RAINBOW GARDENING

Barefoot Gardening - the BEST

A big THANK YOU to the Earth Goddesses (and Earth Humans) for this year's abundant Garden RAINBOW of........................... 

 Pretty PINK Potatoes & Radishes

Precious PURPLE Carrots, Cabbage, Eggplant (only one), Potatoes, Onions, Beans, Basil & Radicchio

 

Racey RED Hot Peppers, Carrots, Amaranth. Kale, Lettuce, Potatoes, & of course Tomatoes;  

Cutest CANDY color Red & White Striped Beets; and Green n Yellow STRIPED Tomatoes

 Yummy YELLOW Golden Beets, Squash, Carrots, Corn, Potatoes, Onions, & Tomatoes;

  

Ostentatious ORANGE:  Pumpkins & Squashes

Wintery WHITE onions, potatoes, radish, & parsnip

Real RAINBOW colored swiss chard; 

Gorgeously GREEN:


  tomatillos, Basil Holy, Sweet & Italiano, epazote, chives, parsley, sage, rosemary & thyme, smokey fennel, oregano, nettles, dandellion, purslane, lambsquarters, kale,collards, cabbages, sweet peas, lovely lettuces, crunchy celery, cukes, zukes, bok choi, pac choi, broccoli........

 



 

and I'm sure I've forgotten something in there............

Oh ............the FLOWERS.......... 

 





well that's a whole other blog.

Hope everyone enjoyed Mother Earth's blessings of abundance abound & a most AMAZING summer!

Next up:  Can you be in love with 2 herbs at the same time?  My new love affair with Holy Basil - aromatic, beautiful, healing, calming, centering, and most important TASTY....recipes coming soon.

Ch..Ch...Ch....Ch....Changes....Autumn is Here

Yes – it’s that time of year again when I get to quote one of my favorite David Bowie songs......The leaves are flying from the trees as the colors are intensifying daily, the evening light is amazing, the sunsets intensely fiery, the apples abundant & crisp bright orange & yellow squashes are all ready to carve & eat, and although the sun still feels warm when present, the air has that oh so familiar chill…..

In the garden still plenty of, tomatoes, basil, chives, oregano, rosemary, thyme, parsley, red amaranth, cabbage, carrots, swiss chard, some corn but loads of collards & kale – which by the way gets sweeter after the first frost…which fortunately we haven’t had yet…..close but no real damage……Flowers are still blooming….. nasturtiums (really), calendula, zinnias, cosmos, and now mums.

Lots of tomato, basil & parsley freezing (I don’t can), sauerkraut/kimchee, elderberry tonic making; and green herbs drying.  Today I’m dehydrating parsley, mint, & nettle seeds and some non-seeded nettle leaves.  Tomorrow I will use the rest of the zucchinis, onions & some carrots to make confetti crackers.  I’ve also saved some sumac seeds to experiment with over the winter.

The elderberries are gone; either picked by me or eaten by the birds; edible stinging nettle leaves are still to be found in new & old places and the seeds are still plenty.  The leaves, seeds & roots of a variety of yummy wild edibles are still available for harvesting such as dandelion, yellow dock, burdock, & amaranth.…Oh and mushrooms, which I will hopefully be learning more about on a walk coming up at the end of the month.

 

My cats are still killing birds, voles, & mice, but I’ve noticed less frogs (thank you) and the chickens are still having fun finding all the goodies in the still soft ground.  Most birds are still around – I saw 2 Blue Jays in the apple trees this morning.  Bees always seem neurotic this time of year – I’m sure they are also  preparing for the cold gray winter which will soon be here…….

Yes,  I will miss my garden, the singing of the birds and buzzing of the bees, watching my little guy run, jump & climb outdoors, warm breezes, eating meals and setting up my office outdoors, and my crazy schedule (well maybe not so much).   That being said, there will still be food from the yard & garden to eat, and time to focus on indoor activities.  I will have time to order seeds & dream about next years garden, experiment with some new recipes (see one below), while working on my book, revamp my website, and get my studio active again. 

But what about the SUN????    I’ve always been a sun worshipper -  I crave the sun like food and will take it in whenever I can (without toxic sunscreen – TYVM).  This all makes sense as I found out I am severely deficient in Vitamin D.  So what’s the solution besides taking a supplement and sitting under a sun lamp (sorry - just doesn’t cut it for me)???  Well....I will stay busy doing the above mentioned tasks and then escape to a warm tropical paradise. 

This year I am planning on coordinating some learning retreats in faraway warm & sunny places. 

Think vegan & raw food, wild edibles, art, exclusive tours, sun, sand, sea, REJUVINATION, making new friends and loads of fun……….I’ll keep you posted.  

In the mean time, I will be present and enjoy one of the most beautiful, miraculous, times of the year......autumn…Hope you will too! 

And since this year has been one of the most abundant for apples, (our branches are literally weighed down with apples) I will leave you with this delicious apple cobbler recipe...........enjoy :)

Better than Baked Apple Cobbler        

6-8 apples

1/2 cup soaked raisins

1-2 T sweetner of your choice  (coconut nectar, raw honey, agave) adjust according to your preference & sweetness of your apples..

juice of 1/2 lemon

1/2 tsp cinammon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 tsp sea salt

Chop and peel 1 apple and puree with remaining ingredients. 

Cut up remaining apples (peeling is optional) place in large bowl and mix with puree. 

Topping Crumble:
1 cup nuts - Pecans or Walnuts or both
1/2 cup dates
1/2 tsp sea salt

In a food processor, pulse/chop walnuts, add chopped dates, sea salt & vanilla pulse again  (should be crumbly).  Top bowl of apples with crumble.  Dehydrate for 4-5 hours or until apples are soft.

Icing - (optional but highly recommended)
1 thai coconut (meat only - save water and drink to rehydrate yourself or freeze into ice cubes)
2 T coconut nectar (or sweetner of your choice)
dash vanilla
pinch sea salt
Blend all ingredients together and drizzle over warm cobbler. 
 

If you are interested in scheduling classes, workshops, or a mini-metreat at Turquoise Barn or if you would like to attend the wild edible walk with Marguerite Bower at the end of this month, please contact me via email or phone.  After the walk, in addition to a demo, I will  be talking a bit about detoxing and Chris Rosenthal, will be speaking about emotional & mental health. 

My Hands are Dirty - Real Dirty - With Real Dirt...

It's finally feeling like spring!  I've really been enjoying the sounds of the birds in the morning & the peeps at night, the smell of fresh rain,  feeling the warmth & energy of the somewhat elusive and oh so beautiful SUN, watching the unfolding of new life all around, and exploring the land to discover new species of nutritious & delicious edibles. 

Yesterday was a deliciously warm & sunny day - almost balmy.  And......according to the Biodynamic Calendar, it was a ROOT day.  So....I finally made it out to my garden to begin planting.  Into the ground went really red, red & white striped, & golden yellow beets; purple pink & scarlet radish, purple kohlrabi & pretty pink turnips.  But before all these lovelies get into the dirt there is work to be done.  It involves "weeding", compost, a fork and some stamina.  

Contrary to most, one of my most favorite aspects of gardening is weeding.  One of the things I  like about it is that I see  results - kind of like vacuuming the house - it makes things feel more organized and "right".  I also find weeding to be very meditative and relaxing.  But mostly what I really, really, enjoy is getting dirty, with real dirt.  I like the smell & feel of it - i even like the turning in the compost (when it's veggie) and playing with the slimy worms. And believe me, I am one of those people who gets squeamish & starts gagging at anything resembling "gross".  (although I'm not as bad as my son who gags at our kitchen compost)

Years ago before I had my own garden, I use to try and find ways to incorporate dirt into my sculptures.  I was sometimes successful & sometimes not.  It's somewhat of a contrast because I strive to keep things neat, clean & orderly but when it comes to dirt....well - it just doesn't bother me. I can be covered in it and I just don't care.   I just love the feeling of working with it; whether I'm in the garden or in the studio - it feels sacred, magical, like an elixer- and it always leaves me with a sense of peace, calm and yes.....dirty.  

Well I can go on forever about dirt, weeds, and gardening but what I wanted to do was to share a recipe with which you can use some wild edibles from your own backyard.  And the sun is coming out! So here it is. 

Wild Edible Salad:
Dandellion, lambsquarters, red & green amaranth, kale, collards, parsley, garlic scapes, sorrel, pansies

Fresh Garden Green Salad
I love to grow & harvest greens, herbs & flowers.  This recipe has so many variations; here are the basics,
then just experiment with different types of greens both wild & cultivated, season with fresh herbs & decorate with lovely edible flowers. 
2-3  bunches of kale
1 bunch collards
1 bunch dandelion leaves
½ cup parsley
¼ cup olive oil
few dashes of pink Himalayan sea salt (to taste)
juice of 1 fresh lemon
De-vein greens - hold stem and pull until leaf comes off.  You don't really have to do this for the smaller leaves or the dandelion, although doing so will make it less bitter.  Chiffonade or (if you’re in a hurry) tear into bite size pieces, add to large mixing bowl.  Drizzle with enough olive oil to coat, few dashes of sea salt and lemon juice.  Massage mixture into the leaves. The greens will shrink a bit so I always use as many greens as possible. 
You can also massage in 1/2 a really ripe avocado, add in some shredded carrots, diced red bell pepper, fresh herbs & seasonings -  the possibilities are endless.  I just use what’s fresh in my garden, what I have on hand, or have a taste for. 
*Note – if harvesting dandelions – they are most tender and the least bitter before flowering.
We will be hosting wild edible weed walks throughout the spring & summer at Turquoise Barn - contact us for more details or check our website http://www.turquoisebarn.com/

Next time we'll talk about my favorite wild edible "Stinging Nettles" - eat if you dare........