Modern Wife – Page 8

Soaking and Sowing Sugar Snap Peas

Some of the earliest crops to arrive at the Farmers Markets are peas: Snow Peas, English Shelling Peas, Sugar Snap Peas. We love them. In our family we just shake some kosher salt with Sugar Snap Peas and snack on them when they’re fresh in the spring. I can’t wait to taste them just-picked from our backyard garden.

I still have Shelling Peas to plant from last year, so this winter when I shopped for seeds at Botanical Interests, I bought Sugar Snap Peas.

Botanical Interests has only non-GMO and untreated seeds. They have a great selection of organic and heirloom seeds. They pack so much information on their seed packets. Nothing is wasted. There’s more to read on the inside of the seed packet.

We’ve been tilling and weeding our Shade Garden for the past few days now. As soon as the seeds are ready they are going in the ground. The Shelling Peas are in the refrigerator. Peas love cold. Sugar Snap Peas have to be soaked in water for 12 to 24 hours before sowing in the ground.

I took a piece of paper towel and folded it in two, cut it to fit in this DIY HDPE tray. Watch my husband make these HDPE trays from empty Arrowhead Water jugs.

They look so space age, don’t they? Very versatile, easy to store because they stack. We can use them for pretty much anything. If I’m soaking seeds, I can slip the seed packet between the two nested trays, so I don’t forget what I’ve soaked.

Get the paper towel wet and put the seeds between the folds. Set it aside in a cool dark cabinet.

The next day, the Sugar Snap Peas have absorbed the moisture from the paper towels. They are engorged and juicy.

I sow them 2 inches apart, like the packet instructs. I’m expecting these peas to sprout next week.

There’s still time to get your Sugar Snap Peas seeds from Botanical Interests. Peas are super-amazing plants because aside from being a delicious and nutritious raw snack, their roots also add nitrogen to the soil. Apparently peas stop producing once the weather gets hotter than 70F, so when it does, the soil is ready for the next crop. Such a giving vine!

February 22, 2013
Garden Plan

As soon as my seeds arrived from Botanical Interests, I sorted them out in order of when they need to be planted. I also included seeds I bought last year, and seeds we’ve been saving all year. I came up with a rough garden plan. It went through several revisions once we started working and sowing in the garden. It’s important to keep track of what was planted where so that next year we can mix it up and make sure each plant gets to know a whole new part of the garden. Keeps the soil healthy and happy.

Shade Garden

First in are all the seeds that love cold weather and would grow with at least 3 hours of sun a day. I picked a spot behind the house. It’s the only shady place on the whole property, and it’s close to a faucet and garden hose. While tilling the soil, we found old rusty nails and parts of rusty tools, an indication that at some point in the distant past, someone had a garden there too.

Advantages of growing these plants in the shade: I don’t have to water as much. The shade keeps the plant bed moist for a longer period of time. The leaves don’t get torched by the sun, especially important to leafy green vegetables such as spinach and lettuce.

What I planted in my Shade Garden: peas, sugar snap peas, spinach, lettuce, radish, beets and broccoli. We’re expecting harvest starting mid-March through the rest of spring.

Herb Garden

Next up are cool season herbs. These herbs like full sun to partial shade, so I’m planning on sowing them in front of the house, which faces south, but is given partial shade by large evergreens. We have raised beds surrounding the house and a couple of small ones in front.

Going in the Early Spring Herb Garden: parsley, cilantro, sage, chamomile, lavender, calendula.

Adding to the Herb Garden after Spring has sprung: thyme, oregano, basil.

Sun Garden

After last chance of Spring frost is over, we’ll be starting the Sun Garden: basil, tomatoes, cherry tomatoes (basil and tomatoes are best companion planting buddies), corn, carrots, cucumber, green beans, zucchini, summer squash, sweet peppers, red bell pepper, watermelon, cantaloupe, and sunflowers.

Pumpkin patch: My daughter is a Halloween baby, so we want our pumpkin patch to be a big celebration. Three different kinds of pumpkins: Jack O’Lantern pumpkins for carving, sugar pie pumpkins for yummy treats and Jack Be Little pumpkins for decorating.

Fruit Trees

I save all seeds from fruit we eat. I’m planning on sprouting these seeds and growing them in pots until they’re big enough to transplant into soil. It could take years, but I have to start sometime. Apricot, different kinds of apples, lemon, cherries, tangerine, plums, pear, pine.

We also have grown trees that are sprouting babies at their roots. Olive and various other evergreens. I wonder if I could grow them from cuttings.

I don’t know if I’ll get to everything. I certainly have a full plate. I’ll be updating these garden plans as we go along. This is going to be an amazing year!

February 21, 2013
Botanical Interests

I got my seeds from Botanical Interests! They came in this pretty box which fits nicely in my mailbox.

A while back I was thinking about seeds and the recent defeat of Proposition 37 here in California. Without mandatory labeling of GMO seeds and food, I will have to assume something is genetically modified, unless they voluntarily state otherwise. The Non-GMO Project is an awesome guide to finding non-GMO products. The Cornucopia Seeds I bought at my local OSH last fall were marked “Not treated or genetically modified” right on the packet. Mike at Urban Organic Gardener wrote about Sources for Buying Non-GMO seeds. The comments thread is really really interesting. One of the commenters posted a list of seed companies owned or supplied by Monsanto. They could be selling organic or non-gmo seeds and still be making money for the Evil Empire. Well, I was glad to know that the seeds I got last fall have nothing to do with Monsanto. And this winter I bought my seeds from Botanical Interests, which sells non-GMO organic and heirloom seeds. They are not on the list of seed villains. And they have these lovely illustrations on the packets. That goes a long way with me.

I bought so many seeds! I admit I got a little carried away. For less than the price of one trip to the grocery store, I just bought my family’s vegetables all year. I also received a complimentary packet of Lettuce.

With these non-gmo organic seeds, and our own gardens that we’ll tend using organic gardening practices, we will be eating better than we ever have. I imagine just-picked sugar snap peas crunching in my mouth, not having soggy or dried out vegetables in the refrigerator, everything eaten just after snipping it off the plant. Does that sound like heaven to you?

February 20, 2013
Vodka Sanitizer

I don’t like hand sanitizer. I see them everywhere. I see them at grocery stores. I see moms whipping them out of their handbags and rubbing their babies’ hands with them. Teachers hand them out to kids in the classroom. I hate it.

It’s one of those things no one ever needed until just recently. The human race has evolved for centuries, and all of a sudden we’re afraid of a little bacteria. Well, I’m not afraid of a little bacteria. Exposure to a little bit of bacteria here and there helps the immune system develop. I’m a lot more afraid of the chemicals in those hand sanitizers.

Have you seen the list of ingredients? Isopropanol, propylene glycol, and other variations of these petrochemical solvents. The root prop in the chemical name is a telltale sign that it’s derived from petroleum, carcinogenic and causes a whole slew of diseases. Terrifying. You wouldn’t wash your hands in gasoline, much less wash your baby’s hands with it, would you?

Triclosan, another one of those horrifying ingredients in hand sanitizers, even creates mutant germs that are resistant to hand sanitizers. Phthalates attacks male fertility and the immune system. Mutant germs, infertility and cancer, anyone?

An old-fashioned handwash with old-fashioned water is still the best way to keep hands clean. In cases when I’m out and about, and water is far away, I carry an HDPE Spray Bottle of Vodka Sanitizer.

I buy the biggest cheapest vodka I can find in the grocery store. If the cashier gives you a dirty look, just say you’re throwing a big party then invite her over. Fill an HDPE Spray Bottle with vodka and it’s ready to go with you in your handbag, or under the sink in the kitchen or bathroom.

High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) is the densest and most stable of all plastic materials. It will keep its chemical composition without reacting to its contents. That’s why milk jugs are made from this translucent milky plastic. The best water containers are made from HDPE.

I use Vodka Sanitizer to disinfect toilet seats, surfaces and hands. It is food grade alcohol, made from grain, so the human liver can process it better than a synthesized petrochemical.

I would still use it sparingly on hands, only when absolutely necessary. Keep it away from little children and alcoholic friends. Promise yourself to never ever use commercial hand sanitizers again.

References:
Hulda Clark
What Dangerous Ingredients Are There in Hand Sanitizer? Should I Just Wash My Hands?

February 18, 2013
Husband’s Breakfast Recipe: Emphysema Lambada

Yes, you read it right. My husband made me breakfast. How sweet! He really is a good cook. Check out his bean soup here. And he also came up with the idea for Bumblebees. But in true Jay fashion, he gave his recipe the unappetizingly strange and thoroughly nonsensical name, Emphysema Lambada.

It’s good, though. Don’t knock it till you try it. Here’s the recipe:

Ingredients:
1 organic carrot, peeled and chopped
1 organic celery, diced small
2 organic green onions, chopped
some organic frozen mixed vegetables (it’s got peas, corn and carrots in it, I think he used about a third of a package.)
1 organic beef hotdog, chopped up as thin as possible
1 tablespoon organic canola oil
1 organic egg from free roaming chicken
salt and pepper to taste

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute the carrot, celery, green onions, mixed vegetables and hotdog. When the vegetables are tender, make a hole in the middle of the skillet and crack the egg in it. Scramble the egg and mix it up with the rest.

Serve warm as is. Or do what my husband did: he set some rice to steam before he started so that by the time the rice is cooked, we are ready to Lambada on top of rice.

February 14, 2013
Beef Barley Soup

A big vat of hot soup is comfort food in the winter. What’s really awesome about soup is that it gets better after it has sat together, chilled in the refrigerator, then reheated next day. This recipe feeds my 3-person family for two days, and is a great classic meal.

Ingredients:
1 lb. lean ground beef, free-range, grass-fed and organic
1 organic onion, chopped fine
1 can (14 oz.) diced tomatoes, organic
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 cups beef broth, organic
4 cups water
3 organic carrots, peeled and chopped
3 ribs organic celery, diced
1/2 cup pearl barley, organic
2 pieces organic green onions, chopped
salt and pepper to taste

In a large saucepan or stock pot, brown ground beef over medium heat, breaking it up with a spatula. Drain the grease that comes out of the beef. People seem to be mystified about how to do this properly. Never ever drain the grease into your kitchen sink. You are asking for trouble, you bad kitty! Grease hardens when cold, so your kitchen sink will clog up if you pour that grease down the sink.

I use a Pot Drainer to drain the grease into an empty can I keep next to the stove. I keep adding grease to it until it’s about 3/4 full. Let the grease harden in the can before throwing it out, can and all.

Stir in onion and cook until glassy. Add tomatoes, oregano, broth, carrots, celery and barley. Bring to a boil, then return to a simmer on low. Cook for an hour until barley is tender. Add green onions. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

February 8, 2013
Old Fashioned Pancakes

My pantry is always stocked with every ingredient on the list below, waiting for those lazy weekend mornings when we can have a slow breakfast. Yeah, I know you can get pancakes to-go at fast-food places, or get those pre-mixed pancakes that come in a box, but making pancakes from scratch means I know exactly what goes into my pancakes.

Besides, my daughter loves to make pancakes with Mama. She’s been making pancakes with me since she was four. She loves to measure out the ingredients; great way to learn basic fractions. Me, I’ve been making pancakes since my daughter was four, too, so really, she knows how to make pancakes just as well as I do.

Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour, unbleached and organic
1 tablespoon organic sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder, aluminum-free
1/2 teaspoon baking soda, aluminum-free
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup raw organic milk
1 egg, free-range and organic
2 tablespoons organic canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla, organic
1 teaspoon extra virgin organic coconut oil
organic maple syrup

Mix together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Beat in milk, egg, canola oil and vanilla until the batter is smooth. Ready for cooking.

I have the Lodge Pro Logic Square Griddle, but a skillet will do too. Heat that griddle or skillet on the stove on medium-low and brush coconut oil on the griddle surface. Coconut oil is the healthiest cooking oil on the planet, and unlike butter, it will not burn on the griddle.

Pour a large spoonful of pancake batter on the griddle to make silver dollar pancakes, or get a ladle for full-size pancakes. Smaller pancakes are easier to manage. Flip when bubbles form holes.

When pretty close to cooking up all the pancakes, put some maple syrup in a small saucepan over medium heat until it bubbles. Pour warm maple syrup on top of the pancake stacks. You can add fruit to it if you like. Strawberries, blueberries, bananas are classic additions to pancakes.

Have a lovely morning!

February 2, 2013
The Adventures of Cosmo

Look at my sweet little dog whispering secrets to my daughter. Cosmo is the best dog ever. Very mellow around kids, lets my daughter dress him up, follows basic commands like sit, stay, drop it, does a lot of fun tricks like roll over, high-five, jump through hoop, the works!

But.

Cosmo is a rat terrier. He runs very fast and is a killing machine. The other day my husband saw him with the neighbor’s chicken in his mouth. Cosmo got reprimanded big-time in our house. He chases squirrels up trees and keeps our house and farm rodent-free.

Most of the time we don’t see him in action. One time in Maine we saw him emerge from underneath our little red cabin with a mouse’s tail dangling off his lips.

This past weekend I was turning the compost pile while the kids were running around in the field, and out of the corner of my eye I saw Cosmo digging furiously. When I looked at him directly I saw him push his pointy nose into the hole and pull out little pink things, which he dropped on the ground and started eating one by one.

Baby mice!

I called the kids so they could watch their beloved mild-mannered carnivore fulfill the circle of life. Amid screams of Ewwww, I heard one of them dare my daughter to touch the baby mouse. So I picked up one of them, the mouse, not the kid, still alive, and put it right in my daughter’s hand. Suddenly all the kids wanted to pet the baby.

It was so small. Its eyes weren’t even open yet. It kept opening and closing its mouth, looking for its Mama, but no sound came from it. My daughter wanted to feed it milk and keep it as a pet. I said it was pointless to raise it just so our dog or cat could eat it once it was grown.

We decided to put it back in the hole it was found in, to give it a chance. Maybe it would die of cold or a stray cat would snatch it up. But maybe its Mama would come back and find it and take it far away so it could be someone else’s nuisance. Or… or… maybe it will come back as some kind of super villain swearing vengeance on my dog for killing its siblings. That would be really interesting.

January 29, 2013
Cauli Cauli Broccoli

What do cauliflower and broccoli have in common? They are both cruciferous vegetables, super-nutritious and best eaten raw.

R.A.W. I love raw food. It feels so alive, all crunchy and juicy and electric.

Other cruciferous vegetables are radish, land cress, watercress, garden cress, mustard, kale, collard greens, cabbage, brussels sprouts, kohlrabi, bok choy, komatsuna, turnips, rutabaga, canola, arugula, daikon, wasabi.

All are best eaten raw to preserve myrosinase, an enzyme known to activate sulforaphane, which removes carcinogens from the body and inhibits tumor growth. (Read more about Anti-Cancer Foods and Broccoli Power.)

So what’s in my lunch salad? Lettuce, broccoli, cauliflower, cucumber, sweet pepper and topped with maple cranberry sauce. Superpowers on a plate.

January 15, 2013
Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies have to be one of the easiest cookies to make. Everybody knows how to make that! That’s what I thought until I baked some.

I got the recipe off the top of the Quaker Oats container. They call it the Vanishing Oatmeal Raisin Cookies. Here’s my version:

Ingredients:
1 cup (2 sticks) organic butter, softened
1 cup organic brown sugar
1/2 cup organic sugar
2 eggs, organic
1 teaspoon organic vanilla
1 1/2 cups organic all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon organic cinnamon powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1 cup organic raisins

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Cream together the butter and sugars. Whisk in eggs and vanilla. Put the whisk away. Add flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Using a spatula, mix the dry ingredients into the batter. Add oats and raisins. It will get very thick. Mix really well.

Butter a baking sheet with wax paper covers, then spoon rounds of cookie dough about a couple of inches apart from each other.

Now here was the tricky part for me. I baked the cookies too long and wound up with hard cookies. Bake it for 12 minutes. That’s it. (It might be even shorter if you live in a high altitude location.)

Get the babies out of the oven and let them cool off on wire racks.

Everybody loves these Oatmeal Raisin Cookies. Those people at Quaker Oats were right. These cookies quickly vanish. I have to make more!

January 9, 2013