Granny, regarding ‘weeds’ I have a couple thoughts to share:
When I was a child, my brother and I collected dandelion leaves for mom, who would cook them in scrambled eggs. I’m not too fond of the bitter taste, but have read that it is very healthy.
Here on the high desert, ripe prickly pears will be in abundance at the end of this month. Prickly pear is becoming recognized as a very valuable fruit/vegetable/flower, especially for high cholesterol and diabetes.
When I worked at a resort restaurant, I would pick the ripe fruit for the chef, and he would make it into a juice for “Prickly ‘Rita’s” (Prickly Pear Margaritas). We sold literally thousands of those drinks.
But, one customer stood out: He and his wife came in for dinner, and they ordred a ‘Prickly ‘Rita’. He started to tell me an amazing story - one that brought tears to his eyes.
He had been told by his physician that his cholesterol was so high (I think he said near 600) that he may not inhabit earth for three more months. No medication could lower it as quickly as needed. The doc suggested he take prickly pear juice (not syrup) three times a day. Within six weeks, his cholesterol had dropped to just above the norm or acceptable range.
His eyes got all watery, as he told me this story, and I have no reason to doubt the veracity of his words. He said that because of Prickly Pear juice, he and his wife were given more time together.
Amazing, isn’t it?
http://www.mexgrocer.com/50048.html
Yorkie, I think that many of the simple cures will work, some better than the drugstore.
I don’t doubt that it helped, the indians used the flowers and fruits of the cactus plants for many things.
Some think the Ocotillo flower as a tea is healthy, and I think it must be, if for no other reason than the fact that it does not flower every year and something that God sends only after he has blessed it with rain, has to be good for you.....
If you had picked younger dandelion leaves they would not be so bitter, or even boiled for a minute and that will take the bitterness out.
One of my favorite greens is the common pigweed, steam it and a dash of butter and it is good.
There has been talk of the Prickly Pad cactus being used to balance folks with diabetes.
For years I read about eating wild foods, LOL, then moved to the desert and have very few of them.