A Day in the Life...

Up Too Early, Again

4:15 am - Today starts the same way most days start: Angel walks into the bedroom whining to go out, sits by my side of the bed, and bumps the mattress to wake me up. Most mornings, I do my best to ignore her so she’ll go over to the other side and wake up my sweetie. I don’t do this because I’m mean. I do this because he can take her out, come back to bed, and easily go back to sleep. Me? Once I’m awake in the middle of the night, that’s it. I rarely can get back to sleep.

But, this is Saturday and I do try to be nicer on the weekend. So, I get up, take her out, and encourage her to pee quickly. She languorously complies and we head back in. I check the clock: 4:15 am – ugh – and lay back down in the vain hope of catching another hour of sleep. Before I doze off, she is back. This time, my sweetie gets up. I ask him the time and it is only 4:30 am. After being informed she’d just been out, he takes her out anyway where she barks a few times. “Cat,” he says when he comes back in. No way will I get back to sleep now, but I close my eyes anyway.


Breakfast

5 am - When I roll out of bed, it is time for Angel's breakfast. I look at my breakfast options: oatmeal (blech), toast (yum), or leftovers for bean burritos (double yum). I make a burrito with pinto beans and the leftover fake provolone cheese made for the stuffed bread, using a locally made tortilla – store-bought because I knew it would be a busy weekend. Some guacamole, salsa, and lettuce on top complete the delicious, albeit unusual, morning meal.

While the burrito is heating on my George Foreman grill’s deep baking plate, I jot down the plan for the rest of the day’s meals. I’m in desperate need of freezer space, so hubby’s lunch will be a frozen fake chicken patty sandwich with tomato and lettuce. Not sure yet what mine will be. Dinner will use up the last rice and Indian greens frozen package I made for our ill-fated Missouri trip, along with some curried eggplant to use up those CSA eggplants from last week.


The Morning Plan

5:30 am - Feeding issues resolved, I gather my supplies for the morning. In a couple of hours, I’ll be heading out to a goat ranch north of town. Five other folks from my CSA will be coming out to shovel up goat manure for their gardens. I organized this outing and am disappointed the response was so poor – barely over 1% of the CSA members! I also am disappointed that I encouraged carpooling but apparently no one followed up on that. I can only do what I can do to encourage folks.

Time now to get cleaned up. I showered yesterday so I could wash my dirty hair. That means this morning is a quick sponge bath using only about a quart of hot water. I suspect I will need a shower to rinse off after shoveling goat poop later, though.

7:15 am – I head out for the long drive to the goat ranch. It’s 30 miles north of town, further than I prefer to drive, but I can handle going once a year to get a big load of manure. Plus, I am the hostess for this event and my presence is required. It takes me a few minutes to adjust to freeway speeds but soon I’m zipping on my way. I note the convenience store within a mile of my destination, knowing I’ll want something cold to drink when I’m done.


Got Poop?

8 am – After being lovingly greeted by the enormous Great Dane, I chat with the goats’ owner. She shows me around, suggesting good places for folks to bag up poop. There’s even some old cow manure in one yard and hay kicked out from the pens available. I’m distracted while she’s talking because there are kids everywhere.


A pen here holds half a dozen young males, a couple of months old. This one was the most inquisitive of them.


Over here are the little females, cute as buttons. When the feeding bucket of milk comes out, the kids suck greedily at the nipples on the side. Man, they act like they'll starve to death if they don't empty that bucket in five seconds.

The owner goes off to do the milking while I start filling bags with manure. After a while, I check my cell phone. It’s 9 am and nobody else has shown up yet. Hm. Ah, there’s a car pulling up to the gate. I show the lady where to fill her buckets and we both get to work. We talk about layering compost with animal manure and shredded paper, and using urine in the garden.


When she’s done, I take her over to see the main herd, along with a cute little 1-week-old goat.

10 am – I’m done. I’ve crammed a bag of cow manure, three large bags of goat manure, two bags of hay, and three additional small bags of goat manure into my vehicle. I’m hot, dirty, sweaty, and tired. I’m also disappointed that the rest of the folks didn’t bother to show up, but just then, my canning friend comes up with her containers. I enjoy visiting with her while helping fill her trashcans. I snap a few pictures for the blog and it’s time to head home.

But, I’m not done yet. I’m too nice and volunteered to get the smaller bags of manure for several folks at the CSA who, for legitimate reasons, could not make it but who were extremely nice folks and really wanted the manure. I would not have done this had they wanted large quantities because I’m not that nice.

11:30 am – I meet both ladies at the CSA and finally get to go home.


Home Again, Briefly

Noon - My sweetie helps me unload and we talk about the compost pile. I want to consolidate the remaining old goat manure, the cow manure, and the current compost pile into one bin, which will then be left alone until fall. (If we’re still here, we’ll use it. Otherwise, we’ll give it away.) We’ll start a new compost pile in the second bin, layering the goat manure, hay, and kitchen scraps.

After giving Angel a few minutes to sniff every inch of my shoes and lower pant legs, I shake out my clothes and hop in the shower. The resident 5-gallon bucket catches the water as I wait for it to warm up and then catches more when I flip the shower head off while soaping up. (The faucet runs continuously in our shower; not a lot, but enough to almost fill the bucket during a normal shower.) Getting clean feels so good!


Lunch

1 pm – I’m hungry and head out to grab a burrito at Chipotle’s. I know, I know, I should make something at home, but I’m exhausted and hungry. I want this special treat for myself for the hard work I’ve done today. If I’d had more time yesterday, I could have made something for today's lunch, but the day got away from me, especially since I worked an extra hour at the CSA in order to be available for any last sign-ups for the goat manure pick-up.

I like Chipotle’s for several reasons. 1) It’s close. 2) It’s very easy to get a vegan burrito with lots of veggies. 3) Their animal products (even though I don't eat them) are naturally raised, giving customers a better option than chemical and hormone-filled meat and dairy. 4) Most of their packaging is re-usable or recyclable.

I opt to eat there and do not remember to stop them from putting my foil-wrapped burrito in a basket lined with wax paper. (Take-out avoids the waste of wax paper.) I also do not take in my own drink container so I get a disposable cup since my tired hot body is screaming for a soda. Unfortunately, these lapses are most likely to happen when I’m really worn out from some Herculean effort to do the green thing (recycling many pounds of animal manure for organic gardening, for example). When I am done, I survey my table and bring home everything except their basket and the wax paper.


The used paper napkin is torn up and added to the compost bucket. The chips bag will be shredded for compost as well. The clean napkin goes with a small stash of other clean restaurant napkins for emergency use such as picking up the chunky bits when Angel throws up on the carpet. The plastic fork, that I did not use or need, goes into the drawer with a few others. These are handy for work and for road trips. The foil will be washed and saved for re-use. I never buy foil anymore. I rarely use it but when I do, it comes from the Chipotle stash. The drink cup will, unfortunately, end up in the trash along with its lid. The straw can be used for sucking air out of plastic Ziploc bags, which are re-used to freeze various foods. It can also be cut in small sections, slit on the side, and slipped around seedlings as a collar to foil the pests that like to cut through tasty tender young stems.

Meanwhile, thanks to a high fiber diet, the water from the shower is re-used to flush the toilet. The empty toilet paper roll goes through the shredder for the compost pile and I retrieve another pack of toilet paper from storage. I do use cloth wipes for urination but just am not comfortable at this time using them for everything. If I’d had a child and dealt with dirty diapers, I’m sure this wouldn’t be an issue for me.

I notice a moth on the ceiling in the bedroom and use my tried and trusted method of killing overhead insects. If you try to slap them with your hand, most of the time they will escape. If you use a box, such as one for tissues, you’ll get it every time. Moths + stored food = bad news. I use a small piece of toilet paper to wipe up the residue and toss it in the compost bucket. (Yeah, almost everything gets composted here.)


Cleaning the Fridge & Freezer

I have a critical shortage of space in the freezer right now. My sweetie was coerced into eating frozen food for lunch to make space to freeze slices of homemade banana bread for his weekday snacks. As I am retrieving the rice and Indian greens to thaw for dinner, I move a bag of brown rice aside. The bag is not sealed well and rice spills all over the freezer. Sigh. What was going to be a relatively brief foray into the freezer now becomes an ordeal. Everything has to come out.

It turns out okay because it allows me to rearrange in there. When I finish, all of the frozen lemon cubes are stuffed in the bottom, leaving room in the top portion for items I haven’t been able to find when needed. I still need more space and pull out the bulk rolled oats for my sweetie’s breakfasts in June.

Why do I need freezer space? Because I am doing a solar cooking demo at the CSA in mid-June. In order to have enough cooked food for sampling, I have already started preparing the food. When there is surplus of an item I need, I bring it home. For instance, I’ve already made sweet pickled onions for the potato salad (to be made with potatoes cooked in the solar oven). These onions will keep in the fridge until the demo. This week, I brought home corn on the cob. Hopefully tomorrow will be sunny so I can steam them in the solar oven. Then I’ll cut the kernels off and freeze them to later make a salad with tomatoes, some of the pickled onions, and cucumber at the demo.

Normally, this is a very sunny time of year here. However, as soon as we set a date for the solar cooking demo and I planned to get started on prep for it, the skies have been partially cloudy almost every single day. We've even had rain. I’d hoped to test some bread recipes to bake in the solar oven, but at this rate I’ll be lucky to get the corn steamed, some beans cooked (they can be frozen, too), and bake the potatoes for the salad! Who’da thunk?!

3 pm – My refrigerator is getting crowded with cooking demo food, too. Along with the onions, there are several jars of green tomato relish – to be served with the ranch beans – and the candied grapefruit and orange peels. My next task today is to clean and organize the refrigerator to prevent science experiments from starting in the back corners. What I’d really like to do right now is go sit on my butt and put my feet up, but duty calls.


Distractions

5 pm – Cleaning the refrigerator is proceeding extremely slowly. Before I even start, I take a break to play some Text Twist. Once I get to the fridge, I keep running into little tasks that need to be done. Before our trip to Missouri, I’d split some leftover rehydrated dried jalapeno pieces into two jars. I poured vinegar into one and vodka into the other. Last week, I strained the vinegar and tasted it; it will make a reasonable substitute for Tabasco sauce – a good thing since my huge bottle is almost empty. Today, I strain the vodka. Wow, is it hot! A dash in the pot would add quite a kick to any dish.

Next up are the two open jars of peanut butter. To make space, I combine them. The empty jar will be saved as they are a great size for re-use and the lids don’t have a strong smell (like ones from roasted red peppers or pickles.)

Once the door is done, I move to the top shelf. Darn it! I forgot about those organic strawberries and now they’ve molded. Can’t believe I did that. Oh well, moving on. That jar of chopped candied lemon peel reminds me that I was going to make some stollen (a Swiss yeasty sweet bread) at some point. I’ll have to omit the almonds but I think it will still taste good. I decide to chop up the rest of the fruit needed for the recipe: dried cherries, and candied grapefruit and orange peels. My sweetie promises to grind some more flour for me tomorrow so I can make the bread sometime next week.

Before I can do more, my sweetie suggests we call his mom to visit since we haven’t talked to her in a couple of weeks. She tells us she bought a tomato and a pepper plant. This is the first time she's done any gardening with food plants. The potato she planted some time ago is now blooming which seems to delight her to no end. I joke and remind her that the blooms will not produce potatoes. She doesn't care if she gets any potatoes really, she's just enjoying the flowers.


Time to Relax and Eat

6 pm – By this time I need a break from the long day's work so we watch an old episode of CSI NY. As soon as it ends, Angel reminds us she needs a walk. The temperature outside is nice this time of day and we enjoy being out. My foot hurts a bit so I ride my bike instead of walking.

A little more relaxation time is in order but first I quickly go through the rest of the refrigerator. I need to sort through the produce tomorrow to use up the older vegetables. Right now, cooking up the sweet corn from our CSA share sounds like a great idea. After eating the corn, we sit and relax a while.

7:30 pm – I pop the frozen brown rice and Indian chard in the microwave to defrost while simmering a backpacker’s meal of chana masala on the stove top. On the trip, we discovered that the chickpeas don’t rehydrate all that well using their directions (add boiling water, seal, and let sit 15 minutes). I simmer it in extra water for 10 minutes and then let it sit for 5 minutes. It comes out soupy but the beans are no longer hard, which means less gas later. Some minced preserved lemons spice up the rice and greens.

We’re sad to see that PBS is running yet another pledge drive right now so the Britcoms won’t be on tonight. With funding cuts, the pledge drives are coming far more frequently. Based on the programming, their target audience here appears to be the retired crowd. I guess they’re assuming there are still a few folks out there that didn’t lose everything in the stock market.


The End of a Long Day

I’m exhausted from the day’s work and may read a book or watch a DVD on the computer (too late now). Last week, we watched an interesting foreign film titled “Waiting List” about passengers waiting for a bus to come to a station in Cuba. The local bus had broken down and the others that came through only had space for a single passenger. During the long wait, the passengers transformed the station into a place no one wanted to leave, complete with garden, chickens, and goats.

As I finish up this account of my day, I ponder whether to include links to posts I’ve written about things referenced in this one. Nah, that’s entirely too much work. My eyes are tired and I want to wind down before bed. If my foot is better in the morning, we’ll be heading out for a walk in Sabino Canyon early in the morning. There’s no reason to set the alarm since Angel will wake us up in time for her breakfast.

I Missed My Blog-iversary!

For some reason, I had it in my head that I started blogging on May 29, 2007. I've been pondering what to write for the two year anniversary of my blog.

It's now a moot point because I actually started blogging on May 23, 2007. So, I missed it. I'm a day late and a dollar short as usual; well, almost a week late in this case!

I've been having a hard time blogging lately. It's not that there is nothing to write about; it's more a matter of either not having the time or energy to write a decent blog post, or not really seeing the point in telling you about all the stuff we're doing.


For instance, would you care that I salvaged the awful results of making Tokyo bekana sauerkraut by turning it into kimchi with some ginger and cayenne pepper?

Or learning that saving dough is not the same as saving sourdough starter? All the gluten developed from kneading the dough previously for bread means your attempt at "sourdough pancakes" will come out really heavy and doughy, more like French toast than light pancakes.


It does work for yeasty breads, though, such as this one stuffed with olives, roasted red peppers, artichoke hearts, and a vegan homemade "provolone" cheese.


This bread was really, really good.


Would others care that we've solved the problem of Angel clamoring over the furniture to see out this window by building her a custom bench? We no longer have to worry about her getting injured by knocking chairs off the treadle sewing machine so she can watch us bike away, plus we have a new handy storage area. (Yes, the top is nice and cushy for her.)

Who knows? You might be interested to know that storing 15 pounds of rolled oats for a year and a half is a bad idea, especially in a warm climate. It will get stale and a bit rancid, but the mice living in your compost pile will love it. Incidentally, the best way to bait a mousetrap is to shove half of a peanut under the metal part, not peanut butter. Smart mice can lick the peanut butter off without getting caught, while gnawing a peanut is more likely to trip the trap. And yes, I was cruel and did not use live traps. Releasing rodents somewhere else just makes them someone else's problem. Nor did I dress them out and cook them for dinner.


Do you are about little tips to make your life easier? For instance, turning a box inside out for re-use?


If you save the packaging material, this comes in really handy if you need to ship an item back for warranty repair.


And the Post Office is much happier dealing with a plain brown box than a heavily marked one. (The dried flowers were not attached, just creatively used to hide my home address.)


The blog is two years old now. We have a choice. It can be the Terrible Twos or it can be the Terrific Twos.

What do you want to read about? Mundane everyday stuff? Rants? Cooking lessons? Prepping tips? How to convince people goat poop is good for their gardens? How to save money in your kitchen (doing things like re-using your peppercorns)? De-cluttering adventures? Movie reviews? The latest antics of Angel (chasing lizards)? How to balance on one foot without falling over? Hey, I can even write about how to tick off your boss, annoy your co-workers, and lose your friends.

Book Review: Edible Plants and Animals

I finally finished reading through the book, Edible Plants and Animals: Unusual Foods From Aardvark to Zamia by A.D. Livingston and Helen Livingston, ED.D. The 292 page book was published by Facts on File in 1993.

When I spotted this book in a used bookstore, I picked it up for two reasons. The first was the hope that I might find some helpful information about wild foods. I've written before about eating wild animals - pests, in particular - and about foods I've harvested in the wild. The other was that I knew it would make a great giveaway on the blog. (I did hold a giveaway and the winner has been extraordinarily patient while waiting to receive her book while I struggled to finish it, review it, and decide whether to make notes on the plants.)

This book is presented in an encyclopedia format with limited information on each edible plant and animal included rather than as a useful guide for actually using them. Since it encompasses the planet, finding edible species specific to one region would require careful reading and note-taking. (A small range map next to each entry would have been a nice feature.) It is a broad look at what human cultures throughout history have eaten, covering those foods that are tasty and easy to get as well as those that are not but will allow a person to survive.

The book is written in two sections separating the animals from the plants. The tone of these two sections differed greatly, at least in my perspective as a strict vegetarian. As I read through the animal section, I was occasionally irritated by the authors’ opinion that many protein sources were not being adequately utilized to feed humans. They see krill, for instance, as a largely under-utilized food source for us land-based primates. That perspective is, of course, now dated with current climate change issues. My take-away impression from the whole animal section was to be vaguely disgusted by the impacts of the voracious appetites of man on any animal species that happened to be edible. It didn’t surprise me to see that one of the authors is a wild game enthusiast and has written several other books on that subject.

However, for those enjoying trivia, it will be an interesting read. Along with being amazed at the lengths to which some cultures have gone to capture and prepare some edible species, such as armored catfish, one can be disgusted by what others have utilized as a protein source. The most disgusting has to be snipe flies eaten by Indians of California. The female flies gather in great masses while laying eggs on branches overhanging water. Evidently, the Indians would place logs across the water downstream and then shake the fly-covered bushes to make them fall off into the water. They used baskets to scoop up the dead flies where they accumulated behind the log downstream, and then cooked them in their ovens. When allowed to cool gradually, the cooked dead flies would take on the consistency of headcheese (another disgusting food in my opinion) and could be cut into slices for dinner.

I was relieved to finish the animal section without losing my lunch. The plant section was more interesting but the authors did not write nearly as enthusiastically about gathering plants to eat as they were about hunting, killing, and eating animals. Instead of frequently asserting that humans should be using more animals as food sources, only fringe groups such as foragers and survivalists need worry about finding edible plants. Much of the information in the plant section was gathered from military survival handbooks and the entries seem rather sparse compared to the lists of edible plants one can find for specific areas.

Some of the edible plant information was interesting, nonetheless, such as how many trees have edible bark. I would not feel confident in taking the plant information strictly from this book into the field to survive, but it could be used as a jumping off point for researching specific regions in more depth. Careful identification is important when gathering wild plants and sometimes specific preparation is necessary to reduce undesirable components.

Overall, I can recommend the book as an interesting read, but not so much as a survival manual. It could clue you in to edible plants and animals for your area, but reading more detailed regional guides would be advisable before eliminating trips to your grocery store or farmer's market.

Nothing to Say

I have nothing to say lately and am enjoying a nice little vacation from the Internet. When I do have something to say, or the time to make sure I say it well, you'll be the first to know. Until then, well, you're on your own.

Perfect Summer Holiday Dessert

I have a weakness for rootbeer floats in the summer when the temperatures hit 100 degrees. The problem with a float, though, is the ice cream melts too fast, making the rootbeer all creamy instead of the ice cream rootbeery. One way I've gotten around this is to freeze rootbeer popsicles, add them to the rootbeer to lower the temperature, and then add the ice cream.

Yesterday, I had one of those "I wonder if I could...." thoughts. My hunch was right and I created a wonderful rootbeer float ice cream. It's quite simple to make and this holiday weekend would be the perfect time to try it with your kids.

Chile's Rootbeer Float Ice Cream

Gather the ingredients for your favorite vanilla ice cream recipe using 2 cups of milk/cream (soymilk in my case). This can be scaled up to serve more people.

One 20 oz bottle of rootbeer per ice cream recipe using 2 cups. (In other words, use two bottles if your ice cream recipe calls for 4 cups of milk/cream.

Combine your ice cream ingredients together and chill well. Chill the rootbeer.

Prepare your ice cream maker. (I use a Donvier and keep the canister in the freezer all the time in the summer so we can have ice cream or sorbet any time we want. These ice cream makers show up in thrift stores frequently for $5 or less.)

Pour your ice cream mixture into the ice cream maker. Pour in the cold rootbeer.

Close and make your ice cream. The paddles will mix them together, resulting in an icy, creamy, delicious dessert. It may take a little longer to freeze than normal.

Fun Day

Thank you, readers, for the many ways you shared that incorporate fun and relaxation into your lives. I will be going back through them all, noting authors and titles where suggested, and considering the ideas.

Something that occurred to me as I read through the comments was that I should look back at what I've found to be fun in my past. As much as I enjoy reading blogs and surfing the Internet, I want to spend less time on the computer, not more. So, what non-computer activities gave me joy years ago? Would they give me joy now? I came up with three ideas.


Hiking in the mountains

I've been drawn to mountains since a young age. Some of the best memories of my youth come from times I went hiking with my father and my brother. Most of my best memories as a teenager and young adult are from time spent in the mountains. Mountains feed my soul. (Moving to the Midwest away from the mountains would have been a tremendous mistake!)

As a high school and college student, it was not unusual for me to hike by myself, even on overnight trips. I never felt uncomfortable doing this and, in fact, relished the solitude. Now, however, the world has changed. I have changed. Hiking alone in mountains near the Mexican border is not wise. The last time I did it, several years ago, I was stunned by the amount of trash that I saw way off the beaten path. Considering the prevalence of drug traffic now, I will not hike alone. Near the city, too, there are other dangers for the female out alone on the trail, and dogs are not allowed on most of the trails here.

Luckily, there is a local option to get me out in a mountain canyon without feeling vulnerable: Sabino Canyon. This is part of the Coronado National Forest and is located in the foothills of the Santa Catalina Mountains on the northeast side of Tucson. A road goes almost four miles into the canyon, paved, I believe, by the work crews of the CCC. Cars are no longer allowed, so the road is used solely by walkers and runners save for the occasional tram ferrying people up and down the canyon.

It is a very popular place with tourists and with folks looking for regular exercise in a nice locale. The folks using the road tend to be noisier than hikers one would encounter on a nature trail, but there can be long stretches without many people nearby. Weekends, of course, are the busiest times and it's not uncommon to see families hauling picnics in ice chests up the road to set up at one of the many picnic areas. Weekdays are a better choice to avoid the crowds, although summer mornings find many walkers and runners out early to beat the high temperatures.

Yesterday was a cool rainy day, perfect for a walk. I got to the canyon by 9 am, bought my annual pass, and headed up the road. Since I have not been exercising enough lately, I walked at a moderate pace which slowed as I went up the hills. Just a bit short of the two mile marker, I got a twinge of dizziness so I opted to turn back. It was so nice to be out in nature, I didn't want to stop.

Even though this canyon is right on the edge of the city, going up the canyon makes the city disappear. The sounds of traffic and emergency vehicles are replaced with the descending tumbling song of the Canyon wren and the raucous call of the Cactus wren. The sight of graffiti-covered block walls is replaced with steeply rising canyon walls. Worries about the four rough-looking guys coming down the street fade away at the pleasure of seeing four deer grazing alongside the road.

I've decided to walk here once a week by myself and possibly with my sweetie again on one weekend day. It is an ideal place to get ourselves in shape to hike the steeper and rockier trails in the mountains by this fall. And for me right now, the smooth paved road eliminates worries about tripping over rocks and falling on cactus should I have vertigo issues while out. I look forward to making it up to the top of the road; it's been a long time since I've been there. (I used to walk in the canyon regularly when training to walk a half-marathon.)


Audio-Books

Thanks to the suggestions ya'll gave, I recalled that listening to audio-books while working in the kitchen made the work fly by. On my way home from the canyon yesterday, I stopped at the library and picked up two books. One is strictly for fun: Redwall by Brian Jacques. The other is educational: an updated and revised version of Minding the Body, Mending the Mind. I got through the first CD of Redwall yesterday while doing all the vegetable prep work for Bibim bap. As you may recall, there's a lot of work involved making this dish - eight separately prepared vegetables, a sauce, plus cooked rice! - but it seemed simple while listening to the adventures of Matthias.

Since we listen to CDs on a little Walkman with portable speakers, I can move the set-up to any room where I have a project to do. I probably won't listen while on the computer unless I'm doing financial work. I've found that I can't work with words - writing or reading - while listening to words. I can easily work with numbers, though, while listening to words, which helps boring financial record-keeping go faster.


Crafts

I have enjoyed some crafts in the past, oftentimes as a way to mend or repair something. I've got several small sewing projects to tackle and hope to find them fun rather than tedious. If that fails, at least I have audio-books to help get me through it.

The folks in a house around the corner from us have been working on a mosaic wall for about a year now. Every time we walk by it, it stirs fond memories of working with tile and found objects. The problem with getting back into that, though, is the amount of storage room the materials take up and the heavy weight when moving them. Luckily, I discovered years ago that I also enjoy collage and assemblage. I had the most fun with this when I had very limited materials and was forced to be more creative. (I found my creativity dropped when I accumulated more materials.)

It would be very easy and inexpensive for me to take this up again. I can pick up a magazine or two from a thrift store, or even use advertising that comes in the mail. Cheap white glue and paperboard would work just fine since I'm not planning to make masterpieces that need to be protected from acid degradation. This would be strictly for fun. Making custom greeting cards with collage is a lot of fun, too. Who knows, maybe I'll make something goofy to give away for my upcoming two-year blog anniversary.


It looks like I've got some plans in place for keeping my stress levels reined in. Now we'll see if I can tear myself away from the fun activities long enough to get anything productive accomplished.

Damn Dogs

Well, the numbers are in. The damage done to our rental car by the pack of Missouri dogs is going to cost us *gasp* almost four hundred dollars. The repairs were done by a local guy who was able to fill and paint the holes and scratches at a lower cost than replacing the entire front bumper panel.

Unfortunately, the actual repair only cost a little more than our insurance deductible. Since our insurance does not cover the hefty administrative fee and the loss of use (only one day - for the actual repair), the difference between paying it out-of-pocket or making a claim is a mere $25. Saving twenty-five bucks is not worth increased insurance rates for three years.

Please scroll down to the next post. I really need some fun ideas now! Cheap and fun...

Just For Fun

It should be no surprise for you to learn that I've been a little stressed lately. Between ongoing concerns about the triad of peak oil/climate change/depressed economy, the change in moving plans, continuing challenges with my health (shoulder injury, weak ankle, vertigo), and the weight I've regained as a result of eating to deal with these stresses, I'm not particularly thrilled with how my life is going right now.

It also seems like I spend the majority of my time doing the same old boring chores, occasionally interrupted by a marathon food preservation session. Daily tasks are a normal part of our lives, things you just do because they have to get done. My dissatisfaction with doing them now stems from my desire to be carving out my own permanent homestead, not simply holding down the fort here until we can get there.

Other than regular chores, the majority of my time is taken up with activities that fit into one or another of the categories in Sharon's Independence Days Challenge: planting something, harvesting something, preserving something, reducing waste, preparing and storing something, building community food systems, and eating the food we've preserved and stored.

In other words, my job is prepping for a changing future, prepping to more self-sufficient. While my mother-in-law was visiting this past weekend, she expressed concern about me working so hard almost the entire duration of her visit: making meals from scratch, juicing citrus and candying peels, tearing up cardboard and newspapers to add to the compost bin, hauling saved water out to the garden, etc. I responded, "Mom, this is my life. This is what I do."

It is what I do but I find that I need something fun to do. I enjoy cooking and I enjoy preserving food, but sometimes they feel like chores. For instance, an hour and a half of rolling candied orange peels in sugar was not fun. It was tedious, endless, and made my feet ache. But, it had to be done.

I need a hobby or activity whose purpose is not to be productive, but rather is something that is strictly for fun. One idea so far is a weekly walk or hike somewhere I usually wouldn't go because it's a few miles out of the way. With summer temperatures already here, this means getting up very early to beat the heat. I planned to go this morning but slept in after dealing with vertigo-induced nausea at 3:30 am. Luckily it's a cooler overcast day so I loaded Angel up in the vehicle and headed to a nearby multi-use path where we took a nice, leisurely walk. At the point I started thinking we should keep going because it was good exercise, even at a slow pace, I turned around to go back. No productivity allowed!

Another idea is to get back to reading fiction. I absolutely love to read but often feel guilty if I'm not reading nonfiction about how to live more sustainably, bake bread from scratch, or save the polar bears. Those books have their place, but reading for pure enjoyment also has its place.

It's time to remember that I can't take care of others if I don't take care of myself first. I also suspect that I will be more productive if I'm happier.

What do you do just for fun? Bonus points if your hobbies are for pure enjoyment, not something productive. How's that for turning the tables on conventional preparation wisdom?!

OMG, is she candying citrus peels again?

Lest you think I have become addicted to candied citrus peels, let me assure you the latest batches are not for me. I am making some things for a tasting at the CSA next month and knew that yummy candied citrus peels would be a big hit.

While I planned to use the same candying technique, I have done so many peels lately that I really wanted to shake things up a bit. My first attempt at candied grapefruit pith a couple of years ago came out tasty. It occurred to me yesterday that perhaps the pith could be candied with the grapefruit peel instead of scraping or cutting it off. Continuing along the same line of thought, perhaps a cinnamon stick added to the sugar syrup while boiling would add a nice touch.


Once again, a random thought yielded a great result. These candied peels are thicker than normal with a chewy softness that is even more like candy than anything I've made yet.


A comment left on an earlier candied peel post suggested that a vanilla bean added to the sugar syrup adds good flavor. I tried that with the orange peels (pith mostly scraped off). While the peels didn't seem to pick up much of the vanilla flavor, the leftover syrup did.

In an effort to extract every last bit of flavor from the vanilla bean, I put it in a jar with a splash of vodka to steep for a few weeks. It should make an interesting vanilla extract for baking. In the interest of full disclosure, I should admit that I didn't use a whole vanilla bean; I only used half. And I didn't even use a whole half. Over the weekend, I split that half bean and scraped out the seeds to make vegan French Vanilla soy ice cream.


There were many tiny seeds left in the bean, though, which are visible suspended in the syrup. (Click on the photo for a closer look.)

The candied grapefruit pith 'n peel is dry and put away in jars. The candied orange peels have been rolled in sugar and should be dry by this evening. I think, finally, I am done candying citrus peels this year. Maybe.

My Sweetie's in the Kitchen

Although my sweetie's cooking skills were questionable when I married him, he has come a long way over the years. Perhaps he's learned from watching me cook or maybe there was always the latent talent, just waiting for its chance to emerge.

In the early years, his specialty was burritos. Back then, out came the packaged tortillas, can of beans, cheese to be shredded, jar of salsa, and, at my insistence, lettuce to go on top. Over time, more of these elements were made from scratch. Bulk dry beans were far cheaper than canned ones so I often cooked these from scratch, sometimes in the solar oven while he was at work. We eliminated the cheese, but decided we liked rice in our burritos. A rice cooker is easy enough for any man to master. Nowadays, too, it's not uncommon for him to whip up a batch of tortillas, flour or corn, from scratch. The salsa still comes in a jar as I've not yet had a big enough tomato harvest to can my own, although my roasted tomatillo salsa is tasty on burritos as well as in enchiladas.

There were a few periods of time where my sweetie was working out of town and he had to "bach" it. I expect these were turning points for him as he was completely responsible for his own meals. Of course, he was responsible for feeding himself before I came along, but I spoiled him with really tasty food. Once you've eaten at Chile's house, you just can't go back to frozen 10 for $1 burritos.

His rice cooker went with him as well as a saucepan with a steamer insert. He could cook spaghetti in the saucepan and drain it in the steamer portion, toss it with sauce, steam some veggies and call it dinner. More often than not, though, he just cooked rice with chopped vegetables thrown in on top. It wasn't fancy, but it was nourishing and healthy. And it seemed to make him much more comfortable in the kitchen.

In terms of fancy cooking, though, the really turning point had to be when I was working long hours at a stressful job a few years ago. I came home one evening, after a particularly bad day, to find that he had made risotto from scratch. This is not a simple rice dish. In essence it is - there are few ingredients - but the cooking method is labor-intensive and requires constant attention. I don't recall now what he put in it, but it was the best tasting meal I'd had in ages!

Lately, he's decided to master baking bread from scratch. Not one to start out easy, he only uses the flour we have on hand - whole wheat, ground by him with the pedal-powered set-up he designed last year. Neither of us were terribly impressed by his first loaf of bread, but it was the wheat as much as the bread itself. To make sure we had enough in our emergency food supplies, I ordered some hard white wheat from out of state last year. My sweetie's bread was the first time we used it and we weren't crazy about the taste. I tried making pancakes with the flour and we didn't like those either. We love King Arthur's brand of white whole wheat flour. Who knew wheat could taste so different?!

This weekend, my sweetie ground more of this wheat and set about making bread using a recipe from John Seymour's book on The Self-Sufficient Life and How to Live It. It is very basic, using just flour, water, a little yeast, salt, and sugar. Unlike his other experiments, this one required letting the sponge sit overnight. In the morning, he whipped up some rolls for breakfast, along with a sandwich loaf.


Also unlike his previous attempt, the bread rose spectacularly! As we were eating the rolls, it slowly dawned on us that we really liked the taste. Somehow, the long rising time for the sponge worked magic on the wheat we didn't like, transforming it into an entirely different flavor. He saved some of the dough and plans to keep it going like sourdough, making a new batch of bread each weekend. I plan to co-opt one of the loaves to try baking it in the solar oven.


The texture of this bread is great for sandwiches as well as for morning toast. I even got a chance to try some of the orange peel syrup sugar on a slice. When scraped out of the jar and spread on warm toast, it dissolves, resulting in the texture and flavor of a nice orange honey that has crystallized a little.

To top it off this weekend, my sweetie made a wonderful dinner last night of pasta tossed with sauteed mushrooms, summer squash, and green onions (green parts only). I'm very grateful to have married someone who continues to learn and grow. I can't think of a better person with whom I'd like to face the future of peak oil, climate change, and economic hardship.

Digging in the Garden

The corn has come up and is starting to look like corn. My sweetie spotted an intruder this morning. Do you see it?


We have a Desert Spiny Lizard digging a nice cool burrow under the corn. It stops and watches us when we are near. When we move away, it turns and starts scraping dirt out with its hind feet. We don't know if she'll lay eggs in there or just wants a cool spot to hang out when it's 100+ degrees in the yard.

Down & Out

It dawned on me yesterday that I really am feeling depressed about our moving plans not working out. I'd invested a lot of emotional energy in preparing to move somewhere new and unfamiliar. I'd begun pulling up roots here, getting off mailing lists, giving away the finished compost, not bothering to start a garden (before the trip), and such. I was beginning to do a more serious culling of what we wouldn't need and was emptying out the freezer and fridge at a slow but acceptable rate.

Now that our plans to move are on hold, for who knows how long, I'm feeling a bit adrift. All of my plans had centered around returning from the trip and having no more than two months to pack everything up and get moved. Obviously, that is not how I need to spend my time now. I need to refocus and look at living here for another half year or more.

I made a list of what my priorities should be a couple of weeks ago. Regaining my health is at the top of the list. I've slacked off on my physical therapy and am paying for it. My exercise has been somewhat on hold due to the issues being addressed by the PT, but I committed to doing daily exercise as well as my PT.

Another priority, at least for now, is to get the house clean, decluttered, and reorganized for living here for a while longer. Boxes piled up were fine if we were moving soon, but not something I want to live with for months. I came up with a workable schedule to address this.

Both of these schedules worked great until the weekend and the lemons. I did not leave weekends free for alternate plans and I did not leave enough room in the daily schedule for big projects like harvesting and processing the lemons. The lemons took three days - not the entire three days, but a substantial portion. This, combined with other things we wanted to do over the weekend, resulted in my schedule being completely abandoned.

I'll get back to it Monday, I thought to myself on Sunday night. It is now Friday, and I have not gotten back on schedule. The first thing I needed to do was rework the schedule to account for weekends and big projects. I just haven't felt like doing that this week. I've gotten quite a lot done but not as much as I could have and my PT is still faltering. I also found out my studio membership was restarted so I need to work the krav maga classes back into my exercise schedule if they are willing to deal with me not being at my physical peak.

As I was playing a computer game yesterday, it seeped into my consciousness that I am unhappy about spending my time in limbo here still, just doing the daily tasks that need to be done but that are not really furthering our long-term preparedness. I was totally geared up for devoting all my energy to remodeling a new home for energy efficiency, setting up an outdoor solar cooking area, improving the soil for a good garden, integrating into a new community, and beginning a new life. Instead, I am stuck here in a rental house for another brutally hot summer in a neighborhood that goes downhill a little more each year.

And, to top it all off, my vertigo is trying to make a comeback. It's been a rocky week, especially in the mornings which are the only time I can get out and exercise before it gets to 100 degrees outside. I don't know what is triggering it this time as I've been avoiding foods that have been a problem in the past.

I'm having a difficult time being enthusiastic about much right now.


To answer the question possibly on your mind after reading all this, "No, I don't want any cheese with this whine." I would, however, take some wine.

No Longer at your Beck and Call

Dear Telephone:

Due to your growing affiliation with recorded telemarketing callers, I regret to inform you that I will no longer be at your beck and call. In too many instances, you have wasted my valuable time, interrupted an important task, or disrupted my dinner for a call that is not worthwhile.

I have no mortgage so I do not need to refinance or apply for assistance. My car's warranty expired almost a decade ago so it is misleading to be informed that it is about to expire soon. The PBS channels I get through broadcast television meet my entertainment needs so I will not be taking calls about satellite or dish television services.

I am grateful that you help me connect with family and friends. I appreciate the service you provide allowing me to call businesses for appointments, service, and information, especially since this often saves time and reduces the amount of driving I need to do.

It is important, however, for you to know that you are at my beck and call, not the other way around. If you have any questions or concerns about this matter, feel free to call me. Please leave a message after the beep.

Sincerely,

Chile

Who Could Blame Her?

If you slip a freeze-dried liver treat into the small pocket of your jeans with the intent to give it to your dog later but you forget and go to bed with your jeans lying on the bathroom floor, then you really can't be mad at your dog when she gets the treat herself in the middle of the night.

Final Tip on Candying Citrus Peels

Don't try to save money by skimping on the amount of syrup used to boil the peels. In the morning, there will not be enough left to adequately boil the peels but you'll try regardless. When you turn the heat off because you have to take the dog for her walk, you will come back to a solidified sugary lump with peels sticking out in all directions.

The peels were salvaged with a little added water and heat. The leftover syrup is already forming a solid lump in the jar. I guess I can chunk it out with an ice pick for use in cooking. I'm officially done candying citrus peels for the season. I'm not sure I even want to eat any more for a while.

Candied Lemon Peels....One More Time

You're probably wondering, "Doesn't she have enough candied lemon peels already?" The answer is, of course, yes. But what was I supposed to do with all the unblemished lemons I was juicing from my tree? Just throw them in the compost, potential unrealized? That doesn't fit in well with my lack of moderation.

I'm glad I did another batch because I finally got it right. The recipe I gave yesterday was fine but I changed one thing and it made all the difference in the world. Instead of gently simmering the peels each time (don't worry, I'll give you the recipe here again), I cooked them at a little higher heat so the syrup was bubbling just over the tops of the peels. It shouldn't bubble way up in the pot unless you want to caramelize everything, but it should be more than just barely simmering.

This occurred to me last night as I was thinking about making candy and using a candy thermometer to make sure the temperature is just right to form the proper consistency. While I don't own a candy thermometer, something in my distant memory suggested the syrup needed to boil more to do this right.

The candied peels I showed in syrup yesterday were tender, sweet at first taste (because of surface syrup), but not particularly sweet all the way through. The ones I finished this morning are chewier and sweet all the way through. In other words, they truly are candied!


Just look at these beauties.


After draining, I rolled these in sugar and set them on the dehydrator trays to dry. I put a couple of trays in the dehydrator (one without sugar) and am leaving a couple of them out at room temperature. I'll keep checking on them to see which ones come out best by this afternoon when I plan to take some to the CSA.


The syrup ended up as thick and viscous as honey. I think it would work well as a substitute for honey in any recipe where a mild lemon flavor wouldn't detract from the dish.

Here is the new, improved recipe for candying citrus peels.

Thick Candied Citrus Peel
Citrus to be juiced (grapefruit, oranges, or lemons)
Water
Sugar

• Clean citrus well. Cut in half and juice.


• Remove stringy membrane and any remaining pulp from citrus halves and place in a large pot.


• Cover with cold water and bring to a boil.


• Drain and repeat two times.


• Using a spoon, scrape out any soft pith from each half. Cut each half into four strips.


• Make enough simple syrup (2 parts sugar to 1 part water) to cover citrus peels. Add peels to syrup and bring to a rolling boil.


• Reduce heat so that syrup continues to boil vigorously just barely over the top of the peels but not up higher. Cook for 1 hour.


• Remove from heat, cover, and let sit overnight.


• In the morning, cook for another hour, checking often to make sure the syrup is not caramelizing.


• Drain, saving the syrup. Toss peels with sugar, and place on a rack to dry. Store in the refrigerator and chop to add to quick breads, cakes, or granola.

A Busy Week for Food Independence

This update of the Independence Days Challenge is dominated by lemons, although we actually did get a little bit of other work done as well.

Plant something
We got plant starts with our CSA share. I brought home a couple of extras leftover from the previous pick-up.

Eggplant seedling - went into the shadehouse
Squash seedling - went in next to the Energizer chard
Tomato seedling – my sweetie made an homemade upside-down planter for it. (Thanks, Rob, for linking to this.)


Harvest something
Lemons - the entire tree
Wonderberries
Chard (again!)
1 puny little green garlic (after the stem broke)


Preserve something
Froze more pumpkin puree
Froze orange segments in syrup
Froze lemon juice
Started limoncello
Candied lemon peel


Reduce waste
Candied lemon peels
Composted the ugly lemon peels not suitable for candying
Shredded Sunday newspaper for compost
Swept up fallen blossoms from Palo Verde tree on patio and added to compost
Composted all kitchen scraps (inedible parts)
Saved veggie scraps for stock
Re-used ziplock bags (mostly get them now with CSA share)
Got most of food from CSA, pantry, and Farmer's Market - all of which have minimal packaging
Ate homemade food except one meal out
Used solar ovens for cooking – saves on cooking AND cooling energy
Ran the evaporative cooler only when house was hot (Temps outside have been over 100 this past week!)
Re-used water from washing lemons and sterilizing jars for garden


Prepare & Store
Upside-down tomato planter made from empty 2 liter bottle
Learned not to pour boiling water into a canning jar – it will crack!


Build Community Food Systems
Shared tips on safely handling hot chile peppers
Borrowed citrus juicer rather than buying one and will share preserved food with owner


Eat the Food
Tried a new recipe, learned from a friend, for candying citrus peel.


Thick Candied Citrus Peel


Citrus to be juiced (grapefruit, oranges, or lemons)
Water
Sugar

Clean citrus well.
Cut in half and juice.
Remove stringy membrane and any remaining pulp from citrus halves.
Place cleaned halves in a large pot and cover with cold water.
Bring to a boil.
Drain and rinse.
Repeat two times.
Make enough simple syrup (2 parts sugar to 1 part water) to cover citrus peels.*
Add peels to syrup and simmer for 1 hour.
Remove from heat, cover, and let sit overnight.
In the morning, simmer for another hour.
These can be stored in the syrup in the refrigerator** and chopped to add to quick breads or cakes. Or they can be drained, tossed with sugar, and allowed to dry.

*I cut the citrus halves in half (to make quarters) so they would take less space in the pot and I could make less syrup. I also made the syrup a little weaker than this.
**To store, I sterilized some canning jars and added the hot peel and syrup to the jars. I will still store them in the refrigerator.

"Have You Learned Moderation Yet?"

That was the question posed to me yesterday by a friend at the CSA as we discussed putting up food. It started with an observation that harvesting and juicing an entire lemon tree in one day may be a bit obsessive-compulsive. Then we moved on to how much food is appropriate to put up: only what you can use in a reasonable amount of time or as much as is available. He leans towards the first option while I lean towards the latter. The latter means you have surplus in case of unexpected house guests, surplus to donate to others in need, surplus to give as gifts.

He's well aware of the crazy food preservation adventures I've had in the last couple of years such as getting two or more shares from the CSA just so I can get more experience canning, taking the huge zucchini that no one else wants - again so I can practice processing a large "harvest", and picking prickly pears until my ears bleed pink. He knows I still have watermelon rind pickles left from Summer 2007. He does not think I'm very good at the moderation thing.

My response to this is to quote Lazarus Long from one of Heinlein's books: "To enjoy the flavor of life, take big bites. Moderation is for monks."


This is not a moderate amount of lemons. I suppose I am only being a little obsessive-compulsive since I harvested only half the lemon tree in the back yard this morning. I've worked my way through a little over half of this box so far. There are four ice cube trays of juice in the freezer and another four cups of juice in the refrigerator awaiting their turn in the trays. On the stove top sits a pot of candied lemon peels soaking in sugar syrup. In the closet is a large jar of lemon peels steeping in vodka for a new batch of limoncello.

I'm worn out from processing these lemons and the payoff is not huge. Unlike normal lemons, these contain little juice. Most yield less than a tablespoon of juice but I press on because they are free, they are local, and I will need juice for pomegranate and prickly pear jelly this summer. Perhaps we'll even finish off last year's jelly before the new season begins, but probably not because I made more than a moderate person would have made.

In the meantime, I'll savor the memory of the tasty limoncello I drank this afternoon, the product of my first foray into making my own liqueurs. I sipped half of the small glass and decided it was too intense for midday. I decided to make a refreshing summer drink by adding 3 parts chilled club soda to what was left in my glass. It was wonderful and could be offered as a nice summer party drink in a champagne glass with a wedge of candied lemon peel on the rim. Or perhaps one could rub a lemon wedge around the rim of the glass and dip it in superfine sugar to dress up the presentation. You'd want to do that before pouring the limoncello and club soda into the glass, of course.

And do remember to drink in moderation.

Ooo, That's Hot!

While it is hot (forecast calls for a high of 99 degrees) here today, I'm actually talking about the heat of chile peppers. Capsaicin is the natural component responsible for the heat and has been found to be beneficial for pain management when applied topically, typically in cream form. You can make your own, but I think it might be better to use a milder pepper than habanero initially to avoid irritating the skin.

There is a reason that cookbooks recommend wearing gloves when handling chiles. The capsaicin gets on your fingers while cleaning and chopping the peppers and it's very hard to remove. Washing with soap and water just doesn't seem to do the trick. When your mouth is burning from a hot chile, some recommend eating dairy. I believe it's the milk protein that helps neutralize the heat. This site recommends washing your hands with yogurt or milk to help remove the capsaicin, or mixing cooking oil with soap to wash it off. Since I never have dairy in the house, I'll have to remember the oil trick.

I generally don't use gloves when handling chiles for several reasons. I hate the disposable aspect of them, they don't fit well enough so it's harder to do the chopping with plastic flopping at the end of my fingertips, and I usually forget anyway. This morning, I added a dried red chile pepper to some white tepary beans to go out in the solar oven. I didn't think about gloves while opening the chile to remove the seeds and make sure there was no mold inside.

After a bike ride, I wiped some sweat out of my eye. Hoo boy! Oh yeah, I handled a pepper this morning. And by the feel of the burning in my eye, it must have been a hot one. YIKES! I could not open my eye for several minutes. The area around my eye was bright red and the pain was intense. I recalled that a friend had a similar thing happen and using milk as an eyewash worked. No luck there in a vegan refrigerator. Finally, after about 5 minutes, the natural cleansing action of tears must have helped because I could open my eye again.

I kept it open long enough to set up the camera and get this blurry shot for you. Sheesh, I hope those wrinkles are from squeezing my eye shut, not what I really look like!

Please remember safety first when handling chile peppers (or Chile). Wear gloves or wash your hands thoroughly with milk or oil and soap. Try not to touch your eyes or nose for at least a few hours. And for you women out there, put on a glove if you need to change your Diva cup. That really smarts, too!

Why Didn't I Think of That?!

Sometimes you run into an idea that is great and, in retrospect, is such an obvious solution to a problem that you wonder, "Why didn't I think of that?"

One of the CSA volunteers shared her recipe for candied citrus peels on the Tucson CSA's extensive recipe database. It's pretty standard: peel your citrus with a sharp paring knife or vegetable peeler, removing only the outer layer. Leave the white pith behind as it is bitter. Cover with water in a pan, bring to a boil over high heat, drain, and repeat twice more. Make a simple syrup with equal parts sugar and water, add the drained peels, and bring to a boil again. Drain and toss in the fridge before gobbling up like candy.

She didn't indicate how long to boil the peels in the syrup so I did it by taste. When they had simmered about 12-15 minutes, the peels were just right. As recommended, I save the drained syrup, too. (It's tasty on pancakes!)

The recipe I've used in the past says to toss the drained peels in sugar and let dry. I've had mixed results with this. Sometimes they dry well and other times they keep dripping and stay sticky. Even when they've dried well, sometime they get too moist in the jar they are stored in.

Lori had a tasting demo set up at the CSA a few months ago. She's an excellent baker and always brings wonderful little mini-cupcakes, often with flowers or candied citrus peel tucked into the frosting on top. This time, she had a bowl of crispy candied orange peels. I asked how she made them and she simply followed the recipe above and then dried them in the food dehydrator.

D'oh! What a great solution!


I candied some orange peel last night and put it in my dehydrator before going to bed. This morning, I found nice dry crispy treats waiting for me. They are glossy and beautiful, not at all sticky, and I suspect they will last longer in storage. Or maybe not. They are so good that I've been snacking on them all morning.

Dang, why didn't I think of that?!

Independence Days Update

Sharon has resurrected her Independence Days challenge and I am participating again. The point of this challenge is to do at least a little bit of work every day towards self-sufficiency. You can read more about it on her post.

She breaks the project into categories to help guide your efforts: plant, harvest, preserve, reduce waste, prepare & store, build community food systems, and eat the food you have. Again, check her post for the details on each of these categories.

Here is my first week’s report. It was a very busy week because we decided to stay put for a bit which means we can do some gardening and additional work other than simply packing to move.

Plant something - Disclaimer: my sweetie did the planting.

Built a shadehouse and loaded it with plants:
Lemon Cucumber
White Wonder Cucumber
White Hailstone Radish
Sparkler Whitetip Radish
Turkish Orange Eggplant
Ping Tung Eggplant
Casper Eggplant
Chile (Capsicum annuum)
Alma Paprika Pepper
Golden Treasure Sweet Pepper
Black Hungarian Hot Pepper
Pepper Purple Beauty
Black Prince Purple Tomato
Tomato Japanese Black Trifele
Old Virginia Red Tomato
Star of David Okra
Burgundy Okra
Alabama Red Okra
Red-seeded Asparagus Long Beans
Chinese Green Noodle Long Beans
Honey Rock Melon

Planted carrots (Tonda di Parigi) and Dragon carrots in buckets.

Planted squash (Wood’s Prolific Bush Scallop) in a bed that already has a couple of garlic plants growing.

Planted Stowell’s Evergreen Sweet Corn in another bed with a couple of sunflowers already 8 inches high.

Planted Gold Baby watermelon, Banana melon, and Sakata’s Sweet Asian melon in another little patch of garden.


Harvest something

Last of the I’itoi (green) onions

A vigorous Wonderberry plant is producing a few fruit a day. This is in the Solonaceae (tomato) family but has a very different, and somewhat strange, flavor. I wish we had enough to try making jam.

The shaded chard continues to provide greens regularly despite hotter temperatures.

Lemons from my backyard tree


Preserve something

Cooked the last pumpkin from Fall 2008 (not this one) in the solar oven and pressure cooker. Froze some puree plain and just finished putting a large batch of pumpkin butter in jars to also freeze. (It is not safe to can pumpkin butter; it’s too dense to process sufficiently to prevent bacterial growth. Freezing is the only option.)

Froze lemon juice and dehydrated the peel for zest.


Reduce waste

To save money, we’ve agreed to limit meals out to no more than once a week on the weekend.

To reduce recycling, this week’s Sunday newspaper was used for sheet mulch and compost. Toilet paper tubes, office paper, and cardboard were also added to the compost bin.

To reduce plastic waste, I took reusable bags to the stores.

To reduce waste, I used my Diva cup and Luna pads.

To save energy, I cooked with the solar oven, pressure cooker and crockpot.

To save energy, I manually washed blankets this morning.

To save water, I recycled the laundry rinse water on the trees.

We always save water from the sinks and shower heating up for flushing the toilet.

To save water and money, I set up nitrogen recycling bucket in bathroom for the trees.


Prepare & Store

Food from the store: salsa and spaghetti sauce (until we get a good tomato crop), Gatorade mix and plain crackers (in case of flu).

N95 masks in case of flu pandemic

Built shadehouse with new and scavenged materials

Bought plant guide to the NW from the used bookstore. (Funny story – this was my sweetie’s book. When we moved here from Oregon, we traded it at the used bookstore. I noticed it on display a few months ago, and when I checked, it was still there so I bought it back. They were nice and gave me a discount since it was ours in the first place.)

Currently reading Edible Plants & Animals


Build Community Food Systems

Posted recipes using local food.

Reminded a friend to harvest extra lemons to freeze the juice for summer canning

Making plans for a solar cooking demo at the CSA

Making plans to organize a group work trip to get goat manure for gardens

Volunteered at CSA


Eat the Food

Shopping as little as possible; using food we have and what we get from the CSA each week.

Ate homemade hummus that had been dehydrated for travel food. It rehydrated just fine. The drying seemed to mellow out the garlic somewhat – a nice surprise.

Substituted roasted red pepper for tomato in sandwich. Very tasty.

Used dried chili-flavored mango (from storage) in curried potatoes.

Used fresh chard from the garden.


Interested in joining the challenge? It's not too late to sign up over at Casaubon's Book.

Giveaway Winner

Allie is the lucky winner of the book on Edible Plants and Animals that I am giving away. Now I just have to convince her to wait a few more days to get it so I can finish reading it.

Thanks to everyone who entered; it was a great response!

Lemon Serendipity

Remember the lemon tree I'd finally decided was a rough lemon, the citrus species usually used a root stock for other citrus? The one with the lemons with an odd bitter taste?

Well, the tree is so loaded with fruit, even after a bad pruning job by supposed professionals, that is was bothering me to see the waste. If I couldn't use the juice as a food, then dang it, I was going to use it for cleaning. I decided to juice the larger lemons and freeze the juice for this bleach alternative. I wasn't overly impressed with its performance in the laundry but it worked great as a toilet bowl cleaner and might work in a spray bottle as a general cleaner.

I juiced a few of the fruits and, out of morbid curiosity, I stuck my finger in the juice so I could taste its weird aftertaste again. Hold the phone! What weird taste? It tasted like plain ol' lemon juice. Not the same delicate flavor as Meyer lemon, a popular variety in town, but similar to the lemons in the grocery store. Just to be sure, I mixed up a glass of lemonade. Yes, it tasted like lemonade. I had my sweetie take a sip and he agreed.

Woohoo! I've got a tree full of usable lemons! I don't know how this happened. Did the natural fertilizer it's been getting do the trick? Did it like the extra rainwater from the roof from the gutter downspout at its base? Who cares?! I've got lemons!

Okay, I can see that you are wondering why I am so excited about this, especially since you might remember that I already got a boatload of lemons from a friend's neighbor's tree a few months ago. Back then, I thought we'd be moving soon so I didn't freeze any juice to help in our efforts to empty the freezer. I have a few lemons left in the refrigerator (they keep well in the "meat" drawer) but I turned many of them into preserved lemons.

Now we'll be staying here long enough for me to harvest prickly pear fruit and make more jelly. My friend also told me she's happy I'll be here through pomegranate season as she'd like to get another canning session under her belt before I leave town. Both jellies require lemon juice for the acidity and I'd been dreading the prospect of having to purchase lemons in the store for this. I now plan to harvest all my lemons and freeze the juice for jelly-making. I've already got four ice cube trays in the freezer and some lemon peel in the dehydrator. I may also make a batch of candied lemon peel, too, especially since I now know you can dehydrate those for a crispy little snack.

These are not pretty lemons, with bumpy skin, thick pith, and lots of seeds. I don't care. Their beauty this year is on the inside!

Garden Shadehouse

Since our plans originally involved getting out of Arizona before July, my sweetie had avoided the gardening bug this spring. Now that those plans have changed, he was itching to plant. With summer coming on, we didn't need a greenhouse - we needed a shadehouse!


So, that's precisely what he built. Back when he built this cart for the bike, he learned how to bend and braze electrical conduit. It's quite cheap and easy to work with. We picked up another bundle along with a roll of shade cloth for a total of $50. The hot temperatures are less of a problem than the baking effect of the sun and shade cloth provides a handy way to protect the tender plants.



The shadehouse is tall enough to stand in. It is shaded on the top, south, and west sides.



The "door" is a flap of shade cloth weighted down with two pieces of leftover conduit which can be lifted over the top to allow access.



Bird netting on the other end and along the back side keeps the birds and cats out.



A misting system can be turned on to keep the temperature down on the very hottest days. It uses very little water and will help keep the plants cooler. If we had better soil and had started seeds earlier, this might not be necessary. For $15, it seemed like a cheap and easy way to give our plants the edge they'll need.

We won't be saving any seeds from the garden this year so he didn't worry about planting varieties close to each other. As he puts it, the purpose of gardening this year is more about sanity than anything else, especially since we already get a share in the local CSA.

Planted in the shadehouse:
Lemon Cucumber
White Wonder Cucumber
White Hailstone Radish
Sparkler Whitetip Radish
Turkish Orange Eggplant
Ping Tung Eggplant
Casper Eggplant
Chile (Capsicum annuum)
Alma Paprika Pepper
Golden Treasure Sweet Pepper
Black Hungarian Hot Pepper
Pepper Purple Beauty
Black Prince Purple Tomato
Tomato Japanese Black Trifele
Old Virginia Red Tomato
Star of David Okra
Burgundy Okra
Alabama Red Okra
Red-seeded Asparagus Long Beans
Chinese Green Noodle Long Beans
Honey Rock Melon

The long beans and melon will climb up twine trellises on the back side.

My mouth is already watering as I think about all the tasty food I'll be harvesting from the shadehouse!

Flu Precautions

With the swine flu, whose politically correct name is now designated as Influenza A H1N1, dominating the news lately, people are wondering what they should do. Go into a full-fledged panic because we're all gonna die in a global pandemic or sit back and let the government handle it while we just keep watching the latest shows on TV? Luckily, there are options in between.


Common Sense Normal Precautions

First of all, there are precautions one can take each and every flu season to minimize the risk of getting sick. Despite flu making the rounds each year, I haven't had a serious case of it in years. I can't even remember the last time I had a mild case of it. Do I have super immunity? No. What I have is common sense and knowledge of how to keep the germs at bay.

Minimizing exposure to the flu virus is the best way to minimize your risk of getting ill. This does not mean that you have to don a bio-hazard suit, although you're welcome to try to start a new fashion trend in your neighborhood.

Wash your hands. Really the main thing you need to do is keep your hands clean. Wash your hands frequently during flu season and make sure you are washing them correctly. Most people do not wash long or well enough, and that even includes doctors. You need to thoroughly soap up and scrub your entire hands for 20 seconds and then rinse very well. Dry your hands thoroughly afterwards.

Use alcohol sanitizing gel. What if you can't wash your hands? Alcohol gel works well when hand-washing is not possible. Keep a small bottle in your pocket for use anytime. You can even make your own by combining 1 cup rubbing alcohol with 1 tsp vegetable glycerin (available at natural food stores). It won't be as thick as the gel but will work just as well. When I return to my vehicle from any kind of outing, including thrift stores, libraries, or gatherings, I immediately clean my hands with alcohol sanitizing gel that I always keep in the console.

Decontaminate surfaces. During flu season, I also use the disinfectant wipes that many stores now provide for their grocery carts. I get the wipe before even touching the cart and use it on any parts of the handle I might touch. While in the store, or any other place, I am careful not to touch my hands to my face. Germs and viruses can easily enter the body through the eyes, nose, and mouth so those places are off-limits until I can thoroughly clean my hands. In restrooms, I wash my hands thoroughly and use my arm to shut off the faucet and hit the paper towel dispenser, and use an additional piece of paper towel to open the door so I am not touching the handle with my bare hands.

Can you use cloth instead of disposables? My precautions involve the use of disposable products: wipes and paper towels. I've been thinking about ways this could be done with cloth and it's possible but would require diligent attention to proper handling. Once the cloth has touched a surface that could be contaminated, you will not want to touch it again until laundered. So, the cloth becomes a one-time use item, but not disposable, meaning you need to carry a number of cloths, such as handkerchiefs or bandannas, with you. It would probably be best to deposit the contaminated cloths into a bag immediately after using it. These cloths would then go directly into the laundry. Do not shake them when handling before washing as the dried contaminants can become airborne and may be more easily inhaled as smaller particles. After handling the dirty laundry, wash your hands thoroughly. Wash them again before handling the clean laundry, especially if you have coughed or sneezed.

Stay healthy. Being healthy can strengthen your immune system. If you haven't been taking care of yourself, now is the time to start. Eat a healthy diet with lots of whole grains, fruits, and vegetables. Drink plenty of water. Minimize your intake of alcohol, salt, and sugar. Exercise regularly and get plenty of rest. Quit any bad habits such as drug use or smoking.

Stay home if sick. If you are sick, please STAY HOME. Do not expose others in the workplace, school, public, or in your extended family. Cover your mouth and nose when you sneeze or cough. If someone in your home is sick, be sure to disinfect common surfaces frequently: door knobs, toilet flush handles, phone, keyboards, computer mice, and so on.


What if there's a pandemic?

As Sharon at Casaubon's Book recently wrote, preparing for the possibility of an influenza pandemic is not much different than preparing for peak oil and climate change impacts on our way of life. Emergency preparedness is smart even if you don't believe in peak oil or climate change, or don't think they will have much impact on the way we go about living our daily lives.

As I've mentioned here repeatedly, the CDC has guidelines for emergency preparedness that everyone should follow. At the very least, you can prepare for any type of disaster by storing enough food, water, and medications for a couple of weeks, getting a portable radio and flashlights with extra batteries (or better yet, get handcrank rechargeable versions), and putting together a first aid kit. Follow the link to the CDC website for more details and lists.

In the past couple of days, I've been following the CDC's page on swine flu and the pandemic flu site. I also checked out Dr. Michael Greger's book about avian flu. The book is online so anyone can read it. I read the latter sections on what individuals can do to prepare and take care of themselves during a flu pandemic.

Yesterday afternoon, I shopped and supplemented my emergency supplies with a few more items: a few N95 masks (mostly in case my sweetie has to go to work when/if people are ill), vegetable glycerin and small squeeze bottles for our own alcohol sanitizer gel, salt substitute as a source of potassium if we become ill, Gatorade mix and plain crackers also in case we become ill, and some "Breathe Easy" tea that was on sale. We already have gloves so I skipped those. If you decide you want to have a few masks on hand, check out the paint section in hardware stores. That's where we've picked them up in the past for woodworking and painting, and they are likely to be less expensive than going to a medical supply business.


Is denial a good option?

No. There is no reason to panic, but it is also unwise not to be take precautions. Remember, denial is not a good substitute for preparation!