Sixty-Fifth Birthday ~ November 14, 2010

Jim & Peg ~ Gone 'American Gothic' in Utah?

Click on photo to enlarge - © 2010 jim otterstrom

My 65th Birthday gift, a beautiful sturdy pitchfork, inspired this tongue-in-cheek parody of the severe tone of Grant Wood's 1930 painting, 'American Gothic', which depicts a 19th Century farmer with his daughter in front of their farmhouse.

Well, I'm not quite old enough to be Peggy's father, she's only seven years younger than I, but we had fun making this image anyway, and we are portraying a husband and wife team here.

Peggy has an authentic weary expression on her face because she was getting tired of holding up that heavy basket of apples as I experimented with camera settings and tripod adjustments while making several different exposures.

We think her strained expression suggests something of the difficulty in being a hard working farm wife married to the ornery old coot she's standing next to, and Peg says she's also amused by the way her glasses slid down her nose to give it that pinched look.

The apples, from my mother's orchard (directly behind where the camera was located), were later baked into my birthday pie and Peg also made a cheesecake for the occasion.

Our son, Jimmy, who shares the same birthday is here too, so he and I conjured up a bar-b-que under a canopy out of the rain which began falling shortly after the photo was made.

The home-cooked food was delicious; my birthday dinner consisted of a deliberately tiny, lean, and tender steak, asparagus stalks grilled with rosemary, thyme, & pepper (Jimmy's recipe), a small baked potato dressed in olive oil and cracked pepper, a small broccoli salad with red onion, sunflower seeds, dried cranberries, raisins, and other secret ingredients, and, of course, a sliver of Peggy's scrumptious wheat-free, gluten-free, sugar-free, apple pie with allspice, nutmeg, and fresh ginger. Oh, and another little sliver of that irresistable cheesecake with the graham cracker crust.

And, I received gifts too, the pitchfork, a pair of Carhart workpants, thick winter socks, and some extremely warm & soft insulated elk hide gloves.

Jimmy's gifts included a new amp for his electric guitar and he spent much of the day entertaining us while I was also enjoying a couple of glasses of Moab Brewery's tasty Dead Horse Amber Ale (the last of my 'growler'), and later some nice Merlot.

I can assure you, a very enjoyable day was had by all (especially grandma I think), and I appreciate more every day what a rare and priviledged time we live in, very unlike the recent past, and the very near future.

~enjoy each precious moment~

Click on painting to enlarge - 'American Gothic'

circa 1930 by Grant Wood

Afternoon Pickin's

Very Fresh Organic Food

Click on photo to enlarge - © 2009 jim otterstrom

Some of this fresh-picked organically home-grown food will be on our dinner plates in a matter of minutes. We're having broiled tuna (our friends Mark & Deb caught it) with salad tonight, poached eggs on toast for breakfast tomorrow, and something with eggplant for either lunch or dinner tomorrow.

Unfortunately, you can't see the abundant variety of salad greens in that basket because I kind of buried them under the other stuff.

Our Saturday Lunch

~Veggie Sandwich~ Click on photo to enlarge - © 2009 jim otterstrom

Lunch yesterday was a veggie sandwich consisting of healthy-sauteéd' (in vegetable broth) Portobello Mushrooms with Japanese Eggplant & onions, on a bed of Romaine Lettuce & fresh cucumber slabs, under sliced tomato & Mung Bean sprouts, all stacked between two slices of Food For Life 100% Whole Grain Ezekiel 4:9 Flourless Bread, lathered on one side with home-made hummus, and on the other, with Follow Your Heart Grapeseed Oil Vegenaise.

We create variations on this theme several days a week, sometimes with avocado and a slice of cheddar, but always making a superb tasting sandwich!

By my best reckoning, this absolutely cholesterol free sandwich, including the hummus and Vegenaise, provides about 290 calories, maybe 75 of them from fat (derived mostly from healthful essential fatty acids). But that's not the reason to eat this thing, the reason is because it tastes so danged good!!!

While I'm on the subject of food, I should, once again, recommend our bible on healthy eating, 'The World's Healthiest Foods', by George Mateljan.

880 pages of comprehensive and invaluable information on the world's hundred most healthful (commonly available) foods, including nutrient richness charts (based on nutrient density per calorie), exhaustive nutritional analysis charts, detailed explanations of why each of the foods is good for you, and, the most healthful ways to store, prepare, and cook them.

~Includes 500 delicious recipes~

(Incidently, the sandwich above is not one of the recipes, but the ingredients are among the Hundred Healthiest Foods, and the method of healthy sauteéing the eggplant, mushrooms, and onions is right out of the book.)

This huge book is the product of 10 years of research by Mateljan and a team of nutritional scientists, and it's a virtual steal at around $25.

If you're interested in this book you can order it directly from http://www.whfoods.com/ or buy new & used copies through our Amazon.com book link in the sidebar to the right.

Winter Solstice...

...A Quiet Dinner In The Round

Click on photo to enlarge - ©2008 jim otterstrom

Peggy and I toast each other last evening, over a bayberry candle, in celebration of the Winter Solstice, before enjoying a simple home-cooked 'Dinner In The Round'.

In honor of the shortest day of our four seasons, the official beginning of winter, we prepared three dishes, 'in the round'.

Our spinach bacon quiché with hominy, olives, and salsa, was decorated with the pagan Solar Cross, formed of bacon. The Solar Cross, a cross within a circle, is an ancient design symbolizing the four seasons defined by the solstices and equinoxes.

We made cornbread with jalapeno peppers, corn, cheddar and jack cheese added to the mixture. The cornbread was also decorated with the Solar Cross, this time in thin strips of jalapenos.

The third round-dish was tostadas with refried blackbeans on corn tortillas buried beneath the fresh red and green yuletide colors of lettuce, tomato, avocado and salsa.

We also shared a bottle of Red Bicyclette Pinot Noir (2006) in honor of the human powered bicycles which have been our secondary mode of transportation for nearly 12 years now (our primary mode of transport is our feet).

The dinner was delicious and we very much enjoyed our quiet peaceful evening together.

A Day In The Life...

Yesterday's Sunrise

Click on photo to enlarge - © 2008 jim otterstrom

At 7:08 yesterday morning Dallas and I were walking westward along the north shore of Big Bear Lake into an icy wind as the sun rose from the east to reveal the front of a storm moving over the ridges into the valley.

I was bundled up in several layers, with two pairs of mittens on, and still had to guzzle my dandelion/licorice root/ginger/turmeric tea down so I could put my insulated mug in my backpack, thus enabling me to keep my hands warmer in my pockets.

Furry ol' Dallas was unfazed though, alternating between wading in the ice water, and curiously sniffing through the brush along the shore.

I should've worn Thinsulate gloves and a parka instead of the mittens and thermal vest, but the storm was moving in earlier than predicted so I didn't really expect it to be that cold and windy on the lake yet.

Throughout our 2+ hour walk I was on the edge of discomfort but it was such a beautiful morning I didn't want to turn around, and besides, Dallas was having a blast.

So, I just occupied my mind with other things than the bitter cold and we made it all the way over to Juniper Point and back, about 5 miles round trip, with many stops to take photos and enjoy the scenery.

When we got home Peggy scrambled up some home grown eggs, with baked garlic, onions, tomato, green chili pepper & turmeric, and we juiced up a blend of beets, carrots, kale, parsley, cucumber, apple and ginger.

Once breakfast was over we bundled up again and went outside to prune the pear tree and clean up some winter debris in the yard & gardens.

We let our hens, and Boris the banty rooster, out of the chicken yard to roam the native plant garden in search of chicken delicacies.

We then uncovered our beds of winter greens, which were getting too warm this past week or so, with the spring like daytime temps, and decided to leave them uncovered to reap the benefits of the coming snowfall.

The greens (several types of lettuce, spinach, kale & green onions), have survived the frozen winter in their covered raised beds and are certainly hardy enough to withstand a March snowstorm or two. Very cold temps may slow them down a bit but the greens will spring back with the slightest warming daytime temperatures, especially after a healthful natural drenching.

We had some cord wood that was too long for our woodstove and I had cut that down to under 18" on Friday, so I cleaned up the scrap and sawdust from that project before snow started falling in the early afternoon.

The rest of the day was spent indoors by the warmth of a fire while Peggy put together a delicious Mushroom Tofu Stroganoff for dinner (see recipe at bottom of post).

By late afternoon snow was falling heavy, but intermittently, with patches of blue sky in between. We woke up this morning to enjoy our green tea with a view of 4 1/2 inches of fresh, light, white powder.

For breakfast today it's cooked buckwheat, quinoa flakes & oats with hemp hearts, banana, raspberries, blueberries and almond soymilk.

The appetizer was another juice blend of beet, carrot, kale, apple & ginger.

MMMMMmmmmmmmm!

Today, at 8:30 A.M.

Click on photo to enlarge - © 2008 jim otterstrom

~

MUSHROOM TOFU STROGANOFF

Adapted to our own particular tastes from

The Tassajara Recipe Book

Note-

Prepare yogurt cheese* and marinate tofu** at least 24 hours before you plan to prepare the meal.


1 16-ounce block of tofu, pressed, drained, and marinated**(see marinade recipe below)
3 tablespoons avocado (or sunflower seed) oil
1 tablespoon tamari or soy sauce
1 tablespoon Bragg’s liquid amino’s (or substitute with more tamari or soy sauce)
1 large yellow onion, diced medium-small
1 pound Crimini or Shiitake mushrooms
5 cloves minced garlic
½ teaspoon paprika
¼ teaspoon ground turmeric
¼ teaspoon dried thyme (or ½ teaspoon fresh thyme, minced)
½ cup of dry sherry or red wine
1 cup of vegetable broth
1 ½ cups of yogurt cheese* (drain 32 oz. of plain yogurt through cheesecloth overnight in refrigerator)
salt & freshly ground pepper to taste.

Drain the marinated tofu (see recipe below)** on a slanted board while you gather and prepare the rest of the ingredients.

Cut the tofu into strips or cubes and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or so.
Remove and set aside.

Heat 2 tablespoons of avocado oil in a 12-inch sauté pan.
When the oil is hot, add the onions. Sauté them on a high heat until they begin to brown, then turn down the heat and cook the onions carefully until they begin to caramelize, stirring frequently. This will take about 15 minutes. They should be soft. While they are cooking, slice the mushrooms about ¼ inch thick, chop the garlic, and warm the vegetable broth.

Mix the garlic, paprika, and thyme into the cooked onions. Add the remaining tablespoon of avocado (or sunflower seed) oil, the tamari and the Bragg’s liquid amino’s. Add the mushrooms, sprinkle on the turmeric, and salt & pepper to taste while carefully stirring.

Once the mushrooms begin to cook, add the marinated tofu** (see below), the sherry or wine, and let bubble & simmer for 8-10 minutes.

Add the heated broth to the yogurt cheese. Once the mushrooms are sufficiently cooked, add the yogurt cheese & broth mix to the mushroom pan.

Cook until the sauce is hot (just a few minutes) and reduced to the thickness you want. Try not to boil the sauce for too long or the yogurt cheese will curdle.

Check the seasonings and serve over brown rice.



Tofu Marinade**
Also adapted to our tastes from The Tassajara Recipe Book

2 blocks of firm tofu (the stroganoff recipe only calls for one block of tufo but you can marinade the second one and save it for another meal)
½ ounce Crimini or Shiitake mushrooms
1 cup vegetable broth
2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 gloves garlic, pressed or finely grated.
½ cup avocado (or sunflower seed) oil
½ cup red wine vinegar
½ cup sherry
½ cup Bragg’s liquid aminos (or tamari soy sauce)
¼ teaspoon ground turmeric
pinch ground cloves
black pepper to taste

Drain & press the tofu to remove excess water.
Simmer the mushrooms in vegetable broth for 15 minutes
Toast the oregano in a small frying pan over a medium flame until it becomes aromatic (without burning).

Combine the remaining ingredients, including the oregano, to the simmering mushrooms.

Bring to a slow boil and simmer a couple of minutes longer.

Cut the tofu into four slabs.

Pour the hot marinade over the tofu slabs & marinate overnight in the refrigerator.

The tofu can marinate several days.

If the tofu was reasonably fresh and fairly dry when it was marinated, the marinade can be boiled, strained, and kept refrigerated for reuse.

I'm sorry I didn't get a picture of this delicious meal, which included steamed brussel's sprouts, and a green salad with avocado & tomato, but the wonderful aromas permeating the house all afternoon had me so distracted that the only thing on my mind was, is it time to eat yet?

Peggy said she'd been wanting to try out this recipe for quite some time, and as far as I'm concerned, this one is a keeper!

Orchid Black's Acorn Processing Class...

...Live, at Earth Home Garden Click on any photo to enlarge

All photos © 2007 jim otterstrom

Orchid displays a bowl of 'batter' for Acorn Fritters during the class she presented here on Sunday, November 18th. To me, the "fritters" have a taste something like the best vege-burger I can imagine. Orchid came up Saturday night to prepare for the class, but this photo is from late in the class on Sunday, so, we need to go back and show you how we got to this point.

The photos were taken over a two day period, during preparation & also during the class, but they do not cover every detail of the process.

See Orchid's instructions at the end of the post for a step by step tutorial.

First, You Will Need Acorns! Orchid collected these California Black Oak Acorns here in the San Bernardino Mountains where they were once a staple for the Serrano Indians who lived here during the warmer months, long before we came along. The Black Oak leaves in the picture are from a tree native to our yard. Before processing, the acorns should be dried (they don't need to be dried if you're going to process and eat them all right away). This can be done outdoors if you have a safe place to dry them, out of reach of squirrels and other foragers. Or you can dry them in the oven (see Orchid's instructions at bottom of post).

Orchid's Acorn CrackerAnd now, the Saturday night preparations (before the class).
This cool little device is actually a pecan cracker but it also happens to be perfect for opening acorns. It has a screw adjustment for different sizes of acorns.

The Acorn Nut Once acorn nuts are out of their shells they somewhat resemble large peanuts, but they are loaded with bitter tannin that must be leached out of them before they are edible. Tannins are not only bitter, they're poisonous, and toxic to our livers, but acorns are also very nutritional and high in protein once the tannins (and the bitterness) are gone.

Acorn Nuts In A Pine-Needle Bowl
Once you have the dried acorn nuts out of their shells, like this, they must then be coarse-ground to about to about 1/8th inch nuggets for leaching (see Orchid's instructions at bottom of post).

Leaching Tannin From The Acorns
Orchid has dried & chopped a large batch of acorns for the class, and has been leaching the tannins out them for about 2 weeks.

She does this by tying up the coarse-ground dried acorns in cotton/cheesecloth towels (from Smart & Final), or in paint strainers from the hardware store, and soaking them in a tub or utility sink. She rinses the acorn mush & changes the water at least once a day until the tannins are gone.

The acorn batch Orchid brought with her wasn't quite finished, so, in the above picture, she's boiling out the last of the tannins.

Grinding Flour
When the acorns are fully leached of tannins, and completely dry, they can then be ground into meal or flour with this nifty hand-operated flour mill.

Making Acorn Corn Bread
Now it's Sunday morning, the day of the class, and Orchid is making a batch of Acorn Corn Bread (see bottom of post for instructions) for us to have with breakfast, and to share with the class.

The Class Begins
Orchid gives an oral history of oaks and acorns, and their huge impact on the development of civilization.

Clockwise, from top center: Orchid, Debbie, Meredith, Michele, Cheri, Samantha, Deb, Peggy, Robbie, & Christie.
I'm manning the camera, as usual.


Oak - The Frame Of Civilization
For those interested in the importance of Oak to the development of humankind, this is a must-read.


Key Lime-Aid With Chia Seeds
It's Break-Time, so Debbie and Meredith enjoy some home-made Key Lime-Aid with Chia Seeds. Orchid brought the chia seeds (native to the San Bernardino Mountains) and Deb provided the Key Limes (from her garden down in Murietta).

Meredith & Debbie are local school teachers and their home is on acreage at the east end of the valley, property which also includes a huge greenhouse where they may host community gardening in the future.

You Had To Be There
Robbie & Christie mix it up during the break.

These guys are our good buddies, part of our social group. We've been on the Xeriscape Tour Committee together for years, they recruit us for talks on native-plant gardening, pine-needle basketry, or car-free living at their Sierra Club meetings etc., and, we go to the same music festivals (Strawberry & Millpond).
It's always a joy to be in their company.

Back To Class
Orchid uses a Cuisinart to coarse chop acorns before soaking and leaching them.
They are gound to approximately the same size as chopped peanuts, like the ones used as bird & squirrel food.

A Sack Of Acorn Mush
In one of the earlier photos we saw acorns being boiled in cotton/cheesecloth towels wrapped & tied with rubber bands. That is one method of containing the acorns for leaching, but you can also use a readily available paint strainer (as shown here) to soak and leach your acorns. Just soak them in a sink or tub, changing the water, at least daily, for a week or two, until all of the tannins are leached out. The water will be relatively clear once the tannins are gone.


Tasting The Goods
After Orchid showed us how to process acorns, she treated us to some of the delicious stuff you can make with them. Above is the Acorn Corn Bread she was making (with some of her previously processed acorn flour) Sunday morning before the class (see above photo titled 'Making Acorn Corn Bread').

Frying Up Acorn Fritters
The scrumptious Acorn Corn Bread was a hit with everybody, but these fritters are just something else (see recipe at bottom of post)! They were made with the acorn 'grits' we finished leaching last night, and with acorn meal from a previous batch.

These were so good we couldn't cook them fast enought to keep up with the demand!

After Class Entertainment
Once class was over, and we had gorged ourselves on the bounty, we broke out a little beer & wine, and were treated to a live folk/blues jam by Cheri & Robbie.



Below is a copy of Orchid's instructional handout (with recipes) from the class if you get the notion to try this yourself.

Please read it carefully...


MY ACORN PROCESS:

Dry the acorns. Drying is only necessary if you are going to store them, otherwise they can be eaten right away.

If you store without drying, they can mold. I believe First Nations people would use fresh ones to make soup at the acorn gathering festivals, which would have been preferred.

I dry them in the oven, by the pilot. If there is no pilot, use the oven light. Baking pans suspended over floor registers also work.

The idea is to not let the acorns get too hot, or it may bake the tannins in, making the tannins harder to remove in the leaching process.

I was drying in pans in the sun, until my local squirrel came around and started chattering about all the acorns: that he was going to take some. I got out there in a hurry and put them inside, barely beating him.

Crack the acorns. Something to do in the evening by the fire. I compost the shells. One reason to dry the acorns is that it makes cracking easier. Cut out any black spots and stripes.

Soak the whole acorn meats overnight. I do this because my blender won't grind them dry. Acorns are very hard. Also, soaking for more than 24 hrs makes it easier to remove skins, which have more tannins.

Grind the soaked whole acorns very coarse, about 1/8" pieces. I do this in a blender or cuisinart. I call this coarse mush. I put the coarse mush into a paint strainer, inside a big enamel pot. The mush needs to be coarse, or it will not stay inside the strainer. The paint strainer could also be cheescloth in a colander, a muslin bag, or a pillowcase that you don’t mind turning brown.

These options would require more squeezing or pressing during the water changing process to get out all the tannins with every change of water.

Soak the mush and change the water at least once a day. Soaking removes the tannins. You can change the water twice a day or more to go faster.

This part seems to take me about 5-7 days, more or less, using dried acorns.

Hilla Futterman said in her acorn class that with fresh acorns it took her about 3 days. I test the mush by chewing on the largest piece in the batch, because the tannins soak out faster from the smaller pieces.

When the mush no longer has a bitter or astringent taste, I go to the secondary drying step. Also, at this stage, the water should be clear.

Pouring the rinse water into a porcelain sink will dye it brown. Stainless steel doesn’t dye. The rinse water can go in the garden, or to a dyer-tannins fix dye, and also tan leather. Removing all the tannins is crucial, as tannins are toxic to the liver.

When the largest pieces taste bland and are not astringent, and/or the water runs clear, they are done soaking and ready to dry.

Dry the coarse mush in the oven on the pilot light. If grinding in a blender, regrind when it is not fully dry, so it is softer. If using a traditional flour grinder, the mush must fully dry to get fine flour.

I sift it, and use the finest flour in pancakes & cornbread. The stuff that is more grits consistency, I use in fritters.

Pancakes: Fritters for Two:

1/3 c wheat or buckwheat ½ to 2/3 c acorn grits
1/3 c cornmeal 1 to 2 eggs
1/3 c acorn meal 1/3 c buttermilk
pinch baking powder 1 tsp miso paste
salt 1/2 onion
egg handful chopped parsley
milk or water to thin 1 heaping tb parmesan cheese
salt & pepper

Cornbread: Cornbread recipes usually call for half cornmeal & half wheat flour. Replace wheat flour in your favorite recipe with half to all acorn flour.

This material was inspired by Hilla Futterman’s acorn class and is written in memoriam. Please use this information with care, and at your own risk.
No part of any wild plant should ever be eaten without positive identification.
Orchid Black © 2006 Any duplication must be by permission, and must contain this information.

PH: 626-794-1275 FAX: 626-794-6992, orchid@pitchersage.com, www.pitchersage.com 1443 E. WASHINGTON BLVD. #163, PASADENA CA 91104

Orchid's Acorn Process reprinted at Earth Home Garden by permission.

A Thankful Day Of Cooking Together...

Acorn Cornbread Ingredients-Used For Stuffing

Click on photo to enlarge - © 2007 jim otterstrom

We had California Black Oak Acorn Flour left over from the delicious class Orchid Black taught on our deck last Sunday (detailed post coming soon) so I decided we should use Acorn Corn Bread in our turkey stufffing this year.

The ingredients in the foreground are what was used in the recipe except that I was going to add the sunflower seeds (in the jar at the right) to the batter but we deciced to use pine nuts in the stuffing mix, so the sunflower seeds were left out.

The wine is to drink later, and the home-blended trail mix is just a staple we keep on the table to munch on, add to hot cereals, salads, or whatever.

Oh, and no pepper in the corn bread either, it's just on the table.

Peggy is on a wheat-free gluten-free diet, and she doesn't eat sugar, so there's no wheat flour in the corn bread and Stevia is substituted for sugar.

The Acorn Corn Bread Mixture is ready for the oven.

Stuffing Ingredients And A Waiting Turkey

Click on photo to enlarge - © 2007 jim otterstrom

My Acorn Corn Bread is cooling as we assemble the ingredients for the stuffing.

Peggy Mixes Up The Acorn Corn Bread Stuffing

Click on photo to enlarge - © 2007 jim otterstrom

Acorn corn bread, onions, celery, fresh parsley, pine nuts, garlic, one egg, vegetable broth, sage, thyme, salt & pepper.

MMMMMmmmmmmmm!

Peggy Basting The Stuffed Bird With White Wine & Butter

Click on photo to enlarge - © jim otterstrom

So the turkey's been in the oven for an hour or so, the house smells really good, and I'm about to uncork that bottle of wine.

May you all...

~HAVE A VERY NICE THANKSGIVING~

To the turkey above, the chicken embryos, and the plants too, whose lives were sacrificed to nurture our bodies, we bow in humble thanks. One day, in the not too distant future, our bodies, back into earth & the food chain, will nurture the lives of your own relatives, and all the rest of our biological cousins, in the never-ending exchange that enables life to exist.

And, to all the Native Americans whose ancestors showed the white man how to survive here on Thanks-Giving Days so long ago, I also humbly apologize that we proved ourselves to be such ungrateful assholes.

Just Goofin' Around...

LAUNDRY ROOM WINDOW

Click on photo to enlarge - © 2007 jim otterstrom

The light shining through these bottles in our laundry room window caught my eye last week so I clicked a picture, and, a day or so later, played with the image a bit in Photoshop. Nothin' special, just goofin' around.

Boy, I've had a few interesting mornings lately...

Tuesday morning, I woke up early, stumbled down the stairs to use the bathroom, flushed the toilet, and went into the kitchen to start some coffee (yes mom, I washed my hands). That's when I heard the sound of a waterfall coming from the back of the house and ran back to find the toilet overflowing like some grand artesian spring!

I hate it when a day starts out like that, before you even get the crud out of your eyes...

I can't remember the last time the toilet overflowed, but it was probably before our adult kids were teenagers.

...then, there was Wednesday, our food co-op delivery day.

I got up early to print order forms to give our members Wednesday, so they'd have them for Julys' orders, and then went downstairs to start the day off right with a healthful bowl of the wheatless eight-grain cereal Peggy had just cooked up (Peg doesn't eat wheat).

As I dressed up my cereal with frozen organic raspberries, frozen organic blueberries, almond-cranberry trail mix, hemp-hearts and soy-milk, I splashed a little milk on the stack of order forms I'd just printed, so I cleared off the table before I ate to avoid making a bigger mess.

I was thinking about the busy day ahead of me, of sorting orders and totaling them up, and wondering if the truck would be late again, delaying my calls to the members who were waiting to pick up their goods, and also, about the welder who was coming by to fix a few broken things around here.

After breakfast, I set up a table and chair out by the gate, getting everything ready for the delivery, then swept off the 10'x10' slab of concrete there so the welder would have a place to work free of flammable material.

Well, of course, the co-op truck and the welder arrived at the same time (the food delivery was early & the welder was late), both requiring my immediate attention and cramping the three of us into a rather small space when you consider that cardboard boxes were stacked everywhere and welding was going on. While I was checking in the order, a few sparks from the welding bounced off the slab, starting a little fire in some pine-needles---nothing serious---and the fire was quickly stomped out, but it was an interesting moment or two. A bit later, when the co-op members began arriving to pick up their orders, I realized that I couldn't find next months order forms, the ones I had splattered the soy milk on.

Not wanting to waste paper, I looked all over the frickin' house, to no avail, even going through the trash in case I had accidently thrown them away. I knew the forms had to be right in front of my nose but I never found them and eventually had to print a new batch. That evening, when Peggy was reading the newspaper, she found my forms folded up in the comics section. Quite fitting, don't you think?

...then, there was this morning!

But first, let me begin with yesterday, and last night...

Yesterday, the Summer Solstice, was a very enjoyable & productive day here, with lots of clean-up and repairs getting done. A friend took a load of junk to the dump/recycling center for us and I greased up my newly welded pedal-stone and sharpened some tools. We worked outside until it was nearly dark before Peggy and I went in to make our solstice dinner together.

Spaghetti with Fresh Herbs & Turkey Meatballs and a Tossed Green Salad

Peggy had picked a bunch of fresh lettuce and spinach from our garden, along with some sage, oregano, chives, and chive flowers. We also had some fresh basil and thyme from the store (we don't have basil to pick right now, and, after several years of faithful service our thyme didn't come back this spring, probably because of our extremely dry winter).

Anyhow, to make a short story longer, I prepared the meatballs, chopping and adding sage, chives, chive flowers and garlic to the ground turkey. Then, just for fun, I threw in an egg, a teaspoon of horseradish, about 4 ounces of Feta Cheese, and some chopped olives. At this point, I realized the mixture was a getting bit thin & gooey, too many ingredients for the pound of turkey, so I added two crumbled rice-cakes and two tablespoon of quinoa flour (Peggy doesn't eat wheat).

Much better, now I could actually form the meatballs.

Once the meatballs were in the oven I went to work on the sauce. I started with a jar of organic garden-vegetable pasta sauce that we get from our food co-op, by the case, and chopped up the basil & thyme to add to it.

By this time, well after 9 o'clock, Peg had already finished preparing a beautiful green salad with celery, avocado, and tomato, so she helped with the spaghetti by chopping some onions and garlic for the sauce, grating some parmesan cheese, and boiling the water for the organic quinoa spaghetti, which we also get, by the case, from our food co-op (again Peg doesn't eat wheat).

Everything came together nicely and the salad, sauce, and meatballs were absolutely delicious. By the time we ate though, it was well after 10 PM, and getting quite cold outside, so we decided to eat our solstice dinner in the house by the light of a hand-dipped bayberry candle we saved especially for the occasion.

After dinner we made our bed out on the deck, and I poured some red wine and grabbed my guitar. Laying there, propped up with pillows, candle aglow, and Dallas at our feet, we watched a few shooting stars burn through the sky while I plunked out some soft little ditties I know, and shortly began drifting off.

A fitting end to a lovely solstice event. Almost...

For years I've had a hiatal hernia in my stomach, and sometimes, if I eat too close to bedtime, it causes me great discomfort, to where I can't sleep. So, there I was tossing & turning, trying to get comfortable, and keeping Peg awake. It was getting very cold and my fidgeting kept letting the frigid air under the blankets.

Understandably, Peggy likes her sleep, so we decided to move inside about half past midnight. Peg went to bed while I sat up reading, until my stomach settled down, and I fell asleep on the couch.

...and now, back to this morning.

At about 7:30, from my groggy restless sleep, I thought I heard Peg moving around, and called her name. Dallas, sleeping near me at the foot of the couch, heard my voice and started wagging his tail, which knocked over last nights unfinished glass of red wine, which then spilled all over the coffee table, several good books, and my new hemp t-shirt, before running onto the wool indian rug beneath the table.

All before I could even get my eyes open...

Sheesh!!!

I hate it when days start like that!!!

But it's all over now, and really quite funny, I think.

And what does the laundry room window have to do with all this?

Absolutely nothing! I'm just goofin' around, that's all, and laughing at three little episodes from my own silly life.

So, have a wonderful, funny, weird, or goofy day...

...or maybe a little of each.

I'm not going to let this relentless human comedy screw up my day, even if the joke is on me.

I've had much worse mornings.

SHIT HAPPENS!

A lot.

Back out in the yard to play...

Dinner...

ONE DELECTABLE GARDEN SALAD

Click on photo to enlarge - © 2007 jim otterstrom

Peggy put together a delicious salad this evening with fresh home-grown greens, chives & chive flowers from our garden, and organic tomatoes, avocados and carrots from the store.

The salad was so colorful it begged to have its picture taken.

She served this with wild caught Alaska Salmon, seeds & nuts, and her own French Mustard Dressing.

Simple and delicious!

Yesterday's Recipe, Today's Dinner...

KALE & WHITE BEAN SOUP

Click on photo to enlarge - © 2007 jim otterstrom

While I was putting yesterday's post together my mouth was watering as I wrote about this soup, so today I decided to make it for dinner.

It's every bit as good as I remember, if not better.

The beautiful placemat is one of a pair that was made for us by a wonderful and talented blogfriend thousands of miles from here.

And, I repeat...

Yum! There's nothin' like a good pot of beans...

Kale & White Bean Soup - For Christa

FROM OUR WELL-WORN COPY OF

Click on cover to enlarge - © 1985 Edward Espe Brown/Shambala

Click on recipe to enlarge © 1985 Edward Espe Brown/Shambala

Our Mother's Day post brought a question from Christa, at the Calendula & Concrete blog, about how we use kale, so I thought I'd post one of our all-time favorite bean soup recipes. This delicious soup is just one great way to make use of kale. Try it once and you'll be hooked. We don't use the "cream to finish" option, it's creamy enough as is.

Yum! There's nothin' like a good pot of beans...

We're not vegetarians but we have stacks of vegetarian cookbooks and the Tassajara Recipe Book is full of healthful tasty dishes that please our down-home natural-food loving palates.

Addendum-10 A.M.

We also use kale sauteed or stir-fried with garlic & spices in a similar fashion to the delicious sounding suggestions Roger, of the Dharma Bums blog, left in his comment here, and we often add seeds & nuts (sunflower seeds, shelled pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, pine nuts, etc.) to our greens, sometimes serving them with red quinoa, brown rice, millet, or Indian Rice Grass (when we can get it).

The youngest tenderest leaves of kale are aslo a tasty addition to fresh green salads, where we might combine them with several lettuces and spinach from our garden, as well as with young dandelion leaves (before they flower because they become bitter after flowering), lamb's quarters/goosefoot (chenopodium), or amaranth leaves---three very edible, tasty, and highly nutritional 'weeds' growing in our native plant garden.

Two other cookbooks we often refer to, which might be relevant here, are, 'Greens Glorious GREENS!', by Johnna Albi & Catherine Walthers, and, 'Hot & Spicy & Meatless', by Dave DeWitt, Mary Jane Wilan, and Melissa T. Stock.

Mother's Day Harvest

MOTHER EARTH'S BOUNTY

Click on photo to enlarge - © 2007 jim otterstrom

Peggy, the loving Mother of my kids, holds a basket full of gifts from Mother Earth, freshly harvested from the garden and the chicken coop. Today's bounty was lots of spinach, chard, kale, rhubarb, several types of lettuce, and, of course, eggs. We had superb "melt in your mouth" steamed spinach with hard-boiled eggs for lunch, followed by Peggy's home-made Rhubarb Cobbler.

We shared about half of today's harvest with our friends Bill and Kathy yet still had plenty for today's lunch, tonight's salad, and greens for tomorrow's meals too.

And, we've called our Mothers, and our kids have called Peggy.

Most of our day was spent working in the garden but I've also been assembling photos I took at our niece Sara's wedding to send off to the family.

We attended Sara and Luca's simply beautiful wedding and reception in Santa Barbara over Earth Day week-end. But that's a whole nuther post which I hope to get to soon.

I'm way, way behind...

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY

And wouldn't it be a better world if we thought of very day is Mother's Day and Earth Day?

Solstice Dinner

Click on photo to enlarge

Peggy and I enjoyed a delicious stir-fry dinner on the Winter Solstice, fully appreciating each other's company and a very relaxing evening.

A toast to the returning sun...

...and to good healthful food, a warm fire in a cozy mountain cabin, and loving companionship, as we begin another cycle in our lives together.

Love and Peace...

Organic Rhubarb Pie

Click photo to enlarge
Peggy made this delicious rhubarb pie for dessert tonight.
All the ingredients are organic except for the butter which is rBST growth hormone free.
I helped with the twisting and braiding of the crust, can you tell?