Monthly Archives: June 2009
how ’bout another outing?
following the recent okieOLIO field trip to SortaCrunchy to share my love of tea, one of megan’s readers suggested that a post about tea for kids would be useful. i thought it was a great idea, and so did the editors at Simple Kids, so today i’m happy to invite you to explore the Pleasure of Tea with Your Family.
hopefully you’ll find some practical and fun information, whether you have children or not. you can leave comments and questions here or there. thanks for takin’ the trip with me!
looking beyond the label
i have been privileged to work with a variety of outreach organizations from local ministries to global missionaries through an awesome previous job, as well as volunteering and community involvement. but oddly enough, until recently i’d never interacted closely with group of people that represent a large percentage of the population in many cities, including okc: refugees. these strong & resilient people have experienced horrors i cannot fathom, and often relocate to our nation after being forcibly removed from their homes. most have lived in a refugee camp for many years before their move here, and have lost some, if not many, family members to violence. they arrive in hope of a fresh start, and truly need assistance to make the best of the opportunity they have been given. language barriers, cultural differences, and a lack of financial resources are among a few of the challenges they face.
i previously mentioned an organization i am proud to be involved with that is doing a lot of good locally and globally. one of the main programs sponsored by the spero project is called spero: voice. the mission of this program is to be a voice for those in need, offering them the hope of Jesus in practical ways. this is accomplished by partnering the resources of the local church with the needs of the refugee community, specifically through education, job training, social networking, spiritual growth, and advocacy.
this weekend wraps up a week of awareness in the UK sponsored by the british red cross, aiming to overcome prejudice and help refugees restore their sense of identity and belonging. even though i’m late in spreading the word, it’s not too late to visit lookbeyondthelabel.org and learn more about the struggles of these people. check out the video below, and if you feel inclined, read a little about the terrible injustices and violence occurring in the congo, burma, sudan, and afghanistan. these are just a few of the places those in the refugee community of okc have lived. it is difficult to read these stories without being moved by the hope these survivors represent.
the accidental gardener
as i bumble through my third season* as a veggie gardener, i’ve realized i’m still quite the awkward adolescent, making incidental progress in an ungainly manner. it seems i’m finding success through sheer determination, a little good luck, and the blessed resilience of nature rather than skill or knowledge.
we’ve made some progress since last month’s update. the lettuce and chard won’t stop producing, even though i harvest several times a week and it’s well past their season. i’ve also been pretty proud of the cucumber plants and garlic, which have managed to flourish even growing up on the wrong side of the shade and in the corner with poor drainage. the okra and squash are faring well for a late planting, and i have high hopes for the pepper plants that are already producing.
however, i can’t seem to coax any vine up my trellises, ants have set up camp underneath my strawberry pot, and something inexplicably killed off one of my raspberry bushes (in a slow, agonizing way) while the two on either side of it thrive. i’m also pretty sure there’s a disparity in soil nutrients throughout the plot, because one tomato plant is taller than me, while some are stunted below my knee.
although i have a long way to go, i’ve become more adept at tackling the pests. i’d like to be one step ahead of them (prevention mode) rather than chasing them down (frantically scouring reference volumes and web pages for solutions.) like my friend and fellow newbie veggie grower savanah has said, “never before organic gardening would i voluntarily smush dozens of aphids between my fingers.”
my basic defense is finger smashing as well, along with a piping hot (caliente y picante!) “super bug death tea” made from basic pantry supplies and recommended by my bro-in-law (who is also cultivating a small backyard garden with my sister.) i admit i feel a wicked glee pouring the searing fluid down their holes and hills, but i’ve got to protect my babies!
i want to use my new expanded space as efficiently as i possible, so i’ve got to find the balance between crowding and planting too sparsely. i feel like bare dirt just invites weeds.
- lemongrass on the right; on the left, NOT lemongrass
the weeds (mostly misplaced blades of grass) are tricky when they resemble something i’d want to cultivate. i almost harvested a tall sprout growing next to my chives, and came THISCLOSE to actually cooking with bufflao grass thinking it was lemongrass.
even though i know it would help keep out the weeds and prevent loss of precious moisture in the soil, i am still undecided about mulching. i like the versatility of being able to plant and replant without being bound to predetermined rows or sections. i guess i need to decide if i’d rather devote time to mulching or weeding.
a few weeks ago, i took some photos of what i thought was impressive growth in my baby herbs at the time. by the time i got around to uploading the pics, they had burst into the verdant blooms you see below and needed another photo shoot.
(ohmygowthspurts, update: less than a week after i posted this entry, the herb bed looked like this. i guess i’m not the first mama to underestimate how quickly her babies will grow up!)
the mint, basil, sage, and cilantro have taken off faster than i can keep up, while the delicate thyme and dill have finally started to get hardy enough to prune. i have a surplus right now for anyone close by who would like some gorgeous organic herbs or greens.
stay tuned, as you never know if my next clumsy step will produce beautiful fruit or ugly leaf spots.
*that is, unless the standard that defines an official season is based on producing a quantity of edible output. if so, then this technically counts as my second season.
anyone close by who would like some organic herbs or greens, i have a surplus right now.
readaholic
it seems my input and outgo do not always flow evenly. i haven’t been writing as much lately because i’ve been reading more. while it’s true that reading generally activates my writing impulse and writing usually juices my reading itch, sometimes i get totally immersed in one or the other.
like when the tower of books to read beside my bed is just growing instead of rotating. i’ve been determined to finish one book for every new “to-read” title that takes it’s place in the lineup, and so i’ve dedicated more time to catching up.
i also finally updated my goodreads account. i’m expecting the books i’ve got on deck to be hard hitters, so stay tuned to my what i read page for details.
cultured, yet unrefined
it’s well established that i like a little culture and growth in my life. if it’s different, if it’s new, i’m interested.
i also like a bit of culture and growth in the kitchen, meaning foods that have so much more to offer nutritionally when you’re patient enough to wait. fermented and sprouted foods are something i became more familiar with while completing my certification as a living foods chef. “live” doesn’t just mean not killing the food’s live enzymes with high heat. sometimes it’s about breaking down the natural enzyme inhibitors to release the life. (like nuts and seeds that can grow a tree, but not until soaked with water.) at other times it means creating beneficial, live probiotic bacteria. (think yogurt, sauerkraut, and cultured drinks like kombucha and kefir.)
when training under chef mandy i learned how to do these things myself. now i periodically soak, sprout, culture, and ferment at home, which requires things to be…well…out. so my kitchen counters often look like this:
- sprouting nuts, seeds, grains, and legumes
- culturing coconut yogurt, kombucha, and sauerkraut
my most used room of the house is unfortunately located in the direct line of sight from the front door, so the first thing you might see when you walk in is what appears to be a bizarre science experiment. i enjoy the end result, but i feel like i need an extra room dedicated to these projects.
the draining rack of jars full of lentils with little tails and the bowls draped in flour sack cloth may look weird – hey, maybe it is weird – but i think it’s worth it. the awe of watching what develops brings out the inner mad scientist in me, and i value the health benefits of maximizing the life in the food by allowing it to naturally grow. the opposite of refined foods!
