Independence Days Challenge

Independence is many things to many people.
To me, it is a powerful feeling to be independent. The New Oxford dictionary has a few different definitions. Here's the one that speaks to me the most:


not depending on another for livelihood or subsistence : I wanted to remain independent in old age.
• capable of thinking or acting for oneself : advice for independent travelers.
• (of income or resources) making it unnecessary to earn one's living : a woman of independent means.

I have always said it's more challenging to be independent in a small apartment, as many others know. Sometimes I lose sight of how to get to the end goal, even though I know in my heart that I shouldn't sweat it. Every now and then though, it's good to get a bit of encouragement. This morning, I got that bit of encouragement from a woman who's blog I've always enjoyed, but had slipped my mind. Sharon Astyk is an intelligent writer that has written on a variety of topics like the preservation of home, agriculture, food preservation, climate change, changing weather instability, peak oil, and the rejuvenation of family. Her blog, The Chatelaine's Keys is never boring and always gets me thinking. On February 1 of this year, she brought back a challenge she's done in the past that she called Independence Days

She challenges us to  not lose sight of the goal, not to get overwhelmed by the myriad of things we need to do to be independent. Here is an excerpt of that post:
"The whole idea is to get the positive sense of your accomplishments – it is easy to think we haven’t done anything to move forward, but in fact, we all do, almost every day.  We just think of accomplishment as a big thing – a whole day spent putting up applesauce or a hundred tomato plants.  The Independence Day project makes us count our little accomplishments and see that we are moving forward.  So for each week, tell us what you have done in the following categories:


Plant something: A lot of us were trained to think of planting as done once a year, but if you start seeds, do season extension and succession plant, you’ll get much, much more out of your garden, so I try and plant something every day from February into September.


Harvest something: Everything counts – from the milk and eggs you get from your animals to the first dandelions from your yard to 50 bushels of tomatoes – it all counts.


Preserve something: Again, I find preserving is most productive if I try and do a little every day that there is anything, from the first dried raspberry leaves and jarred rhubarb to the last squashes at the end of the season.


Waste not: Reducing food waste, composting everything or feeding it to animals, reducing your use of disposables and creation of garbage, reusing things that would otherwise go to waste, making sure your preserved and stored foods are kept in good shape – all of these count.


Want Not: Adding to your food storage or stash of goods for emergencies, building up resources that will be useful in the long term.


Eat the Food: Making full and good use of what you have, making sure that you are getting everything you can from your food, trying new recipes and new cooking ideas, eating out of your storage!


Build community food systems: What have you done to help other people have better food access or to make your local food system more resilient?


And a new one: Skill up:  What did you learn this week that will help you in the future – could be as simple as fixing the faucet or as hard as building a shed, as simple as a new way of keeping records or as complicated as making shoes.  Whatever you are learning, you get a merit badge for it – this is important stuff."


Sharon invites her readers to join up, write about their own accomplishments and chime in, and many do. I'm sure that even here, in our small apartment, there is a way I could work towards these goals while working nights and trying to de-clutter our lives. I'm sure we could all do something. Even if you aren't necessarily working toward increasing independence, it's not a bad thing.
I'm not sure I'll have something to report  on the above  "catagories" every week, but I'm going to work toward doing something. I'm going to try to have something to report every Friday.

What about you? Are you interested in increasing your independence? Is there some small way you could waste not, want not? Or is there a way you could plant something, or perhaps harvest something as the season progresses> If we all work together, it won't seem so overwhelming.
Stay tuned for tomorrow's check in!

Since When Do We Need Lunch Inspectors?

I'm appalled, stunned and incensed to learn about a 4 year old who was told her home-packed lunch wasn't good enough on January 30 of this year, because it did not meet one person's idea of an approved lunch. From the North Carolina Journal,
"When the girl came home with her lunch untouched, her mother wanted to know what she ate instead. Three chicken nuggets, the girl answered. Everything else on her cafeteria tray went to waste."
"The girl's turkey and cheese sandwich, banana, potato chips, and apple juice did not meet U.S. Department of Agriculture guidelines, according to the interpretation of the agent who was inspecting all lunch boxes in her More at Four classroom that day."
In a report written by Sara Burrows for the North Carolina Journal, it's made clear that, "The Division of Child Development and Early Education at the Department of Health and Human Services requires all lunches served in pre-kindergarten programs - including in-home day care centers - to meet USDA guidelines. That means lunches must consist of one serving of meat, one serving of milk, one serving of grain, and two servings of fruit or vegetables, even if the lunches are brought from home."

So a state-approved random agent inspected the girl's lunchbox and decided her lunch was not healthy enough and decided she needed chicken nuggets instead? Do they not know what those things are made from? I used to make chicken nuggets for a living, folks, I know all too well that there isn't enough real meat in a nugget to be healthy. Very rarely you can buy chicken "cuts" in a nugget size. The difference is that a "cut" has a grain to the meat. This is an actual piece of chicken meat, sometimes from the breast of the bird. But I can tell you that that kind of cut isn't going to be within the budget of a school. They would probably buy the nuggets that are cheaper and faster to cook, and there is very little about those that are healthy.

For my liking, this allows State officials too much power, but I'm Canadian, so maybe I'm not allowed to have an opinion. But read this and consider what it means,
"With a turkey sandwich, that covers your protein, your grain, and if it had cheese on it, that's the dairy," said Jani Kozlowski, the fiscal and statutory policy manager for the division. "It sounds like the lunch itself would've met all of the standard." The lunch has to include a fruit or vegetable, but not both, she said."

So who was the "inspector" who decided that the lunch was not nutritious enough? None of the reports name the person, and the principal of the school clearly has no idea what happens in his school.
"The school principal, Jackie Samuels, said he didn't "know anything about" parents being charged for the meals that day. "I know they eat in the cafeteria. Whether they pay or not, they eat in the cafeteria."

Why would a perfectly healthy lunch be discounted and chicken nuggets offered to the child? Well, we can only assume that more than just chicken nuggets were offered, although no one makes it clear what was on the offered lunch tray. But the girl's mother, who wishes to remain anonymous in order to protect her daughter from retaliation, said she received a note from the school stating that students who did not bring a "healthy lunch" would be offered the missing portions, which could result in a fee from the cafeteria, in her case $1.25.  Wait a minute.... this mother is expecting backlash because she went public with this? What kind of community is she living in? What kind of a school system does this? Jani Kozlowski is quoted as saying, "If a parent sends their child with a Coke and a Twinkie, the child care provider is going to need to provide a balanced lunch for the child," Kozlowski said.

Ultimately, the child care provider can't take the Coke and Twinkie away from the child, but Kozlowski said she "would think the Pre-K provider would talk with the parent about that not being a healthy choice for their child."

So the State Inspector, whoever that was, was wrong to deem the lunch not nutritious. Furthermore, the school sent the bill for $1.25 home for a lunch that was not needed or welcomed! And the principal knows nothing about it? Right, tell me another fable.
Since when do four year olds need their lunch boxes inspected? Really? This is what North Carolina does with their money? Hire people to inspect lunches healthy?

This, if nothing else proves that government has gotten quite cozy in the pockets of it's citizenry. It also proves that the principal of the West Hoke Elementary School in Raeford, North Carolina isn't doing his job. Apparently, the mother of this girl has written to her state representative, Republican G.L. Pridgen of Robeson County, who is looking into the matter. One can only hope the follow up is shared with the citizenry as well.

Now, let me say that we also have a picky eater, which this girl apparently is. It's tough to get your child to eat healthy at the best of times. I send as nutritious a lunch as I can manage with our youngest son, and everything comes home again. My hands are tied somewhat by a no-peanut rule due to an allergic child in the school. Fair enough. Slightly more restrictive, but I understand why. No biggie. But because our youngest really doesn't eat lunch, it forces us to get more creative with breakfast and dinner to make sure he eats right. I know I'm not the only parent out there who faces this. One of my customers asked me a couple of weeks ago what I pack for the boys for their lunches, she's at her wits end trying to find something her children will eat. Our eldest and middle sons both eat fairly well, although I remember the middle son was not a great eater at his younger brother's age. He is still outgrowing it. I can only hope the youngest will as well, that one day he'll decide he likes more than spaghetti, meat loaf, cheese and corn. In the meantime, we're battling with a school system that has taken away hot dog day, tried to abolish pizza day and at one time would only allow water in the school. (Did I mention our youngest hates drinking water?)

So my heart goes out to this embattled mother who worries her daughter will face retaliation if her identity gets out. She clearly has enough to worry about with a picky eater, she shouldn't need to worry about a self-important state lunch inspector deeming her packed lunches unhealthy.
Lunch cops...damn, what's next? Smoking police?
Oh wait, we already have those....

Still trust in government?

Big Yummy News!

EXTRA! EXTRA! READ ALL ABOUT IT!

I'm not sure exactly when I decided my hiatus from cooking was over, but at some point, I decided I wanted to cook again. I've been gradually getting cookbooks from the library, and a couple from the store I work at. I've been trying to get better at certain dishes and staying away from the classics that the boys like. One can only hear, "It's okay......" (insert pause here while they think of ways to not offend me) so many times. So instead of getting my sleeves in a twist, I just don't mess with their favorite dishes. No biggie.  So I've been experimenting with new dishes. Somewhere along the way, I found I was enjoying food again, which had stopped happening many years ago. I've always loved eating it, and Betty is a great cook, I just wasn't enjoying making it anymore. I'm lucky to have a wife that enjoys cooking the way she does. But as I've said, I've been getting back into food lately. The making of it, the different elements of it, the processes, the basic ingredients and even how it's grown, shipped and treated.
(Seriously, our tomatoes are gassed to be red, did you know this?)

I want to find fresh ingredients. Fresh, like, picked that day, and naturally colored by the sun. Heck, I'd rather grow my own. I want to be able to make good food that has a taste and nutrients. I want to be able to teach the boys how to make an omelette or a roasted chicken, or make spinach dip or how to cook a steak properly.

To that end, I got the idea that I should start doing instead of just reading, and along the way, I should share what I see, taste, learn and fail at, so that someone else can learn from my mistakes. And so, Crispy Chewy Crunchy was born.
I'll be discussing the textures, the dishes, the elements that make up those special meals that we all remember. I'll talk about the tools we can use to make stunning meals, the tools the pioneers used, as well as old time recipes from the North, South, East and West. I'll discuss basic food prep methodology and terminology that many of us may not know about. I'll introduce you to new ingredients, new dishes and new ways of looking at what we put into our mouths. I'll feature cool places to eat, cooking schools, other foodie blogs that you should know about and up and coming cooks, and maybe even some of their recipes. I'd love to hear about what makes up your best recipes, your special meals and food related traditions.

I hope you come and join us. Lets have a conversation about food.

An Award? For Me?

I'm stunned!

I apologize for the delay in posts,  RL (real life) bit me hard the past few days, but here I am!

I'm thrilled, stunned and overjoyed to report that I was nominated for an award! Many thanks to Linda at Hello, It's Me, and to Bernie, aka The Apartment Prepper  for nominating me for the Liebster Award!

All that comes to mind is a Sally Fields impression from an awards show... "You like me! You really like me!"
Seriously though, thank you for the award. It means a great deal to this neophyte blogger.


1. Copy and paste the award on your blog.

2. Link back to the blogger who gave you the award.

3. Pick your favorite blogs with less than 200 followers, and leave a comment on their blog to let them know they have received the award.

4. Hope that the five blogs chosen will keep spreading the love and pass it on to five more blogs.

Tomorrow, I'll pass on this little bit of blogger prestige to my favorite blogs, and let you know who I've chosen.
Today I'll be working on my post for tomorrow, and cooking.
I've said it before, and I'll say it again, the importance of home cooking cannot be overstated. Cooking at home provides you and your family, and friends, with a more nutritious meal. One you have more control over, one more modifiable than a quick burger delivered in a silver wrapper. It also allows us to be creative in a way often discounted. Don't discount the power of good food. One of the best gifts I received as a teenager was a cookbook. One of the most important things I ever did was learn how to cook.

I'm off to wake up the second son, and then admire the pages of the Food Network's Chocolate issue.
See you tomorrow!

Let Go Of That Draino!!

We don't have a garbage disposal (Sparky the WonderStomach doesn't count) but every now and then a drain will get clogged. I admit, I used to reach for the Draino, and then one day I got to wondering what was in it. According to the chemical warnings on it, pretty noxious stuff! That led me to wonder how the stuff gets treated and or filtered out of the sewers and so forth. The moment I thought, 'hmm, maybe it doesn't really ever break down...' was a huge eye-opener for me. So I went looking for something else that clears drains. Something I didn't need to keep under lock and key and wear a hazmat suit to use. As an asthmatic, I am always conscious of chemicals wafting in the air I'm trying to breathe. Here's what I found.

*Sprinkle  1/2 cup of baking soda into the clogged or slow running drain.
*Wash it down with  1/2 cup vinegar. Yes, it'll fuzz and bubble like a rabid animal. Put your stopper or plug into the drain. Leave for 15 minutes and go put the kettle on to boil.
*When the 15 minutes are up, pull the stopper out, pour the boiling water down the drain. Repeat if necessary.

If that doesn't work, or your sink is filled with water, plug any overflow holes with a rag and get out your extra plunger. You did buy an extra, right? If not, add that to your shopping list, they're invaluable. I have one that we use for off-the-grid clothes washing. Take the plunger...lol...take the plunge! Sorry...
 Take the plunger and plunge with a sharp motion until you think the obstruction may have cleared. Then repeat the baking soda and vinegar application above.

The baking soda/vinegar/boiling water application is  safe to use as often as you want. Ideally, you want to do this once a week to keep your drains clear, save frustration and hard earned cash on harsh chemicals.

Dirty Bird 'Sketti

I'm going to borrow an idea from a dear friend of mine over at Blether and post a recipe today. But not just any recipe...this is supper tonight! Hopefully I'll have the energy to make garlic bread too. The Dirty Bird 'Sketti idea came from Jacqueline and the garlic bread idea comes from Tammy.
So without further ado...

Guy Fieri's Dirty Bird 'Sketti
1/4 lb bacon, sliced into 1/4" pieces
1 tbls. ground ancho chili powder
1 tbls. ground cumin
1 tbls. ground garlic
2 tbls. dried thyme
1 tbls. dried oregano
1 teas. ground cinnamon
1 tbls. paprika
2 lbs boneless chicken, cut into 1/2" dice
3 tbls. butter
1 1/2 diced white onion (approx 2 med onions)
3 tbls. minced garlic
1/4 c. dry white wine
4 cups Marinara sauce
2 tbls. Worcestershire sauce
fresh black pepper
1 cup sliced green onion
1/2 c. chopped cilantro
2 tabls. finely shredded basil
1 lb. spaghetti

*In a large skillet over medium-high heat, cook the bacon until crispy. Transfer the bacon to a paper-towel lined plate and reserve the pan with the fat.
*In a small bowl, make a spice blend by mixing the cayenne, ancho chile, cumin, granulated garlic, thyme, oregano, cinnamon and paprika. Dust the mixture over the chicken pieces and toss to coat evenly. (Store the remaining blend in a tightly capped jar)
*Heat the bacon fat over medium-high heat. Add the chicken. Cook until browned on all sides, 10-12 minutes. Remove from the pan and keep warm.
*Melt the butter in the same skillet over medium-high heat, add the onion and cook 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until onion is translucent. Stir in the wine, scraping up any brown bits. Add Marinara sauce, Worcestershire and pepper. Simmer for 20 minutes.
*Add half the green onion, 1/4 cup of cilantro, the basil, chicken and bacon. Cook for 5 minutes to warm everything through.
*Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Cook the spaghetti al dente. Serve the sauce over the spaghetti in a serving bowl and top with remaining green onions and cilantro.

We're having this tonight with garlic bread. The REAL kind, where I roast garlic, smush it into butter and coat bread with it. YUM!

For truly al dente pasta, Guy says everything else should be ready BEFORE the pasta, even your salad.

Enjoy!

A Peek At What's Coming

I'm working on a post that will talk about abandoned homesteads and gardens, and what one should look for, and how these might be a wealth of information for gardeners and survivalists alike. In the meantime, I share these profound words with you,
“A farm includes the passion of the farmer's heart, the interest of the farm's customers, the biological activity in the soil, the pleasantness of the air about the farm -- it's everything touching, emanating from, and supplying that piece of landscape. A farm is virtually a living organism. The tragedy of our time is that cultural philosophies and market realities are squeezing life's vitality out of most farms. And that is why the average farmer is now 60 years old. Serfdom just doesn't attract the best and brightest.”
― Joel Salatin, Everything I Want to Do Is Illegal

Friends, Detractors and Nay-Sayers

Today I'd like to  talk about something that's both been an irritant and something I'm sure I'm not alone in experiencing. Detractors.

detractor |diˈtraktər|
noun
a person who disparages someone or something.

Detractors can disparage a person, an action or an idea. I'm sure we all have them. In my own case, I have someone in my life whose opinions I have valued in the past who is disparaging our decision to move. Now, I'm sure she has her reasons for trying to convince me that I'm wrong, but there are too many reasons to make this move. Finances, health (our own and that of my aging parents), food security, a much needed lifestyle change and personal security are all among our reasons for making such a huge leap. But the one thing that bothers me the most is that as her friend, I would never tell her that her dream is going to ruin her family and make her children hate her. Everyone has a dream, and it's not up to us to judge another person's dream. No matter how ridiculous that other person's dream may be. I understand, too, that my dream is not hers. Hell, I'm her friend and I have no idea what her dreams are. That in itself is kind of sad, but I digress.

In the decade of the seventies, there was a rather large back-to-the-land movement. There were some that made the move out to the country uninformed but pursuing an ideal. There were some that did all the research and just couldn't make it. And then there were some that had done their homework, had prioritized and found a way to make their dreams a reality. My mother was one of the ones who dreamed about a life in the country for a long time, and it wasn't until I became an adult that I realized it was what I wanted as well. Various life choices landed me in a city removed from my family, and while I don't *hate* it, it's not what I want for our kids. Now I have an opportunity to get out of the city, out of debt and move back to where our kids can at least grow up knowing their grandparents and uncle. In this day and age, a good family with strong roots cannot be underestimated. Sometimes, family can keep us sane and grounded, and help us withstand shock and change better. And believe me, change is coming. I'd rather have my immediate family all in the same community when it hits.

One of my friend's rationalizations for my move being wrong is that our boys are going to hate me for uprooting them. Wow, talk about parental guilt! A generation or two ago, it was common for kids to live their whole lives in one town, in the same house, on the same street and with very little upheaval. That's not the norm anymore. Now, families move every four to five years and people change jobs at least that often. See the correlation? My friend has been fortunate to live at least in the same neighborhood for over a decade, which I think is great. We've lived here 11 years, which is bloody rare in this apartment building. But there comes a time when an adult, the grownup in the family, has to take a hard look at circumstances with a realistic eye and know when the tough jobs need doing.
This move is going to be tough. There will be compromises, there will be conflict, there will be growth, there will be laughter and love. But I am the first to admit that our financial circumstances are far from wonderful, through no fault of our own. We don't spend a lot, but we are probably two paychecks away from crisis. That can't continue, but I'm capped at work in both the number of hours I can work, and pay rate. I work hard, but I'm not paid what my work is worth.

So, for a lot of reasons, many of which I've not touched on here, the move, as hard as it will be, is necessary. The boys will not be pleased right away, but I know that given a chance, the new situation will grow on them. They will make new friends and have new schools that will not be filled with cruel kids interested only in teasing, taunting and making their lives hell. They will be able to breathe cleaner air and eat better food. They will be able to go outside and learn where their food comes from. They can enjoy an active lifestyle with purpose, as well as get to know their extended family. There's a lot of benefits for them. There are a lot more reasons to make this move than to let fear and uncertainty drive us into further debt.

Please, when a friend comes to you and wants to talk about what they want from life, and what they want to do; don't scorn what they're saying. Listen with an open mind. Be supportive and non-judgmental.
You never know how your comments, or your facial expression might cut the person you claim to care about.

Stay Sharp!

Basic Knife Sharpening with Steel

Many of us own professional grade kitchen knives, right? Did you buy or otherwise acquire a steel with that? Do you know how to use it? I don't, which led me to find out how to use the heavy rod that lives in the kitchen drawer. For those of you who also don't know how, I present, knife sharpening 101.


1) Grip the handle of the steel and place it's point down on a hard surface that won't let the tip skitter away. Now hold it firm.
2) Hold your knife against the steel like the first image above, point away from you. Rotate your hand holding the knife so the sharp side of your knife meets the steel at approximately a 20-degree angle.
3)While pulling  your knife toward you and maintaining your 20-degree angle, slide the blade  from the top of the steel toward the bottom. You'll know you've done it correctly if it ends up with the tip of your knife coming off the bottom of your steel.
4) Switch sides and repeat. Place your knife on the opposite side of the steel, again, just below the handle. Find that same 2o-degree angle by rotating your knife-holding hand by an eighth of a turn (clockwise if you're right handed, otherwise if you're left handed), and swipe in that same downward motion.
5) Repeat the above steps 5 or 6 more times
6) Wipe your blade with a rag to remove shavings and test it's sharpness by slicing into the edge of a paper. If it cuts it easily, then it's ready to use. If not, repeat steps above until it does cut the edge of the paper easily.
*Note* Shaving the hairs on your arm, really proves nothing. Sorry, Dad.
Don't sweat the angle too much. anything less than 45 degrees will do, so long as you stay consistent.
7) Count all your fingers. Do you have as many as you started with? Success!!

Info courtesy of "How To Sew A Button and Other Nifty Things Your Grandmother Knew" by Erin Bried

Saving The Past and The Future

Those of you who have been reading this blog for any amount of time know I am an organic gardener, and dead set against science messing with plants.  I know that heirloom seed is important, for a lot of reasons, but I was shocked to find out how many species of tomatoes, peppers, garlic and other vegetables disappear every year because they "slip through the cracks" as it were. Not sure exactly what a heirloom plant variety is? Neither was I when I first started down this path. Generally, an heirloom cultivar is a plant species introduced  before 1950, and is usually understood to be a "true-type" variety. Which means that if you plant, let's say, a Brandywine tomato, let it grow, save those seeds and plant those next year, your crop of tomatoes next season will be exactly like it's predecessor the prior year. Now, a hybrid tomato will be one that has traits from two different parent plants, and is bred for specific reasons; color, size, productivity, etc. This is how we've been able to buy green cauliflower, orange watermelon and so on.

So why should we save heirloom seed? To preserve thousands of species that have a lot to offer, to preserve our agricultural heritage, and in many cases to preserve nutritional heritage that hybrids can't meet. I've posted before Who Killed My Tomato? on the rapidly diminishing nutritional value of our vegetables, and the facts cannot be brushed aside. Generally, we are lacking in natural nutrients, so we tend to eat more of what's not good for us, leading to obesity, and many other health challenges. Part of that solution is to take a hard look at what we grow. There's more to it, but that's a lot of information to cover, so we'll leave that for another time. No one can deny that the tomato that you buy in the grocery store is a hard, round, tasteless little thing. That's because they are bred to grow as many  fruits as possible, in as little time as possible and as uniformly as possible. These  are picked green, and gassed to make them an appealing red. Yup, gassed. Ever wonder why the "on the vine" tomatoes offered at some grocery stores are  more expensive than their "hothouse" cousins? Because they are allowed to ripen a bit more on their plants. Not completely, mind you, but a bit more. The tomatoes allowed to stay on their plants have increased flavor, but most people still have no real idea how a tomato is supposed to taste. (This is why so many people put  salt on their tomato sandwiches. Otherwise that sandwich would have no taste at all) So a return to flavor is a very good reason to grow heirloom vegetables.

In today's agricultural world, chemicals reign supreme. Many farmers, gardeners and growers don't know how to grow without hybrid types, chemical fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides. Fans of genetically engineered crops  like to say that the solution for famine is to grow crops that are bred for increased yield. So they focus on hybrids that can be tampered with at a cellular level. Every time a farmer or gardener plants hybrid seed, the demand and market for an heirloom variety disappears. I disagree with those folks for a lot of reasons, but here, I'll pick just one that's relevant to today's post. Did you know that through political influence, there are many countries in which it is illegal to save one's own seed? The easiest way to guarantee that folks cannot trade seeds over the water pump is to pass laws that make it illegal to buy seed other than government approved types. Hybrids. Varieties that Monsanto and the like have developed and made available. It's true. Many of these countries have an ever-growing hungry populace that would benefit greatly by growing and saving their own seeds, but it's against the law for them to do this! This is wrong on so many levels, and a crying shame that politicians have allowed Monsanto and their cousins to poison and starve growing numbers of people that deserve better. But I digress.

Here is just a short list of endangered tomato varieties, although the long list numbers in the hundreds.

*My Girl Tomato
*Kenilworth tomato
*Ryder's Midday Sun Tomato
*Whippersnapper Tomato
*Beefsteak Tomato
*Broad Ripple Yellow Currant Tomato
*Pink Cherry Tomato
*Hugh's Tomato
*Tomato Tiger Tom
*Aunti Madge's Tomato

And here is a short list of endangered heirloom vegetables, whose long list also numbers in the hundreds,

*The Runner Bean
*The Dwarf French Bean
*The Kale Daubenton
*The Afghan Purple Carrot
*The Red Elephant Carrot
*The Shetland Cabbage
*The Walla Walla Sweet Onion
*The Giant Tree Tomato
*The Macedonian Sweet Pepper
*The Crimson Giant Radish
*The Salford Black Runner Bean
*The Boothby's Blonde Cucumber
*The Colossal Leek
*The Loos Tennis Ball Lettuce
*The Rousham Park Hero Onion
*The Mrs Fortune's Climbing French bean
*The Blue Coco Climbing French Bean
*The Gravedigger Pea
*The King of the Ridge Cucumber
*The Jeyes Pea
*The Brighstone Dwarf French Bean

Remember, neither of these lists are complete or extensive.
So now that I've laid out what's at risk of disappearing, and why we should all save heirloom seed, how does one get started on this path? Learn all you can about heirloom vegetables, or flowers if that's your thing. The other big step is DON'T BUY HYBRID!!
Use your hard-earned dollars politically. Buy from suppliers that carry heirloom types. This takes some legwork, but not as much as you'd think. If you Google heirloom seed suppliers, you'll find lots of resources. There are some online resources that are better than others. Seed Savers has an awesome website focused on saving heirloom varieties. From their website,

"Our mission is to save North America's diverse, but endangered, garden heritage for future generations by building a network of people committed to collecting, conserving and sharing heirloom seeds and plants, while educating people about the value of genetic and cultural diversity.
At the heart of Seed Savers Exchange are the dedicated members who have distributed hundreds of thousands of heirloom and open pollinated garden seeds since our founding over 35 years ago. Those seeds now are widely used by seed companies, small farmers supplying local and regional markets, chefs and home gardeners and cooks, alike."

 Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds also has an educational and informative website. From their website,
" Baker Creek carries one of the largest selections of seeds from the 19th century, including many Asian and European varieties. The company has become a tool to promote and preserve our agricultural and culinary heritage. Gardeners can request a free 196-page color catalog that now mails to 310,000 gardeners nationally.
Baker Creek started hosting festivals in 2000 as an idea to bring gardeners, homesteaders and natural food enthusiasts together to exchange thoughts, seeds, listen to speakers and enjoy vendors, old-time music and much more. These festivals gave birth to the idea for our pioneer village, Bakersville. Other projects include our trial gardens, seed collecting expeditions, our popular online forums at idigmygarden.com and educational produce exhibits.
Over the last several years, Jere Gettle and his wife Emilee have branched out into other related projects as well, including the nationally distributed, Heirloom Gardener magazine, which is now in its eighth year of publication.
They also work extensively to supply free seeds to many of the world’s poorest countries, as well as here at home in school gardens and other educational projects. It is their goal to educate everyone about a better, safer food supply and fight gene-altered, Frankenfood and the companies that support it.
All of our seed is non-hybrid, non-GMO, non-treated and non-patented.
We do not buy seed from Monsanto-owned Seminis. We boycott all gene-altering companies. We are not members of the pro-GMO American Seed Trade Organization! We work with a network of about 100 small farmers, gardeners and seed growers to bring you the best selection of seeds available! Many of our varieties we sell were collected by us on our travels abroad.
We offer over 1300 fine varieties! Unique seeds from 70 countries!"

If those of us who grow plants, both flowers and vegetables, do not focus on growing, saving and preserving endangered varieties, we risk losing even more of our heritage, and losing our nutritional resources. By growing heirloom varieties you can help preserve genetic resources that can help feed your family, as well as help prevent possible food shortages. Not to mention the fact that you'll discover a whole new world of tasty vegetables!

Adventures In Sprouting, Part Two

Four Day Old Sprouts

After many rinses, much peeking and a dark corner, I've learned a few things more about sprouting. The picture is four day old mung bean sprouts. They have no smell, and they've been rinsed many, many times. All the literature and tips say every 8-10 hours, but there have been times I've rinsed before 8 hours. This won't hurt them, I suppose I just don't want any chance of them moulding. The process is much simpler than I expected. Soak, rinse well until water is clear, drain well.  Put a piece of cheesecloth over the jar mouth, screw  ring on snugly. Find a dark corner. No, a cupboard won't do. I found this out after mine sat up in a very dark cupboard for a few hours. The reason they can't sit in a cupboard? No air flow. This is important if you don't want to catch something, like E. coli. So after reading a tip that suggested a dark corner of the kitchen, where they would be in a darkened area but not out of sight, that's where I put mine. As I've said before, there is no smell. They are just over an inch long I suppose, and today is the day that I need to decide exactly how we're going to eat them. I think we'll go with a salad. This will provide us, those that will eat the salad anyway, with some powerful vitamins and minerals that the salad would not otherwise have. Since we're all so spotty with remembering our multi-vitamins, this should give our bodies a powerful shot of healthy stuff just when we need it to ward off winter illnesses.

Yesterday, we went back to our favorite organic/health food store to get alfalfa seeds and clover seeds, both for sprouting. Those are more suited to sandwiches, which we eat tons of, as well as salads. So one of those will be my next sprouting adventures.

Hmm, we're having roast tonight, I wonder if I can chop those bean sprouts up finely enough to slip into the roast's juices, and maybe slip that nutrition past the boys without them noticing?

Adventures In Sprouting

The First Soak

Well, today’s the day I started our Mung beans for sprouting. I couldn’t afford a single-purpose sprouter, so I decided to use a Mason jar. I’ve washed it out well, rinsed well, and rinsed the seeds off well. Then I cut a piece of cheesecloth and found a ring to hold the cloth on. Having read that they can fill a jar, and seeing as how this is my first time doing this, I opted for a small amount first. Maybe a half a handful.
I know these are the sprouts in oriental cooking, but I’ve heard you can put these on a sandwich or salad too. We’ll see how they taste.


I’ve taken the first picture, as we progress, I’ll take more and keep you all posted.


So begins my adventure in sprouts.
Wish me luck!

If You're Going To Be Poor In The Future, And You Are...

"If you’re going to be poor in the future, and you are, you might as well learn how to do it competently. It’s entirely possible to lead a life that’s poor in terms of money, material goods, and energy consumption, and profoundly rich—far richer than most contemporary lifestyles—in human values. If you’re going to do that, though, you’re going to have to learn how it’s done, and the only school where you can study that is that ancient institution, the school of hard knocks. If you start cutting your energy use and your material wants now, before you’re forced to do so, you can get past the hard part of the learning curve while you still have other options."
from "Waking Up, Walking Away", The ArchDruid Report,John Michael Greer


I read The ArchDruid Report twice this morning. Once because I find I sometimes miss the point he's trying to make (perhaps because I find it difficult to read narrow columns?), and then again, because I wanted to make sure I was grasping his point. Lots of folks are catching on to voluntary simplicity, for a lot of reasons. Many others are having it forced upon them. Here, I'm in a different category, the one that borrows a bit from each of the others. I live so far below the poverty line, I need a map and far-off vision to find it, despite the fact that I have held a full time job for years. Our kids don't have the latest game system, or the coolest cellphone. We don't have iPads or iPones. I admit though that at one time, all of us but one had an iPod, albeit not the newest model. But we eat well, and we exercise, and we're generally in better health than most of our neighborhood. One of my pastimes lately has been de-cluttering. Before my friends and family run for the thermometer, no, I'm not sick. It occurred to me one day that we've lived in this apartment for 11 years now (and a bit), and we've accumulated a fair bit of stuff. So I decided to start going through clothes, books, magazines, toys...you get the idea. I've caught myself many times wanting the latest whatever. Our middle child borrowed an iPad from school to do music homework, and of course it made the rounds here as we all poked and oooed and ahhhed over it. Yeah, I'd love to have one. But will we get one? Likely not. We don't need it, and we can't afford it. It's more than a toy, we could use it as a tool. But it's not something we can't do without, so we'll admire it from afar. 


We've cut our energy consumption too. We don't have a car, everywhere we go is either by bus or a ride from a friend. Usually this arrangement works well for us, until we have to get to the pediatrician, who is in another town, or our favorite yarn supplier, also in another town. But generally, we live close enough to places we need that we can either walk there or take the bus. All this walking has put us all in better shape than most. The middle son complains every now and then about everyone else being able to take the bus while he walks, but on extremely wet days, we make sure he has bus fare. But I would bet my last dollar on him against his classmates if we were to see who could walk the farthest, him or them. Our small apartment is being heated by a small cube type heater. No big roaring furnace. It has a sensor that lets it know when it's reached the temperature I want, its' case is always cool to the touch and I feel pretty safe with it. So far, we've only had one cool morning in here. Of course it helps that this has been a mild winter.


So, as the ArchDruid says,"If you’re going to be poor in the future, and you are, you might as well learn how to do it competently..If you start cutting your energy use and your material wants now, before you’re forced to do so, you can get past the hard part of the learning curve while you still have other options."
Is that part of your plan? Do you plan on reducing while you can, or have you already tightened your belt too far? How do you make do, save money and cut back?

An Open Mind Opens Doors

I've been promising some thoughts on where a cottage industry might fit in modern times, and this required some research. First off, I wanted to be sure I understood what a cottage industry was. According to Wikipedia:

A cottage industry is an industry—primarily manufacturing—which includes many producers, working from their homes, typically part time. The term originally referred to home workers who were engaged in a task such as sewing, lace-making or household manufacturing.

So how does that translate to modern times? When we talk about returning to a cottage industry today, generally it's understood to mean that we're referring to a return to making things ourselves, within a smaller economy. That might mean making horse tack, or knitting hand-made socks, carpentry or making children's clothes by hand, home brewing beer or buying eggs and honey from someone a mile away, and having a payment structure that is less manipulated than what we're accustomed to. But the idea isn't limited to handmade items. Anything that can be made, from baking, to soap, to candles, to hairdressing, to clothing, engine repair, to food production such as honey, meat butchering ... pretty much anything you can think of. Generally, payment for any item or service within a cottage industry is cash, but some have devised a barter system that pleases everyone.

You may be thinking this is an antiquated system that has no place in today's global world. Ah, but not so, Dear Reader.  Whether or not you are aware of it, our global system is fragile. Consider for a moment how many items we buy are made in Japan. Now consider how many will be imported to our shores as that country tries to rebuild after the Tsunami and nuclear emergency. No big deal? Won't affect you too much? Consider now the potential benefits of being able to shop for things closer to home. Of course, that means something different to everyone, and it's not always going to be possible. Now before I get anyone's back up, here's another reason to bring back a cottage industry economy as much as possible. Back when working at home to produce an item was the norm, one's children had more access to their parents, and often were better equipped to take on life when they got older. More often than not, multiple members of the family could contribute to the family's income. This allowed some leeway in skills and desire to take on certain roles. Just recently I overheard a piece on television about a husband and wife team that made clay pieces for the wine industry. He formed the pots, bowls and urns while his wife made the glazes and decorated the pieces. They had settled into this arrangement because she enjoyed the glazing stage while he disliked it, while she was not fond of the actual forming of the pieces.

Not everyone can work out of the home. A dear friend of mine has been forced to accept that she will not be able to take on a "traditional" job outside the home, and so we were discussing ways  she could bring in work. In the end, she decided to create highly customized information books for hospital, and hospice, patients. This serves an ever-present need, has been positively received by medical professionals, reduces the stress of elder care, makes the medical personnel's job a little easier and can ease the family's minds a great deal. Not traditional, but this is an idea that was borne of need, experience and a desire to contribute as well as help others. In this case, the cottage industry is the answer to bringing money into the home while contributing to society, as well as using an intelligent mind when the body will not co-operate.

Another benefit of  the resurgence of a cottage industry is to prevent valuable skills from being lost. Once upon a time, when one decided what trade one was interested in, an apprenticeship was decided upon, skills taught under a watchful eye and the next generation learned how to produce what their culture needed. Blacksmiths, knitters, makers of musical instruments, herbalists, midwives, bakers, potters, broom makers and coopers all once learned this way. Do you know how to make a broom from scratch? How about a pair of shoes? Would you know how to treat blood poisoning without a doctor? Once, there were many people with this kind of knowledge. You may not think we need to know how to make a pair of shoes in our time, with a shoe store on every other block, but I think that the day is coming when we'll need to be able to access that kind of information. Let's take for example, the humble scarf. You may not need a warm winter scarf where you live, perhaps you enjoy wearing the fancy kind that spruce up an outfit. Someone wove that cloth. Did you know there are folks within our own borders who raise fiber producing animals, spin and weave cloth? Some of them go on to make fancy scarves that are enjoyed and purchased by many. This money then, stays within the cottage economy. It goes to purchase feed for those fiber producing animals, or eggs for that person's table, or perhaps to pay the neighbor who sold the weaver apples for her children's lunch. That scarf purchase did not perpetuate abysmal working conditions in another country that demanded yet another young person to work a 20 hour day, because they will accept .30 cents a day. That money stayed within the weaver's own borders, allowed her to continue her trade and allowed her to help make her neighbor's lives better because she was able to use her purchasing power politically and locally.

There's another reason to consider the return of the cottage industry. Once, you worked hard in school, got good marks and went off to either college or university if you were not learning a trade outside of post-secondary education. After school, you got a job, and usually held it long enough for it to become a career, if not for life. Not so any more. Jobs are disappearing faster than governments can keep up with, mainly because it's cheaper to do business in other countries than it is here in North America. I've discussed ways to combat this in other posts, so I'll resist the urge to do so again. We've become a culture of temporary workers, contract and part time employees, even while the cost of living, food and medical care has raced past our incomes. Many of us are forced to look for alternate incomes, and a cottage industry helps serve this need, especially with the cost of child care rising. I remember the day my ex-husband and I had a discussion about me returning to work. He wanted me to get a full time job to help offset the bills. After doing some number crunching, we determined that all of my pay would end up going to the babysitter, even though she was cheaper than anyone else. I remember asking him, "So what's the point?" He never did have a logical answer for me. Many others are in the same situation today, so for them, an income that can be earned at home makes sense.

In these changing times, what worked a generation ago is not working for us today. We need to approach survival in our times from a different perspective. There's a lot to learn from history, and not just what we were supposed to learn from war. An open mind is the first step.

Why Not?

Just a brief update while I continue to work on thoughts on the economy and surviving in a cottage-industry based New World...


From an article on the re-invigorated Canadian textile industry..."For instance, unlike its U.S. counterpart, the federal government does not compel the Department of National Defence to buy from Canadian manufacturers."

To which I say, Why not?

Five Years From Now

Home In Five Years

I received an interesting email this morning, "24 Stats To Crush Anyone Who Thinks America Has a Bright Economic Future".  It is well worth a read, and then another. The most  disturbing thing is that the trend has been sliding downhill since the 80's, and not just for the United States, either. I've written about  this issue before, in Why We're UnEmployed And How We Can Fix It so it's reassuring to see I'm not the only one who feels this way.
However, the article I mentioned is one of the few that actually discusses how desperate some people are getting to make ends meet. To quote Mr. Snyder,


"As the economy continues to crumble, large numbers of Americans are becoming really desperate.  For example, a recent Mother Jones article detailed how large numbers of formerly middle class Americans are now actually growing marijuana in an effort to make ends meet.


As things continue to get worse, people will become even more desperate.  There are millions of people out there that find themselves unable to pay the mortgage and put food on the table for their families.  When people hit rock bottom, they often find themselves doing things that they never dreamed that they would do."


I work in  retail, and  I know I have a few customers that are dealing drugs on the side, even though they have jobs. One is a mother who says she couldn't make ends meet without her "second job". Whatever the justification, more people are turning to creative ways to make ends meet, because they have to. One of my customers is a mechanic, but takes a second job every now and then to pay off his credit cards. Another customer of mine takes in babysitting jobs to help make the rent during the lean months. This happens all across Canada and the U.S. This has become our new normal. Gone is the career in government, or the mill, or the factory job one had for life. Gone are the days when someone you knew could get you a job, and if you minded your P's and Q's and worked hard, you were set for life. I have worked in retail for a number of years, and despite the fact that I have a good boss and I like my co-workers, our job is soul-stealing more often than not. I know I'm one of the lucky ones though.


I still maintain that both Canada and the U.S are barreling down a slippery slope. I don't see the world ending in 2012, I'm too much of an optimist for that. (I have plans to live to be a hundred). I can see the world economy drowning. I don't watch the news and I know enough to see it happening already. The U.S may never recover, and where the United States goes, Canada trails along after like a dog after a bone. I wish I could say that I see Canada growing a spine as a nation and standing up for themselves, finding their own way for a change. But I don't. My own country will probably do what we always have and follow the States into economic ruin.


Our salvation as people, I think, will only come if and when, we re-think our own priorities. When each person re-evaluates what is important to us; wealth, comfort, health, status or a shiny car. When each of us can take those priorities and assess honestly how those fit into our current lives. Someone asked me over a decade ago, "Where do you see yourself in five years?" When I answered her, she responded, "Now what do you need to do and have to get there?"
I think that's the question we need to ask ourselves today, but we need to take an honest look at our surroundings and also ask if where we want to be in five years will be feasible within the world. I would like to be in my own home in five years, but in today's economy, I doubt that will happen.


I know my own priorities have shifted in the past couple of years. In my next post, I'll expand more on that, but for now, suffice it to say that I want to be less dependent on others.
So I challenge you today to envision yourself five years in the future. Where do you want to be, in your life circumstances, not necessarily geographically. Share your thoughts with us, tell us what you want to be doing in five years.
In my next post, perhaps even later tonight, I'll share my vision with you!

2012 ... A Year of Change? Or Not?

One of the blogs I read each week is The ArchDruids Report (found in my Blogs I Read, to the right and down the page a bit), this week he raises some interesting points. Here is an excerpt, I'd love to know what you think about what he's said. What do you think will happen? Do you see things changing for the better? Leave your thoughts in the comments, I'm hoping we can get some interesting dialogue going!


"I’d like to suggest that when we take a backwards look in the early days of 2013, we will most likely see that that’s what happened in 2012, too: a slow worsening across a wide range of trends, punctuated by localized crises and regional disasters. I’d like to predict, in fact, that when we take that backward look, the US dollar and the Euro will both still exist and be accepted as legal tender, though the Eurozone may have shed a couple of countries who probably shouldn’t have joined it in the first place; that stock markets around the world will have had another volatile year, but will still be trading. Here in the US, whoever is unlucky enough to win the 2012 presidential election will be in the middle of an ordinary transition to a new term of office; the new Congress will be gearing up for another two years of partisan gridlock; gas stations will still have gas for sale and grocery stores will be stocked with groceries; and most Americans will be making the annual transition between coping with their New Year’s hangovers and failing to live up to their New Year’s resolutions, just as though it was any other year.


That is to say, nothing much will have changed, if by the word "change" you mean exclusively the kind of dramatic break with the existing pattern of things that so many people are predicting just now. From any other perspective, plenty will have changed. Official US statistics will no doubt insist that the unemployment rate has gone down—do you ever get the feeling that when the Soviet Union collapsed, the people who used to churn out all those preposterous propaganda claims for their government got hired by ours? I do—but the number of people out of work in the United States will likely set another all-time record; the number of people in severe economic trouble will have gone up another good-sized notch, and public health clinics will probably be seeing the first wave of malnutrition-caused illness in children. If you happen to have spent the year in one of the areas unfortunate enough to get hit by the hard edge of the increasingly unstable weather, you may have had to spend a week or two in an emergency shelter while the flood waters receded or the wreckage got hauled away, and you might even notice that less and less gets rebuilt every year.


Unless that happens, though, or unless you happen to pay close attention to the things that don’t usually make the evening news, you may well look back in the first days of 2013 and think that business as usual is still ongoing. You’d be right, too, so long as you recognize that there’s been a stealthy change in what business as usual now means. Until the peak of world conventional petroleum production arrived in 2005, by and large, business as usual meant the continuation of economic growth. Since then, by and large, it has meant the continuation of economic decline."

Why We Need Winter

The Never-Ending blanket

As I write this morning, there is a clear blue sky outside and as of five minutes ago a chickadee was singing happily not far away from my patio. There is barely any snow to speak of outside, only patches  in deep shade, really. It's not cold out, but there is a chill in the air, it is 39 degrees F or roughly 4 degrees Celsius. All in all it feels more like April than January in Ontario! But while part of me worries about the way our seasons are changing and what effect it will have on our grocery bill, I am grateful for a lack of bone-chilling cold. Despite the fact that I am Canadian and despite the fact we are moving further North; I hate being cold. Go figure.
Winter is important though. We need the snow for next summer's water tables, the plants need the rest and the animals need the season so that they can follow their annual internal clocks and migrate...those that do. Gardeners need winter to prepare for the next growing season. You know how much I enjoy the planning, the seed catalogues and the dreaming. As Jacqueline said in response to my last post, seed catalogues are like a little bit of summer in the grip of winter. Even though there is no bone-numbing grip to speak of yet, seed catalogues are nice to use as both entertainment and a gardening tool. (Which reminds me, I'm expecting another catalogue shortly)

Knitters need winter too I think. Winter is a good time to learn new techniques, new stitches and try out new patterns. It's also a good time to look through the knitting basket and asses hibernating projects. I did that recently and I ended up frogging five projects! (For those of you who might not know what frogging is, it's a knitters term for tearing back a finished or unfinished project) All three of our sons have ADD, and we've found that occasionally, knitting helps focus the middle child. He doesn't do more than a few rows of a strip he's working on for a dog blanket, but it helps slow him down and focus his energies; and in the end, some lucky dog will have a warm smooshy blanket. While going through the knitting-basket-from-Hell I also found my own blanket in the works! For a couple of decades I had wanted a multi-square, multi-colored blanket. There were a couple of strips done, a few squares, but nothing much had been sewn together. So, in spite of the hat I've got started and first ever baby sweater that intimidates the heck out of me, I picked up the blanket again. I need a project to work on while I watch television, and it's always been the perfect one. There's a picture of part of it above.

All of this keeps me active during the winter, not to mention those two mile walks I mentioned earlier. On nice days like yesterday (much like today), it's a simple but soul-satisfying joy to walk down to the library and come home with a  few books in the backpack. This weeks reading list includes;
"Accessible Gardening:Tips & Techniques For Seniors and The Disabled" by Joann Woy
"Four Season Harvest" by Elliot Coleman
"How To Grow More Vegetables, Fruits, Nuts, Berries, Grains And Other Crops Than You Ever Thought Possible On Less Land Than You Can Imagine"
by John Jeavons (This is nearly a gardening bible for those who have very little space. Although I hear guerilla gardening is all the rage)
"Tea Bliss" by Theresa Cheung
"The New Organic Gardener" by Elliot Coleman

All that and a few audible books to listen to while the t.v is taken over by cartoons or CNN!
Is there a craft or skill you develop in the winter? What is winter supposed to be like where you live? Is there something you want to work on this winter?

Stay sharp, stay watchful.

Of Record Radishes and Pink Peach Tomatoes

I was thrilled to get the mail yesterday, which normally I'm not. Not only was there a birthday card from my folks (thanks Mom and Dad!), but a seed catalogue I had sent away for arrived!
This is not just any seed catalogue...this is from Heritage Harvest Seed. Even just to look at the cover is a treat with it's 1800-ish style black and white illustrations of flowers and a horn of plenty. These folks from Manitoba, out here in Canada, specialize in rare and endangered heirloom species of vegetables, flowers and herbs, but even better there are no GMO's (genetically modified organisms), no hybrids and it's all natural and untreated! What a treat to stroll leisurely through their catalogue last night while snugged down in my warm bed! It's not often I'd like to have business owners over for tea, but Tanya Stefanec, Jessy Friesen and Iris Stefanec would certainly be welcome at my table! Listen to these descriptions...
"Arikara Yellow Bean: A very historic yellow bean that helped the Lewis & Clark  expedition through the winter of 1805 at Fort Mandan! Lewis obtained seeds from the Arikara Indians and brought seeds to Thomas Jefferson and in 1809 Jefferson planted the Arikara bean at Monticello. Bernard McMahon also offered it for sale in his 1815 catalogue. The pods can be harvested very young as snaps but this bean is at it's best used in the dry state for soups, stews or baking. Oscar H. Will carried the Arikara bean in his catalogue in the early 1900's. Productive, very early and an excellent baker. 80-85 days. Bush"
I feel like I've just sat in on a short but fascinating history class!

11 pages later we leave the beans and head into beets for a couple of pages, and the descriptions there are no less captivating. Including the Mangel Colossal
long Red, from the 1800's. "An heirloom Mangel that can reach up to 15 lbs and 2 feet long. Can be eaten when young." Can you imagine the pickled beets!

I've just been handed a bulletin...the record for the largest radish is held by Israeli gardener Nissan Tamir, Ripley's Believe It Or Not says that "Nissan has been growing organic vegetables for years, In 2006 he was amazed to discover two radishes that have been growing non-stop-each one weighed a staggering 22 lbs, or 10 kg)"!!

Turning our attention back to the catalogue, these folks offer beans, barley, beets, corn, cabbage, broccoli, carrots, celery, cauliflower and wait...RED celery?
"Red Stalk - (1700's) Red Stalk Celery has been grown since the 1700's. It has more of a robust flavor than regular celery and is excellent for soups and stews. the stalks are thinner than modern celery but the red color of the stalks is very eye catching."
Cool, have to get some of that!
There is also 9 different types of heirloom corn, 2 pages of cucumbers, eggplants, garlic, gourds, ground cherries,  Jerusalem Artichoke, kale, and kohlrabi, which I am completely unfamiliar with. Anyone have experience with this one? What's it like? What could I do with it? They also offer leeks, 2 pages of lettuce varieties, muskmelons, mustard greens, onions (including Welsh onions), parsnips, peas, peppers, and radishes that will make your head spin.

"Round Black Spanish - 1600's - One of the oldest heirlooms still available, dating from the 1600's. The 3-4" roots are black with a white interior. this old variety is a winter radish so it can be stored in sand during the winter with good results. It must be planted in the summer or early fall since it will bolt if planted in the spring."
Alas, there is no info to tell me how many days to maturation, but Google soon resolved that. (55 days to maturation) A quick trip over to the Milkweed Diaries  reveals this,
"I've been growing Black Spanish Round radishes for three years now, with both Spring and Fall plantings. I love them. They are reliable, they last forever in the garden and in storage, and are one of the easiest things I've ever grown.

The Black Spanish Round is a very old heirloom radish, grown in Spain since at least the 16th Century and probably long before. It was brought to the new world by conquistadors and grown by early white settlers in North America.

The skin of the Black Spanish Round is so rough and thick that the black root almost seems inedible at first glance. But that craggy, tough exterior is what protects the tender, spicy, crisp, and pure-white flesh of the Black Spanish Round. The thick, tough skin protects the Black Spanish Round for months of storage in the ground, in the root cellar, in the fridge, and apparently even in the holds of ships crossing the Atlantic."

The catalogue goes on to list spinach, 4 pages of squash varieties, swiss chard, tomatillos, and a mind-blowing 21.5 pages of different tomato types! So many of those were impressive, some I'd heard about before (I have a thing for heirloom veggies) but one above all the rest screamed 'PLANT ME!', the Pink Peach.
"Pink Peach (aka Landreth's Peach, the Wonderful Peach, Red Peach) Introduced into the seed trade by D. Landreth and Sons of Philadelphia in 1885. the 2 1/2 oz pink red fruit have a fuzzy skin like a peach and the flesh is quite sweet. 75 days from transplant."

Even after the turnip and rutabaga, after the watermelon and herbs, after the annuals and perennial flower offerings, after all the charming history tidbits and exquisite black & white illustrations...I want more! I'm not ready to put this little 74 page catalogue down...so I turn back to page one and start again.
If you garden or know someone who does, it is a wonderful way to pass a grey winter day by meandering leisurely through this impressive catalogue.
Pop on over to Heritage Harvest Seeds and order a catalogue. You won't be disappointed!

Resolutions Masquerading As Goals and Cheesecake

On a knitting and crochet oriented social network that I am a member of, someone recently commented on her resolutions for the new year. Unconsciously I started thinking about resolutions. I don't normally make them, and even when I did, I never kept them. But now I understand why. The motivation, on my part, wasn't high enough to persuade me to stick to it.
So now, I see them not as resolutions, but self-improvement goals.

Here on my blog, I have a list of things I want to learn. Bike maintenance, sewing, making bagels from scratch and so on. I have already quit smoking long ago, I have already radically reduced my frivolous spending, I don't spend a lot of money on myself. So, instead of resolutions, I have decided to examine and expand upon my list. My "bucket list" if you will. Many of the items on that list to the right are self-sufficiency skills, some are there for fun, and still the list is incomplete. I see that list as a challenge, a way to keep my mind sharp, a way to keep the days from melding into one another and becoming boring. On my skills bucket list, the one in my head, is baking; I want to learn how to make bagels and English muffins from scratch, potato bacon soup, cream of broccoli soup, cheesecake and so on. These, if done correctly, will be tasty and appreciated by others (I hope). It will also mean that I will no longer need to rely on others for my bagels and english muffins. A little more self-reliance.

I would like to be able to to maintain our bikes so that I will not be scammed umpteen dollars for a basic tune-up. So that I can customize if I choose, for long rides along the highways up north. Then I will have the choice to ride my bike and visit friends, rather than require a drive. More self reliance.

I need to learn more about herbs and infusions and tonics and the like in order to keep my family healthy. This will mean less visits to the doctor, and less of a drain on our already frail medical system. Not to mention that soon we'll be an hour away from a doctor or health clinic. Besides, there's nothing wrong with more health, right?

I'd like to learn more about building with earth, clay and the like simply because those techniques have always fascinated me. There is an odd and depressing beauty in an old barn falling down from lack of use or age, and as interesting a picture as that makes, natural building has a beauty all it's own. I'd like to learn how to build with earth for it's ability to warm, cool and insulate from the harsh elements; and to learn something fascinating and brand new and yet an old knowledge too.

There are so many other things I want to learn more about. So it has become my goal (my resolution?) to learn how to do one of the things off my "bucket list" at least every two months. I'll be writing about those goals, the learning and the journey along the way here.
I hope you'll join me.
What would you like to learn in the coming year?