Forager's Diary

This weekend was a banner one for foraging- early-ripening mulberries are plentiful, and I am keeping at least some of them from falling on, and staining, parked cars by greedily stuffing my mouth with them. Lamb's quarters plants grown in profusion in my neighborhood, and they are comparable in taste to Swiss chard (I merely parboiled some cuttings, then sauteed them with garlic and bacon). I have also located a nice patch of purslane, which I tend to consume raw, without accompaniment- it has a succulent texture, and a pleasantly sour flavor. Known as verdolagas in Spanish, purslane is prized in Mexican cuisine, often stewed with pork. Since it's a prolific weed, I forsee trying the verdolagas stew recipe... if I can prevent myself from scarfing down the purslane as soon as I wash it. Here's a link to a site with a vegetarian verdolagas recipe, with the added bonus of a song about la verdolaga.