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Step 1
Open up the leaves in early spring to reveal the shoots. Once the fibrous green are peeled away, the white meat is visible. It can be eaten fresh of steamed. You can dice it or slice it to add to salads, too.
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Step 2
Scrape the slime from those shoots onto a cookie sheet and let it dry in the sunshine. This starchy substance is a good soup thickener and can be stored in its dry form for a long time.
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Step 3
Later in the year, when the flowering stalk grows, you can steam the green male flowering tip and eat it. It's been recommended that you dip it in butter, because it can be rather dry.
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Step 4
After the pollen develops, you can shake it off and add it to flour to make pancakes, muffins, cookies or other baked goods. The pollen can be encapsulated and taken as a supplement, similar to the popular bee pollen energy pills hat are popular.
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Step 5
After the flowers have gone to seed, parch the fluffy stuff so that the seeds get nice and toasted. Sprinkle them on salads or eat by the hand as a tasty toasted nutty snack.
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Step 6
Dig up the root masses in the winter and scrub them clean. Smash them into a pulp and soak in water to extract the starch for a high energy soup thickener.
