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Jan 022012
Oct 082011
Aug 252011
These braided onions remind me of the Little House On the Prairie books I read as a child and re-read to my kids. This year proved to be the best onion crop I have ever had as a gardener. I planted more onion sets than usual. The ground was ready for planting in early spring thanks to my creative son who wanted to design a new garden setting. Other years I have waited until my husband can get out and till. We have gone more toward Mel Bartholomew’s Square Foot Gardening method. I had peppers planted in the same square as the onions. The onions did great but the peppers did poorly. We harvested the onions when the tops began to fall over (or a little later when I could get to it).
We laid them on cardboard to dry then transferred them to a cardboard box to dry in the sun and move indoors in the evening or if rain is threatening. After a few days of shaking the box to turn the onions, the dirty skins fall off. Then I can braid the ones with a stem remaining. I can’t hang these onions in my attic like the Ingalls’ did but I have a cool dry spot in the basement. The kitchen is too damp and hot to store the onions for any length of time.
Where do you store your onions?
Jun 142011
The deer seem to be munching on the sweet potato plants. I first noticed that an entire pepper plant was missing. In seven years we have had no traces of deer in the garden. Now they have found it.
May 292011
Lacto-fermented Asparagus
This is my first try at lacto-fermenting asparagus. I used the general lacto-fermenting recipe from the Nourishing Traditions book.
For more real food ideas check out Real Food Wednesday at Kelly the Kitchen Kop
May 122011
Today’s Real News
by Ray Notgrass
“Good evening. Here is tonight’s news:
This morning millions of people read their Bibles and prayed to God. They prayed at meals and let their faith influence how they live. Today millions of Americans went to work and did what was expected of them. They were not lazy. They did not steal from their employers. Their CEOs and CFOs reported accurate earnings statements. Today thousands of elected officials were honest in their dealings and tried to keep their campaign promises. Thousands of law enforcement officials did their jobs without scandal. Thousands of people got fair trials and received just sentences or were properly set free.
During the day thousands of priests and ministers did not molest any children or have affairs with parishioners or steal money from their churches. People all over our country said thank you when they were shown kindness. They treated other people with courtesy. They went the extra mile to help other people, some of whom they didn’t even know. Your fellow citizens gave millions of dollars to causes they believe in. They rose to the occasion to help wreck victims, storm victims, and people with medical needs. Hundreds of thousands of people got quality healthcare. They received the correct medicine and were helped by the treatment they received.
Millions and millions of people did not care what any TV talk or gossip show had on. Millions of people passed by the tabloids at checkout stands and didn’t believe the front page headlines.
Billions of people in the world lived today without the threat of war in their town or country.
Today millions of husbands and wives were faithful to each other. Tonight untold numbers of parents will spend time with their children, read their children a story, and kiss them goodnight. This weekend thousands and thousands of teenagers will resist the temptation to engage in premarital sex or to use illegal drugs.
This Sunday about forty percent of the American population, or about one hundred million people, will attend church services. They will sing and pray and thoughtfully consider the messages they hear.
This week tens of millions of Americans accepted responsibility for what they did. They overcame hardship and disappointment without blaming others and without casting themselves in the role of victims. They didn’t expect a government handout to change their lives.
And that’s the way it is, Monday, May 9, 2011. Thank you, and good night.”
Point one: A steady diet of the unreality put out by the media will affect the way you look at other people and the world in general. The abnormal begins to seem normal if it is all you see. Television programs do not reflect real life. When was the last time you saw prayer, faithfulness, and honesty esteemed on a sitcom? When the lead stories on news shows night after night deal with murder, rape, and corruption, you begin to think that these things are all that happen. This isn’t the case. The news tends to emphasize the bad, the broken, and the dubious. The networks and local stations apparently believe that this kind of programming increases viewership and thus attracts more advertising. Trash television, tabloid journalism, and sick sitcoms present two problems. One is that someone disseminates them. The other is that people lap them up.
Point two: This does not mean that all is well. Individuals have problems, burdens, and failures. Groups, churches, and societies have problems and failures. These need to be addressed. It is dysfunctional to act as though no one has any problems. It is also dysfunctional to act as though we have nothing but problems. We must approach life with a healthy, compassionate, and balanced view of reality.
Point three: Somehow we have gotten the idea that the news items listed above are not worthy of broadcast or emphasis. If you thought that people living by faith, marriages staying together, children doing what they should, and individuals operating with honesty and compassion aren’t really news, my reply is: “Think again and thank God they are.”
www.notgrass.com Notgrass Company
Teaching the Heart, Soul, and Mind
May 112011
Ingredients:
2 sticks butter
2 cups spelt flour
2 cups rolled oats
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons whey
Combine ingredients into a food processor. Pulse until crumbly. Cover and let sit overnight (12-24 hrs.)
Add:
1/2 cup finely shredded coconut
1 cup sucant or rapidura
In a saucepan combine:
1 cup fresh strawberries, chopped
3 cups fresh rhubarb, chopped
3/4 cup honey
3 Tablespoons of arrowroot powder dissolved in 1/4 cup of water
Bring to a boil stirring constantly until fruit is soft. Set aside to cool. It will thicken as it cools.
Meanwhile, divide dry ingredients in half. Press the first half into a 9 x 13 baking dish. Spoon the fruit over the crust. Sprinkle the remaining dry ingredients on the top. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 min.
These are delicious warm or cold. We enjoyed plain morsels of this rhubarb delight right out of the oven, and then later in a bowl with milk.
For more Real Food recipies check out Real Food Wednesday at Kelly the Kitchen Kop
Apr 272011
My mouth has been watering watching the heads of asparagus pop up in the garden. Spring is here! I picked these this morning. A few of them were stir fried for breakfast with scrambled eggs. The remainder of the stalks are kept in water in the fridge until supper. The stalks will acutally grow in the water…but not much before supper-ha.
Asparagus is a perinnial garden vegetable. Once it gets going you have a repeating crop for about 8 weeks every spring. I acquired several starts from a friend. Both roots and seeds are sold in stores. It takes a few years for new asparagus beds to begin producing.
According to the Nourishing Traditions book by Sally Fallon pg 368 - ”Asparagus is a good source of rutin, a substance that prevents small blood vessels from breaking. Medieval medicine valued asparagus for the treatment of heart palpitations and as a diuretic. Asparagus is high in carotenoids, B Complex, vitamin C and vitamin E as well as potassium, iodine and zinc.”
We eat our fill for those few weeks in spring and are done until the next year. We eat asparagus in omelets, scrambled eggs, and quiche for breakfast. Steamed or stir-fried asparagus with supper. Last year I saw a recipe for lacto-fermented asparagus that I am planning to try. Stay tuned and I’ll let you know how it goes.
For more Real Food Recipies visit Real Food Wednesday at Kelly the Kitchen Kop.com
Apr 042011
Today we began planting in the garden. In the sun box I planted beets, spinach, carrots, radishes, and 2 kinds of lettuce. 
I mixed peet moss, compost and garden soil together in the box. A stick proved to be the perfect tool to divide the space into 6 squares and then poke holes for the seeds. After watering, the lid was closed to catch the last of the sun.
We also planted sugar snap peas and onions in rows.
