I've just watch this story on the local news and it really makes my blood boil. Unlike rent on apartment, which fluctuates with the market price, rent on mobile home park keeps on rising without ever falling. What this company did is unconscionable. With that rent, no one would bother renting that space in the first place. This company knows that people have a vested interest in their home, they can't just give up at the drop of a hat and move, so they decided to milk them for all they're worth. If you live in this area, read the story and make sure to vote no on Proposition 98.

My family has been looking into herbal medicine lately and found quite a bit of useful plants right in our backyard. But beside the medicinal benefit, what I wanted to focus on is the edible aspect of these plants.

Dandelion
I have always thought of dandelion as that pesky weed that destroy lawn so it was a surprise to see it listed among the vegetables and herbs in a book about super foods. What was even more surprising was that while talking with a neighbor about dandelion, my mom found out that they have been eating it since forever and that it was effective in treating various conditions. So we decided to try it ourself for a while now, boiled and dip with soy sauce, and the result was quite positive. The taste isn't bad either. Whole Food sells bundles of dandelion leaves during the spring and summer, but why pay for it when you can just pluck them from your backyard?

Purslane
We have known about Purslane for a long time, it is a common vegetable eaten in many part of Asia. What we didn't realize was that it was growing wild here too. it is a bit annoying plucking those itsy bitsy leaves though.