asakiyume | (Reply)

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Hahaha, no worries, I love this stuff. I was big into foraging for a while, not so much now. We have dogbane here in the East too.

What we have most commonly where I am is Asclepias syriaca, common milkweed. The directions for cooking I've used involve (1) using only immature pods (which in any case you'd want to do if you didn't want a mouthful of silk), (2) blanching them first, and then (3) frying them. So those things probably help. But I'm not trying to persuade you to try them! Sounds like the milkweed out West is more toxic, and anyway, they're not THAT good ;-)

It's interesting how many things people eat are either somewhat poisonous if eaten in excess (sorrels, chard, spinach), poisonous if not prepared properly (cassava), poisonous at certain times of year or stages of development (pokeweed past the sprout stage), or have parts that are poisonous (rhubarb).

I *didn't* know that about dahlias! I look forward to hearing how they taste, if you try them.