Category: The Kitchen

Herbs, Native Plants, The Kitchen

Quelite : Tequelite

Also known as P. maculosa : tequelite, tequelite macho (1), najashuio macho, juksasan, cunsasan grande, oreja de burro “donkey ear” (Coatepec, Altotonga, Coscomatepec.), cuantepeneni (Altotonga), cilantro de monte and cilantro macho (Coatepec, Xico) P.peltilimba : Nacastequilit, tequelite, tequelite hembra (1),Tequelite de panixkaka (Cuetzalan, Zoquiapan, Tuzamapan, Huehuetla and Tlalauquitepec, in the northern highlands of Puebla (Rodríguez & al., 2010) tepoquelite, cilantro de monte, cilantro cimarrón, cilantro … Continue reading Quelite : Tequelite

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Herbs, The Kitchen

Quelite Agrio : Other Sour Quelites

In my Post Xocoyoli : The Sour Quelite I mention one of my first plant memories involving what we colloquially know as sourgrass. This plant was a variety of Oxalis (Oxalis pes-caprae). This particular plant is indigenous to Southern Africa but has spread around the World. It is considered to be a weed of agricultural crops and the species can be quite difficult to control … Continue reading Quelite Agrio : Other Sour Quelites

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Herbs, Native Plants, The Kitchen

Xocoyoli : The Sour Quelite

As a child one of my first plant memories involves what we called “sour grass”. This is a plant in the Oxalis family (Oxalis pres-carpae) that has four leaf clover like leaves, bright yellow flowers and long juicy stems. The stems (or peduncles) would be chewed like a farmer chews a haystalk as we walked or played. It was often a challenge to see who … Continue reading Xocoyoli : The Sour Quelite

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Curanderismo, Herbs, Native Plants, The Kitchen

Estrella del Mar (Ulam Raja) : Cosmos caudatus

Cosmos caudatus Synonyms Common Names Sometimes called “Spanish needles” although this name is typically used for the (closely related) herb Bidens pilosa. Some Common Names in Asian countries Indonesia: kenikir (Java), randa midang (West Java). Philippines: cosmos (Tagalog), turay-turay (Bisaya), onwad (Ifugao). Thailand: daoruang-phama (Bangkok), khamhae (northern). Malaysia: ulam raja, hulam raja, pelampong. In Malay culture, the word “ulam” refers to certain plants found locally … Continue reading Estrella del Mar (Ulam Raja) : Cosmos caudatus

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Herbs, Native Plants, The Kitchen

Cempasuchil Confusion During Dia de Muertos.

It’s that time of year again. No! Not pumpkin spice season. Dia de Muertos season cabrones (pardon my Galician). This means it is cempoalxóchitl (1) season (2). I have Posted on this herb/flower previously (3). This previous Post discussed the edible and medicinal uses of cempasuchil (and supplies a few recipes too) My social media feeds of late have been filled with a lot of … Continue reading Cempasuchil Confusion During Dia de Muertos.

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Herbs, History, The Kitchen

Ixmiquilpan : Land of the Obsidian Arrow Quelite

Ixmiquilpan, equivalent to Nahuatl Itzmiquilpan, from itzmīquilitl (purslane/verdolagas) +‎ -pan (locative suffix), from Mezquital Otomi Nts’u̱tk’ani, from tsꞌu̱tkꞌǎni (purslane). Ixmiquilpan is a city and one of the 84 municipalities of Hidalgo. It is located in the central west part of the state of Hidalgo in central-eastern Mexico. The first ethnic group to settle in the Mezquital Valley in Hidalgo state were a group of Otomies … Continue reading Ixmiquilpan : Land of the Obsidian Arrow Quelite

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Curanderismo, Herbs, Native Plants, The Kitchen

Quelite : Piojito : Galinsoga parviflora

Researching this herb has been a joy. It has identified a plant I have seen (as a weed) and am now able to identify as a useful quelite. Research has also uncovered several related plants that also fall into the same categories as weed/quelite. This has expanded my knowledge both as a medical herbalist and as a chef. These are the plants I find the … Continue reading Quelite : Piojito : Galinsoga parviflora

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Curanderismo, The Kitchen

Medicinal Ash.

The tortilla is without a doubt a wonder food. It is produced from that quintessential of all Mexican grains maize (1). Maize is a highly nutritious plant (2) The figures below show the nutritional profile of nixtamalized corn tortillas (and some of their offspring such as totopos/corn chips) in comparison with that of white bread. The plain corn tortilla is nutritionally superior to white bread … Continue reading Medicinal Ash.

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