Wednesday, September 30, 2015

making things



I've been making good use of the basic quart jar. The last pickings from a late-bearing elder, Sambucus sp., made up a second batch of tincture with the extra berries going into the freezer. I probably won't need to make elderberry tincture for a few years now.

The golden elixir in the threesome up there is oatstraw, Avena sativa, infusion, something I drink several times a week as a source of vitamins and minerals. I buy oatstraw and other tonic herbs like nettle and red clover by the pound and drink them on a rotating basis. Directions to make infusion here.

Hard to believe but that is one whole cabbage fermenting in the quart jar. I recently attended a program on fermentation and the presenter recommended using Real Brand Orsa salt from natural mineral rock-salt deposits in Utah. That is as close to local as we inlanders (in Colorado) can get, salt-wise. The presenter also said to place a few cabbage leaves on top of the shredded cabbage to act as a barrier during the fermentation process but I forgot to save some leaves so I used kale leaves instead.

Bone broth has been simmering in my kitchen the last few days. Every so often I roast a good-size pasture-raised chicken for dinner and then make bone broth with what remains. I make it Meg's way -- you cook the first go-round with 1 T. salt and 2 T. apple cider vinegar for no longer than 2-3 hours, then strain. Save all the bones, etc. and repeat for another batch -- the same way -- but simmered for at least 12 more hours. Meg even goes a third round but I haven't tried that yet. 

I am thinking about what color and stitch to use on my moon cloth for the current moon phase. I want the stitching to reflect the super moon but it just hasn't clicked yet, I'm a little behind.

The prompt for Journal52 Week27 is kindness. The vines around the heart sort of look like elderberries but that wasn't what I was thinking at the time. Some of the best things happen when I don't plan too much. 

xo

6 comments:

  1. Hi Peggy,
    Why not use to colors of thread for your super moon's path, after all it is a Super Moon!
    Thanks for sharing your recipes, I especially want to try the elderberry tonic.

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  2. There is something about that almost complete person standing there holding those red shoes that really captures my imagination.
    It has been called the blood moon...would a deep red be just too darn obvious and simple? ;)

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  3. What is it about jarred up goods that gives such a sense of beauty and security? Love your kindness messages. Just wrote to someone a few days ago that learning to be kind to ourselves is the hardest work of all, I think. You do such a great job of sharing self-care here.

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  4. Fermentation is so beautiful....and oatstraw....must get some oatstraw, nettle and red clover. It's definitely infusion time....after the eye operation that went well, I got sick (about a week later) and spent the last many days sleeping, sneezing, coughing and feeling sad about missing out on a free cottage escape I had planned. It was cold rain here too...now the temperature is rising. Perhaps I will do the same. Meanwhile, my participation in everything has been lax
    Pretty stitching. I favor the touch of red too...red shoes.
    I wonder if you harvested Indigo enough to share (just wondering)

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  5. Making sauerkraut and starting some salve (calendula) are on my to-do list for this weekend!

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  6. I wish I was as productive and inventive as you are in the garden and kitchen! always an inspiration. But I do make stock, often. Last batch, after cooking a whole bird (several meals, there), then the carcass, I roasted the bones for the third go 'round. My sister's idea and a good one.

    and BTW in the spirit of being kind to myself, I make the 'wish' statement with admiration and NOT self-condemnation!!! Cindy -- it is one of the hardest things of all to learn!

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