Lamb's Quarters

Life is rather busy these days, but fortunately for my sanity, I signed up for a 'medicine of wild plants' course through Wild Rose College of Natural Healing a year ago before wedding plans had been made. Which meant I got to spend the weekend before the big day working on my freckle collection in Nose Hill Park instead of in the mall. It was a wonderful way to refocus and soak up the goodness of the wilderness there, spending time getting to know the plants I had previously walked by without a second thought. If you take a course like this your life is changed forever... weeds will never be the same. Now instead of weeding I'll be making salad. I had tried lamb's quarters previously, and had been looking for them in shishi grocery stores.. but guess what, they are in my backyard. Ha! I have learned that they are a wild cousin to spinach and are 'one of the most nutritious wild foods you can eat'. So remind me why anyone would pay 5.99 for 128 g (that's a direct quote from a local grocer..) of week old greens from California? Now that I am paying attention to what grows nearby, I am interested in finding out what's what. The ALCLA Native Plants site has a catalogue of local plants with descriptions that has come in handy.