Simple Joys: A Walk in my Garden

Above and beyond the seasons, there are two times of year for me. There is the time of growth and change and the time of hibernation. There are those 3-4 months where everything seems asleep and changes are barely perceptible to the eye. Then there is the rest of the year, the time of change. Every day, every hour, there is something new to see. Now that we’re well into Spring, I have renewed my habit of walking my yard. It’s an incredibly comfortable pattern that I’ve peacefully fallen into over the years.

Mornings are my time. All of Avalonne is still asleep and the house is mine. It’s quiet and peaceful within. The Garden is another thing entirely. Outside, it’s teeming with life and energy and change. I usually do the dishes and make a pot of tea then leave the quiet peace of the house to a very different kind of quiet and peace. I walk around the yard and look at everything. I want to notice all the changes that have happened since I last looked. How many new leaves does that columbine have? Are any of the seeds sprouting? The pink tulips have opened on the northern side of the yard. Is the transplanted yarrow thriving?

It’s probably my favorite time of the day.

Breathe deeply,
Laugh with abandon,
Love wholly,
Eat well.

MiLady Carol
www.miladycarol.com
Dazzling jewelry that reflects sparkling personalities!

Dumpster Décor

I walked downtown to run some errands two days ago. I love walking through the neighborhoods because I can watch all the little changes in the flora and admire people’s curb appeal. I tend to alter my route a wee bit with each trip so I can see more streets and alleys. On my return trip, I walked down an alley where I happened upon a yard debris recycle bin overflowing with the trimmings of a white star magnolia and a fuchsia Camilla. I do love the smell of magnolia, so I was drawn like a moth to flame. I often stray far afield for a chance to stick my face in a delicious looking flower, so I wasn’t surprised to find my feet had taken me to the bins before I knew where I was going. Once there, I thought it was such a waste for these gorgeous flowers to wither away in a plastic bin when I could take some home and enjoy them -- after all, they were clearly unwanted. I began poking around for easily carried branches and pulled several of each. I tucked them in the crook of my arm and set off for home like the newly crowned Queen of the Flower Fairies. As they have wilted, I’ve deadheaded them and added fresh yellow daffodils from my own garden and continue to enjoy these discarded beauties.

Clearly, recycling is beautiful. *beams*

Breathe deeply,
Laugh with abandon,
Love wholly,
Eat well.

MiLady Carol
www.miladycarol.com
Dazzling jewelry that reflects sparkling personalities!

Mini Greenhouses

Our verdant valley is experiencing some rather vacillating weather patterns. The temperature is in flux, the sun is coy, the rain is flirtatious and the hail is, well, the hail is a great exfoliant -- in other words, all is normal and well. Regardless of atmospheric convention, the trouble with an outdoor exfoliant is that young plants and sprouts are too tender to withstand rigorous scouring. A mere 20 minutes after I had planted my little veggie patch, the clouds rolled in and hail began bouncing ‘round the yard. I dashed off to the deck to retrieve my mini greenhouses and nestled them protectively over the little plantlets.

What are mini greenhouses? I’m glad you asked!

I know the weather is fickle and, allowing for Murphy’s Law, I figured that I’d have no sooner planted my garden than we’d have snow. I was close. No snow, yet there was hail that afternoon and frost the next morning. Ahh, Murphy. I both respect and despise you.

I digress.

I had asked my Mom to save her clear plastic water jugs for me. I cut the bottoms off and snugged them around the base of the new plants to create little individual greenhouses. This seems to be working pretty well. It’s both inexpensive and, so far, effective.

Breathe deeply,
Laugh with abandon,
Love wholly,
Eat well.

MiLady Carol
www.miladycarol.com
Dazzling jewelry that reflects sparkling personalities!

Sourdough Starter Project

I have a few friends who have successfully worked with this Sourdough recipe.  I, inspired by them and the thought of delicious bread, delved wholeheartedly into this science experiment. 

I have followed the directions, picked a lovely wide-mouth glass jar with a metal latch and a rubber seal, I have my spelt flour and my warm water and I’ve diligently cared for my little project every morning.  I began this journey on March 19^th and, though the batter has a slight vinegar scent, it has not yet frothed.  Granted, he suggested the perfect room temperature would be 21-26^oC and my house is comfortably 17^o.  I fully expected it to take the full week rather than the few days, yet it has been almost two weeks and I’ve seen nary a bubble.  That’s 7 cups of flour I’ve fed into this experiment with nothing to show. 

 

Sadly, I’m thinking I need to quit until my house’s ambient temperature is 21 degrees.  This will likely be a couple months from now.  It pains me to do this, yet I can see no way to keep this jar at a warmer temperature other than lock it in a room with the heat cranked which, to my mind, is penny wise and pound foolish.  I had stopped buying bread for my husband thinking we were a week away from our own sourdough.  He’s been asking for bread the past few days, though, and I’m no closer to joy with my starter than I was two weeks ago.  I guess a $4 loaf is still less expensive than the amount of money I’d be paying to my local utility on the off chance I can rescue this experiment. 

I’m open to suggestions.

Breathe deeply, 

  Laugh with abandon, 

    Love wholly, 

      Eat well.

MiLady Carol

www.miladycarol.com

Dazzling jewelry that reflects sparkling personalities!

Spring Soup

To usher in spring, I made a nice minestrone soup with carrot flowers.  It's still cold enough here for me to want to warm myself with a bowl of hot liquid for lunch -- especially if I take this bowl out to the deck to eat where I proudly survey my domain.  *smiles*

I'm so happy to walk around and watch the buds of magnolias burst into flower and see the daffodils brighten yards.  My tulips are even budding.  Spring excites me.  

What's your favorite part of spring?

Breathe deeply, 

  Laugh with abandon, 

    Love wholly, 

      Eat well.

MiLady Carol

www.miladycarol.com

Dazzling jewelry that reflects sparkling personalities!

The Garden is In!

Today, assisted by my sweet angel, Kitte, I was able to fetch my yard of organic gardening soil. They even gave me 6 little spinach starts with my purchase! Yay! We transported it home, G and I moved it from the truck to the garden bed, then I began the process of planting – a process which I finished just in time. I sowed, labeled, watered and had just stood back to admire my work when it began to hail. *laughs* Fret not. My Mom had given me her plastic gallon water jugs a few weeks ago, so I quickly cut the bottoms off and placed them over the little spinach starts to protect them from the ice. It’s all beautiful.



I must say, there is nothing quite like the thrill of working in soil. After a while, I abandoned my shovel and just shifted the earth using my hands. It’s amazingly satisfying. I am entranced by the smell and texture of it, and I am in love with how enriching it will be for my veggies.

Breathe deeply,
Laugh with abandon,
Love wholly,
Eat well.

MiLady Carol
www.miladycarol.com
Dazzling jewelry that reflects sparkling personalities!

All Hail Spring's First Day!

Sunday, I had one of those moments where circumstance wakes me from my bliss with a solid slap to the face.

Mom was here and we were sitting at the dining room table sipping tea and talking. I heard the comforting sound of rain so I spun around in my chair to watch. What I saw were streaks of white hail. Since I was safely inside (and not riding my bike at 12 miles per hour, thus experiencing a very painful exfoliation process), I sat back enjoying the beauty of the moment. Pretty white hail falling from the sky, bouncing on the deck, the lawn, my little seedlings… MY LITTLE SEEDLINGS! It was there that the Universe made bold to remind me that hail on little baby plants is bad. Very bad. I found myself dashing between the deck and the kitchen floor bringing the poor babies to safety. I did this just in time, for next it began to sleet.

My poor seedlings aren’t looking so well, now. I may decide to start anew with fresh seeds, just in case these babies don’t make it.

Breathe deeply,
Laugh with abandon,
Love wholly,
Eat well.

MiLady Carol
www.miladycarol.com
Dazzling jewelry that reflects sparkling personalities!

The Mysterious Tea of Three Mountains

Every year, we host an International student who comes to attend our local university. They stay with us for a few days until their dorm rooms open or their apartments are ready. We have a lot of Asian international students which, when they learn of my deep and abiding love of green tea, results in them exposing me to their area’s best teas.

This year, we hosted Alex from Beijing. He surprised me about a week after he moved into his own apartment with a special package of green tea he’d asked his Mom to send. Part of the fun was figuring out what the tea was. Alex isn’t a big tea drinker, and it’s all written in kanji. I could tell the Dragon’s Well tea simply by the scent and cut of the leaves. The other tea was more of a mystery. There were only two kanji I could recognize on the container, three and mountain. Alex translated the rest of the kanji, but it was a proper name, the company. He couldn’t figure out what kind of tea it was. So, it was up to me to experiment.

I’m happy to announce, I’ve finally cracked the code of how to brew it. I still don’t know what it is, yet I can tell you what it isn’t. I can actually eliminate a whole slew of tea types and still have too many left to make an ID. Many Chinese greens are best in a 90 degree C steep, this one had no taste at that temperature. I reduced it to 85 degrees and hit it’s flavor point. It also likes a 2-minute steep on the first pour. The only other Chinese tea I know that likes 85 degrees is Dragon’s Well, so I’m wondering if it is a breed of this.

Breathe deeply,
Laugh with abandon,
Love wholly,
Eat well.

MiLady Carol
www.miladycarol.com
Dazzling jewelry that reflects sparkling personalities!

The Murals of Avalonne

I have brought my mural room painting to the next plateau of completion. I’m not guaranteeing it’s done, I may still make some minor additions like highlight some leaves, add a branch, or paint something between the door and the closet doors. I’m merely saying it’s at the stage I feel comfortable lifting the tarp from the floor and capping the paints.

Here they are. Please enjoy!

Breathe deeply,
Laugh with abandon,
Love wholly,
Eat well.

MiLady Carol
www.miladycarol.com
Dazzling jewelry that reflects sparkling personalities!

Gardening: Hardening my sprouts

I bought the last two bricks needed to build my raised veggie bed last night. Now, I merely need the soil. Meanwhile, the days have warmed enough for me to begin hardening my little veggie sprouts on the deck. While they were prolific when I first planted the seeds, they have been flagging, of late. I feel they really want to be out in the yard. The nights, though, are unpredictable, so I’ll just keep taking them in and out.

Breathe deeply,
Laugh with abandon,
Love wholly,
Eat well.

MiLady Carol
www.miladycarol.com
Dazzling jewelry that reflects sparkling personalities!

How I Make Beans from Scratch

I promised a friend that I'd post how I make beans from scratch. My method doesn't seem to cause gas in myself, nor in my husband. I've also not heard any intestinal issues from friends that have eaten of this recipe. If you do, please let me know.

The flatulence we experience from beans is due to sugars the beans possess that stay with the food until they reach our large intestine where they cannot be digested. The way I process the beans seems to help nullify these sugars in my system. If you experience problems, try messing with the amount of sugar and baking soda or the cooking time. I haven’t the science to defend this, it’s all trial and error experience for me.

I use this procedure for all kinds of hard beans (black, pinto, kidney, red, etc.). I've found that split peas, mung beans and lentils soften too quickly for a 12 hour soak. Instead, I rinse them in cold water, then let them sit in the colander in warm water for an hour or so before adding them to the pot and making soup.

2 cups beans
6 cups warm water
1 pinch sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda

Wash the beans and pick out any hulls, shells, etc., until the water runs clear.

I boil water in my electric kettle (about 3 cups), pour it into a soup cauldron, add another 3 cups of room temperature water, then add the beans. This sits overnight with the lid on fully.

After 12 hours or so (I usually set the beans to soak either before I make, or when I'm cleaning up from, supper), I use a medium heat to draw the intestinally challenging part out of the beans.

Stay with the pot. What happens is the nasty gas bubbles up in the form of a scum. I take a spoon and begin skimming this from the top of the beans and chucking it in the sink. Usually, this process only takes a few minutes before there is very little bubbling at the top. Just don't leave the pot. Any time I've been distracted and walked away, within moments, it tends to bubble over the lid. I just stand there, spoon at the ready, lift the lid every few moments and look. If there's scum, I eradicate it.

Once all the scum is removed, I lower the heat to simmer with the lid on for a couple of hours. I prefer to slow cook them to make sure every last bit of the gas is gone.

I usually strain the beans from this liquid once they are cooked, yet it depends upon how I intend to use them. If I’ve used up most of the liquid, I might just leave them in the thickened sauce and start adding herbs and spices. If I intend to make soup, I drain them and start with fresh water for my base.

I’d love to hear your experiences and suggestions!

Breathe deeply,
Laugh with abandon,
Love wholly,
Eat well.

MiLady Carol
www.miladycarol.com
Dazzling jewelry that reflects sparkling personalities!

Ode to New England

I’ve been thinking about chowder. I’m not a big fan of potato chunks, dairy products have decided I am not their bosom friend anymore in quantities greater than tablespoons, and clams are, well, texturally, um… interesting, at best.

So, why am I thinking about chowder since these are all major ingredients in it? I want to find a way to make a tasty chowder that tastes as good to me as the chowders of my youth smelled. I am originally from Rhode Island, home of the quahog and many interesting ways to incorporate said invertebrates into recipes. Rhode Island had a clear broth chowder that I distinctly remember. I also remember experiencing some seafood bouillabaisses that were served in a trough for the whole table to share. Both of these were far more intriguing to me than milk based chowder.

I’ve been mulling the creation of chowder I’d like for a few days now. I walked to the local seafood market and bought some salmon trim for the protein, sautéed an onion, garlic, thyme and other herbs, then added chopped celery, two tomatoes and frozen corn. Yes, I’m cheating. In my defense, fresh corn on the cob won’t be in season for many, many months. I didn’t think my urge for chowder would wait that long. My concoction has been simmering in the cauldron much of the afternoon and is ready to eat.

The result: After dinner, I added more lemon juice and salt and will allow it to simmer. It’s tasty, yet it’s lacking something. Perhaps I’ll know tomorrow when I reheat it for lunch. It’s a recipe with promise.

Breathe deeply,
Laugh with abandon,
Love wholly,
Eat well.

MiLady Carol
www.miladycarol.com
Dazzling jewelry that reflects sparkling personalities!