Backyard Salad!

 

God, Galileo, and Grumpy Teddy Bears: Part 2

Galileo was in church one day, gazing absently at the tall ceilings and ornate stain glass windows. He was twenty, failing medical school at the University of Pisa, and not sure what he wanted from life. At fifteen, he had decided to become a monk, but his father sent him to medical school at the tender age of seventeen instead. Now he was failing.

A large lamp caught his eye as it swung a ponderous arc through the air, back and forth, back and forth. Suddenly, Galileo saw more than just a swinging lamp, and what he saw got him thinking. Within in a short time, he had developed a principle which revolutionized time-keeping and kick started the modern science of mechanics: the law of the pendulum.

To be honest, that story is probably a myth. What it teaches about Galileo, however, is almost certainly true. Galileo had a curious, questioning mind. He found profound new insights in the most commonplace, ho-hum things of life--like swinging lamps. For him, the ordinary held potential for endless discovery.

To be continued...

Sustainable eating and Fresh Strawberry Tarts!

Last week I bought a flat of fresh strawberries from the farmer's market, along with some beautiful rainbow chard, broccoli, and sugar snap peas! We enjoyed having such quality and delicious produce to experiment with, and it got me thinking about some ethical food issues that I've been mulling over lately: eating local and eating food that is in season.

There are a host of benefits to eating locally and seasonally. It's fresh, healthy, and sustainable. But there are a few downfalls too, mainly having to do with cost. There is just no getting around the fact that it costs more to shop at a Farmer's Market and other local sources then to go to Superior's, Winco, or Food4Less (my main sources for cheap food). For Barry and I, operating on a very tight budget, it's hard to make the leap.

We haven't decided to convert 100% to eating local and in season - we're just not to that point yet. But we are much more conscious about where our food comes from. It feels (and tastes!) so much better to pay extra in support of local farmers than to have our produce shipped all the way up from Mexico, where they sprayed it with who knows what. And when it does arrive, it is covered in wax and far from fresh.

So for now, we've made a few changes to our food budget. We haven't increased it, but we have allocated more funds to a Farmer's Market trip once a month. We'll continue to reassess as time passes and make changes as needed. It's a step in the right direction, and I'm excited to see how it goes!

Now, back to the point: Fresh Strawberry Tarts! There's nothing quite like the simple joy of biting into a freshly made strawberry tart! It's strawberry season right now, and I'm planning to make the most of it!

Fresh Strawberry Tarts
Makes 4-5 small tarts

Crust

9 graham crackers, crushed

4 Tbsp margarine, melted

Hint: Usually I use a mixture of blended nuts for my crust. It's delicious and requires no added fat. If you run out of graham crackers or don't have any, blend 1-2 cups of nuts and skip the butter. You can also use a combination of nuts and graham crackers. That tastes splendid also!

Creamy Filling

2 blocks tofu

4 oz Cream Cheese (that happened to be the amount I had left. Use whatever you've got or not at all. If you skip the cream cheese, add extra vanilla flavoring.)

Scant 1/4 cup sugar

Juice of 1/2 a meyer lemon

1/2 tsp vanilla flavoring

Strawberry Sauce

1 cup strawberries, washed and hulled

Sugar, to taste

Juice from 1/2 a meyer lemon

Garnish

Sliced strawberries

Mint leaves

Directions:

• Mix crushed graham crackers and butter in a bowl and press into small tart pans to create a firm crust.
• Blend tofu, cream cheese, sugar, lemon juice, and vanilla in blender until smooth. Pour into prepared tart crusts. Smooth with spatula or spoon.
• Blend strawberries, sugar, and lemon juice in a blender until smooth. Pour over top of the creamy filling in the tarts.
• Garnish with sliced strawberries and mint leaves.
• Chill & enjoy!

God, Galileo, and Grumpy Teddy Bears: Part 1

My brother John and I used to play with teddy bears. We called it "ams", short for stuffed animals. Usually during breakfast, while Mom or Dad were saying something about chores or homework, John and I would exchange meaningful glances. Then, like escaping prisoners, we would stealthily flee to John's room for a game of ams.

We had about twenty teddy bears, each a distinct and truly fascinating personality. There was Beav the cunning commando and his inseparable comrade Sam. We had Fox the incomparable scientist, mystic, and military strategist, and Grey, the good hearted duffer with a talent for mistakenly starting every fight on the wrong side (he generally saw his error and changed sides just at the moment of dire necessity).

Yes, those were the good old days. Without a TV, video games, or even much fiction, we invented our own imaginative stories and learned to see something extraordinary in a mundane collection of teddy bears.

Our teddy bears live a placid life these days. Mom and Dad take them out when young children visit, but the dramatic vision of bygone days is not relived. A part of me still imagines those teddy bears are alive, and I wonder sometimes if they are getting grumpy with so little excitement.

To be continued...

Backyard Living: Marmalade

We have several fruit trees (3 orange trees, 2 lemon trees, a persimmon tree, and 2 avocado trees) in our back yard that we have been enjoying since our move here last fall. One of the orange trees had a fall crop which we gobbled up fresh. But now all three orange trees are having their spring crop - and there are more oranges than we know what to do with!

It would be a shame to get through citrus season without at least attempting some marmalade so I scoured the internet looking for techniques and recipes. I found one that seemed foolproof, quick, and easy. I used a combination of meyer lemons gathered from a nearby deserted tree, pink and yellow grapefruit donated to us from a church member, our backyard oranges, and a handful of frozen cranberries.

Unfortunately, my first batch wasn't stellar. It didn't set up very well and had a bitter aftertaste that just wasn't very pleasant.  I have since decided that I need to go with a slower, more time intensive process but that should hopefully yield better results. More on that soon!  (As in, when I have a spare moment to actually make it!)  For now, you can enjoy the pictures from my first batch!  At least it looked pretty!

At the Heart of an Inferior Olive

I recently bit down on a half-cured, unripe olive. It was a disappointing gastronomic experience, to say the least. Our personally picked olives had cured for two months in a concentrated brine, and most of them were pretty good. This particular olive, however, was decidedly inferior--so inferior, in fact, that it got me thinking.

As a medical student my mind has sunk deep into medical tracts. So when I thought of that bitter olive, the inferior olivary nucleus came to mind. This nucleus relays information to the cerebellum, which basically means that it is involved in muscle coordination.

Coordination is important not just as I walk to class or scribble notes about neuroscience but also as I seek a clutter-free life. Take those olives, for instance. Christy and I believe that picking our own olives is a good way to both practice and enjoy the ethic of simplicity. We simplify our budget by picking and curing our own olives, while at the same time we experience the simple joy of personally selected olives seasoned with garlic and rosemary. In this way, a small budget coordinates, rather than conflicts, with the joy of good food.

Such coordination doesn't always happen, however. Sometimes, we soldier through a few days of beans and oatmeal in order to stay within our monthly food budget. And sometimes, a bitter olive greets my taste buds instead of a gourmet delight.

So from the heart of an inferior olive(ary nucleus), we have learned two things about the ethic of simplicity. First, practicing idealism in the real world does not come without sacrifice. Like it or not, freedom from clutter inevitably means a few "bitter olives". The second point, however, is that living simply is not a zero sum game with all the good things of life. Coordination is possible. We have discovered, in fact, that coordination happens far more often than conflict. The tasty olives really do outweigh the bitter. In fact if you haven't already, we highly recommend that you taste for yourself one of these days.

Backyard Living: Curing Olives

Living in Southern California has opened up a new world to us agriculturally.  Barry and I both grew up in families who gardened, but neither of us have ever lived in a place with such abundant food growing everywhere!  One crop that grows here and is ignored a lot of the time is the olive tree.  My friend Nellie and I went olive picking at a church member's home last fall and we are now reaping the results.

The following method is one that I decided on after doing lots of internet research.  There are many other ways to do it, but we decided on the following because it was less complicated.

After picking the olives, you wash and dry them.

Then you make 1 or 2 cuts in the flesh of each olive so that the bitter acid will leech out.  This takes a bit of time but with more than one person helping, it can go pretty fast.

Next you place them in a salt brine (about 1/4 cup salt per quart) and let them soak, and soak, and soak.  A large glass container or several quart jars works best for this.  (Note: do NOT soak them in stainless steel.  We tried this and discovered that, if pressed against the metal for an extended period of time, the acid in the olives would actually begin to eat away at the metal.)  The salt water should be changed every 4-7 days depending on the amount of salt you used.  

After about 2 months of soaking (although it can be longer or shorter depending on the size), the olives should be quite edible!  Taste one and see what you think.  If they are still somewhat bitter, soak them for 1-2 more weeks. If they are too salty, place them in clean water (no salt) to draw out the sodium.  

You can then season them with things such as garlic cloves, lemon slices, and bay leaves.  Place them in a quart jar with a lightly salted brine and the seasonings.  Pour a thin layer of olive oil on top to seal.  They can then be kept for up to a year (if they last that long!)

To tell the truth, this post is not just about olives.  It's about being creative with what you have on hand, instead of spending money in order to satisfy every need or desire that crops up.  It doesn't have to be olives or persimmons.  For you, it may mean saving and reusing the fabric from old clothing, or making a commitment to avoid food waste.  Whatever it may be for you, be assured that it makes a difference!