Loquat Season

...of these trees live in public spaces, the parkway and people’s front yards making them prime candidates for urban foraging i.e. free food. The tree itself has a vaguely tropical appearance with waxy leaves that look like the sort of plastic foliage that used to grace dentist office lobbies back in the 1960s. In short it’s a real tree that looks fake with fruit that nobody seems to care about. The loquat tree invites considerable derision from east...

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L’hamd markad – Preserved Salted Lemons

...week by mooching some lemons off of a friend’s tree and preserving them by making one of the essential ingredients of Moroccan food, L’hamd markad or preserved salted lemons. L’hamd markad is easy to make. Here’s a recipe from Cooking at the Kasbah by Kitty Morse: 12 or more unblemished organically grown Meyer or other lemons, scrubbed Sea salt fresh lemon juice as needed Pat lemons dry. Cut a thin dime-sized piece from both ends of each lemon. Se...

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An Echo Park Weed Salad

...that many of these weeds are not only edible, but tasty, in a lecture and food foraging walk she led that was sponsored by the innovative art space Machine Project. Gathered on the walk were wild mustard, mallow, shepherd’s purse, dandelions, oxalis, prickly lettuce, lamb’s quarters and a lemon and orange found overhanging the sidewalk, all of which made for a large and delicious salad. A highlight was a front yard overflowing with lemony oxalis...

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Climate Change and Personal Responsibility

...Life on the Planet Permanently vs. Riding the Bus (or committing to local food or flying less or setting your thermostat low or buying used clothing or whatever equally scary measure you’d like to propose) It really doesn’t seem like such a hard choice to make. It may indeed be politically unfeasible. I’ve long stopped looking to the national level for meaningful action or leadership. But we can do a lot on a personal level. We can start a people...

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Saturday Linkages: Cheapskates and Controversy!

What happens when you Instagram airline food. Photo by John Walton. Cheapskates Three Friends Make An Attempt to ‘Live Below the Line’ http://thebillfold.com/2013/05/three-friends-make-an-attempt-to-live-below-the-line/ … How to make a cake pan banjo: http://boingboing.net/2013/05/10/how-to-make-a-cake-pan-banjo-u.html … Controversy Is Michael Pollan a sexist pig? http://www.salon.com/2013/04/28/is_michael_pollan_a_sexist_pig/ … In Defense of Mic...

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