Quelite can mean any of a number of different leafy vegetables eaten in Mexico.  Also known as Red Root, Quelites are a wild spinach whose seeds can be ground into flour and used in baked products.  The Zunis believed that the seeds of the quelite were brought from the underworld by the rain priests and scattered by them over the earth.  Cook it similar to spinach or eat it raw in a salad.  They have a firmer texture similar to kale but a more subtle flavor.

The Sautee
ingredients:
1 bunch of quelites
2tbs extra virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic
pinch of red pepper flakes
salt and pepper to taste

directions:
1.  Coat the bottom of your pan with oil
2.  Once heated add in garlic and sautee until just soft.
3.  Add red pepper flakes and quelites on top of that.
4.  Sautee until just wilted.
5.  Once they start to wilt, remove them from the heat.  You want them to retain their texture – set aside

Quelite Spread
from Mariquita Farm
ingredients:
2 cloves garlic, peeled
1 small red or white onion, peeled
2 cups Quelite leaves
1 ripe avocado, peeled and pitted (I didn’t have one so I used 1/3 cup olive oil)
1/2 cup toasted nuts (I used almonds, the original called for 1 cup walnuts)
1/3 cup pitted kalamta olives (the original called for: One 6-ounce jar low-sodium pitted olives, drained)
3 tablespoons hedge mustard leaves or seed pods(I left this out)
2 tablespoons mellow (light-colored) miso
1 tablespoon chili paste or 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste

directions:
1. Chop the garlic in a food processor or by hand.
2. Add the onion and chop.
3. Add the remaining ingredients and process or chop until finely chopped.
Quelite Spread will keep, tightly covered, in the refrigerator for 5 to 7 days.