Making Gifts From The Garden

Posted on December 14, 2020 by Ann Lovejoy
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Solstice lanterns light up the night

Garden Alchemy

During the pandemic, my local library has been offering a delightful program called Book Bundles. Library staff create little collections of books on specific themes for everyone from toddlers to seniors. Some cater to specific interests, perhaps Cozy Mysteries or Intriguing recipe books, Speculative Fiction or Distopian Sci/Fi, and so forth. There’s also an option to ask staff to make a Book Bundle to suit your current fascinations or fill a developing need (crafts for kids is currently very popular). Because I’ve been involved with the library as staff, on the Board, and as a volunteer for over 20 years, my interests are pretty well known, and last week I brought home an intriguing personalized collection that included a new book called Garden Alchemy by Stephanie Rose. 

This useful little volume includes some 80 recipes developed by Rose, whose Garden Therapy blog offers many similar tips and recipes to this one. A devoted organic gardener, Rose has created recipes for everything from organic potting soil and willow water rooting hormone (a favorite of mine) to bee baths and yeasty slug bait. There’s lots more on her blog:

Garden Therapy Blog
https://gardentherapy.ca/

Crafting Garden Gifts

As the holidays draw near, my grandkids have asked for help in making gifts for their family and friends. We decided that solstice lanterns would be a perfect gift for pretty much everyone, so we asked neighbors to divert glass jars from the recycling bin to our project and have gathered bagfuls to play with. We used sponge brushes to paint the jars with a pearly version of Mod Podge (special crafting glue), then collaged them by sticking on torn pieces of tissue paper in bright, light colors (it turns out that it’s hard to see the candle light through dark tissue paper). We then glued on sprigs of cedar and fir as well as confetti (made with a hole punch and brightly colored leaves) and dried flower petals. We added a tea light and a stick of dry spaghetti (which makes an excellent long “match”) and tied a ribbon around each jar neck. They look lovely lined on a windowsill or porch railing, brightening the long night with soft, flickering flame.

I’ve also been making batches of various soothing lotions and healing potions to use and to share. Among my favorites are various kinds of shampoos, all chemical-free and revitalizing for those of us whose hair gets stiff and dry from weather exposure (and perhaps age has a little something to do with it). I’ve been making variations of the simple shampoo recipe below for many years, and it’s a useful gift for those with thinning, dry or damaged hair. It’s especially helpful for chemo patients and anyone whose scalp has become uncomfortably sensitized to commercial shampoos.

The Gentlest Shampoo

This gentle shampoo does wonders for dry hair, eliminating dandruff and itchy scalps. It also adds body to thin hair and is especially helpful during and after chemo treatments. It makes a pleasant body wash, leaving dry skin feeling soft and supple. If you like a little fragrance, use a scented form of Dr. B’s (I often combine some Dr. B’s Rose with Hemp Citrus or Lavender).

Simply Natural Shampoo

1 cup plain or scented liquid castile soap
(such as Dr. Bronner’s)
1 tablespoon organic cider vinegar
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil or avocado oil
1/3 cup water *

Combine in a bottle with a flip-top or squirt nozzle. Shake gently, apply 1-2 teaspoons to wet hair and work in well; mixture will be rich and very lathery. Rinse thoroughly while massaging scalp. Hair will not be “squeaky clean” because the natural oils will not be stripped out (so you may not need to use conditioner as often). Don’t worry; when toweled dry, hair feels soft and is not at all sticky.

*Instead of plain water, try using rosemary-infused water, which is especially good for hair.

Rosemary Water

1 cup water
1/4 cup rosemary sprigs

Bring water to a simmer, add rosemary, cover pan, remove from heat and let steep for 15-20 minutes. Strain into a jar and refrigerate for up to a month. Makes about 1 cup. Nice in tea, lemonade, fizzy water, broth, soup and sauces as well as hair care.

Naturally Fragrant Conditioners

Between indoor heating and chilly winds outside, winter is hard on hair. Once a month or so, have a mini-spa day and devote a few hours to self care, with special attention to your hair. I’ve come to prefer organic avocado oil for hair conditioners, finding it less sticky and almost unscented, but you can certainly substitute olive oil or grape seed oil if you prefer. These mild, lightly fragrant conditioners leave your hair soft and shiny but it’s wise to use a dedicated towel as some oils will stain cotton fabric a bit.

Avocado Oil and Honey Conditioning Rub

2 tablespoons organic avocado oil
2 tablespoons honey

Combine ingredients in a glass bowl and warm gently over hot water, stirring well to blend. Drape shoulders with a towel, then work mixture into and through damp hair while gently massaging your scalp. Wrap your head with the towel or wear a shower cap while you relax or take a bath for 20-30 minutes. Wash with gentle shampoo and rinse well, then brush gently and let hair air dry.

Lavender and Rosemary Conditioner

2 tablespoons rosemary, snipped
2 tablespoons lavender (fresh or dried)
1 cup organic avocado oil

In a saucepan, bring 1/2 cup water to a simmer. Add rosemary and lavender, cover pan, remove from heat and steep for 15-20 minutes. Strain liquid and combine with oil in a bowl and use an immersion blender to emulsify (or put in a food processor or blender with olive oil and blend well). To use, shake mixture well, then put 1/4 cup of it in a glass bowl over hot water and warm to wrist temperature. Drape shoulders with a towel, then work mixture into and through damp hair while gently massaging your scalp. Wrap your head with the towel or wear a shower cap and relax for 20-30 minutes. Wash hair with gentle shampoo and rinse well, then brush gently and let hair air dry.

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Drinking In The Natural

Posted on December 7, 2020 by Ann Lovejoy
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more photos at http://www.denniskunkel.com/

Pretty plant microbes benefit people too

Gardening Heals The Human Spirit

As days draw in and temperatures fall, the pandemic siege is beginning to wear us all down. We may find ourselves getting snippy, taking offense more readily, finding fault, criticizing, being too easily annoyed (I certainly see this building in myself). Back in March, who imagined that we would find ourselves still in this dreadful situation in December? Who could foresee the most basic pandemic precautions flouted, the country more fiercely divided than ever, the rise of covid19 denial despite solid and mounting evidence in every state and all around the world? Probably any historian, actually, as human nature hasn’t changed greatly in millennia.

Historically, more people than ever are living apart from nature, and I think that’s a contributing factor to our national and international malaise. Those of us fortunate enough to have a garden or access to parks and woods and beaches can tell instinctively that immersion in the natural world is a powerful antidote to the toxins of our anxiety-producing cultures. It’s well documented that spending too much time alone leads to depression and anxiety, and so many Americans are living alone these days. It’s also widely recognized that being-or at least seeing-out of doors is important for our health and wellbeing. Numerous studies show that hospital patients and office workers who can see trees from their windows heal faster and feel more positive about work than those who lack windows or see only parking lots. Humans evolved in natural settings and we still need a daily dose of light and air and breathing in greenness.

Forest Bathing Without A Forest

There’s been a lot of media attention to the idea of forest bathing, a physical plunge into a natural environment that brings us emotional and health benefits. It’s a lovely concept, but obviously we don’t all live near a forest and urban parks are often so “parked out” that they don’t provide much sense of being in the natural world. Even so, when we can spend a little time each day amongst green trees and growing plants, all those petty but persistent irritations fall away. Some of my friends are confined to elder housing but are allowed to walk around the (admittedly meager) grounds for some relief from the four walls of their small apartments. One woman takes her walker to the parking lot at night so she can see the stars that are invisible from her rooms (her screened windows don’t allow her to poke her head out far enough). Another has an aide wheel her around the block, stopping to admire flowers (right now camellias and a few lingering fuchsias) along the way. For those whose indoor life offers only restricted glimpses of the natural world, such a daily outing can be an emotional game changer.

True, it’s not always tempting to go outside in December. Brief days, long nights, grey skies and wild weather make the idea of a comfy armchair and a book very tempting. It can be tough to muster the will to walk on blustery, wet or freezing days, but those getting outdoors, even for a few minutes, offers a rich reward. Those starchy English nannies were famous for making sure their charges got at least 15 minutes a day of fresh air, even if the little ones were bundled up from head to foot. Turns out they were right; spending even a few minutes outside has clear benefits. Fresh air can lower our blood pressure, steady our heart rate, help clean out our lungs, and improve our digestion. Even gentle walking boosts our immune system, increases our energy, and refreshes our mental abilities. Being outside makes us feel happier, during and after the experience.

Gathering Garden Goodness

Gardening delivers all of these benefits with an added bonus of elevating our mood and reducing depression, effects that can persist for days. Just breathing while in plant-rich settings can be helpful, thanks to phytonicides, airborne, plant-based chemicals that trigger production of white blood cells that are most abundant around where mature trees and shrubs. Getting your hands dirty while planting or weeding increases the goodness by exposing us to a naturally occurring soil bacteria (Mycobacterium vaccae) that stimulates brain neurons that produce serotonin and help fend off seasonal affect disorder and other forms of depression. No wonder gardening is such a rewarding addiction!

Even as we age, gardening can be among the healthiest ways to get gentle outdoor exercise. However, some of us might need to re-think the way we garden (as the heating pad on my back can attest). If we’re used to working outside all day, we may have to cut back and take our time. When you’re strong and fit, you can enjoy double digging vegetable beds and hauling heavy branches out of the woods. If gentle exercise now suits your body best, get out the rake. Raking leaves, grass, or gravel uses all the body’s major muscle groups (arms and legs, back and shoulders, belly and butt). What’s more, steady raking builds strength as it burns off holiday calories and makes only a pleasing sound (unlike those horrible leaf blowers). I for one have never been more grateful for the smaller chores of winter, from weeding and tidying up beds to gathering wood for our solstice fire. Though we longer have acres wide and space for a roaring winter bonfire, our new solstice celebration, sitting around a small fire flickering in our metal fire bowl, is just as comforting. As this challenging year slides away, I’m looking forward to exploring such new patterns in many areas of life, from holiday celebrations to daily socializing. Our lives will never be “the same” but they may be better, more just and equitable for everyone, and that’s certainly worth celebrating. Onward!

 

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Reliably Perfect Beans

Posted on November 30, 2020 by Ann Lovejoy
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                             Dried Beans Are Best When Brined

Brining Beans For Tenderness

Autumn’s fog, wind and rain makes hearty soups especially appealing. The soup pot is almost always on the stove these days; right now, dried beans shelled by my grandkids (they love hands-on tasks like this) are simmering away. Later, the tender beans will be added to sauteed vegetables, chopped apple, and turkey stock with a piece of Parmesan cheese rind to make a hearty minestrone. I enjoy trying out new ideas and experimenting with old favorites, but I can’t seem to make a SMALL pot of soup to save my life. Thus, I feel blessed to live in a community where soup sharing is part of the culture. If anyone is known to be feeling under the weather, soups will appear on stoops and porches. It’s culturally correct to offer soup in glass jars or yogurt tubs or anything that doesn’t need to be returned, so the recipient can simply enjoy the gift with no strings.

This year, my small garden produced surprisingly generous crops of green beans as well as golden wax beans. I also harvested lots of lovely soup beans, which cook up buttery and tender without broken skins. Store-bought beans may have been in storage for a long time, and such beans don’t always cook properly. It’s frustrating to go through the bother of soaking and simmering only to end up with mealy or tough-skinned results. I love beans and was delighted to find the solution to bean problems in Harold McGee’s fascinating kitchen classic, On Food And Cooking; the science and lore of the kitchen. If you aren’t familiar this book, see if your local library can lend you a copy. (Ask them to buy this book if they don’t have it, as it’s a must for curious cooks.) In a lengthy article on the ways beans are used in various cultures, McGee lists many reasons for them to turn out tough, hard, or mushy. He suggests that brining-soaking them in salted water-before cooking can help. It also reduces the oligosaccharides that cause uncomfortable intestinal gas in some people, so it’s a very helpful technique.

A Salty Soaking

To ensure tender, easily digestible beans, soak dry beans in salted water over night, then soak again in plain water and rinse them well before cooking them in plain (unsalted) water. Dried beans will absorb about half the water they are going to in a couple of hours, but need a slow 10-12 hour soaking to fully hydrate. One they’ve had their overnight bath and rinse cycle, they cook up quickly and are perfectly tender, with whole skins and a pleasing texture. In fact, if you use a pressure cooker or Instant Pot, brined beans can cook up in as little as 10 minutes.

The rule of thumb is to add 2-3 tablespoons of kosher salt to a gallon of soaking water. Stir in the salt until fully dissolved, then add the dry beans and let them sit overnight. The next day, turn them out in a colander, rinse them, then soak them briefly (3-5 minutes) in cold water, and rinse again. Since excess cooking liquid leaches out bean flavor, just put them in a pot with water to cover by about an inch. Bring to a low boil, reduce heat and simmer until tender. Depending on how dry (or large) the beans were, this could be anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour.

Flavor Infusions

Adding salt at this point will help bring out the bean’s flavor without causing toughness. However, I find beans taste better when I add some shoyu or soy sauce instead, especially if I store beans in the fridge for a day or two, since the flavors will meld intriguingly. For a less-salty but still luscious flavor, try adding coconut aminos instead. This yummy stuff is something like Bragg’s, but is soy free and according to the label, it contains 65% less sodium than soy sauce. I use a kind called Coconut Secret Raw Coconut Aminos which lists as ingredients only organic coconut sap and sea salt but has a magical, complex flavor that my whole household is crazy about. It’s stupendous on steamed cauliflower or roasted turnips or in salad dressings or pretty much anything you can think of.

You can also build bean flavor by adding chopped shallots, garlic, or onions at the very end of the cooking time, along with fresh or dried herbs. I like to add thyme to red beans, rosemary to white beans, and oregano to pinto beans, while summer savory (Satureja hortensis) is a classic herb for fresh or dried beans. Savory is easy to grow and fresh or dried, it tastes a bit like a blend of thyme, parsley, oregano and basil and is often used in Herbs de Provence blends. You can also borrow a tip from French cooks and drizzle cooked beans or bean soups with a little lemon- or garlic-infused olive oil and some finely chopped apple. Other delicious bean garnishes include garlic croutons, fresh cilantro and soft goat cheese or skinny ribbons of fresh basil and chopped cherry tomatoes in summer or roasted pumpkin seeds tossed with curry or chili powder.

A Hearty Italian Bean Soup

Make this flavorful white bean soup as chunky or smooth as you prefer by using an immersion blender, which can puree most soups without any need to add thickening agents. It’s far easier to clean than a blender or food processor, but be sure to keep the blade under the soup’s surface or you’ll have splatters everywhere!

Italian Cannellini Bean Soup With Garlic Croutons

1 tablespoon fruity olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
3 shallots or garlic cloves, chopped
1 teaspoon minced rosemary
1/4 teaspoon hot pepper flakes
3 stalks celery, chopped
2 Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 medium carrot, peeled and chopped
2 cups cauliflower florets
3 cups cooked Cannellini beans (or any) with cooking liquid
1-2 tablespoons garlic-infused olive oil
1/2 cup garlic croutons (see below)

In a soup pot, heat oil, onion and salt over medium high heat and cook for 2 minutes. Add garlic and rosemary and cook to the fragrance point (about 1 minute). Add potatoes, carrots, and cauliflower, reduce heat to low, cover pan and cook for 5 minutes to sweat vegetables. Add water to cover vegetables by half an inch, cover pan and cook until vegetables are tender (10-15 minutes) Stir in beans and their liquid, bring to a simmer and simmer for 15-20 minutes to meld. Puree to desired consistency with an immersion blender or use a potato masher. Serve hot, garnished with garlic-infused oil and croutons. Serves 4-6.

Crunchiest Croutons

Who doesn’t love the crunch and savor of herb and garlic flavored croutons? Homemade croutons are a snap to make and taste much better than store bought ones (which are apt to be a bit stale, if not rancid). I often make a batch when the oven is in use; any bread ends or rolls will make good croutons, and if you don’t care for rosemary, just leave it out….

Crunchy Garlic Croutons

2 tablespoons fruity olive oil
2-3 large cloves garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon rosemary, minced (optional)
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
2 cups cubed day-old (or older) bread

Pour oil into a rimmed baking sheet and sprinkle with garlic, rosemary (if using) and sea salt. Gently toss the bread cubes and any crumbs in the oil with your hands to coat fairly evenly. Bake at 225 degrees F for an hour, at 350 for 15-20 minutes, or at 400 for 8-10 minutes or to desired crispness. Store in a tightly sealed container (preferably glass) for up to a week. Makes about 2 cups.

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Holiday Habits And Highlights

Posted on November 23, 2020 by Ann Lovejoy
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A pandemic quilt in progress

Potato Leek Soup, With Gratitude

As a child, I always enjoyed the way that autumn and early winter seasons are spangled with holidays that brighten the darkening days and lengthening nights. However, as I’ve been reading historical accounts and memoirs lately to balance the dailiness of the news, I’m struck by how little revelry there really was between the ancient Saturnalia kinds of festivities and the excesses of the Victorian/Dickensian era. It sounds like those ancient revels were more about drinking, story telling, and singing in the dark, cold night than about feasting, especially when harvests were scanty. If the Elizabethan holiday “groaning board” celebrated excess for the favored few, the vast majority of humanity had little to spare on frivolous festivities. Eventually the slow rise of the middle class brought relative prosperity to more people, but inequity has always made holidays very different affairs for the haves and have nots, as we certainly see today.

This year, between the pandemic shut downs, layoffs, business closures and the evaporation of stimulus and relief programs, millions, even billions of people are seeking new ways to hold holidays. My observant Jewish friends are quick to point out the practical ways they’ve found to celebrate holy and happy holidays despite increasing restrictions on gathering. Millions of people observed Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur in September, taking two days for reflection and repentance, and Sukkot, the harvest thanksgiving, in October, using all sorts of platforms to share time, thoughts, music, games and activities while physically distanced. Hopefully that clear example leads more of us to try new ways to come together in spirit if not physically.

Thanksgiving And Thoughtfulness

As the holiday season arrives, I’m thinking hard about what really counts as celebration. Since we can’t come together in person, does the value lie in listening to beloved voices, seeing dear faces, hearing stories, catching up? For a lot of people, Thanksgiving is all about food; Mom’s stuffing, Dad’s gravy, Grandma’s pie. I get that, but personally, I’m far more in the mood for a national day of atonement and repentance than for a day of indulgent over-eating (maybe because less-than-optimal eating is clearly becoming the new normal for those who can afford it). Last Thursday, as I entered my 70th year, Johns Hopkins University announced 185,759 new infection cases in the United States, our all-time daily high and a low point in my lifetime. If we as a nation will take time for thoughtful reflection THIS Thursday, perhaps we have a chance of changing direction. Perhaps. Small wonder so many of us are feeling vulnerable and so deeply sad.

That said, I’m still finding glimmers of hope every day, largely because I’m making a point of looking for and recording them. Laughing kids zipping by on skateboards. Gorgeous morning clouds tinted miracle-pink. Little birds hopping in the garden. My daily walk yields golden fans from a Gingko, round, smudgy purple leaves from Cotinus x Grace, and spiky-fingered, flame colored sweetgum foliage. On my desk, a small vase holds a sprig of beautyberry, its clustered purple berries firm and bright. There’s also a rosy camellia that usually blooms in April, and a few unseasonal primroses as well as coral-pink River Lilies (Hesperantha-formerly Schizostylis coccinea Oregon Sunset). In my garden, a young Angels’ Fishing Rod (Dierama pulcherrimum) is also budding and blooming out of time, its pale flowers glimmering in the soft grey fog. Across the narrow street, I can smell the sultry sweetness of climbing sweetpeas planted in my neighbor’s deep window boxes, still bravely blooming despite frosty nights and chilly days.

Covid Creativity

We gardeners are fortunate indeed to have an endless source of hope and happiness, but many friends are also using this pandemic down-time to create music and poetry, stories and plays, capturing this unprecedented period of history for the future. Others are making and mending, knitting and sewing, spinning and weaving, sculpting and building. Back in March, Washington State was the epicenter of the virus in America. When the pandemic was first announced, my friend Windy began recording daily events and thoughts on squares of batik fabric, sewing them into strips, then joining them into a quilt top. Recently she shifted from daily squares to weekly ones, as the quilt was getting way too large.

Looking at her quilt, I see dark days and joyful ones, sad days and glad ones, broken days and whole ones. If I can’t truly know the story that’s sewn and drawn and embroidered into this quilt-book, I can still read it, even from here. It’s a story about dealing with what is, about trauma and transformation, about love and loss, about making and mending. I can see that adorable Olive feels right at home in the middle of this story that her human keeps chronicling, and that Olive is definitely one of the bright spots. A dear friend recently told me that the family dog keeps them all sane. Around here, our cats anchor us. Maybe your lifeline is writing, or dreaming, or singing, or cooking. Whether we are grounded by plants or pets or poetry, it’s good practice to honor that role with gratitude.

Thankful Alphabet Soup

When my grandkids spent the night (remember those far-off days?) after a bedtime story and a song, we’d snuggle up by candlelight and play the Alphabet Gratitude game. There are lots of ways to do it; picking topics like people or birds, songs or books, flowers or food and listing our favorites letter by letter; seeing who can come up with the most favorites per letter; taking turns with each letter; starting with A, starting with Z…. I practice this game at bedtime myself quite often, starting anywhere and letting the gratitudes stream out, one leading to another and another and another.

A Lovely Potato Leek Soup

While tidying up in the little back garden, I turned up a hill of overlooked potatoes. I picked a handful of kale, several leeks, and some garlic greens and made this simple, satisfying soup, just right for a blustery, drizzly day like this one. Making a self-broth of water keeps this soup very light and fresh tasting, while broth makes it richer. If you like, add a splash of fresh lemon juice and a few chopped walnuts for extra zip.

Vegan Potato Leek Soup

2 tablespoons avocado or olive oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped
3 leeks, sliced (white and palest green parts only)
1/2-+ teaspoon basil salt or sea salt
few grinds pepper
1-1/2 teaspoons stemmed rosemary, chopped
1 teaspoon stemmed thyme
2 cups shredded kale
4 medium golden potatoes, sliced
1 quart broth or water
1/4 cup chopped garlic greens

In a soup pot, combine oil, garlic, leeks, salt, pepper, rosemary and thyme over medium heat and cook to the fragrance point (about 1 minute). Add kale and potatoes and stir to coat. Add water or broth to cover and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium low, cover pan and simmer until very tender. Puree with an immersion blender, adjust seasoning and serve, garnished with garlic greens. Serves 2-3.

 

 

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