Book of the Month: Green Christmas

 Where we live our holidays are usually green as opposed to white but this year it is looking like we may have some snow stick around.  Lovely big dumps of snow the last two days have covered our mountain home.  Inside we are preparing for gift giving and the eating of yummy food and recovering from my almost 5 year old's space birthday party.  So much fun.
Each holiday season I like to check out a festive book or two from the library to browse.  I don't usually make anything as my making is usually already filled up at this time of year but the inspiration and ideas sometimes stick with me.  This book of course is about green for the earth and not green in general but I'm Dreaming of a Green Christmas: Gifts, Decorations, and Recipes that Use Less and Mean More by Anna Getty has lots of fun ideas for celebrating in a more thoughtful way.  In particular I think her projects are great for creating lasting decorations and gifts that are easier on the planet but still very stylish.
The ideas that I liked best were using an vintage/thrifted round table cloth for a tree skirt and her fresh and dried herb wreath.  (my make my own wreath aspirations have been neatly pushed to next year)
She also shares some lovely recipes the tastiest of which is Chai hot cocoa with whipped cream.  Add some cookies and you have a perfect Christmas eve dessert or at least that's my plan for this year.

So if you are looking for old fashioned holiday ideas (and by old fashioned I mean from a book and not Pinterest) Have a look at I'm Dreaming of a Green Christmas and let the holiday magic and beautiful photography bolster your spirit.

October from Above

This month is flying by.  Each day a mix of school, play, food and work.  Sun, wind, rain storms and so many leaves keep reminding us of the earth's preparation for sleep.

We started the month by eating our last homegrown tomatoes.  Certainly a larger crop than ever before.

We've had lots of time outdoors.  The scheduled time of Kyan's outdoor preschool has given he and Elliott and I regular contact with being outside for long stretches.  It is honestly invaluable.  A blessing for us on every level.

Train play is it around here.  Whether you are 4 and a half, 1 and a half or 30 something or other, you'll be playing trains if you are here for more than a minute or two.

I got adventurous and steamed my first batch of artichokes for baked artichoke dip.  They are so funny and grey looking once cooked but the dip was a hit.  So I'll be making it again for sure.

I can't remember a busier October for our little family.  With two weeks left is it safe to say we've managed ok?  There are big plans for quieter times in November and December.  Just because it is good to honour the need for rest, quiet and contemplation.  There will still be plenty to do, but just a slower gait for us.

Tales from My Garden Wrap-up 2012

Today my thoughts have turned away from my own garden and towards the busy season of Autumn before us.  Tomorrow I'm going to this with my lovely friend Sarah and our littles.  We'll have a ritual to celebrate the Equinox and enjoy the gorgeous scenery of these gardens.  I've been looking through recipe books to find a perfect fall cake to bring and soon another trip to pick apples will be scheduled.

As our calender fills up the garden is quietly beginning its decline.  The re-roofing project on our townhouse pulled me away from the garden earlier than ever this summer.  I was happy with the bountiful lemon balm which is still on the list for the dehydrator, as is the applemint.  The bee balm was eaten alive by something but I'm hopeful that it will come back next year.  I've dried raspberry leaves for tea and hope next year to get a harvest of berries from the plant.  As for the back patio plants the tomatoes continue to ripen over at my neighbour's place since our deck is a construction zone.  The cucumber didn't produce well and the parsley was not as prolific this year as last. 

I've taken away several lessons from this year's experiments.  The summer's abundance or lack thereof has given me lots to ponder.  With each lovely tomato that we've eaten (there haven't been that many so we've savored each one) I've become more decided that my tomato growing days are over for this period of my life.  I have tried for 3 years now and though each year has proven more successful than the last I think overall I can find a much better use for my time elsewhere.  Because of the heat on our deck the tomatoes require more attention than normal.  I'd rather be sewing than doting on tomatoes.  Especially when I have such wonderful options from the farmer's market in terms of heritage varieties and the like.

Our peas were great this year although no english shelling peas next year.  Just the snap ones will do for our summer snacks.  I'd need double to triple the production I did this year with the shelling peas to make it worthy of my time. 

The rhubarb was very abundant this year and I got many harvests from the one plant.  Next year I plan to get some manure for it in spring just to give it that extra boost it may need.  And otherwise I plan on getting more flowers for the patio next year so that my eyes and the bees and butterflies can enjoy them.  Growing food is a wonderful pursuit and I think it may take more of a central role in our family in the future.  For the next few years though I'm going to put my efforts into other areas and take advantage of the myriad of organic/biodynamic options that are all around the city.

There is still lots of work left in terms of putting all the plants to sleep and cleaning up pots for overwintering.  Last fall I got lazy and left it all out in the rain for the winter...something that I regretted this spring since carrying drenched pots of old potting soil is not fun.  I will plan out some fall days to clean up the remaining pots and also plan to cover the front bed with leaves for extra mulch and to add to the Halloween display that is in my mind's eye.  As always I'm grateful for the lessons that growing and working with the soil impart.  I hope your garden has blessed you with lessons and abundance this year. 

Saving the Harvest

As the wheel of the year turns towards Autumnal Equinox each year I try and preserve some of the harvest for our family.  In the past I have frozen corn and picked apples for applesauce near the end of September.  This year I was home in the second week of September with 20lbs of Roma tomatoes.

There is a rhythm to stirring sauce, peeling tomato skins and chopping vegetables.  An almost trance feeling can come over you as you stir and watch the bubbling meld the flavours. 

Because, as I've mentioned previously, I spend so much time in the kitchen these days the work I do there has taken on a magical element for me like never before.  This is my daily practice, my most constant repeated routine and one that affects the fundamental roots of the household the most.

When we pick apples this year as we have for the past 5 now, we will fill our cloth bags with huge red orbs that along with pumpkins are my most treasured signal of harvest time.  The ripening of the earth's bounty is a finite time.  A blink and you've missed it.  But it also takes lots of time and as this time of year is always full with activities and such I always pick out a few things to try and see if they bring myself and my loved ones joy.  Making the tomato sauce was very labour intensive from start to finish.  I've learned from this experiment how much I'm willing to dedicate to tomatoes next year.  Applesauce is also labour intensive but we've come to love the flavour of our sauce better than that we buy at the store.  The key this year will be to make enough to last us through the winter. 

The component of preserving the harvest that I find to be the most spiritual is the link I feel to my ancestors while doing it.  Certainly as Samhain is just around the corner and the veils thin as the days shorten this work stirs their blood within me.  For all of our modern lives and conveniences of the 21st century everyone needs to eat.  Through the actions of growing, harvesting, preparing and consuming food we are the most human, the most connected with our mother, the most at the mercy of her grace, and the blessing that another season of bounty will come again.

Day 9 & 10

For a little time to ourselves (meaning Dave and I) we visited Arlo's Honey farm and the Summerhill Pyramid Winery for a tour and taste.  A glorious end to our trip.
Then Day 10 we headed for home with 20lbs of tomatoes.  So between processing the tomatoes and all of us having the sniffles over the weekend it hasn't left much energy for blogging.  Be back soon with more regular posts!

Book of the Month: Small-Batch Preserving

When my mom visited in April she brought me a gift in the form of a book called The Complete Book of Small-Batch Preserving: Over 300 Recipes to Use Year-Round by Ellie Topp and Margaret Howard. Those of us who are so inclined have been or are certainly up to our elbows in the preserving of the harvest.  Or if you are like I was in past years you are too nervous to give it a try on your own and that is why I think this book is a gem.

After Heidi Joy shared the making of a little batch of Strawberry-Rhubarb jam with me I made a few small investments; a round rack for my stock pot, some lids and jar thongs.  Then I jumped in and made another batch of the same jam.  This time one of my jars didn't seal but that meant that we could enjoy the jam that much sooner.  I've also tried the Old Fashioned Raspberry Jam and that was nice too although I over cooked it a bit.

What is nice about the scale of the recipes in this book is that for a family of four the batches are more manageable.  I think one reason that I didn't preserve alone before was that I was overwhelmed by visions of  hot pots bubbling and counters full of jars while trying to juggle two kids.  But making a small batch of 3 or 4 jars of something is much more doable with kids around for me.  Not to mention that we only eat about 4 jars of jam a year.  So making smaller batches means we have plenty for ourselves and some to give as gifts but not enough to feed us for the next 5 years.  When you live somewhere where storage is at a premium you don't want to take up too much space storing jam or pickles that will take years to consume.

So check out this great book and put something in a jar.  Next up for me is putting up some cherries, apricots and peaches or some sort of creative combo of two of them perhaps.

Happy Canning!

Tales from my Garden

With the arrival of the sun my sauna-like conditions on the patio went into high gear.  Besides drying laundry in record time I also have my tomatoes in for trial number 3.  So far suckers have been removed and blossoms are not falling off.  The container gardening course I took in May gave me some great tips about keeping the pots moist all day so hopefully I'll be rewarded with some tasty tomatoes eventually.

Peas are growing bigger and trying to hang on in the heat.  I'm trying to let the shelling peas mature as much as I can before I harvest them.  The snap peas are a living snack bar...eat as you go by.

  I'm onto my second harvest of rhubarb so far from the front plot.  I think there will be at least one more run and strawberry rhubarb jam is the result this time.  I hope to freeze the remainder for some winter muffins or crisps.
I didn't plant much in terms of flowers this year since our roof is being redone and debris could damage them.  But there is a little bit of colour out there and it always brings a delight to the eye.

So far this year my little garden is as happy as it can be.  How does your garden grow?

Rainy day plans

Oh, June.  You fool me every time.  I look forward to you for months and think June, June will bring warm sun and sandals and those long days of outside time.  And then June arrives and it rains and rains and rains.  The most I can hope for 7 days in is sun by the solstice.  The longest day sometimes brings some happier fluffy clouds.  In the meantime though I am still planning.  Planning to bake and prepare things in advance.  Changing over the entry closet from scarves and mittens to sunhats and sandals.  This year, as my kitchen time has certainly grown with each moon cycle (these boys can eat I tell you) I've come to really understand the importance of planning ahead.  Having food to pull out of the freezer; whether it be for smoothies, quick treats for guests, or even the "I don't feel like cooking" blues is a must.   And since those hot days are inevitable (they are coming right?) I don't want to be chained to my stove during the dog days of summer.
And so I've been hatching a plan.  I've been gathering advice and making lists in my head.  On my list is making jam, freezing produce in season and trying to ferment veggies too.  So the main gist of this is that if it's raining I'm paying attention to food.  Even if it is just one small batch of cookies or researching U-pick farms rainy days are the time for it.  Because if the sun is shining we are going to be enjoying it.  Period.
So here is my list of finds that are going to help me keep our summer as fun as possible.

Warmer Weather Batch Cooking - Simple Bites

More Warm Weather Batch Cooking - Simple Bites

10 Things to do Every Day to Stay Organized - Home Your Way

Preparing for preserving season - local kitchen

Camping with Kids - Real Simple

Keep your Summer Organized - Simple Mom

If you have any additions please add them to the comments.  You can never have too many ideas or tips when it comes to food prep and planning ahead.

Kitchen Altar

Since moving to our new home almost 2 years ago I have wanted to erect a small altar in my kitchen.  Besides the obvious reason of honouring the seasons and deity, I wanted this to be a reminder of what my time in the "center of our home" means to me each moment I am there.  And the thing is I'm there most of the time.  I make about 5 meals a day in there.  Sure at times it's as simple as cutting cheese and assembling a plate of crackers, or boiling water for tea, but each of those actions is a work of spirit for me.  Feeding myself and my family is a work of devotion, sometimes toil, sometimes pleasure.  I hear the hum of the fridge motor, feel steam rising from soup, and move through ritual after ritual of cutting, kneading, measuring and stirring. 
Looking to my little white altar and seeing what sits there reminds me of this great work.  Humble though it is.  I honour the food that comes into my doors, from local farms or from far away.  I honour the spirit of the Goddess Hestia and her vigil over hearth and home.  I chose an image of her where she is offering her flame since it mirrors how I feel when I bring offerings for us to eat.  Along side the image is my arbutus wooden knife.  I purchased it many moons ago.  Carved from a fallen branch I consider it a symbol of the craft work I do in preparing our meals.  And a simple homemade beeswax candle to light when the mood strikes.  I find that the action of lighting the candle is helpful in making my time in the kitchen more meditative.

If you have a kitchen altar I'd love to see it.  Leave a link in the comments for all to find.

Book of the Month: Simple Food

My travels through food literature and cookbooks continue.  Each month I try and see what's out there and refine my skills in the kitchen.  One thing that I am learning as I follow recipes, and read introductions and learn more and more about cooking and baking is that all cookbooks are not created equally.  Alice Waters' The Art of Simple Food: Notes, Lessons, and Recipes from a Delicious Revolution is an exceptional cookbook.  It is straightforward and doesn't ask for complexity right away.  Instead you can follow each step as if you weren't trained in cooking...because we haven't all been.  I certainly love the detail she goes into when explaining how to melt the chocolate for her Chocolate Cake, how to add the chocolate to the batter, when to mix in warm water and to have room temperature everything!  Following her recipe step by step made lovely looking and tasting cupcakes for Elliott's birthday party.  I also read her directions for Frittata and made Herb butter which she recommended rolling and storing in the freezer for a quick addition to fish coming out of the oven.  This book is going into my personal cookbook library as a reference for so many important dishes and skill sets. Waters is a Slow Food enthusiast, owner of Chez Panisse and a food activist championing the cause for clean, fresh and sustainable food systems.  If you are learning to cook or want to expand your repertoire this is a must on your kitchen's cookbook shelf. 

Limiting the limitless

A little rant of sorts has been drifting through my tired brain these last few weeks.  It was sparked by a dawning in my mind of an idea that isn't shared much in the crafty mama blogs that I read.  Searching for inspiration in blogland is not hard.  There are tons of smart and accomplished people out there doing what seems like it all.  Urban homesteading or moving to the farm, entrepreneurs, professionals, creative women making time to take classes or read and learn skills for making the everyday less consumerist and more handmade.
I am so inspired by this, often it lights a fire in this dreamer's soul and I accomplish things and have the courage to try.  And even if I don't try those specific ideas the fact that someone else is makes me glad and gives me a sense of accomplishment for the things I do make my own.
And that is what I wanted to share today.  How have I made the choices to "do" or "admire".  What criteria I have considered and why I think that limitations are really important, especially for mamas today.
Just to put some background on myself before I begin to list my limits: I'm neither a Type A personality nor a perfectionist.  I think motivation is often highly affected by these things.  Feeling compelled to "do it all" is more typical of those traits.  I have lots of laid-back, "good enough" in me.  That is both a blessing and a curse.  But knowing that about yourself can help you to set and not overreach your own limits.  Where do you fall in the spectrum in between master of all trades and master of none?
So setting the scene with me not being a master of all trades type I have chosen to work and become as proficient as possible at skills that resonate strongly with me:

Gardening.  Each year I plant.  I water, weed and tend.  I have had some success and lots of failure here.  There is little that I would pass on in terms of advice because I consider myself a novice at best.
My goal is to one day have a vegetable garden and hopefully a space that I could tend with Permaculture principals in mind.  For now I have a small front bed and my balcony.  I love flowers, herbs, fostering space for bees, birds and butterflies, and producing some food for the family.  I do not aspire to produce all or even most of our food, the level of skill, time and space that I would need for that is beyond my scope and desire.  An example of how I have set my gardening limit is by planting some edibles and flowers together, building on past success while still experimenting as well.  This year I'll plant more snap peas (which were our biggest success last year) a cucumber that does well in containers, have our first rhubarb harvest, and I hope to plant a raspberry bush in our front plot as well.  I'm going to give tomatoes a go again, despite two years of failure but I will research the variety better than I did before.
What I won't do or don't aspire to do is have chickens or bees of my own.  I support the efforts of those that do.  I think it is wonderful really.  But I don't want to care for any other beings right now.  And in the case of bees, chickens or anything other than a dog or maybe a turtle, I'm out.  I told Ky he could have a dog when he's ten.  By then he'll at least be able to care for it and the boys will be older and I'll feel more able to care for something that will have such dependence on us.

Food.  Glorious food.  Food culture, food politics, food accessibility.  Feeding us is a huge part of my life right now and will continue to be for many years to come.   Since I have committed to eating whole foods, organic and local as much as possible I feel learning to cook them to the best of my ability is important.  Not only cooking is high on my list, preserving food is also crucial to our style of nourishment.  So canning, freezing, and fermenting fall into this category.  That being said I'm sticking to learning about bread and meal prep as well as baking.  I won't be making mead, kombucha, or beer.  The main issue here being storage of large buckets, bottles and again the time involved.  Cheese and yogurt are possibilities in the future but more out of fun than providing for all or our dietary needs.  I also won't be making our soap, most cleaning products or many herbal remedies.  My reasoning here is that there are many local options for me to support others in these endeavors.  And again I don't want to store the supplies needed to make these things nor try to fit the tasks into our schedule.  Dave and I do have hobbies we share but he is not the ultimate do-it-yourself type guy.  We won't be spending our Saturday nights making soap though I applaud those that do and understand their motivations.

In the creative department I sew and embroider.  Those are my art, my future plan of personal and professional  fulfillment.  They are areas that this non-perfectionist most needs to perfect if that makes sense. Building a technical skill base to make the ideas in my head manifest into pieces for other to see.  That being said I don't knit or crochet.  I don't do pottery, professional photography, or cross-stich.  I want to be really good at sewing, quilting and working in fabric.  Bringing knitting onto the scene would divide my attention.  That doesn't mean that I'll never knit, there may be lots of time for learning it in the future but for now I'm refraining from yarn.

In the interest of keeping this long post from going into overdrive I'll list the other areas that I put my time into (or plan to in the future).  I am enjoying how these things are revealing themselves to me as time progresses.  I'm sure the list will change, expand or contract depending on circumstances and you know, life as it unfolds.

Reading :: blogs, poetry, fiction and non-fiction
Writing my blog
Yoga
Paganism/spirituality
Outdoors :: hiking, camping, travel, environmental protection
Feminism :: woman's issues, politics and democratic rights, maternal health

Thanks for sticking with me here. I'm wrapping up I promise.  What this all means is that in the limitless world before me whether on the internet or not I have to stop my dreamer self from creating a world that is impossible to sustain.  I'd love to do everything well.  Most of the things I listed above that I don't/won't do are not for lack of interest but are more about prioritizing.  The wonderful women that I read about who pursue these skills are admirable and most likely have their own lists whether they are conscious ones or not.  We all prioritize and some things inevitably don't make the list.  And that is good.  They can always be tried later or celebrated through another means.  Let's avoid burn-out, feeling like we are not stacking up to those around us or comparisons.  For those that seem to do it all I am sure that they are not.  No one does.  We are all just doing our best to fulfill our dreams and master what is really dear to our hearts.

sourdough

The food horizon is always changing around here.  Reading, trial and error, dinners shared and tips exchanged the collective "we" and the small group of four of us try out new textures and tastes.  Some are more successful than others and for my style of learning it's a curve.  A long one.  And our road to sourdough has been a few years in the making now.  Beginning with reading Nourishing Traditions: The Cookbook that Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and the Diet Dictocrats and then little snippets here and there which lead me to stop making the commercial yeast bread I had been making and start buying sourdough until I had the emotional courage to try the process on my own.
Taking a cooking class was really helpful.  3 hours to watch and feel and learn the process.   What I came away with first off was that this process is more intuitive than precise.  That was something I came to understand in my previous work with bread as well.  So to learn is: to do, to fail or succeed, take note and try again.  This process will involve using each sense to become attuned to the living culture that is in my fridge; feeding it, making it grow and develop in a way that is unique to me and my surroundings.

The lovely cooking class venue Radha eatery.

For more info on sourdough I recommend reading the above book or checking out Sourdough Companion.
I came home from the class with some sourdough starter and a few days later tried my luck.  Feeding the starter creates more than what would be needed to make one loaf so I made crackers and bread.
Using this recipe I was happy with how the crackers turned out.

Tasty.  They remind me a bit of the brand Wheat Thins.  Except of course they are healthier and thicker.  I'll work on rolling them out thinner next time.
The bread kept me guessing and took a long time.  I'll have to get used to the timing thing.  As I said before it's all about creating an intuitive exchange between me and the rising flour.  The final loaf wasn't much to look at but tasted good.  Everyone in the house ate it without complaint so I feel that in and of itself is a success.  Tomorrow I'm going to give sourdough pancakes a go.  We'll see how my 4 year old pancake connoisseur rates them.

Family Winter Wellness

We are in the thick of it...that dreaded time of the year when most people are sick with something and we all do our best to avoid joining them if we can.  Last year I wrote a piece for Pagan Pages about family winter wellness and I wanted to re-post some of it here with a few additions that I have discovered over the past year.  Feel free to add any tips in the comments that you use with your family to stay healthy (since we can all use all the help we can get!)

The dark phase of the year often brings with it lower immune systems and colds and flus.    I  have become more aware of preventing illness and remembering these tips I’ve assembled is helpful even though they can be hard to put in to practice at times.  Of course if we do get ill we know that it is a message from our body that slowing down and resting is in order. And speaking of rest...

Sleep
Getting enough sleep is always important but since this is the darker time of the year it seems to be a better time to make that happen for yourself and your kids.   Let your evenings be as calm as possible.  If you can’t make every evening relaxing try and do it at least once a week.  Use candles or dim lighting to keep everyone more introspective.  Have some herbal tea for dessert and read together.  Have blankets on hand for getting cozy under and make sure that bedrooms are refuge-like for everyone.  

Wash those Hands
I know this one is about as basic as you can get but I am constantly amazed by how many people do not wash their hands properly.  The best way to prevent the spreading of illnesses is by washing your hands for at least 20 seconds with regular soap and water.  Many parents have hand sanitizer and wipes in case a sink is not an option before snacks when you are out and about.   You can help encourage your children to wash their hands by making it as fun as possible.  Soaps in fun shapes, colourful towels, and stools to help everyone reach the sink are really helpful.  Singing while washing always helps with my little one.  It will also help you to remember how long they need to wash.  Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star is our favourite standby for hand washing.

Eat immunity boosting foods
Remember to include immune system boosting foods like garlic and ginger in your family’s diet.   We love hummus which  has a healthy dose of garlic, this hot drink recipe looks great (although I would lessen the sugar replacing it with honey or maple syrup and just sweeten to taste)  broths are also great for health; chicken, beef or fish bones boiled down with water.   You can find a recipe here.  Also Mothering has a wonderful article about helping children with the flu that has stuck with me.  So much valuable information!

Colour Therapy
Grey days are hard for everyone but children can have a harder time communicating a feeling of sadness or moodiness that may be brought on by a lack of sunlight exposure.  One way to help that is to have sunny colours around your home for them to feed off of.  A bright wall hanging, throw pillows, making colourful art together and dressing them in sunny coloured clothing for daytime can all help with this often silent problem.

Skin Care
Staying hydrated is key in cold weather just like in the summertime.  Heaters and indoor re-circulated air dry out the skin.  Try using a gentle soap for your young one’s skin and use it sparingly in only the body creases or very dirty areas.  Otherwise use moisturizers and drink lots of fluids to try and keep your skin from drying out or cracking.  Also remember to use sunscreen if out on very bright days with lots of sun reflection.

Fresh Air
Fresh air is good for us and so is natural light.  There may not be much natural light to spare but it is a good practice to get out as much as you can.  The air indoors is never as good for your lungs as that from a brisk walk or an afternoon of outdoor fun.  Opening the windows for even a few minutes can help circulate the stale indoor air.   Light helps keep the winter blues at bay and makes your system function with the natural rhythms of the earth.

so fresh and so clean

Through the fun that is pinterest I found a challenge that over 11,000 people have decided to join.  And for the first time in my search for help in this area I've found a step-by-step organization guide that makes sense to me.  The 52 Weeks to an Organized Home Challenge is following a schedule that I can manage (I think) and I already began week one today.  The kitchen is the starting point and  week one focuses on the counters.  Clearing them of things that don't need to be there and keeping them as clear as possible once you have decided what functions the kitchen serves in your home.  For us the kitchen is about food prep, storage and my mini life control center.
I think for many out there the advice on keeping the kitchen clean or organized may seem so logical that it doesn't need to be noted.  When it comes to my artistic, dreamy and some would say flaky mind these things are not so obvious and bare repeating.
I'm glad to have found this and just looking at my kitchen counters now I see that they are more enticing to me to cook on now that they have less stuff on them.
In other new year news I've finished up two projects and I'm excited to move on to finishing up a few more things before I get back to Ky's quilt and start the Memory Keeper piece for 2012.  Perhaps the New Moon energy would better suit the pace of these days rather than the full moon that shines on us tonight but I'm pleased none-the-less to be getting things accomplished.  2011 often felt like my feet were in mud and I was moving really slow.  Being in the land of baby will do that to anyone I suppose.
I didn't take a before shot of my counters but if you read my last post there is enough proof that this looks way better.

   

Tales from my Garden Wrap-up 2011

Well I am currently enjoying a brief and rare treat of both boys napping at the same time!  So what to do, what to do....write a post of course.  My garden, oh, my little garden how you perplex me so.  I am still learning and I think I always will be about how to best grow food.  My first growing season here in our new home was all about trial and error and this year was mostly about error.  The Sugar Snap peas were our big success.  The squirrels were happy about my heirloom tomatoes but we were not.  Brandywine and I are officially done.  The Paul Robesons did not do great.  The squash had lovely blossoms but never turned into anything and the green peppers were small and not flavourful.  So, what to do?  Well plant tulip bulbs, clean out the pots and rethink it all for next season.  We will plant more peas, try some different tomatoes and since I have loved my cooking classes taken this fall I think a container gardening class is in order.  Something is wrong with my methods whether it is the potting soil composition or the watering or fertilizing - I'm not sure.  And while I'm at it I'll be sure to consult the star charts on the best planting days next season.  But reading other gardener's words gives me hope: it is all a journey and I may never figure it all out.  Sometimes things work and sometimes they don't.  C'est la vie and that's gardening folks.
 I'm happy that I tried, that the whole family loved eating sugar snaps right off the vine on the balcony and that under the earth we planted 12 yellow and orange tulips to grace us next spring after the primroses share their splendor.  And if they don't come up we'll just try, try again.

We don't plow fields anymore

Today is Blog Action Day for this year and the theme is Food in conjunction with The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations' World Food Day.  This topic's timing could not have been better for me since just yesterday I took a Food Fermentation class and learned the lacto-fermentation method.  As I write this my first try at sauerkraut is souring on the counter.  So my thoughts on food and culture, access, sustainability and health are inspired from learning new skills for my family's health.  Food inspires, nourishes, comforts; it is essential that we connect with it.

Connecting with what we take into our bodies, relates to more than the food itself but spreads to the people that tend it and the elements that grow it as well.  Having grown up on a farm I have watched this happen first hand.  Sun warming the soil, rain bending grain to the ground, and the brown soil turned over into the long rows of a plowed field.

As close as I was to these processes that contribute to the food cycle there are many of us who are not.  The shift in North American society from rural to urban living has left many of us without a connection to what we eat or the ones who grow it.  This was driven home for me 11 years ago while I was still in University.

The Fine Art department had a series of practicing, accomplished artists visit us for lectures.  One of the options for the students was to sign up and have an artist visit your studio space and critique your work.  When a feminist artist who's essays I had read gave a lecture that inspired me, I nervously signed up for a visit.    During her critique I realized that while I shared some political and cultural views with her we came from different worlds.  This hit home when as part of her overall comments she summed up her view of my earth honouring, Goddess inspired subject matter with the statement: I mean, we don't plow fields anymore.  


At the time I was too disappointed to respond to her.  Later as I went over what she said I felt upset that I hadn't responded to her by saying that I actually had plowed a field.  In fact all over the world people are still plowing, sowing, watering, and weeding.  As I look back on this experience I feel sad for this woman that she was so disconnected from her food that she had forgotten this.

Today I live in the city but I still feel connected to my food.  I work hard to impart the connections to my children and to never become so absorbed by urbanity that I would forget the farmers and gardeners who tend the land for us.  We plow fields, we sow cover crops, we interact with plants using Permaculture,  we are farmers, gatherers, foragers and cooks.  These things are in our bones and are part of our collective memory for thousands of years, but most of all still happening all over this world every day so that we can survive.  And not just survive but come together and share the most human experience of eating.

fall tradition

 After a wonderful thanksgiving with friends and family and food it seems that I'm thinking lots about tradition and how the boys will remember their childhoods.  Certainly our annual trek to gather pumpkins and apples will hold fondness for them.  The first year we visited this farm I was pregnant with Kyan, the next he couldn't stand up on his own yet and we propped him up with pumpkins.  We had hay ride hysterics the following year and last year we shared the trek with my parents on their visit and I was pregnant with Elliott.

All the boys loved our excursion and obviously pumpkins are very popular around here being orange, part of Halloween festivities and being the perfect kind of pie filling. (a rival to rhubarb in my taste buds but not to Ky's)

With many that I love far away I find I appreciate the times I get to spend with friends and family that are here all the more.  I try and cherish these moments and despite the fact that it can be hard to get my butt in gear to make the hour long drive it is always worth it.  I came away from this day grounded in a way that only picking your own fruits can do.  Interacting with the trees, watching the wasps fly around us in crazy fall frenzies, feeling a part of the hoards of parents and children having their farm experience and at the same time feeling separate from them.  

Cherish is the word that keeps floating through my head.  Cherish friends who are more like siblings, cherish food grown by local farmers, cherish fall as it sweeps the earth clean before her winter rest, and present opportunities for the young ones to cherish the things you do as another year goes round.

Book of the Month: September

Just under the wire I thought I'd share a children's book that we took out from the library recently.  Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey is a charming classic that tells the story of a little girl and her mom picking blueberries for preserving.  I love the charm of this story as it follows the immediate desire of the young ones to munch the berries right away while the mamas say think of the future.  McCloskey also illustrated the story and my favorite image is on the front and back inside cover:

I've been enjoying images of old time kitchens recently.  This one would be from the 1940's.  So sweet.  A lovely story to share with the little ones you love.

food instead of sun

I had some goals for this summer.  One of them was to be at the beach a lot.  The weather decided that as of the end of July I would only have been to the beach twice and no swimming has taken place.  Making the best of things I have been cooking and baking and putting up food for the winter months. 

There has been fresh raspberry chocolate chip muffins, banana pecan bread, parsley pesto, farmer's market lemon tarts with whipped cream and fresh blueberries, basil popcorn, chocolate chip cookies, radish dip, and homemade (still in perfecting mode) creamsicles.  I am rather obsessed with all things lemon right now whether it's lemonade, yogurt or the said tarts.  So whether the sun is shining or not the eating around here has been good.  Despite the lack of beach whether my garden is growing along nicely and I'll be back soon with an update on it.  Here's to a weekend of good food no matter what the weather. 

Rhubarb forever

There has been some wonderful rhubarb writings in blogland these last few weeks.  I am a lover of rhubarb truth be told.  It still grows behind the barn on the farm I grew up on.  Rhubarb butterscotch pie is my absolute favorite kind of pie (no strawberries needed!) and I was treated to it twice when home this June.  My mom made one and my grandmother made one.  I also tasted my mom's rhubarb relish this year and it is really good with meat.  Rhubarb is that versatile.  In the interest of making my front garden edible as well as lovely to look at I have planted an heirloom variety rhubarb there with the name Victoria (three guesses as to who it is named after).  This vegetable needs to be left alone the first year it is planted so no harvesting this year but I can wait for something this good. 

 This plant is nice to look at too which is a bonus to it being so tasty.  I wanted to share the wonderful writings I've come across about it this year:

growing rhubarb tips

how to grow it and a recipe for rhubarb crumble

rhubarb muffin recipe

Spread the rhubarb love around.  Eating in season is so rewarding to the taste buds!