I will freely admit . . .

This post comes about after reading two articles:  "I am a Radical Homemaker failure" and "Just Not Made that Way" (by one of my favorite writers on the topic of sustainable living).

Recently, my days have been filled with taking the kids here and there to keep them busy.  It seems that if we stay at home, Z1 only wants to watch shows or play games on the computer (which are one and the same to me, quite honestly).  I've been barely keeping up with my homemaking, keeping the house clean by skin of my teeth and cooking multiple meals at one time.  It's kind of a crazy pace I've been keeping but it's summer and the warm weather only lasts so long.

So a few days ago, I realized that my emergency preparation/self-sufficiency efforts have gone to the wayside quite a bit.  I'm still making yogurt, yes, but not bread.  I've been taking some shortcuts just because I'm so busy.  I'm not pleased about this and I'm sure that once winter comes around again, I will probably pick up the pace.  But I can't shake a feeling of being overwhelmed by all the goals I would like to achieve like having a vigorous and productive garden--enough to try my hand at canning.  Heck, I haven't even made it to ONE farmer's market yet mainly because there are none close by and they are all out of the way or on days where it's difficult for me to get to them.  This is making me sad to some extent but I have to just put things in perspective.  I *know* that when it's cold, I'll be home more to do more but this is the time that I need to be working hard.  I mean, I know I am working hard but not at self-sufficiency things and that worries me.

I know that as the times become more difficult, out of necessity, most likely everyone will buckle down and do the things they need to do to sustain themselves.  I think that we may be able to develop a community of sorts based up sustaining ourselves.  Or at least I hope.  I know that for me, I sometimes need a little pressure to get myself moving--and I can't think of a better motivator to do certain things like gardening (for real) and canning, than the possibility that we wouldn't be able to eat without them.  But who wants to really get good at these thing when it's a matter or life and death?  I hope I can motivate myself right now when making mistakes does not mean a sure death.  Any ideas?

Bananas and Blueberries . . . a winning combination!

I have a large bag of frozen blueberries sitting in my freezer leftover from summer smoothie making. In the winter, I just can't drink anything cold.

On Sundays we usually have pancakes for breakfast and since I had a whole bunch of very ripe bananas, I decided to try a banana blueberry pancake, which I've never had before. Z1 loves banana chocolate chip so I just made up the batter for pancakes* (adding two mashed bananas). For half of the pancakes, I used chocolate chips and for the other half I used blueberries. (I don't mix the add-ons into the batter--I just drop them onto the uncooked side of the pancake while it's cooking. I got this tip from Alton Brown and I have to say, this works out a whole lot better.)

Well, it turns out that I really like the banana blueberry combination so yesterday, I decided to do the same combo in a muffin. Weeks ago I found the best banana chocolate chip muffin recipe I have tried so far. It's super moist and delicious and all that. I've substituted nuts for the chocolate chips and so yesterday I thought, "Why not try blueberries?" I did and it was really good. Even Z1 who's not a fan of blueberries was gobbling them up.

I had wanted to raise a berry bush in the back last year and didn't get around to doing it. This coming year, though, I think it would be a great idea. I really liked these muffins and we use lots of blueberries for smoothies and stuff. Supposedly, berries are pretty straightforward to grow so I'm kind of excited to try.

*I have since decided that the recipe does indeed need 1/4 cup of extra liquid which is what the original recipe calls for. So the recipe I am using looks like this:

Pancakes Like Mom Used to Make (Except Vegan)
2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 1/2 tsp aluminum free baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 tbsp sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil (or other flavorless oil)
1 1/2 cups soy milk
1/4 cup water
1 tsp. apple cider vinegar
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Put your oven on "keep warm".

In a large bowl, sift all the dry ingredients together. In another bowl, mix the wet ingredients. Add the dry to the wet and stir until everything is well combined and all the lumps are gone.

Oil your griddle or pan lightly with some flavorless oil. Pour 1/3 cup batter onto skillet and cook until bubbles start to form on the top or until the bottom side of pancake is as brown as you'd like. Flip and cook the other side.

Makes 8 pancakes.

Basil and Peach Cobbler

No relationship between the two. Just randomness.

Fresh basil from the garden. Delicious. These were chopped and sprinkled on top of freshly made vegan pizza.

Would you believe up until yesterday I had never had peach cobbler? One of the many problems with being a very picky eater--there's lots of foods I haven't tried! Anyway, I gave making a peach cobbler a shot and while it's not the prettiest cobbler ever, it was slamming. We had it with vanilla soy ice cream. Yum. I used the recipe from my mom's ancient (and falling apart) Betty Crocker cookbook (find the recipe here) with a few modifications (such as adding cinnamon and nutmeg and using vegan margarine instead of shortening and soy milk instead of dairy milk).

Ready to give making soymilk and tofu a try

We had a soymilk maker that I returned because what I really wanted at the time was to make rice milk (which was a huge mess in the soy milk maker). Since I'm no longer as wary of soy as I once was and since we are eating tofu and drinking soy milk (in porridge and tea) regularly, I think I'm ready to give it another go. I think the hubby would be down for re-purchasing a soymilk maker (that's the link to the one we had before) but I'd like to give making it without one a try. I can get soybeans pretty inexpensively and I would need to find a tofu press (to get bricks of tofu as opposed to balls and other odd shapes) as well as an large inexpensive stainless steel pot (you need three stock type pots and I only have two). I may employ the hubby to think of some kind of homemade tofu press.

The process for making soy milk and tofu actually doesn't seem as daunting as it once did. However . . . this morning's workout was another bust since Z2 woke at 6 on the dot. Do I really want to add anything onto the hecticness of things right now?? We'll see. I'm really leaning towards it though. I think that would be a great step towards self-sufficiency especially if I could grow my own soybeans.

Photo Credit: "Tofu Press" by ashe-villain on Flickr.com

Sq. Ft. Gardening Sustainability

We're doing a square foot garden as I've said before. I was concerned about the sustainability of the method and while listening to the Survival Podcast, was pleased to run across one that covers this very topic. A very informative post that also covers HR875.

Growing your own food is indeed bloodless revolution. Check it out: Cuba Got Those Greens. Even a small window box . . . survival mindedness so that we can thrive.

Photo Credit: "Square Foot Garden Box"on Flickr by amber in norfolk

Tomato, Tomato!

Even before I entertained the idea of getting a garden going (today we are going to pick up supplies, by the way), I've always thought of growing tomatoes especially after seeing my sister in law growing them easily in pots. I use a lot of tomatoes in my kitchen and I could easily spend $20 on organic tomatoes alone (just a couple of pounds at that). When we were part of a food coop, some weeks we'd get so much tomatoes I wouldn't know what to do with them. It was tomatoes this and tomatoes that. In fact, it was those tomatoes that made the whole coop worthwhile (actually the tomatoes and the fabulous eggs). Those tomatoes we got were some of the most delicious tasting tomatoes ever. They made store bought tomatoes (even the organic ones) taste like cardboard. I had always thought I didn't like raw tomatoes but those coop tomatoes? I could eat them like an apple. I wish I had thought about preserving and such back then. We could have enjoyed those tomatoes for so much longer. But now that preserving is where my mind is, I'm even more eager to get some tomatoes growing. I want to make tomato sauces and tomato pastes and I'm hoping to have enough tomato products to preserve for our use right through next winter. The Bell Blue Book of Canning definitely describes how to do it but you can also find great resources online for canning tomatoes.

One of my favorite blogs NYAM! Adventures in Cooking and Eating gave me one excellent tip about saving tomato paste. I would always open a can or jar of tomato paste, transfer it to a storage bowl and come back a few days later to find it moldy and unusable. What a waste! Last night I was using tomato paste to cook and once again thanked Anaylli for this wonderful tip. The tip? Put the remainder of your tomato paste into a freezer bag (Ziploc), try to eliminate as much air as possible, flatten the tomato paste, and then seal the bag. Store it in your freezer. It will keep a very long time. When you need some tomato paste for a dish, break off a piece. If you're making a stew, just toss the frozen tomato paste in. If you need soft tomato paste, just leave it out to defrost. Come to think of it, if had a deep freezer, I'd definitely be considering freezing as a good way of "putting up food".

Photo Credit: "tomatoes squaredcircle" by Muffet on Flickr.com

-------------------------------------
This morning I did Denise Austin's Get Fit Daily Dozen: 12 Move in 12 Minutes. This DVD was just OK. I wasn't bowled over by it although I did get my heart rate up and sweat. I did two of the twelve minute routines (Cardio-Athletic Blast and Cardio-Kickbox Burn). I was going to add on the 12 minute yoga stretch but I was bored to tears. I like when I'm so into a workout that my eyes are not glued to the DVD timer counting down to when it's over. Overall, it's a good DVD especially if you're really tight on time and/or just starting out. The routines were varied, i.e. you weren't doing the same move for too too long. Maybe I'm just to used to Denise Austin to appreciate her anymore. Her Blast Away 10 Lbs., though, is still the best that she's done to date in my opinion and it's one of my favorites.

Back-to-Basic Ways to Keep Yourself Looking Good

One thing that's generally clear about women cross-culturally is the desire (or maybe even need) to feel lovely, beautiful, flawless. Most women like to walk into a room and have heads turn. We do all sorts of things to achieve this (especially pre-marriage and pre-children when we are free to focus 100% of our energies on us). Now that most of us are tightening our belts, we've had to chuck a lot of the things we may have been doing to help us achieve that sense of outward flawlessness. I know at Whole Foods the other day, I had to put back some very nice soaps that I wanted because my grocery bill was way over what I had on hand to spend. As I read folks' blogs, I hear ladies talk about cutting out manicure/pedicure visits, learning to do their own hair (and sometimes stumbling along the way) or going longer periods of time before paying the hairdresser a visit, and eliminating other things (they don't have to be huge things either) that used to help us achieve our signature flyness. So I got to thinking: if the shit really hit the fan and we were suddenly thrown into chaos, what are some practical ways that we as women could retain a sense of flyness? It's important to our survival as whole women (not just physical survivors).

Now, I'll be the first to admit, with a three year old and a one year old, and with only one household income, it's a challenge to make sure I feel good about how I look when I step out. It's much easier to throw on any old thing and go. But it's a challenge I at least try to meet just because for me personally, feeling positive abour how I look changes how I approach the world. If I feel good about how I look, even with two kids in tow, I have a spring in my step and I can turn heads. Wanting to feel good about how I look drives my physical fitness efforts. It's what makes me choose a pretty headwrap and make the effort to wrap it instead of tossing on a hat.

I've been getting into World Made by Hand recently and the words that come to mind are "stark" and "difficult". I think to myself: I already have limited resources and limited time . . . what if I had even less? What if most of the resources and time went into physically surviving? First off, would I even care how I look? Secondly, with nothing to really work with, if I did care, what could I do about it?

So I thought about it and came up with at least one way to feel beautiful despite whatever is going on: rose water. Out back we have an old rose bush that the hubby's grandmother used to tend. It no longer flowers but back when granny attended it, it was beautiful, so I hear. I don't know if it will happen this year as my focus is on vegetable gardening, but I am going to get that rose bush back to flowering (if not plant a new one). Why? Because it looks beautiful and being surrounded by beauty helps us feel the same but also to make rosewater. If you've ever smelled rosewater, it's divine. It is rosey but not overly so. And it's not too hard to make at home. You can use it as a toner/refresher or as a body spritz or as a linen spray. I buy commercially made rose water now but it's good to know that if I had to, I could make the stuff. I've tried my hand at making rosewater lotion (emulsion of rosewater and jojoba oil I think) . . . not so good.

You know, every time I hear a story of disaster or difficulty, what often strikes me most is people's desire to feel human. For women, one aspect of our humanity, it seems, is beauty. Often you hear that for women who have been through hard times, a little perfume or nail polish goes a long way to alleviate the suffering.

(I'm editing this post 03/10/09 in the interest of keeping my blog positive and not catty.)

I am interested in being the best we can be especially in difficult times. I'm not talking about being 100% perfect--no one is. I'm talking about you feeling good about how you look (really doesn't matter how anybody else feels). Ms. Erykah Badu sang one of my most favorite songs (Cleva) and I love how the words always apply. It's acknowledging that your dress may be $7 and your hair may not be quite right . . . and so what? I'm.still.flyy.

We hope for the best always but in the event of the worst, it's helpful, in my mind, to think about ways that we could still feel gorgeous in spite of. To me, a big part of emergency preparedness (aside from physical survival) is keeping your mentals intact so why not incorporate this aspect? It's imperative to meditate or pray or do whatever you do to ground yourself but it's also important to me as a woman to think of little back-to-basic ways to feel good about how I look.

New Things . . .

I find one of the best things about life is discovering and doing new things. So here, on the tail end of winter, it's nice to have some new things I'm doing.

New Thing 1: Knitting Socks
I've been knitting for a while now but this is the first time I've ever tried to knit socks. I'm using a pattern from Knitty called Monkey using Regia Silk sock yarn (a really nice yarn to work with) and they are turning out quite lovely. I think sock knitting could become addictive! Sock knitting is a small but functional project with some many possible variations. If I was focused completely on it, I don't doubt I could finish a pair in a week

New Thing 2: Sprouting seeds for the Garden
The seeds for the garden arrived yesterday. We bought seeds for tomatoes, peppers, carrots, kale, onions and chickpeas. Hopefully we'll spend Sunday sprouting the seeds that need to be started indoors. I think the last time I sprouted seeds I was in kindergarten so this counts as a new thing as far as I'm concerned.

New Thing 3: Yoga for Urban Living by Hemalaya Behl
Previewed the DVD and thought it would be a great one to have. I bought it on Amazon.com marketplace for a steal. Unfortunately, the copy I was sent is scratched so I couldn't really get through the routine earlier this week when I tried. The seller, however, seemed more than willing to send me a new one. I really like this particular yoga DVD--the set, the instructor and I'm hoping to have the new DVD here soon.

New Thing 4: Books I'm reading
I'm actually reading two books concurrently: Brick Lane by Monica Ali and World Made by Hand by James Howard Kunstler. Of course, when I'm done I'll review both but I will say this, neither book is that great.

New Thing 5: Chocolate Chocolate Chip Macadamia Cookies
Okay, I recognize that I am in ultra baking mode. It's winter. I'm in the house a lot. I love to bake. I love to eat what I bake. What can I say? I had the macadamia nuts just waiting to be used (okay, they could have waited longer) but I decided I wanted something chocolately. I used this recipe for the cookies but I substituted nuts for half the chocolate chips and used almond extract in addition to vanilla. I baked them for 12 minutes and they've not quite chewy (I like a cookie that's well done though). They're really good although Z1 won't touch them because they've got nuts in them. Oh well, he doesn't really need sugar anyway.

---------------------------------------
Saturday is Z1's godbrother's birthday party. It's at a Chuck E. Cheeses type place and I know I'd be hard pressed to find anything wholesome and nutritious for him there. I'll probably bake a few chocolate cupcakes for him to take. I have to figure out what good finger foods to bring along for him. If I get a chance today, I'll get on my message board and search for "vegan party food for kids" or something like that.
----------------------------------------
Right now, I'm procrastinating about working out because I just don't feel like it. I kind of wish it were a yoga day . . . I don't have to drag myself to do yoga. But I know I need cardio too especially if I'm to lose this weight. So . . . I'm going, I'm going.

So I'm looking through . . .

The Ball Blue Book of Preserving which I bought to learn how to can some of the veggies we get from the garden, most especially tomatoes. A few weeks ago, I was able to obtain 3 dozen Mason jars without lids through Freecycle. I was curious as to why they were all lidless but I figured I could just purchase the lids at a canning supply store (which I am yet to find). Reading the book today, I understand: the book expressly warns against reusing lids. I'm a little annoyed at that. So in order to can, you have to constantly purchase lids . . . and do what with the old ones? I'm not interested in doing craft projects with lids . . . I want them to be useful again and again. I know some folks just reuse them anyway regardless of what the book says but I'm just surprised that by now with the whole "green movement" blah, blah, blah, there are no reusable lids on the market.

These folks are always, always thinking about ways to keep you spending more, getting more. Sheesh.

Photo Credit: "One 2 Quart Mason Jar" by Gzap on Flickr.com

Cooking and Baking from the Pantry

Like many others, I'm trying to find ways to reduce how much I spend on grocery shopping. For the past few months, I have not purchased any new ingredients to try new recipes but have focused on using what is in my pantry (except for some macadamia nuts I bought to make ginger macadamia coconut cake--I realized after that I could easily have use walnuts but the change of pace was refreshing and I'm on the lookout for recipes that use macadamia nuts so that they will not go to waste). I focus on stocking my pantry with basics that I can use in a myriad of ways and try to have at least a month's worth of food on hand at all time. In the upcoming days, I will be re-organizing the pantry and I will try to post a picture.

I borrowed Veganomicon from the library again just because I like to read cookbooks and not because I was looking for anything special to try and found a recipe for Orange Cranberry Walnut bread. The recipe calls for fresh cranberries but I had dried in the pantry. We have walnuts and we always have fresh oranges. The bread turned out fabulously. I immediately thought that this bread would make a fabulous holiday mini-loaf to maybe sell at the hubby's friend's restaurant come holiday season this year. I could sell a mini-loaf for about $5 each and do well (thanks to my sister-in-law who gave me plenty of mini-loaf pans a few years ago).

Anyway, everything I needed to make the bread, we had already. That was so satisfying and comforting in a very real way. Personally, I'm growing weary of how much it costs every time I go to the grocery store. I watch as the prices of things I buy by default, including some vegetarian convenience foods like veggie burgers and soy yogurt, go up. With a picky toddler, it's very difficult to put these things down knowing that I will have to jump through hoops to get him to eat something else. For example, last I saw they were trying to sell soy yogurt for $1.20 per 6 ounces. Insanity. Plain soy yogurt is actually cheaper and less sweet than the flavored kind. I've tried to add vanilla flavor and maple syrup to see if he'll eat it. No go. I've tried mixing in various types of fruit preserves. "Mom, are you bugging?" And smoothies? You might as well offer him kerosene to drink. It's tough to swallow as a mom but I simply cannot pay $5 for 4 veggie burger patties when I know I could make about 12 Perfect Tempeh Burgers for even less than that. I'm eternally grateful that Z1 tolerates these burgers even though he's doesn't request them.

So after making this bread, I began to fully appreciate how much peace a successful garden will give me . Everything I need right there. I'm even considering planting soy beans to make soy milk and soy yogurt and maybe even tofu and tempeh (I used to make soy milk and soy yogurt--even bought a soy milk maker and returned it--wishing I had kept it). This "pantry" bread has increased my enthusiasm by leaps and bounds and even the newly fallen foot of snow on the ground outside hasn't curbed it a bit!

I Found Them!

. . . A gardening method and a workout DVD that are everything I've been looking for!!

First gardening: I've been reading different books trying to figure out which gardening method/layout would work best for our garden. We don't have lots of space for the garden because we'd still like to keep most of the backyard free for the kids to play. The problem with a lot of these gardening books (including one I foolishly bought and I am thinking of returning) is that the methods require a lot of of room. So I was absolutely thrilled to come across Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew. Just as I was about to order the book from Amazon, I did a quick Google search and found all these links:

Square Foot Gardening official site
Link 1
Link 2
Link 3
Link 4
Link 5

These links along with the book borrowed fairly easily from the library will get us off to a great (and frugal) start. We had originally cleared land all the way in the back of the yard but the method requires as much sunlight as possible which means we will be doing the gardening very close to the house. I know exactly where. We'll re-seed the clearing we made in the back with grass or figure out what to do with it.

Anyway, this method is very simple to do and boasts that it is not labor intensive at all. The investment in terms of supplies and tools to build the boxes is minimal and what I've come to understand from reading different gardening books is that raised beds are a superior way to garden. With this method, there's no digging in the ground so there's less chance of me encountering a snake. I am so excited. The next task is to find a seed supplier.

Secondly, the workout DVD: I just finished Level 1 of Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred and it was fabulous. There are three levels on this DVD, that is, three workouts of different intensities. Each one is 20 minutes long and consists of
- one two-minute warm-up
- three 6 minute circuits (3 minutes strength, 2 minutes cardio, 1 minute abs) and
- one 2 minute cool down.

I worked hard. The routine is extremely varied which means you don't get bored or tired of the same move. And since that was Level 1 I did today, I am pleased that it leaves me room to grow and challenge myself. And while I absolutely hate jumping jacks ( a major part of the cardio circuit), with my Enell bra, at least they are not painful to do. I was also very pleased to realize that the ab workouts on Level 1 did not really challenge me since they are very similar to the one on my Crunch Yoga DVD. I am almost sure I will purchase this one.

A couple of things

Both the boys are asleep. At the same time. So I figured I'd take the opportunity to post a few things.

1. I cut my locks off. Right now, I think I look like a guy. DH hates short hair on women. And I can't seem to grow mine. If I had it, I'd go get some kinky twists or something. But I don't. And DH hates fake hair anyway. More later on how I feel about the whole thing.

2. I figured out how I'm going to cut my grocery spending. I've set a price limit of $480 per month. That means $120 a week. I will buy all fruits/veggies on one set day and all other groceries on one set day. I will limit my fruit/veggie purchasing to the 'hood (walking distance, i.e. no gas). All spending on organic food is on hiatus. I'll be on the lookout for the odd locally grown fruit/veggie. Whole Foods once a month for eggs (2-3 dozen) and other specialty items not found elsewhere. This trip will be combined with Zion's structured playgroup in the same town (no special trip to Whole Foods). I am giving myself $30 wiggle room. The last few month's overspending on groceries, the Vitamix and medical expenses totaled well over $1000. Not good at all. The next few months are going to be lean so that we can recover.

3. In reading a blog I began following called Muslim Bushido (excellent blog, by the way), I came across The Survival Podcast, an excellent resource for those of us serious about preparing for economic collapse.

4. I am considering getting a gun license and purchasing a gun (again). In the event of economic collapse, I would like to be able to protect myself. I've already been robbed once in my house and once out of my car and there was no economic hardship. I can only imagine what my so called fellow townspeople would do if there was an economic emergency. With two small babies, I'm scared about it. Also, I don' t know how to use one. I have to look into how much lessons would cost.

5. I'm looking and learning (in the very preliminary stages) about stockpiling: whole grains, dried beans. Equipment: canning supplies, hand powered grain mill, etc. I'm trying to be balanced and leveled.

6. We turned over the ground for our vegetable garden. I am going to find some containers around here for growing tomatoes (which grow easily in containers) and use the plot for other crops.

7. I have no shirts/blouses for the fall. They are all either too big (I was pregnant last fall) or too small (I wasn't this size the previous fall) or just really jacked up (I wear clothes till they literally fall apart). Here's to hoping that a trip to a shopping area in another 'hood will perhaps yield a score of 3-4 shirts that fell off the truck (i.e. name brand shirts being sold for bargain basement prices). 3-4 shirts with my 4-5 skirts = a decent fall wardrobe, I suppose. If I worked outside the home, that would be different.

Well, that's all that's what's on my mind.

Excited About Gardening

Okay, if you know me, you know I have a serious phobia of snakes. I can't even stand to look at them on television or in books. A few weeks ago, Z1 and I were studying about jungles and it took such courage on my part to read about and look at the pictures of snakes. I'm relieved that that unit is over. Anyway, it is my phobia of snakes that has kept me from starting a garden all this time.

But if you have your feelers out, you will know that over the next few months, things are expected to get a lot tighter. The predictions are dire and everyone is encouraged to become more self-sufficient. I've been feeling that way a long time . . . even before I started reading and learning the knitty-gritty details about peak oil. Nothing lasts forever and the U.S., with all it's extravagances and luxuries that people take for necessities, will eventually have to go the way of the Roman Empire. The Bible says that for everything there is a season. The U.S. is no exception.

I digress. We are going to start a garden. I am going to be brave about snakes. When I encounter a snake, I will step back, call the hubby or one of my nephews and have them remove it. I will not panic.

I went to the library today and picked out a few books for beginning to garden. From going to the farmer's market, I have a pretty good idea about the kinds of crops that grow well in this region such as tomatoes, onions, and sweet peppers. We've identified where we would like to start the garden and this weekend, we're going to turn the soil over and fertilize/put down manure. Fall is the time to do it so that it will be ready for the spring.

I'm a city girl, through and through and playing in dirt is not my idea of a good time. I'm hoping though that I will enjoy it, get the hang of it, and be very productive. Shucks, if I could I would have been keeping chickens a long time ago because organic, free-range eggs are too damn expensive and who knows if they are feeding the chickens organic soy instead of an organic variety of grains and bugs. Anyway, I'm excited but the task is also daunting.