Thursday, March 15, 2012

From the Garden Weeds to the Kitchen please; this pleases me sooo much!

Well I have to say that my two weeks with guests(in and out and about) was quite lovely! I have a bit of a void as they now have left!

So, I had collected some cleavers and had them in the fridge for a couple of days. I used them in a vegtable soup that was devine. I cooked the veggies (anything in the fridge soup style). I used, carrots, cabbage, onion, potatos and soysauce.
Boiled this.
Then into the blender per serving I added fresh cleavers, chickweed and garlic with the boiled soup. I used more veggies than broth to thicken it and visa versa for a thinner variety, and the fact that the veggies were gone and I wasn't done eating! It was amazing!).
I then added a tiny bit more soy sauce.
I must say that it was just what I needed.

So, today I made a veggie blender juice with
LOTS of
Cleavers,
a little water,
Some
Carrots,
an Apple,
and
an Orange.
It was very thick!

I thought, "Oh, this might be good to use in a carrot cake(muffin for quicker baking time)! And IT WAS~!
To my Muffins;
I also added,
apple chopped,
raisins,
orange rind with a tiny bit of the orange attached,
  and
wheat bran.

I used the carrot cake recipe in the Moosewood Cook Book. I will find the link, or put the recipe in post haste, but it's off to work I go for now!

3 Cheers!
I miss you sooo much Jay and Kay!
Heaps and Heaps! As they say!

©Allisonians
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2 comments:

  1. Comfrey CottagesMarch 25, 2012 at 4:23 PM

    What a delicious day! I love the Moosewood cookbooks too:) xxx

    ReplyDelete
  2. AllisonianMarch 27, 2012 at 11:54 AM

    I love that cookbook too! I didn't post their recipe because I figure anyone that wants it can find it on their own, or they can post me a comment here. Thank you! Have a wonderful day! I also found cleavers in my own yard today! I am off to take it's photo because it is such a little sprout! i want a snap of it! Cheers! :D

    ReplyDelete

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Banana This; Recycle Old Peels~ fertilizer or silver polish

There are things you can do with that old peel.

1. Do you have a green thumb? House hold plants and outside gardens require fertilization. A great way to give your plants nutrients is with a banana peel. The banana peel is very rich in potassium and phosphorus, which give that added boost to your plants soil, especially so with roses. Here is how to use a banana peel to fertilizer your soil for your plants. Remove the peel from the banana. Place the banana peel on a cookie sheet to let it air dry. Grab a paper bag or envelope. Crumble the dried banana peel and place it in the bag. Let the banana sit at room temperature for about two days. When your caring for your plant, give it a potassium treat of crumbled banana peel. Mix well in the soil to ensure the roots are fed evenly.
2. Have you been thinking about pulling out that old silver? Well there is no time like the present. Bananas peel can also be used to polish silver. Yes, polish silver. Take the old peels and place them in a blender. You want the peels to become smooth and creamy. Once they have, grab a cloth and small amounts of the creamed banana peel and begin polishing your silver. The shine will be breath taking.

SOURDOUGH STARTER with WILD YEAST

SOURDOUGH STARTER with WILD YEAST
Wild yeasts exist in the air around you and to some extent on the wheat berries. There are wild yeasts on grapes (unsulphured) and apples and other fruits. It is those wild yeasts which are 'captured' to make a sourdough starter. The process takes from 3 to 5 days. I wish I had specific amounts for you, but you could start with 1/4 to 1/2 cup of flour and mix in enough warm (not hot) water to make a thin paste. DO NOT make it too soupy. That, in fact, is the trick to a good starter, according to the French bread makers, and I think they should know. And after you've fooled around with the flour and water thing, you might wish to branch out into adding those unsulphured grapes, apples, sour milk, etc as a catalyst in order to capture other strains of yeast. Each of these strains has a slightly different taste. In fact if you move to another area, you might end up with a starter that produces an entirely different flavor. For instance, San Francisco sourdough bread is well known and has a distinct taste due to the wild strains in the air there. On day one you mix the flour and water (and add any catalysts to encourage fermentation) and place in a warm spot. After 3 days, the dough should be moist, inflated, and slightly sour. More flour and water is added (mixed in) and left to sit in a warm spot. After 2 days the process is repeated. Then the next day it is done again. Note the order: 3 days, 2 days, 1 day. At this point you should be able to make a loaf of bread using part of the starter and adding back what you took out in the form of more flour and water. Rule of thumb: Use about 10% starter to size of loaf. In the case of a 2 lb loaf this is a bit over 3 oz of starter (3.2 to be exact). For a 1 lb loaf 1.5 oz would be used. A book that describes this process in great detail is The Village Baker by Joe Ortiz, copyright 1993, published by Ten Speed Press, Berkley CA. If it's not still in print, try the used books stores, that's where I got mine. Or try your local library. If they don't have it, they might be able to get it for you. ©2008 by Ernestina Parziale

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Have a Great Day!