PREPARATION: Clearing Clutter

Clearing away clutter provides the physical and mental space to spark the next creative explosion.

BOOKS: Library Sale

Today's fabulous finds at the library's annual used book sale:

• "Larousse Gastronomique" [!!!!!!!] by Prosper Montagne, 1961 Edition
  
• Chambers Murray Latin-English Dictionary
  
• "The Poetry of Robert Frost: All eleven of his books-complete," Edited by Edward Connery Lathem
  
• "Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder," by Richard Louv
  
• "Between Jihad and Salaam: Profiles in Islam," by Joyce M. Davis
  
• "Illuminating the Path to Enlightenment," by the Dalai Lama
  
• "Reader's Digest Merry Christmas Songbook"
  
• "Women's Diaries of the Westward Journey," by Lillian Schlissel

Total=$22

ECO ACTION: WK3 Farm Share & Project Sourdough

Aren't they pretty?  Four kinds of lettuce, endive, colorful chard, and eggplant starts.  I opted for the eggplant plants in place of rhubarb this week when given the choice.

Six glorious eggs, voluminous Asian greens (tat soi, bak choi? ... now I'm all confused about which is which) mustard greens, and kale.

Used this past weeks supply in much the same way as the week before: stir fry; steamed greens; salads; eggs in tapioca pudding, baking and hard boiled.  Had some Asian greens left over at the end of the week that I'll process for freezing by blanching, if that's possible.   I think they'd be good in soups this fall and winter.

I'm looking forward to finding some new recipes for the Asian greens.  Found one recipe for a fresh salad with a homemade dressing, raspberries, pears (out of season right now so I'll probably substitute something else) and toasted walnuts that sounded really good.

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YARD SALING

My yard sale mojo wasn't as good this week, but that's OK.

I came home with a brand new set of 3 stainless steel springform cake pans in graduated sizes for only $3, still in their original packaging.  I think I have two of each size now so I can do layer cakes.  All hypothetical at this point.  I have yet to bake a cake from scratch.  That's one of my goals for this year, to begin to learn scratch cake baking.

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PROJECT SOURDOUGH

I restarted "Project Sourdough" this evening.  I took the jar of starter out of the fridge, poured it into a large glass bowl, fed it the designated flour and water mixture, covered the bowl with an inverted dinner plate (no plastic wrap), then placed the bowl in the oven (off) with the light on to keep it warm.

This sourdough starter was given to my uncle (my father's brother) and his wife by an old homesteader they lived with in Idaho back in the 1940s.  When my parents and brothers visited them back in the 1950s they brought some of the starter back to California with them so they could make the same wonderful sourdough pancakes they'd enjoyed there.

It's been propagated and passed along ever since.  I got this batch from my oldest brother, Paul.  Flew across the country from California to Connecticut in my suitcase, wrapped in multiple layers of Ziploc bags and bubble wrap, carefully labeled for the benefit of wary TSA inspectors.

It's been in hibernation in the refrigerator for a while.  Tonight's feeding will begin the process of reawakening the yeast.  With any luck they'll be some tasty bread baking ahead.

The idea is to take one more item off the grid by producing my own yeast for baking just like our great-grandparent probably did.  No impact from manufacturing, distribution and preserving like jar or cake yeast. For only the cost of water and flour.  Continually renewable and always available.

I'll probably still use regular yeast for some bread baking, but this will provide another low-impact option.

ECO ACTION: 2nd Farm Share & More Tag Saling

I'm a big fan of abundance on a shoestring.

Another armload of gorgeous vegetables today from Studio Farm.

I didn't make it to the farmers market to pick them up.  I thought the market was 10-1 today as it had been during the winter.  Spring and summer hours are actually 9-Noon.  Also, I'd stopped at every tag sale along the way between home and the market.  When I arrived the park was empty.

So, I arranged to go out to the Stonyledge Farm this afternoon to pick them up instead.  I was greeted by several happy free-range chickens as I got out of the car.  Belinda and Ed were very accommodating.

This week's CSA half-share included (photo above, clockwise from top left): a very large head of tatsoi, a generous helping of mustard greens, 2 heads of kale (I think), chard, 3 small heads of loose-leaf lettuce (red and green), spinach, a bunch of fragrant mint, chives, mixed greens with flowers, half-dozen very large eggs, and several long rhubarb stalks.

And the fate of last week's veggies was as follows:

• Tatsoi stir fry with garlic scapes, onions, sesame oil, brown basmati rice, scrambled egg, and 5 chinese seasoning.
• Eggs: used 2 in stir fry, 2 in tapioca pudding, and 2 hard boiled.  They turned the tapioca pudding a wonderful shade of yellow that just can't be matched by grocery store eggs.
• Spinach, kale (or was that mustard greens?), and broccoli rabe all steamed and eaten.
• Lettuce used for several salads, shredded for black bean burritos, and in sandwiches

All delicious!

As of this morning, I only had a little lettuce, a few garlic scapes, the 2 hard boiled eggs, and some rhubarb remaining.  Because it was so fresh when brought home last Saturday the lettuce is none the worse for a spending a week in the refrigerator.  Much, much better than store bought.  The remaining lettuce and eggs will become a salad for dinner this evening, with rhubarb crisp for dessert.

In spite of the doubts I expressed last Saturday we ate our way through the vegetables quite easily. If I hadn't gotten involved in a project, lost track of time, and ended up skipping lunch a couple of times this week we would have completely emptied the vegetable drawer in time for today's pick up.

One of the reasons I signed up for this CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) farm share was to learn.

I wanted to learn about new foods, new ways of cooking familiar foods, new insights for my own garden, and to experience the feeling of enjoying an abundance of fresh healthy food on a regular basis.

I wouldn't have chosen to put all these greens in my grocery cart if I'd been buying them at the super market, but I've learned that what looked like a lot of fresh spinach and kale turned out to be just enough to accompany several meals when steamed.

Just right, not too much.

Tatsoi stir fry was also a first for me and it turned out great.  I wouldn't have taken a chance on this at the grocery store, not knowing in advance what it would taste like or how to cook it.  At the farmer's market, though, Dot Wingate gave me simple verbal instructions for cooking it when I picked up my share.  It couldn't have been easier or tastier.

I figure that nature has a wisdom of its own.  The abundance of fresh greens available in spring is probably just what our bodies need to restore themselves at the end of winter and get ready for summer's active season.  These greens were loaded with flavor and probably lots of good healthy stuff never find on a food label.

I know that I can't remember ever feeling healthier.  Looking forward to more.

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Here are this weekend's fabulous tag sale finds (photo above, clockwise from top left):

For a GRAND TOTAL of $27

• 3 variagated solomon's seal plants
• 7 antique hand-painted china dessert plates, signed by a (locally) well-known local artist
• 8 Books: "Lectures and Biographical Sketches" by Ralph Waldo Emerson, "The Complete Poetical Works of John Greenleaf Whittier," "Little Songs of Long Ago", "Drawing with the Right Side of the Brain," "A Whack on the Side of the Head: How You Can Be More Creative" by Roger von Oech, "Good Housekeeping Illustrated Cookbook" (to give), "The Food-Lover's Garden," "Neal's Yard Natural Remedies"
• A small, 1 page-per-day diary for writing down little daily happy things
• 2 pocket charts (teaching tools)
• Kitchen Stuff: a pastry knife, a blue-green resealable glass jar, a garlic press (actually I'll use this for extruding clay, not garlic), a cookie press, AND a sturdy 10 inch cast-iron skillet--I'd been looking for one for a long time (favorite find of the day).
• Misc: 1 new package of binder tabs, 2 new plastic pocket folders, an awl, a very basic digital camera with cable and software (tested and works on PC), two pair small sharp scissors (I keep losing my nail scissor, not good for one who plays piano and works with clay), an artist's paintbrush, a small hot plate, two colorful coin purses, a set of magnetic words (for songwriting play), and 9 new tennis balls (to turn into teaching toys).

Here's close-up of the hand-painted china plates.

Do I really need any of this?  Probably not.  Is it truly frugal to buy things I don't need?  Again, no.

On the other hand, these things will be used and enjoyed.  No additional resources were consumed to make them.  Each piece has a story and a connection to others.  I'm giving a good home to things that others no longer wanted, like bringing home abandoned puppies.

And I had a good time in the process.  I like the experiencing of happening upon things unexpectedly.  I like the feeling of discovery.

Now, I probably need to go through our house and liberate a few of my unused possessions so they can move on to homes where they'll be appreciated.

ECO ACTION: First CSA Share & Tag Sale Finds

I got to pick up my first ever CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) share at the Stonington Farmers Market yesterday morning.  Garden Girl and Eco Action Girl (two of my secret super hero identities) have both been extremely happy with anticipation all week, looking forward to the prospect of bringing home an armload of fresh, locally grown, certified organic spring veggies.

In my first spring half-share from Studio Farm I received:

PHOTO ABOVE: (clockwise from top left) spinach, half-dozen eggs, kale, butter crunch lettuce, broccoli rabe, red oakleaf lettuce, and another butter crunch.

PHOTO BELOW: (left to right) tatsoi, garlic scapes, rhubarb

Aren't they gorgeous?!

Thank you, Belinda, for the care you put into growing them.  They will be savored.

As a point of reference for size, for these photos the produce was spread over two regular-size kitchen towels placed side-by-side.

It's certain that in the week ahead I'll be abiding by Michael Pollan's admonition--from his book, "In Defense of Food"--to:

"Eat food.* Not too much.  Mostly plants."

*[as opposed to manufactured foodlike substances]

Though I'm not so sure about the "not too much" part.  That's a lot of greens for two people to consume in one week, especially when  the other in this house would gladly choose frozen peas from the grocery store over all other vegetables.

If next week's share arrives before they've made their way to the table, the spinach and kale will  be blanched and frozen.   That's the plan.  I like the idea that a bit of spring greenery can be saved up in the freezer to combat next winter's doldrums.

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Not only is this the season for the first fresh locally grown veggies , it's also Tag Sale Season!

Here's this week's haul:
This week's treasures include: (counter clockwise from top left) a cranberry colored pyrex pie plate (for rhubarb crisp?), a 4-quart cast iron and enamel dutch oven, 3 blue stripped cotton dinner napkins, a glass citrus juicer, and a compact cassette player/recorder.

All were in new or nearly new condition.  Total for all: $25, which will go toward the community work of a local church.  

The price of the dutch oven was the majority of this total at $20, though it would have cost $70 or more even in a store like Target or Walmart.  I've been eyeing them for months now, but holding off for a special occasion.  Happy Birthday to me!

The cloth dinner napkins are part of my effort to reduce the use of disposables in our household.  I keep a stack handy near the kitchen table.  I've been air drying them after washing in cold water to minimize the energy consumed for keeping them clean.

The $1 cassette player/recorder is a gift for one of my student's who has no way to play back recordings of her voice lessons for practice at home.  It would have cost about $22 at Walmart, if you can still find them there.

I'm looking forward to next weekend already.  More fresh veggies and eggs, and Memorial Day weekend is always the biggest tag sale weekend of the entire year around here.  You never know what you'll find.

Looking forward to all the good cooking and eating in the week ahead.

GAIA LUNA: Garden Girl

I'm Garden Girl again today.  

Going out into the sunshine to get the soil ready for planting, dig up weeds that didn't get removed last fall (like goldenrod roots), and move around some perennials that are in the way.

Garden Girl's Superpowers:

• cultivating growth and sustainability
• transforming dirt and seeds into food and flowers
• turning yard waste and kitchen scraps into rich compost

Superpowers require sunshine, rain, and a variety of microscopic helpers in order to operate.

[NOTE:  I've been posting brief status updates on my Facebook profile nearly every day for the past several months, but not much here.  Decided this morning that I would use some of those as a jumping off point for this space.]

GAIA LUNA: Early Spring Seedlings

These are my little plant friends, grown from seeds, planted over the past several weeks.

From left to right: red bell peppers, roma tomatoes, peas, leeks (right top), borage (right middle), onions (right bottom)

The trays and the plastic pots are all recycled or re-purposed.  They're sitting on blocks of styrofoam that come into our home as packaging to keep their soil temperature more even. On cold cloudy days I cover them with sheets of clear bubble wrap from packages we've received.

INTENTION: Mid-Winter Stirrings

The snow is falling outside today.

Inside I've taking steps to plant the things I'd like to see begin to grow this Spring.  Nothing particularly exciting, really.  Like the first unseen stirrings of seeds and sap beneath the frozen earth, the actions I've taken are mundane though crucial to what I hope will follow.

Yesterday, I installed Adobe Photoshop 7.0 on my iMac--my primary computer now--and began doing graphics work there instead of on my old Mac laptop.  

The addition of a title image (header) at the top of this blog is one result.  The other is a similar new header on my Sound Krayons Music blog.  

[In the past, I've only had an early version of Photoshop installed on my old Mac laptop.  It was cumbersome to edit images there then move them over to the new Mac for use on the web and in documents.  This upgrade opens up new creative and business possibilities, things I've been hoping to do for a long time.  The old Mac is too old to connect easily with the internet.]

Then today, I successfully transferred a song file for the first time from MOTU Performer on my old Mac to Digital Performer (DP) on my iMac.

[Again, I'd done all my MIDI work in the past on the old Mac without the benefit of digital audio available in DP.  After some trial and error, I was able to move the files from the old Mac by doing a "Save As" MIDI to a flash drive first, then opening in DP on the iMac and doing a "Save As" a DP file to the desktop did the trick.]

Blah, blah, blah technical stuff...

Like the big bale of seed starting mix I bought yesterday and hauled from the car to barn this morning, now I'll need to move all my old graphics and Performer files from one computer to another before I can use them in this new environment.

This sort of thing--to my mind--is the dry, lifeless part of the creative process.

I get discouraged because this part of the process seems to come so slowly.  I thought to myself, yesterday, as I scooped buckets of compressed potting soil from the bale and dumped them into an empty trash can: 

Are this year's flower and vegetable seeds planted and growing yet?  No.  

Are the recycled pots from last year cleaned and ready to set in the sunny spot?  No.  

Do I have everything I need to get things going?  No.

But today I have made one very small dent in a very long process.

One small bucketful at a time.  Peat moss fibers flying in the air landing on my skin, smelling fresh earth for the first time since last fall.  These are the tangible promises of things to come.

No guarantee that weather or pests or health will cooperate in the months ahead, but on this one day for this short time I've done my part.

Similarly, there is no guarantee that I'll reach my distant creative goals, but on this one day for this short time I've done my part.

With these small, unglamorous efforts--work on my computers solving one small problem at a time, repetitive work to prepare for planting--the things I visualize creating and sharing will have some chance to flourish.

One small bucketful at a time.

(c)2009 Kay Pere ~ Effusive Muse Publishing

Groundhog Day (aka St. Bridget's Day or Imbolc)

In honor of Groundhog Day--the day midway between the first day of Winter and the first day of Spring--I visited the garden center and purchased a bale of seed starting mix (special potting soil) along with a bunch of peat pots.  

Then I went out to the barn, brought in all the plastic pots and aluminum trays I'd saved from past years, and took them down to the basement until they can be washed and sanitized for reuse.

I've already moved furniture to clear a sunny spot indoors for starting the seasons first seeds.

Winter cannot last forever.

Can spring be far behind?

There's snow on the ground and temperatures rarely rise above freezing, but yesterday I saw a lone robin rooting around in a barren flower bed and a newly hung sign in town announcing little league sign-ups.

GAIA LUNA: Demure Dogwood

When rain drops grow heavy, the kousa dogwood tree outside our front door bows low in greeting, just as its Japanese ancestors might.

  

Delicate geishas with powdered faces nod politely while I balance on our top step, screen door behind me held open with right elbow and hip.

I am the awkward tourist, camera in hand.

They giggle demurely behind leafy fans.

(c)2008 Kay Pere - Effusive Muse Publishing

GAIA LUNA: Strawberries-First Harvest

Today the strawberry harvest began.  I picked them as the sun was coming up, just enough fresh berries for this morning's breakfast cereal.  A precious taste of spring sunshine.

There have been home-grown berries for breakfast almost every day since last June.

First, at the beginning of June '07, there were the fresh strawberries from the 9-foot circular bed at the center of Gaia Luna, planted the year before.

Then the blueberry harvest followed--enough gathered fresh each day to last through September of last year, enough frozen to last until just this week, all from just three bushes.

Another season of little miracles begins today with this handful of beautiful strawberries.

GAIA LUNA: May Planting

Welcome to the new improved Gaia Luna Garden. 

We put in a new purple picket fence around the garden in April, which you can see it in the distance, just beyond the white barn.  The pink flowers, near at hand, are azaleas

In the photo below, we stand at the entrance to Gaia Luna looking East toward the newly expanded growing area. The old enclosure held an area approximately, 32 x 32 ft.  The new fence surrounds an area more than double this, at 40 x 56 ft.

Above the purple pickets are two layers of 3 ft galvanized fencing to keep the deer out while allowing butterflies and other pollinators through.  The entrance is blocked by plastic mesh until we build the gate.
Gem, the cat, helps to patrol the garden.  She's nonchalantly busy keeping rabbits and birds away from the tomatoes, Italian parsley and zucchini squash I planted last week.
Yesterday, I added trellises to the garden.  They are of my own design, using readily available materials from a discount store and the local hardware store.  Each trellis costs about $20 US, but will last for many years, and provides a flexible set-up.

This trellis will support cucumber vines, started from seed indoors several weeks ago and set out yesterday.
It's constructed of 4 plant hangers (2 top and 2 bottom, the bottom two hung upside-down) with cross pieces of steel electrical conduit.  I decided not to use petroleum-based heavy PVC pipe for philosophical/environmental reasons.
Jute twine spans the distance between the top and bottom pipes.

The top brackets are movable from season to season. I used galvanized metal screws, spaced along the posts so the upper bar can be raised or lowered depending on the needs of plant to be supported, anywhere from 4 ft to 8 ft in height.
I'm using companion planting (inspired by this book) though out Gaia Luna.

Here young eggplant and jalapeno pepper plants are nestled with foxgloves behind, sedum ground cover in front, and ladies mantel in the foreground.  Marigolds and nasturtiums will be added as the season progresses.  

This isn't necessarily a recommended combination, but the diversity of inter-planting is guaranteed to produce healthier plants vs. monoculture.
Looking West, late in the day, the sun shines down on the central bed of strawberries, all in bloom, encircled by lambs ears.  Within the next two weeks there will be fresh strawberries for breakfast.

The lettuce and cabbage bed is bordered on yellow onions.  To the left of these grow four short rows of peas in an intensive planting. Red and white sedum edging occupies the foreground.
The sun sinks lower as we step back outside Gaia Luna's purple picket fence.

The last light of the day touches the tangle of blueberry bushes, raspberry vines and the broad leaves of rhubarb.

A few days ago, I froze some rhubarb for adding to preserves later in the season.  I'm still enjoying blueberries picked and frozen last August, and last summer's homemade blueberry jam from the pantry.
April and May are just the beginning, the beginning of planting, the beginning of growing and harvesting.

Much awaits us this summer inside the purple picket fence of Gaia Luna.

(c) 2007 Kay Pere ~ Effusive Muse Publishing

Signs of Spring: Witch Hazel & Peas

Today in town I saw one of the first indications that spring is right around the corner.

The witch hazel tree in the veterans memorial park is blooming.

Every year this is the first sign that winter has loosened its grip and warmer weather is on its way. First after the snowdrops under our dogwood tree.

It even felt like spring today. Sunny morning, birds singing, warmer than it has been.

I stopped the car and got out to take pictures.

Have been intending to do this for years. Today I did.

The air in the small park was fragrant with the subtle smell of witch hazel flowers.

Inspired, I came home and pulled on my gardening clothes for the first time since late fall.

I cleared away leaves in Gaia Luna and planted peas and garlic. Again, this was a first. Every year I intend to plant peas, intend to plant garlic, but something else always seems more important.

Now there are sugar snap peas and two kinds of hard neck garlic waiting under the ground, preparing to grow.

Around here they say, "Plant your peas on Saint Patrick's Day." Or is it, "Plant your peas by Saint Patrick's Day."? I'm not sure. If it's too early for peas and they never come up, I'll just plant more. I'll probably plant more even if they do come up.

I love fresh peas. All kinds.

The garlic should have been planted last fall, but this is early enough that I think it will be OK to harvest by late August or early September, as is the custom in this area.

Clouds rolled in and rain began to fall as I worked. The cat huddled close in an attempt to stay dry while I continued in the downpour. My wool coat, smelling of wet sheep, kept me warm just the same.

Today, intention became inspiration became action.

Spring is on its way.

(c)2008 ~ Effusive Muse Publishing

Tiny Blackberry Tarts

Late night cravings are the fairy-godmothers of inventive cooking.

I went to the grocery store this evening in search of blackberry* something-or-other to bake and found nothing prefab in either the freezer or bakery sections. Here's what I came up with:

TINY BLACKBERRY TARTS
[preheat oven or toaster oven to 350F]

- 1 box frozen mini fillo shells
- 1 bag frozen blackberries
- 1 jar blackberry jam

1) Spoon a enough blackberry jam into each mini fillo shell to fill it about half way.

2) Nestle as many frozen blackberries as will fit (2-3) in each partially jam filled shell.

3) Bake at 350F for 10-15 minutes, or until berries and jam are hot and bubbly.

No matter how tasty they look, it's best to let them cool slightly before taking a bite.

Right out of the oven, the juice in the tarts is very hot. It may burn your fingers or tongue if you get impatient and try to eat one too soon. Trust me, I know.

(*NOT the electronic device)

©2007 Kay Pere ~ Effusive Muse Publishing

Spring Peepers

I heard my first spring peepers (not to be confused with Peeps) of the season tonight when I went out to the grocery store at 9:30 PM to get ... well, something to bake. I was having a craving for boysenberry pie, which is nearly impossible to find in New England, but that's another story.

Peepers are little nocturnal frogs I've never seen, only heard. The males' mating call can be heard for quite some distance. They sound like crickets on steroids.

The sound of the peepers is one of the first signs of Spring, arriving late here this year.

WARNING: Peepers and Peeps are not interchangeable. Peepers do not belong on graham crackers.

©2007 Kay Pere ~ Effusive Muse Publishing

Nuked Peeps S'mores

Ode to a Purple Peep

a poem by Kay Pere

A bland expression on its face,
Upon a paper plate,
A graham cracker beneath it
The peep awaits its fate.

It cannot run. It cannot beg.

Its belly bulge, a chocolate egg,
Like they do in Winnipeg,

The peep that I just ate.

THE END

Does this make me a one ode purple peep eater?

[Microwave approximately 20 seconds. Eat open-faced or cover with another graham cracker while still gooey for the full Peep S'mores experience.]

©2007 Kay Pere ~ Effusive Muse Publishing

stronger than memory

Healing is stronger than memory.

Spring is evidence of this truth.

©2007 Kay Pere ~ Effusive Muse Publishing

Vernal Equinox

The first day of Spring! The wheel of the year turns.

Wagon wheel pasta (rotelle) and sauce for dinner. Round green grapes on the side.

I went for a walk to the edge of the woods today, looking for signs of spring.

A flock of robins tap-danced across the field looking for the first stirrings of earthworms. They hopped up into the bare tree branches as I passed among them.

There were leaf buds on the blackberry vines I'd planted at the corner of Gaia Luna last summer. Maybe this year there will be more sunny days and the birds will leave some berries for me to eat. I have visions of blackberry jam on toast and blackberries in the freezer for my breakfast cereal on January mornings.

The deer fence around the garden didn't survive the winter. The winds and ice were too much for it. It hangs like a veil across the southern edge of the beds. This year we'll need to put in a more permanent solution, a real fence with heavier posts. Maybe even a garden gate with an arbor, if it wouldn't look too civilized.

Plant peas after St. Patricks Day, they say.

Our ground is still icy. There is snow in the shady places. Ice on the puddles.

I'm ready for green!

©2007 Kay Pere ~ Effusive Muse Publishing