I have a similar book, but I’ve avoided the ones that talk about “boiling in three waters” and stuck to the ones which are palatable raw, like lambs quarters. Every spring, I look at the poke and wonder if this is the year I give it a try, but then I don’t.
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If you know for sure something is safe then maybe you can maybe attempt to grow some on your property so you can make sure it’s clean and healthy before you try it?
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Poke is a weed in this area, so it grows on the property. It’s the fact that when cattle eat the mature plant it makes them sick, that gives me pause. It strikes me as a plant that the pioneers ate because it’s the first thing to sprout in spring, not because it’s so tasty.
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Don’t boil brussels sprouts. Cut them in halves or quarters, douse them in lemon juice or red wine vinegar, salt, olive oil, and roast them. Maple syrup is good, too.
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Looks like a pain to use. After you drain it, what do you do with the veggies? You put them in yet another bowl to wash and probably get a steam burn doing so.
Also you can get pots with clamp on lids that have drain holes in them. Which further eliminates a thing to clean if you’re making mashed potatoes, boiled veggies, or anything else boiled like pasta.
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Or, get a metal colander which fits in your boiling pot.
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Pokeweed contains a potent toxin. Eating poke berries can quickly nastily kill you, and absorbing the sap through the palms of my hands caused them to go completely numb for almost an hour.
However, in early spring, you can make poke salad from the new sprouts, and it hardly ever kills anyone.
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My thought, too. Plus my steamer basket looks like it could be a li’l spaceship, when it’s folded up.
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That sounds like a glowing endorsement!
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Brussels Sprouts… and I prefer to bake mine 
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Lol @ this thread.
You have won the Internet for today.
The big downside to this thing is that in the end, you have boiled veggies.
While I still boil potatoes to be mashed, pretty much everything else I’ve found does a lot better either steamed or roasted. Just my taste though!
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Every second-hand shop has too many of these, anyone who is challenged by steaming veggies (?) should try it.
Take along the base pot/lid you already have and ask nicely if you can buy just the piece that fits.
This image from “aparagus lover” of which I am one.
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Colander?! I use my hands like a real man!
Okay, I actually use the lid to create enough room for water to escape, but veggies to stay in. I also steam my veggies, which means I have far less scalding water to deal with.
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I have one of these, but not a pot that it fits. I am sad.
Baked brussel sprouts? Why, who ever heard of such a thing? I must try it immediately!
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My spouse roasts Brussels sprouts with some olive oil and salt, Simple, and so good! this is the recipe, I am only the eater.
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My favorite thing to do is this:
- cut them in half lengthwise, put in bowl
- toss them with a glug of olive oil, and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and a little sugar. Yes – sugar. It helps them brown and caramelize.
- put on a cookie sheet coated with foil. Turn them flat-side down. Include all the spare leaves that came off when you cut them up.
- Roast in an oven until they’re brown and crispy, moving them around once or twice to get everything evenly roasted
- drizzle with balsamic vinegar (the good syrupy stuff).
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