BEWARE Straw Allergens; Chemical Deodorizers

As it turns out, the cheap and comfy, natural and renewable straw mattress I made for my four year old son had a hidden cost that I did not even consider.  Rowan has had what began as cold or flue like symptoms, that soon turned to barking dry, strained cough and recurring high fever.  This strange "cold" that won't go away has had me fearing the worst on nights when his breathing became more laboured.

Strangely enough, there was a straw fire at a farm a couple miles out of town not three days ago.  My mom works with a man who is severely allergic to straw who has been having adverse reactions to the particulates dispersed from the fire.  My mom thought of Rowan and his bewildering ailment and suggested the possibility to me.  Sure enough, I searched on-line for information on straw allergies and the symptoms were an identical match:  dry, hacking cough; body aches; recurring fever

Had we not have made the connection, prolonged exposure to the allergens in the straw could have caused severe lung scarring and even death.

Before working with straw in the garden, having the kids help with straw mulching, building a straw bale living structure, or a even a measly straw mattress, find out if you or any of your children are allergic!

I have also been having inexplicable sneezing, watering eyes, and allergic skin reactions including inflamed, hot and prickly itchy arms, neck and chest--only recently attaining some relief from prickly pear infused hand-made soap.  This ongoing condition has not been straw-related, but attributable to downstairs neighbors spraying Febreze!  Yick!  That's what's been wafting chemical fruitiness through our vents.  My poor boy!  His small, sensitive lungs.  Now that the straw has been removed our house, all bedding washed, floors mopped, Febreze spraying thankfully stopped, I hope to God my son's fever stops coming back, and my skin stops feeling like blazing straw bales.

The Comfiest and Cheapest Mattress in the World; Just Like Great Grandma Used to Have

I have been wanting to make a straw mattress for a long time now.  I read testaments of straw beds being the most comfortable and warm beds one could ever sleep on in the Foxfire Book Series.  I visited Thoreau's cabin--or replicated cabin--and studied the anti-decor of his three legged-desk,  fire wood box, and straw-filled-mattress bed.  I realized that before toxic synthetic non-biodegradable polyfoams, metal coils, and plywood, people made their own beds out of simple and abundant natural materials.

So now my son, almost five, is ready for his own bed.  Natural mattresses made from wool and organic cotton, or natural latex are only affordable to inhabitants of the Upper Middle-Class.  Straw it is, then.  And why not?  I have been warned by the hillbilly accounts in Foxfire to change out the old straw for new every six months to prevent bed bugs.  So for the reasonable price of $2 for a local straw bale twice a year, I can keep the bed bugs from biting, and the straw smells so sweet and earthy.

To make the mattress I bought 4 yards (for an adult bed you would want 5 or 6 yards) of 100% cotton duck cloth (a canvas-like material).  I  then essentially sewed a pouch with a drawstring and inner flap at one end to hold in the straw and to make it easy to replace with fresh straw when the time comes.  You could also sew in a zipper, which would keep the bed square shaped instead of rounded at the end like mine, but I didn't want any metal.  I then stuffed the pouch with one dry straw bale, cinched her up a bit and carried her to the bedroom.  Now I have one happy boy whose bed won't outlive him by eons.  And the whole thing cost a total of $32.  They sure knew how to do things right pre-industrial revolution!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foxfire_(magazine)
http://www.oldandinteresting.com/straw-mattresses.aspx

One Muffin Shy of a Dozen

While this may be the way some would describe my wits, it also relates to my most favourite muffin recipe. With all the fresh cultivated and wild berries of summer, my family have been baking and enjoying these tasty morsels for the past few weeks, always having some fresh-baked and on-hand.It is odd, though, that no matter how I try I always come up one muffin short, but they have the most wonderful biscuit-like texture.

In one bowl mix:

1 Cup Whole Wheat Flour
1 Cup White Flour
1 T Baking Powder
1/2 t Salt

In another bowl mix:

1 Egg, slightly beaten
1/2 Cup Milk of any kind(we use Raw Goat or seed milk)
1/4 Cup Butter, melted or Safflower Oil(we use goat butter or safflower oil--canola oil just doesn't give the right texture)
1/3 Cup Honey

Add wet ingredients to dry, stirring just enough to moisten dry ingredients. Add 1 Cup fresh berries of any kind(try mixing it up, using several different kinds at once) and fold in gently until just incorporated.

Bake at a preheated 400 degrees F for 15 minutes.

If using fresh strawberries, slice them first.


This recipe I altered slightly from the "Fresh Berry Muffin" recipe in The Fanny Farmer Baking Book.

Garden Fresh Pizza

The best pizza in town can come straight from your oven, wafting glorious aromas from your herb and vegetable garden. Homemade pizza from scratch takes some time, but if you have an infatuation with food and culinary herbs the preparation will seem more like an artistic undertaking than the pain before the glory.

Herb and Garlic Tomato Sauce
1 Large or Two Medium Onions, finely diced
6-8 Cloves Garlic, chopped fine or pressed in a garlic press
1/2 Cup Olive Oil(or more to taste)
Sea Salt(to taste)
Black Pepper, coarsely ground in a mortar and pestle or pepper mill
a pinch or two or three of Red Chili Flakes
Fresh Oregano, Parsley, Basil, Fennel Sprigs or crushed seeds, Thyme, Sage
112 oz. home-canned or four large store-bought cans of organic stewed tomatoes(I like the fire-roasted ones)

Heat a stock pot on low heat while dicing onion and garlic. Pour olive oil into hot pot, then add onion and garlic and stir to coat with olive oil. While they are sauteing, mince fresh herbs and prepare pepper. (I have not put specific measurements for the herbs and spices because that is where the fun artistry part comes in--you decide!) When onions are translucent, and garlic is not burned, add salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, and fresh herbs and stir, sauteing for another minute or so. Add tomatoes. Simmer on medium/low heat until sauce is reduced to a thick and savory delectable stew. This could take 1-2 hours. Putting the pot lid on skewed, so that steam can readily escape helps it reduce quicker.

Add additional salt to taste, if needed. If taste is too acidic, add a little sugar or honey, or if you prefer no sweetness add more olive oil to mellow out the acid.

Rosemary Pizza Dough
1 1/2 Cups Warm Water
1 T Baking Yeast
1 T Raw Sugar or Honey
2 Cups Flour(I like to do 1 cup whole wheat and 1 cup white)

While sauce is simmering, in a large stoneware or glass bowl sprinkle yeast over warm water(should feel just barely warm to the touch). When yeast bubbles and froths on the surface of the water, stir in sugar(or honey) and flour with a wooden spoon. Mix well until sponge(yeast and flour preparation)is smooth with no lumps. Let rise in a warm place with a towel over the bowl for 30 minutes.

2 tsp sea salt
Dried or fresh Rosemary, Oregano, Thyme
a little ground Black Pepper
1 1/2 Cups Flour(I like to do half whole wheat and half white here too.)
a glug glug of Olive Oil

When sponge is doubled in bulk, sprinkle salt, minced or dried herbs, pepper over the top of the dough. Add a glug glug of olive oil and fold into the dough. You can do this by gently running your wooden spoon around the edges of the bowl, folding the dough over itself. Be careful not to break the strands of dough with your spoon or rising and texture will be diminished--folding rather than stirring prevents this.

1/2-1 Cup Flour

After folding the herbs and oil in several times, fold in 1 1/2 cups flour a little at a time. Once the flour is mostly incorporated, turn the dough out onto a floured surface. Knead in 1/2-1 cup flour until the dough is smooth and gives the feeling of pushing back at your hands when kneading.

When dough is springy and smooth and not sticky at all, put it back in your bread bowl--no need to wash it out. Cover with a towel and allow dough to rise for 30-35 minutes or until doubled in bulk.

During this rising period, check your sauce. If it still needs a lot of reduction turn the heat up a bit. When your dough is finished rising your sauce should be ready--ideally the sauce should be done before the dough, to allow for time to cool a bit.

Preheat oven to 350 Degrees Fahrenheit.

When dough has doubled in bulk, turn dough out onto lightly floured surface and knead for a couple minutes. For two large pizzas cut the dough in half, then form each half into a ball. Use a rolling pin or your hands to flatten out and shape the dough. It should be fairly thin--1/4 inch or so unless you want thicker crust. Use olive oil to grease two baking sheets, and sprinkle a little corn meal on the oiled surfaces. Transfer dough to prepared baking sheets and gently reshape and re-stretch until they reach desired size. Roll edges of dough over and pinch in place to make crust edge. You are ready to add sauce and toppings.

Prepare toppings ahead of time. Use whatever is fresh from your garden: broccoli, onions, eggplant(brush with a little olive oil), tomatoes, squash, sun-dried tomatoes, fresh basil and oregano, spinach, etc. To make it extra delicious, I like to saute red onions in olive oil with a little salt, until translucent. Then add some pine nuts or walnut pieces to the warm onions. Chop up everything else, including fresh herbs. Spread a good amount of sauce on the prepared dough, then add sauted onions, fresh vegetables and herbs, sprinkle on soft goat cheese or feta.

Bake in the oven on 350 for 35-40 minutes, or until crust is golden. C'est bon!


Note: Try other sauces like pesto or roasted eggplant and garlic. A friend of mine omits the sauce and does a focaccia style pizza with tomato slices, veggies from the garden, and coarse salt. Saute onions and eggplant in salt and herbs before adding to your focaccia. Pine nuts or walnuts are especially divine with fresh or sun-dried tomatoes and goat cheese.

"My Kind Of Town"

Of all the post-apocalyptic visions I have encountered, this is by far my favourite! This song can be found on an album called Alien Sun, written by Red Hunter.
(click on post header for video link)


THE FALL

A million tents and trailers will cover the open desert
Your kids will learn again how to build a fire
Where to look for water
And the families are bound together now
By the fall of all the great cities
Finally they sing out their stories and their histories
Of hunger and of victories

Back in the old gypsy circles
Where the swaying girls will play out the old rituals
The boys will be delirious, but desperate and serious
The chasing will be furious
The drums in the rain will come together howling
The cities are all lost, but the circle is found

And it will tie us together--oooh, my kind of town

Who were you before the fall
I was a singer, saw the future laid out in dominoes
Now I hunt the buffaloes
And my darlin' who were you behind the counter
With the day memorized and those cold, vacant eyes
Well you swore you were free, swore you could see him coming
Old Angel Midnight staring you down
He's stealing the water right out of the ground

And the news is all true, but the views are unsound
The market is dead, and the phone lines are down

But it ties us together--oooh, my kind of town


Red Hunter is an experimental musician and songwriter who resides in Austin, TX. The title and theme could come from the Albert Camus book of the same title. "Old Angel Midnight" is a reference to one of Jack Kerouac's automatic writing experiments, in which he wrote under a chemically induced state as an exercise in freeing his imagination.

Herbal Mosquito/Insect Repellent

From the Herbal Handbook for Farm and Stable, by Juliette de Bairacli Levy. (Click on header to see book)

Insect Repellent Oil

Powdered Herbs:
Wormwood
Tarragon
Rosemary
Rue
Thyme
Basil

1 Cup Sunflower or Almond Oil
1 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar
2 Large Spoonfuls of Powdered Herb Mixture

Grind dried, whole herbs in a coffee mill until powdered. Mix together equal parts of each herb. In a clean glass jar add 2 large spoonfuls of powdered herb mixture to oil and vinegar. Place the capped jar in a mound of sand in full sun and let stand for 5 days. Shake jar well each day. After 5 days, strain the oil from the herb powder through cheese cloth and pour into a clean glass jar. Add the same amount of herbal mixture to the liquid and discard the used herbs. Repeat this process once more, leaving the third batch in the sun from 5 days to two weeks. Keep the jar covered at all times to prevent loss of vital oils.

Apply to skin with a damp cotton ball or cotton cloth.

Random Useful Tips

This will be an ongoing list of hopefully helpful bits of info as I think of them. It goes without saying that growing techniques and gardens are as multitudinous and individually unique as the people who create them. There is not one right way. If it resonates with you, test it out!



--Improve compost by keeping a chamber pot for your kids and/or yourself. Empty the pee onto the compost pile for heat-adding nitrogen. To increase microbial activity and diversity of compost, empty your used dishwater onto the pile. You can even throw on a bucket of pond water now and again if you have access, to really diversify.

--Don't be afraid of straw or wood mulch to cover your beds. Garden centers and many avid gardeners, in my experience, discourage the use of straw because it can contain grain seeds--I suppose there may be a slight risk of spreading viral grain diseases, I don't know--If grain seeds sprout they are very apparent and usually in small numbers. (They look like thick grass.) Just pull them out if you don't want them.

I have been told that there has been a school of thought around for a while that believed decaying wood to be bad for your vegetables. However, now the science that once warned against wood has discovered that decaying wood adds extremely beneficial microbial, nutritional, and fungal elements to soil. Both wood and straw mulch help retain moisture and add these helpful microbes, nutrients and fungi as they decay. (Thanks Becka!) Try thinking of your soil in your garden as a forest floor: A place where layers of organic debris grow and die, stuff falls from trees, creatures die and everything decomposes, creating a rich nutrient self-sustaining bed for little seedlings.

--For FREE MULCH, contact one or more local Arborists in early spring and request a truck-load of wood-chip mulch. Do it as soon as you see their trucks and chippers out and about. You may have to wait a month or two, since the mulch is given to their tree-trimming customers first. Keep in mind that this mulch is irregular in size and contains leaves and some sticks. But for free, it does the job. It seems that the leaf content actually helps it decompose faster--like a self-composter. We had a truck load piled in our driveway for several days and we could see the heat coming out of it!

--I recently got a tree planting tip from a master gardener at the Farmer's Market. When you are planting trees make sure that any roots that have begun to grow in a circular manner around the bottom of the pot are cut so that every single root hangs straight down. If any roots are left growing in that circular motion, the tree could live for 15 years, then die suddenly without ever knowing why.

Garden Progress

I have been so busy with the garden that I have had no time to write about it. Now that she is fully planted-out I can begin to share some of the details of the techniques we have used. When we first moved in to our rental duplex the back yard was covered with layers of cottonwood leaves and old reedy and viney plant material from past gardening activity. I wish now that I had left all that wonderful carbonic matter and sheet mulched the entire area to plant into as Spring progressed. However, not being very familiar with that technique, I raked-up as much of the dry leaves and vines as possible and, along with some horse manure I attained free-of-charge through Craig's List and as much green material that I could find through the steadily warming days, made compost.

After several weeks I used the compost to amend our clay soil, creating vegetable beds rather randomly, or more hopefully by the quiet instruction of the natural space I was practicing to commune with. Some beds were dug, but the intense work started to seem to resemble a subtle facet of bio-dysfunction. Though my questions and apprehensions were preponderant to my knowledge and skill level in these matters, the information I was subconsciously seeking I stumbled into at a local coffee/book shop. Gaia's Garden practically leapt off the book shelf into my voracious page-turning fingers. In those pages I found detailed written instructions and diagrams for sheet mulching--essentially, layering cardboard(cellulose), straw, leaves, manure, green material, kitchen scraps, etc., on top of existing soil, allowing the materials to compost right where you plan to plant your vegetables, all WITHOUT DIGGING!

So from then on I have used this layering of carbon and nitrogen materials between layers of cardboard--beginning and ending with layers of cardboard and topping off with straw or wood chip mulch--planting directly into the mix by using a pointed trowel-type tool, whose name eludes me, to pierce through the top layer of cardboard. A handful of compost is added to the small hole made when planting-in the vegetable babies. Then the straw or wood mulch topping is pushed back in place around the base of the start. This method, like all permaculture methods, conserves water by holding in moisture very well--even in our arid Colorado climate--and creates what I like to think of as a loving blanket for tender young plant roots that protects from cold nights, scorching sun and wind, simultaneously releasing--at a much more natural rate than digging--essential nutrients for plants while actually building layers of rich soil! And all with free materials we already had in our yard and abundant by-products easily gathered. This is the first time in my life I have not bought soil for my garden. 'Tis a beautiful thing.

Here is a list of the food we are cultivating in the garden this year: potatoes, onions, black beans, edamame(edible soybean), corn, squash, tomatoes, three varieties of string bean, peas, asparagus, strawberries, carrots, beats, raspberries, blackberries, currants, cucumber, lettuce and field greens, two varieties of kale and spinach, celery, oats, buckwheat, broccoli, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, garlic, artichokes, aubergine, hot peppers, fennel, holy basil(Tulsi), dill, basil, thyme, sage, parsley, chamomile, horehound, Gala apples, Italian plums

Homemade Face and Body Lotion

Rose Lotion


This is a beautiful, sweet-smelling effective lotion that you'll want to put everywhere! I usually double the recipe to use liberally. Its great for children and babies with such simple natural ingredients, and keeps very well.

4 T Almond Oil
4 T Rose Water
1 t Beeswax
1/4 t Raw Honey
5-10 drops Rose or Lavender Essential Oil(optional)

Use a fine cheese grater to grate the beeswax and measure out a teaspoon by pressing the grated bits into a measuring spoon coated with a little almond oil. In a clean glass jar, melt the beeswax with the 4 tablespoons almond oil in a pan of shallow simmering water.

Into a blender, measure out the 4 tablespoons rose water. Add the honey and essential oil--if using--and blend briefly.

When the oil and beeswax mixture has cooled, but has not begun to solidify or become opaque, pour slowly into the rose water mixture while blending by taking out the center cap of the blender lid.

Scrape out emulsified, white creamy lotion with a rubber spatula and store in clean glass jar or lotion dispenser. Keep at room temperature.

This recipe comes from The Encyclopedia of Herbs and Spices by Andi Clevely, Katherine Richmond, Sallie Morris, and Lesley Mackley.

Growing your own milk--minus the cow!

Don't have space, time, money or zoning to raise a cow or goat? Neither do we. Not to mention we are lactose intolerant. Goat dairy would work, but there are no raw goat dairies in the area, and dairy shares can be expensive.

I have been buying rice milk for years, but one day I plucked off that little plastic cap and said "No More!" I imagined all the possible places that plastic cap could end up, and none of them seemed positive--the landfill where it would be shifted by sea gulls and the elements from trash day till doomsday, or on a seafaring barge blown overboard and into the belly of a large endangered sea mammal or a coastal raptor.

I asked myself "do I really want to feed my family milk that comes packaged in a plastic or wax coated carton, manufactured in a factory, and trucked hundreds of miles to our grocers cooler?" An emphatic "No!" arose from somewhere deep within.

Now, we have not yet tried to grow our own supply of seeds and nuts for the milk--presently I buy in bulk from our local Food Cooperative, which is pretty affordable, depending on the type of seeds or nuts. But conceivably we could. I will be planting sunflowers and pumpkins this season for the express purpose of making seed milk. Can't wait to see how they yield. In future, when we can afford it(or when I learn how to propagate one)we will plant a black walnut tree.

The following is a recipe for the most scrumptious non-dairy, potentially self-produced milk ever:

1 Cup of any single or mix of seeds and/or nuts you like and have, i.e. almonds, cashews, walnuts, hazelnuts, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, pecans, etc.

Water for soaking

4 Cups Water

3 pinches of Sea Salt

*3 Tbsp Sweetener of choice(Honey, Agave, Brown Rice Syrup)

*1/4 tsp Almond Extract

Ingredients with an * omit for savory dishes that call for milk.


Soak the nut/seed mixture in the refrigerator overnight, in enough water to cover. In the morning, strain the nuts and put them in the blender with two cups of water. Blend on high for a couple minutes. Strain the blended nuts through a wire mesh strainer. (Use cheesecloth for a seriously sediment-free milk, but it takes a long time and costs more for the cheesecloth.) Save the "nut meats" you have strained off the milk, stored in the freezer or refrigerator, to use for baking--I make soda bread with mine.

Rinse out blender and put in 2 cups of water. Add sweetener, sea salt and almond extract. Blend briefly. Add this to the milk and stir. Take a sip. Smile with delight. Store in clean jars in the refrigerator. I don't know how long it stays fresh. When I make it, it is consumed so quickly that I've never had to find out.

Stay tuned for some "nut meat" bread recipes.