Posts
I have discovered the secret to joy last night and it is this - a foot bath in the chair by the stove once a week with sea salt and essential oils, tea kept perfectly warm on a brick on the stove, and crackers with sweetened condensed milk. After a day of the usual - 8 long and boring hours of work, cooking, shoveling snow, dishes, bringing wood in, and, if I'm lucky, some time on the couch with the cat - it is the perfect sliver of luxury. It is such luxury, that is makes me forget entirely about those boots I've been coveting that are $80 out of my price range. The $.03 foot bath is better than the boots anyway.
I finished the sweetened condensed milk two days ago, so last night I settled for a jar of my admittedly mediocre apricot jam, honey, and butter. It's not perfect, but at least I can afford sweetened condensed milk - now a staple of my diet above and beyond peanut m&m's which come in a now-distant second for top guilty pleasures. I'd give up a lot before I'd give up that little Carnation can. Definitely chocolate (gasp! I know! but seriously, s.c.m. is THAT good), sliced bread, and any $120 pair of boots. My favorite way to eat it is slathered on a very thin cracker that doesn't get in the way. It's also very good over nutella (but really, how could that not be?) I also like dipping my finger into it when it's cold in the the fridge and will stick - ah, the pleasures of living alone!
So in case you too have just discovered that you're not really making all the ends meet and will therefore need to find a roommate or move out, if all your muscles hurt from shoveling the driveway with a very heavy and old snow shovel, if you really can't stand the thought of cleaning, cleaning, cleaning after working, working working all day, and just want to live your own life, even though that's basically impossible - go dip your feet in some hot water and let yourself sit for a half hour. Listen to some music, or the radio, or watch a movie, or write, or read. I promise, you'll feel better. I do.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Snow Day!
6 inches of snow meant I got to come into work today at noon! In a wonderful, relaxing morning I spent half my time on the couch (which I pulled up to the stove) petting my cat, and the other half helping my landlords switch in a new fridge for the old 1950's one with a breadbox-type freezer that had been in my kitchen, and setting up the lettuce window growing station I promised myself and yall that I would make. I only had one piece of 2x2 long enough, so I made a one-legged window sill extension using the front panel of an old drawer which comes from a set I have used for just about everything from shelves to a spice rack.
I simply cut the 2x2 to the height of the window sill, set the plank of wood from the drawer onto the sill with the 2x2 supporting the overhanging edge, and nailed the shelf down to the 2x2. With the weight of my window box on it, it's actually very sturdy. I'll add a second leg if I get around to it.
I transferred my frozen fruits, herbs, veggies, and meats from the upright freezer in my shed into my new indoor freezer and unplugged the big upright freezer. Half a bushel's worth of frozen peaches wouldn't fit, so tonight (or tomorrow) will be a night of jam and preserves making for gifts.
I simply cut the 2x2 to the height of the window sill, set the plank of wood from the drawer onto the sill with the 2x2 supporting the overhanging edge, and nailed the shelf down to the 2x2. With the weight of my window box on it, it's actually very sturdy. I'll add a second leg if I get around to it.
I transferred my frozen fruits, herbs, veggies, and meats from the upright freezer in my shed into my new indoor freezer and unplugged the big upright freezer. Half a bushel's worth of frozen peaches wouldn't fit, so tonight (or tomorrow) will be a night of jam and preserves making for gifts.
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Essential Oils - A guide
Every other thing I do at home includes essential oils. They might seem pricey, but they're so concentrated and so useful, that they're 100% worth it, especially if a local co-op is willing to let you order direct from their distributor with them. Housing co-ops (include the one at your local small liberal arts college) and buying clubs are great for this. If there aren't any in your area, ask your food co-op/health food store, though they need to make money somehow, and since you won't be buying oils in bulk, you might have to pay full price.
Essential Oils are highly concentrated medicinals. Keep them in a cool, dark place away from children. Never drink or eat them (unless specifically indicated). This is the distilled essence of the plant. Treat them with the due respect they deserve.
Here's my stash and what I use it for, in order of how much I love it. You can find more info just about anywhere.
Lavender - It's as close as you're going to get to all-purpose. Smells great, calming and uplifting, Lavender is also a great antiseptic. use it on cuts and scrapes to ward off infection, in household cleaners, and in scented anything. I always add lavender to my baths, I run it through my hair to freshen up (just a drop or two), and if anything needs an uplifting scent, I spray it with a bit of lavender water (essential oil mix).
Tea Tree Oil - go ahead and buy the 2 oz bottle. Tea Tree Oil is an outstanding antifungal. It works much better than almost anything else (including many over-the-counter creams). If you have any type of fungal infection including athlete's foot, a yeast infection, or those spreading pink and brown spots anywhere on your skin, keep a mixture of tea tree oil and witch hazel on hand (20-30 drops tea tree oil in a half pint jar filled 3/4 of the way with witch hazel is perfect). Shake the mixture and dip a cotton ball in, squeeze out excess, and apply to the affected area twice a day until infection clears and then at least an additional week. I also include tea tree in all of my household and personal cleaning mixes. I mix 10-15 drops into my deodorant (1 part baking soda and 1 part corn strach - mix thoroughly after every drop. I keep mine in a tightly sealed mason jar and apply with a large powder brush. This is also great for whisking away moisture on feet, in cleavage, etc.)
Lemon - I use lemon essential oil in my dish pans as I do dishes. My water smells very strongly of sulfur, and washing dishes in batches in dish tubs with 4-5 drops of lemon does the trick. It smells so fresh that I can almost convince myself that I enjoy doing dishes.
Sage - Like its fresh and dried counterpart, sage is great for coughs and any sort of congestion. I add sage to my baths if I'm feeling a cold coming on. It is also part of my personal bouquet of scents. it is one of my favorite smells - being earthy and flowery at the same time, and also evoking that edge in the smell of body odor that is so mysteriously sexual, intimate, and calming (at least to my nostrils). I mix 10-15 drops into my deodorant along with tea tree oil (see tea tree section for recipe).
Sandalwood - I just love it. It's a scent thing. Also, all of your musky, wood smells are great in foot baths or regular baths after a hard day of work. They do something to really get in and relax your muscles and your mind. Cedar, Bergamont, Egyptian musk are also great "masculine" scents if you want to mix a scent.
Clove - clove oil is a strong antifungal and antibiotic. Use with tea tree oil if your infection really isn't going well. Also drink clove tea for general systemic candida overgrowth (but not essential oil - boil whole cloves).
Eucalyptus - Eucalyptus is most commonly used for clearing colds and minor congestion. Carry a small vial with you and inhale the scent as needed to help with a common cold.
Echinacea - Mix 10-15 drops into water or juice and drink to boost immune system response.
Oregano - Mix 5-6 drops in water and drink to ward off cold and flu-like symptoms, and to generally boost immune system response.
Garlic oil - This isn't an essential oil, but it is a great medicinal oil. heat up 1-2 tabelspoons of olive oil in a small pan as if to cook. add a clove of minced garlic and turn off the heat. let it sit in the pan until the oil is warm to the touch. strain out garlic and massage the oil into ears to treat ear infections. Lay on each side after applying to each ear to let it seep in.
A note on mixing your own essential oil perfumes:
No one appreciates being bashed over the head with your scent, no matter how good it is. go for subtle. Too much Egyptian Musk makes you smell like a bad male escort. Too much rose makes you smell like an South Asian kitchen before a wedding. Mix small amounts and then add to it, so you don't waste excess on a bad mixture. use two drops, max, on the throat, behind your ears, wrists, and temples. never perfume your cleavage. it's trashy.
Check in with this entry from time to time. I'll be adding more as I think of them.
Essential Oils are highly concentrated medicinals. Keep them in a cool, dark place away from children. Never drink or eat them (unless specifically indicated). This is the distilled essence of the plant. Treat them with the due respect they deserve.
Here's my stash and what I use it for, in order of how much I love it. You can find more info just about anywhere.
Lavender - It's as close as you're going to get to all-purpose. Smells great, calming and uplifting, Lavender is also a great antiseptic. use it on cuts and scrapes to ward off infection, in household cleaners, and in scented anything. I always add lavender to my baths, I run it through my hair to freshen up (just a drop or two), and if anything needs an uplifting scent, I spray it with a bit of lavender water (essential oil mix).
Tea Tree Oil - go ahead and buy the 2 oz bottle. Tea Tree Oil is an outstanding antifungal. It works much better than almost anything else (including many over-the-counter creams). If you have any type of fungal infection including athlete's foot, a yeast infection, or those spreading pink and brown spots anywhere on your skin, keep a mixture of tea tree oil and witch hazel on hand (20-30 drops tea tree oil in a half pint jar filled 3/4 of the way with witch hazel is perfect). Shake the mixture and dip a cotton ball in, squeeze out excess, and apply to the affected area twice a day until infection clears and then at least an additional week. I also include tea tree in all of my household and personal cleaning mixes. I mix 10-15 drops into my deodorant (1 part baking soda and 1 part corn strach - mix thoroughly after every drop. I keep mine in a tightly sealed mason jar and apply with a large powder brush. This is also great for whisking away moisture on feet, in cleavage, etc.)
Lemon - I use lemon essential oil in my dish pans as I do dishes. My water smells very strongly of sulfur, and washing dishes in batches in dish tubs with 4-5 drops of lemon does the trick. It smells so fresh that I can almost convince myself that I enjoy doing dishes.
Sage - Like its fresh and dried counterpart, sage is great for coughs and any sort of congestion. I add sage to my baths if I'm feeling a cold coming on. It is also part of my personal bouquet of scents. it is one of my favorite smells - being earthy and flowery at the same time, and also evoking that edge in the smell of body odor that is so mysteriously sexual, intimate, and calming (at least to my nostrils). I mix 10-15 drops into my deodorant along with tea tree oil (see tea tree section for recipe).
Sandalwood - I just love it. It's a scent thing. Also, all of your musky, wood smells are great in foot baths or regular baths after a hard day of work. They do something to really get in and relax your muscles and your mind. Cedar, Bergamont, Egyptian musk are also great "masculine" scents if you want to mix a scent.
Clove - clove oil is a strong antifungal and antibiotic. Use with tea tree oil if your infection really isn't going well. Also drink clove tea for general systemic candida overgrowth (but not essential oil - boil whole cloves).
Eucalyptus - Eucalyptus is most commonly used for clearing colds and minor congestion. Carry a small vial with you and inhale the scent as needed to help with a common cold.
Echinacea - Mix 10-15 drops into water or juice and drink to boost immune system response.
Oregano - Mix 5-6 drops in water and drink to ward off cold and flu-like symptoms, and to generally boost immune system response.
Garlic oil - This isn't an essential oil, but it is a great medicinal oil. heat up 1-2 tabelspoons of olive oil in a small pan as if to cook. add a clove of minced garlic and turn off the heat. let it sit in the pan until the oil is warm to the touch. strain out garlic and massage the oil into ears to treat ear infections. Lay on each side after applying to each ear to let it seep in.
A note on mixing your own essential oil perfumes:
No one appreciates being bashed over the head with your scent, no matter how good it is. go for subtle. Too much Egyptian Musk makes you smell like a bad male escort. Too much rose makes you smell like an South Asian kitchen before a wedding. Mix small amounts and then add to it, so you don't waste excess on a bad mixture. use two drops, max, on the throat, behind your ears, wrists, and temples. never perfume your cleavage. it's trashy.
Check in with this entry from time to time. I'll be adding more as I think of them.
DIY Household Cleaner
I don't understand why anyone would spend $5.00 on chic, organic good-for-you house cleaning sprays. First - they smell bad. Second - they're expensive! Third - organic? really?
Make it yourself!
The Tools:
- A dark, plastic bottle (not white or clear - you could use a finished Hydrogen peroxide bottle - that's what I do)
- A spray nozzle that fits your dark bottle (I found a regular household spray bottle in a friend's recycling bin, took out the spray attachment, and cut the end so it fit into my hydrogen peroxide bottle.
- A funnel (unless you have very steady hands)
- Hydrogen Peroxide (this can be found in the pharmacy section of any store. look for a boring brown bottle)
- White vinegar (I generally have 2 gallons of the cheap kind on hand for cleaning at any moment - but you'll only need about 1/2 a cup to a cup depending on your bottle)
- Water (easy 'nuff)
- Essential Oils (once again - I use my old favorites - lavender and tea tree)
The Method:
I'm going to give you a grandma-style recipe. Which means - you can't mess this one up. Seriously.
put your dark bottle on a table. Get a funnel into it, and pour about an inch of hydrogen peroxide into the bottom. If this is going to be a bathroom spray, feel free to be a bit more generous. Hydrogen peroxide is your main antibacterial tool. You can also use your hydrogen peroxide to clean wounds, gargle (use a tiny drop in a cup of warm water), and as a general sanitizer.
Now fill the bottle about 1/4 of the way with white vinegar. Vinegar is anti-fungal. I soak anything that's moldy in a bucket of vinegar and water (1-to-4 vinegar-to-water ratio, once again), my friends soak their cloth diapers in vinegar (same ratio), and after this summer of mold attacks, I am very liberal with my use of vinegar around the house.
Finally, top off you bottle with water (leave enough room to get the spritzer in without overflowing) and add essential oils until you have the smell you want.
And tah-dah! a $0.50 household cleaner that's easy to top-off as needed. Use as a regular household spray. It's really tough stuff that works great. I use mine in the kitchen and the bathroom as well as a final touch on the kitty litter (it's great in cutting smell), and I have no complaints. Just remember - spray cleaners do not replace the scrub power of baking soda or bon ami ever, which work best on anything enamel.
Make it yourself!
The Tools:
- A dark, plastic bottle (not white or clear - you could use a finished Hydrogen peroxide bottle - that's what I do)
- A spray nozzle that fits your dark bottle (I found a regular household spray bottle in a friend's recycling bin, took out the spray attachment, and cut the end so it fit into my hydrogen peroxide bottle.
- A funnel (unless you have very steady hands)
- Hydrogen Peroxide (this can be found in the pharmacy section of any store. look for a boring brown bottle)
- White vinegar (I generally have 2 gallons of the cheap kind on hand for cleaning at any moment - but you'll only need about 1/2 a cup to a cup depending on your bottle)
- Water (easy 'nuff)
- Essential Oils (once again - I use my old favorites - lavender and tea tree)
The Method:
I'm going to give you a grandma-style recipe. Which means - you can't mess this one up. Seriously.
put your dark bottle on a table. Get a funnel into it, and pour about an inch of hydrogen peroxide into the bottom. If this is going to be a bathroom spray, feel free to be a bit more generous. Hydrogen peroxide is your main antibacterial tool. You can also use your hydrogen peroxide to clean wounds, gargle (use a tiny drop in a cup of warm water), and as a general sanitizer.
Now fill the bottle about 1/4 of the way with white vinegar. Vinegar is anti-fungal. I soak anything that's moldy in a bucket of vinegar and water (1-to-4 vinegar-to-water ratio, once again), my friends soak their cloth diapers in vinegar (same ratio), and after this summer of mold attacks, I am very liberal with my use of vinegar around the house.
Finally, top off you bottle with water (leave enough room to get the spritzer in without overflowing) and add essential oils until you have the smell you want.
And tah-dah! a $0.50 household cleaner that's easy to top-off as needed. Use as a regular household spray. It's really tough stuff that works great. I use mine in the kitchen and the bathroom as well as a final touch on the kitty litter (it's great in cutting smell), and I have no complaints. Just remember - spray cleaners do not replace the scrub power of baking soda or bon ami ever, which work best on anything enamel.
Monday, December 7, 2009
Hosting Friends (and getting them to visit)
One of the challenges of country living is getting old friends who live in more urban areas to visit. City dwellers are convinced that they are more accessible than you are, and they're right. I am in New York City much more frequently than my City friends are upstate. I take trips into the city for a variety of different reasons, and will frequently make a point of seeing a friend or two on that trip. However - hosting is something I love doing, and it's something I learned to do well from my mother, who is a very talented and innovative hostess.
My approach to getting friends to visit is to turn it into a vacation. I live in a beautiful, and fairly accessible part of upstate new york, which makes my house (and therefore me) a perfect weekend getaway. No one wants to commit to visiting a friend they may have not spent a straight 24 hours with if they're wondering if you'll have enough to talk about to fill the time. This is stressful even with the best of friends, and for those of us who don't have children to distract us, 24 hours of non-stop interacting can be difficult. So I always suggest a few key things to do when I suggest a friend comes to visit.
Winter is perfect for a short and beautiful winter hike (most people never get to see a waterfall completely frozen still, but with the water still loudly flowing through the center of the the great column of ice that is Kaaterskill Falls in January. Just 30 minutes away, this is a perfect hike. Ice skating, cross-country skiing (on the landlord's property), winter farmers' markets, and walking around town are all wonderful things to do with visiting friends. If you have the space, it's also great to have two or three friends over, so there's some variety.
Make it low-stress. Nobody likes a stressed-out hostess. Plan in advanced. Go shopping two days ahead of time, because you'll probably forget something and have to go back the day before as well. If you've forgotten something and you discover it missing day-of, don't stress and make an acceptable substitution. If you don't have lemons, use apple cider vinegar or concentrated sumac juice (press the red point sumac out into water, leave everything in the water, and boil it down until it's good and strong). A good hostess learns how to stay calm and creative when there's no way she's going back to the store. Even if there is only one can of tomatoes left and you're making tomato soup for 10. You would stay calm, pour yourself a cup of tea, and think. Then you'd cut up the bread you were going to use for French grilled cheeses (croque monsieurs), leave it out to go stale overnight (because soup you always make soup a day in advance to let the taste ripen, and because it's easier that way). You would add some beans for thickness and extra vinegar for taste and make an Italian bread soup instead - which can stand alone as a dinner soup. Then, for a side, you'd make cheese crisps out of the cheese you had bought for the croque monsieurs. See? No stress. Just some time with your favorite cookbooks (the original Joy of Cooking, Moosewood, one of Brother Victor's Monastic, seasonal cookbooks are great cookbooks that are easy to be inventive with and don't involve complicated ingredients lists), and a break to think with a warm cup of tea. Always take a break if you're about to panic. even 2 minutes clears your mind enough to actually think clearly, and it will save you time in the end. Consider showering at the moment of stress instead of just before guests come. You're going to shower at some point anyway, why not do it now?
Now that we have no-stress down - plan a dinner meal that will double for lunch. You don't want to be cooking all day when friends are over, unless that's the vacation plan. If you make burritos for dinner, the leftovers will make a wonderful taco salad (just make a dressing, or get out a different can of home-made salsa and have some lettuce on hand to complement this easy self-assembled meal), or, for a more wintery example, Chili at night will make great cheese-and-chili subs for a packed lunch (pack chili separately and assemble when you're ready to eat). Same goes for pasta and meatballs and meatball subs. If you cook well, no one minds eating the same food twice in different combinations - just be creative and don't stress yourself out.
Only make dessert once, but make enough that you'll have leftovers on hand, and have some chocolate or dried fruit. Always keep snacks out and accessible (jam and crackers are easy) and tea on the stove. Leftover dessert is everyone's favorite snack.
let your friends help with dishes. They'll feel better about themselves if they help, and you'll be more likely to avoid stress.
...See? Easy! Now go and invite your friends over. There's no reason for them to stay at home when winter is so beautiful in the country!
My approach to getting friends to visit is to turn it into a vacation. I live in a beautiful, and fairly accessible part of upstate new york, which makes my house (and therefore me) a perfect weekend getaway. No one wants to commit to visiting a friend they may have not spent a straight 24 hours with if they're wondering if you'll have enough to talk about to fill the time. This is stressful even with the best of friends, and for those of us who don't have children to distract us, 24 hours of non-stop interacting can be difficult. So I always suggest a few key things to do when I suggest a friend comes to visit.
Winter is perfect for a short and beautiful winter hike (most people never get to see a waterfall completely frozen still, but with the water still loudly flowing through the center of the the great column of ice that is Kaaterskill Falls in January. Just 30 minutes away, this is a perfect hike. Ice skating, cross-country skiing (on the landlord's property), winter farmers' markets, and walking around town are all wonderful things to do with visiting friends. If you have the space, it's also great to have two or three friends over, so there's some variety.
Make it low-stress. Nobody likes a stressed-out hostess. Plan in advanced. Go shopping two days ahead of time, because you'll probably forget something and have to go back the day before as well. If you've forgotten something and you discover it missing day-of, don't stress and make an acceptable substitution. If you don't have lemons, use apple cider vinegar or concentrated sumac juice (press the red point sumac out into water, leave everything in the water, and boil it down until it's good and strong). A good hostess learns how to stay calm and creative when there's no way she's going back to the store. Even if there is only one can of tomatoes left and you're making tomato soup for 10. You would stay calm, pour yourself a cup of tea, and think. Then you'd cut up the bread you were going to use for French grilled cheeses (croque monsieurs), leave it out to go stale overnight (because soup you always make soup a day in advance to let the taste ripen, and because it's easier that way). You would add some beans for thickness and extra vinegar for taste and make an Italian bread soup instead - which can stand alone as a dinner soup. Then, for a side, you'd make cheese crisps out of the cheese you had bought for the croque monsieurs. See? No stress. Just some time with your favorite cookbooks (the original Joy of Cooking, Moosewood, one of Brother Victor's Monastic, seasonal cookbooks are great cookbooks that are easy to be inventive with and don't involve complicated ingredients lists), and a break to think with a warm cup of tea. Always take a break if you're about to panic. even 2 minutes clears your mind enough to actually think clearly, and it will save you time in the end. Consider showering at the moment of stress instead of just before guests come. You're going to shower at some point anyway, why not do it now?
Now that we have no-stress down - plan a dinner meal that will double for lunch. You don't want to be cooking all day when friends are over, unless that's the vacation plan. If you make burritos for dinner, the leftovers will make a wonderful taco salad (just make a dressing, or get out a different can of home-made salsa and have some lettuce on hand to complement this easy self-assembled meal), or, for a more wintery example, Chili at night will make great cheese-and-chili subs for a packed lunch (pack chili separately and assemble when you're ready to eat). Same goes for pasta and meatballs and meatball subs. If you cook well, no one minds eating the same food twice in different combinations - just be creative and don't stress yourself out.
Only make dessert once, but make enough that you'll have leftovers on hand, and have some chocolate or dried fruit. Always keep snacks out and accessible (jam and crackers are easy) and tea on the stove. Leftover dessert is everyone's favorite snack.
let your friends help with dishes. They'll feel better about themselves if they help, and you'll be more likely to avoid stress.
...See? Easy! Now go and invite your friends over. There's no reason for them to stay at home when winter is so beautiful in the country!
Friday, December 4, 2009
A great book, where to find free newspaper, and growing winter lettuce
If you're looking for a present for yourself or a friend, here's a very cheap and incredibly useful book: Country Wisdom and Know-How for just $20 at you local bookstore, this is a total steal. It's an oversized book printed on newsprint that is full of useful tidbits, recipes, and is an all-around great starter kit for just about everything.
Looking for newspaper for the stove?
If you're looking for newspaper to use as firestarting in your stove and you, like most of the US population, has moved away from daily paper delivery, Here's what I suggest. Go to any local business that you can get free monthlies/weeklies at. The theater I work at has them, so should local eateries, grocery stores, etc. Usually, at the end of the month, the paper distributers will drop off new ones and not pick up last months'. Generally, these get recycled. if you come in and let the business know you'll take the excess papers off their hands, they'd probably be happy to let you. Just come at the right time - generally, the first week of the month.
Home-grown winter lettuce
Next week I'm devoting myself to salad. I love salad. With a bit of chicken or tofu, over some rice or with crispy croutons, nothing makes an easier meal than salad. But in the long winter months the only salad to be had is grown in California, and as you may have noticed, i don't like grocery stores. I have, in my life, had winter seasonal salad replacements (cabbage chopped in very fine strips with grated carrot, turnip, rice and chickpeas is easy and delicious), but it's not the same!
So I'm building myself (perhaps 2 months too late, but still do-able) an indoor salad garden so that I can last the winter.
Ingredients:
South-facing windows and/or a florescent light to rig up over your plants (which is a cheap grow-light - grow lights are a marketing scheme)
A table, or a home-build stand/shelf to keep the plants on - it's going to be dirty and potentially wet. don't use anything too nice. I'm building a standard shelf with L-brackets and e few leftover pieces of boards.
Containers to grow lettuce in - If you're going for individual pots, I'd go for a 6 inch pot - but it's easier, I'd say, to use a planter-type set up. I'm going to use some (ugly) window boxes I found in trash cans here and there. You can also use buckets (drill holes in the bottoms to let water escape), old drawers (just make sure they're not treated with anything), dish pans, troughs, etc. etc. generally anything you find lying around will work. just remember that you're growing food - so it needs to be food-grade. Anything that held petroleum products or was treated with excessive or poisonous chemicals (including pressure-treated lumber) is not food-friendly. I'd use something at least 6 inches deep.
Potting Soil - wherever you get it, just make sure it's not sketchy. You can dig up some of your garden soil, you can buy the bags, whatever. The best would be finished compost. And no matter what, incorporate some finished compost to add some nutrition to your soil. The soil in your container is what your lettuce will be eating all winter.
Something to use for watering - watering is important. Not killing delicate seedlings while watering is also important. If you have a watering can, great! If not, no sweat. get a quart jar and then either poke holes in the lid itself or in plastic that you can secure with the band part of the lid (we're talking canning jars here). Now it's easy to shake some water onto your seedlings.
Lettuce seed - I'd choose a nice winter variety if your house (like mine) is on the cold side - or tends to fluctuate to below-freezing levels (again, like mine). Otherwise, the sky is the limit. I'm sure there's an heirloom indoor winter lettuce variety out there somewhere. If you hear of it, let me know. I'd love to try it.
Now, combine the ingredients! - Pot on shelf, soil in pot, water in soil (very wet for first planting), seed in soil (not too deep. Seed planting is fairly intuitive. Plant the seed at two times the depth of its width). Plant extra seeds, and then, once you can pick out your favorites, thin to about 6 inches apart. If you're growing leaf lettuce (which I would recommend for winter grazing), 6" should be fine. For head lettuce, you'll have to thin out to a bit more, about 1 foot.
All done? keep that tray watered well and keep the cat out of it! I'm going to use a cover of hardware cloth to keep the cat out until the lettuce gets big enough to fight for itself. You can cover the tray in plastic to help keep down watering needs until the seeds germinate.
If the cat really loves plants (mine also like harassing my Meyer Lemon Tree), I'd go ahead and plant a little kitty garden for it with something it can eat - wheatgrass, catnip, whatever (I will be taking my own advice on this soon).
Looking for newspaper for the stove?
If you're looking for newspaper to use as firestarting in your stove and you, like most of the US population, has moved away from daily paper delivery, Here's what I suggest. Go to any local business that you can get free monthlies/weeklies at. The theater I work at has them, so should local eateries, grocery stores, etc. Usually, at the end of the month, the paper distributers will drop off new ones and not pick up last months'. Generally, these get recycled. if you come in and let the business know you'll take the excess papers off their hands, they'd probably be happy to let you. Just come at the right time - generally, the first week of the month.
Home-grown winter lettuce
Next week I'm devoting myself to salad. I love salad. With a bit of chicken or tofu, over some rice or with crispy croutons, nothing makes an easier meal than salad. But in the long winter months the only salad to be had is grown in California, and as you may have noticed, i don't like grocery stores. I have, in my life, had winter seasonal salad replacements (cabbage chopped in very fine strips with grated carrot, turnip, rice and chickpeas is easy and delicious), but it's not the same!
So I'm building myself (perhaps 2 months too late, but still do-able) an indoor salad garden so that I can last the winter.
Ingredients:
South-facing windows and/or a florescent light to rig up over your plants (which is a cheap grow-light - grow lights are a marketing scheme)
A table, or a home-build stand/shelf to keep the plants on - it's going to be dirty and potentially wet. don't use anything too nice. I'm building a standard shelf with L-brackets and e few leftover pieces of boards.
Containers to grow lettuce in - If you're going for individual pots, I'd go for a 6 inch pot - but it's easier, I'd say, to use a planter-type set up. I'm going to use some (ugly) window boxes I found in trash cans here and there. You can also use buckets (drill holes in the bottoms to let water escape), old drawers (just make sure they're not treated with anything), dish pans, troughs, etc. etc. generally anything you find lying around will work. just remember that you're growing food - so it needs to be food-grade. Anything that held petroleum products or was treated with excessive or poisonous chemicals (including pressure-treated lumber) is not food-friendly. I'd use something at least 6 inches deep.
Potting Soil - wherever you get it, just make sure it's not sketchy. You can dig up some of your garden soil, you can buy the bags, whatever. The best would be finished compost. And no matter what, incorporate some finished compost to add some nutrition to your soil. The soil in your container is what your lettuce will be eating all winter.
Something to use for watering - watering is important. Not killing delicate seedlings while watering is also important. If you have a watering can, great! If not, no sweat. get a quart jar and then either poke holes in the lid itself or in plastic that you can secure with the band part of the lid (we're talking canning jars here). Now it's easy to shake some water onto your seedlings.
Lettuce seed - I'd choose a nice winter variety if your house (like mine) is on the cold side - or tends to fluctuate to below-freezing levels (again, like mine). Otherwise, the sky is the limit. I'm sure there's an heirloom indoor winter lettuce variety out there somewhere. If you hear of it, let me know. I'd love to try it.
Now, combine the ingredients! - Pot on shelf, soil in pot, water in soil (very wet for first planting), seed in soil (not too deep. Seed planting is fairly intuitive. Plant the seed at two times the depth of its width). Plant extra seeds, and then, once you can pick out your favorites, thin to about 6 inches apart. If you're growing leaf lettuce (which I would recommend for winter grazing), 6" should be fine. For head lettuce, you'll have to thin out to a bit more, about 1 foot.
All done? keep that tray watered well and keep the cat out of it! I'm going to use a cover of hardware cloth to keep the cat out until the lettuce gets big enough to fight for itself. You can cover the tray in plastic to help keep down watering needs until the seeds germinate.
If the cat really loves plants (mine also like harassing my Meyer Lemon Tree), I'd go ahead and plant a little kitty garden for it with something it can eat - wheatgrass, catnip, whatever (I will be taking my own advice on this soon).
Thursday, December 3, 2009
A recipe for a decadent evening
Last night I came home very upset over a political upheaval here, so i decided to treat myself to a decadent night. I drove over to the nonprofit independent theater in Rhinebeck Upstate Flms and watched the Coen Brothers' new movie, A Serious Man. This gave me a lot of thoughts about being first generation, bilingual, generally confused, American-ish Jewish in rural NY - where very few people are any of the above. While I love living in rural places and daydream about moving up to Vermont or Canada, I know that a need to be able to occasionally escape to a place where "my people" are yelling and carrying on in our typical bruhaha, complete with the simple joys of loudness and sour cream, will keep me tethered to the NYC-bound or Boston-bound Amtrak line.
When I came home, musing on the woman who kept saying "Oh Jeez" through the whole move, I continued the decadence!
I drew up a lovely foot bath with a bath salts recipe from my favorite topical herbal recipe book Earthly Body, Heavenly Hair By Dinah Falcone. It was a very simple recipe - 6 Tablespoons sea salt, 15-30 drops essential oils (I used sage and lavender, though if I had it I would have thrown in some sandalwood too), and a few tablespoons of comfrey-infused olive oil (which is generally healing). I would have used Calendula oil, but I don't have enough to splurge on such frivolities. Calendula oil is strictly for salves for my soon-to-be baby mama friends. I pulled up my chair and my foot bath right next to the stove, put a teapot of evening tea (chamomile and mint) on top of the stove along with my mug (works much better than a tea cozy) and, with incredible luck, got to listen to "Selected Shorts" on NPR (which, tied with "This American Life" is my favorite evening listening program).
All in all, I had myself a lovely evening. Which means tonight I will be cleaning up. a lot.
My other favorite recipe from Dinah's book is a quick pick-me-up for dirty hair. Drop two drops of essential oil onto a comb (I use 1 drop each of lavender and tea tree) and comb it through your hair. It adds a lovely scent and dries out oily hair a little, along with making your hair look, feel, and smell cleaner if you just can't get to washing it that day. My hair is fairly dry, but it works very well. Tea Tree is antifungal and lavender is antibiotic, so it's also great for warding off smells and infections.
When I came home, musing on the woman who kept saying "Oh Jeez" through the whole move, I continued the decadence!
I drew up a lovely foot bath with a bath salts recipe from my favorite topical herbal recipe book Earthly Body, Heavenly Hair By Dinah Falcone. It was a very simple recipe - 6 Tablespoons sea salt, 15-30 drops essential oils (I used sage and lavender, though if I had it I would have thrown in some sandalwood too), and a few tablespoons of comfrey-infused olive oil (which is generally healing). I would have used Calendula oil, but I don't have enough to splurge on such frivolities. Calendula oil is strictly for salves for my soon-to-be baby mama friends. I pulled up my chair and my foot bath right next to the stove, put a teapot of evening tea (chamomile and mint) on top of the stove along with my mug (works much better than a tea cozy) and, with incredible luck, got to listen to "Selected Shorts" on NPR (which, tied with "This American Life" is my favorite evening listening program).
All in all, I had myself a lovely evening. Which means tonight I will be cleaning up. a lot.
My other favorite recipe from Dinah's book is a quick pick-me-up for dirty hair. Drop two drops of essential oil onto a comb (I use 1 drop each of lavender and tea tree) and comb it through your hair. It adds a lovely scent and dries out oily hair a little, along with making your hair look, feel, and smell cleaner if you just can't get to washing it that day. My hair is fairly dry, but it works very well. Tea Tree is antifungal and lavender is antibiotic, so it's also great for warding off smells and infections.
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