Wednesday, September 21, 2011

My Tiny Nodding Hill

As I Am Alive in my Garden,
My daughter notices me there in my tiny 5x8 and says,
"Mum, you look, you look,,um, you look, look, um, nice. Can I take your picture? You look like, well, like...um..." I say, "..in my element?"
"yeah," she snaps the shot.
Here I am in my element. It's really not mine. It's our mother's, we're this little part, but...It's just that we are so far removed from the earth as a collective whole, that some old lady enthralled in the bit of garden she's loved{is loving} isn't easy to discribe for the most part. It's not in our vocabulary much anymore. It's the same when we hike, bike and horseback ride in the country. How many of us would even attempt it?
My hope is that more and more people that would not even think of some simple truth of nature put into action can have that blessing upon them. Our inner cities folks, our urban and suburban have all become matrixed to the computer or tv screne{play on them there words, screne vs. scene as in natural scenic scene}.
Park trips for the sedintary!
 I am just as bad, hence the 5x8 bit of mother earth's delight I have. If it weren't for these destractions, I'd have a little shanty garden I never had to leave. Oh yeah, leaves. I am out of here.  :D Yet....
My daughter loves the mountains, but for shame, I have not found a way{not yet} to incorporate it productively speaking; and being a woman, women I don't know how to productively teach her how to safely enjoy stopping and smelling the world.
She'll describe this time of year in sences, I/We do have that.
Now, We thinks we'll go pick lavender and cedar for oil. Clean the porch production area where our earth becomes delectables for our tables. I, we, like the greens of lavendar much more than the flowers for our oils and salves. Then maybe we can dig roots. I need my mallow and the dandelions some. Rumage through the leaves to find some hawthorne leaves for things. Then maybe we/I can get some other items for teas and salves and such as well! ©Allisonians
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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

Thank You For Visiting!

Thank You For Visiting!
Have a Great Day!