"The best way to control bamboo is to eat it."

~David Fairchild, American Botanist and plant explorer 

In order to distract myself from my foul mood and temper, I decided yesterday that I was going to go with the flow. It was overcast and cool and I needed a day of nothing. It was urgent that I do so.

I sent the kids out into the yard to kick over bamboo shoots like I do every time this year. There is a huge stand of it in our neighbor's yard but every year it sends out more roots and shoots. They are impossible to destroy. The incredible growing grass was planted by the previous owners and now they are gone and know not what they did.  Every spring bamboo shoots emerge on our side of the fence. They grow with amazing speed, sometimes several inches in a day.  If we were to move out of our home there is no doubt in my mind that the bamboo and honeysuckle would take over the house in short order. Not only would these invasive plants bust through the foundation and cover the roof but I reckon Percy, the groundhog, and all the little songbirds would move in. It would be a lovely little ruin.

Each year as we kick over the shoots I tell the kids that you can eat bamboo shoots. Indeed, one of our neighbors used to come over and collect the shoots to cook in his outdoor kitchen. They have since moved from the neighborhood, but I was always fascinated by Fred because he could find Chanterelle mushrooms growing on stumps in the alley and make a gourmet meal in his backyard without heating up the house. He was a mountain man.

I'm an amateur mountain woman , except I fancy I'd live near the shore....

I've always been very interested in identifying plants and wildlife. Bugs , like the fluffy centipede crawling on the wall of the pizza shop on Friday, get me giddy. Finding a Ladyslipper is cause for celebration, and being able to make a meal from foraged plants is something I aspire to. So, when Ane said, "Let's cook the bamboo," I decided to go with the flow.

She collected a few shoots and I peeled all of the tough outer leaves off until I found the soft yellow/white center. I chopped it and boiled it for 20 minutes. I read that boiling it takes out the bitter. Then I made a bamboo gratin with milk a little butter and flour, garlic and bread crumbs. It was very tasty and Ane (4 years old) had three servings for dinner: little Panda Boo.

This week I will make a bamboo slaw with sesame and ginger dressing. 

Meanwhile, I'll try to cast off this foul and angry mood that April has bestowed upon me and try to make sense of it all through creative cooking and foraging.