Monday, January 14, 2013

A Sunday

Oats tea
Lavender wash
Went to the River
walked with the dog,
Walked around the neighborhood
Frozen, bright
       Day
Frozen black night.

©Allisonians

January Tasks that I have going, but not a completion;
My ally this year is dandelion, and my new earthly neighbor and friend Dock, and plantain galore.
I  am also sub-studying Prunella, cleavers, chick weed, marshmallow, mallow, cayenne, lady's mantle, evening primrose and honeysuckle.,.. and all of the earth's inhabitants that she reveals to me..
for now,,,
Working on gathering items for imbloc gift exchange...
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note to self; find your string! :D
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I made Gypsy Fire Water mash/salsa 12.27.12

This is my version;
I use~
Onion, horseradish, ginger, garlic, cayenne;
 I use my blender and have learned that you blend the toughest parts first(horseradish and ginger)(I also add the acv to help it blend together.)
 Cover with REAL apple cider vinegar(acv), read your labels or make your own...
Bottle this in a good size bottle. What I mean by 'good size' is an appropriate size to fit your mix. I usually leave a few inches because I can ladle it out without spilling and I can add to it if I want to...
    As Lisa, my friend that taught me this says;
  Use any amount and quantity that stikes you! Then it makes it your own, customized. Many friends  and colleagues use all sorts of other ingredients, but I'll let them tell you about it. Please leave your GFW version and link if you'd like. thanks and. Please comment with your combination(s)! Thanks!
Lastly and most importantly;
To Store and Usage;
Refrigerate 2 to 4 weeks, but I use it right away too. So I make sure to make enough mash and vineger to have the fire water too.
At 4 weeks(I, personally, have waited quite a bit longer and even left it as mash water mix)
STRAIN the mixture and Bottle the liquid, I GUESS you can discard the mash, but I use it! It's amazing stuff

{I can't add photo's or I would here. Once I can add photos again, I'll add them to this,, wish me luck}

~~~BUT~~~
I, myself, use the mash right away and after it's sat. I have used it up to 4 to 6 months old. It is amazing. I just always scoop out what I need. I go to the refrigerator with my cup and don't even take the mash water out of the fridge ever, or only for the moment. It's kept at the refrigerated temperature always.
It is good for so many things, marinade your food, use as medicine... I added it too my gravy tonnight. You play with it and you will see!

I made a tiny bit of dock/tequila tincture to honor my new land/space on earth. It is very good too. Dock is a wonderful herb and easy to find information on. I will publish more in the spring...
There are many varieties of GFW and tincture/elixirs etcs..
©Allisonians

It's not my recipe! It's the Gypsy's, but I am one step closer to the Gypsy spirit for using it! It is good.

1 comment:

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

Thank You For Visiting!

Thank You For Visiting!
Have a Great Day!