Knotweed

I think I'm going to specialize in knotweed. Forget dandelions. They're too much work. Knotweed is where it's at.

Some of you newer readers might be wondering, what the heck is knotweed?

Japanese knotweed is an invasive pest, if you ask anyone but me. It looks similar to bamboo, and grows just as fast. It's nearly impossible to get rid of and spreads like the plague. If you have anything nearby that fits this description, it's probably knotweed.

Oh, and it tastes like rhubarb.

I have a large patch out back of the house that is spreading. The nice thing about knotweed is that, because it's such a pest, I can use it liberally without any concern of killing it off.

This year was something of a test run on some of the knotweed products I want to start making. I have two 5-gallon buckets of knotweed wine brewing, and I took a whack at making knotweed jelly. With the leftover juice came knotweed syrup, turned into knotweed liquor. That one is still sort of a work in progress and I don't have the recipe for it quite nailed down yet. The wine will take some time before I know if the recipe "worked" but the jelly seems to be spot on already. Not that I can exactly take credit for it.

You're probably wondering what my point is here.

I've been dabbling in the kitchen again.

Knotweed wine, in the beginning. Yeasty & frothy.

Knotweed liquor? Sure, why not!?
I'll have a recipe once I figure out how to reproduce this.

Knotweed jelly is ridiculously easy to make. I was a bit nervous about making jelly for the first time, but actually felt a tad disappointed when it wasn't more difficult. THIS is actually the recipe I used, and is great if you don't mind loads of sugar. I do mind loads of sugar, however, so next time I will be experimenting with using stevia. This could be a disaster waiting to happen.

In any case, the sucrose-laden recipe worked, and is a tasty treat when I feel like stepping off the wagon at any time. Or will make nice gifts to my SAD-eating friends & family.

My first Knotweed Jelly. It's a pretty salmon color!

In other news:

I did a review of Tropical Traditions Omega-3 Greens and am doing a give-away. There's still time to enter for that!

I aced the semester and am thoroughly enjoying not being in classes right now.

Warrior Dash is less than 90 days away. I'm still raising money for St Jude. If you would like to donate, you can do so HERE.

I found a source for unpasteurized goat milk. Watch for more dairy recipes to come.

I'm dabbling in using the continuous brew method for kombucha. So far so good!

My fancy new (Walmart) kombucha jug!