Cream of Spiderwort Soup (makes about 7 cups)
This derivation of Asparagus Soup tastes about the same except the main ingredient is FREE! To retain green color, do NOT cover pot when cooking.

2 cans chicken broth, (plus enough water to make 5 cups, or any Homemade Stock (recipe below) will do.
1 tbsp butter
     Heat to boiling. Reduce heat and add
1 med. onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic
1/2 cup white wine (optional)
1 1/2 pounds tender Spiderwort stems & leaves (chopped in 1" pieces).
     Simmer 5-6 minutes, or until tender, then puree all in a blender or food processor til silky smooth. Return to pot.
1/2 cup half-and-half, or heavy cream (or any combination, or you can use milk)
Salt and pepper to taste. Canned stock can be salty already, so be sure to taste before adding salt.
     Heat thoroughly. Serve in warm bowls with spiderwort tips or chopped young leaves floating on top. Or chill and serve cold. Or, freeze for another time. Freezes well, so make a bunch.

Miss Jane's Recipe for Spiderwort: Ms. Jane's (left) favorite way to eat weeds is to incorporate them into her regular diet. She says "no big deal, just my normal routine, and I'm "86 proof" that when you identify and prepare them properly, weeds are as safe to eat as store-bought produce. And why not? I rarely go to a doctor, and am spending my "declining years" ascending to new heights! Cooked Spiderwort: I simmer stalks and tips down for 5 minutes in a bit of salted water, cool a bit, then sprinkle with lemon juice. No need to complicate matters with a dozen ingredients. I'm too busy with other projects now to devote an inordinate amount of time to cooking. I just eat, enjoy, and go on about my business." It's delicious raw, and you can also candy the flowers which serves as an enticement to children especially.

Candied Spiderwort Flowers: Wash the flowers, pat them dry, dip them in a scrambled egg white/water mixture, sprinkle liberally with superfine sugar on all surfaces, then let them dry thoroughly on wax paper dusted with confectionary sugar (so they won't stick). Store in a plastic container between sheets of wax paper (up to a month in the fridge, 6 months in the freezer), but they don't last that long because they get eaten quickly. You can candy rose petals, tulip petals, pansies, violets and many other flowers in the same way. You may have to experiment a bit to get them to come out right for you.

Homemade Stock: Just in case ya'll don't make your own stock, it's so easy and makes every dish taste so delicious, and is so economical, you really should do it. Just save the bones from every steak or turkey or chicken dinner (even deli-fried chicken), or shells from boiled shrimp, crabs, lobster or crawfish, pop them in a pot with enough water to cover, simmer about 10-15 minutes, strain, and freeze the liquid in butter tubs or ice cube trays. Use the stock in various dishes in place of water. Of course, you can throw in your carrot peelings, celery ends, onion skins and so forth. If you don't have enough scraps to bother with at one time, freeze them until you do. I routinely maintain a zip-lock "Stock Scraps" bag, because it pains me to think of throwing all that flavor away, not to mention the extra meat that comes off of bones after they've been boiled awhile. Equally satisfying to my natural tendency to thriftiness and conservation is that stock is utterly FREE.

Uses: Try "frying" eggs in 1/4 cup of seasoned stock instead of butter or bacon drippings and you'll enjoy a gourmet taste without a drop of fat.
Cook rice or pasta in stock instead of water, for additional flavor, using just enough so all the stock will be absorbed.
Add stock rather than water to any thing for boosted flavor. No further need for MSG as a flavor enhancer!

Decorating with Spiderwort
Spiderwort makes great cut flowers, with this cavaet I learned the hard way when I decorated for a dinner party with a huge crystal vase of flowering spiderwort. The bouquet was beautiful all afternoon, but by the time the guests arrived there were no flowers open and the greenery looked like I had stuck a bunch of grass in a fancy vase. It ended up being a good conversation piece, though! The next morning, to my surprise, a new round of buds had opened! Flowering can last for several days if you change the water daily.

Spiderwort Links
Follow these links for lots more info--botanical, identification, history, cultivation, medicinal uses. Your education will not be complete without this information, which is not included in my newsletter as I see no need to repeat what other experts have willingly offered and said so well.

BOTANICAL, HISTORY AND PHOTOS:
http://www.gpnc.org/spiderwo.htm
http://www.lib.ksu.edu/wildflower/spiderwort.html
http://www.se.gov.sk.ca/ecosystem/speciesatrisk/westernspiderwort.htm
http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/literatr/wildflwr/species/tradocci.htm
http://www.enature.com/html/guides/Common_Spiderwort.html

PROPAGATION, GROWTH HABITS
http://plantsdatabase.com/go/485/
http://msucares.com/news/print/sgnews/sg98/sg980910.htm

VARIETIES, CULTIVATION:
http://www.biosurvey.ou.edu/tradesc_oz.htm
http://savetheprairiesociety.org/Virtual/files/Spider.htm
http://www.easywildflowers.com/quality/tra.ohien.htm

MEDICINAL
http://www.schools.lth5.k12.il.us/bths-e/spider.html