For Tucson residents in the 1700s, grocery shopping consisted of gardening and picking mesquite beans off trees. The people who lived inside the historic Presidio San Agustín del Tucson filled their bellies with a mixture of native plants and those introduced by Spanish colonists.
An upcoming lecture at The Dusty Monk Pub will explore the varied botany of Tucson's Presidio era. Ethno botanist Martha Ames Burgess will lead the discussion, which celebrates Tucson's recent UNESCO designation as a World City of Gastronomy.
“The exciting thing about these plants is that we know their history, and we still use many of them today,” said Burgess in a press release. “They are often found on our plates at home, and in our local restaurants and provide a palate of hope for desert agriculture in the light of climate change."
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The lecture, “Insights to Edible and Useful Plants of the Presidio Period” will take place at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 20. It costs $5 at the door, and no reservations are required. The Dusty Monk Pub is across the street from the Presidio inside La Cocina restaurant, 201 N. Court Ave.
Local foodies mark your calendars! The Presidio is also hosting a food history field trip April 4 led by archaeologists Homer Thiel and Gayle Hartmann. The trip will include a tour of ancient heirloom plants at Mission Garden, the ruins of the original Mission San Agustín, pioneer Solomon Warner's home and the flower mill he built called Warner’s Mill.
The field trip is member's only, but anyone can purchase a Presidio membership on the day of the trip for $30. ($40 for families) To reserve your spot, call the Presidio Museum at 520-837-8119.
There's also more info at the Presidio's website, tucsonpresidio.com
