Purslane is delicious.

Around here (SW Idaho) there's no reason to grow it. It is available and abundant growing naturalized in sandy soil.

Its featured in authentic Mexican cuisine.


http://www.plant.photos.net/index.php?title=Purslane

[font color="navy" face="Verdana"]There's virtually no dirt in the city where I live and my "garden" is a fenced-in, paved driveway, so everything is in containers.

I'll have to investigate its use in Mexican food! Thanks!

Didn't eat it until a friend's son-in-law from Guatamala came to see my garden and was excited to see it growing there. He said his mother used it all the tiime back home while he was growing up. Sometimes we weed out some of the best foods growing in our garden spaces. Give it a try, it is a common food in Guatamala, so won't hurt you to see if you like it. Good thing you container garden thought, as it grows like a weed!

[font color="navy" face="Verdana"]This is why I'm interested in edible weeds. If "regular" crops failed or became prohibitively expensive for any reason, cultivating weeds for food would be an important backup.

I've read that golden purslane is the tastiest and that it's sweeter if harvested in the afternoon, so that's where I'm headed.

Thanks!

Is it cooked? If so, how? Is it used at a minor ingredient in foods, or as the main serving? Purslane is growing from every crack and crevice around here.

I basically use it as a spinach substitute. Now I am going to try some of the receipts in the link. Hope you enjoy it. It is a good spinach supbstite and easier to grow (just keep it beat back so it doesn't take over!)

or plan to grow it. It is a perennial pest for me---I will have plenty without any effort at all.

I love this kind of gardening!

Let me know if you find any other intersting "weeds". We used to eat the poke (spelling?) that grew out by our garage at our first house. Neighbors thought we were strange

Don't forget about it, especially right now, before they flower---the leaves are not bitter when they are new, but can be nasty if they are old. But if you are starving, even bitter will not hurt you. And you can eat the flowers too, but remove the stem and calyx. I mix half and half leaf lettuce and young dandelion greens for salads.

Also, garlic mustard. And lamb's quarters.

Except for wild mushrooms, these are probably the only ones I use.

There are a number of edible plants and flowers (the flowers are so pretty in salads). And of course, the internet has make it so much easier for us to find them and recipes. Yum.

Actually, I have two similar plants. One has thick leaves like a succulent. The other is a weed that grows along the ground. Both have pink flowers.