Another Exciting Giveaway!

Kirsten Suzanne is having a giveaway on her 
Green Mommy Blog


One lucky winner will get a $50 shopping spree at iHerb to pick out $50 of merchandise of your choosing

Sprouted Bean Experiment Concluded!

The other day I started some beans sprouting and this is what happened:


4 days ago I soaked a cup of white beans for 24 hrs. Then I put them in a jar with a draining lid and set them up to sprout. Three days and many rinsings later they were starting to show little tails!



















I rinsed them one last time and then cooked them in broth until they were soft and all the liquid was gone. I had to keep adding water. It was just like cooking regular beans, no different.

My conclusion about sprouted beans? I will continue to do it. They were delicious. I appreciate that when germinated they are much easier to digest. They take just as long to cook and I didn't really taste any difference. I think from now on I will soak for one day and germinate for one day, shortening it from a four to a two day process. We have beans about twice a week, with a two day soak I won't have to have multiple jars germinating just to keep us in beans. My kitchen isn't that big and I don't feel like branching out right now. Master bathroom with the skylight, I'm talking to you.

Last night's dinner was delicious. I made whole wheat tortillas, I made a wonderful salsa from tomato, onion, corn, garlic and lime juice.
















I cooked up some brown and wild rice, steamed about 2 cups of spinach leaves in broth with minced onion and made cashew sour cream.

Burrito night.














Roll your own :)



Today for lunch I sauteed some collard greens and minced onion in a 1/2 cup juice from the salsa. When the collard is thoroughly wilted and the onions are translucent I added a tsp of unsweetened cocoa powder and stirred it in until all dissolved. I added another 1/4 cup of water and let it simmer until the liquid was almost gone.

I served it over wild and brown rice with a scoop of "refried" sprouted beans.














When I say "refried" I mean re-heated with a little bit of water.


Today's smoothie was different.
2 Banana
1 big handful dried mint
1/4 cup Dried Kelp
3 tbs flax seed
Plenty of water














MMM-mm-Minty! It smelled just like summer time. I brought a bunch from the old house and planted it here. I sure hope it grows big. I'd like to plant more around the house but I need this bush to grow so I can make more bushes.

Free Green Juice

I love free stuff!

When I was a tot and I would say to my mom, "I'm hungry!" She would tell me to go out in the yard and graze.

There were a lot of edibles out there, berries, apples, pears, more berries, plums, and those little pea pod things we called vetch. They have purple flowers and little pods with peas or seeds in side and they are delicious. When I was about 5, I told her I was running away from home and not to worry for I could live on vetch. She told me to take all of my things because if I would need them and if I left I could never come back. We tried to get all of my toys and clothes in to a suitcase but it wouldn't close and I couldn't carry it. I decided to stay home and maybe start getting rid of some stuff...

Anyway.





This morning after the boy was put on the bus i picked some




Before










(clockwise from top)
Nettle (with gloves on, thank you)
Mint
Thistle
Dandelion
Plantain (not the banana kind, the weed kind)
Mullein








In the blender with about 20 oz water and a tbs of ginger, blend and strain. I strained it through a fine sieve, then a cloth bag.
I was going to add some lemon juice but when i tasted it and it was nice and minty. No need.

What wild edibles do you eat? Please tell me!


After

Banana Beet Deep Purple Smoothie

mmm beets! The man doesn't like beets very much. I think it's a stigma, but whatever. I try to sneek beets in when I can and this is a good way.
Also see:

Beet Meat Burgers

Beet Tortilla

Beet Juice













1/2 cup strawberries from breakfast that the boy wouldn't eat yesterday
2 ripe bananas
2 cups lettuce and ruby chard leaves from the garden woot!
about a 1/2 cup of beet
e3live and RenewMe!
Juice of one orange
20oz water and blend.
YUUUMMM!!
Seriously, it was too sweet for me! I put a little lemon juice in mine, wow!

It looked black in the blender but it came out a wonderful purple.
















So in conclusion, eat more beets. The roots can be eaten raw, steamed, fermented, marinated, baked (like a potato!) or juiced and the greens can be used like any other greens in salad, juice, steamed like spinach or chopped up in a nutloaf. I love this plant.

Here is what Wikipedia has to say about beets medicinal properties:


The roots and leaves of the beet have been used in folk medicine to treat a wide variety of ailments. Modern research is investigating in further detail how beet extracts could be used to protect normal and diabetic livers, as well as their effects on elevated cholesterol in individuals with cancer, and other medical maladies.

The Romans used beetroot as a treatment for fevers and constipation, amongst other ailments. Apicius in De re coquinaria gives five recipes for soups to be given as a laxative, three of which feature the root of beet. Hippocrates advocated the use of beet leaves as binding for wounds.

Beet juice can help lower blood pressure. Research published in the American Heart Association journal Hypertension showed drinking 500ml of beetroot juice led to a reduction in blood pressure within one hour. The reduction was more pronounced after three to four hours, and was measurable up to 24 hours after drinking the juice.

Since Roman times, beetroot juice has been considered an aphrodisiac. The juice is a rich source of boron, which plays an important role in the production of human sex hormones.[citation needed] Field Marshal Montgomery is reputed to have exhorted his troops to 'take favours in the beetroot fields', a euphemism for visiting prostitutes.

From the Middle Ages, beetroot was used as a treatment for a variety of conditions, especially illnesses relating to digestion and the blood. Platina recommended taking beetroot with garlic to nullify the effects of 'garlic-breath'.

Beetroot has been used as a treatment for cancer in Europe for several centuries. The pigment molecule betanin in the root of red beets is under investigation as the cause of the plant's purpoted protective effects. Hungarian oncologist Ferenczi recommended beetroot juice as an effective cancer treatment. Recent scientific research has shown that beetroot can inhibit tumour growth and has antioxidant properties that may even help prevent development of oncogenesis.

So, yeah! Eat more Beets!

RAW! Wild Green Mint Smoothie w Home Grown Lettuce Chard

A beautiful breakfast smoothe that I made from greens that I grew and wild greens from the yard.

I used some verbena, some mint, some lettuce and red chard















A big red juicy strawberry






























The juice and pulp of one orange (my new reamer from a yard sale this weekend, yay!, $2!)

one banananana















A chopped zuke















Ground flaxseed, Renew me and E3AFA
















20 oz o' water, or less, if you want a thicker smoothie, and BLEND!!














Another wonderful homegrown, wild foraged greens smoothie!

mid Morning Stinging Nettle Smoothie

YUM!

1 cup fresh tender nettle tops
1/2 cup fresh mint
1 banana
e3live and renew me (see link in sidebar)
20 oz water

Blend and drink!

I actually pricked both of my thumbs with nettles today. It itched for about 5 minutes then nothing.

The man doesn't like to eat the nettles. Stigma. He says he wants to but somehow the whole "weeds from the yard" idea makes him a feel a little squee. I say tough, they are going to be in every meal for the rest of the summer! but I only half mean it :)

3 days of raw. today has been the best day, no slip ups, no munching.

I bought a Ronco Dehydrator at a yard sale. Any one want a Dehydrator? Make me an offer.
If I don't get a good offer, I will sell it on eBay next week.
It's not new but it looks like this:

















Lemme know.

How do you like the blue?

Todays smoothie was cantaloupe seed milk, cantaloupe and raw nettles. I used the very tops of the plants, the tenderest parts that haven't even made leaves yet and blended them with the milk and some cantaloupe meat.















Tasted just like cantaloupe.


The man is home, he has strained his back and needs to rest it for a day or so. He should be able to go to work tomorrow.

I got my packet from eggindustry.com. They sent me a couple of pamphlets, a go veg magazine, a couple of stickers and a "vegetarian starter kit" which is a magazine type deal with hints, tips and reasons to go veg, along with some nutritional facts. I suggest you go sign up for it, even if you are a vegan, you can still show your support, encourage others to go egg free for a month and Noelle from Compassion Over Killing is Very Nice and sent me a personal email thanking me for sending in my eggless breakfast recipe which was Vegan Benedict.

Yay! for community and sticking together and spreading the word that not only is eating eggs cruel, it's totally unnecessary for good eating and that complete nutrition is possible and delicious without eggs.

Ok, then.

Today I made a recipe that came out of one of the vegetarian starter kit. It was for eggplant manicotti (no irony intended). I changed the recipe of course. It's in the oven now















Thinly sliced eggplant with a filling made from nettles and onions and some seitan sausage, baked in a cheese sauce. I didn't use any nuts but there are sunflower seeds in it.
howI will let you know how it comes out and post the recipe later :)


The topsy turvy tomato plant has two small tomatoes on it.


















Squeeee!!!















Can you see them?

















Does anyone know what these plants are called?















Or these















How about...












I'm wondering if any of them are edible. The last one, lacy with white flowers smells like carrot or parsely when crushed.


I know what these are and cannot wait to see and smell them...














I cut some large leaves off of the nettle plants and I'm steaming them for the tea to make my home made shampoo/body wash. The man uses it. I'm tryna wean him off the commercial stuff. I will have to find the recipe and I will post that here later today or tomorrow.

How do you like the blue? I was tired of the dark color and wanted to lighten it up a bit.

Nettles Cooking on an Open Gas Flame...

Peppers in a Pot with Tulips














Pelicans paddling on pristine, picturesque Klamath Lake














Nettles and Leeks slowly simmering on the stove for soup supper















I put on my garden gloves and a long sleeve shirt, grabbed my garden clippers and large colander and stepped out in the yard. I snipped off the tops of about 7 plants ranging between 2 and 4 feet tall. I took them inside to the sink, with gloves still on and washed them with hot water, pulling the leaves off of the tough stems. I composted the stems this time, but I will juice them in the future. With gloves still on, I chopped the leaves with my big rocking cleaver. I love that thing.
They are now cooking in a pot with some leeks. They smell wonderful and taste really green and good. I will add potatoes to the pot later this afternoon.

I think we are gonna eat a lot of nettles this summer. I don't remember ever being stung by them and I want to touch them just to see what it's like. I can wait, though.

Today's question is:

Do you eat any wild edibles? Please tell me about it!

Home Grown Green Smoothie

The green smoothie is so good and so delicious. It's an amazing tool in anyone's quest for a highly nutritional diet.
Frozen banana, fresh mint from the yard, lettuce and chard from the small plants and some celery hearts from the store.















I chopped up all the celery and put all of every thing in the blender















Then I found some broccoli and cauliflower stems that I had been meaning to juice.
















I washed and trimmed them but...















There was just no room in the blender














So I juiced the stems in my Acme Juicerator and added the juice to my smoothie.














with some Renew Me! and some E3AFA


















And here it is in the jar there, next to the plants it came from.
















My very own, homegrown, green smoothie!

Green Mint Smoothie

Fresh, delicious and creamy. This smoothie tastes utterly decadent.

1/2 cup fresh mint
2 cups oat milk
5 pitted dates
1/4 tsp vanilla

Blend, blend, blend

Pour in your favorite smoothie glass and pamper yourself with the green goodness.

Every Day Should Be This Nice. I Love Mondays

The house is quiet.

The cat is gone for her mid morning nap under the bed.

I woke up at 6:15 and drank 12oz water with a shot of ACV. Then I got the boy's lunch packed and made his breakfast. While he ate I had about 30 oz juice, celery, beet greens and ginger.

I didn't get a photo, so imagine a pink juice here

After I put the boy on the bus, I did yoga; stretching and balance. I stayed on the mat 45 minutes. Down dog. How I love you.

Then I went out and did some gardening i love saying that I planted the pansys in the front flower bed.















I got 8 and was going to put 4 on each side but 4 looked skimpy so I put all eight on the side that gets the most sunlight.














View from the inside



I watered the pots of toms and zukes and transplanted the blueberry bush into a giant pot.
















While soaking the dirt in the pot and mixing it up real good, I found three cigarette butts, a screw in metal hook, like you would hang a plant, and a walnut. I'm going to check the walnut later and if it's good, I'll eat it, hehe. I like playing in the dirt.

One blueberry, three tomato plants, two summer squash, green and yellow.















I watered the indoor herb garden














Another angle. Yes, you can see a face in that rock.














It seems to be coming along all right. From left to right, sage, basil, chives, parsley.


Then I made a green smoothie with avocado, banana, lemon, beet greens, BrainOn and Renew Me, kale and collard and the pulp from this mornings juice. I poured half of that in a glass, drank it, and then went back to the rest in the blender, added more water, some dates and fresh mint I found in the yard.
















I blended it all again and now I'm writing this and having a sweet, spicy, minty, creamy green smoothie. It's 11am and quite a nice start to the day so far.

Easy VEGAN Garlic Mash Potato Recipe w Cauliflower and Celery

MMM... mashed potatoes, all veganatized
















A tasty, cooked vegan side dish that's easy to mash up, heh.

Serves 4.

1 med potato per person
About a third of a head of cauliflower
1 rib of celery.
2-3 large cloves of garlic, peeled
3/4 cup liquid (broth, water, steaming water, nut milk, your choice)
Steam all ingredients until they are tender, about 30 minutes.














Put all in the FP with some dried herbs of your choice
Smash.
This dish is ready to serve with but I always make them early in the day and let them rest in my glass baking pan until almost dinner time. Then mix in another quarter cup of liquid (broth or water) and bake at 350F for 30 minutes, covered.

I don't use any salt or oil. I figure people will put gravy or some other dressing on them, and in my opinion, with the cauli, celery and garlic they can stand alone, flavorwise.
I like them kinda rough, with the peels and some lumps. You may want to peel your potatoes and processes them until they are smoother.