Wild Pancakes!

Seed Stalks

Wild Pancakes!

  Yellow Dock and Curly Dock are two very common  plants on the East Coast of the USA. Both plants are Edible and Medicinal. In the early Spring when the leaves are young and tender they can be used as a potherb or as an addition to a salad.  Personally I don't like eating these Docks very much so I don't collect the leaves very often. I guess I think of them as a survival food.
   The seeds on the other hand are a different story. Normally the seeds aren't ready till later on in the season but I guess the very hot dry weather has affected them and the seeds are turning brown and crunchy already. To make sure they were dry I cut the seed stalks off the plant and laid them in the Sun for a couple of days. Once dry, I simply ran the stalks through my fingers over a large bowl to remove the seeds. The seeds develop in a covering that turns papery when dry. To remove this chafe, rub the seeds between the palms of your hand to dislodge the seeds and winnow the chafe away. I winnowed the seeds a bit but it was too windy today and I started to lose too much seed so I left the chafe on. The chafe is edible anyway and it adds alot more fiber and bulk. Once I picked out the big stuff, like leaves and branches, I ran the seeds through a coffee grinder to make dark brown flour.
  I mixed this flour with an equal amount of Organic Spelt flour; added baking powder, an egg, a few drops of Vanilla extract, a touch of Stevia and enough soy milk to make a pancake batter. I heated up the pan and made a bunch of pancakes for lunch! The batter and cakes reminded me of Buckwheat Pancakes, they were a dark brown in color and had the texture of whole grain pancakes.
  Though they weren't 100% wild, I still felt good going through the process of using these wild plants as part of my food source. Besides they were REALLY good!
Peace