Walk On the Wild Side

Lisa Rose Starner

Lisa Rose is a backyard herbalist who is teaching classes at our CSA, Trillium Haven Farm.
She is doing 5 once-a-month walks thru the wild areas of the farm starting last week.
This class was fascinating!
I had no idea what went on beyond the farms pristine gardens!
Weeds and native plants everywhere....some good....
and some not so good.

Stinging Nettle

It's called Stinging Nettle for a reason...ouch.
But Lisa Rose showed us how to eat it without getting stung, so...
very carefully following her instructions...we all tried it.
Tasty! Kind of reminded me of a fresh green bean.
But there were warnings that came along with this plant, too....
DO NOT FORAGE FOR NETTLES ALONG THE DITCH.
Hmm....why?

Kill-ya-dead plant
AKA: Poison Hemlock

THIS is why we were never, ever to forage for nettles along the ditch....cause THIS was lurking.
And tho nettles and hemlock don't look anything alike, you could easily reach down to pick some nettles and not see one of the smaller poison hemlocks growing right next to them.
And that would be a
VERY.BAD.THING. INDEED.

We were duly warned:
Do not touch, bruise, or otherwise go near this bad boy.
She didn't have to tell me twice!

Poison Ivy

Enough said....

Garlic Mustard

Tasty, bitter green...perfect pick-me-up after a winter of heavy stews and soups.
Pick the entire plant...pull it out root and all.
The stuff is invasive so no worries...there will be plenty for next year!

Honeysuckle

Remember sucking the "honey" out of the tiny flower?
That's just what we did!
Lisa Rose will harvest the flowers and put them in honey to flavor it.
Mmmmm...honeysuckle honey!

Chickweed

Finally....
Something I recognized!
This stuff is everywhere in my perennial beds in the spring.
Lisa Rose uses olive oil and chickweed as the base for a salve that she makes.

I am very excited to go back the end of June to see what else is growing wild at the farm.

Not certain I want to throw out my Neosporin quite yet, but I am very curious as to how these herbs and weeds fit into an organic lifestyle.

For now tho I am quite comfortable going to the farm and foraging stinging nettles (away from the ditch!) for a pot of tea, and garlic mustard for my wild(er) salad!

Are YOU a weed eater?
If so, what kinds?

In His grace,
Cindy

Homemade Lara Bars

Lara Balls

I've been messin' around with a lot of different recipes this winter, knowing I was responsible for teaching a class at our CSA this year.
For the most part my experiments have been on fermenting, dehydrating and preserving.
But on occasion i sneak in something I want to try just for the fun of it!

My friend Lydia posted about these recently, and since they were on my "bucket list" of recipes I wanted to try, I thought her recipe would be the perfect springboard for what I wanted to do.
And after seeing the price of these in the stores (somewhere near $2 each), I knew I could do better.
Basically all a LaraBar consists of is dried fruit and nuts.
Now comes the fun part!
I used what I had on hand and stuck with the ratios I had read about:

1/4 cup organic, dried figs
1/4 cup dried blueberries
1/8 teas. cinnamon
1 pinch salt
1 teas. vanilla (optional...I did not use)
1/3 cup nuts

In a food processor place all of the dried fruit and seasonings, pulsing till a paste is formed.
Remove fruit from processor, but do not clean processor.
Put nuts in processor, pulsing till very finely chopped, but stopping short of nut butter!
Add your fruit paste to nuts and pulse a few times to combine.
Roll into balls or shape into bars....your choice.
Wrap in plastic wrap or cover tightly.

Now for the experimentation;
next time I am going to use some of my fermented apricots as the fruit and possibly macadamia nuts.
Or how about dried pineapple with walnuts?
Mini chocolate chips, dates, and cashews?
Cherries, cranberries, pecans?
Really...the possibilities are endless!

Be sure to let me know if you give these a try!

In His grace,
Cindy

Lacto-fermented Preserved Lemons

Lemons, scrubbed clean

I have become more and more adventurous in my cooking the past few years,
trying new things,
experimenting with different cuisines.....
And doing a LOT of fermenting.

Since I will be teaching a class at our CSA farm this summer on different types of food preservation, I have really tried to expand my basic knowledge into something I can actually translate into a class!
Preserved lemons have been on my "bucket list" for about a year, and I finally took the plunge this week.

Sea salt

Cutting the stem end off

Cut an X most of the way thru the lemon

Pack the cuts with 2 TBL. sea salt

EACH lemon should have 2 TBL of sea salt

Place in appropriate sized jar for the amt. you are preserving.
Add an extra couple TBL sea salt and the juice of several lemons to the jar.
If the lemons are not completely covered, cover with un-treated water.
I always use my well water for all my fermenting...
Cover the jar with a lid.

Let set on the counter for 30 days, after which you will have preserved lemons!
Refrigerate after the 30 days.
From what I understand, the flavor will be intensely lemony (duh) and salty. (another duh)
You mainly use the lemon skin, not the innards, tho I have read recipes where they put the innards inside a chicken before baking.

Preserved lemons have many uses...
dressings, tabouleh, couscous, Moroccan dishes, chicken....
It's making my mouth water!
I can't wait to try these...
And I will most certainly update when the month is over.

In His grace,
Cindy

This post is linked to Cooking Traditional Foods Lacto Fermentation Friday
http://www.cookingtf.com/2011/05/13/fermentation-friday-4/

This post is also linked to Real Food Wednesday
http://kellythekitchenkop.com/2011/05/real-food-wednesday-51811.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+kellythekitchenkop+%28Kelly+the+Kitchen+Kop%29

Easy Peasy Homemade Ricotta

Ricotta

Having been blessed with some extra raw milk this week, I wanted to do something special with it.
But not all of it!
This recipe for ricotta takes only 1/2 gallon of milk.
You may use store bought milk, but do not use ultra-pasteurized....it won't work, and the high heat process that ulra pasteurized goes thru has pretty much killed anything beneficial anyways.

Homemade Ricotta Cheese

Ingredients

• 1/2 gal. whole milk
• 1 cup buttermilk (or yogurt)
  
• Optional: 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 2 teaspoons white or apple cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon salt

Method

1 In a large pot, bring the milk, buttermilk, heavy cream (if using), vinegar, and salt to a boil. Very gently boil for one to two minutes,(gently scraping the bottom of the pan to loosen any curds that may be stuck) until the milk is curdled.

2 Line a strainer with a few layers of cheesecloth and set it over a deep bowl or pan.

I let the mixture sit in the pan an additional 15 minutes for more curdling action!

3 Pour the milk mixture into the strainer and let drain for 15 minutes. Gather the cheesecloth around the curds and squeeze gently to extract any excess liquid.

Use immediately, or store for 3-5 days.
Makes 2 cups.

Rigatoni alla Pastora
Shepherd's Rigatoni

The main reason I wanted to make the ricotta was to try this easy peasy recipe we saw on TV last week!
Find Lydia's recipe

HERE

This was SO good, and very simple to throw together.
Pasta, italian sausage, ricotta, parmigiano reggiano, and basil leaves.
I did NOT have fresh basil leaves, as it is only May 1...
So I used about 3-4 TBL of my basil pesto from my stash I have in the freezer from last summer.

Perfecto!

Have YOU tried anything new in the kitchen lately?

In His grace,
Cindy

Gone, but not forgotten...

Mom, dad, and me

My mom has been with the Lord 12 years this month.
I don't think a day goes by without me thinking of her and missing her.
For those of you who are blessed to have their moms still with them...

Seize the day.

Happy Mother's Day,
Cindy

EASY-PEASY LAUNDRY SOAP

The Players

"Makin' do, or doin' without" has been my motto here for the past few years.
So, when I ran out of laundry soap a while back, I had to figure out how to make my own, or do without!
Tho I posted about this subject a few years ago, I figured it was time to blog about it again since many of you didn't know me then.
I have no idea where in my blogging archives the original post is...
and since I needed laundry soap...
Here we go again....!

This recipe couldn't be any easier....

1 bar soap (I have used Zote and Fels Naptha)
1 1/2 cups 20 Mule Team Borax
1 1/2 cups Washing Soda (NOT baking soda)
3 gal. water

Using a box grater, grate the bar of soap
Bring 1 gal. of water to a simmer, and add the grated soap.
Stir until soap has dissolved and water is near boiling.
Add the Borax and Washing Soda.
Stir occasionally on med. heat for 10 minutes.
Pour into a bucket that will easily hold 3 gal. (I have a 5 gal. bucket)
Add 2 gallons of HOT tap water.
Stir occasionally till cooled.
Mixture will thicken as it cools.
Use anywhere from 1/4 to 1/2 cup per large load of laundry.

The end product

The Zote makes a pretty soft pink soap!

This works out to be less than .80 cents a gallon!
The only way you can get laundry soap any cheaper is if someone gives you a bottle!

Now...I am off to line dry that load of towels I just washed!

In His grace,
Cindy