Welcome to Savor the Southwest website!
We are a diverse group of individuals and we write about all manner of ways to savor the products of the Southwest.
Our full motto is:
Food – Forage – Fun.
Appreciating, nurturing, and using the products of the Southwest in a sustainable fashion.
We forage and harvest in a sustainable fashion and encourage you do the same.We have a number of topics and writers – more under our “About Us” page – but here are the Cliff Notes:
The Savorists
Would like to have chickens or a hive of bees making honey for you? Savorist Monica King writes about it, reviews books, has some YouTube videos, and offers live classes.
To learn more about growing plants to feed your livestock or yourself – Savorist Jacqueline Soule has got you covered here and on Gardening With Soule. Her motto is “helping you succeed with your desert gardening goals.”
Like to cook with fire? Savorist Uncle Smokey has got you covered! He uses a gas grill, a charchol grill, a wood grill, a camp fire, cast iron Dutch oven, and an old-fashioned wood smoker. He is also our resident “meat-itarian,” and shares many tasty meat dishes. 
Some things are too detailed for a simple blog post – so we offer classes. Here’s a chance to learn useful homesteading skills – like making your own herbal lotion.
Our Promise: 100 Percent Organic Content
You will NEVER get AI generated anything from us. We do not even use AI to generate ideas for our stories. All ideas and all words are from our own brains and our own fingers. We DO fact check. In fact, we now fact check at least three times – because “truth is the intersection of three lies.” We have found profound inaccuracies in AI. And since we block AI from reading our pages, they are not learning from our writing.
100 percent organic content in our social media as well. Our YouTube videos and Jacqueline’s Tiktok videos are entirely generated by ourselves. On the static social media (Facebook) we may occasionally have an AI image off a free site – but never on purpose.
More About Savor the Southwest
About Our Food
Some of us have food sensitivities, plus some downright allergies! This just means that we often offer gluten-free options, plus many suggestions for substitutions.
Much of our cooking is not the traditional Southwestern-style. Two of our writers believe it shouldn’t hurt to eat. That said – we include ways to use chilitepin (the hottest pepper there is and native to Sonoran Desert canyons)!
We Believe in Science
Articles are researched and where possible, links to latest health information is included.
Please sign up for our email newsletter so you can get recipes, tips, and cool information about living lightly on this earth, and on the Southwest desert land.
Do You Have to Know How to Cook?
NO!
Do You Have to Want to Learn How to Cook?
Maybe not.
A great deal of what we do is not “cooking” in the sense of spending hours in the kitchen, making massive 7 course meals. We are busy people.
We have a number of quick to make filling and nutritious meals.
Uncle Smokey – and the rest of us – are not all that fond of washing dishes.
Thus we have a number of one pot meals. If you live alone and really want to avoid dishes – you can eat these tight out of the pot.
Quick Meals are Not the Same as Instant Meals
Taking some time to make a tasty meal, and then sitting and taking the time to savor that tasty meal – many people today have not learned how to do this (many but not all – don’t start trolling us). And I say learned – because it is not the instant gratification which most folks today seem to want. Some need to learn to slow down and enjoy the moment.
Yes. Learn to take time and to savor the moment. Yes, even cutting onions. My Dad’s father was the designated onion cutter in Grandmas kitchen because, as he said, “It helps clear the … sinuses.” (Actually he would say “snot locker” and pull out his handkerchief to help finish clearing the locker). When I cut onions I think of them in their kitchen. Not everyone has family memories of cooking. Point is – time to start some!
Learn to Make Real Food
The point is we hope to help you learn to make real food – none of that “I opened a can of XYZ brand of refried beans.” Although that is a better option than “I went to XYZ fast food place and forked over a ton of money.”
Learn to Eat Local
The Southwest is a land that has a wealth of food available. As Dr. Soule shared in her post about Father Kino, in the late 1600’s this was a land that supported large tribal groups. One estimate says tens of thousands.
Mind you, the Southwest could not feed the eight or nine million people currently here without trucked in food supplies. If you really want to live green and eat local, you should consider growing and using the native Southwestern plants we discuss in our posts on foraging. If not for your entire diet – at least for a portion of it.
Books & Products
We offer books and products that we write or make ourselves.
Social Media
Food you grow and harvest, or foraging and using the products of the desert and landscape around us – come on over to the Savor the Southwest Facebook page for short posts.
For the folks that like videos, we have a ton over on our YouTube channel.
Be sure to sign up for our Savor the Southwest newsletter (on Substack) and get the latest information about course offerings and more as we unroll them.
Do you want to teach classes yourself?
Jacqueline says – “I tried two class sites and almost gave up. Third time WAS the charm! I am so glad I found NewZenler! They make everything easy with simple to follow videos explaining every step of the way. Best of all – they are there if you need them with a responsive tech support. But wait – there’s more! They offer numerous fantastic “Bootcamps” and “Challenges” where you can get started on the different components of building a course, or marketing it – or learning to make YouTube videos!”
Here’s a link to check them out: NewZenler
If starting a class site all on your own seems too daunting – please Contact Us, and Jacqueline will talk to you about possibly offering a starter class on our site. We like to help people succeed with their goals.
History
There have been various iterations of this site. History page for more information.
Disclaimer
The authors of this website have researched the edibility of the materials we discuss. However, humans vary in their ability to tolerate different foods, drinks, and herbs. Individuals consuming flowers, plants, animals, or derivatives mentioned on this site do so entirely at their own risk. The authors on this site cannot be held responsible for any adverse reaction. In case of doubt please consult your medical practitioner.