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VEGAN FEAST SUBSCRIBERS' COOKING AND RECIPE FORUM>
DEBBIE: how do you....
Bryanna
Owner/Moderator
1189 posts
Sep 26, 2005
12:02 PM
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harvest lemongrass? I have some planted outside and it's getting chilly at night, so i think I'd better dig it up. do you just dig up the whole plant? thanks!
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"To look like a goddess, eat like a peasant." Karen Andres
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Debbie
841 posts
Sep 26, 2005
1:49 PM
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Bryanna,
You have Lemongrass? Cool!
To harvest them, you have to wear long gloves (I usually wear the yellow plastic kitchen gloves for washing dishes). If you don't use gloves, the sharp grass will cut your hands. If you want to keep the plant (to stay alive), you just grab the stems and cut near the root with a sharp knife. New stems will come out from the cut places. But in your case, because of the cold weather, you will have to dig them all up from the roots. You will probably have to dig up the whole plant (it is a big job).
Then, cut the long green grass leaves off starting from the points where the leaves come out of the stem. Throw away the leaves and keep the stems. Cut the roots off the bottom. Wash the stems and remove several outer layers of the stems. I like to use the inside layers only (the most fragrant). The outer layers are also tough.
If you want to save the plant and replant it, don't cut the roots off and just stick the stem in a soil in a pot. I don't know if you can grow it in the house during winter in a pot(maybe in a green house). I have never done this since I don't have to remove my plan (the benefit of living in Calif. My plant just grow all year long.)
You can freeze the lemon grass. I usually grind them in a food processer and add oil to keep the blade running. Then, I put the ground mixture in ziplock baga or small containters in batches.
Harvesting lemongrass is a big job. Ask your husband to dig the plant up from underneath to loosen up the soil. Then, you can just pull the stems up. I usually get about 90 or more stems. We then give some to Au Lac Vietnamese veg restaurant and get a free meal for both of us in return.
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Debbie
Cooking is like love. It should be entered into with abandon or not at all. ~ Harriet Van Horne
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Bryanna
Owner/Moderator
1190 posts
Sep 27, 2005
9:12 AM
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Thanks, Debbie! I don't think I'll have very much, but it will be interesting!
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"To look like a goddess, eat like a peasant." Karen Andres
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cv
105 posts
Sep 29, 2005
7:17 AM
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Thanks for posting this, Debbie! Maybe I'll try growing some next spring. It's chilly here in Wisconsin but not as cold as where Bryanna is in Canada so it ought to work for me. I think I've sometimes seen it for sale at the farmers' markets here. Catherine
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Bryanna
Owner/Moderator
1195 posts
Sep 29, 2005
8:51 AM
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Catherine, I have the sad job of informing you that it is MUCH warmer where I live in the winter than it is in Wisconsin! We are just a few hours north of Seattle, in the "coastal rainforest". We seldom get any snow, and our winters tend to be rain, rain, rain. Northern BC is cold in the winter, but, down here, seriously, many people don't even own boots that would be any good in snow, teenagers are seen on the way to school in the winter with no coats on (teenagers preferring to be "cool" than warm, that is), nobody owns tire chains unless they go skiing.
When it snows here it is such a big deal that many people don't venture out at all (I hate driving in snow!). There are never enough snow plows, so everyone gets in a tizzy about it.
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"To look like a goddess, eat like a peasant." Karen Andres
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cv
108 posts
Sep 29, 2005
10:53 AM
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Goodness, Bryanna! I had no idea it was that warm where you are--you're so much further north than I am! Not being near a coast, I forgot that it warmed things up so much. If I ever manage to visit your neck of the woods, I'll be sure to leave my sled at home! Catherine
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