On Saturday I stopped by my sister-in-law’s house, where I was persuaded to help weed her hillside of invasive nodding thistles (Carduus nutans). I didn’t mind because several days of rain have left the ground soft with moisture, and nodding thistle happens to be a good wild … [Read more...]
Japanese knotweed season
I’m breaking my fast this morning with stewed Japanese knotweed and peaches over Greek yogurt, topped with homemade granola. It’s a surprisingly nice combination—and beyond that, it’s very simple to make. I used last year’s harvest—which I had chopped and stewed with sugar and … [Read more...]
Best dandelion soup ever
Two years ago I was harvesting great quantities of dandelions greens from my back yard—which is located at 10,000 feet in Colorado’s high country—on April 7. Last year, we pushed our harvest back more than a month to May 22, when finally, after a wet rainy spell, the leaves … [Read more...]
Three pennycress mustard recipes
We are just back from the Midwest Wild Harvest Festival in Wisconsin, where I had the honor of presenting for the first time. One of my workshops was on wild mustards— specifically, I invited participants to join me in making three mustard condiments from the seeds of field … [Read more...]
Forgotten rhubarb of the Old West
I love my Old West town for many reasons, and one of them is rhubarb (Rheum spp.). It is one of the few food plants that can be cultivated here up high where I live, due to our extremely short growing season and cold nights. I’m hardly the first to discover this, for the rhubarb … [Read more...]
