summer
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Birthrights and Wrongs
I’m heading south and east this week to dig into some family history, the in-person research I can do only in person in Alabama. I’ll be staying in Jasper, with forays into Birmingham and down to Alexander City and Hackneyville. Part of the research will be digging into libraries and part will be driving around to see the environs where my forebears were slaveholders. I’ve found what I could find on Ancestry.com and at my local library; I have looked through old photo albums (hence the photo of Ole Mary washing clothes, from about 1915; it’s very possible she was a former slave). I have purchased deed-mapping software and found information…
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Hitting the Road
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sneeze: how to have a green cold
There’s no way to say that without sounding disgusting. Have a green virus? Suffer sickness in a green way? Gross. What I mean is, you can go ahead and have your summer cold and flu without damaging the environment. I just recovered from my de rigueur annual summer cold and it was no fun, but guess how many redwood trees or whales or monarch butterflies were harmed in the process? None. I came through this tedious summer malady with my eco-credentials intact. Gesundheit! We don’t use Kleenex in this house; we use handkerchiefs. As it happens, my mother-in-law thinks the ideal gift for Mr. Husband is a new package of white…
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playing with my food
Garden gone wild! I’ve been experimenting with cucumbers and zucchini all day, trying to figure out how to preserve the bounty of these tasty veggies — well, they’re really fruit — in different ways. Why? Because we eat only seasonal, locally grown produce. So when there are no cucumbers in my backyard and none at the farmers’ market, there are none on the table. So that means at least six months a year without cucumbers. I love cucumbers. Cool, neither sweet nor sour, they are one of the most refreshing things I can think of to eat raw, out of hand like an apple, in a salad, with dip. Love…
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preservationista
So — what’s in your freezer? Been busy on the home front, taking care of produce and other food items that come our way. The dehydrator continues, nonstop, drying apples today. Yesterday I dried a few of the farmers’ market nectarines and plums, plus most of a flat of strawberries. They dry nice and chewy and sweet — the best “gummy” fruit you ever had, since it is pure sliced fruit through and through. No preservatives, either. Kid-tested, and she said, “Mmm.” I’m gonna buy another flat of strawberries to dry before the week is up, if I can. I just processed a couple of quarts of green beans for…
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woman errant
This is what I look like when I’m foraging, ferreting and erranding. Yeah. That was me heading out the door on Tuesday, when I drove all over town, made 11 stops, and ended up saving a bajillion dollars. Where did I go? What did I do? You really wanna know? OK, kiddo. Strap on your helmet and let’s go! Equipment Sunglasses, car keys, cell phone, hot coffee (in Mom mug). Purse and sweater (in case it gets chilly, which it did not). Envelope full of current coupons. Green bag is my “briefcase” du jour – a slender reusable bag that held all my sale papers/inserts, and my lunch. Because I’m gonna be…
