Milkweed not just for butterflies any more.
 

Buffalo style milkweed pods.

Ingredients

>> 1 and 1/2 cup Panko (Japanese bread crumbs) (Or any other bread crumbs)
>> 1/4 cup flour
>> 1 tbsp. garlic powder
>> 1 tsp. of each: paprika, oregano, cayenne and turmeric
>> 1 egg
>> 1/2 cup almond milk
>> 1/2 cup water
>> Hot wing sauce of your choice
Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Mix dry ingredients together. Mix egg, almond milk and water together then blend in dry ingredients. Mix well.

Dip milkweed pods into batter and place on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Place in oven and cook for 15-20 minutes.

When crisp take out and place in a bowl. Add in your favourite wing sauce (enough to evenly coat) and mix. Place milkweed pods back on the baking sheet and cook for an additional 10 minutes.

Milkweed rice.

Ingredients

>> 1 cup basmati rice
>> 1 cup vegetable stock (or make an herbal tea of your choice and use this)
>> 1/2 cup milkweed flower buds (or flowers just as they bloom)
>> 1/2 cup white wine
>> 3 cloves garlic (chopped finely)
>> 3 tbsp finely chopped yellow onions
>> 3 tbsp butter
>> 1 tbsp olive oil
>> Grated Parmesan cheese (optional)
>> Sea salt and/or pepper to taste
Instructions

Place the vegetable (or herbal) stock and wine in a saucepan and add rice. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to simmer.

Slightly cover rice and stir occasionally until all moisture is absorbed. Remove from heat, cover and let sit.

As the rice is in the simmering stage, in a small skillet melt butter and the olive oil in your pan until melted, then add garlic and onions. Sauté for no more than two minutes, add flower buds (or fresh flowers) and sauté one more minute. Mix the sautéed mixture into the rice and let sit two minutes and serve.

If desired add some Parmesan cheese, sea salt, and/or pepper

Stuffed milkweed pods.

Ingredients

>> 4 oz. cream cheese softened
>> 1 tbsp. diced red onion
>> 2 slices of cooked bacon
>> 1 small jalapeno chopped fine
>> salt and pepper
>> 20 milkweed pods, boiled and split
>> bread crumbs
Instructions

Heat oven to 375°F.

Place the softened cream cheese in a bowl and mix in the diced onion, jalapeno, bacon, salt and pepper. Remove the immature seeds and silk from the boiled milkweed pods, and spoon in about 2 tsp. of cream cheese filling until the pod is full.

Roll the exposed seam of cream cheese in bread crumbs and place seam side up on a baking sheet covered with a sheet of parchment paper.

Bake the stuffed pods for 15-20 minutes. Serve warm.

:D Al

How do you select pods for cooking? Is there a point at which they are too young? Too old?

Unless I really needed food I wouldn't be eating milkweed pods. The monarchs need them and they are in trouble. Monarchs are pollinators and pollinate things bees can't. My club makes an effort not to spray milkweed when we spray our crep fields. It may seem like a small thing but many small things make a big thing. As someone who has an apiary and raises pollinators, I am surprised you posted that.

Since we grow milk weed we have the pleasure of watching the pods develope. The will start about the size of a peanut and then grow to maturity. You want them just be fore mature.



As I said we grow them in all the vacant fields around us and in ditch banks. The monarchs only use the leaves not the pods for food. The honey bees just love the nectar from the flowers too.
the Monarchs also love swamp milkweed.
Here are some larva stage on our swamp milk weed.















Takes some gall to chastise some one for posting a recipe when they spray a herbicide.

Any one want to buy some seed, and get a little education?
http://www.livemonarch.com/free-milkweed-seeds.htm

:D Al

Actually we have no choice, the crep fields must be kept free of weeds or we lose our contract. I didn't chastise you I made a statement about pollinators, it is good you plant milkweed.

I read it as being chastised. Now I would like to know what a butter fly pollinates that a honey bee doesn't?
Seem to me they do about the same thing other than the little honey bees can get down inside tubler flower blossoms to get the pollen.

My wife has 3200 sq. ft. of perennial flower beds so we see a lot of things.

Part of one garden in July.



Swamp Milkweed blooms.



:D Al

You can read it any way you want!