I've been experimenting with the various parts of thistles lately and I just couldn’t help myself--I had to take it a step further, having recently discovered the relationship between thistles and commercially-grown artichokes, which I love and miss from my years in California … [Read more...]
Sweet pickling succulents
Succulents are juicy plants that store water in their leaves, stems, and roots, an adaptation which helps them survive in arid climates or soil conditions. Aloe, agave, sedums and purslane are some examples. Although “dry” is not a word I’d use to describe the high country … [Read more...]
Elkslkip green curry
I love Thai curries, and it turns out elkslip or Western marsh marigold (Calthus leptosepala) is a good choice of vegetables for them, because the greens cook down so tender. I used an extremely spicy paste, so I mixed spoonfuls with coconut milk until it was to my liking—and it … [Read more...]
Crazy for cow parsnip
I gathered some cow parsnip a few days ago on June 15th. It’s still young in the high country (at 10,500 feet), so I just took a little—a few snips here and there of furled, unfurling, and newly unfurled woolly green leaves and petioles (leaf stalks), from a community of plants, … [Read more...]
Purslane Rescue Mission
We went to the east coast for two weeks in July, and my sister met me in Maine with a small bag of New Hampshire purslane—that low branching succulent that many gardeners throw in the yard trimmings without a second thought. I promptly boiled it up and served it with butter and … [Read more...]
