Purslane for breakfast

Warning: This is an educational post!

When I woke up, I decided to cook up some eggs with chard and purslane. Then I threw in some rosemary and Italian parsley from my herb garden out back. I took one whiff of the finished product and decided I had to post. Then I took a bite and followed through.

The video above is a brief introduction to purslane, my new favorite plant. I'd forgotten about it, quite honestly, until I found it growing everywhere in my garden. I had a nagging suspicion I'd seen it (and eaten it) before, so I weeded around it and took some home for identification. Then I remembered: I once spent an afternoon replanting the little bugger all over a raised garden bed surrounding a British retiree's personal labyrinth.

Despite the memory, I'm a bit risk-averse, and found myself hesitant to munch on what I vaguely remembered as an old friend. I wanted to make sure I wasn't about to die eating a look-a-like. Luckily, purslane's evil twin is pretty easy to identify, since it oozes a toxic white goo out of its stems when broken (see video below).

 

Long story short, I had picked right. I threw some in my dinner a few days ago, and haven't looked back. I even gathered the purslane from around my garden and created an area just for it -- though I'm sure it will spread, I look forward to the takeover.

But this blog is about breakfast. So here is a traditional Mexican purslane-and-eggs recipe: Verdolago con Huevos. Enjoy!

Unholy sprouted quinoa

The cult of sprouts has sucked me back in. Multigrain hot cereal with sprouted quinoa, raw ("raw"?) almonds, and raisins. Cinnamon and brown sugar helped to make it palatable but digestion is going to be... brutal.

Bahhh

Today's mush.

Last night I soaked almonds and raisins to soften them for the morning. About five years ago, I soaked almonds for the first time. I left them outside my dorm window to dry. I woke to a garrulous murder of crows crowding the roof of the loggia. They returned every day for a long time, but were infinitely better than the rodent they preceded.