bottom of an 8 inch spring form pan.  Bake for 5 minutes at 375 and then set aside.

For the Filling: Using an electric mixer, beat one and a half pounds of softened cream cheese until smooth, beat in the following one at a time: 2 eggs, 3/4 cup of sugar, 1 tbsp of vanilla, and about 1 tbsp lemon zest, beat all together until smooth and fluffy, and then gently fold in one pint of fresh strawberries, cleaned and chopped into small pieces.  Pour onto crust and bake at 375 until the middle is just barely set (30-40 minutes).  Remove from oven, run a knife around the edge of the pan and cover and let cool.  When it is no longer hot to the touch, move it into the fridge and chill at least 3 hours, overnight if possible.  

For the Topping: Clean and quarter another pint of strawberries and put them in a saucepan.  Add about 1/4 cup of maple syrup, 2 tbsp sugar, and a splash of water (add a bit of corn starch if you have any, I didn't so my topping was a bit thin, but still good).  Reduce the sauce over low heat until desired thickness is reached, cool and pour over the cheesecake.  Let set for another few hours if possible, serve chilled.  Yummmm.

So there you have it, for today a photo and a recipe.  I know only like 6 people read this, but please let me know what you think if you try any of the recipes I post here, I love to get feedback.  

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new babies!

Today was BEAUTIFUL!  60's, sunny, bluest of blue skies.  So I snuck out of work early and adopted some new babies.  Thats right folks, I am going to try to raise some plants, live ones, that are not cacti, and keep them alive.  This will be a challenge, as my traditional role with plants has been mostly just trying not to kill my Mom's house plants when she put them in my room, and usually I failed miserably at that.  These ones though, they are going to get sooooooo much love that they won't be able to help but grow up big and healthy!  I have a tiny tomato, basil seeds, some velvety purple pansies, and my pride and joy: my little baby strawberries!

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