This Plant Helps Prevent Microbial Infections

Echinacea Angustifolia is the prime plant for helping the body get rid of microbial infections - both bacterial and viral attacks. It is a great plant for attacking bumble bees and other pollinators into the garden - many of which are predatory. It also attracts butterflies! Watch my Youtube channel for live action pollination! See here for more pics.

Mama Gives Birth To Edible Babies!

Well the little "fellas" may look like her babies...but there appears to be some adultery going on here. Who/where is "dad"? The babies may be of the same family but not the same species!

What are they all? Okay, enough guess - the mama is a watermelon and the babies are mouse melons. The mouse melons are cute and taste more like cucumbers. They grow on very fine plants/vines. See other post here and on my facebook for more.

Squash Soup - The Secret Recipe [don't tell anyone]...

Squash is an amazing winter vege! It's sweet, filling and full of vitamin A. You can bake it, steam it, make pies, cookies, muffins with it...or great soup.

The key to any recipe is to experiment. Baking requires some pretty strict guidelines for dry/wet proportions. But most other recipes allow for more flex/play. So here's the general idea for many soups:

1. Bake your squash at 350F for about an hour till soft. Best to cut in half and just lay on cookie sheet.
2. Heat fat or oil in a soup pot and then add onions, leeks and garlic. At least a couple of each or to taste.
3. Cut up a 4cm piece of ginger into small pieces and a fresh hot pepper or dried ones. Cook with the onions.
4. Add some celery - at least 1 large stock or more.
5. If you want an 'Indian' type soup, add 3 T whole cumin, 3 T whole coriander, 3 T tumeric.
6. Scoop out the squash or put the whole thing in the pot if the skin is thin.
7. Break up with a spoon or knife.
8. Add some broth till all is covered.
9. Cook till all soft and blended. Add sea salt and pepper.

A few secret ingredients....ssssshh: after cooked add 2 cups whole milk OR 1 can of coconut milk. Can also add 2 T cinnamon, 1 T nutmeg. Stir. Let sit for a few minutes....and serve it up. Yum!

Here's part of this year's harvest. Hubbard is definitely the sweetest. Buttercup is close behind!

See here for more pics.

The Best Tomato Recipe Ever!

Too many tomatoes from the garden? You wonder "What can I make with all these?" ....

Or you want to know how to have the amazing fresh tomato taste in the winter?

This is fab, easy and freezes very well. It reduces the tomatoes volume so if freezer space is an issue, as it is for me [full of berries]...then this is ideal!

Basically cut the tomatoes about 1/2 cm thick, and fill any baking dish with them. It is best to use the ends on the top as their skins protect the tomatoes under them. Add onions, garlic, hot peppers and lots of fresh basil. If you like these - add lots! It's a very versatile dish. Mix all but put the tomato end on the top.

Lastly, sprinkle with some salt and lots of virgin olive oil.

Bake slowly about 250F. It's best to bake about 2 hours or even more. It's the slow cooking that caramelizes the tomatoes. Experiment and enjoy!

You can eat alone, with pasta, with cheese, with a grain, with a legume.....create!

The name of the above recipe? Confit! See here for more pics.

A Very Healthy Breakfast!

And to think most of this was picked minutes before serving! What a difference it makes!

So the menu:
[all are organic....and most grown by me!]

Collards
Beans [the fat/wide ones..."hunter" variety]
Zuchini
Millet
Eggs [locally traded for]
Some soy sauce/butter....

I steamed all the veges in a medium sauce pan with a cm of water...just till crisp! The egg was put in the same pot to be soft boiled.....

Remember: we need our veges EVERY meal....this meal has lots of protein [eggs, millet/bean mix for a complete protein], vitamins, mineral, fibre....and yumminess!

Yummy Gluten Free And Sugar Free Cookies With Kefir

These are super easy to make! It's all about pre-soaking grains/seeds. Why? To destroy the phytates. These stop mineral absorption. They are also known as "anti-nutrients" for this very reason.

To make these cookies, all you do is pre-soak oats [organic if possible, and not quick oats], along with  your fav seeds. I often use pumpkin as they are full of zinc - a good thing for males - help prevent prostate issues.

I don't measure, just keep mix fairly moist. You can also mix in some dried fruit. Let soak overnight. The next day, just spread onto a cookie sheet and cook till brown. They take quite a while - even 30 minutes at 350F due to the high liquid content. I make one big one in the toaster oven.

You could use water or yogurt as a substitute for the kefir.

Sooo Cute And Delicious Mouse Melons...

These little guys are the cutest thing I have ever grown! These South American mini cucumber-like fruits [biologically speaking] are amusing! Also known as "Mexican gherkins, the fruit of Melothria scabra looks like watermelons shrunk for a dollhouse tea party" according to Jeff Spurrier.

Mouse Melons grow as a vine...a very fine one that looks like nothing will ever "come of them". But surely they bear fruit even among other plants they are covering - such as my bean plants. While picking beans in the near dark I grabbed one of them - joyously, of course.

The melons are pictured here with freshly picked beans to which they were covering:

More pics...

Refreshing Coconut Milk Popsicles

Coconut milk is very yummy and nourishing. It contains lauric acid which is anti-microbial among other great things. Try to get organic or at least with no sulphites etc. Strive for the highest fat content. These are gluten free and sugar free treats!

1 can coconut milk
1 or more bananas
cinnamon, other spices or any other fruit, nuts....

Fill the popsicle maker with the c.milk. Put in as much of the other ingredients you desire. Experiment...and en-joy!

Click for more

Super Smoothie To The Rescue!

With the de-lights of organic raspberries bursting with colour and flavour....nothing like a smoothie to finish off a meal or start a day. Basically just fill a cup with organic, hopefully homegrown or local, raspberries; half a banana if desired; organic, hopefully raw or whole milk, or water....blend with a hand blender or put in a blender...that's it. No sugar and super yummy!

For more click here

Pro-biotics, Omega 3's And Beauty! Perilla And Kefir...

Nothing like freshly picked anything! The beauty of this plant/leaves....leaves one stunned....Amazing to look at and to smell.....and to taste. It's seeds, and probably, its' leaves are a good source of Omega 3's. Added to my homemade kefir, this makes a great addition to breakfast or any meal!

Kefir is full of pro-biotics. These can strengthen the body, heal the body, aid digestion....the list is endless. I sell the starters so contact me if you want some...easy and 'fun' to make! And when you DIY, you are sure the kefir is alive. We eat far too many dead foods and need the enzymes/bacterias of live foods. And the sourness stimulates the liver and digestion...

Gluten Free, Sugar Free Rhubarb Crisp! Yummy And Healthy!

I don't use sugar when baking - and the results are healthier and yummier! You merely replace sugar with a fruit substitute. This is better than many other subs as the "sweetness" is bound to fibre - which means it washes through your system faster and more effectively. Less "sugar peaks" and "sugar dips". Organic fruit [and everything] is preferred as the chemicals used on them - especially raisins - are toxic. And non-organic dried fruit, except for dates, has sulphites. Organic butter is preferred for the same reasons - the cows eat lots of toxins in the feed and also eat  GMOs in the feed.

1. Fill a bread pan almost full of cut up rhubarb [about 1cm].
2.  Add organic raisins or other fresh or dried fruit.
3. Mix well.
4. In a bowl mix about 1/4 lb. butter with 2 cups oats. Butter should be melted or easily creamed.
5. Put this mix on the fruit mix. Pack down very tightly with a fork.
6. Sprinkle cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger powder on top. This will slightly burn and gives an interesting taste. If preferred, you can just mix spices into fruit mix.
7. Bake at 350F for about 35-40 min. till soft and the top is crunchy.
8. Enjoy straight, or with some whole milk on it [or ice cream if you feel evil :) ].

Affordable, Healthy Non-GMO Cat And Dog Food Recipe

Have you ever checked the ingredients on your dry cat/dog food bag? Ugh! Most of them are corn based. The corn is GMO and full of pesticides. And often it's the first ingredient - i.e. the greatest % of the food.

Well many would argue that we shouldn't have pets unless they serve a purpose like killing mice, many of us still want them for companionship. The problem is all the food - especially the meat/fish that end up going to them instead of to humans.

Well, here's a great alternative to the garbage store bought food. I use only organic, non-GMO foods. My cat likes or at least tolerates cooked barley and legumes. They are both very cheap and when combined form a complete protein. But cats/dogs are omnivores [mainly carnivores] so I add some frozen squid or even some good quality dry cat food. You need to mix them up well so the animals - especially cats - can't "pick and choose".  Be creative and experiment. It may take some time for your pet to adjust...but keep trying and experimenting.

If you have any other ideas, feel free to submit to here.

Yummy Fruit In Disguise

Well, ok, covered in something! These are/were one of - if not - the sweetest fruit on earth. Sad they went to waste. Yet the overly hot last summer, combined with the dryness weakened the fruit dramatically. So reply what you think they are!

  

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A Wild Plant Full Of Iron And Fights Allergies

Nettles [Urtica dioica] - a prickly - very! - and wonder-ful food and medicine. The tops can be eaten - especially in the spring. Fresh or dried, the leaves are a wonder-ful medicine. They are full of iron and help to fight allergies. They strengthen and support the whole body.  They are helpful in childhood, and all forms of eczema. For any haemorrhage in the body - including nosebleeds - their astringent quality is helpful.

Urtication is the use of plants to stimulate circulation to the skin. The nettles can be intentionally brushed on arthritic areas to achieve this purpose. But beware - the tingling can go on for hours! Even last night my leg felt like there were little insects crawling on it from this! Fun!

Nettles can be taken for allergies to strengthen the body - but some have slight allergic reactions to them also - so be ware!

As a food: steamed and then served with organic soy sauce [non-GMO] and sesame oil is delicious. They can easily be thrown in any soup or stir fry for added flavour or nutrition. And they're free!

Look, Smell, Touch, Eat, Heal With Flowers

My land is surrounded in bliss-full colours! The fruit trees look like they are snow covered - even in the dark! All the blooms scream for attention. And on the ground, the poop gong yin: see  http://123poopitout.blogspot.ca - are be-ing oh so wonder-full! And we also have what we can see here:

The violet and celandine flowers are edible and yummy! And the leaves are medicinal. Aren't these more interesting than boring, non-native mono-cult-u-r-e lawns? These provide food and medicine for humans and food for insects.

Kimchi: Save The Garlic Mustard Campaign!

I say "if you can't beat 'em - eat 'em"! This applied to garlic mustard. A super plant which fights cancer, this should be loved - not scorned! While research is showing it may harm forest trees, we certainly do know it invades and takes over the forest as well. But so have humans!

Like other members of the mustard family [such as cabbage, broccoli, komatsuna,...], this contains isothiocyanates, one of the chemopreventive constituents of the mustard family plants. It also has allyl sulfides - the cancer preventives found in garlic. James A. Duke also notes that it has been found to have twice the chemopreventive betacarotene of spinach!

And kimchi, the Korean ferment, preserves without killing the enzymes/life of the plant - as vinegar, boiling, canning do. Here's how:

You need:
garlic mustard - about 8 or more cups - chopped into mouth sized sections
salt - the darker the better from the sea
large piece of ginger
lots of garlic
onions/chives
hot pepper
fish sauce if you like

1. Cut up gm and place handfull into crock or big bowl
2. Sprinkle salt to lightly cover
3. Continue alternating till done
4. Put a plate and weight on top over night to squeeze out the water
5. Next day combine chopped other ingredients and add to gm
6. Put in sealed mason jar and crush down with pestal or other tool
7. If not enough liquid to cover, make a brine of 5% salt solution: about 1 T/1 Cup of H2O
8. Twice a day press down the veges, keeping at room temperature
9. After 2-3 days, put in fridge and should last a year or more...
10. Enjoy and do w/ other veges too, or mix gm with other veges.

Koreans Eat Squid - Not Doritos!

Here's a typical snack for many Koreans. Taken on the island of Cheju-do, revealing a much healthier diet than the chubby Canadian/American one. Certainly is verified GMO free [a later discussion]! You can buy packaged, dried squid in convenience stores. What can you buy here in c stores? Crap - super processed, chemical filled, denatured fats...YUMMY!

At least in some gas stations in MN, U.S., you can get some basics for very cheaps: bananas, onions, a few veges, milk...

 

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I must say, though, after watching the film "The Cove" - an excellent film about dolphin killing and capturing in Japan - the squid are living beings and hence should only be eaten in very small quantities/if at all. This applies to all animal products. And of course to eat grass fed, roaming animals if you do eat them.

Garlic Mustard - Free, Gluten Free, Vegan and Fights Cancer

This amazing plant, though incredibly invasive and destructive is super nutritious and yummy. See the ferment, kimchi, in a future post.

Not only does this plant fight cancer - having both garlic and cabbage family properties, it is free! Get out there and pick preferably before the plant seeds. And seed it does! There can be 100,000 seeds per square meter!