Purslane cucumber avocado yogurt gazpacho

As mentioned in my last post, my husband and I have a semi-wild, semi-cultivated space in our front yard that is covered in edible plants, both planted and wild. 

One of these plants that basically edges the entire length of the space is a favorite of mine--purslane! 

Purslane is one of the most nutritious wild plants that one can forage. It's a succulent native to North Africa and the Mediterranean, but has become either naturalized or invasive (depending on whom you talk to) in the southern United States. 

Purslane forms dense mats, becoming a succulent groundcover

Purslane has one of the highest concentrations of magnesium you can find in a plant, higher than spinach. It also has high levels of various anti-oxidants, calcium, sodium and Omega 3 fatty acids. It's actually one of the only terrestrial plants that has Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) fatty acid, most commonly found from animal sources. Generally vegan supplements use algae to provide this nutrient. However, purslane doesn't have enough of it to support your body's need all alone. It's just a fun fact!

Purslane also has high concentrations of oxalic acid, and so it shouldn't be eaten by those with liver or kidney disorders. 

I have a post all about purslane, including how to identify it, click here.

Personal story time

One of our many thriving basil plants 

Last Friday I had to undergo a total thyroidectomy. I am in recovery and doing extremely well. For example, I was given 7 days of double-dose  painkillers (omg!) but only ever took one pill at a time, and then only for 2 days. 

I've had to sponge bath since Friday though, and I am desperately looking forward to my first shower since the surgery. By the time this posts I expect I will finally have had one, I can shower again on Wednesday. My hair is a greasy mess, I can't seem to get it clean with a sponge bath. 

Anyway, I was told that I would need at least a week of cold, soft foods only, so the weekend before last I took some time to prepared a bunch of cold soups I could put in the freezer, and this gazpacho was one of them. Because I was freezing it, I didn't actually add the yogurt when I made it originally. Instead I mixed it in after defrosting. For this reason, my yogurt measurements might be a bit off. 

While mixing the soup, I was originally going to add cilantro, but tasting it as I was making it, I knew that was the wrong choice. I wondered out to the herb garden and decided that the freshness and subtle sweetness of Italian basil was required. 

Fortunately, the basil has been growing like mad this year. We have 6 very large, very full plants, despite making pesto every other weekend. 

Purslane, cucumber, yogurt & avocado gazpacho recipe

Serves 6-7 as a side or starter. Recipe can be halved

• 4-5 cups of roughly chopped purslane, about 1 large colander full
• 3 English cucumbers or 8 Persian cucumbers, roughly chopped
• 4 large avocados, just ripe or slightly underripe, skinned, seeded, and roughly chopped
• 1 medium lemon
• 8 medium fresh basil leaves
• 2 cups of water or unseasoned vegetable stock
• 1 clove of garlic, sliced
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 5 cups of yogurt

Horseweed, lavender and parmesan savory shortbread

Over the past few years, my husband and I have been trying to fill in some holes in the landscaping of our front yard. During the bad winters of 21 and 22 several very, very, very large bushes died, leaving a bare area of more than 20 feed wide and about 12 feet deep in front of the dining room window. 

We didn't want to refill the area with more non-native, water guzzling landscaping bushes, and have instead been trying to find shrubs and perennial plants that fit our very restrictive list:

• 

  Early flowerbud on my surviving lavender

  Native or easy to naturalize, but without the risk of becoming invasive
• Low water or true xeriscape
• Good for pollinators
• Edible or medicinal (or both!)
• Grows densely enough that I don't have to weed

So far we have a large mat of native-to-the-southwest blanket flower (Gaillardia) surrounding the ginkgo tree (which fortunately survived), an English lavender shrub that was supposed to be 6 plants but only one survived, a seedling Feijoa (Acca sellowiana) which I believed had died twice but came back stronger each time, and a native-hybrid "hot lips" sagebush (salvia microphylla) which seems to be trying so hard to die and I just won't let it. There were supposed to be 3 different sages with 3 different flavor profiles, but this is the only one which has (so far) survived. 

Given all the plant deaths, what has survived covers barely 1/10th of the available space. But on the plus side, the weeds that have popped up in the remaining area are all edible. The crown jewel of wild plants in the space must be the very large black nightshade, Solanum nigrum, which produces an insane amount of fruit, but must be cut back repeatedly or it will fully engulf the salvia. Also popping up are wild lettuce, Asiatic dayflower, purslane, and some other nightshades I can't quite identify yet, but I think might be groundcherries (Physalis).

An ancient understanding of herbs

There is a historical tradition in many parts of Italy, that when it comes to curing meats, like capicola, you want to season the meat using the same herbs plants that the pig itself has been eating. So while a generic capicola curing packet might contain thyme, juniper and fennel, the small, local batches that have been done the same way for centuries will use ONLY fennel from the region, only thyme from the hillsides where the animals roam, and only the local juniper berries that fall and are gobbled up by the pigs. 

Horseweed & lavender,
I actually added a bit more than this

The thought behind this is that when things grow together it is both flavorful and healthful to consume them together. 

Why do I bring this up?

Well, this is what inspired me to make this recipe. You see, I saw the horseweed growing so abundantly in and around the lavender that I couldn't help but wonder if the two would taste good together. And the combination is WONDERFUL!

Savory shortbread recipes have been trending for a while. Or maybe they are past trending, I tend to only become aware of trends by the time they have largely ceased to be trends any longer. But regardless, they often contain thyme and rosemary. I do like thyme in small amounts, but I really don't care for rosemary. So I was excited to try the idea of the recipe with other herbs I enjoy. 

Savory horseweed, lavender and parmesan shortbread recipe

Makes 25-30 shortbreads, depending on size. Can be doubled or tripled.

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 8 tbs / 4 oz / 1 stick of butter (I used grass-fed European butter)
• 4 oz parmesan cheese, grated*
• 1/2 cup finely chopped, freshly picked horseweed and lavender, about 3/4 cup un-chopped
• 2 medium navel oranges, juice and zest
• Pinch of kosher salt (omit if using salted butter)

*Don't buy pre-grated cheese here, it's worth it to grate your own--and very easy to do in a food processor. Pre-grated parmesan has cellulous added to keep it from sticking together, and that will really mess with the subtle flavors here. 

Images a bit out of order, from left to right: 
The butter softened and whipped, the finely chopped herbs, and the zested orange. 
All of this was done in the food processor.