Good Reading

Lately I've read The Beet Queen by Louise Erdrich and have just started Zorro by Isabel Allende.

An excerpt from a book review of The Beet Queen in The Nation, November 1st, 1986:

The Beet Queen is a Dickensian story, an angry comedy about abandonment and survival, pluck and luck (ambition and coincidence), common sense and pretension, and wise children and foolish adults.

I can well understand this characterization. It was great with fabulous heights and depths, like a roller coaster, but a smooth one that doesn't jolt. It's not an action or suspense or thriller novel, just an interesting story of how several folks' lives go. Her character development is fabulous. That doesn't make it sound very exciting, but it really is involving, and worth the read.

Zorro by Isabel Allende is what I'm reading now. I'm only about a third of the way into it, to be fair to the book, but am enjoying it very much. It was found quickly and nearly at random, as the library hours were about to end.

Although it is fictional, I'm sure certain details must be based on at least some traditions. They're interesting to read about at least. For example, the Gypsies in the book living in Catelonia at the time (Barcelona region) are said to celebrate marriage with a ceremony where they declare their intent and then each put a drop of their own blood on some bread, which they then both eat together.

It's supposed to be a story of how "Zorro" originates. So far, I'm reminded of the Three Musketeers, with all the fascination with knightly conduct, justice, intruigue and personal ruggedness. Right now our protagonist is in school in Barcelona. This is during the time when Napoleon had set his brother Joseph up to rule Spain, deposing the rightful king, so there's a lot of guerrila warfare going on, with injustices and cruelties on all sides for Diego (the future Zorro) to be concerned about.

Magic potion is another similarity between the stories. D'Artagnan's mother has one, in the Three Musketeers, that can revive a morally wounded person. In the Zorro story, it is a potion of his grandmother's, used medicinally to heavily sedate persons, ("to save a life").

Ambidexterity is another trait in common for both heros, but maybe that's pretty common for super-swordsmen.

In the novel, in Barcelona society, people observe the "hour of chocolate" much as the English would have tea, I suppose this is because the Spanish imported chocolate from where they ruled in Latin America just as the English imported tea from India and China. I wonder when it is that one has hot chocolate? Is it the same time of day as tea time?

Who knows if it's related at all, but here's a link to a recipe called Barcelona Hot Chocolate to set the mood. Perfect to have while inside with a book on a chilly day!

A Seasonal Taste

Like most food and nature oriented persons, my taste buds cry for different tastes when the wind shifts and the weather changes.

For at least seven months of the years, a near-continuous west wind blows, testing tree limbs and rudely slamming old metal roofs. Today it's in the forties, but there are sparkling pieces of snow in the crisp breeze.

This morning, I picked some pretty bok choi. The broccoli and brussels sprouts seem to be doing just fine, tucked in with fluffy straw, they seem to embrace the chill. The lettuces and bok choi by the back door are finally looking chipper, after weeks of sullen and unexplained limpness. I hope their cheer isn't ended by a harsh freeze! I'll insulate them with straw, as they need it.

Indoors, comfort foods are cozy. Earlier this week I made this cheery chicken pot pie, prebaking the crusts and even lining the bottom crust with a sprinkling of cheddar cheese, to prevent the pie's juiciness from making a soggy mess. Crust should be crusty!

Pies have been popular around here lately. This week we've had both miniature apple tarts and regular-sized apple pie, with the intent of eating up the remains of a good quantity of lovely Staymen apples while they are still nice. Likewise, potatoes have been featured large on the menu lately, as they were fruitful this year in the garden. They are Kennebecs, and make fabulous mashed potatoes (especially with chopped fresh chives). There are still garden carrots, but the end of the supply is in sight. Wonder if they would do well inside, in a sunny place?

So far I have only brought in some essential herbs that I can't do without over the winter ~ parsley, chives, rosemary, sage, and the citrusy-smelling rose geranium I love that a friend once gave me. Thyme is surviving outside, not yet dormant. I'll bring it in when I have a good opportunity. Surprisingly, some dill and even some cilantro, is still thriving as well. I'll make it a point to likewise honor it with a deserved warm refuge.

Autumn Olives More Than a Nuisance

I always thought they were just a nuisance plant. In West Virginia, they are listed as a noxious weed. They are prolific, for sure, and lovely to look at.

Today I was looking for uses for another odd plant, trifoliate orange, which is said to be bitter, but useable for making marmalade. Along the way in my search, I encountered uses and praise for the fruit of the Autumn Olive.

I'll be trying a recipe I found at the blog titled We Are Made of Dreams and Bones. Here it is:

Autumn Olive Jam

Gather 8 cups of ripe autumn olive berries. (For me in coastal Massachusetts, the pick date is September 25)

Add 1 cup of water to the 8 cups of berries and bring to a boil then simmer for 20 minutes. Run the mash through a sieve and you will have about 5 cups of pressed fruit.

Measure out 3 ½ cups of sugar. Take ¼ cup of the measured sugar and mix it with the contents of a package of no-sugar-needed Sure Jell. Mix it in with the pressed fruit and bring to a rolling boil. Add the remainder of the sugar to the boiling liquid and return to a rolling boil and let it boil for one minute.

Then can according to canning directions and cool.

I ended up with a little more than six 8 oz. jars of well set jam. Nice and tart.

Mid-August Garden News

Here's a link to the July Garden Photos I took

Soon I hope to post some fresh pictures, perhaps specifically of the zinnias, which are now blooming like bombshells. There is nothing like giant zinnias for floral exuberance. A large glass vase contains an explosion of them now on the kitchen table.

Attack of the Killer Squash Bugs and A Necessary Evil
Squash bugs have been the garden's bane this summer. They have been attacking anything in the squash family, and killed several members. They killed all my cucumbers (slicing and pickling) long ago, and, most recently, one of the Ambrosia cantelopes has succumbed. Sadly, it was producing some nice melons, and one was almost ready. Yesterday I picked it, because it looked ripe, however it has a sour smell and taste, so I won't eat it. The remaining seemingly healthy cantelope plant looks great, as does the yellow crook neck squash. Both have fruit. The pumpkins are fighting bravely, not yet dying, but with many withering vines, and some fruits appearing to turn orange prematurely, in my opinion. I worry that they won't be nice, like the cantelope wasn't, because of "ripening" because the plant is dying rather than that it is time. Does it work like that? I don't know. That's what it looks like is happening. The questionably ripening pumpkins are quite small. The several Sugar Baby watermelon plants appear completely untouched by all of the squash bug excitement and are thriving, with several little melons coming along beautifully.

In July, after the demise of the cucumbers, I decided I should become more serious about fighting the insect pests, and have sprayed (according to directions!) weekly with Sevin since then. No, there will not be a fashionable "organic" cachet attached to my produce. Sorry, folks.

Well-meaning folks often ask ~ knowing little else about vegetables than that they see two types offered in the store (regular and "organic") ~ they ask "are they organic?", or worse yet, "and...they are organic?" as if it weren't otherwise worth the trouble. I often think these folks are just not familiar with the daily challenges to raise healthy happy food and that to educate would be to bore them, with a long, long lesson. If someone really want to know, I will discuss it, but it's not a favorite topic. I would prefer not to spray, but draw the line at losing plants. Under my current circumstance, spraying seems a necessary evil. This food will still be fresher than anything else I can find anywhere (usually I use what has been picked very, very soon after harvesting, often within literal minutes), and is probably less sprayed than regular grocery produce. That is my line of reasoning.

I've had some corn and it contines to come in at a slow pace. The plants look a bit spindly, but have ears. The corn is delicious, both the Silver Queen and Sweet Bi-Licious are as delectable as they ought to be, but it is not going great guns in the productivity category. I think it has to do with where they are planted. It is a more dense and moist location, compared to last years' corns' location.

The potatoes became ready in late July/early Aug., and I've been harvesting about 5-7 pounds at a time ~ several plants' worth ~ as I use them. I need to go ahead and get them all out before any should start to rot, but have been lazy so far.

Bean Season
Unlike last year, the green beans this year seem to have taken a vacation in production. This is odd, considering that last year was considered a year of great dryness. Last year I had an unbroken record of not needing to buy any green vegetable from the grocery store from the time the beans first produced until the plants could no longer be sheltered from freezing. For a time, I covered them and continued to harvest them through light frosts.

I should add that this year's vacationing bean plants are a first planting of bush beans (Tenderette, specifically). Last year, the first wave I planted and harvested was of Kentucky Wonder pole beans, so maybe the comparison is not fair. Last year, Tenderettes were a second wave. This year Kentucky Wonders are the second wave, blooming vigorously, and nearly ready. I also have a third wave, of Tenderettes going strong, about 8" high or so.

The Big Freeze
My bean freezing experiment was a total flop. I incorrectly blanched for 1 minute (not 3, as my book says) and, when thawed and cooked, they are much worse than grocery store frozen beans, mushy. I will try the correct 3 minute blanch method and see if they are better. If not, I may need to resort to canning green beans to put them up, which is obviously going to turn out a less fresh-seeming product, but truly an okay food well worth eating, in this picky person's opinion. We do occasionally eat store-bought green beans, and these would surpass those, one just must remember not to compare them to freshly picked beans.

Tomato Time ~ Got Lycopene?
Unlike other fruits and vegetables, where nutritional content such as vitamin C is diminished upon cooking, processing of tomatoes increases the concentration of bioavailable lycopene. Lycopene in tomato paste is four times more bioavailable than in fresh tomatoes.
[see the above linked article's, "Dietary Sources" section for more detail]
Soon, I will also be soon putting up some tomatoes.

Have I reported that all of the chickens are no more now? It's been a few weeks now. It turns out that something vicious (and probably in the mink/weasel family, from the looks of things) was sneaking in and killing the chickens. We think this because of the way the last one was (unsuccessfully, the body was stuck) dragged out, towards a small hole in the chain link and the way of the killing. Two of them when horribly mutilated, were found alive (though not very), apparently soon after attack. Still, we don't really know. We won't get more chickens until this pen is more fortified. With many things on our plate, it is not a big priority. I sorely miss the fresh eggs, anyway, for baking and cooking. Store-bought so-called "large" eggs seem so puny and anemically pale, but I can't bring myself to pay around $2.70 for free-range, larger eggs that probably have yellower yolks.

On a More Cheerful Note ~ Real Purity and Freshness
One more thing on the agricultural front ~ the peaches are starting to ripen! They are still a little on the firm side, but taste and smell like just what they are. Peaches are my favorite fruit, and one I never eat when not pure and fresh to my standards.

Fresh, to me, means, not out of season for my geographical region, or, if in season, not chilled or refridgerated after picking. I use this same standard of freshness with regard to choosing sweet corn. I feel that cool storage, even for a ripe, fresh fruit or vegetable, affects the quality of the food.

Growing up, I learned that you get corn for a meal about ten minutes before you want to eat it ~ that is, pick it right when the water to cook it is just about to boil.

Instead of buying pre-picked roadside corn, sometimes I saw my family ask to buy ears of corn taken right then, please, off of growing stalks. We wouldn't necessarily spring this on someone we didn't know at least somewhat, or anyone not selling the corn right out of their cornfield, but I took the point. Even fresh corn lying on a farm wagon is not "fresh", compared to what still is photosynthesizing!

So, hooray for the season of fresh food! Hooray for the harvest!

Summer Book Report

Any season is the right season for reading, but summer is a time I especially enjoy curling up with a good book. My instint is residual, developed over years of childhood summer reading programs at the public library, where you got a free ice cream cone as a reward at the end of the summer, in exchange for having a turned in your reading list.

Here are a few I've just finished.

Deception Point by Dan Brown

Dan Brown also wrote the famous, Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons, both of which I have read, and Digital Fortress, which I have not (yet) read. I checked out Deception Point, based on name recognition, looking for an involving read. I was satisfied, glued to the pages of the book, cover to cover. The story reminds me of an X-Files episode. There are shadowy and mysterious characters, layers of governmental manipulation and secrecy set against a contentious presidential election, and high-stakes action, having to do with an incredible scientific experiment which could prove exterrestrial "seeding" of life on earth. My favorite detail is Dan Brown's extensive research. At the beginning of the book, he states that the scientific instruments and processes, as well as the gadgets available to government agents are all real and in current use. With that in mind, it's a somewhat boggling read.

The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck

Here's an interesting site from Columbia University (looks like part of a class discussion) that sums up the book and its mileu nicely. I gain a great deal of pleasure from reading stories of those living very close to the land, affirming (sometimes in very roundabout ways) the virtue of that honest and morally clean way of life. I also enjoy stories that take place at some point in history with which I have at least some mild prior familiarity. I know relatively little about China, but was lucky enough to have studied La Condition Humaine by Malraux in college, so have some understanding of the setting leading up to the chinese revolution. Fortunately, this novel's set in that era.

The novel had several interesting points for me. First, Pearl Buck is an American who spent most of her life in China, with the exception of being born (Hillsboro, WV) and educated (Randolph-Macon Women's Academy, VA) in the general region of the US where I happen to live. Because of that, I listen better than I might as she portrays a foreign culture -- truly or not, I am prejudiced to feel she can speak understandably to me. Another interesting point about the book is the fact that she includes a developmentally challenged character as one of the protagonist's daughters. The Columbia University web site notes that she, herself, had a "retarded" daughter. Thirdly, I was captivated by the character O-lan's "ugliness", which seemed more to me a portrait of earthy peasant beauty, worthy of a USSR state writer's imagination. She has big feet (non-bound), a strong body, wide shoulders, brown skin, etc. Buck includes some interesting insights as to how chinese women saw themselves at the time.

I was intrigued to learn more, and learned from wikipedia that foot-binding had been made illegal in China in 1911, although the characters in Buck's novel, set around the time of the revolution, still practice it. Apparently, it was such an ingrained notion of beauty that it took a long while to die out. I wonder if it has completely, when I see a really, really high heeled foot walk by. I'm not being funny -- the shape of a foot in a high heel shoe to has similiarities to the look of a bound foot. Ripple ideas fan out about how odd it really is to have inability to walk around be attached to loveliness in any way. How can the deliberate non-functionality of a person be attractive?

The Good Earth is nice and long, so I had plenty of time to contemplate repercussions and consider the characters in historical context.

I liked a saying in the book, presented as an old proverb, that one does not use good iron to make nails, nor a good man for a soldier.

Running with Scissors by Augusten Burroughs

I heard this reviewed on NPR, and it went pretty much like a whacky comic essay one might hear read on a radio show as fiction, but this is someone's memoir! It was hard to believe, but even harder to turn away. Somehow, this author managed to survive the life he describes, and grow to be at least well-balanced enough to write and publish a novel which, apparently, has been now made into a movie. Rather shocking and disgusting in parts, but worth reading. Not high art, but very entertaining and clever, in my opinion. Could classify as Beach Reading.

Scotty Fever

We've caught a fever of these cute little vintage campers called Serro Scotties.

In my opinion, their greatest claim to fame is that in the late 1950s, an age of Huge Cars and Cheap Gas (or so we hear), these were made, oddly, to be towed with a small family sedan -- to be lightweight and economical. These types of campers made travel trailer camping more accessible for many.

The tiny and inexpensive Serro Scotty campers were not universally respected then or now, as you might imagine but do they have loyal a cult following. In the modern world of smaller cars and larger fuel prices, these types of campers are now gaining hold as they can usually be easily pulled with a regular family car, BUT are still "real" campers with solid walls, as cozy as a cabin, with no messing around to set up, as with the next smallest sort of camper -- a pop-up.

We now have three Scotties, puchased as fixer-up "deals" in various conditions. The most complete one sits up in the meadow for us like a tiny playhouse and two others are in renovation. They have names. The one in the meadow is The Hambox (it is silver aluminum and looks like one -- 1968), the red/white one out front is Red Stripe (officially, but I like to call her Ruby -- 1965), and the aqua/white one is called Muffin, because she is the most luxurious by far (she sports a tiny furnace and 3-way-power refridgerator -- 1970). I bet we will not end up keeping all of these, but Mark is really doing a beautiful job of fixing them up.

You can see others' Scotty camper projects here:
http://serroscottycamperenthusiasts.com/REBUILDS.html.
Mark's hambox hilton rebuild video is also posted on this page.

These are the two main big clubs for fans of such campers. They sure look like interesting groups of folks and have loads of curious info.

http://www.nationalserroscotty.org/
http://serroscottycamperenthusiasts.com

Mark's website for Serro Scotty projects: http://hamboxhilton.com/

Here's a camping cooking article I found:
Using a Small RV Kitchen

A travel trailer dealership that specializes in modern, lightweight/small campers. Still note, these are still generally MUCH heavier than a many vintage Scotties.
Kerola's Camper Store

Gallery of fun vintage camper art:
Vintage Trailer Art

An interesting Women's Fly-Fishing club, who tavel and camp in a "Cowgirl Caravan" of vintage campers on their trips:
Sisters on the Fly
Their "Caravan" photo gallery -- wow!

Review of SoundQuilt 2008

SoundQuilt 2008 was a little different. Of course, each SQ is a little different from all the others. What I'm thinking of this time is that this year it wasn't held at a public campground, but at a private property, Stewart-Matheny Farm. The new setting was intimate and charming, with plentiful semi-shaded camping, most of it not far from the stage and campfire area. Mark "Walnutt" Stewart trimmed and mowed ~ then trimmed some more ~ for weeks prior, getting it just right.

The stage is nestled into the southwestern corner of the camping area, backed by trees that work like stage curtains behind the musicians. One tree even reaches under the protective white tarp that floats like a cloud above the stage. Rough cedar poles (harvested as Walnutt groomed the area) support a delicate railing at the back of the stage. I like to call it the Woodland Theater.

The Woodland Theater did a great job of accomodating bands of varying size and style at SoundQuilt 2008. The largest band at SQ 2008 had maybe seven musicians at times, and was not too crowded to put on a great show. With the stage's basic white lights and simplicity, all attention could focus on the music.

Walnut Grove Band was out of the box with a bang to start the day off, around 10:30 a.m. It was a special show for them ~ the first to feature recent the additions of keyboard player Wayne Zimmerman and drummer Ray Legnini. Old friends of the band were delighted at the new sound. More at the Walnut Grove Band website, see the news page.

SleepFeeder, of Luray, Virginia, took over for WGB, with an aggressive sound. Casey Firkin formed SleepFeeder about a year ago but used to play in WGB, so many WGB fans watched with special interest.

The Jones, of Washington, DC, played next. With their energetic sound, without a doubt, they won the crowd over and made new fans.

Continuing and deepening the aggressive mood of SleepFeeder, Buck Gooter, of Harrisonburg, Virginia, followed. They featured an unpredictable, abstract sound (their instruments include a theramin), with early punk style vocalizations. They say they are "weird" and "apocalyptic". The vocalist was a very entertaining performer to watch, even standing on his head at one point!

The Big Enough Band sure was big enough! I think there may have been as many as seven musicians at one time sharing the stage. They changed the musical tone to a jazzy, bluesy note, with a singer whose voice reminded one of cozy clubs. The smooth sounds felt good.

The first thunderstorm of the day made itself known while the BEB was playing. There were a few thunderstorms during the afternoon, which were weathered well by all participants, most of whom had come well-prepared with raincoats, tarps and umbrellas. Musicians ducked more deeply under the tarp forming the stage roof, protected equipment and waited it out, then took up where they had left off. Audience members ducked temporarily under tarps, canopies and umbrellas, most staying in the performance area, chatting, to wait for the returning sunshine.

Rolie Polie Guacamole/Suburban Nightmare played next, long an SQ favorite. From NYC, they write and play fun and whacky children's music as Rolie Polie Guacamole and address deeper, post-modern issues as Suburban Nightmare. Several times I've heard these guys sing and play with two acoustic guitars and it was terrific, but this time they brought out a full electric band and rocked our socks off.

SQ alumni Curly and the Rocket, from DC, played next. In my opinion, they lucked out on playing at the most beautiful time of the evening. If you have any doubt, examine the photos taken by William Mitchell, at William's photo gallery site. Pete (guitar) and Adrienne (drums, vocals) are certainly old friends of SoundQuilt. It was a pleasure to see and hear them once again.

Another performer, beloved by fans for his past SQ performances is Steve Honoshowsky, who played as No Use for Humans. Steve brought slightly fewer bells and whistles, in the interest of ease of travel (he's from NJ, it's a bit of a jaunt) but still did a great job of wowing us with his percussion wizardry.

Finishing out the evening, Michael Barry-Rec did a fine job of helping us wind down. At times he played solo, accompanying himself with a looping recorder, and at other times he played with others who joined him on stage.

After the music ended, some people wandered off to to sleep, while others gravitated towards the campfire. I sat by the campfire and laughed, listened and talked, enjoying the night and a feeling of companionship. People seemed to respect each other, kids and dogs had seemed (mostly) well-behaved, facilities seemed both charming and fully adequate. Altogether, it was a lovely and magical setting. I'm already looking forward to next year's SoundQuilt!

Another delightful gathering, the CecilFest Reunion, was held at Stewart-Matheny Farm in July. I think these photos are also worth a mention, as they show the setting so well. Pictures were taken by William Mitchell and myself, Becky Matheny.

The next gathering to be held at Stewart-Matheny Farm will be The Gathering of Guests and Ghosts II on October 31, Halloween night, 2008. Information is at the SoundQuilt Music Festival website.

Links:

William Mitchell's SoundQuilt 2008 Photo Gallery

FirkinGood.com 2008 SQ Photo Gallery

Video of Walnut Grove Band's set, from SQ 2008, filmed by Seeker Dan

SoundQuilt Music Festival website

Search Google Video ~ "SoundQuilt" ~ for more fun videos posted by fans and family over the years.

Maintenance Reference

I found a great resource to day for "how-to" do most anything: shed-building, outwitting varmints, woodlot maintenance, keep bees, pour concrete...you name it.

It's a number of Mother Earth News articles, collected under the title Maintaining Your Country Property.

Food Security and the NAIS

I've been somewhat following the development of the NAIS program, a USDA program that would sell farmers ID tags for pretty much ALL livestock of any kind in the US. Said to be for security reasons, the real use for data collected (and users of it) is not known. Naturally, there's a lot to worry about and of course, a lot at stake.

Here're a few highlights of an article in The Nation that sum up the importance:

Since 2000, at least one livestock breed has disappeared every month, and roughly 20 percent of the world's livestock breeds are at risk of extinction, according to the report. Perhaps the cruelest irony of NAIS is that by hastening the demise of genetic diversity it may ultimately expose the food supply to catastrophic and irreversible risks.

"The security of America's food supply and the resilience of livestock in the face of diseases are best served by the decentralization and dispersal of food production and processing," said Mary Zanoni, during testimony against NAIS before the Texas Animal Health Commission. "[T]he agricultural sciences have demonstrated time and again that the least-cost and least intrusive method is the most effective and protective of health."

[from The Nation, December 14, 2007]

Anybody who likes to eat should be concerned.