Sans Gluten

Pray for me. I am am trying to go one month without eating gluten....well, after I have another waffle. But really, after that, I want to give it a month's time to see how I feel. I am pretty convinced it does not sit well in my body. Likely creating a sort of sludgy paste in the colon that just makes my system (shitstem?) lethargic and heavy. Time will tell. Plan on doing some juicing and detox teas and lots of probiotic homemade kefirs. I'll let ya'll know what the heck happens.

Everyday This Year

So the jokes have been flying about the new year. "I've skied everyday this year!" And just before the clock struck twelve, "Get your drinks now or you'll have to wait until next year."

I've been working on my taxes all day so the new year is just the way I imagined it....ha, kidding.

As for resolutions....re-solutions. Mine is usually the same: be nicer. To everybody, especially myself. Ya see, y'all don't get to hear the banter in me brain that degrades and grinds all day up in the spacious goopy noggin. So, naturally, it has to start somewhere, and what better place than right at home. I just read a great Aldous Huxley quote that sort of encapsulates that idea with more grit:

It is a bit embarrassing to have been concerned with the human problem all one's life and find at the end that one has no more to offer by way of advice than "try to be a little kinder."

Of course, one of the best ways to make this re-solution stick is to first own up when you are being unkind. And not beat the living daylights out of yourself when do catch yourself being not-so-nice. So, maybe awareness is really at the root of this re-solution. But man, no bigger obstacle to niceness than being in denial that you're being a jerk wad. Its all nice to think about and much harder to apply. Guess I've got another year to try my best at it.

"I have done my best." That is about all the philosophy of living one needs. - Lin Yutang

Darkest Days

 

The candle shines brightest in the darkest night.

It's a time for introstpection, if not just feeling the way the cold bites so deep. But beyond physical awareness, perhaps it can be a time, even a moment, to take stock of what's inside. Inside the head, the heart, the gut. What are you thinking? Feeling? Eating? Is it what you want? Is it your higher potential or your avoidance of change?

Through all of our inner struggles and outer struggles, we must find a way to accept change...and use it to dive into the unknown/unknowable with trust that we are going to be fine with the new you. Letting go of old habits that don't serve us is surely a wise decision. Clenching the old dusty penny when it's raining quarters is insane. When open, the sands of time run freely through your hands; when clenched, only grit. These are decisions, conscious or not, that we make every moment. Are you aware of what choice you are making? Is it doing you any good right now? Could it use an update? I hope that we can find ways to see ourselves as we are, which could even mean seeing ourselves as we don't really want to be, which leads to a desire for change. Buena suerte.

 

Kvass Kvass Kvass!!!

Lacto-fermented beet kvass is my new favorite thing. It's not the traditional kvass that uses stale bread. Just beets, water, salt, and naturally occurring lactobacillus bacteria (ya know, the friendly kind, the kind that you want in your gut....what? What's that? You thought you were a single organism? You forgot that "you" are actually billions of different little cells and microorganisms, working to keep "you" going).

Ever since I got a sip from Corey B.'s Bubonic Tonic from Fab Ferments, I've been craving it. What better way to keep those cravings met than to make my own. And hey, there are a lot of cravings that aren't as beneficial. This stuff is a great blood cleanser, good for yer liver, and is loaded with those beneficial lactobacilli buddies. It is even used in cancer treatments (likely/hopefully before the radiation therapy). "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." This is wisdom that seems to be wholly ignored by our current medical system. But they are clearly more into money than they are your health and well-being....

I love to eat beets, too. But this kvass kick ain't goin' away soon.That's half the reason why I load up on beets whenever I can. Even better when they are organic and local. I had one or two beets survive the deer grazing so I couldn't bring much to the table. Thank goodness they don't dig up potatoes.

Many recipes call for using whey as a "starter culture." You can also use kvass from a previous batch, even kraut juice, in the same manner, as it contains the healthy bacteria that you want.

 Did my darndest to get all of the dirt off.

 

 

These are the same 3 Root Grex beets that I mentioned in an earlier post. Some look a lot like the Chioggia beet.

 

 After they are all chopped into big sticks (because shreddding them causes them to get too mushy and wet and that can lead to alcohol fermentation, not the desired lacto-bacteria) they are stuffed in glass jars and mixed with some salt and water....and then the hard part. Waiting. I wanted to keep the orange and white beets seperate from the redder beets to see if there is any differenece in flavor.

 And here is where all of the snow is going. The cycle rolls on.

Mix up Mix up

Big news for dweebs (like me?) that love Star Wars. Well, its old news already, but for those of you who don't listen to/read the news, Disney bought Lucasfilm. This has given artists a lot of room to make some good dove-tailing comic works. Below is a sample. Here is a link to much, much more. They are good. Reeeally good.

Credit: Will Mottram

Post Sandy

Here is my greenhouse, now a White House, in a bit of a depression.

 

 

Enter at your own risk....and to my surprise, after a week of various important and umimportant-but-fun activities, I cleaned up the broken structure and found many young and healthy plants growing just fine. At least the ones that were not completely flattened. As I often remind myself, it's all an experiment, and the early winter weather sure makes it interesting.



Red Russian Kale going strong.                            

 

A low tunnel put up with some of the weight, but mostly smashed the lettuces, pac choi and tatsoi below. A good shovel reveals crisp and yummy greens ready to eat (or press onto wax paper for bookmarks???)

Tunnel recovered on the left, flattened tatsoi and the lucky lettuces that didn't get the weight.

 

 

Estoria had a lot of fun and was totally safe and well-fed, despite other reports you may have been broadcast by certain fear-filled networks. I heard somehwere that you've got to beware, you can't believe everything you hear.

 



Here's a link to a small video of downtown Red Creek just after the storm.