RIGHT WHAT'S WRONG

If you’re like me and you can remember the late sixties and early seventies with the “hard hats” and the “silent majority” you’ll probably also remember “my country right or wrong.” Imagine my surprise when I found at least one version that is just a little bit longer.

My country right or wrong; if right to be kept right and if wrong to be set right. I can live with that. Now if we could all agree on the wrongs that need to be set right. The devil truly is in the details.

Another of the “we don’t want socialism” letters in the local paper Sunday. Well, for starters, what do you mean by “we” Kemo Sabe? I don’t recall getting a call from anyone asking my opinion so let’s change we to “me, some of the people I know, and the talking heads on Fox News.” And then most of the writer’s examples refer to purely economic matters rights. Car choice, light bulbs, temperature settings, and one that I assume refers to the minimum wage. Kind of a narrow definition of freedom in my opinion.

Last time I checked any nutcase (yes, nutcase in rather incendiary see below) in the country can start their own church, pray that our current president will die unpleasantly and end up in the hot place without any cops showing up or their churches being closed. So I guess freedom of religion as long as you aren’t a Muslim, pagan, free thinker or a member of some Peacenik, tree hugger group is alive and well.

Oh, and you’re also free to be a former child TV star turned evangelist trying to rewrite Darwin and blame evolution for the Holocaust even though it appears you have no post high school education in either science or theology. (see Kirk Cameron) Here I spent all those years going to the U of O, LCC, surfing the web for information and haunting every bookstore I can find for good information, silly me.

The freedom to show up at a town hall where the president is speaking with an AK47 seems to be alive and well. However being an unarmed civilian anywhere near the G20 meetings last week in Pittsburg didn’t seem to entitle them to the same protections. It’s my firm belief that being required to get a parade permit in order to exercise the right to speak as long as you’re not spooking the horses, scaring the kids, or shocking the parson is NOT A GOOD THING. Although past history suggests that it would be hard to shock some of the odern parsons.

There’s a fair amount of anecdotal evidence that Saudi oil money built most of the Wahabi madrassas in the border areas of Pakistan.(one source Three Cups of Tea-really good book) So, yeah if you wanted to buy a big ass pickup a few years ago (and didn’t have something similarly big assed to haul) well gee I wonder how much American money ended up funding the training of the young men who are shooting at us now?

And it’s not just our driving. The average American meal has traveled 1,500 miles by the time it gets to our tables. (source Animal, vegetable, miracle by Barbara Kingsolver) And since synthetic fertilizers and many pesticides have a petroleum base, trying to cut down on oil use takes on a whole other dimension.

We appear to still have the right to vote for the Republican or Democrat of our choice. That I,s unless you lived in some urban, largely minority neighborhoods in Ohio back in 2004. Precincts that didn’t have enough voting machines, were lucky that the majority of them worked, and found the doors closed promptly at 8 PM even though potential voters had been waiting in line for hours.

As for that pesky minimum wage; well hon, if you’re an employer see if your workers will work for straight commissions. If you’re a worker I guess to be true to your ethics you should tell your boss you’re willing to work for what he/she is willing to pay and we won’t worry about those pesky overtime regulations.

As I worked on this I realized the list keeps getting longer and longer. After all it costs more to hire licensed electricians, plumbers, contractors you name it. Of course if you hire someone who can prove they have the training there’s a good chance your new wiring won’t short out and burn the house down. It costs more to make sure work places, packing plants, and eateries are clean and safe. I guess to be true to your non interference ethic you shouldn’t call the health department if you come down with food poisoning because a careless or poorly trained part timer didn’t sanitize the tools and work surfaces after they diced the raw chicken before the salad veggies were prepped.

As I said at the beginning, the devil does seem to be in the details since I suspect that my wrongs to be righted might just turn out to be someone else’s keep what is right, right.

Cross posted at Women On.

GUIDE TO CALORIE BURNING

With tongue firmly in cheek we present the guide to calorie burning.

Beating around the bush 75
Jumping to conclusions 100
Climbing the walls 150
Swallowing your pride 50
Passing the buck 25
Throwing your weight around (depends on weight) 50-300
Dragging your heels 100
Pushing your luck 250
Making mountains out of molehills 500
Hitting the nail on the head 50
Wading through paperwork 300
Bending over backwards 75
Jumping on the bandwagon 200
Balancing the books 25
Running around in circles 350
Eating crow 225
Tooting your own horn 25
Climbing the ladder of success 750
Pulling out the stops 75
Adding fuel to the fire 150
Wrapping it up at days end 25

From Chicken Soup for the Soul: Author unknown

A FORK IN THE ROAD

I’ve found myself with a massive case of writer’s block for months. Oddly enough these months overlap what seems to be a last ditch effort to get back to my Christian roots. The details don’t really matter but I did try. I got out my Bible and made a sincere effort to follow a regular schedule of reading and praying. But, when I try to walk on this path it’s as if I’m knee deep in a mire. I don’t expect to hear God speaking to me; that would be presumption. But, my inner voice went silent too; and it’s damn lonely in here. My inner voice stopped singing and my spirit’s feet stopped dancing.


So, I find myself at a fork in the road again. And wondering how many times I have to do this? As many times as it takes I guess. Do I keep on the silent path or do I take the path that leads into the green wood? Do I follow my glowing sister? She glows with the blue light of protection. Her hair and mantle are caught in the wind and mist off the sea and she stands on a rocky headland; feet firmly rooted and braced against the gales. And she is singing.


The gardening, pictures, kitties and recipes stay here. For the curious, the new blog can be found here. Warning, this one is under construction.

HOMEMADE CRUNCHY GRANOLA

This is the original recipe. And that jar is probably older than I am. Makes a generous quart or so without the fruit added in for storage.

2 ½ cups uncooked regular or quick cooking rolled oats
½ cup flaked or shredded coconut-unsweetened if possible
½ cup sliced almonds
¼ cup untoasted sunflower seeds
¼ cup honey
¼ cup molasses
4 tablespoons hot water
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ cup raisins
½ cup chopped pitter dates
1 teaspoon vanilla extract


Combine the cereal and nuts in a large bowl. Combine the honey, molasses, hot water and cinnamon in a separate bowl. Pour the liquid over the grain mixture and mix thoroughly until mix is completely coated. Spray a large baking sheet with vegetable spray and spread the mixture evenly. Place in a 325 oven and bake for thirty to thirty five minutes. Stir the mixture every five minutes or so until the cereal starts to turn brown and the mix dries out. Stir in the dried fruit and vanilla the mix will crisp as it dries.


Store in an airtight container for up to two weeks. This is a very crunchy granola.


239 calories per half cup serving following the recipe.


Ok, my variations. You can use any rolled grains. I just got a batch of Bob’s Red Mill Five Grain Mix for the next batch. And mom doesn’t much care for sunflower seeds so I leave those out. I used cashews in one batch because I wanted to make it “now” and didn’t have any almonds. If you aren’t big on nuts you could try using more cereal and skip the nuts entirely; or add the nuts and fruits you want when you serve it.


All honey works just great. For the last batch I made a simple syrup of ¾ cup each brown sugar and water. Boiled it for a few minutes and mixed it in the cereal mixture. It tastes just fine; in fact I can barely tell the difference. And I don’t add the fruit until we actually eat the granola. It stays crisp longer.

"HEALTH" CONSUMERS

Also posted in Women On.


This entry says about half of what I’d like to say. I’ve got it in my head but getting it on paper is a problem sometimes. Oh, well, enter rant, stage right.


I know Lisa and I knew just a little of what her family went through during her dad’s final illness. Damn little it turns out.


In a twisted way, a very sick twisted way, what happened with her dad makes perfect sense. When our fellow Americans referred to in the media it’s as consumers, not citizens and our mis-named health care system is not set up to deliver health: as if you could buy five pounds of health at so much a pound, but tests, procedures and surgeries. When Lisa’s dad was sent home, he was no longer a consumer of tests, procedures and surgeries.


At that point what he needed was human on human care. And when it comes to face to face, hands on interaction with another human being you have to fight like hell to get it. And the people who provide that care are lucky if they make a little above minimum wage. No reflection on them, the men and women in the trenches do the best they can with the little they get.


Dean Ornish made the comment in one of his books that a patient’s insurance company was willing to fork over at least twenty five thousand bucks to pay for by pass surgery but wouldn’t pay for office time for a doctor to counsel the patient on diet and exercise changes he/she could make to avoid needing the by pass in the first place or to avoid needing another one five years down the road.

“Reforming” health care won’t work until we rethink how we see the other human beings who live within the lines on the map labeled the United States. And that rethinking goes far beyond the cost of an office visit. It's everything from access to clean locally grown food to cleaning up the toxic left overs that don't appear on corporate balance sheets. We’re human beings, not "consumers" and we have the right to be treated as human beings and to take the time to be human simply because that is what we are whether we choose to consume what the corporate culture wishes it could sell us or not.

The system, as it exists now, doesn’t support our humanity. So ladies, how do we remake the world?

WHERE THE YEAST WENT

GRANDMA’S OATMEAL BREAD


2 packages active dry yeast
½ cup warm water; approximately 110
1 ¼ cup boiling water
1 cup quick cooking rolled oats
½ cup molasses
1/3 cup shortening
1 tablespoon salt
5 3/4 to 6 cups all purpose flour
2 beaten eggs


Soften yeast in the warm water. Combine boiling water, 1 cup rolled oats, molasses, shortening, and salt; cool to lukewarm. Stir in two cups of the flour; beat well. Add the softened yeast and two beaten eggs; beat well. Stir in enough of the flour to make a soft dough. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic (8 to 10 minutes). Shape dough into a ball.


Place in a lightly greased bowl, turning once to grease the surface. Cover and let rise until double. May take and hour to an hour and a half. Punch dough down, turn out on a lightly floured surface, divide dough in half and let rest for ten minutes. Shape into two loaves and place into two greased 8 ½ x 4 ½ x 2 ½ inch loaf pans.


Cover and let rise until doubled (45 to 60 minutes). Bake in a 375 degree oven for about forty-five minutes. Loaves will sound hollow and be evenly browned. Turn out loaves and let cool on wire racks.


My variation. Add 1 ½ cups of raisins to the dough. After dividing the dough after it rises and letting it rest roll it out into a 9 x 15 rectangle. Spread the dough with two tablespoons of softened butter and a quarter cup of brown sugar and one teaspoon of cinnamon. Roll into a loaf, pinch the ends together to seal and place in the loaf pan. In this case I used larger loaf pans the ones that start with 9 1//2 inches etc. And allow to rise until doubled. Make sure those pans are well oiled; the filling has been known to leak. And melted brown sugar cinnamon makes really good glue as it cools. Makes a really good cinnamon swirl loaf. A really good cinnamon swirl loaf. I also substituted milk for the boiling water in the loaf. Makes a lightly chewy, slightly tangy loaf of bread.

CLIMBING OUT OF THE BOWL

I guess I have my proof that Winco's bulk yeast is very good yeast indeed. I started a batch of oatmeal bread this morning (recipe later) and used the molassesy (is that a word) measuring cup to proof my yeast. Good thing I didn't get called to the phone or something while the little yeast beasties were starting to grow. When I looked over at the cup the foam was at the three quarter mark and rising. By the time I was ready to add the yeast to the other ingrediants the yeast was getting ready to head for the bowl all on it's own. LOL The yeast that almost ate the kitchen; sort of.

CRANBERRY ORANGE SHERBET

Cranberry-Orange Sherbet
This recipe first appeared in CAPPER'S Feb. 1, 2005, and was contributed by Dorothy Postlewait, of Wheaton, Ill.

1 pound cranberries
2 cups water
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin
1 cup orange juice
2 tablespoons grated orange peel
1/4 cup lemon juice

In a saucepan, cook cranberries in water until skins pop. Press berries through a strainer; return berries to pan. Add sugar; heat to boiling.
Soften gelatin in orange juice. Stir into cranberry mixture. Add orange peel and lemon juice.
Pour into a tray; place in freezer until mushy. Turn into a mixing bowl; beat with a rotary beater or an electric mixer. Return to freezer until firm. Spoon into bowls to soften before serving.

OK I used a half cup of dried cranberries and cooked them down in the water. When they were done I ran the whole thing through the food processor. And I used a whole package of yeastnot sure if it's a teaspoon or not. Used the mixer and the results taste really good but I don't have to worry about softening it up 'cause it's already a little soft. But really good.

ANGEL HERB

God's teeth I had the devil's own time getting this baby posted. I think my rough draft gave Blogger heartburn or some darn thing.

NOTE: I used three different books as references. Each one had a slightly different take on what to use when. One reference uses leaves for the infusion (tea) preparation. Another uses crushed seeds for the tea. I guess you use what you have on hand and make the best of it.


If you’re a shrub that can reach over six feet tall, spread about four feet wide with beautiful globes of seed heads you just might be angelica. In China it’s called Dong qui, in Korea it’s Cham Dangwi, in Europe it’s known as garden angelica: these are just three of the nearly sixty cultivars. My sources recommend sticking with the garden raised cultivars unless you are very sure about a wild plant. The wild angelica can resemble European water hemlock; a very bad news poisonous plant.


Technically angelica is a biannual. A gardener with time to keep the seed heads trimmed may be able to keep the shrub going almost indefinitely as a perennial. Those beautiful seed heads that are so wonderful for dried flower arrangements or as an ingredient for herbal teas can also be a pain for the gardener to keep up with. Dead head faithfully or be prepared to weed faithfully. One angelica can be beautiful. Several hundred plants is overkill. The plant is cold hardy, can be grown in full sun or partial shade and will tolerate dry conditions with poor soil. It’s actually a good way to control the size of the plant. If you don’t have room for a six or seven footer in its full glory, try planting your seeds in the worst corner of the garden you can find.


Leaf, seed, root or branch; whether it’s your taste buds or your body you could learn to love this “angel.”

Young stems or seeds can be simmered to create a simple sugar syrup to flavor drinks, fruit punches or even served over ice cream. Young leaves can be picked and used fresh for teas or dried for later use. Seeds can be harvested while they’re still green and used fresh or frozen. The older seed heads can be dried for flower arrangements or rubbed out of the seed heads and stored in the freezer for next years planting. The root is collected in the gall of the plants first year. It can be used fresh or dried and powdered for later use.


The flavor is often compared to licorice and is said to be sweet then sharp. To be honest, I haven’t tried it myself and given the size of our yard the angel sounds too much like the elder we took out two years ago. It was a beautiful shrub; it was just too large for the space we have.


Traditionally angelica preparations have been used to aid digestion and to ease intestinal problems. European herbal texts still recommend angelica to treat congestion from bronchitis, flu and the common cold. The most common preparation is a decoction made by boiling the powdered roots. The liquid is strained and drunk as a tea. Medical uses can include cough syrups, teas or the root that has been dried and powdered. I think I draw the line at making a poultice out of the leaves and applying it to my chest if or when I have my next case of bronchitis.


It’s often included in herb gardens along with chamomile, hops, valerian, and Melissa (aka lemon balm.)


Angelica is one of the ingredients in the traditional Carmelite Water. This is a revised recipe that uses witch hazel instead of vodka.


CARMELITE WATER

1 cup lemon balm leaves
1 cup angelica leaves
The peel of one lemon
1 tsp crushed coriander seeds
2 whole nutmegs crushed
2 tsp crushed cinnamon
2 cups witch hazel extract1 cup orange flower water

You can substitute orange essential oil mixed in the water if you don’t have a middle-eastern deli nearby where you can get the orange flower water. Add about a teaspoon of orange essential oil per cup of water to the mixture.


Chop the leaves and bruise with the lemon peel. Crush the seeds with a mortar and pestle. You can also place the seeds between layers of cloth and crush with a hammer. Combine the herbs and spices with the witch hazel and keep in a sealed jar for two days. Stir in the orange flower water and keep in a sealed jar. Shake daily for two or three weeks. Strain into a pump style bottle. At one time Carmelite water was said to good for everything from gout to the vapors.

SPRING COLORS

Spring, oh spring. In this strip we have white candy tuft, red coral bells, a lovely purple azalea, apink rhodie that's just coming on and a wonderful rosie pink/cream rhodie at the end.

THE GARDENER'S APPRENTICE CONTINUED

Talk about your “one of these days” projects. :-P Our lot faces east with a hill on the west side. There’s maybe ten feet between back of the house and the retaining wall at the back. And it sits on a bed of clay. Wonderful dense, heavy clay. Bleech.


The problem with the section on the north side is that while it gets some sun during the summer in the winter it gets zip, zero, zilch, nada in the way of sunlight. By the time the sun comes out during the winter the sun is literally over the hill so aside from some grasses and the thymes we’ve had very little success. Soooooooo, back to the drawing board. After we’re done spading, peat mossing and composting we’ll try a perennial wild flower mix out back. Plant the mix and see who survives.


Good luck guys you’re on your own. Not really. Please grow; the flower fairies need new homes. Lol Oh, well, If we have to rethink it again at least the ground is being spaded and it’ll be in better shape than it is now.


We’ve started to get the garden in. The tomatoes, some herbs and the yearly musical chairs we play with the plants. I guess it’s taken this long to start to learn our yard. What might work where. We don’t worry too much about cutting flowers. There is one place in the house where we can put a bouquet and the terrible trio of curious kitties probably won’t bother flowers. Unh huh.


And the best thing of all for all the transplants and new plants is happening right now. It’s raining. What falls out of the sky is always better than what

THE GARDENER'S APPRENCTICE-MID APRIL

The refrain this spring is “one of these days.” As in one of these days we’ll get most of the weeds pulled. Or one of these days I’ll get the plants or pavers or stepping stones placed where they belong the FIRST time. A girl can dream, can’t she?


When we first planned the redo on the front yard back in ’03 there was a large Austrian pine on the south side of the yard. At the time we didn’t even take that section of the yard into our plans and it’s been a pain ever since. The tree is gone courtesy of the local utility company after a really bad ice storm. We’ve tried groundcovers and other plants but nothing has really worked. And it’s hard to get water to it.


We planted some volunteer lavender on the property line last year and they did just fine. So, this weekend we took the bull by the horns and cleared out that section again and planted lavender across that front section. There will be some other flowers behind that and then the garden section which was the old rose garden.


The arbor is repositioned, but I haven’t had time to secure it to the fence stakes. As we work up the garden section it looks like we’ll finally get the stepping stones down. Again with the repositioning. This time stepping stones. The herb garden in back didn’t really pan out. It’s on the north side on the east side of the hill and it gets almost no sun for half the year. So herbs to the front where I may actually remember that we have them. And I think we’ll just plant wild flowers out back. Pictures maybe in a month or so.


Actually it’s beginning to look pretty good. Granted, I winced a little when mom pointed out that the section where we pulled the shrubby groundcover next to the street really needed to be spaded before we could do anything else. Ooookay. That’s what apprentices are for. Spading is not a problem. Spading while standing on a slope with holes in it from plants you’ve dug up is a problem. As in my feet are killing me, here.

CHILLY

Another day, another chilly April in Oregon morning. It’s freaking 38 degrees in Springfield this morning on the day before tax day. There is a promise of warmer weather by the end of the week and I have my chilly little fingers crossed. Maybe we’ll get the arbor repositioned. Not maybe, we will get it done. We have two shrubs to plant and we can’t plant the evergreen clematis until we know where the arbor will be. Arrrrrgh, look out mud, here I come.


One of these years we’ll finally get everything where it should be in the yard. And I have a slightly used bridge in Manhattan for sale. I don’t think it’ll happen in this lifetime. If only because what plants are supposed to do according to the little tags that come with them don’t always match what they do when they get to our yard. And that’s how is should be, I guess. Living things don’t fit in neat little boxes; God/des help us if they ever do. It would make for a very boring world when that happens.

I DIDN'T FALL OFF THE FACE OF THE EARTH

The ads in the paper may be few and far between these days but there's always something to do around the place. I'll regale you with tales of paint and sandpaper some other time but this picture was just too cute to keep to myself.

Bandit loves to play with a feathered cat toy. A bright, purple feathered cat toy. she also loves to "kill" the little braided area rug. It's just about the only thing she is allowed to "kill."

I watched her do it and I still don't know how she managed to get herself wrapped up in the rug. She not only did a fair imitation of a hot dog on a bun, she promptly fell asleep. She looked a little confused after she managed to unwrap herself. She had a "WTF, what happened" look on her face when she finally got loose. Of course she had to spend the next hour grooming to get all her fur back where it belonged. LOL