Home remedies, Starting seeds & a Pug

Schools are already being cancelled for tomorrow because another foot of snow is supposedly on its way!  Milk sold out today at the grocery store but they have plenty of cactus seeds.

May 31  is the date here when we are deemed safe from frosts.   I save all plastic containers that can be used to start seeds indoors.  A  large, screw in hook is a handy device to create drainage holes.  It easily makes a hole in thick or thin containers without cracking the plastic.  It’s too early to start seeds for my garden but I thought it would be fun to try sprouting some cactus. (cactusses?, cacti?)

There’s been a lot of  cold and flu remedies, natural antibiotic and ‘master tonic’ recipes floating around on the internet.  I’m not sure I would subscribe to those claims but the ingredients looked interesting so  I made a quick vinegar tincture with garlic, ginger, horseradish and a little bit of  hot pepper.  That combination will surely open the sinuses but I’m thinking a couple spoonfuls would  give a good punch to a smoothie, dipping sauce or salad dressing.

I think our dog  Harvey might be feeling a little depressed over getting another snowstorm.

 

 

odds & ends

I’d rather be gardening….but that is a long way off !  Reading this morning’s  post of  one of the bloggers I follow, Johnwhays, renewed my resolve to enjoy these cold winter days and put them to good use.

I finished a pillow I was making and it adds a cheerful note to this funny chair that I painted and reupholstered earlier.  I removed the back from some earrings I had and gorilla glued them onto the ends of the arms.   I don’t go for “high style” here, (obviously, lol),  I lean more toward the whimsical….things that make me happy

I made my weekly batch of kefir in this big, 8 cup glass jar. For any of you out there that want to make your own kefir and haven’t gotten your own kefir grains or don’t want to deal with maintaining them..dehydrated kefir starter works great and it’s quick and convenient. Eventually, I will get a hold of some live kefir grains  but this is  fine for now.

A while back  I learned from another blogger, Agnes from Gaiainaction , that it’s possible to start plants from  grocery-store bought ginger and tumeric  and that she had done it.  I potted some up and will keep them moist.   Hopefully, if I can keep myself from poking at them, they will be growing in no time!

Warm from the inside

 

I woke up to snow this morning! I never checked the weather report so it came as a complete surprise. I guess I’ll spend some time shoveling today before everything turns into a frozen, crusty mess..it’s still soo cold.
Yesterday I made a good, warming soup. A bunch of kale, 2 carrots, 2 small potatoes, a tuber of tumeric and a 3 inch chunk of ginger root all went into a pot with homemade chicken stock. Everything was brought to a boil and then simmered until the carrots were tender. When it cooled down a bit, I pureed the whole lot. It tasted good.. a little,spicy, warm and kind of exotic to my New England taste buds. Sea salt, black pepper and a teaspoon of coconut oil made it even better. I’ve been trying to think of ways to incorporate fresh tumeric into my diet..it has so many health benefits: anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and there’s a lot of studies showing it may improve brain function and increase endorphins. I’m in! Maybe I wont feel crabby and sore from shoveling this snow:)
My daughter is still home with me for a few more days. Last night we watched the first of “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy together and we turned this year’s Christmas cards into next year’s gift tags. Tonight is part 2. I do love having her back home.

Doldrums & Super-juice

I was away for a week with my whole family, (almost), including the dogs! I loved being all together again. It was so much fun.
This morning was a different story. The long car ride home yesterday, the too-quiet house, a week of vacation food ….I felt like a blob.
The temperature was 22 degrees and the wind was terrible. I decided I’d rather face the bitter cold than the dreary prospect of taking down the Christmas decorations so I headed out to our local organic market.
The produce department invigorated and inspired me. (pathetic, I know) Overwhelmed by healthy thoughts, I gathered up ingredients to make a real powerhouse juice… Watercress, wheatgrass, carrots and a nice fat pineapple. Pineapple is a great anti- inflammatory and good for digestion. Beets would have made a healthy addition as they are good blood purifiers but I can’t stand the taste of them. I also picked up a good looking ginger rhizome, raw honey and a bottle of raw, organic apple cider vinegar.
When I got home, I pulled out one of my Christmas presents…a little Ninja juicer. Doubting if it could handle a raw carrot, I threw it in along with some pineapple and my greens. Wanting to hit the whole color spectrum, I added some frozen berries from my garden. It was smooth and delicious! Quick, easy and clean up was a snap. The rest of the pineapple was cut up into cubes and frozen.
Then, I diced up about an inch of the ginger and added it to 2 cups of boiled water. I covered it and left it to steep for a couple hours. Later, I added a teaspoon of honey and 2 teaspoons of apple cider vinegar, mixed it until the honey dissolved and drank it with ice. It tasted really good and clean, very refreshing. I had bought a bottled drink in an expensive gourmet store while I was away that had these same ingredients, except they used stevia instead of honey. It was advertised as being good for detoxifying, digestion and clearing the sinuses. My version tasted a lot like theirs and cost practically nothing.
Still avoiding the Christmas decorations, I cleaned out the fridge and noticed the eggs were getting close to expiring. I made some custard. Organic milk and cream, pasture raised eggs and substituting sucanat for sugar… healthy dessert for tonight.
I stuck the eggshells into the oven when the custard was almost done,that makes them clean and easy to crumble. I keep a jar of powdered eggshells under the sink and add them to boost my seedlings when they get transplanted into the garden. The garden…I can’t wait