Forage the poreleaf flowers starting to bloom now in the sandy areas of the Sonoran Desert. You can use the leaves too, but our native species is slender poreleaf – meaning they are fairly slight! There are many other things you can forage in this […]
Category: Herbs
Turmeric
The Great Columbian Interchange brought turmeric to our shores, and it is now found in a number of Southwest dishes, including to give a lovely golden color to Christmas tamales. We just were gifted some of these tasty golden tamales – bringing this handy spice […]
Vegan Pesto – and A Tale of Two Pestos
Traditional Pesto & Pesto for Vegans Summer time is basil time in the Southwest. As the nights stay warm, the sun shines for hours on end and the soil temperatures rise – all these are conditions that basil loves to grow in, and here are […]
Desert Broom – A Useful Plant
Desert broom is a Southwestern plant with many uses. Yes, you can use it to make brooms, but also as a lovely dye plant, a pollinator plant, a bank stabilizer, and it has been traditionally used as a medicinal plant. Overview Desert broom (Baccharis species, […]
Creosote – A Fragrant Native Herb
Creosote is a remarkable herb for your herb garden! Low-water, lovely, and highly useful, this unique desert shrub rewards any extra water you give it by adorning its branches with masses of vivid yellow, star-shaped flowers. These flowers are replaced by charming fuzzy gray seed […]
Chicken with Lemon Pepper Mexican Oregano Sauce
Uncle Smokey here with an indoors recipe – because it is too hot out at dinnertime to use the grill. I use fresh and dried herbs plus lemon harvested from my own acre, but you can use store bought. Local Products Peppergrass is one of […]
Oregano – An Herb to Savor in Many Ways
Oregano is a wonderful herb, with many uses – culinary, medicinal, ornamental, and aesthetic. Not to mention it’s also a good pollinator plant, plus the javelina and rabbits leave it alone. Oregano Origins From the arid mountains of the eastern Mediterranean, including present day Greece […]
Dry Herbs Easily
It is ideal to harvest your herbs for drying when they are the most flavorful. Here are a number of ways to dry your herbs. Also check out our YouTube channel – we now have a herb drying video up! Harvest Herbs For most leafy […]