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FSogol

(45,363 posts)
Wed Jan 9, 2019, 10:34 AM Jan 2019

Hawaii Is Having an Invasive Species Crisis. Chefs Want You to Eat Them.

I hesitate to post this since I don't want to give the GOP any ideas on solving Trumpy's manufactured border crisis, but here goes:


The idea to use Hawaii’s invasive species for food was championed by innovators like Hawaiian cultural practitioner Vince Dodge, who lives on Oahu and uses kiawe for his Wai’anae Gold flour, and wild food educator Sunny Savage of Maui. "For any indigenous culture, you look to the land to provide," Savage told me. "These [invasive species] are things found in most abundance, with a double bonus; being good for the earth to harvest, and beneficial for our human bodies as nutrient-packed food."


https://www.neatorama.com/2019/01/08/Hawaii-Is-Having-an-Invasive-Species-Crisis-Chefs-Want-You-to-Eat-Them/

My spoon slides through an unidentifiable substance, unexpectedly similar to foie gras, as I glance over my menu to double-check the dish in front of me. “Eat Your Invasives,” it reads. It’s a kiawe flour paté — and it’s delicious..

I’m on Maui at the Grand Wailea's Humuhumunukunukuapua’a restaurant (named after a species of native fish — Humuhumu for short) where the Chef de Cuisine, Mike Lofaro, highlights invasive species on his menu. My current plate includes interlopers like kiawe (a type of mesquite, similar in shape to a green bean, but sweeter) and waiawi(also known as “strawberry guava,” a variety nicknamed for its sweet-tart flavor). Hawaiian culture is grounded in cultivating symbiotic relationships with the land — so why, I wonder, am I not eating poi?

What I didn’t know at the time: native plants such as taro, the main ingredient in poi, are increasingly threatened by an invasive species crisis across the Hawaiian Islands — which has some chefs rethinking their ingredients.


More at: https://www.msn.com/en-us/foodanddrink/foodnews/hawaii-is-having-an-invasive-species-crisis-chefs-want-you-to-eat-them/ar-BBRRN5T?li=BBnb7Kz&ocid=iehp
71 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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Hawaii Is Having an Invasive Species Crisis. Chefs Want You to Eat Them. (Original Post) FSogol Jan 2019 OP
It is pretty sad what humans have done to the Islands... Wounded Bear Jan 2019 #1
I think about the pythons and parrots BumRushDaShow Jan 2019 #2
The Snakeheads here in Northern VA didn't turn out to be a big problem since FSogol Jan 2019 #4
And the Lionfish in Florida RockaFowler Jan 2019 #5
They're all over the Caribbean Sea as well malaise Jan 2019 #22
They even have derbys with prizes. X_Digger Jan 2019 #67
Thanks for this malaise Jan 2019 #69
Also Lionfish.. invasive and delicious mitch96 Jan 2019 #6
I used to have 2 saltwater marine tanks about 20 years ago BumRushDaShow Jan 2019 #7
How big do they grow? I am Florida, but inland. nt Blue_true Jan 2019 #18
I haven't seen a live one yet mitch96 Jan 2019 #25
So, about the size of a Florida Sunfish or small Speckled Perch? nt Blue_true Jan 2019 #38
I really don't know as I'm not a fisherman.. nt mitch96 Jan 2019 #46
The juvenile one I had in my marine tank BumRushDaShow Jan 2019 #57
That would be a good sized fish at maturity. Blue_true Jan 2019 #63
There was a youtube video of how to prep them in a post in this thread BumRushDaShow Jan 2019 #64
Thanks, that was interesting. nt Blue_true Jan 2019 #65
About the size of a small snapper. GulfCoast66 Jan 2019 #28
So look like they produce a decent dinner filet. nt Blue_true Jan 2019 #40
Yep. Buy them if you see them. GulfCoast66 Jan 2019 #41
Yes on all accounts. Blue_true Jan 2019 #43
Scuba divers in Miami have lionfish contests to see who can get the most for the day mitch96 Jan 2019 #49
That price mirrors what I have seen. On the bone. GulfCoast66 Jan 2019 #53
+1 mitch96 Jan 2019 #59
"Since they have no natural predators they just sit there while you gig 'em" BumRushDaShow Jan 2019 #60
There used to be native parrots to Florida and the Southeast US csziggy Jan 2019 #8
I remember reading about those years ago BumRushDaShow Jan 2019 #11
As said in the Wikipedia article no one really knows why they went extinct csziggy Jan 2019 #14
That would be interesting if there were a parrot BumRushDaShow Jan 2019 #16
Florida is a huge invasive species nightmare. GoCubsGo Jan 2019 #13
You mention the wild boars and that got me to thinking about Texas BumRushDaShow Jan 2019 #15
That's mostly feral pigs, which is another HUGE problem for the South, in general. GoCubsGo Jan 2019 #19
Yes they have a feral pig issue but I had checked before I posted BumRushDaShow Jan 2019 #21
"the pig problem in Texas" made me LOL thinking about Cruz flibbitygiblets Jan 2019 #33
I was thinking more about this guy BumRushDaShow Jan 2019 #44
Ok you definitely won that argument! flibbitygiblets Jan 2019 #66
... BumRushDaShow Jan 2019 #70
Feral pigs and wild boars are pretty much the same. GulfCoast66 Jan 2019 #42
Isn't the boar a bit more hairy? (but I know the terms are used interchangeably) BumRushDaShow Jan 2019 #45
Pretty much all pigs brought here started as domestic GulfCoast66 Jan 2019 #47
So many invasive species have no predator BumRushDaShow Jan 2019 #51
Well. In Florida gators eat wild boar!! GulfCoast66 Jan 2019 #56
I can imagine the splashfest from that encounter! BumRushDaShow Jan 2019 #58
Epigenetics is a fascinating subject. X_Digger Jan 2019 #68
Coqui frogs are the worst on the Big Island. All night wasupaloopa Jan 2019 #3
Funny story but BumRushDaShow Jan 2019 #9
YUP! I was there a few weeks ago. Coqui! Coqui! Coqui! flibbitygiblets Jan 2019 #34
Earplugs Mz Pip Jan 2019 #62
If only the earth had no humans we would all be better off Renew Deal Jan 2019 #54
Isn't there a danger of their becoming desirable, and of resistance to other ways of eliminating LAS14 Jan 2019 #10
You make me think of the whole issue of the alligator BumRushDaShow Jan 2019 #12
They are not at all invasive. But the ecosystem can hold tons of them! GulfCoast66 Jan 2019 #50
IMHO when they come crawling in backyards and hopping in the pool BumRushDaShow Jan 2019 #52
Good point. GulfCoast66 Jan 2019 #55
Some of the plants are ok, but ... JustABozoOnThisBus Jan 2019 #17
taro is NOT native to hawaii. its invasive brought in by polynesian immigrants nt msongs Jan 2019 #20
We're invaded by stinkbugs, but there's NO WAY I'll eat them! FakeNoose Jan 2019 #23
I told my wife I was going to make her stink bug sandwiches Poiuyt Jan 2019 #24
Stinkbug smoothies with Kale. The new superfood! FSogol Jan 2019 #27
On the west coast the "stinkbugs" don't stink. So as a child I always wondered why the stinky name flibbitygiblets Jan 2019 #35
invasive versus non-native zipplewrath Jan 2019 #26
How does Kudzu taste? lunatica Jan 2019 #29
Can't be worse than kale or posion ivy. FSogol Jan 2019 #30
Can you eat poison ivy?! lunatica Jan 2019 #31
No. Mariana Jan 2019 #32
Kale gets such a bad rap! If you add coarse salt and "squish" it up a bit with your fingers flibbitygiblets Jan 2019 #37
I had kale for New Years! BumRushDaShow Jan 2019 #48
Kudzu is used in Japan spinbaby Jan 2019 #36
Kudzu is a good thickener like arrowroot mitch96 Jan 2019 #71
Does this count the neighbors cat? lame54 Jan 2019 #39
there are you tube vids on how to prep them DonCoquixote Jan 2019 #61

Wounded Bear

(58,440 posts)
1. It is pretty sad what humans have done to the Islands...
Wed Jan 9, 2019, 10:40 AM
Jan 2019

as well as to many other habitats around the globe.

From the various plants to the feral animals and released exotic pets, destruction of habitat is very often the fault of humans, which is usually the most 'invasive species' of all. We can't turn back the clock on human expansion very well, but perhaps there are some ways in which we can ameliorate and undo some of the damage.

FSogol

(45,363 posts)
4. The Snakeheads here in Northern VA didn't turn out to be a big problem since
Wed Jan 9, 2019, 10:55 AM
Jan 2019

the local Koreans like to catch and eat them.

malaise

(267,838 posts)
22. They're all over the Caribbean Sea as well
Wed Jan 9, 2019, 03:39 PM
Jan 2019

Many folks eat them these days. The environmentalists are suggesting that folks ear the lionfish and stop eating parrotfish since it's a reef fish.

mitch96

(13,821 posts)
6. Also Lionfish.. invasive and delicious
Wed Jan 9, 2019, 11:03 AM
Jan 2019

Watch out for the spines as they are poison. Cut off the spines and filet a nice white flaky meat. They have no natural predators in the Florida waters accept man.. If some way of catching these invasive fish economically it would be a win/win. .
Get rid of the preditor and have another delish-fish to eat..
m

BumRushDaShow

(127,329 posts)
7. I used to have 2 saltwater marine tanks about 20 years ago
Wed Jan 9, 2019, 11:39 AM
Jan 2019

and had a (baby) lionfish and (baby) snowflake eel in one and live coral, anenomes, a brittlestar, a couple sea urchins, cleaner shrimp, a cowrie (who I watched the cleaner shrimp "clean" if the cowrie pushed itself upright on its "foot" at night when all the lights were off...except for a red light that let me see them but since they don't see red, they think it's still "night" ), clownfish, damselfish, gobies, etc., in the other.

Needless to say that I woke up one morning to feed the lionfish and eel (who had shared the tank for a couple years) and found the lionfish was hovering near a corner at the very top of the tank. A closer look revealed it was a missing its tail while the eel was fat and happy in its hideout at the bottom of the tank with just its head sticking out. Both are beautiful fish but the eel has some nasty teeth and of course the lionfish has it's poisonous spines.



Nature finds a way.

BumRushDaShow

(127,329 posts)
57. The juvenile one I had in my marine tank
Wed Jan 9, 2019, 08:38 PM
Jan 2019

had about a 4" long body, 2" tail, and about 4" long spiney fins extended out on each side. But as mature adults, I believe they can grow to be 12" or more.

The main reason why I got one was because I was a Trekkie and Capt. jean-Luc Picard (in the Next Generation series) had one in his ready room (apparently named Livingston)!

Blue_true

(31,261 posts)
63. That would be a good sized fish at maturity.
Wed Jan 9, 2019, 09:35 PM
Jan 2019

GulfCoast says that they are good eating, in Florida that means they aren't long for this world. As soon as tactics are worked out to filet them without the spike getting people, they will start showing up everywhere.

When I was growing up Talapia was pretty much unknown here in Florida, now it's everywhere and there are state enforced limits on harvests.

BumRushDaShow

(127,329 posts)
64. There was a youtube video of how to prep them in a post in this thread
Wed Jan 9, 2019, 09:48 PM
Jan 2019

here - https://www.democraticunderground.com/100211646447#post61

There are actually 2 videos in that post but here is the one where you can see them being harvested and get an idea of the size -

GulfCoast66

(11,949 posts)
28. About the size of a small snapper.
Wed Jan 9, 2019, 05:07 PM
Jan 2019

They sell them for a decent price at Whole Foods. Being reef fish I think they taste better than snapper. They remind me of hog fish.

Haven’t caught one yet as I don’t fish far south but have the tools on the boat I would need to deal with the spines.

GulfCoast66

(11,949 posts)
41. Yep. Buy them if you see them.
Wed Jan 9, 2019, 07:43 PM
Jan 2019

You get a great meal and increase the demand on this invasive species. There is no bag limit so if the demand goes way up we can put a real dent in their population.

If we have proven anything in fish management it is that if there is money to be made a species can be devestated. In this rare case it is actually a good thing.

Blue_true

(31,261 posts)
43. Yes on all accounts.
Wed Jan 9, 2019, 07:50 PM
Jan 2019

We don't have a Whole Foods or even a good fish market where I live (sell the usual over fished offerings), but next time I visit my sister (her city has some), I will drop by the fish counter. Thanks,

mitch96

(13,821 posts)
49. Scuba divers in Miami have lionfish contests to see who can get the most for the day
Wed Jan 9, 2019, 08:08 PM
Jan 2019

Since they have no natural predators they just sit there while you gig 'em or use a spear. The problem is they go deep. One guy down here was working on a vacuum sucking device that was remote control (ROV?). Big round thing with a net at the end. Haven't heard much more than that. Whole foods by me sells them for 7-9 bucks a pound. When I asked why so much for a trash fish he said the cost was harvesting them. Other fish mongers were about 50¢ to a dollar less...
m

GulfCoast66

(11,949 posts)
53. That price mirrors what I have seen. On the bone.
Wed Jan 9, 2019, 08:14 PM
Jan 2019

Which is a good price for a delicious wild harvested fish. Of course the will never compete with catfish or talapia. But of course, I would rather pass on fish than eat farm raised catfish or any talapia!

BumRushDaShow

(127,329 posts)
60. "Since they have no natural predators they just sit there while you gig 'em"
Wed Jan 9, 2019, 08:47 PM
Jan 2019

They tend to be solitary and usually just sit on a rock or reef outcropping, so I can see how it would be easy to get them - just use a big net!

csziggy

(34,120 posts)
8. There used to be native parrots to Florida and the Southeast US
Wed Jan 9, 2019, 11:46 AM
Jan 2019

They are now extinct, so the invasive species are filling that niche.

The Carolina parakeet (Conuropsis carolinensis) or Carolina conure was a small green neotropical parrot with a bright yellow head, reddish orange face and pale beak native to the eastern, midwest and plains states of the United States and was the only indigenous parrot within its range, as well as one of only two parrots native to the United States (the other being the thick-billed parrot). It was found from southern New York and Wisconsin to Kentucky, Tennessee and the Gulf of Mexico, from the Atlantic seaboard to as far west as eastern Colorado. It lived in old-growth forests along rivers and in swamps.[2] It was called puzzi la née ("head of yellow&quot or pot pot chee by the Seminole and kelinky in Chickasaw.[3] Though formerly prevalent within its range, the bird had become rare by the middle of the 19th century. The last confirmed sighting in the wild was of the ludovicianus subspecies in 1910. The last known specimen perished in captivity at the Cincinnati Zoo in 1918[4] and the species was declared extinct in 1939.

<SNIP>
Reasons for extinction

The evidence is indicative that humans had at least a contributory role in the extinction of the Carolina parakeet, through a variety of means.[22] Chief was deforestation in the 18th and 19th centuries. Hunting played a significant role, both for decorative use of their colorful feathers, for example, adornment of women's hats, and for reduction of crop predation.[1] This was partially offset by the recognition of their value in controlling invasive cockleburs. Minor roles were played by capture for the pet trade and, it was hypothesized[by whom?], by the introduction for crop pollination of European honeybees that competed for nest sites.[citation needed]

A factor that exacerbated their decline to extinction was the flocking behavior that led them to return to the vicinity of dead and dying birds (e.g., birds downed by hunting), enabling wholesale slaughter.[23]

The final extinction of the species in the early years of the 20th century is somewhat of a mystery, as it happened so rapidly. Vigorous flocks with many juveniles and reproducing pairs were noted as late as 1896, and the birds were long-lived in captivity, but they had virtually disappeared by 1904. Sufficient nest sites remained intact, so deforestation was not the final cause. American ornithologist Noel F. Snyder[3] speculates that the most likely cause seems to be that the birds succumbed to poultry disease, although no recent or historical records exist of New World parrot populations being afflicted by domestic poultry diseases. The modern poultry scourge Newcastle disease was not detected until 1926 in Indonesia, and only a subacute form of it was reported in the United States in 1938.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carolina_parakeet

BumRushDaShow

(127,329 posts)
11. I remember reading about those years ago
Wed Jan 9, 2019, 11:58 AM
Jan 2019

If they were up and down the seaboard, I think some of the issues beyond deforestation was the rise of the industrial age (building the railroads and all the coal-burning steam locomotives), which meant more and more mines, leading to toxic water.

csziggy

(34,120 posts)
14. As said in the Wikipedia article no one really knows why they went extinct
Wed Jan 9, 2019, 12:30 PM
Jan 2019

One loss - the parrots used to spread cypress seeds beyond the swamps. Cypress do not need to grow in water, but without the parrots they cannot get their seeds out of the swamps to drier land so that is where the cypress now live. I don't know if any of the introduced parrots have taken over this part of the Carolina parrot niche, but it would be nice!

BumRushDaShow

(127,329 posts)
16. That would be interesting if there were a parrot
Wed Jan 9, 2019, 12:37 PM
Jan 2019

that competed and sought out those seeds in their diet, although there are some other birds that nest near water that help some.

GoCubsGo

(32,061 posts)
13. Florida is a huge invasive species nightmare.
Wed Jan 9, 2019, 12:23 PM
Jan 2019

It's not just parrots and pythons. It's iguanas, Nile monitor lizards, cane toads, and various other reptile and amphibian species, non-native doves and various other bird species, at least a couple dozen mammal invasives, including Capybaras and wild boars, and dozens of mainly tropical freshwater fish species. And, that's just the tip of the ice berg. There's no way of telling how many invasive insects and other invertebrates are there, because like everywhere else, nobody really fully knows what is native to their area. Invasive plant species number in the hundreds.

So much of this nightmare could have been prevented if people found homes for their unwanted pets, rather than letting them loose, and by planting native vegetation in their gardens, instead of imported plants.

GoCubsGo

(32,061 posts)
19. That's mostly feral pigs, which is another HUGE problem for the South, in general.
Wed Jan 9, 2019, 02:36 PM
Jan 2019

Including Florida. They're just decimating the natural areas throughout the region. The wild boars are imported Russian wild boar. Everything else is feral domestic pigs, whose ancestors escaped local farms, and they make up the vast majority of the "wild" pigs. The Russian boars were brought in and released for hunters who like to shoot exotic animals, and no doubt some of the pig problem in Texas is the Russian boars. Some asshole released several of them in the Clemson Forest here in SC, as well. They're an even bigger problem there than the feral pigs.

BumRushDaShow

(127,329 posts)
21. Yes they have a feral pig issue but I had checked before I posted
Wed Jan 9, 2019, 03:26 PM
Jan 2019

and saw that there were the boars running wild as well - https://money.cnn.com/2017/07/14/smallbusiness/wild-boar-business-texas/index.html

Of course another issue would be the armadillos in Texas (yes I am getting carried away ).

GulfCoast66

(11,949 posts)
42. Feral pigs and wild boars are pretty much the same.
Wed Jan 9, 2019, 07:48 PM
Jan 2019

Any domestic pig after a few generations in the wild change the way the look. Ironically, not many people eat the actual boars(makes) due to testosterone. But the sows, barrows and gilts are delicious.

We hunt them and have always called them collectively ‘boars’.

BumRushDaShow

(127,329 posts)
45. Isn't the boar a bit more hairy? (but I know the terms are used interchangeably)
Wed Jan 9, 2019, 08:00 PM
Jan 2019

As an aside, I know the little pot-bellied pigs are popular as pets. In fact we just had a sad local story here a couple days ago when a pot-bellied pig had been found bound and decapitated in a dog crate in one section of the city. They are talking about charging whoever did it with animal cruelty.

GulfCoast66

(11,949 posts)
47. Pretty much all pigs brought here started as domestic
Wed Jan 9, 2019, 08:06 PM
Jan 2019

There always the urban(or rural!) legends about people importing Russian wild boars, which have never been domesticated. And maybe there were some.

But after 3 generations in the wild a boar has no resemblance to its domestic counterparts. They get long, lean, hairy, have imposing tusks and are mean as hell.

It’s the only animal I will shoot and leave lay which I normally consider immoral. As invasive they need to be killed and you just flat can’t eat them. They stink and their meat taste foul. Supposedly they can be made edible but I have never had it.

X_Digger

(18,585 posts)
68. Epigenetics is a fascinating subject.
Thu Jan 10, 2019, 12:26 AM
Jan 2019

Genetically, they're all pigs, same genes in both. Which genes get expressed? Wow, what a difference.

 

wasupaloopa

(4,516 posts)
3. Coqui frogs are the worst on the Big Island. All night
Wed Jan 9, 2019, 10:49 AM
Jan 2019

long they make their sounds. Seemed to me like they were saying “Murphy”

BumRushDaShow

(127,329 posts)
9. Funny story but
Wed Jan 9, 2019, 11:49 AM
Jan 2019

a bunch of years ago, my sister, her hubby, and their youngest daughter went to Puerto Rico (she was there for a work-related training course and the rest of them came along). My little niece was probably about 3 or 4 at the time but the one thing she remembered from that trip was "Coqui" (same frog I expect) and associated that with "frog".

Puerto Rico seems to embrace all of their species of them!

flibbitygiblets

(7,220 posts)
34. YUP! I was there a few weeks ago. Coqui! Coqui! Coqui!
Wed Jan 9, 2019, 06:43 PM
Jan 2019

If I didn't know they were an "invasive species" I would have probably thought it was charming--I imagine the locals get used to it. The boars were really bad though--every morning we'd find another banana tree they trampled on the property we stayed at.

Mz Pip

(27,404 posts)
62. Earplugs
Wed Jan 9, 2019, 09:12 PM
Jan 2019

Some hotels on the big island provide earplugs. Didn’t help as much as I would have liked.

LAS14

(13,749 posts)
10. Isn't there a danger of their becoming desirable, and of resistance to other ways of eliminating
Wed Jan 9, 2019, 11:50 AM
Jan 2019

them?

BumRushDaShow

(127,329 posts)
12. You make me think of the whole issue of the alligator
Wed Jan 9, 2019, 12:05 PM
Jan 2019

I.e., where it was population-wise in the past, what happened to them when they were "overly desirable", what was done to alleviate them moving towards extinction, and of course now, despite being natives, how they recovered to the point where they have become almost invasive (like the white tail deer here in Philly)!

GulfCoast66

(11,949 posts)
50. They are not at all invasive. But the ecosystem can hold tons of them!
Wed Jan 9, 2019, 08:11 PM
Jan 2019

They eat anything and once over 10 feet or so have no predators. Once over 4 feet or so the only predator they have are bigger gators. We no longer relocate them in Florida and the pay of the folks who remove them is the value of the gator.

I have seen lakes when if you shine a light over it at night you see on every 100 feet! When I was a kid you could swim in those lakes. No more. At least not me!

GulfCoast66

(11,949 posts)
55. Good point.
Wed Jan 9, 2019, 08:35 PM
Jan 2019

I would not mind seeing a more liberal limit on their harvest. But I like having them around. Just not in the yard!!

JustABozoOnThisBus

(23,283 posts)
17. Some of the plants are ok, but ...
Wed Jan 9, 2019, 12:57 PM
Jan 2019

... I draw the line at eating cats, dogs, and rats. Unless they're prepared with pineapple sauce, in which case, bon apetit.

FakeNoose

(32,356 posts)
23. We're invaded by stinkbugs, but there's NO WAY I'll eat them!
Wed Jan 9, 2019, 03:46 PM
Jan 2019

I believe the stinkbugs came from China and got loose in Pennsylvania about 7 or 8 years ago. They were everywhere a few years ago, but they seem to like it better in the southern states where there's no winter. We still have them here but I don't see them as often now. They have no natural enemies here - the local birds won't touch them.

Poiuyt

(18,087 posts)
24. I told my wife I was going to make her stink bug sandwiches
Wed Jan 9, 2019, 03:58 PM
Jan 2019

She didn't think that was as funny as I did

flibbitygiblets

(7,220 posts)
35. On the west coast the "stinkbugs" don't stink. So as a child I always wondered why the stinky name
Wed Jan 9, 2019, 06:45 PM
Jan 2019

Apparently that is not the case elsewhere.

zipplewrath

(16,646 posts)
26. invasive versus non-native
Wed Jan 9, 2019, 04:23 PM
Jan 2019

It's probably important to distinguish between invasive and non-native. Invasive is really about species that end up in an environment where there have little to no natural predators. They tend to spread and multiply with little to cause limits or balance. These are the things that tend to "drive out" other species. This is especially common with various kinds of plants. And actually this can be a problem where they "drive out" other species, allowing some native ones to become invasive.

Non-native on the other hand can be rather innocuous. Frequently, especially with decorative plants, they don't do well, and may need to be constantly restocked. Humans can be considered "non-native" considering when one decides to draw the line, and invasive by the by. Horses "don't belong" on the North American Continent, but in fact were brought here by the Spanish. When the British and French show up and finally make it to the American South West, the land was filled with wild horses. Not sure they were "invasive" though. Alot of livestock is "non-native" but again needs to be maintained. Although goats and pigs tend to be like cats and dogs. Going "feral" can cause rather large collections of them.

Mariana

(14,849 posts)
32. No.
Wed Jan 9, 2019, 05:39 PM
Jan 2019

If you're allergic to it like most people are, a poison ivy salad would make you very sick indeed, when you get the rash in your mouth, throat, and digestive tract. Even if you're not allergic, you could develop sensitivity any time.

A few people eat tiny amounts to try to desensitize themselves.

flibbitygiblets

(7,220 posts)
37. Kale gets such a bad rap! If you add coarse salt and "squish" it up a bit with your fingers
Wed Jan 9, 2019, 06:51 PM
Jan 2019

(after cutting out the stems, which are the toughest and most bitter part). And/or toss with olive oil, salt/pepper and bake for a crunchy treat.

Kale salad, prepared correctly and tossed with lemon dressing, EVOO and perhaps some colatura, is excellent. I suspect most people who think they hate kale haven't tried it prepared optimally.

BumRushDaShow

(127,329 posts)
48. I had kale for New Years!
Wed Jan 9, 2019, 08:07 PM
Jan 2019

Delish! My Mom always preferred it so we used to have it growing up. And I did let the leaves soak in some cold water for a bit after rinsing, pulled the leaves off the stem, sliced them, and braised them in a little chicken broth with some red pepper flakes, onions, garlic, bacon pieces (and splash of apple cider vinegar).

mitch96

(13,821 posts)
71. Kudzu is a good thickener like arrowroot
Thu Jan 10, 2019, 11:28 AM
Jan 2019

It was brought over to the US to combat dust storms. Grows like crazy!!! Down here in the south it's all over the place.
I think it's funny that the stuff is like a weed but if you go to a specialty shop it's crazy expensive to buy the Japanese version of it...
I use it to thicken gravy and stock.
m

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