Dandy Dandelion Chai

*** If you like the bitter taste of dandelion roots, you can chop then roast them, and add them to spices to make Chai - to roast the roots, chop them finely, but not too finely, and place them on trays to toast in your oven. I put the oven at 250,which seemed too hot, so reduced it to 200 degrees, and left the oven door ajar to allow steam to escape. It took 1 and 1/2 hours to dry and toast the roots, and they needed to be stirred frequently. To 1 cup of dried dandelion roots, add: 6 Tbsp Fennel or Anise seed 36 green Cardamom pods 72 Cloves 6 Cinnamon sticks 1½ tsp black peppercorns 12 Bay leaves To make the chai, put 2 tsp. of the mixture into a small pot with 1 cup of water, add some fresh ginger slices at this point, if you like. Simmer for 5 minutes, steep for 10, then strain out the spices. Reheat in the pot with 1 Tb. honey or brown sugar, and 1 - 2 Tb. milk or cream The bags of Chai can make sweet Yule gifts, too.

Cool Cuisine: Book Review

Cool Cuisine: Taking The Bite Out Of Global Warming, by Laura Stec shows us that what we eat and how it is grown has an impact on our planet. http://www.globalwarmingdiet.org/ The author interviews farmers, doctors and scientists, and the book offers great, seasonal recipes using local, organically grown ingredients. Of course, if you are growing the ingredients yourself, even better! I am going to try these recipes: 1. Rice Miso Bread: makes 1 loaf 3 cups cooked brown rice 2 Tb miso 1 1/2 cups water 2 cups whole wheat flour 1 cup barley flour let the cooked rice stand at room temperature for 24 hours. Combine the miso and water, add the flours, and knead 50 - 100 times Dough will be sticky.Place dough in an oiled bread pan, cover and let it rise ina warm place for 6 - 8 hours. Preheat over to 350 degrees and bake bread for 1/2 hour. reduce heat to 325 degrees and bake an additional 1 - 1 1/2 hours. 2.Tahini Carrot Daikon Canape with Black Olives: 1 daikon radish 1/4 cup tahini 1 Tb. brown rice miso 1/2 carrot grated 1/2 tsp. brown rice vinegar 1/2 tsp. brown rice syrup 3/4 tsp hot chili pepper sauce 1 tsp toasted sesame seeds cilantro 15 good quality black olives quartered Peel the daikon and slice into 1/8 inch rounds. In a small bowl, combine the next 7 ing. Mound 1/2 tsp of the mixture onto each dakon slice top witha cilantro leaf and an olive sliver. There is a good resources guide at the back of the book. Looking for a source for Emmer? try www.bluebirdgrainfarms.com , or want to learn more about carbon farming? check out www.carbonfarmersofemerica.com

A little string of peppers

Here are a few of the Thai Dragons I have strung to hang to dry. They add a bright touch to the kitchen! This variety is prolific and easy to grow. And they are very hot! A little goes a long way.

Big Bean Give-Away

I have quite a few extra Scarlet Runner beans saved this year - If you are interested in these very easy to grow, beautiful beans, let me know, and I will send you some. These beans have been grown for many years by my neighbour, who brought them over from England about 50 years ago. They were grown by her father for many years before that, so you can be certain of their viability and heritage seed status. We grew ours up the back porch, and they produced many gorgeous, scarlet flowers which attracted hummingbirds. There were so many beans we were able to give lots away, as well. Send me your mailing address by email to sandybeach5@shaw.ca and I'll mail you these magic beans! Here's what they will look like:

Ten Thousand Joys

I love to grow herbs for tea - I finally got around to mixing all the herbs I had dried and kept stored in jars over the Summer. In this tea we have nettles, raspberry leaves, calendula flowers, rosemary, fennel seeds and leaves, and spearmint. I would have also added lemon balm,but have used it all up! It is nice with a little honey and lemon, or chilled with fresh spearmint, if you have some. Another nice addition would be rose hips and/or rose petals, lavender or borage flowers to add colour and flavour. Making herb tea is so enjoyable, as the mix is never the same. I am reminded of sunny August days in the garden with every sip ~ and the tea is very good for you, too.A nourishing tonic for body, mind, and soul. I named this tea "Ten Thousand Joys" for the bliss and joy that come from a Summertime garden.

last of the jalapenos

I made some vegan black bean and tempeh chili today with the last of the jalapenos from the greenhouse - and cornbread using the recipe from New Recipes from Moosewood cookbook. I also added some tomatoes that I'd stewed and frozen, and some fresh oregano. Just sautee some onions and garlic with the tempeh, add chili powder, cayenne, oregano, and a spoonful of chipotle puree (kept in the freezer and chipped off as needed). Throw in some beans, corn, tomatoes, tomato sauce, and the peppers and simmer for about an hour.

Rainy day comfort food

It's a gray, rainy day - perfect for making soup! I have a couple of tomatoes, Thai Dragon peppers, fresh thyme and oregano and some coriander seeds from the garden, plus the last 2, precious bulbs of Sooke grown garlic to use - I'm making a roasted garlic and squash soup with tomato and pepper salsa. Here's the recipe: Roasted garlic and squash soup with roasted tomato and chili salsa: 2 garlic bulbs, outer papery bits removed 5 Tb. olive oil lots of fresh thyme if you have any, otherwise 1 tsp dried 1 large butternut squash, halved and seeded... Read more 2 onions chopped 1 tsp ground coriander seeds 5 cups veg. stock 3 T. fresh oregano and marjoram, or 2 tsp dried salt and pepper for the salsa: 4 large tomatoes halved and seeded 1 red bell pepper "" "" 1 large fresh red chili "" "" 3 T. olive oil 1 Tb. balsamic vinegar preheat oven to 425, place garlic bulbs on foil, pour over 1/2 oil add thyme and wrap in the foil , brush squash with 1 T. oil and place on a baking sheet with the tomato, pepper, and chili. Roast 25 mins then remove the tomato, pepper and chili, continue roasting squash and garlic 25 mins longer until the squash is tender. In a soup pot, heat remaining oil and saute onion and coriander. Skin the pepper and chili and process in a blender with tomatoes, add 2 T. oil, blend, stir in vinegar and s & p to taste. Squeeze garlic into the cooked onions. Scoop squash out and add to the pan. Add stock, salt and pepper, bring to a boil, simmer 10 minutes. Stir in 1/2 fresh oregano, then cool the soup, blend it, reheat (don't boil) top with salsa and fresh oregano. yummmy ♥ freezes well, too :-)

Winter Veg Potluck

I went up Island today to attend the Slow Food Victoria and Gulf Islands event in Cobble Hill. http://slowisland.ca/item_view.php?item_id=1oDLwQ0jEp1lGgtBeq6cdGLAEYdwFjtFY7b We had a Winter Vegetable potluck, so I was up very early this morning kneading dough for roasted beet bread and making fresh apple, carrot, beet juice. My friend made pakoras with Swiss Chard from my garden. Here is the recipe I used for the bread:http://www.cookingbread.com/recipes/savory_bread/roasted_beet_bread_recipe.html This wonderful recipe was discovered here:http://www.thekneadforbread.com/ There are some fantastic food places in the Cowichan Bay area that use local ingredients : Merridale cidery:http://www.merridalecider.com/ True Grain Bakery:http://www.truegrain.ca/ and Hillary's Artisan Cheese shop: http://www.hilarycheese.com/

Food Inc.

'The time has come to reclaim the stolen harvest, and celebrate the growing and giving of food as the highest gift and most revolutionary act' – Vandana Shiva~~ I watched Food Inc. last night - although I knew about the content, having read some books on the subject, seeing it again makes me more thankful for the privilege and blessing of having a garden than ever. It's through our gardens, small urban farms and organic local markets that we are able to reconnect to our food source and to the land. It's this reconnection with the land, to the Earth, that is so desperately needed-for once we realize the (sacred)interconnection between land and self, we will hopefully not be in such deep denial about the atrocities that are being committed against the environment and our fellow creatures. image from Kitchengardeners.org Kids can start growing food gardens at schools, more rooftop and city gardens, easier access to organic food for everyone. Monoculture, seed patents, and factory farms are making way for a new way of producing food that is more humane, doesn't depend on exploiting the poorest of the poor to do the dirty work, is less harsh on the environment, uses less water, and is healthier for people. This is less about "man's dominion over Nature" and more of a joyous, give and take with the creative force of life. http://www.cog.ca/ We need to support these farms and farmers, ensuring the seed that is used may be shared by all, not regulated by a chemical giant, like Monsanto, not GMO, not 'round-up ready' - allowing for diversity and alternatives to give ownership and power back to the grower, not the seed supplier. supplier.http://www.monsantowatch.org/http://truefoodnow.org/ It can not only be done, it is already happening, and this gives me hope.http://www.seeds.ca/ I wish all of us could have a garden to grow our food, even a small one - to learn the value of the miracle of seeds, growth, life cycles, compost, sun-ripened fruits,and just the sheer beauty of every single plant we cultivate and nurture. http://www.dinnergarden.org/index.html From the website, here are 10 simple things you can do to change our food system: http://www.foodincmovie.com/get-involved.php Of course, we can't always afford to buy organic, or expect to grow enough food for ourselves to never go to a supermarket, but we can at least do some of these things, some of the time. We can't always have healthy vegetarian home-cooked meals. This way of thinking and being is not just for elitist foodie snobs - we can all make a difference. http://slowfood.ca/ Okay, I'll stop ranting now, and go out to pick some lettuce and soak some lima beans for dinner. If you've seen the movie, let me know your views! And remember, GARDENERS HAVE THE POWER! http://www.kitchengardeners.org/ image from Sprig.co.ca

fig and fennel bread and roasted beet salad

It's a dark, rainy day - time to bake bread to eat later on by the fire for tea. Some tips for a great fig and fennel bread: Try to find some good, organic, stone ground flour for this recipe, it really makes for a better flavour and texture. The Red Fife, Island grown wheat would be wonderful, but I find it hard to get.http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0010468 The Seed of Life on Government street sells organic black mission figs, which is what I'm using. They're exceedingly sweet and good. Grind your fennel seeds by hand in a mortar and pestle to add a nice texture - they become too powdery in a coffee/seed grinder. You can't knead this dough too much-build up your arm muscles and knead for a good 15-20 minutes - it's a stiff dough and will give you a good upper body workout! I prefer to hand knead dough - it's one of life's simple pleasures. The recipe: 2 Tbs yeast 2 cups warm water 2 Tbs melted butter, cooled 1 Tbs molasses 2 1/2 cups stone ground whole wheat flour 2 cups unbleached white flour 1 Tbs ground fennel or anise seeds or combination 1 tsp salt 1 cup black figs proof the yeast in warm water and molasses, add the rest of the ingredients, and knead for at least 20 minutes. let rise in a warm spot until doubled, shape into loaves, let rise 1/2 hour bake @ 400 degrees for 30 minutes. Make toast and tea and sit by the fire. A nice way for the dough to rise is to bake something in the oven in the meantime - you can put your dough to rise on top of the stove. I decided to roast some beets for salad - this will keep the stove top nice and warm for an hour and the dough will rise happily as a result. http://www.oprah.com/recipe/food/recipessalads/food_20020726_beetsalad I like to add toasted walnuts and feta to the salad, and use whichever greens are available in the garden, even dandelion leaves.

seed catalogues for Island growing

If you are like me , you are already planning and plotting your next veggie, herb and flower gardens. I like to purchase seeds that are grown organically, and from local companies here on the Island. These are my favourite local seed companies(plus one from the Sunshine Coast, which is close enough~!): http://www.twowingsfarm.com/seeds.cfm#Broad%20Beans http://www.westcoastseeds.com/ http://www.saltspringseeds.com/ http://www.ghorganics.com/heirloom_tomatoes.htm http://earthfuture.com/gardenpath/Seeds_Catalogue.htm http://www.fullcircleseeds.com/ http://stellarseeds.com/ http://www.ediblelandscapes.ca/plantlist.html

A decent, if somewhat bitter, November salad

Enjoying the warm, very rainy day here on the Island. Picked some greens and the last orange pepper for a salad tonight - pretty decent for November! chard leaves, endives, parsley, jalapeno pepper, nasturtium flowers and leaves,purple kale,(I LOVE the colour of this kale!), lettuce,cress, beet greens - fortunately I happen to love bitter greens, as these Winter leaves tend to be. I could have added some grated beets, too - and will soon have some sprouting broccoli ready to pick. My neighbour has sprouting cauliflower, which is amazing - I've never seen it grow multiple sprouts like that - I will have to get a photo of it to show you.

Slim pickin's

I'm still finding food out in the yard in November: good, old Swiss Chard, Nasturtium flowers and leaves, water cress grown in a planter box under the porch, beets, endive, kale (both green and purple), jalapeno and Thai dragons in the little green house (a lean-to awning), lots of herbs such as sage, thyme,oregano, rosemary, arugula, and parsley, some hardier types of lettuce such as Romaine, and one, last big orange pepper, that was probably supposed to be red, but ran out of sunshine. I savour each and every morsel from the garden that I'm lucky and blessed to still have the pleasure of eating, for soon the killing frosts will come and the Earth will sleep. Then I'll only be able to enjoy sun-warmed, vine-ripened tomatoes, crisp snap peas, or gloriously sweet raspberries in dreamland, and how sweet those dreams will be!