Agave

      One of recent things I have tried is Raw Agave Nectar.  It is a syrupy substance sweeter than sugar and has a brown sugar caramel like taste.  I started by pouring some on my morning oatmeal. I have also used it instead of brown sugar in my Chicken Bok Choy recipe.  It added an extra depth of flavor to the dish.

Roasting pit

     But one of the most interesting things is what I discovered hiking around Red Rock Canyon in Nevada last fall.  Indian agave roasting pits!  It is fascinating to imagine how people lived in this area and survived with their limited resources.  Agave was one of the plants that grew right where they were and was harvested, pound into sheets and dried, or roasted.  The roasting pits were an important part of life, ritual, and celebration opportunity.  They kind of look like large donuts of rock and earth, built up after hundreds of years of use.  This is one I discovered on one of the trails.  It was very well formed and unmistakable.  However, it seems like you need to be just at the right angle to notice the shape, because I returned in December and could not find it again.

     I also wanted to find and identify an actual agave plant, but the plants that looked like possibilities seemed too large to be agave.

     Here are some more photos of the canyon.

Could this be agave?