Poke Sallit

When I was talking about the collards I should have mentioned eating poke salad(sallit, as old folks pronounced it). You know what a poke berry weed is, has the red berries that birds like and it will stain everything. Sometimes comes up in a flower bed, grows wild beside the roads. In the spring folks would gather the young leaves of the poke salad (every part of the plant is poisonous) and cook them. The cooking water(pot likker) would have to be drained off several times so it wouldn't poison you. (My husband says if I ever cooked them (I haven't) that I'd lack one time in pouring off the water and kill him). They cook up sort of like spinach, a little slicky. I've seen my mother-in-law cook and eat them. I've never tried them, thank you very much