smile. But JT’s most distinguishing characteristic is his genuine curiosity. He recently traveled to Guanajuato, Mexico, to visit his ancestors’ tierra, and to Quintana Roo, Mexico, to study traditional recipes with Maya elders. He returned wholeheartedly inspired and ready to forage. As we wander through the pinyon juniper woodland, JT and the other instructors point out edible plants. At the moment, students are looking at wild Brassicas—desert plume specifically. We’re learning to identify plants by family, much like Deborah Madison taught in her cookbook Vegetable Literacy. By learning botanical families, home cooks can recognize a plant, associate it with herbs or vegetables from the same family and feel confident about how to prepare it or pair it with other ingredients. The Brassica family, also known as crucifers, grows wild across North America so this is a handy one to know. Four petals. Alternate leaves. Often yellow. Edible. JT gives advice on how to harvest and eat wild foods. For raw greens, we should “harvest all plants at a young, sweet and tender stage” to avoid bitter flavors or woody textures. Still, our palates may not be accustomed to such bitterness, so JT recommends salting or blanching to improve the taste. He also instructs us to only harvest one-third of the bounty to ensure an abundant crop next season, and to be cautious of toxins— human or natural. Our group is safely guided by the collective expertise of our young instructors, watchful elders, field guides and cookbooks. As we walk, stories flow. JT tells of his wanders, time with plants and elders who continue to rely on wild foods for sustenance. He brings his characters to life as he describes their foodways and generosity. We listen as we forage for manzanita berries to make an agua fresca for lunch. We also gather desert plume flowers that we will steam and mix with cotija cheese to stuff inside empanadas. Before we head back to camp we make one more stop to harvest a yucca whipplei (Hesperoyucca whipplei). This desert asparagus (formerly in the yucca family) can grow over nine feet tall and has long, sharp leaves that will draw the blood of a less-thancautious harvester. We can see the white, edible yucca flowers across the hillsides, signaling it is ready for harvest since it dies after blooming. Today we want to harvest a small, entire yucca so we can roast its heart and stalk. JT finds a yucca with a three-foot-tall
Maya Artemisia with the author making wild green dolmas. Below: The class is gathered together at Quail Springs in Cuyama Valley.
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