Wild Nettle Soup (vegan)

Welcoming springtime also means the onset of weed season. While many reach for their choice of mass plant destruction (with herbicides being of greatest concern), there are gentler and more sustainable ways to manage the green overgrowth in our yards and public spaces. Many of our wild plants that find their way into our gardens…

Pickled Purslane

I love it that people call me up and invite me to inspect their overgrown yards to search for lunch! There's always SOMETHING edible growing... even through the crevices of the sidewalks. Here was a yard full of some of the most succulent and dense purslane and dandelion that I've seen in a while. In…

Toyon Berries: A sign of the season

I've been fascinated by this little berry for a few years now. Toyon (Heteromeles arbutifolia) is a California native shrub in the rose family that bears fruit during the winter months, most notably around Christmas time. They were used by the native Chumash tribes as food, but after a bit of research, I have not…

Winter Health: Natural Support for a Healthy Immune System

It's getting to be that time of year when its more likely to catch the common cold or the flu virus. Why is that? With the change of seasons and the quickly approaching holidays, family expectations and never ending to-do lists, we become more susceptible to illnesses as we burn the candle at both ends,…