The Garden. Refuge or Tether?

WHY GARDEN???

VEGETABLES! ALL YOU CAN EAT, PRESERVE or GIVE AWAY.

BERRIES! SMOOTHIES ALL WINTER. HEALTH!

FLOWERS! 

MORE FLOWERS! AND THE ATTENDANT BIRDS AND BEES.

MORE FLOWERS, AND THE ATTENDANT PK STANDING HIS GROUND.

THE BEAUTIFUL SIGHT OF PK WORKING.
Just kidding. He works all the time. Right there working on potatoes.

It is glorious spring and garden tasks are worming their way to the top of my to-do list, as they have for time immemorial—or at least most of the past 40 years. Since gardening is a family affair, PK is also engaged. Maybe "married" is a better word for his seasonal relationship with the seedlings, furrows, raised beds, fruit trees and, most recently, the pasture.

                                   PK at work with his seedlings in 2009.  

BUT WAIT! We've been pledging one another for the past few years to cut back on gardening. We've not succeeded, but we continue to natter about the errors inherent in continuing to live how we've lived for decades while our inner selves are stretching toward.....
s l o w e r 
s m a l l e r
l e s s  w o r k

Except for a sparse garlic crop the main garden is a blank slate. All that's there is compost, straw and 2013 kale and chard that will soon be removed. And weeds, of course. Could we just leave it alone for a year or two? Or cut in half?

At the same time, the universe whispers—or maybe it hisses:
G e t   o n   t h e   r o a d   b e f o r e   y o u   c a n 't.

At the same time that we're nattering and the universe is whispering, PK has this crazy-ass idea about raising livestock. Plus, he's already done a lot of the required preparation. Still, he'd have to build a barn for cows and pigs to come aboard, and I don't see any plans being drawn up.

Not that I don't relish the barn/livestock idea on a basic level. But I'd relish it a lot more if I was 40 rather than 69, and wanting to hit the road. We are devoted, almost slavish, gardeners and back-to-the-earth types but have slipped, somehow, into the last third of the human life span. We have places to go, things to do!

Where? What?

• The U.S.A. - PK's family lives in New Jersey, and we want to drive there to reconnect, visiting my family in Minnesota en route. Three months, at least, taking the southern route one direction and Canada/Minnesota the other. This is most likely first, as I could easily return home should my mom need me.
• Guatemala - to a remote mountainous area where a friend operates a non profit she founded 26 years ago, Adopt a Village Guatemala. We want to drive there in our Four Wheel camper and spend time helping with projects, tutoring, maybe teaching sustainable small-scale farming.
• South America - big target, I know, but PK really wants to see Colombia, and we'd both like to visit Peru and Ecuador. And maybe Brazil, after the World Cup craziness is over. And then perhaps Chile, where we might be able to connect with some Chris contacts.
• Kenya, Namibia, Botswana, South Africa - I LOVED Africa and want to return. 
• Morocco, Turkey, Bali, on it goes. 

Clearly, we can't go all these places and do all these things with an aggressive garden hogging our time and energy, or actual hogs rooting around in our dreams. I dare to think, however, that we may be taking control.

Signs of taking charge:

That's it, folks. Only four seedling flats this year. (So far.)

• Instead of a solarium window-wall filled with seed flats, we have only four,  three planted with 10 pepper varieties and one with four tomato types. This seems like a lot? But it is a serious curtailment.
• A plan is afoot to sow at least one, perhaps two, of our six garden rows with cover crops. 
• I'm lobbying for four eggplants rather than a dozen, fewer tomatoes, NO green beans, and just a few English cucumbers, crops that tend to have a greater percentage of being given away or wasted.
• No corn this year. 
• As usual, only a couple zucchini plants.

 However ...... Garden crops I can't do without:

• Basil
• Tomatoes
• Berries
• Peppers
• Cantaloupes
• Onions

I  must have onions! Lots of them.

• Herbs (dill, oregano, thyme)
• Greens -kale, spinach, lettuce etc.
• Flowers

Stop right there, Mary. That's a big garden of "can't do withouts."

Maybe what we'll have to do (starting next summer) is take a couple years OFF from gardening to travel. And if we shake the wanderlust, we can settle back into more modest production. And maybe even get a couple cows. And build a barn to keep them dry. Plus procure pigs to eat our excess produce. The pigs will want corn. We'll need some chickens to make manure......

Hopeless, right?

Here's a stretch: travelers looking at their garden in the rearview mirror. 

Killer Kale Salad with Sesame Dressing

Kale is the main ingredient but cabbage, carrots, avocado, roasted walnuts and (not yet added) Parmesan cheese lend flavor, texture, and nutrition. The dressing is key to this salad's deliciousness.

If you want the kale salad recipe and none of my yammering, scroll to the green headline. I'm annoyed, when searching out a recipe in the heat of getting dinner on the table, to have to slog through a bunch of ramblings to find it. If you're ready for rambling, read on.

I haven't been posting much about food lately (except the most recent post, which was about brownies made with black beans! You gotta try em.) I've been too obsessed with Africa, I guess. I'm not finished with reliving some of the best experiences of my life, by the way. Roads of Uganda. People of Uganda. South African wonders. Does the fun never end? But back to food.

We grow kale every year, and I am addicted. Ok. Not like to nicotine, heroin, or red wine. But as veggies go, kale has a lot going for it AND one can develop a taste. It isn't enough that kale gets great press for its superfood qualities, but some wary types consume it as though it was medicine, a curly castor oil to be swallowed with nose held. I have a friend like that, a burly meat-and-potatoes guy who usually passes on green food. He and others joined us around the dinner table recently, and he complimented me on the kale salad! I about fell off my chair, but I managed to hold my tongue and my place at the table. And I also enjoyed a self-congratulatory slug of cabernet sauvignon. Hic.

I contributed this salad at a recent potluck, too, where it garnered raves and recipe requests. So here it is, in all its simple, delicious, colorful glory. In addition to tasting great, it's good for up to three days refrigerated and dressed. And, oh yeah, it's good for you, too! (Vitamin and mineral rich, low carb, gluten-free, and Paleo friendly, if you care.)

Killer Kale Salad 

I'm starting with the dressing because it is critical. If you go to the trouble to chop up all these veggies, you want to dress it to the nines, and not with a store-bought concoction. What you want is this toasted sesame sweet/sour dressing. I call it Laurie's dressing after the person who first wowed me with it.

Laurie's Sesame Dressing and Marinade

I've made variations of this for at least two decades. It is definitely my salad dressing of choice and it is always on hand. I make it in a food processor, which helps to keep the oil and vinegar blended. This is a doubled recipe, as I don't see the point of making a dressing that keeps well and tastes great for just one dish. Add a little at a time to the kale salad until it is coated with dressing but is not soupy. 

Ingredients

6-8 cloves fresh garlic
1/2 cup olive oil
1/3 cup toasted sesame oil
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup worcestershire sauce
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar, rice vinegar, lemon juice, or other acidic liquid
1-2 Tbsp. Dijon or other mustard (a sweet/hot variety is good)
sweetener to taste— I use a dash of Stevia, Splenda or honey
a dash of white pepper for a little kick

Directions

Use a food processor. Peel the garlic and process til finely minced. Add all other ingredients, then process until the oils are emulsified. The oil will separate after the dressing sits for awhile, but it is easily mixed with a twirl of the spoon. Works great for dressing a salad or marinating veggies for the grill or even steak or chicken.

The Kale Salad

1 bunch of kale, whatever you can get fresh, chopped
1/4 head of a small to medium red cabbage, chopped
1/8 head of small green cabbage, chopped
1 large carrot, grated
1 large avocado, cut into cubes and drizzled with fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup of lightly toasted walnut halves (or coarsely chopped)
1/3 cup dried cranberries

Directions

Chop the kale and red and green cabbages into small pieces. Grate the carrot. Slice, peel and dice the avocado and squeeze a bit of lemon over it to keep from looking yucky. Set aside. Toast the walnuts in a small skillet over medium heat until they are barely browned. Careful.They burn quickly. Remove walnuts from heat and from the pan. I usually chop the walnuts into coarse pieces, but they look saucy atop the salad as whole and handsome halves.

Mix together the greens, carrot, and cranberries. A half hour before serving, dress with Laurie's Dressing. Immediately before serving mix in the avocado and top with the walnuts and grated cheese.

Small chop.

About ready to eat? Add avocado.

Top with cheese and stand back. 

Beany Brownies & Minty Avocado Frosting

EEEUUW! Black bean brownies with avocado frosting? My reaction exactly when I googled "St. Patrick's Day recipes" and dialed in on "dye-free green food" and  this recipe appeared. We were invited to dinner, and our contribution was to be dessert following the traditional corned beef and cabbage fare. Gotta have green, right?

Of course the first recipes that appeared were for mint and chocolate swirl brownies with the full load of flour and sugar and green food coloring. No thanks. I'm ready to try something new. Black beans and chocolate had an odd appeal. Like, let's go on vacay in the kitchen and sample a different reality. 

PK was doubtful. He asked what we could bring as a back-up, and called me on my cell in the grocery suggesting I pick up some good ice cream and chocolate. He of little faith!

I made the brownie recipe exactly as directed. It is thin but moist and tasty. No beans can be detected. Next time I may add more chocolate. I made significant alterations to the frosting recipe, however. But still, to me it looked like guacamole smeared on a bean cake.

PK pledged not to divulge the key ingredients until after everybody had tasted. To our delight and surprise, the dessert was a hit! It was fun to reveal that beans replaced flour and that the green frosting was avocados. 

Don't wait for next St Pat's day to try this. It's easy and delish and gluten free, if you care about gluten. I think the frosting needs the powdered sugar, but the brownies could probably get by on Splenda or some other sugar sub. Have fun! And don't let the eaters in on the beans and avo secret until they're praising your culinary chops.

Beany Brownies 

• 1 15.5 ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 3 eggs
• 3 tbsp coconut oil or butter
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• pinch of salt
• 3 tsp vanilla 
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup sweetener (I used half Splenda and half sugar to make a mounded 1/2 cup

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray an 8x8 square baking dish with cooking spray. 
2. Combine the rinsed beans, eggs, oil, cocoa powder, salt, vanilla, sweetener and baking powder in a blender and mix until smooth. The mixture will be thick.
3. Scrape into the prepared baking dish.
4. Bake in preheated oven until the top is dry and edges start to pull away from the sides. Check after 25 minutes.

Minty Avocado and Lemon Frosting

• 1 medium/large avocado
• 1 tbsp softened butter
• 2 tbsp (or more) softened cream cheese
• 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• pinch salt
• finely chopped fresh mint to taste (1 tsp to mix in, the rest for sprinkling on top)
• a couple of whole mint leaves per brownie for garnish
• chopped nuts (optional)

Use a mixer with whisk attachment or an immersion blender (my choice) to mix the avocado, butter, cream cheese, mint, salt, and lemon juice. Add the powdered sugar slowly until incorporated. If the frosting is too thin, blend in more cream cheese. Remember the frosting will become firmer after refrigeration. Keep the brownies and the frosting refrigerated and separate until shortly before serving. Sprinkle with chopped nuts, if using, and mint. Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. 

Girlfriends' Getaway to the Oregon Coast

Sunshine at the gorgeous Oregon coast with women who have shared decades of friendship celebrate birthdays (3 turn 60 this year) and the joy of life. Left to right, Nancy Fleischman, Marcy Landis, Paula Stone, Joanne Costantino, Gail Frank, Mary Walgrave, Dawn Welch, Chris Costantino, Pat Bange. In case you're wondering, I was behind the camera. But happily!

Girlfriends can be the healing balm for life's cruel wounds. Sob. They can provide shoulders for weeping, hands for holding, and ears for floods of feelings and fears. They will listen to your bitching, commiserate when you have woes, and nod in agreement when you need holding up. We need each other.

On the other hand, girlfriends can also be fantastic, crazy, epic FUN! I am so blessed with friendships, many of 30, even 40 years, duration. Too many girlfriends are far far away: Susan(s), Grace, Bev, Laurie, Patty, Terry, Jeanne, JoAnn, Michele, Margo—but I wish they all could have been along for the friendship ride the past weekend. Below are a few of way-too-many photos. If you want more, links to albums follow.

Making our way from our fantastic oceanfront rental near Bandon to our private beach. Actually, there's  no such thing as a private beach in Oregon because some long-ago visionaries, to whom we are forever grateful, went to the trouble to make sure nobody can "own" one. But access to this beach is limited, hence it was ours alone. The 30-second video below tells the tale. I haven't learned to edit videos, but most of it is lovely.

The HuffPost ran a recent blog entitled Five Reasons Why Every Woman Needs a Girls' Weekend.  The woman who wrote it is a lot younger, apparently, than our group as she included "boy talk" as a reason. We don't need no stinkin' men to have a great time, and we don't need to talk about them, either. (Ironically, many of us became friends because of our husbands' annual men's trip, going now on for 30 years! The same 10 guys. Remarkable, I think. I am so happy for PK that he has these long-term lifeline friendships. Just like most women I know.)

Friendship and fun. That's the story for the female flock pictured above. We had a couple new faces and were missing several regulars. (Don't worry. We toasted you all. More than once, I'm sure.) Speaking of toasting, we drink a lot of wine. One friend told about girl trips she's taken where the mostly retired-teacher participants drink very little. Instead they smoke pot. Ha!

Historically, this groups heads over to Mt. Bachelor near Bend, Oregon, to ski for a few spring days. But over the years, skiing became less attractive to some, and we shook out into two groups: skiers and shoppers. A coast trip brought us together. And then some.

Paula enjoys a little solitude.

Patty, Mary and Nancy yuck it up.

The Rental. Even better than it looks, and with a stunning ocean view.

Shore Acres state park is just down the road . We enjoyed the formal gardens and
the wave-lashed cliffs.

It was a jungle gym with little girls cavorting. Little girls ages 50-something to almost 70.

Gail had the idea for us to catch some Dungeness crabs with hopes of having a great appetizer, but no such luck. Lucky, however, for the two crabs of legal size that we  ended up liberating. 

Waiting to pull up the crab pots on a pier in the port of Charleston. A little beer and some really terrible but tasty junk food—jalapeno cheese crunchy thingies—helped pass the time. 

Patty's eye beams penetrate her sunglasses as she clutches her beer
and calls forth the crabs.

The Stone sisters check out the latest crabby bunch hauled up from the bay bottom. 

Just one steep slippery patch required we accept assistance at the bottom of the trail to the beach. Alpha women do not like to accept assistance. But it seemed preferable to a red-dirt butt.

Tossing a baci ball onto the beach for our upcoming game.

Throwing into the wind on a beach sloping to the sea complicated baci ball accuracy.

About 10 minutes of relaxation before moving on to the next fun thing. I think it was shopping.

Yes, we are women and we do shop. A group feeding frenzy in a chic boutique made for a happy shop owner and heated-up credit cards. There's something about trying on a garment that costs way too much, then parading before your friends to a chorus of ooooohhhhs and aaaaahhhhhs. Anyway. I have three new tops. I think I need to revisit the year during which I bought nothing new, except, of course, for food and sanitary supplies.

We made a haul shopping on a blustery afternoon at Devon's Boutique 
in Bandon, a surprisingly classy shop for a tiny coastal burg.

Learning the electric slide, one more time.

Gourmet meals are part of the deal in a take-turns cooking plan where two-person teams each plan and make one meal. This is a French fish stew called bouride. Fabulous. Thanks, Dawn and Patty.

The birthday girls in a blurry shot. Only a few days, weeks, or months
remain for them to enjoy being 50-something. Someone else is enjoying her last
months of separation from being 70. Moi. 

Frenetic game of pass-the-paddle ping pong. 

Gail was one of three birthday girls during the "year of the horse." 

Group dance to Mustang Sally made for lots of trotting action to Wilson Pickett's beat.

Wanna see more pics? Here you go.  And more? They just keep going. One more?  Clearly, I was out of control. 

Kale and Garlic Frittata Starring Yoga Eggs

Note: If you're reading this on email, everything looks better if you click on the blog headline to get to the website. Also, if you could care less about my ramblings and just want the recipe, scroll down about 10 inches and you're there: Kale and Garlic Frittata.

I didn't realize how much I missed my yoga teacher's eggs until I opened her egg carton this morning and cracked a smile that lit up the kitchen. Yes! A rainbow of farm-fresh eggs from Shanti's clutch of quirky hens fresh out of their winter slump. A couple years ago, when I first scored eggs from Shanti, she was selling them for $2 a dozen. What?! Too cheap, I told her. She said $2 was enough to almost break even, and that wasn't counting the hens' entertainment value. She finally came around to $3 a dozen, still a major bargain considering that hers are truly cage-free happy hens wandering her little farm hunting bugs and greens and eating organic feed and enjoying Shanti's admiration. Despite our recent cold, wet weather, her "girls" have responded favorably to longer daylight and are pumping out the protein. Cluck, cluck, such luck.

Shanti Chagnon, unconventional yoga teacher and
keeper of hens. This is what she
wears to teach kick-ass power yoga. Love her.

To show off the difference between eggs laid two days ago by happy hens and one that came in a $5 carton claiming it to be "all natural, vegetarian fed, produced without hormones or antibiotics, containing 350 mg of Omega 3." In addition to the paler yolk, the store-bought egg white is runnier. Even with the one anemic loser, these eggs made a fine frittata. (Yoga eggs are nice, but not required.)

Kale and Garlic Frittata

4 large eggs, beaten

5 ounces of fresh chopped kale (about three large handfuls, chopped. The kale, not the hands.)

3-4 medium-sized garlic cloves, minced

1/4 large onion, chopped

3 T olive oil, butter or coconut oil

1/3 cup shredded Parmesan, cheddar or other cheese (or more)

salt and pepper to taste

Two servings, low-carb, gluten-free.

Directions

Heat the oil in a small frying pan, if you're cooking for two. Add the chopped onion and saute over medium heat until translucent. Add the minced garlic and stir fry until fragrant, about a minute. Add the chopped kale, stir with onions and garlic and cover. Steam over medium-low heat for about 10 minutes, or until the kale has wilted. NOTE: I used Trader Joe's. kale-for-cooking, about half of a 10-ounce bag. It had some nasty chunks of thick kale stems, which I picked out and bestowed upon the compost pile.

Kale, onions, and garlic before steaming.

Beaten eggs setting up. At this point, it's good to gently turn them over. 

After turning, cook until the eggs are set, a minute or two, season with salt and pepper,

then add cheese. Turn heat to low and cover for a few minutes to melt the cheese. NOTE: I used a great product, chipotle finishing salt, from Salinity LLC. Check it out. They have lots of natural flavors. Made in Southern Oregon.

If you eat this nutrient-packed kale frittata, you might be able to do this!

At Sundance Healing Arts Studio.

Or this!

Shanti on the farm tractor, hens foraging nearby.

And now, what you've been waiting for, a cold frame update! I can bend over to work in the cold frame and lift its heavy cover more easily because of yoga.

Russian kale is starting to surge in the center while endive lettuce and puny spinach are wondering

if I forgot to add enough compost when I planted seeds in October. 

My favorite kale variety, lacinato, AKA dinosaur kale, is emerging in pots where seeds were planted a week ago. Yeah! Seedlings will be thinned to one per pot and transplanted to the garden in late March, early April.

 BE BRAVE ABOUT WINTER. SPRING IS ON ITS WAY. IN THE MEANTIME, DO YOGA. 

EAT KALE.  MAKE A NICE FRITTATA.