What Grows in the Cracks: a foraging guide for the rest of us

Frederick J Portillo didn't set out to write a survival guide. He set out to walk his dog.

What Grows in the Cracks follows a field technician, veteran, and lifelong San Diegan through the sidewalks, canyons, and estuary trails of his neighborhood — and into the foraging knowledge passed down through three generations of women who never had the luxury of forgetting where food comes from.

Verdolagas. Malva. Wild fennel. Crawdads. Clams pulled from mudflats by a small boy who thought he was playing.

This is the book your grandmother already knew. For the rest of us who forgot.