A Heaping Helping of Hollyhock ...

The quintessential garden biennial

has long been silenced as an edible.

There are not a lot or recipes to be found for them.

But we do know that their leaves are

prepared like a spinach or chard, although

they don't taste like them.



The seed pods (shown here lower left)
are ready to plant when dry and brown.
Simply scatter where you wish to
see them year after year.



We know that their flowers can be tossed

into our salads.

Admittedly, with a tendency to be slimy.

For the leaves, we must create our own recipes

for these generous, yet humble

harbingers of nutrition.

Here is one that I found, however

we may use most anything that calls for

hearty greens.

6-8 large hollyhock leaves
1/2 red pepper
1/2 red onion
2 cloves garlic
pinch of ginger
soy sauce to taste
olive oil suitable for frying

Hollyhock leaves are a bit rough so pre-boil the hollyhock leaves in
small amount of water until they are somewhat tender. Then drain
and chop the hollyhock leaves.

Stir fry all of the above mentioned ingredients in olive oil (use
olive oil which is suitable for frying).

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We might also add the steamed leaves

to egg dishes like quiche and omelets.

Holly Hocks are a member of the mallow family,

which is a medicinal plant.



Apparently, the demulcent root, high in mucilage,

makes a wonderful cough syrup.

Personally, I'm not yet recommending this.