> Ease of raising would seem to make sense.. when I think of home (where I grew
> up) you couldn't pass a large pond without ducks on it .. for eating purposes
> though, I mean with that kind of farming, I almost don't want to think
about it
> given what some chicken farms do to chickens :(

They could I suppose do that with ducks, as well, bringing
the price of that poultry down a bit though not to the
level of chickens, which are more efficient muscle meat
producers. Good thing they don't - I'm willing to spend
that little extra to avoid the guilt of eating so many
battery-farmed products. No sense torturing something
before eating it.

> > That's fine, but remember to get a gutted one. At her
> > picnic xxcarol got a whole frozen one from the Asian
> > market that I had to remove the entrails of, for which
> > occasion, for some reason, none of the other participants
> > joined me in the kitchen. The good news is that I got an
> > intact liver and heart. I was not up for doing the
> > intestines, which in retrospect I should have cleaned
> > and cooked.
> So far, I haven't seen that in any ducks I've gotten at the asian store.. but
> I'll keep it in mind.

Not sure whether xxcarol got a bargain, didn't look, or
wanted me to have a challenge, but that's the way the
thing came. I let it thaw only partially and the guts
came out easily, my major concern being to cut away
enough around the butt to avoid contamination. The
good part was I got an intact liver and heart - and
could have used the intestines, if I'd had the energy
to clean them, which I mighta oughta done, though one
suspects there would have been only one consumer of
that particular offal.
 
> This year I planted two types of asian cabbage  Baby Pak Choy,  geez, another
> kind of asian cabbage, long stemmed.. I didn't plant the type you'd use for
> Kimchi this year.. anyway, I'll have to try to find a pic of it if I can't
> remember the name later... I also have Broccolli and brussel sprouts growing
> but those are not asian.. still good :)
>
There is a native Asian broccoli - it's very stemmy
and has a normal, i.e., small flowering head and
relatively big leaves. Bitterer than the European 
broccoli. I am unaware of any native Asian Brussels 
sprouts (anyway, that would be an oxymoron).
 
> > Now that I think of it, it's the lettuces that I
> > have the most disdain for. Pea shoots, sweet potato
> > leaves, pepper greens, all are fine; the B. rapa
> > as above (also some of the B. oleracea - anything
> > with "broc" in it).
> I love all those as well.  I have beets growing (mostly for the greens), sugar
> snap peas, parsley, basil, potatoes (didn't try sweet potatoes this year, ran
> out of room).

Pretty much anything whose flowers or fruits are
eaten as vegetables have edible leaves as well,
the notable exception being rhubarb (whose leaves
would be edible if you double boil them as the
French used to do before the food police, pardon,
police de l'alimentation, got to them).
 
> > Broccoli sauce is fine if you add enough garlic, which
> Yes, garlic and red pepper flakes.. and sometimes if I don't have fresh

Ah, how could I forget red pepper, who put it on,
well, more things than normal people do?

MMMMM----- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v7.07

      Title: Italian-Style Broccoli
 Categories: Italian, Vegetables
   Servings: 4 to 6

      2 lb Broccoli, broken into
           -florets
      1 tb Olive oil
      1    Clove garlic, minced or put
           -through press
      1 sm Dried hot red pepper,
           -crumbled
      2 tb Dry white wine

  Steam broccoli 10 minutes, or until tender and still bright green.
Refresh
  under cold water. Heat olive oil over medium heat and saute garlic and
res
  pepper 2 minutes.  Add broccoli and wine and saute, stirring, another 3
to
  5 minutes.  Serve. Source unrecorded

MMMMM