Sounds good, thanks Dax.
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Bambooman,
I biught this one today from a Vietnamese grocery store. I like this Chinese variety. Our Indian grocery stores here do not sell the Chinese variety but the one similar to yours and a much smaller dark green variety.
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I chop those up into disks, and then ferment them. The taste is quite rough raw, but Fermented, it balances with sour and so I can eat them on top of my huge green salad. I eat them for health reasons, mostly, but like many things, once my body notices that they help me feel good, it says,“Hey, that’s not so bad. Eat more of that.”
John S
PDX OR
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I like them a lot for hot soup with pork.
Too bitter and unpleasant to eat them raw. Many of my friends, blanch them before using them as veggie with spicy dip.
The Chinese said, the bitter the veggies, the more medicinal property they contain. I honestly think my ancestors just fooling us to eat those things 
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bitter gourd leaves with mung beans on a soup base of sauteed garlic and onions, delicious!
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Don’t forget the fresh ginger. It actually is delicious. I let the bitter gourd leaves freeze on the plant and go to compost this year. If we run out and my wife wants some, there’s always the Asian market’s frozen section.
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Oh contrar. The medicinal properties of bitter melon are well documented and scientifically researched. I started eating it and feeding it to my parents after I researched it could help with my fathers diabetes. It is amazing at lowering blood sugar and keeping it lower though out the day. I used to do all the stages of reducing bitterness but these days I like it.
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Courtney,
Suffed with chopped pork (not pork chop ) is very common way to make bitter melon appetizing.
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I was only saying it tongue in cheek.
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Back while my wife was in grad school we had one her fellows over for thanksgiving. He was from china and I made that dish. It was the only person to ask for seconds, thirds and all the broth. Everyone else was polite about it 
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An uncle has a few hackberries in his yard, they taste like a raisin wrapped around a walmut if eaten whole…i always grab a few
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Ever try Salsify?A nickname is the Oyster plant,because of a faint taste like the shellfish.
They are related to the Parsnip and are in the Dandelion family and the root is eaten.
I like to slice them lengthwise and saute in butter. bb
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Salsify grows wild in my yard. Like Arthur lee Jacobsen, I eat a lot of the greens so as to not kill the root below. DIverse gut microbiome!
John S
PDX OR
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Earth pea
Grew some of these, small vetch like leafs . Small pink flowers with these small roots.
Tasted like soft wet wood , with dirt on it, and a slight sweet taste.
Also made some seed.
Not impressed.
Anyone else grow these ?
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You might try Emerald Carpet Raspberry on your embankment. Hardy, good for erosion control, and the fruit tastes good although it’s not a consistent fruiter from my understanding. I have some growing now for a season I hope it fruits next year. I tried the fruit in CA was excellent.
Thanks, GeorgiaGent, I’ll check into that.
TFN
Has anyone mentioned Houttuynia cordata yet? I’m a big fan. Perennial to zone 6-11. There really are two different types. The one I have is the fishy/cilantro scent. The one my neighbor has is the citrus scent. Here’s a great video about it. I highly recommend this channel as well.
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just to expend its hardy zone, it’s growing in Chicago, zone 5 as well
Oops. PFAF said zone 6. I just checked MOBOT. They say zone 4 so I’m guessing they’re probably correct.