Eggs and Company

The ever versatile egg has had quite a ride in the culinary traditions of many countries; it is a nutritional icon of bakers and chefs all across the nation. Home cooks rely on this quick and easy resource for thrifty meals. Children and the elderly find the soft protein chewable and digestible. and why not include the pets on this festive gourmet parade? At less than a dollar a dozen presently, the whole family can indulge.

Medical arena scare tactics have vilified the 'poor' egg industry; first it was the cholesterol, till that theory was reversed by research on the quality vs quantity  of metabolic process of the eggs. Now the focus is directed to cage-free production and salmonella or avian flu--Buyer beware! If the consumer intends to eat eggs raw in smoothies or out of shell, then it is best to depend on field raised chickens and reputable stores.

NOW! for the fun part of 'eggdom': What I do with the humble, yet majestic source of life, this egg in my kitchen.

1) Boiled Eggs, How and When:
Gently put eggs in bottom of pan--(i use a whole dozen for various purposes) cover with cold water--add a tsp of salt--bring to a boil for five minutes--turn heat off--cover with lid for five extra minutes.
--empty hot water in sink--fill pan with cold water till that is warm--empty again--Put a towel on counter--then roll each egg with GENTLE pressure to crack the surface only--pull--peel--rinse egg.( i let other eggs soak in the cold water while i peel the diaphenous inner skin off the smooth egg white) done! After admiring your handiwork, grab a sharp knife to slice or cube the perfect white oval shapes. Ready?

What to do with Boiled Eggs?:
a simple white gravy can dress up a quick open faced toast:
3 heaping tablespoons of flour--i cup of milk--salt and pepper to taste--shake all in a glass jar--let a spoon of olive oil or bacon grease or best coconut oil heat on medium in sauce pan--add liquid to pan--stir constantly till thick, add more milk or water or broth till smooth--add egg cubes--five minute total and you are serving a nutritious go-to breakfast, lunch or why not dinner.
serving suggestions: bacon bits, parsley leaves, green onion slices, pepper flakes and grated cheese all add flavor and eye appeal, savor!

Egg Salad:
 a standard which requires only clean hands and a gourmet mind:
Armed with any kitchen tool capable of smashing the rubbery food into submission; you reduce the eggs which have not quite deserved an award for successful peeling. let rest in bottom of glass bowl--now in separate bowl, you mix any or all the following ingredients--3 Tsp mayonnaise--1 tsp mustard<if you must> Dijon for sure--a dash of pickle juice ( i prefer bread-and-butter or sweet gherkins) a pinch of salt and a sneeze of pepper..red pepper flakes or red bell pepper cubes, green ones and even yellow ones for color and texture! add to the eggs. Don't taste yet! wait an hour as flavors blend and cool.
Serve on toasted sour dough or on crackers, with an olive on top of course!. let imagination play with your food! mint or parsley add to digestibility.  a discreet lemon squeeze brings out the essence of freshness.

Now for Quiche:
Easy way first:
Buy 2 pie shells--lightly poke shells with fork tips, paint surface with coconut oil or melted butter--bake in oven at 375 for only five minutes ..
In a large glass bowl, 1 cup of milk-- 3 large eggs--a dash of salt and pepper--sprinkle of onion soup mix--a tsp of baking soda--a tbsp of flour.and a bag of frozen spinach, or can of drained spinach-- mix well--pour evenly in shells--add grated cheese on top--bake 45 minutes till brown and dry crust.
 for Better Quiche?make own homemade crust--use half and half-- fresh spinach and pan fried onion cubes--fresh Gruyere swiss cheese and six eggs--rich and creamy.
 Bon Appetit!

Dress up leftovers with yellow eyed slices, or throw onto salads for that restaurant effect and taste.
cut eggs in half lengthwise and plant flowers like violets or rose petals along with bushy lemon balm or verbena sprigs on its sunny heart, pink Himalayan salt or red pepper flakes will finish the garnish;. fun and crunch!sprinkle wine vinegar or rice vinegar and oil across tops; voila!

Rearview Mirror, Same Driver.

 Here is an older article of mine which i have resurrected from a blog on the web.Posted in Dec 2007 on lamarguerite.

  So much has changed Casey's has moved uphill, friends moved to country, cars sold, children graduated or married..much of life used and re-purposed, so here is one blog post reused for comparison..

Thought Soup, an Environmental BlogAct by Nadine Sellers

 December 3, 2007 by lamarguerite

One day, Nadine surfaced in my blogging existence, and graced my blog with one of the most poetic comments I have ever come across. That was a few months ago. Since then, I have had the privilege of discovering her oh so inspiring poems and thought provoking pieces of prose. Nadine Sellers is a French writer… an observer of nature and mankind, a healer by profession, a teacher by avocation. After years in the desert West she is now living the writer’s perennial hope, sculpting a novel out of empiric survival and adventure. As she settles in the plains of the American Midwest, Nadine is in the process of crystallizing a lifelong passion for living, into an artful translation of ecological concern. Nadine brings science and literature into a blend of experimental exposé. You may find this fledgling project in Greenadine, verdigrass, her new blog, the inspiration for which arose from perusing green blogs and finding La Marguerite. just like that! out of the –green.

Six centuries BC. Lao Tsu wrote a set of basic principles which would simplify the relationship of man and nature. Succeeding philosophies have led us to an environmental impasse. Each moral cycle has spiraled mankind into poorly applied reasoning, and so man has lost his equilibrium. It will take good will and a lot of resolve to restore balance. Science has met with resistance ever since duality fostered a climate of rebellion in the mind of men.

” Knowing ignorance is strength, ignoring knowledge is sickness” from the Tao Te Ching.

As a lifelong amateur naturalist, i have found myself submerged by mounting evidence dooming personal efforts to irrelevancy. But wait! Before i drown in a nihilistic ocean of self pity, do allow me time to shake myself from defeatist complacency. The very nature which seeds doubt in mind, also offers enough resilience to adapt to changing conditions. As data streams in faster than laymen can fathom, the rest of us find the vestiges of old instincts kicking in under more than a century of industrial indoctrination.

Wherever i live, i seem to meet inveterate negaholics who refuse to admit there may be a causal factor to climate change. I have not confronted them publicly, but have met them within the ranks of family or friends. They question my way of life, very generously commenting on my apparent miserliness; Why do you save this? Just throw it out, nobody cares. Why bother, you’ll be dead before it becomes a problem. The list stretches beyond comprehension. So i use the wall strategy: when confronted, walk slowly around the bricks, actions speak louder than arguments. And then i write.

Resistance to change seems to drag the efforts of many a socio-economic level to adjust their consumption patterns. According to incoming scientific data, It appears to stem from an aversion to authority. The teacher, the preacher, the tax collector, and now some stranger wants them to give up the Trans-Am in the back-yard, and quit using the dual wheel monster truck to go to get a pack of cigarettes at the corner store? Clearly a clash of cultures here.

I live in the Midwest and yesterday, i saw the first cloth bag prominently displayed at the grocery store: “paper or plastic? Neither” boasted the printed logo. And i knew this tiny town had heard the drummer of the future. Of course the resident Amish culture slows the competitive edge of progress, and i appreciate it. Respect for the horse drawn carriage on the highway teaches necessary patience. Simplicity and conservatism can be useful attributes in the conflict of man versus Gia.

There is a symbiotic relationship between spenders and savers in this, our biosphere. The insurmountable pile of evidence which dooms our puny efforts, also gives rise to new hope. In the most mundane of gestures you will find tiny treasures of personal pride. I write this first draft with a plastic pen, the logo claims “fire and water damage clean-up”, how relevant. The paper which i use to scratch out my outlines on, results from an apparent leak in the marketing strategies of junk-mail zealots. Any blank space is an invitation to real use, then the paper kindles my fire, added BTU for hearth and home. No waste in this household. I don’t play games with my conscience, no carbon trade-off mentality, not even a shade of humor in my staunch resolve to optimize the use of every resource available to me.

It is a game; a challenge to my imagination. I must find just one more way to use and re-use each product for which i am essentially grateful. Of course in the trial and error field of empiric savings, there have been casualties. Just yesterday, my innovative soupe-du-jour turned out so blahh, i had to prematurely commit it to the compost pile, much to my palate’s dismay. What a waste of a perfectly good Halloween pumpkin! It was the last stringy crop of turnips that ruined it all.

Out here in the back room of convenience, i ride the comfort zone. Bicycles parked in the garage for winter. Gas heater plugged in as nocturnal back-up to the fireplace. Electric appliances at the ready, though manual versions preferred. I console myself with the fact that the town council has voted for the installation of a wind farm upon the hill. How romantic, they’re going to grow some wind; i like local utilities, i prefer the ones which make responsible choices to produce energy from sustainable sources. And let me tell you, the winds around the prairie states are indeed sustained.

Entrenched in semi solid autonomy, i view governmental leadership as entertaining rather than worthy of worship. It saddens me to watch the mainstream throng catering to corporate idealism. When elected officials downplay irrefutable research and steer their constituency toward run away consumerism, i find my easy chair much too confining. If ecological concerns are relegated to dishonorable status beneath the lofty goals of economic growth, we could destroy entire biomes across the planet. We have. We continue to do so.

Readers, take heed from the Indonesian Government; a communique from Jakarta informs us that the Bali summit which is to begin Monday Dec. 3rd will be taking measures to save tons of carbon emissions. I can envision 190 international ministers and assorted staffs commuting by bicycle between meetings and workshops. The whole motley group followed by as many journalists and servants. All are cautioned to wear light clothing and short sleeves. Representatives of the United Nations Climate Change Consortium should not mind applying their own advice.

From this green segment of the map, i wish to extend a sense of communal spirit. I derive existential satisfaction from exchanging experience, be it mundane or universal. May the current steer us away from blind consumption, and toward true appreciation of our nature. I do believe it is in the acquired taste of a simple glass of water. Drink up to the new greens and the old ones too!.

02-2015

House sold, new one restored, old garden mowed, new one inspired, old car to new owner, old Casey to parking lot, the horse and buggy remain valid, one more birthday and the wind still blows in Albany!

Going to Zero Waste Week.

In a very productive year on my food agenda, I dare not complain. In 2013 yardening (that's turning your yard into a garden with a Y)  has been proven to satisfy my chewing muscles. Now, how do I store and eat all of this abundance? There shall be no waste in this household. I aim to starve the compost pile and put the worms on a diet. This is my 'Zero Waste Week pledge!

Although I have been a near zero waster for all of my conscious life, I find there is some possibility of refining the art of home foods management. My inspiration is kept current by reading the writings of Rachelle Strauss, aka, Mrs green at My Zero Waste blog. She is a diligent router of all manner of wasteful behavior and a positive influence on the path to personal or corporate responsibility. Her honest and thorough posts, her family videos and tips incite readers to reduce, use, re-use or recycle all that is bought.

The annual event of ' Zero Waste Week' is coming up in September and I am ready to join the fray. Not exactly a frenzy as I live in a far off rural community, but accessible by medium low tech laptop plunking..by the second of next month, I should have enough photos and how-to's to satisfy the do-it-yourself saver of precious nutritional resources. Please follow the recycled brick path to my yarden and climb the wooden stairs to the kitchen for a peak at how a french born writer remains dedicated to some modicum of preservation.

Mind set at zero: no cement block necessary to keep freezer door locked, no double stacking canned goods or jars of preserves in the gluttonous cupboards. I am saving for a food dryer < next year>.

Meanwhile back at our humble home;

dried foods take much less space than canned goods, so, I thread a needle with strong cotton and pass it through the goodies..usually in the center because it is unnerving to have to pick up your gardening efforts from the floor, no matter how clean it is..and a pitiful picture of me on all fours blowing dust before the project is completely ruined. 'True Grit' is a movie, not a crunchy food alternative.

Washed and towel dried mushrooms Agarics, boletus, chanterelles or morels, or cleaned, cubed fruit, apple slices, pears, apricots, plums or veges such as peppers, carrots, rutabaga, winter squash, all keep well when sliced thin enough to dry in a day or two for good measure. Hang in convenient area, away from walking patterns ( our basement has adequate ventilation, so I can suspend my scrumptious garlands from the beams with strong nails, of course) and set a fan on high, till the poor veges and fruits of the land are reduced to shriveling remnants of their former beauty.

To store the winter treats, I loosely roll some around in a bowl of cinnamon sugar for snacks, or simply stack the thinly sliced yellow or green squash in clean, dry glass jars, store in darkest corners of shelves to add to soups, sauces or use as dip chips..mmm!

For my flop of the day, I confess that tomatoes have not been my most successful drying experiment; they slid off, squished together and ultimately ran away with molds and mildews prior to joining some other failed trial in the very forgiving compost area. Someone has to feed the beneficial nematodes?

Reminder to self—save for food dryer-- <or make one out of wood slats and nylon screen, plus fan>. Plan to shrink a few exotics when on sale..kiwis, pineapples, bananas, seedless grapes, mangoes, papayas, quince..I think I hear the strawberries squirming in their patch out back!

I am definitely no joiner, but this is something I can use to sharpen my ecological muscles.

Zero Waste Week, Sept 2-8 2013.wherever you are..on facebook or at myzerowaste.com

If it' s April, Must be Water Month!

If it's April, must be Water Month!

Every few minutes, I turn the spigot on, to wash hands, scrub vegetables, rinse rags or brush my shoes. Then I fill the bathtub, schedule a full load in the machine, easy come, easy waste! No, this is the house of waste not, by choice or by conscience, every drop still counts. Tub water will be bucketed out and metted among thirsty individual plants in the garden, dish water will nourish daylillies and apple trees. To each a purpose and a re-purpose. I carry with me ancestral habits and pride.

For my own primary family in the city, water was an economic necessity measured in francs. Every jet from the one kitchen spigot was accounted and regulated by the finance expert known as “mother”; that was where I learned to soak and boil laundry, turn off water between vigorous tooth brushing or face washing. Every basin's worth of precious liquid rendered its weight upon my conscience or more precisely my fear of accountability in the parental eye .

The rural perspective of water presented me with a more pleasant alternative, it was easier to measure the cost of water by its actual weight in the bucket and its physical exertion ratio as I had to pump the stuff from a rotary iron wheel made for men to fill a large container above. The water would then flow trough a two and a half foot limestone wall by way of a thick metal pipe. Water was cold, straight from an underground stream, a well of endless possibility, virtual treasure. Gratis too.

I fondly recollect feeding and watering of grandmother's animals with the free liquid, a large iron mouth would pour through the cemented ditch, a modern invention of my uncle's, it would run down to the lower echelons of the barnyard, all the way to the pig sty, i' d beat the chickens to the pooling pond, a frenzy of fur and feathers, dog, cats and assorted fowl, honking, and cackling about me. What glorious relief these chores were from whatever misery weather had wrought upon us that day. I would carry a bucket and a ladle to allocate some to each of three hundred very thirsty rabbits as well.

At day's end, I would bring sheep home to the barns and fill their troughs. It was my duty to make sure that the cows had functioning watering plates, to the right of each stall where the cattle were chained, I pressed the iron plate to watch the water fill the bowl. Then let the animal slurp to see if it refilled automatically. This was another invention of note..the self waterer, I was elated not to have to carry the water in the stables.

Another endearing sign of progress was the outdoor shower my uncle had designed, a rudimentary shed with no roof, a large iron kettle atop, secured by great beams, the water was hot by afternoon, too hot for me. It poured on command through some complex device which I had to yank; if too hot, I ran out with clothes still on, added some cool water with hose and tried again before disrobing. Making sure the neighborhood boys were far away was the hard part, and unwelcome distraction.

Creeks and sloughs were of equally free spirited benefit, I waded in the luxury, splashed and careened through sun or storm with legs and skirts drenched in the primordial necessity, carefree. This was love, cold or warm, from Ocean to clear spring, it was health, abundance unmeasured.

later, rinsing my own children's clothes in the creek was a distinct advantage, I felt complete and caring, for the purity of the water, the sound of rushing over stones and the smell of hydrogenated goodness, oxygen at work on hands and cloth. What pleasures, what privilege. I miss the contact, senses alive with need and fulfillment; the stuff of life! I shall return with continuing personal evolution of water consciousness across that Ocean and into the desert

.

THREE FRENCH SOUPS

THREE FRENCH SOUPS.

Nourishment comes in many a form and soup is an easy way to conjugate economy with ecology. Sumptuous velvety concoctions or interesting flavors can be achieved in one large pot...add water and spice—savor slowly. Here are ways to reach 'Zero-Waste' and 'Maxi-Taste' in one simple bite.

These three recipes demonstrate the possibilities and adaptations of my most prized mixer. Vitamix came into my life at a time when using every bite was essential to my family's nutrition; its power could reduce fish bones and eggshells to smooth and assimilable liquid minerals in seconds of pulsing.

Basic ingredients can be changed according to regional and seasonal availability, or as a way to use neglected leafy vegetables in garden or refrigerator; an excellent excuse to take someone on a foraging or fishing trip through the countryside.

Green soup..Soupe verte:

Ingredients:

1 quart of water.

A of your choice of leafy greens:

cabbage, beet , turnip greens, lettuce, dandelion, sorrel..or a mix of all; flavors blend very well as they are mitigated by the root vegetables and onion.

2 unpeeled potatoes.

2 parsnips or turnips.

2 small onions cubed.

2 cloves of garlic.

2 tsp each of parsley flakes.

1 tsp sea salt, ground black pepper to taste.

2 Tsp sweet cream or butter.

Preparation:

Wash greens under running water or in a bowl of cold water with a spoon of lemon juice or vinegar.

Cube potatoes and onions, cover with water in large pot, bring to a boil, simmer for 10 minutes.

Add chopped greens and minced garlic to large pot, simmer for 5 to10 more minutes, till greens are limp.

Allow cooling period; then ladle into the blender, pulse to a rough texture..

when potatoes and onions are white specks in a verdant velvet sea..you are ready.

Serving suggestions:

Sour cream or butter, gently stirred in hot soup help to absorb the pro vitamin A and other fat soluble components of the vegetables, plus, one single spoonful of it tastes so rich against the calming effect of the greens.

Croutons or Melba toast slices are always welcome in liquid soups or floating atop with chopped parsley..

Fish soup: faux bouillabaise.

To use whatever fish is available and make a one step nutritional experience, consider the powerful calcium and protein boost of less commercially desirable water creatures..Never waste a single trout skeleton or fish head again, you can reduce the valuable leftovers of a good meal to a tasteful creamed soup. You can use less expensive species or prolific ones such as carp.

Ingredients:

1 quart water.

1 Tsp olive oil.

2 fish heads and bones or whole fish. Any type.

1 large onion, 1 small head of garlic.

2 large tomatoes or 1 small can of stewed tomatoes.

2 celery stalks.

2 green peppers.

1 sprig each of parsley, oregano and dill. (or use 1tsp of the powdered herbs).

1 tsp curry powder. (or cumin, clove and turmeric)

1 tsp sea salt.

Preparation:

Wash fish in cold water with 1 tsp lemon juice or vinegar, lay in deep pan with herbs, cover with water , bring to boil, simmer on low for 30 minutes.

Chop onions, and garlic cloves, fry swiftly in olive oil 5 minutes till transparent.

Add cubed tomatoes and peppers.

Pour over fish and simmer an additional 10 minutes.

Allow to cool then blend thoroughly; bones will be melted into the smooth rusty colored broth.

Serving suggestions:

Again, adding a spoon of sour cream lends a creamier taste and aids in the absorption of the essential nutrients, lycopene, Omega 3s, trace minerals and calcium..

Croutons rubbed with a garlic clove bring a Mediterranean pungency to the 'one bowl' meal.

Fresh parsley sprinkled on top tempers the aroma.

Watercress soup; faux vichyssoise.

A creamy cold soup for springtime celebration, quick and easy, and oh so sumptuous!

Ingredients:

1 quart water.

1 large bunch of watercress.

2 large potatoes.

1 onion, 1tsp sea salt, pepper to taste.

½ cup plain yogurt or sweet cream.

Preparation.

Scrub and cube unpeeled potatoes, bring to boil, simmer for 20 min.

Cut off stringy roots from cress, rinse very thoroughly, chop stems and leaves. Add to potatoes, simmer for additional 5 to 10 min.

allow cooling period, add yogurt or sweet cream, blend till light unctuous green.

Serving suggestions.

Cold or hot, this simple soup is refreshing and mineralizing. Provides iron and tastes like a vege smoothie.

Pour icy cold in glass bowls for a European flair. Decorate with parsley sprigs and sesame cracker crumbs.

 A  side bowl of macademia nuts or cashews lends a contrast to the so-smooth-so-soft texture of the cress soup.

Bon appetit! With gratitude to the Green family from My Zero Waste blog and Little Green blog. for their steady influence toward healthful living.

Get Your Footprint Out of My Plate!

Please get your foot out of my plate.

Between all the insistent issues surfacing in the media and the din of my conscience, i can hardly enjoy a meal anymore. And then, i feel compelled to explain the history, the science and reasoning behind the food footprint on my table. Few seem to share the joy of first spring dandelions and summer portulaca, wonder why?

First came the calories, then the carbohydrates, soon to be superseded by twins Cs of climate change. Well, we have not worked our way out of the alphabet, here comes Carbon. How much carbon are you worth? Warning it's a negative, you only win by losing, that's the nature of the big Cs.

Confessional banter would have the public in a knot over the assumption that calories and carbs are the number one enemy. The market drivers and fear mongers have done a very good job of proliferating ideas and products into the public psyche. Judging by statistics of how-to books in print on those subjects one would assume a high effectiveness ratio—Not so!

However, one look at the CDC files on obesity, the opposite results are striking. Basic child psychology would prove that when you wish to instill caution and character, you do not scare and overwhelm the participant. In this case, if you wish to alert the masses about carbon expenditures, refrain from confusing the issue with heavy science and argument. Serve it cool and light. Remember to step lightly upon the subject.

During the hyper caloric scare, i watched many a housewife avoid fruits because -- they were dreaded carbs. And none could be convinced that the fiber and vitamin content was essential to metabolic wellness; the magazines said...So went the scales and calorie charts, the lists of lists. And the weight gain, the more obsessed, the more desperate; that's hard on the hormonal response cycle. Research has proven the ill effects of worry on body fat deposits.

And then the dreaded fat scare..so many people told me that they avoided –avocados—because the it contained too much fat? Disregarding the fact that this 'innocent' fruit provides necessary lipids and minerals..the same folks shunned olive oil in favor of corn oil? Which doctor sold these ideas? The one who told them not to eat the perfect food..(that would be chocolate) I mean eggs..which are a reliable source of complete protein, with a balance of good cholesterol..add soy to that and you'll get so smooth a digestive track, you'll skid onto the health path to zero waste...That easy!

Several battles lost, one more hill for the average person to climb. Now Joe Public is told to lighten his food burden. Buy local, buy unwrapped or bulk, buy less meat. The ordinary person just mastered the GI (glycemic index), the heart healthy diet and that 'thing you hang on your hip to count your steps while doing housework. Scales and measuring tape rust in the closets, the Bow Flex died of premature abuse and neglect, now what? A computer memory jogger to alert you of new findings to disprove previous advice? Ha...it's everywhere.

Just as food prices rise along with gas and energy prices, Mr average can't pay attention to both the election circus, and, the Climate Change salesmen. One citizen can only do so much. The anxiety is driving people away from good conscience. Green vendors and promoters must take it easy on the bottom of the economic pyramid. A backlash of not so healthful consumerism would be ugly. Can you see disgruntled housewives going on donut binges, kids spitting vege pizza on the counters, disgusted men crushing arugula on the rug..The gross factor potential is huge here; there's no bottom to the food revenge dilemma.

Consider a single mother after work, meal planning a total loss, she pushes a screaming kid in the basket and drags another around the center aisles. She knows she can't afford enough fruits, so, canned will have to do, canned in Peru? Who cares at ninety nine cents for a large can. The fresh meat case does not even deserve a glance when bologna still hovers at the low end of nutrition-- Processed, cheap, cheap, cheaper the focus, plastic clean wrapped and red under lamps, kids will love it. From Argentina, Australia? Don't matter. Milk in plastic bottle, price up again. Gotta get outta here!

And i want to disrupt this woman's routine to ask her to take a minute to read the tiny little print somewhere out of the way on these pretty packages in her basket? I don't think so. I want to write an article for a magazine that she only buys for the weight loss claims in bold title on front page? Who am i to convince this burdened being to change her thinking when she has no time to think between all actions and daily reactions? I can only offer small advice under guise of economy, not ecology, at least, not yet.

When economy squeezes the bottom rungs of society, the message of cause and effect will finally persuade those who need to hear it most. At present, it is not the caviar from Canada or Russia that will tax the carbon debt on earth; how much of the crunchy fish eggs have you spread on your crackers lately? No, the major culprits of greenhouse gas pollution are the meat on the daily plate, the chicken Mc Something and the quick fix white flour fluff with processed high fructose ingredients. I perceive my civic duty as one easy recipe at a time, from scratch, and into the meals of the many. There are solutions..of course..

Many blogs carry a soft footprint; they furnish concise information in easy to follow how-to..The world at your fingertips, old world, new science, straight to your plate..and just wait till you savor the photography to salivate by..just a few samples below..

http://attractingwellness.net/

http://sweetartichoke.com/

gicrockpot.wordpress.com/

momphotographer.wordpress.com/

Bon Appetit! OK, yes, yes i DO enjoy my food.

Close To The Dirt

Walking alongside roads, collecting aluminum cans, we were doing our civic duty, keeping the countryside beautiful. More likely we were finding metal to recycle for a few dollars, practicing

economy and ecology as entertainment. For myself, no conflict arises out of recycling.

I was born in Normandy, the birthplace of northern frugality. Then to retrace the ecological roots of culture, my paternal ancestors would assert that the southern French were born with dirt in their genes. Soil holds the evidence of everything. Water is the fluid vehicle of all effluence; and air? I prefer not to see it or taste it.

I was raised in the South-West of France, school-year in the city and every vacation spent in my ancestral village. Surrounding woods were rife with mushrooms, fruits and berries. I later followed a different personal path through deserts and prairies across the sea. Mother, the Normand, never understood my preference for the countryside; mud afoot, long workdays, snakes and bugs were not 'her' idea of pleasure. By default and isolation I became an accidental poet and a compulsive gardener under various conditions and climates.

I now live in the land of too much milk and not enough honey. Cows are fat with hormones, bees are dying, and milk makes no butter-cream. Honey is expensive and fruits largely tasteless. I found an ancient tree in town which produces delicious crunchy apples. Amish fruit stands full of organic goodies dot the highways in good weather.. Meadows and ditches are replete with edible plants. Fallen trees provide free fodder for the wood stove... Now venison and turkey are the last abundant offering, though catfish and bass rank highly as well in private ponds, to avoid river pollutants..

All is not yet lost; counties are too poor to spray herbicides on roadsides. Abandonment has preserved a few elderberry bushes about town, gnarly trees keep on producing pears and persimmons despite owner's obvious carelessness. Birds congregate in the tall walnut trees, watching the climatic effects upon insect populations provides unbiased windows into a near future. No matter the circumstance, it is the single gesture, the individual thought which restores balance in the larger world. A small measure of neglect can be instrumental in conserving nature.

With businesses closing down and the tax-base eroding, prices have surged everywhere. Our own lifestyle resembles that of pioneers, though not always by choice. Knowledge gathered across cultural divides, accumulated as insurance against inevitable adversity. I remain close to the dirt; i don't mean the fingernail and muddy toes kind of contact, but an ongoing respect for natural principles. That which comes from the ground shall return to the ground-sort of continuum... The rest is waste...and I have made that a lifelong project—to refuse as much as possible -- to re-purpose creatively-- and--to use everything to its natural conclusion.

And the ground wins! despite the general lack of interest in learning about the effects of human habits upon the environment at large. There is an ascetic pleasure in minimalism, to use little, to throw little, what a passion i feel in the art of conservation. Oh yes art, because a well spent day is an art form. A well planned meal eaten around a common table is basically sharing the fruits of the soil (and I don't mean cocoa puffs scarfed hastily at the kitchen counter). Finding reasons to live along natural ways and disseminating what we find there to save ourselves from commercial encroachment (emphasis on what can be done at home) or anywhere you are.

Winter has saturated the clay and fields are swelling with my favorite greens, a cure is in the air, it's free and it's good for me, now, is that pleasure or survival? All I can do is to protect myself with the natural antidotes to chemical assaults committed by corporate zeal, (in my cantankerous consumer name). Dandelions and mushrooms, berries and kale, seaweed grown in unpolluted gulfs, one texture after another, i taste rich and healthful abundance.

Now, on to composting ideas and gathering joy; i have friends waiting for tips and recipes or scientific reports about energy development. And I have blogs to read for more organic discoveries, most of all, for positive news to spread.

Enough about the writer and forward to the writing and reading!, ns

Verdigris was taken.

After hunting for a new name, i realized that the bait is not the catch; the content will be the essence of this blog..Economy and ecology in a harmonious dichotomy: using what we have and content to be here.


After introducing this format, i will post articles about wellness and beauty, no not the pretty and fine art of homemaking..but rather, the art of living well in a shrinking world.

Humor served on a platter of bitter facts, and good news about those who are perfecting new technologies to clean air and water around us.

Adventures in growing your own food, no matter where you are. Desert or prairie, sand or clay, i have grown greens under many skies and conditions.

All the reduce-re-use-redux i have practiced and learned across continents and temperaments...innovative, restorative and inventive aspects of adaptation.

Some of the old ways imported from the old world which have survived for good reason in mental baggage and leather suitcase.

Now back to the desk, ready to sift through pages of stories, photos of chickens and yes, more cats, one cat..and turtles and whatever has crossed my beam..Recipes waiting for conversion of weights and measures from a scratch cook who owns no scales. Back to files in the great computer waiting room of defunct dreams and faded inspiration.To revive and infuse hope of sustainability in this, our common place.

The spark is set, the fire is lit, this is it! i shall return with bedtime stories on how to warm the sheets or stay cozy by the fireplace or electric heater as it may be...following the Northern hemisphere's seasons and sharing elsewhere..

Car-less in the Midwest, smiling across a starlit evening, ns