Kale and Purslane Salad with day lily buds.

Last summer i posted about Purslane, which is a common weed that grows in many gardens and lawns. Many folks don't realize that purslane is edible. Not only is it edible, it's really nutritious and it taste good!! The plant is rich in vitamin E, vitamin C and beta carotene, and quite high in protein. It is considered a better source of essential omega-3 fatty acids than any other leafy plant.

Today i was in the mood for a garden lunch, something i could just pick and throw together. i've been wanting to try the Kale recipe that was posted by Brandy on NotsoAveragemama.com. It looked really good, but i didn't have all the ingredients. Then i started looking around for a new purslane recipe, as i have tons of purslane right now. i found this recipe which looked good, but i don't have (or like) capers or Arugula. i also wanted to use ingredients from my own garden, so i picked some fresh kale, purslane, tomato, onion, garlic and daylily buds.

i decided to try combining the two recipes using the ingredients i had on hand.

What i used was
a couple big handfuls of fresh kale.
1 medium size tomato diced
1 clove of garlic minced
A generous handful Purslane (more or less to taste)
a small handful of Daylily buds (see note below.)
1/4 olive oil
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 small onion or scallion thinly sliced.
salt

Wash your kale leaves, remove stems (and worms) and tear into bite sized pieces and place in a bowl. Place in a bowl. Now mix the olive oil, lemon juice and minced garlic and pour over the kale leaves. Stir this well, and add the purslane, onions, tomato and day lily buds. Season with salt if desired. The longer this marinades the more tender and flavorful the kale leaves become.

This was surprisingly tasty, although i feel like it was still missing something. A handful of pinenuts, walnuts or feta cheese might give it what it needs...or maybe the avocado or chickpeas mentioned in the other recipes. It was tasty enough that will make it again, and play around with some other ingredients.

Something i didn't realize is that as a companion plant, Purslane provides ground cover to create a humid microclimate for nearby plants, stabilizing ground moisture. Its deep roots bring up moisture and nutrients that those plants can use, and some, including corn, will "follow" purslane roots down through harder soil than they can penetrate on their own. It is actually known as a beneficial weed. (from Wikipedia)
So no need to pull it from the garden, you can let it grow even if you don't plan to eat it.



* Please note, that not all lilies are edible. Some are very toxic. Easter lilies and Asian lilies are poisonous. Do not attempt to eat lilies unless you can correctly identify them. Lilies of the genus Hemerocallis, the common daylily are edible. Though, eating large quantities of the plant raw can cause stomach upset and diarrhea in some people.

Eat More kale Winner Announced!

The winner of the Eat More Kale T-shirt is.....

lokiwoman said... 74

I follow your blog!

June 26, 2011 9:08 PM

Congratulations Lokiwoman! i will send you an email later today. You will have 48 hours to respond to my email or a new winner will be chosen! Thank you all who entered!!

Ecomom Review and Giveaway!

i'm super excited to host another giveaway for Ecomom. Ecomom is a company interested in connecting parents with eco-friendly products, that are safe for anyone to use. They have everything from organic baby foods, to Gdiapers, to safe toys, environmentally safe dish soaps and laundry detergents. . As someone who lives almost an hour from stores, i love the convenience of shopping online. Ecomom really makes it easy with their ever growing selection of eco-friendly products.

I had the opportunity to review a couple items from ecomom and I would like to tell you a little about them.

Supergoop! Everyday sunscreen meets European and Australian standards for suncare and practice environmentally friendly techniques; it is also water-resistant and free of fragrances, synthetic dyes, and sulfates, earning a clinical stamp of approval for all skin types (sensitive skin and babies included).

• Pa++ uva/uvb protection
• Very water resistant (up to 80 minutes in water)
• Weightless, oil-free hydration
• Paraben-free; fragrance free; no animal testing

What i liked about the Supergoop is that it was very light and rubs in easily. Unlike some other sunscreens we have used that left us looking like we were wearing clown paint, the Supergoop was not too thick or too greasy. It did a great job of protecting my daughter from sunburn, didn't wash off when she was playing in her kiddie pool.

We also had the opportunity to try out Bon Ami Dish Soap in both free and clear and Tangerine Thyme. It is made using all-natural ingredients that are tough on grease, but gentle on the skin, and doesn't contain phosphates or chlorine. The Tangerine Thyme, is a delightful fusion of mandarin orange, tangerine, orange, thyme, and clove. BonAmi also uses recycled and recyclable packaging.

The BonAmi dish soap worked great. i typically only use free and clear dish soaps, but tried out the Tangerine Thyme. It had a very light pleasant scent that did not linger on the dishes. It did a great job of removing grease and cleaning my dishes. Priced at $4 for a 25 Fl Oz bottle, it is very affordable.

Buy it: You can purchase a variety of Doctor T's Supergoop products which range in price from $8.50- $34.00 through the Ecomom store.
You can purchase the BonAmi dish soap in Tangerine thyme or the Free and Clear for $4 for a 25oz bottle.
All orders over $50 qualify for free shipping

Win it!

EcoMom has offered one reader the chance to win a $15 gift certificate to Ecomom.

* please note if you have won an Ecomom giveaway in the last 45 days, you are not eligible to win again.

MANDATORY ENTRY

Head over to EcoMom and let me know your favorite item!

Please include your e-mail address or make sure it is visible in your blogger profile so i have a way to contact you if you win. Otherwise a new winner will be chosen!

EXTRA ENTRIES (make sure you did the mandatory first!!)
please leave a new comment for each extra entry. If you qualify for 5 entries, leave 5 separate comments.

1. Follow EcoMom on Twitter leave your twitter ID in a comment, 1 entry.
2. Tweet about the contest leave a link to your tweet. 1 entry (can tweet daily)

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4. Join the Ecomom Newsletter 2 entries. (leave 2 comments)
5. Be a fan of The Enchanted Tree on Facebook 1 entry

6. Follow my blog The Enchanted Tree 1 entry
7. Add my button (top left column) or add me to your sidebar on your blog 3 entries (leave 3 comments)
8. Blog about the giveaway link to this post & Ecomom website. 3 entries, leave 3 comments.

*Disclaimer* I received this product directly from the Ecomom for Review. i was not paid to try out this product! Opinions posted on this blog are 100% mine.

**Rules**

• Giveaway ends July 23, 2011 at 11:59pm EST
  
• Winner will be chosen via Random.Org., and their information fw'd to Ecomom. Once Ecomom confirms the winner, i will then contact them by email, and post in on the blog.
  
• Winner will have 48 hours to respond to the email or another winner will be chosen
• This giveaway is open to USA and Canada shipping addresses only

Creek Days

This summer has been very slow and lazy for us. We really haven't gone much of anywhere or done much of anything. It's been really hot and humid out. i'm not sure if it has been more hot and humid than usual this year or if i'm just not able to tolerate it as well as i used to.

During the day when the heat is unbearable, we've been hiking down to the creek to cool off.

The water isn't all that deep, but Sage insisted in wearing this inflatable jacket. She still isn't completely comfortable in the water yet, and the rocks are quite slippery. So if she does slip, she won't go under.

Even Rufus jumped right in! i was actually a bit surprised, we've brought Sookie our Border Collie down before and she was afraid of the main creek, but loves to play in the small one. This was the first time we brought Rufus down and he jumped right in and swam all over the place. He kept trying to steal the stick Sequoia was using to paddle around with.

Sage also enjoys the small creek. She collects the snails from the rocks, and looks for salamanders and crawdads. i planted these native daylillies several years ago, but the deer have always eaten them down before they have a chance to flower. This is the first year i've seen them bloom here.


The rhododendrons were also in full bloom. These are all partially shaded and they always bloom much later than usual. Most of the Rhododendrons around us are already past bloom, but these are just beginning.

The whole area is surrounded by these rhododendrons and they make a wall of flowers when they are blooming. It was absolutely beautiful. We watched butterflies fluttering around from flower to flower, and dragonflies diving right into the water to catch minnows. We fed bread crumbs to the fish and rescued a rather ugly looking caddisfly that had fallen in the water. This is still one of our favorite places to play.

* don't forget the Eat More Kale giveaway is ending tonight! Don't forget to get in those last minute entries!! Also be sure and check the sidebar for my latest giveaways!

Borax Slime

Borax slime is really easy and inexpensive to make, and kids absolutely love it.

‎All you need is:
water
1 tsp borax
1/2 cup Elmers glue (white or clear both work)
food coloring (optional)
two bowls.

In your first bowl combine 1 cup water with 1 tsp borax, stir until dissolved. set aside.
In your second bowl combine 1/2 cup elmers glue and 1/2 cup water. You can add food coloring to it if you want. Stir until mixed well.

Now add your water/glue solution to the water/borax solution. Your slime will begin to polymerize immediately.


Stir for a minute or so, and then begin to knead by hand. Drain the excess water for the bowl. The slime with start off as a highly flexible polymer. You can stretch it and watch it flow. My kids had a good time having slime races, by putting it on the edge of the table and seeing which one touched the ground first. After a while it will become stiffer and more like putty.

The slime won't stick to most hard surfaces, but it will stick to clothing and carpeting...so be careful. :) We've found that it washes out of clothing well, as long as you don't use too much food coloring. The food coloring can stain surfaces.



The kids had fun placing it on this wire table and watching it ooze through. When you lift it up, it keeps the design for a few seconds.

You can keep your slime stored in the refrigerator in a ziplock bag.

Have fun!!