It is spring in the Sonoran desert. The cacti are blooming . . .
Read the entire post here
Posts Tagged ‘Sonoran desert’
Desert Flowers
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged Acacia, anthcyanidins, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, Chilopsis, Cholla, flavanoids, flavanols, flavanones, flavones, Fouquieria, gathering, Local Foods, Mesquite, mucous membranes, Prickly Pear, proanthocyanidins, Sonoran desert, tannins on April 30, 2012| Leave a Comment »
Sonoran Desert – Our Home
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged habitat change, Sonoran desert on March 28, 2012| Leave a Comment »
What would happen if the Sonoran desert changed? Well, isn’t it always changing?
View full posting here:
http://desertortoisebotanicals.com/?p=548
Eat Mesquite!
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged cookbook, herbal medicine, Local Foods, Mesquite meal, Sonoran desert, wild foods on December 2, 2010| Leave a Comment »
Exciting news! The first authoritative cookbook on our native Mesquite has been launched from Tucson, AZ. In it you will find creative recipes to entice omnivores, vegans, sweet-tooths and wild food enthusiasts. From Sonoran Baklava and Mesquite Ice Cream to Southwest Mesquite Beef Stew and Lemon Ginger Mesquite Cupcakes, there’s a variety of flavors to explore.
Mesquite has been a food staple amongst the people of the Sonoran desert going back millennia. Today, there is an emergence of interest in reviving this abundant, local food resource. The Mesquite tree (Prosopis spp.) is native to much of the Southwest U.S. and is found natively down into South America. It flowers in the spring and begins to produce long pods in May which ripen in the intense dry heat of the Sonoran summer. The pods are naturally sweet and ready to eat right off the tree. The seeds are extremely hard and resist digestion even by large ruminants so the tree has spread over vast expanses of the Sonoran desert since the introduction of cattle grazing over 200 years ago. Everywhere you look, there’s Mesquite. Get to know the tree if you live in the Southwest and find some pods to gather next spring. Taste one. If it’s sweet then harvest up some bags and bring them to a local Mesquite milling event. For more information on Mesquite milling and where to purchase the newly released Eat Mesquite! cookbook, visit: http://www.desertharvesters.org/mesquite-in-the-kitchen/eat-mesquite-cookbook/
Below is an excerpt from Eat Mesquite:
“Mesquite, and its various parts, – leaves, pods, flowers, inner bark, thorns and sap, or chucata – is a simple and widely applied home remedy for a variety of ills. The pods, leaves or flowers can be used to make an excellent eyewash to treat inflamed conjunctiva, sore eyes, pink eye, etc. This medicine could be of great help to diabetics who frequently incur eye inflammation. The black sap, or choohoo viduj in O’Odham, can be used to heal cataracts. The leaves were a common medicine being chewed, and the juice swallowed, to help indigestion, or eaten fresh to help inhibit dysentery or diarrhea when necessary. A tea of the leaves was used to treat headache, stomachache and fever. The tea, held in the mouth, was used to lessen painful gums. An infusion of the bark was given to children to stop bedwetting. The Tohono O’Odham used the inner bark as a tea for indigestion as well as an emetic or cathartic, and it could be used as a food when necessary.”
Desert Tortoise Botanicals's Blog 