The Eternal Renewal

Nothing says Spring! like my neighbor's goats having babies..... And me out in my 1200 sq.ft. circular organic vegie garden prepping the soil to receive seeds. Hard physical work (that at first I questioned if I would be able to do), but by the end I felt so strong and proud of my accomplishment! Now, gotta do the planting part next weekend.

Bees and The Due Return Show!

Bronze Age Bee Goddess

Just took my first beekeeping class. Wonderful! We wore veils but no gloves. I had to pick up the Queen's cage from a table that had bees totally covering it. I moved VERY slowly and the bees gently parted to let me pick it up. Nothing happened and I faced my fear about being stung big-time!

Then I saw a great movie, Queen of the Sun, about the predicament of bees. Scientist and beekeepers from all over the world sharing information. Pretty alarming information and yet somehow the film was very uplifting and inspiring. And so beautiful!! I'm totally committed to having bees on my Paradise Farm next summer.
Coming soon - 10 day old baby chicks (May 13)!!

That's also the date of my son (Keith Yohai) with Meow Wolf's opening at the Center for Contemporary Art, www.theduereturn.com. An amazing show of a 2500 sq. ft. ship that has been traveling through time and space for 2 centuries and has now landed on an alien landscape! There's a ton of buzz about this show, including 2 national art magazine articles. Can't wait!!

Heirloom vs. Hybrid Seeds

Heirloom seeds are unaltered seeds often handed down through generations of people. They sometimes have interesting histories - "brought over from the old country by Anna and carried west in a covered wagon". Most importantly, you can take the seed from the plant, save the seed, and next year when you plant that seed you will get the same exact plant. Hybrid seeds have been modified by combining several types of the same plant and when you plant their seeds, they can revert back to any of it's ancestors so you can't be sure of what you'll end up with. Heirloom seeds do tend to grow wonderfully delicious vegetables but if you grow several types of say, zucchinis, they can cross pollinate and next year's zucchini could be a mix of types. If you want to save the seeds, just grow one type of that particular vegetable that summer. Hybrid seeds can be designed to be disease resistant, which can be helpful. They are all good but I love my heirloom seeds as they are jewels of the garden passed hand to hand from one earth lover to another!

Daydreaming through the Seed Catalogs

Took this picture a week ago from my porch. And while it's (very) cold outside, I'm doing one of my favorite things to do in my organic vegetable garden: going through my seed catalogs and daydreaming my future garden. It's so easy, no hard work digging, weeding, planting! The seed catalogs I prefer are: Seed Savers, Johnny's, and Territorial. I never can resist trying something new, something exotic. But I have my tried and true favorites also. Like costa romesco zucchini, the old fashioned zucchini with the ribs, best texture and flavor! We often take for granted that which comes easily to us, like the abundance of zucchini. But I treasure them as zucchini is so versatile in recipes, from pickles to casseroles and breads!

Why Pioneers Didn't Pay For Gyms, Part 2

Snow shoveling, like gardening, is a full body workout. I'm continuing my quest to learn how to bake good bread. One of the most successful ones I've tried is Debra Madison's challah bread. I'm finding that the trick is in getting hearty healthy whole wheat bread bread to lighten up and not be a very dense brick. Kinda like my lesson in life right now.

Why Pioneers Didn't Pay For Gyms

I've been baking my own bread lately. It began because it's more economical and every penny counts right now but I have to say, I'm now addicted because the bread is so yummy. The newest trend is "no knead" bread. First you make your dough, which is super easy, basically just mixing together dry and wet ingredients. Then it has to rise, which takes time but no work on your part. After rising, you put the dough in the frig and when you want to bake bread - pull some out, let it rise again and bake. There a lots of different recipes on the web, and Mother Earth News is always a great source. That's all great but I have to say, kneading is not such a bad thing to do. Great exercise for the arms and really I find it kinda relaxing. The bread gets so satiny and smooth and wonderful feeling that I knead no matter what now. Between gardening, baking bread, and bringing wood in for the winter, who needs a gym?

Tips for Preserving Food: Jams and Pickles,etc.

Pickling

Another way I found to deal with zucchini is making zucchini pickles. You brine the sliced zucchini and onions, make a vinegar, mustard and turmeric mix and pour it over your zucchini in a jar, screw on a lid and refrigerate. I also add dill from the garden. Google: zuni café zucchini pickles for the recipe.

Fermentation

Kim Chee has many variations, but basically is cabbage, carrots, radishes, with a garlic, ginger, chili powder, and vinegar mix. It is a great way to use up these vegetables. You brine the cabbage, add the spice mixture to the vegetables and leave the jar on your counter with a towel over it to ferment for 7-10 days. Then screw on a lid and refrigerate. Google Kim Chee for recipes.

Jams

High acid fruit jams, like apricot jam do not need a hot water bath. One year I made 75 jars and I was sold out of them in two weeks, yummy! There are lots of recipes on line, but I use the pink Sure Jell recipe, which is the lower sugar one (plenty sweet). After I fill the sterilized jars with the hot jam, I turn them upside down on a clean towel for a half hour. When I turn them right side up, the jars are sealed.