Life Notes

Window Crayons + Things To Ponder Daily = Beautiful "Life Notes"

The window "crayons" were a gift to my daughter Maya on her fourth birthday, from my neighbor Abby. This has become my standard "note taking" spot nowadays. Obviously, the lower panels are reserved for the shorter folk in the household.  My 6yo's current favorite quote (not shown): "Don't ask whether you can do something. Say you are doing it, and buckle your seatbelt."    (from Julia Cameron)

Seeds are the Strongest Magic

“Oh, heart, if one should say to you that the soul perishes like the body, answer that the flower withers, but the seed remains.”  Kahlil Gibran

I teach my children that there is magic in a seed. Inside a tiny seed is a whole plant, which will grow and be pretty and give us lots of food...and it will make hundreds of more seeds that we can plant again if we wish. A seed is Holy.

Back during the August Garden Tour, I shared a picture of my lettuces going to seed. About a month later, when I found the dry seed pods, I finally broke one open and was amazed at the bounty. I started sprinkling them back into my garden since this is the perfect time to plant a fall crop, and then realized that I need to save some for spring so I won't have to buy new ones! This is my first year really attempting to save seeds of all my favorite things, like the Matt's Wild Cherry and Super Sioux tomatoes, the Rosa Bianca eggplant, and my wonderful lettuces, of which I hope to enjoy fall/winter crops here.

Above, you can see the flowers. When they fade, and all looks dry and dead, don't be fooled. There are miracles inside the pods where the flowers bloomed! Below is a picture of one cluster of "flowers" I picked and brought inside, so you can get an idea of size/appearance.

Inside each dry pod are about 10-15 seeds. I'm pretty sure they're probably Bunte Forellenschluss, which is my favorite of all the lettuces I've planted. The Buntes have beautiful bright green leaves dotted with a reddish-purple, and a lovely mild (almost sweetish) flavor and a gently crisp texture.  I did plant other varieties nearby, so this year I will be getting the luck of the draw! I'll have to update again when they sprout leaves in the coming months. Magic. Miracle. Life.

For those of you who want to save tomato seeds for the first time, I have learned that you cannot "just" save the seeds; they need to ferment a bit before you dry them. It's not difficult and Mr. Brown Thumb has a terrific picture tutorial so I don't have to do one!

I also need to note that only with heirloom plants can you be certain the fruit that springs forth will be the same as the plant from which it was harvested. This doesn't mean you can't save seeds from hybrids, of course, just that you should expect to be surprised at what grows! I mostly grow heirlooms because my goal all along has been to save seeds, but each year I do get a few volunteer (natural) hybrids, including one year something that seemed to be a Purple Cherokee plum tomato that was terrific. 

"Keep on sowing your seed, for you never know which will grow — perhaps it all will." Albert Einstein

Best Bloody Mary Grows in the Garden

As today is the Labor Day holiday here in the U.S., I thought it fitting to begin the day with Labor (today: laundry and organizing) and then go for a pre-lunch Bloody Mary. Imagine my dismay when I realized that we had no Bloody Mary mix in the pantry. I did spy some V8 juice, but I'd much rather drink that plain than mix it with anything.

Looks delicious, doesn't it?

In general, I try to find the advantages of every situation so I told myself, "well, a V8 isn't really festive, but I guess all in all it's a healthy option," when I remembered that I have a freaking Kitchen Garden! I have an abundance of fresh tomatoes and herbs and such. Surely there is no need for me to go without my beverage of choice on this holiday. It's not exactly urban homesteading, but it's a nice degree of self-sufficiency.

I am glad I embarked upon this endeavor! And I strongly encourage you to try this. 

If you can make a smoothie, you can make your own Awesome Fresh Bloody Mary!

Here are my ingredients: fresh tomatoes (Super Sioux and Martino's Roma), fresh parsely, fresh basil, one fresh serrano pepper (most of seeds/pith removed) leftover chopped tomatoes/onions (in bowls) from last night's dinner, cucumber, juice from one lime, horseradish, worcestershire, salt, pepper. Lemon is for garnish. 

Chop tomatoes, cucumber and put in blender with other ingredients. Puree, taste, and adjust seasonings.

Now, some people may prefer to peel the tomatoes beforehand, but that is way too much trouble (and heat, and energy) for me. After pureeing, I just strained out the seeds/skin with a sieve, as described here. Seriously easy. The whole process, start to finish (including taking these pictures and two interruptions from children) was less than a half-hour.

Wow...could it be better than Zing Zang?

Becky's Bloody Mary Mix...I like the sound of it! The tiny chef inside said to put it in the fridge for an hour to let the flavors marry, but the tiny scientist inside wanted to try right away and an hour later to see if there was a difference. The tiny bacchanalian agreed with the scientist, so I went ahead and made an experiment.

The result is a Bloody Mary with a nice initial "kick" from the pepper and a nice depth of spice from the horseradish. I was pleasantly surprised by the sweetness from the fresh tomatoes. I loved the citrus and cucumber mixed in there -- very refreshing! As I suspected, the flavor was overall better on the second one. I also went low on the salt, with the plan of doing a salt-rimmed glass, but (as you can see) I forgot, so I ground a little sea salt right on top and let it "melt" into the beverage as I sipped. That was quite nice also.

Who needs a mix???