Friday, August 23, 2013

august is green



The air becomes green to me every August, something that I first noticed about 20 years ago, it's like a veil of green descends upon us. It turns to a golden hue sometime in September, and into October. After that I'm not sure there is a color at all. Maybe it becomes perfectly clear once Nature winds down for a rest.

I knew the August full moon cloth would have to be green and chose batiks because of their flow, no sharp edges or crisp borders here. That's how the garden is now, everything sprawling all over on top of each other, no lines of demarcation in sight. The house is sort of like that, too, actually.

But I didn't have green in mind when I impulsively bought yarn to crochet with. I smiled when I got home and realized that I chose green. Of course. The purple lady sweater is coming along, but it requires my full attention and I just wanted something easy. I'm following the directions on this video, in case you're looking for an easy project, too.

The green beans were picked over a few days to get the one pound needed to make a full batch of dilly bean salad. I love this salad. It's a pound of slender green beans steamed 5-10 minutes until barely tender, 5 scallions sliced, 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill, 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar, and 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard. If you like green beans and dill, you will like this. I sprinkle more vinegar on as I eat it, too. I used a bee's wrap to cover and keep it fresh for two days, works great.

About the video -- an interview with author Jo Robinson about her new book Eating on the Wild which I've already begun reading. It's not a book about eating wild foods, it's about eating the healthiest foods, foods closest to their original form nutritionally speaking. Sadly, we have basically bred the nutrients out of our food for the sake of appearance and convenience. She points out varieties of vegetables, fruits, corn, and legumes that have the highest levels of nutrients, and also explains methods of preparation to retain or increase those nutrients. Amazing stuff. Bottom line is she is able to translate scientific research into useful, interesting information for us all.

And thanks for coming by and happy weekending! In the green. xx


8 comments:

  1. I just read an article about a restaurant who is seeking out heirloom varieties of vegetables. He became a convert when he made polenta out of native corn. I think we have hybridized all the good out of food. Love the August palette. I never thought about August as "green". I guess I associate that with May since that is when the desert wakes up from its beige sleep for a bit. Have a wonderful weekend!

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  2. everything is so dry here that it's hard of think of August as green in these parts...that green yarn is gorgeous, like an olive green which is not easy to find and it looks so soft. nice scarf too.

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  3. yes, august is green before autumn.

    in these mountains there is tons of green. home sweet home is between two mountains, in a valley.

    the scent of clean woodlands is compelling. sweet, lemony, pine, drifts in the air and linger if the day is humid.

    i enjoy your art.

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  4. Plenty of green here too Peggy, although it's winter. Warm almost hot days and crisp cold nights, with sometimes a dusting of frost or a whisper of rain, perfect weather for greening everything. Green yarn is pretty and the bean salad sounds delicious, I'm going to try that. Enjoy your weekend too.

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  5. Peggy~ That shade of green in the yarn is gorgeous. Spring is green here, like in April. I like that because my birthday month is so pretty. Right now it's dry, hot and brown. My sunflowers are hanging their heads in exhaustion :)
    That green bean salad sounds so good...and easy!

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  6. I like the idea of a month being a color. Here August is golden. Usually there has been no rain and the grass has become golden and the light seems golden...

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  7. Thanks everyone, you're so nice. Someone came up to me this last weekend and asked what I was making with such ugly yarn. I defended it, I love it. ;)

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  8. Yikes: I've missed so many of your posts, but now I see that the green piece that I loved so much is crochet! LOL

    xxoo

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