Living off the fat of the land: backyard foraging in Truth or Consequences.

My duties here include petting the gardens and soaking the cats. So far I can't report good results.

 

You can see by the little notch on Mao's right ear that she was a community cat once. She has renounced that risky and lonely lifestyle in favor of living in the lap.

 

I'm also petting a neighbor's garden while she's away. Plants around here are looking kind of wilty; someone should water them.

Two things that grow like weeds here in the desert are two desert weeds:

This little pigweed went to - oh, it's too gruesome. I can't say it.

Purslane claims to be the best terrestrial source of omega-3 fatty acids. Very nutritious, and did I mention invasive? A nutritious vegetable that needs no help and refuses to die? Occupy me anytime, purslane.

Chenopodium giganteum, post-mortem

This guy is call Tree spinach, or Magenta spreen, or giant lambsquarters. I call it just in time for dinner with beans. This stuff grows in forests here, and is also considered invasive. Plant your own invasive garden! Or read about it.

Both of these veggies, like spinach, have some oxalate (oxalic acid). If you make oxalate stones like crazy, maybe choose another veggie and drink some water.

The pictures you see above turned into a giant green smoothie with soy milk, flaxseed, blueberries and bananas. Kitchens can be fun!

This morning I hung a load of laundry on the line. Ah, homely pleasures. 

I'll get on the road soon enough, but for now, I'm enjoying the borrowed pleasures of someone else's home and feeling pretty good about it.

 

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Thanks for buying your stuff here!