The Santa Cruz River Farmers’ Market will host the 2014 Desert Harvester Series at Mercado San Agustin (100 S. Avenida de Convento). This is a series of workshops (free to be exact), along with cooking demonstrations and various informational activities about native foods and plants to the Tucson area. Arizona, in general, has many native plants that serve as more than just something pretty to look at; they can be made into a nutritious meal as well. Some of these include the desert ironwood, mesquite, palo verde, prickly pear, and more.
Below you’ll find a list of the Harvest Series:
Thursday, March 6- Wild Winter Edible Greens
Jill Lorenzini shows you how to harvest and cook with native winter greens.
Thursday, April 3- Cholla Buds
From 3-6PM, Desert Harvesters‘ Amy Valdés Schwemm will show you how to safely cook with tasty cholla cactus buds.
Thursday, May 15- Nopalitos
From 4-7PM, Desert Harvesters‘ Amy Valdés Schwemm will teach you how to collect tasty cactus pads from your own backyard.
Thursday, June 5- Mesquite Harvesting
From 4-7PM, Aravaipa Heirlooms‘ Jeau Allen will enlighten you on how to store mesquite pods to be milled into flour in the fall.
Thursday, June 19- Bean Trees
From 4-7PM, Bean Tree Farm‘s Barbara Rose will teach you how to add nutritious beans (mesquite, ironwood, and paloverde) to your kitchen.
Thursday, July 17- Verdolagas
From 4-7PM, Tucson CSA‘s Sara Jones will teach you how to cook with this unique desert green.
Thursday, August 14- Prickly Pear Fruit
From 4-7PM, Desert Harvesters‘ Amy Valdés Schwemm will show you the various ways that you can use prickly pear in your kitchen.
Thursday, November 20- Annual Mesquite Milling
From 3-6PM, Las Milpitas Farm and Bean Tree Farm’s Barbara Rose will show you the delicious ways that you can cook mesquite pods.
Thursday, December 4- Barrel Cactus Fruit
From 3-6PM, Jill Lorenzini will show you how to harvest and utilize fruit from the barrel cactus.
For more information, call 882-3313 or visit their website.
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