Thursday, June 23, 2011

Heritage

Last week, I volunteered as a soil tester for URI at the Lowe’s in Woonsocket.  Mostly avoiding “big box” stores as I do, I was surprised at the many heirloom and heritage plants they carried - not just tomato varieties, but apple trees.  I’m in the process of removing sod to make room for a tree orchard/berry bush site, as I’d like more varieties of apples and the blackberries I planted last year are out of control.  My liberty apple (a fairly new cultivar supposedly resistant to rust) is doing fairly well, but may not be getting good pollination from my neighbor’s three crab-apples, overgrown as they are with bittersweet.  My grafted apple with four varieties including brandywine appears to be growing vigorously only from its root stock, so I’m not sure what I have.  I’d like to add two more cross-pollinating trees, and this store had seven varieties, all much bigger than the sticks I planted.  Gardeners must be patient, but a $30 grafted tree from a catalog really should put out when I could get this other brandywine on sale for ten dollars and start harvesting next year.

Why should we bother with heritage breeds and heirloom plants?  Many, through natural selection, build up natural disease resistance.  Most have better nutrition, grown as food only and not for size, uniformity, and shipping endurance.  The same goes for livestock.  Heritage breeds often are great foragers, feeding off grass, seed, and insects rather than corn.  Chickens allowed to free-range as they are meant to do (and I don’t mean that the coop is open but the chickens don’t know enough to go outside – beware of labels!) have higher protein and omega-3 and lower cholesterol.  In contrast, stressed-out CAFO poultry can produce eggs higher in cholesterol and have a higher incidence of salmonella.  Heritage breeds are not kept around for their genius, but some industrially-bred animals can no longer breed on their own.  The standard white turkey will drown drinking water from the sky.  Remember, we are what we eat.

Ironically, we can save heritage breeds by eating them.  That is, by creating a demand for them, more will be bred for consumption.  When I do get chickens, I want Plymouth Rocks and Delawares because they are dual purpose birds, cold-hardy to my New England area, docile, and happy in confinement, not to mention beautiful.  (My future six chickens will have a 24 sq.ft. run, which far exceeds the 1 sq.ft. CAFOs maintain.)  RWP Zoo has one-upped that, featuring the Partridge Rock, a rare breed of Plymouth Rock chicken. 

I’ll say it again: We are what we eat.  More and more, I hear of people’s allergies and food intolerances in reaction to our current food climate.  A whole market now exists for gluten-free foods, where almost forgotten grains like amaranth and quinoa are resurfacing.  Similarly, cows and chickens did not evolve to eat corn, and feeding them it causes nutritional deficiencies and gastro-intestinal upset.  CAFOs solve this dilemma with antibiotics, adding hormones for fast growth so the animal is slaughtered before the health effects really set in.  The closely-grouped chickens also receive arsenic to treat intestinal flora that wouldn’t be so rampant if they just had space to move.  They also over-administer it, so arsenic ends up in waste.  Now I wonder if arsenic-laden manure has been used to grow what I buy at the grocery.  I fertilize my garden with compost and guinea pig and chicken manure.  I know what’s in the first two, but this year I’ll be seeking out chicken manure from a farmer I trust rather than buying it in a bag. 

Having moved out of the area long ago, we decided to travel down the road from this Lowe’s to where I used to live as a child.  I had driven by in the past, seeing they changed the house color, changed the garden.  Now a sun room had been built, and many shrubs and trees planted.  But the biggest surprise was behind my former home.  I remembered a steep abyss of stone and scrub, trumpet vine crawling up the decline, my only sting from a hornet, when I unknowingly walked over the underground nest.  I remember puff-ball mushrooms and poking them with sticks to release the spores.  Now, it was graded and leveled, with three apartment complexes. 

The steep road going down to the mill by the river was now the entrance to the complex parking lot.  Access to the woods beyond was cut off.  Was the swamp still there, and the huge snapping turtles? 
"Trip Lane”, as I called it, the path overrun with roots?  The “Rock Zone” where I unearthed salamanders, snakes, and once, a tarantula-sized wolf spider?  Did anyone enjoy the peach and apple trees, the raspberry bushes?  Where they still there, hiding in the dark?  I think this place was even stocked with birds, and I swear I saw exotic species, perhaps quail.

In my new home, my cat has brought me mice, voles, shrews, a rabbit, and a squirrel.  I’ve seen a ground hog, a raccoon, skunks, possum, and a silver fox or small coyote.  My garden attracts more and more interesting insects.  I am cultivating the wild raspberries and blueberries, learning about the native trees.  I would like to introduce ferns and other natives.  I’d like to know what two acres can sustain, not only with its current heritage of flora and fauna, but in a greater diversity yet to be explored.  I want to protect it from greed.

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

First CSA share

My sisters and I are dividing a CSA share for the summer.  Our first bagful contained baby spinach, firm radishes, purple kale, and leeks.  I went through the radish pretty fast and cooked up some of the kale with potatoes, onions, garlic, and curry powder, like home fries.  I'm in a time crunch this week, but I wanted to try a Portuguese soup with the rest.  I'm out of potatoes.  My husband also picked up more asparagus, so maybe an oscar recipe as well.  For now, here's two quick radish recipes that can get added into some wraps or sandwiches.


Gluten-Free/Vegetarian
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Radish Raita
Taste of India Meets Greece
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1/2 cup firm, trimmed radishes, grated (or more, for heat)
1/4 cup feta goat cheese (I recommend Beltane Farms)
3/4 cup Greek yogurt
1 tsp. fresh curry leaves, chopped
3 tsp. mint, chopped
1/8 tsp. black pepper
Combine all ingredients and run through food processor or blender.  Spread on bagel with smoked salmon, in a wrap with mixed greens, or fill cucumber sandwiches.  My daughter eats it by the spoonful. 

Gluten-Free/Sulfite-Free/Vegan
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Radish Rhubarb Relish
Taste of India
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1/2 cups radish, grated
1/2 cup rhubarb, sliced 1/4” thick
1/4 cup carrot, peeled and grated
1/2 cup red onion, finely diced
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
Mix all ingredients well.  Bring mixture to boil in small sauce pan.  Boil gently until liquid is reduced by half, about 20 minutes.  Chill overnight to develop full flavors.  Serve as a garnish, in a wrap with lettuce and grilled vegetables, or on grilled chicken, burgers, hot dogs, or vegan alternatives.

Saturday, June 11, 2011

Strawberry Soup


The feverfew is now planted beside the strawberries.  Still, the seed bugs abound, easily spooked when I approach.  I may need to capture some for research...  In the meantime, another option for delicious, ripe berries is strawberry soup.  If my family and I would just stop eating them right off the plant, we'd get a pint for this recipe.  Store-bought cannot match their sweetness, but it will do.  Again, a gluten-free and vegetarian recipe.


Gluten-Free/Vegetarian
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Strawberry Soup
Taste of Poland
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1 pint strawberries, washed, hulled and sliced
1 tbs. confectionary sugar
1 tbs. corn starch
1/2 cup Greek yogurt
1/4 cup light sour cream, plus more for garnish
1/2 tsp. almond extract
Stir strawberries and sugar.  Dissolve corn starch into mix.  Heat in small sauce pan slightly to soften berries and release juices.  Remove from heat and blend with rest of ingredients with an immersion or standard blender.  Serve chilled.  Garnish with a dollop of sour cream.  Makes four servings.

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Getting Buggy With It


Hard at work...
I love watching insects.  They are so specifically designed.  The Madagascar Star Orchid, or “Darwin orchid”, has an impressive 11” "nectar spur", a long tubular extension of the flower that holds the nectar.  When Darwin studied it, he anticipated a pollinator with an equally long tongue that could reach the nectar.  It wasn’t until 40 years later that this moth was found, with a proboscis averaging 10”.  It’s likely the hawkmoth Xanthophan morgani praedicta kept evolving a longer tongue to better reach the nectar while the flower developed a deeper spur to accommodate it.  This is called "coevolution."  Fascinating.
This past weekend, my friend Christian Drake, who writes the Quantum Biologist, was in town.  We explored the woods, he identifying the various trees and me the edible plants.  We came across an unusual looking insect, something that looked like a moth but built more like a fly, with one pair of black wings with orange stripes.  Maybe a snipe fly.  I will research that later on Bug Guide.  It was on that excursion I told him 
about the ants.
Sphinx Moth caterpillar
I don’t mind ants, per se.  If they’re in the house, I squish them and set out Borax traps, but if they’re outside, I mostly leave them alone.  They let me know when I have an aphid infestation, because they harvest the honeydew off them, herding them like cattle.  (They’ll even fight off the ladybird beetles who try to eat them.)  They certainly aerate the soil.  And my daughter enjoys lifting up the rock border of our garden beds to look at them.
Earlier last week, I went out to just enjoy the garden on a warm spring night.  On top of the steps was the largest ant I’d ever seen, dancing around with a small ant with wings.  I presumed the winged ant was male, and after a quick Google search, revealed the behemoth to be a queen carpenter ant.  I squished it with a small box on the welcome mat.
A few days later, it happened.  Mid-afternoon, as thick as brownies, tiny ants were crawling back and forth in a big trail around my strawberry plants...  “They’re after me gold!” I felt like shouting.  I tried researching if this swarm was because I had killed the queen, but all I could find out was that they quite like strawberries.  It was time to get medieval.

Crane Fly?
The slugs and snails had been lured to dessicated, beer-filled ends.  The garlic chives were at the end of their flower.  Now to whip out the big guns for I.P.M. (Integrated Pest Management): I transplanted two of my new feverfew seedlings to the area, chock full of pyrethrum, a potent insecticide.  I also tore up leaves from the parent plant to release the oils and threw those all over.  Next, I shook out a heavy dose of diatomaceous earth (microscopic ocean critter skeletons) right over the ants and all access points to the strawberries.  The stuff feels like talc to us, but is like walking on broken glass.  (Don’t breathe it in or ingest it.)  By morning, they were gone.  I spread coffee grounds all around, because the smell deters them, just for good measure. 

I even stake the taller plants with the biggest berries to keep them off the ground and away from tiny feasters.  I know ants and slugs can get up there anyway, but they'll have to work harder.  Meanwhile, the long-necked seed bugs are back.  A quick shake and squish (put a plate underneath), and the strawberries are safe.  For now.   

Long-Necked Seed Bugs

Thursday, June 2, 2011

The Dump List

Back in September, I came up with a "dump list", or a list of things I buy that eventually make their way to the landfill.  Americans, including myself, are the most entitled-feeling people in the world.  "I want it, so I should have it."  We're also the most over-scheduled, grabbing up the easy on-the-go products just to make it through the day.  However, so much of this stuff gets used once, then dumped into the landfill.  Sure, I use my reusable shopping bag at stores and the grocery, use tupperware instead of plastic wrap, etc.  But it's not enough.  Take a look in your trash can this week and make a "dump list.”  Hopefully you're composting your vegetable waste already, because that's an easy one.  After you make your list, write why you need these items, then how you can eliminate or replace these needs with something more sustainable. Make a goal to eliminate one item this month.  It's a change in routine, habit, perhaps even the structure of your day.  Tackle just one item at a time.  I came across my own list eight months later, and found (happily) I can take a few items off the list. 
The Original Dump List:
1. Medium DD coffee – I own two travel mugs and do use them, but sometimes they're not in the car, and sometimes I want more coffee than my travel mug holds.  Want and need are not the same thing.  Behavior modification in order.  Plus, I save money when I bring in my own mug or bring coffee from home.  Update: I still get the occasional coffee on the go, use my mug at local businesses, and mostly make coffee at work in an individual press pot I brought in.
2. Paper Towels – Convenience.  Meal times with a 3 y.o. can get daunting.  Now my daughter is four, and we only use cotton napkins.  I chose dark colors and patterns that went with the kitchen and hide stains.  I even wrap our sandwiches in them!  I need to find a better way to drain grease from fried foods.  Besides not eating fried foods often, I’ve tried placing foods on cooling racks over trays or the microwave bacon tray.  It doesn’t get enough of the grease, so perhaps a designated cloth I wash with dish detergent to dissolve the grease.  I also pour off bacon grease into  grapefruit rinds I keep in the freezer.
3. Mushrooms – I know fresh mushrooms bruise easily, but do they have to be packaged in Styrofoam?  I'm sure a bio-degradable packaging is possible, but then my mushrooms wouldn't cost $2.  Switch to canned and recycle the aluminum?  But maybe the can is coated with a BPA plastic?  Jury is still out.
4. Plastic bags/Trash bags – Trash bags in our household are other people's plastic shopping bags, so they are at least getting a second use.  We use 1-2 per week.  But they still get added to the landfill.  As more people use reusable shopping bags, my supply from work will dry up, and eventually (soon) these bags will be outlawed (as they should be).  We are going to try paper bags.  I'm on the lookout for a plastic rectangular bin to house them in case wetness spoils the bag.  (Composting vegetable scraps and egg shells eliminates a lot of "wetness".  Raw chicken is another story.  We do have a large tupperware container just for cleaning out the guinea pig cage, which then gets composted as well.)
5. Batteries – I use rechargeable batteries in my digital camera and lantern, but need to transition out the rest of the appliances.  I can only charge AA batteries at this time.  
6. Zip-lock bags – We use tupperware at lunch, but zip-lock bags are very useful for freezer storage and tossing french fries in oil for baking and meats in marinade.  Replacement: Big tupperware for tossing, freezer tupperware for everything else.
7. Pam cooking spray – Oh, what convenience!  Cupcakes, baked Zucchini fritters, pumpkin bread!  Sigh.  I have an air-pump olive oil spritzer and can go back to the grease and flour, then shake for the pumpkin bread.  Lazy, lazy (time-constrained) me.  Actually, I've been using Crisco to grease muffin and bread tins, and the food comes out easily and tasting great!
While I'm just one person, a lot of us can do more.  Corporations do the worst, and not buying their products is the best most individuals can do.  I ordered a certain side-menu item a month ago, watching the employee take the plastic-wrapped individual portion, open it, place it on a paper on a tray, put it in the convectional oven, then pick it up with another paper to put in a cardboard holder in a paper bag with napkins.  6 items were thrown away so I could have a quick snack for under $2.  I could have had an apple!  So watch this video: The Story of Stuff and start your "Dump List" today! 


How to Wrap a Sandwich