CSA Update: My New Friend Purslane
Meet my little friend Purslane. Not much to look at, but darn tasty and apparently quite the little power hitter. Loaded with Omega-3s. I will say my new friend, although good for me, is a tad high maintenance. It took me about 20 minutes just to pluck the leaves off. It took the boys about 20 seconds to devour the harvest. But they LOVED them. (Yes…they defy then laws of toddlerdom each and every day with their veggie freakitude, but they’re my little freaks.)
Also included this week:
Red Gold Potatoes…creamy and delicious, chives, carrots, cucumbers, 1 lone tomato, more, yes more zucchini, an eggplant, mystery peppers, a big bag of apricots and one bag of peaches
*The positive…besides meeting a new little green friend, is that this is the first week I can remember in the history of the world that we ate entirely local fruit. Up until now we have been getting a few pints of berries that are lucky if they see the inside of our fridge, let alone feed us for the week. I have had to ration the fruit to 4 pieces a day per kid to make it last the week, but it looks like we have had our first local/seaonal fruit week. Taaadaaaaaa.
* The negative…can’t say the same for veggies. Potatoes…delicious but a starch. Eggplant same deal. Zucchini goes straight to freezer. Carrots and cucumbers go in the snack category. Chives…garnish/enhancer. Tomato…baby is allergic and big brother won’t eat as an act of solidarity. That leaves me with the green peppers which may be hot or sweet. I will definitely eat everything that came but will need to supplement the green zone. Oh…wait..I still have swiss chard from last week. Won’t the kids be thrilled.
easy recipe for swiss chard- boil leaves for 3 min. then drain. Melt a little butter in a saute pan, add chard (squeeze it out before adding). Add some kosher salt, pepper, and 1/4 cup of chicken broth. Saute until liquid evaporates. For the grown-up version, add some red pepper flakes. It was pretty tasty!
I have been meaning to make the swiss chard chips you mentioned but it has just been so muggy here. The oven and mugginess – not a good combo.
Hey, that’s what’s popping up in my lawn! I know one weed that’s getting eaten today…
Thanks for confirming purslane’s ID! I have it growing all over in my garden; now I can pretend I grew it on purpose!
CT & Heather…please check with someone who has a wee bit more knowledge than me and my little picture. I don’t want anyone growing horns or anything on my account.
Are the leaves really tender? Can you grip the stem and firmly pull down the leaves instead of plucking the leaves individually.
I think you’re brilliant and you’d be proud of my G-rated rhyming skills. You can sing it as a lullaby.
Thanks Beany! You made my day. As far as the purslane, not sure. But if I get another bundle, I will try that method. Otherwise I will make it a “game” for the wee ones. Suckers.
THAT’S PURSLANE? Gadz it’s an invasive weed in my garden. Now, I’ll have to start eating it after pulling it….ahhh.
I have read before that Purslane can be eaten. Only the leaves? How do you prepare it? Its also an invasive weed in my garden. I will gladly eat it when I am sure how to
This is what my farmer wrote about purslane. http://www.goldenearthworm.com/newsletter.htm
The stems were pretty thick so I just plucked the leaves, but maybe you could probably chop the tops up too. I think it is just a texture thing, since it is eaten raw…not a poisonous thing.
Hi, it’s my first visit to your blog.
I recently discovered purslane as well, also through my CSA. When the farmer told us what was in that week’s shares and showed us a piece of purslane I smacked my forehead as I realized that it was the same plant that I’d been ripping from the garden and throwing in the compost for years. No more. The good news is that with all of the purslane seeds in my compost I’ll likely have a good supply for years to come now that I’ve learned to just let it grow.
By the way, you can eat the stems too.
One other thing, in my search for more information about purslane, I found that there is another weed that grows in similar conditions and looks similar, but has a thin, wiry stem (I’ve forgotten its name). It also oozes milky sap when cut. Don’t eat it. It’s not purslane. Look for purslane’s thick stems.
Welcome. Thanks for the info. That was my fear…that there is an evil lookalike weed.
Me again. I recently found my original source on information on purslane at http://www.wildmanstevebrill.com/ It’s an interesting website.
Anyway, here’s a quote from that website. “Beware of spurge, a different-looking poisonous creeping wild plant that sometimes grows near purslane. The stem is wiry, not thick, and it gives off a white, milky sap when you break it. If you’re very careless, you may put some in your bag along with purslane, because they sometimes grow together on lawns, gardens, and meadows.”
I have found spurge in my yard as well and it’s fairly easy to tell the difference.