Here’s to eating weeds

Let’s make the New Year right by learning 1) that what we consider weeds are edible, and 2) how to cook them and convince our families that 1) we can cook, and 2) weeds are edible. Which makes the book, Ooops... Don’t Throw Those Weeds Away! a fascinating resource book, letting us know as it does that no Filipino should ever go hungry because he can just look around them and find that grasses and weeds and trees can be made into delectable dishes.

The book is a work of love by Nonie Dolera, Carmen Florento, Maur Lichauco, and Flor Tarriela, all members of The Fern and Nature Society of the Philippines, Inc.

According to the authors, their intention is "to encourage more people to plant." The book is not just a cookbook, rather it is basically a plant book. It cautions readers about using the book as a medical reference and recommends seeing a medical doctor before taking the plants for medication, and says the recipes using plants mentioned had been tried and tested and some were based on interviews with farmers and rural folk. It encourages readers, though, to plant and cultivate the plants "not just for their own use, but also to share with friends and neighbors and others who may have the need for them".

Knowledgeable folks have high praises for the publication. Dr. Domingo A. Madulid, Scientist III (Curator 1) of the National Museum writes in the foreword that it is "not always easy to find a well-written and easy-to-read book that deals with common Philippine plants, their uses, cultivation and care. Some of the early publications are too technical and difficult to understand by the laymen, other are limited in their coverage, or long out-of-print and not easily accessible in libraries. Considering that there are more than 8,000 species of flowering plants and about 1,000 species of ferns, it is rather difficult to choose which ‘common’ species to include in a book like this."

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National scientist Ben Vergara writes in the intro that the book is important and challenging for plant hobbyists and food connoisseurs. "It offers several intriguing recipes to try and challenges one’s fusion cooking using the newly discovered alternative plants. The plants may be common weeds but may not be abundant in one’s garden. The challenge is where to look for the supply. This book offers new opportunities to grow there plants in large quantities."

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Precious weeds mentioned are the mimosa, the common sedge, Indian hydrocotyle, lemongrass, lipang-aso, lupo-lupo, morning glory, painter’s brush wed, peperonia, puslane, seed-under-leaf, talinum, wild pipino, and wild spinach.

There are sections on ferns, palms, shrubs and vines (including atsuete, ikmo, sambong, ampalaya, and trees like alagao or abgao/argao, bago, all kinds of bamboo, guava, orchid tree or alibangbang, papaya, and katuray. There’s a section on roots, such as kamoteng kahoy, kamote and gabe.

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Now for the recipes.

For starters, do Maur’s Blushing Blooms Salad (the title christened by writer Margarita Locsin)

Pancit-pancitan tips, paco tips, singkamas finely stripped, carrot finely stripped, red tomatoes blanched, peeled, seeded, and cubed, wild pipino fruits (optional or if available) and hard-boiled egg, sliced.

Arrange on individual salad plates and decorate with edible flowers like wine red, katuray, blue ternate, and cadena de amor.

For the dressing: Mix together and shake well to emulsify: 1/3 cup minced onions. 1 Tbs finely chopped garlic, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp white pepper, 1 Tbs sugar, 3 Tbs cane vinegar, 2 Tbs kalamansi juice, 4 Tbs finely chopped sweet pickles, and 1 cup commercial mayonnaise.

Season to taste. Pour the dressing just before serving the salad.

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For a main dish, here’s Maur’s Bago Nut Leaves in Coconut Milk.

Ingredients: 1 Tbs finely chopped garlic, 2 cups chopped shallots, 2 cups chopped tomatoes, 1/2 kilo shrimps peeled, 1/2 kilo pork shoulder boiled and diced, 1 Tbs each fish sauce and sugar, 1 kilo shredded fresh bago nut leaves, 1-2 hot chili finely chopped, 4 cops coconut milk and 2 cups coconut cream (kakang gata).

Procedure: Heat 4 Tbs oil. Add garlic and shallots. Brown slightly. Add tomatoes and cook until mushy. Add the shrimps and cook until pink. Add diced pork and blend well. Add the next 3 ingredients. Let boil once. Lastly add the coconut cream. Simmer until the cream starts to oil. Season with salt if necessary.

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The recipe for Stir-Fried Paco with Crab Meat and Egg (this is said to be a hometown recipe):

Ingredients: 1.2 cup oil, 2 Tbs garlic, finely chopped, 1 medium-size onion, finely diced, 1 cup cooked crab meat, 2 cups paco tips, blanched in salted boiling water and drained, salt and pepper to taste, and 1 egg, beaten.

Procedure: Heat oil and fry garlic until fragrant. Add onions. Add cooked crab meat and paco. Mix ingredients. Season with salt and sugar. Slowly pour beaten egg and cook until egg becomes firm. Don’t overcook the egg. Remove from fire and serve.

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Another hometown recipe is Sweet Potato with Pandan Leaves.

Ingredients: 1 kilo sweet potato (kamote), 1.4 kilo sugar, 2 cups water, 2 heaping Tbs lime (apog), 12 pcs Screwpine leaves (pandan), cut into three inches long, and 1/2 cup pound Dari Crème butter.

Procedure: Pare the sweet potatoes and cut into two-inch cubs. Place immediately in lime water. Set aside for 30-40 minutes. Boil together sugar, water and pandan leaves. Wash well and drain sweet potatoes. Add to the syrup and continue to cook together until the sweet potatoes are soft. Add butter. Cool well before serving.

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Copies of the book are available from the Makati Garden Club on Ayala Ave., corner EDSA. Or e-mail [email protected]

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My e-mail address: [email protected]