So! I want to post quickly this morning before my week gets going too quickly. We had some fairly stress-filled holiday-related hoo-ha last week, and this week isn't shaping up to be any less busy, so I am going to cross my fingers that it doesn't end up just as stressful.
I am jazzed about a New Yorker article that was recently published about one of the gurus of the fermented foods movement. He is the author of one of my favorite books on fermenting recipes and histories. I believe that he is a huge player in these scary times of nutritional genocide! That may sound dramatic, but when high fructose corn syrup and partially hydrogenated soybean oil are part of our country's food triangle... you've got to have a little bit of concern.
There is a fairly good chance of us getting Sandor Katz to come to the Freestone Fermentation Festival this year. I believe that this year, our tiny little festival may get a bit more press than it has in the past. If anyone is interested in this exciting movement, be sure to check out this podcast on the topic.
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Abusing Christmas card sites...
So I needed tags for the salve so that everyone knows what is it in and can't call me in three weeks with a rash asking "IF THERE IS ANY EUCALYPTUS LEAF IN THAT STUFF???"
Then my first efforts were not successful (even though I believe I possess fairly legit Windows paint skills) and I resorted to abusing a totally awesome free card site to make these labels. I was pretty impressed with how simple they have made it was to add photos, alter sizes and colors, and choose fonts.
I emailed it to myself and received the great high quality image immediately. It comes embedded in an email! ¡Que fácil! You can send these things right to a smartphone n' shizz! I saved them as flat .jpg files, then used a label program in Microsoft to print the right size on my paper.
I am going to use this site all the time for jam/pickle labels, snail-mailed party invitations, and I will probably use the website's online services to send save the date notes and personalized invitations for the fermentation festival that I was recently hired to produce this year in Sonoma County. Smooth plug, eh? Ah, I await the day when I have readers to chastise me!
Folks, she loves it.
Then my first efforts were not successful (even though I believe I possess fairly legit Windows paint skills) and I resorted to abusing a totally awesome free card site to make these labels. I was pretty impressed with how simple they have made it was to add photos, alter sizes and colors, and choose fonts.
I emailed it to myself and received the great high quality image immediately. It comes embedded in an email! ¡Que fácil! You can send these things right to a smartphone n' shizz! I saved them as flat .jpg files, then used a label program in Microsoft to print the right size on my paper.
I am going to use this site all the time for jam/pickle labels, snail-mailed party invitations, and I will probably use the website's online services to send save the date notes and personalized invitations for the fermentation festival that I was recently hired to produce this year in Sonoma County. Smooth plug, eh? Ah, I await the day when I have readers to chastise me!
Folks, she loves it.
Salve-ation! |
"I'm supposed to be a Christmas Card!!!" |
Monday, December 20, 2010
Wrap time
This past weekend was a big one. I can't comprehend that two days, when we have had nothing planned to do but "catch up, hang out, relax," turned into such a whirlwind circus of crafting and cookery. Months ago we decided to make salves for friends and family for holiday gifts. I had purchased all of our herbs, beeswax, oil and containers and this was the last weekend to do it before the supplies would have been schlepped into the closet for next year.
It really is a simple process. Except for when you decide to do three separate batches and have a one year old dog that wants to help with everything. You see, I had not thought about the tiny inconvenience of how WAX manages to get onto everything when you are melting it. We did our three big batches in many different sized containers and have plenty of gifts for this time of year. We just didn't have a nice and relaxing weekend to catch up and hang out.
My friends Trevor and Tori recently made salves and they finished them off by carving a tiny heart in the top with a tooth pick. I obsess over the presentation and delivery of a gift more than the gift itself, so this will be the next step. I may post again when I have figured out just how to do it...
It really is a simple process. Except for when you decide to do three separate batches and have a one year old dog that wants to help with everything. You see, I had not thought about the tiny inconvenience of how WAX manages to get onto everything when you are melting it. We did our three big batches in many different sized containers and have plenty of gifts for this time of year. We just didn't have a nice and relaxing weekend to catch up and hang out.
My friends Trevor and Tori recently made salves and they finished them off by carving a tiny heart in the top with a tooth pick. I obsess over the presentation and delivery of a gift more than the gift itself, so this will be the next step. I may post again when I have figured out just how to do it...
Friday, December 17, 2010
If ever there were a day to post...
it was yesterday.
Today will have to do, as the second most epic day to post. Part of the reason that I am so interested in this whole blog hubbub is because I find the time every other day to read a few of my favorite blogs, and when there are triumphs in the lives of these incredible women, I smile at my computer and feel happy. Lately, I haven't had that many triumphs of my own to share, and quite frankly I have decided not to post a few times when my entry started out negative and whiny. Still, I sign into the blogger dashboard every few days to check and see what's worth smiling about on the interweb.
I'm going to go ahead and get a teeny-tiny negative and whiny blurb out there so that it can be done and I can talk about all of this bitchen stuff in the future. I had a job that I loved for two years. I bragged about the fact that on Sunday night I truly went to sleep thinking, "The sooner that I fall asleep, the sooner it will be Monday morning!" I kid you not.
Okay, so I worked at a preschool. So what if I think that three to five year old humans are way cooler, more original, less inhibited, and all around easier to be with than most adults. I know adults that feel otherwise, but really, I would enjoy myself with a group of five year olds just as much, if not more, than I would ever enjoy myself with a room full of adults!
With this being said, I felt very valued by the parents of the children in my class. After months of months of feeling unsupported by my supervisor, I asked for her permission to approach the board of directors (this is a very well established non-profit Montessori school). Instead of the opportunity to voice my concerns, I was paid out for two weeks of work and asked to leave abruptly. After such a "wah-wah-waaaaaah" moment in my life, I have been searching for the right position to work which will excite me again like teaching that age group did.
Some of my hobbies include cooking and baking, but another culinary hobby of mine is fermenting. For anyone whose nose happened to scrunch, you just think about cheese, beer, wine, and bread for a minute! Sauerkraut and kimchi, wild pickles and kombucha, ginger brew and rejuvelac! Okay, maybe some of this stuff isn't as popular as I would like it to be in our culture, but to those of you who think Reed's is a good ginger ale should try making your own wild ginger brew!
I really am getting to a point about yesterday. Yesterday, I was finally able to meet with the man who started the Fermentation Festival in my area. This year would be it's third year, however, the incredible man who started this festival was realizing that he did not have the time or energy to shift into over-drive in order to produce it this year. That, my imaginary bloggy friends, is where I have jumped in. I am going to work my buns off to make this the best out of the three years. I have so many grand ideas and concepts brewing in my head... ha! I couldn't help myself!
Hopefully this will be the start of many more entries, as I have a feeling that I will be on this computer lots more!
Today will have to do, as the second most epic day to post. Part of the reason that I am so interested in this whole blog hubbub is because I find the time every other day to read a few of my favorite blogs, and when there are triumphs in the lives of these incredible women, I smile at my computer and feel happy. Lately, I haven't had that many triumphs of my own to share, and quite frankly I have decided not to post a few times when my entry started out negative and whiny. Still, I sign into the blogger dashboard every few days to check and see what's worth smiling about on the interweb.
I'm going to go ahead and get a teeny-tiny negative and whiny blurb out there so that it can be done and I can talk about all of this bitchen stuff in the future. I had a job that I loved for two years. I bragged about the fact that on Sunday night I truly went to sleep thinking, "The sooner that I fall asleep, the sooner it will be Monday morning!" I kid you not.
Okay, so I worked at a preschool. So what if I think that three to five year old humans are way cooler, more original, less inhibited, and all around easier to be with than most adults. I know adults that feel otherwise, but really, I would enjoy myself with a group of five year olds just as much, if not more, than I would ever enjoy myself with a room full of adults!
With this being said, I felt very valued by the parents of the children in my class. After months of months of feeling unsupported by my supervisor, I asked for her permission to approach the board of directors (this is a very well established non-profit Montessori school). Instead of the opportunity to voice my concerns, I was paid out for two weeks of work and asked to leave abruptly. After such a "wah-wah-waaaaaah" moment in my life, I have been searching for the right position to work which will excite me again like teaching that age group did.
Some of my hobbies include cooking and baking, but another culinary hobby of mine is fermenting. For anyone whose nose happened to scrunch, you just think about cheese, beer, wine, and bread for a minute! Sauerkraut and kimchi, wild pickles and kombucha, ginger brew and rejuvelac! Okay, maybe some of this stuff isn't as popular as I would like it to be in our culture, but to those of you who think Reed's is a good ginger ale should try making your own wild ginger brew!
I really am getting to a point about yesterday. Yesterday, I was finally able to meet with the man who started the Fermentation Festival in my area. This year would be it's third year, however, the incredible man who started this festival was realizing that he did not have the time or energy to shift into over-drive in order to produce it this year. That, my imaginary bloggy friends, is where I have jumped in. I am going to work my buns off to make this the best out of the three years. I have so many grand ideas and concepts brewing in my head... ha! I couldn't help myself!
Hopefully this will be the start of many more entries, as I have a feeling that I will be on this computer lots more!
Monday, November 22, 2010
Mondays later...
So, I have to start this post with a humble breath as I look at the last date that I wrote! I told myself, "This will be hard to do every day, but every few days will be easy." The problem was, my month of November turned into the month of saying "yes" to every side job or day gig that I could get. I have been down right hustling my way through this bout of unemployment.
There are times in my life that I can remember being this busy, yet, I don't remember enjoying my days nearly as much as I am right now. It is an excited, motivated, and optimistic "busy" which makes each day whiz by until suddenly it's 4:30, and that chanterelle torte that I had wanted to make should be started, and the best part is, I have the energy to do it! I love cooking, and I love spending time to enjoy the process instead of quickly grabbing ingredients and violently chopping and stirring and mixing until they resemble a meal. I love seeing something and thinking, "Oh, I can do that with THAT instead." Mostly because if I don't have celery I'll use a little grated parsnip or sliced fennel or something to get by and the taste is way better.
In addition to the physical part time work, I have been spending a number of hours in each day working hard to network for the things that I want to see happen in the next year. Sticking with food as a theme, I feel as though I have four huge stock pots on my stove, each with a few different beginning ingredients to incredibly satisfying and nourishing stews. They are simmering. I am adding to them. They are so exciting to me that I don't even dare begin to speak about the plans that I have for their finale, I am just constantly hunched over the stove stirring and smelling and smiling.
The title to this blog is a a bit silly, and maybe cliche, but it is a remarkable reflection of what is truly transpiring in my mind for this blog. "So what?" I say to life as I got handed a bucket full of lemons. "Who brew...?" I seemed to have asked to the universe somehow, because in the past month, each time I turn around there is someone with a new idea, recipe, or opportunity to turn those lemons into revolutionary goods. It's brew time in my life, and whatever'sa brewin' is smellin' mighty good to me.
I am going to attempt to do this a bit more often. Oh, and find some people to read it, too, one day.
There are times in my life that I can remember being this busy, yet, I don't remember enjoying my days nearly as much as I am right now. It is an excited, motivated, and optimistic "busy" which makes each day whiz by until suddenly it's 4:30, and that chanterelle torte that I had wanted to make should be started, and the best part is, I have the energy to do it! I love cooking, and I love spending time to enjoy the process instead of quickly grabbing ingredients and violently chopping and stirring and mixing until they resemble a meal. I love seeing something and thinking, "Oh, I can do that with THAT instead." Mostly because if I don't have celery I'll use a little grated parsnip or sliced fennel or something to get by and the taste is way better.
In addition to the physical part time work, I have been spending a number of hours in each day working hard to network for the things that I want to see happen in the next year. Sticking with food as a theme, I feel as though I have four huge stock pots on my stove, each with a few different beginning ingredients to incredibly satisfying and nourishing stews. They are simmering. I am adding to them. They are so exciting to me that I don't even dare begin to speak about the plans that I have for their finale, I am just constantly hunched over the stove stirring and smelling and smiling.
The title to this blog is a a bit silly, and maybe cliche, but it is a remarkable reflection of what is truly transpiring in my mind for this blog. "So what?" I say to life as I got handed a bucket full of lemons. "Who brew...?" I seemed to have asked to the universe somehow, because in the past month, each time I turn around there is someone with a new idea, recipe, or opportunity to turn those lemons into revolutionary goods. It's brew time in my life, and whatever'sa brewin' is smellin' mighty good to me.
I am going to attempt to do this a bit more often. Oh, and find some people to read it, too, one day.
yummy torte made in awful electric oven (one day I will have a gas again) |
Monday, November 8, 2010
Back again.
Three minutes after posting my first few lines, and I feel as though I've just barely licked the beater instead of feeling as though I've just downed the plate of shortbread. I was really going for the full, satisfied, "that'll do," feeling that you get when you've finished all that you possibly can in a given time. However, I still have an hour until anybody comes home. The house is spotless. The dog is asleep. All mid-stitched crafts are actually done. (what universe am I living in... there are at least seventeen skeins of yarn with half of a something started on them, but I don't feel like getting those out.) Ah! I have time to figure out how to post a picture!
Let's try.
Let's try.
A tiny moss terrarium. Free moss. Saved glass container. Tiny handmade clay amanita muscaria. |
I like hiding them around the house. I don't have a magazine rack by the jon, but you can watch my terrariums as the condensation drips down the glass sides! |
Ready to locate any dropped moss and scatter throughout the home. |
As of today...
...exactly one month has gone by that I have not been working at a job which is taxed by our government. To most, this means I am unemployed. Although, I have a itsy bitsy flicker of hope that if you asked those who know me closely and have known my schedule for the past month, you might hear otherwise. Might they would call me Privately Employed, or perhaps Hopelessly Productive. Skillfully Sustained? Maybe even Laboriously Creative. Okay, I am probably pushing it a bit with dreams that my housemates enjoy the scraps of fabric and piles of scrap wood laying around here and there. I am fortunate that they only encourage me, even while pushing bits of yarn and moss to the side with a smile each evening while they ask, "Did we want to try and clear the table for dinner tonight... or...?"
The truth of it all is... I feel more inspired and excited about life right now than I can remember feeling in the past ten years. Truly. A month without work will do wonders, I suppose! In all honesty, though, I believe there is a reason that I haven't settled into a desk job. (Don't tell my Father, but I have opportunistically "missed" a few calls and emails about interviews for jobs that just did not appeal to me.) The reason might be the tremendous monsoon of love and kindness which was showered upon me by families of children who I taught at my last job. Hearing repeatedly (not just from the five year olds) that I COULD do big things absolutely planted new seeds in my mind. Those seeds are being nurtured right now. They are warmed by the sunshine of those who continue to encourage me, fed by the love of those in my life that have reached out their arms to support me, and drenched in the consistent showers of goodness that this beautiful world has to offer. Those seeds are startin' to sprout down in the depths of this native California girl. I don't even know what those plants are going to look like or turn into, but I'm willing to bet that they're going to have me stepping back and exclaiming, "Where did this even come from?" once they start to blast out of the nurturing depths they silently sprouted in.
I promise that every entry won't be this "butterflies and rainbows, ya'll!!!!" but sometimes, when life hands you lemons, and the lemonade ends up being this good, you want to share the recipe and find out what someone else is drinkin' and lovin'. If I send you a link to this, it is because you are someone who has reassured me, loved me, supported me, rubbed me on the back, sold me good tomatoes, impressed me, reminded me what life is really about or maybe I just think you're super cool and inspirational and would like your feedback on my goofy ideas. Thanks for reading, and thank you for returning in the future if you find your way back!
The truth of it all is... I feel more inspired and excited about life right now than I can remember feeling in the past ten years. Truly. A month without work will do wonders, I suppose! In all honesty, though, I believe there is a reason that I haven't settled into a desk job. (Don't tell my Father, but I have opportunistically "missed" a few calls and emails about interviews for jobs that just did not appeal to me.) The reason might be the tremendous monsoon of love and kindness which was showered upon me by families of children who I taught at my last job. Hearing repeatedly (not just from the five year olds) that I COULD do big things absolutely planted new seeds in my mind. Those seeds are being nurtured right now. They are warmed by the sunshine of those who continue to encourage me, fed by the love of those in my life that have reached out their arms to support me, and drenched in the consistent showers of goodness that this beautiful world has to offer. Those seeds are startin' to sprout down in the depths of this native California girl. I don't even know what those plants are going to look like or turn into, but I'm willing to bet that they're going to have me stepping back and exclaiming, "Where did this even come from?" once they start to blast out of the nurturing depths they silently sprouted in.
I promise that every entry won't be this "butterflies and rainbows, ya'll!!!!" but sometimes, when life hands you lemons, and the lemonade ends up being this good, you want to share the recipe and find out what someone else is drinkin' and lovin'. If I send you a link to this, it is because you are someone who has reassured me, loved me, supported me, rubbed me on the back, sold me good tomatoes, impressed me, reminded me what life is really about or maybe I just think you're super cool and inspirational and would like your feedback on my goofy ideas. Thanks for reading, and thank you for returning in the future if you find your way back!
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