Care and Cans

Today I made Caring Time for mySelf. I started the morning with a little catch-up art journaling in my Book of Days. I sipped Irish Breakfast tea and enjoyed some protein before heading out to Rooted in Wellness for a very therapeutic massage. While I was out-n-about I went on the hunt for a new, locally-owned art supply store only to discover that it's not yet opened. But I enjoyed a nice little-city walk-about in the bargain. I even fit in a nap when I got home.

Once revived I began transferring yesterday's canned goods off the dining table and down to the cellar pantry. I love that this batch combines fruit from my own gardens and from Dineberg's Farm. We have 40 quarts of tomato puree put up so far. My tomatoes are still lush and producing, so getting to my 52-quart minimum goal is in sight. I'll likely put up some whole and chopped tomatoes too.

The pickled three bean salad also found its way to the pantry shelves. I found a recipe online that I tried last week. It was a small batch, so I modified the recipe for size and shifted and added some ingredients. I'm pleased with how it turned out. Here's how I made it:

Pickled Three Bean Salad

5 cups green beans, cut to 1"-1.5", blanched 2 minutes
5 cups kidney beans, cooked and rinsed (I soak mine to ferment 2-3 days before cooking)
3 cups garbonzo beans, cooked and rinsed (also fermented)
2 cups pepper, chopped
1.5 cups onion, sliced
1.5 cups celery, chopped

3.75 cups water
2 cups apple cider vinegar
.75 cup lemon juice (fresh squeezed for me)
2.5 cups cane sugar

2.5 tablespoons mustard seed (I used black mustard)
2 teaspoons celery seed
1 teaspoon hot pepper flakes (I'm pretty sure I tossed in an extra teaspoon, one seemed lame)

.75 cup olive oil
2 teaspoons kosher salt (or sea)

I like this 2-day process because I can get it all prepared one day and can it the next.

Day one
Combine the water, vinegar, lemon juice and sugar in a pot and bring to a boil. Add the mustard, celery and hot pepper. Remove from heat and stir in the salt and oil. Add the beans, onion, celery and pepper. Let cool and keep in cold storage overnight.

Day two
Heat the mixture to the boil. Fill sterilized jars, leaving .5" headspace. Cap and process in a boiling water bath for:
15 minutes for pints
25 minutes for quarts

Makes 11 pints


So now, I'm off to the garden to harvest some collards to dry, or maybe kale. Not to mention more tomatoes. And zucchini. And beans. And … well, you get the idea. And later, I'll art a bit more in my BOD and possibly offer my left shoulder some loving ice as I relax into the evening.

Peace.

Join me for "heART journaling" at The Phoenix Rising Center

 

Today I make an announcement, one I'm quite excited about. This has been quite a while in the manifesting, so to speak, mostly because mamamuse has been challenging me every step of the way. But now, the door, long unlocked, has opened.

Beginning two weeks from today, on September 10, I will be offering an art journaling workshop called "heART Journaling" at The Phoenix Rising Center in Thomaston, Connecticut. ::squeel!:: This is an 8-week journey of holistic inquiry, self expression and … manifestation, explored through the simple practice of daily art journaling. You can get more details at the Center's site or on our Facebook Event Page.

I've been consciously journaling on a regular basis since 1994, mostly words, but even in my early days drawings and doodles would find their way into my recorded expressions. I can't remember when it was, but it wasn't too long ago, maybe 3 years, that I began keeping art journals. What they were then and what they are now are … quite different … and yet, not. I've always drawn and kept sketchbooks, but the experience of art journaling as an intentional practice has awakened sleeping parts of me, and has guided me to altogether "new" territory … and my heart is glad for that. Thus the name, "heART journaling."

As a being who responds to visuals, keeping such a record of questions, observations, witnessings, experiences, etc., has made the process of review so simple that I am able to more easily see the patterns in my life, my dreams, my desires … my path, and I find myself living with greater awareness, gratitude and grace … and making conscious choices that nurture the best parts of me and my world. 

heART journaling is Good Medicine.

This may sound a little crazy to you, yet I can say that, in my experience, a little crazy rOcKs!

So if you're in the Thomaston area, I hope you'll consider joining us, beginning September 10, at The Phoenix Rising Center for this heARTful workshop. I have a sense it will be an intriguing journey for all! So check out the links and, of course, if you have any questions, feel free to post them here. 

Peace.

Puree, Kabees and Journals

This past week I've been mostly busy with garden harvests. I canned more tomato puree and will have more to do, since the plants are still producing nicely and loaded with fruit. This morning I went to the Watertown Farmers' Market in search for cucumbers. Alas, I found none suitable for half sours. My plants really struggled this year and didn't produce much. Such is life. Nonetheless, I came home with some lovely little zephyr squash and gorgeous beets.

When I got home I harvested some turnip and commenced making kabees, a new favored way to preserve and enjoy turnips. I made a two quart batch sans beets a couple weeks ago and have already polished off a half a quart. I know they'll continue to get even better with time, but to me, they were delicious in just one day! They're beautiful with the beets, though, don't you think?

I've also started listing some of the new mini journals I've been working on. You can find them at my ArtFire and my Zibbet shops. There's more of them to come too - keep an eye out!

So, yeah … that's what I've been up to lately. You?

Peace.

Good Eats

Today, with the help of a good friend and accomplice, I got a gallon of eggplant pickles prepared for preservation and a four quarts of yellow squash fermenting.

The eggplant is so simple and should be ready to start eating in the next couple/few weeks. We just cut the eggplant in 1/4-inch slices, put a few sprigs of fresh spearmint in the bottom of the jar and began layering a couple of inches eggplant with some garlic and rough-chopped jalapeno peppers and a tablespoon of sea salt. There was no measuring, really, except for the salt. We layered until the jar was filled, topped it with three more sprigs of mint, filled the jar with living apple cider vinegar, used a small jar to push the vegetables below the liquid and capped it. It's already smelling amazing.

I've never tried this method before, but when I saw this video I knew I had to try it. There's no heat processing, and the eggplant should remain safe and good for … years, it seems. I'll see. Though I have a feeling they won't last that long - meaning they'll be eaten! I'll keep you posted.

Then, along with a garden frittata for supper, I roasted these baby eggplants that I got from Dineberg's Farm. I minced some (well, a lot) of garlic, salted it and blended in a couple tablespoons of olive oil, a splash of one of my herbal-infused vinegars, some freshly crushed dried oregano, celery seed, cayenne powder and let that sit while I prepared the eggplants. I gave each eggplant two slits from stem to blossom end, creating four sections still attached to the stem, and stuffed-n-drizzled the garlic mixture into the center of the four quarters. They were arranged in a dutch oven, covered and placed on my grill, set to a moderate heat (about 350F) for 10 minutes. Then I turned them, replaced the lid, and let them roast another 5 minutes or so.

These were so freakin' good. The Boy ate a few and … I ate the rest. Yep. All of them. They were that good.

Yep. That's what I made today. Good eats.

Peace.

Fermented Summer Squash, Dig it

Today I started a gallon batch of summer squash fermenting on the kitchen counter. Dig it.

I had four squash, on the larger side. I cut them, trimmed out the seedy bits, cut them into bite sized pieces, tossed them into a gallon gar with some pepper corns, mustard seed, celery seed (none of it measured) and covered them with a 3.6% brine (2 tablespoons sea salt to 1 quart of water). I had lined the bottom of the jar and then covered the top with horseradish leaves to add the tannins that support crispiness and that hold the squash bits submerged under the brine. I weigh it down with a jar filled with water and then cover it with a cotton dish cloth, just to keep un-wantables out. Dig it.

This batch should be ready for cold storage in 3 to 5 days, depending on the weather. And for munching too. Dig it.

These should come out akin to "half-sours," not too salty, ya know? And with the pickling spice flavors. You can make a stronger brine if you like them a bit saltier (3T sea salt to 1 quart water = 5.4% brine). Who knows, I may add some honey to them when I pack them in the smaller jars. We'll see. I'll keep ya posted.

Dig it.

Peace.

Sabbatikos

I honor "threes." I pay attention to patterns of three. When the third person asked what was going on with my blog because I'd not posted in so long, I thought I'd better pause to share where I Am.

April and May felt hectic to me. I felt pressure and rattling stress. I felt frazzled, tired and worn out. I sat with those feelings until I sunk to their roots. My roots. There, I looked up and saw that trimming was in order.

I cancelled planned travel and a few other activities, as well as tabled other projects I had ready for scheduling. I stayed tuned-in to those roots and continued gazing into my world, and began pruning life-foliage, my visible life. Know what I mean? And I've been witnessing and trimming ever since, recreating my upper world in a way that my roots can support.

It's true that this removes me from some aspects of life that I realize as valuable. It's not (necessarily) easy, simple or enjoyable. Yet, I acknowledge that even a life made manifest in the most intentional of ways can grow beyond what can be healthfully supported, no matter how charmed or blessed it may be. So even charms and blessings must be clipped, like this space I share with you here, among others, until the roots are tended, nourished and can carry the new-growth-to-come.

And it will.

That is all.

For now.

::wink::

Peace.

Food for our Heart Flames

Oh, how busy our lives can get. Am I right? I've been busy on many fronts these past … several days. The gardens are set now for the "growing" season and I only have succession seeding and harvests to which to tend. Only.

I've been busy, too, with creating … and recreating. My art has transformed these past few months into a form of rich and valuable exploration. I have to thank Effy Wild for playing such a key role in this transformation. My artwork has always been "good" Medicine for me, an avenue to self expression that has served and benefited me since childhood. Yet, something has shifted during my stint in Effy's Premium Book of Days program, a program of art journaling.

One BoD exercise involved exploring my Gifts. What are they? How do they make manifest in my life? How do I share them with the world? And if I'm unable to share them, they're not Gifts, are they?

So I started by giving mySelf a Gift. A Gift of delayed obligatory travel. This resulted in 6+ days that I was able to refocus and recommit to me, to my world, and what I truly value within it. It has been a gift that has revealed Obvious Secrets to me, the kinds of Secrets that are known in the mind, but not integrated into the whole and holy. Know what I mean?

These Obvious Secrets are assimilating now, integrating with my being, with my place in the world.

As I sat with my Gifts, I regarded all the things "on my plate," all those things on my ToDo lists, and I saw those tasks with fresh eyes, with vision more clear than I can recall. I look forward to more clarity.

One of the tasks on my June ToDo list jumped out as a Gift, even with the challenge of disjoints that it  offers to my core values. For, indeed, it is a "Good" work, offered from a place of compassion, a place that feeds my Heart Flame.

That Gift is "Create for the Kids," a fundraising event for St Jude Children's Research Hospital. The event is this Saturday, and folks from all over will be offering hours of creative expression, in any form, with intention for the children of St. Jude. I am committing 10 hours to creating and I invite you sponsor these efforts by making a donation of compassion, anytime this week, to "Create for the Kids."

It will, in turn, feed your Heart Flame.

When you make your donation, in any amount, $1, $10, $100, for every bit helps, return here and leave a comment to let me know. You'll be entered in a drawing to win an item of your choice from my ArtFire shop. The winner will be selected on Monday, June 25th.

"In helping others, we shall help ourselves, for whatever good we give out completes the circle and comes back to us."
~ Flora Edwards

Peace.

Rhubarb Preserves

Today I made my way into the gardens. I planted more. I harvested more. Some of my harvest was more rhubarb, and I made some rhubarb preserves. I added organic, dried rosehips and orange peel and am pretty happy with how it came out.

And I have a surprise for you. I actually measured and noted what I did, so here's as close to a recipe I can offer:

Rhubarb Preserves 

16 c rhubarb, chopped
1/2 c dried rose hips
1/4 c dried orange peel
4 c cane sugar

Combine in a pan and bring to boil. Simmer until soft. Pack into half-pint/pint jars. Seal. Process in a hot water bath for 15 minutes. Let cool. Check the seal. And, enjoy, of course!

I also managed my final preparations for the lecture I'm offering at tomorrow's Connecticut HerbFest Country Fair. I'll be there all day tomorrow, so if you're in the area, stop by, introduce yourself (even if we know each other, it'll be fun!)  and join the merriment of HerbFest!

Sunday I plan to plant a little more and relax with some arting, getting back to my Book of Days and other artful projects I've got going. So … I'll see you then!

Peace.