Thai Basil Soup with Sourdough Dumplings

 Thai Basil Soup featuring Thai Basil Seeds and Sourdough Dumplings

A Healthy November Recipe featuring freshly harvested vegetables and herbs from your garden. This is also known as "Frog's Egg Soup" in India. Thai Basil seed has a unique licorice like flavor.  The seeds have the same taste and healing properties as the green Thai Basil leaves. The seeds can have a gelatinous sack that surrounds the seed, resembling Frog Eggs. 

 

Are you left with an abundance of Basil that has gone to seed?  Use it to make this healthy soup with sourdough dumplings. Both go easily together on crisp fall day to make a satisfying and nutritious meal. 

Bread baking days are the perfect time to add dumplings to soup; you already have the dough at hand.

Thai Basil Seed Soup with Sourdough Dumplings

Directions:

Pick 6 Thai Basil stems, stripping flower seed heads from stems. Save flower head seeds and stems.

Pick 8 medium to small kale leaves, 4 large parsley sprigs, 1 Kohlrabi,Swiss Chard, or other greens as available. Chop all to make about 2 cups chopped greens. Pick 4-5 dandelion flowers if available.

Chop 1-2 medium onion with green tops if available; 3-4 small carrots, mince 3 small garlic.

Add one quart of organic chicken stock, and two cups of water to stock pot. Begin to simmer stock.

Add Thai Basil seeds and stems; chopped greens, carrots, onion, garlic, 1 teaspoon salt to stock, continue to simmer. Optional:  Add whole dandelion flowers and one medium whole dried cayenne pepper. Simmer until vegetables are tender. Turn off heat and carefully remove whole cayenne pepper and basil stems.

Bring soup back to a medium simmer; drop heaping tablespoons of sourdough into soup.  Let dumplings cook 3/4 way through, until edges look done and some dough is still uncooked in the middle.  Turn dumplings very gently by  stirring with wooden spoon.  Cook dumplings another 3-4 minutes, ladle soup and dumplings into serving bowls.  Enjoy!

Thai Basil Seeds and Stems

Ingredient List:

One quart organic chicken stock.

6 Thai Basil stems with seed heads attached.

8 medium to small Kale leaves

4 large parsley sprigs

1 Kohlrabi with leaves and stems, Swiss Chard or other greens as available to make 2 cups chopped greens.

1-2 medium onions with green tops if available

3-4 small carrots

3 small garlic cloves

1 teaspoon sea salt, pepper to taste

Optional:

1 medium dried whole cayenne pepper

4 whole dandelion flowers if available

Sourdough starter for dumplings

Quick Homemade Apple Cider Vinegar- A Healthy Supplement Perfect for Homemade Gift Giving!

Quick Homemade Apple Cider Vinegar- A Healthy Supplement Perfect for Homemade Gift Giving!

It's easy to make a seasonal batch of homemade organic apple cider vinegar, and dress it up with herbs for gift giving. Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) makes a great homemade gift, plus the health benefits are abundant! Choose organically grown local apples for fresh results. You can make a fresh batch of homemade apple cider, using apple peelings and cores, in as little as four weeks.

When making applesauce or dehydrating apples, save the cores and peels to create a batch or two of super easy and taste tantalizing Apple Cider Vinegar. Or simply cut and peel your favorite organic fall apples.

Step One: Save peelings and cores after preparing apples.

Step Two: Let peelings sit overnight, then add to container and fill with enough distilled or purified water to cover the cores and peels. Cover with a breathable cloth, then stir occasionally- once a day if possible. Let the peelings remain in the water for two to three weeks. Remember to let as much air into the mix as possible, while keeping the peelings covered in the liquid. Using distilled or purified water will speed up the fermentation process; tap water contains additives that will discourage the natural yeast growth and alcohol fermentation. Keep at room temperature. Old crockpots make great containers, the containers shown here were all purchased at a local thrift store. Crockpots have a larger surface area than regular glass canning bottles, which means more air will be incorporated into the liquid for a faster ferment.

Step Three: After 2-3 weeks, when the mix smells like cider, add 1 Tablespoon Apple Cider Vinegar with the mother- Bragg's makes a great organic Apple Cider Vinegar. Times are approximate, the first batch made this fall had an enticing aroma after two weeks.

Two week old organic apple cider vinegar

Thin ACV Scoby, after 6 weeks

Step Four: Let the mix steep for two to four more weeks, depending on the strength you want the vinegar. 

Step Five: Remove peels and cores, strain vinegar through cheesecloth or paper filter into permanent container. Filtering stops the fermentation process.

The final container can be anything you choose other than metal. Check to make sure any decorative glass containers are lead free before using. You may steep in herbs at this stage.

You can also make Fire Cider, using the finished homemade Apple Cider Vinegar, as an effective winter preventative and remedy for colds and flu.  

There are many recipes for Fire Cider, most have a base of Onion, Garlic, Hot Peppers, Horseradish.  Some add citrus for a Vitamin C boost.

Onions, Chives, Garlic, Hot Peppers can be used with moderation for flavoring.

Enjoy Apple Cider Vinegar year round, as a supplement, for salad dressing, or add a teaspoon to pie crust. For poultry, pet and small livestock health, many site the benefits of Apple Cider Vinegar added to the water supply, as a natural digestive aid and antibiotic.

Here is an interesting historic war time recipe for cider:
Put cider in a barrel or keg. The bung hole must be left open and protected from insects by tacking a piece of cheesecloth over it. Keep in a moderately warm place. It will be ready for use in from four to six months. If a very strong vinegar is desired, add three tablespoons of brown sugar to each gallon of cider.
Credit: War Food - Practical and Economical Methods of Keeping Vegetables, Fruits, and Meats. By Amy L. Handy, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1917




Sources / Credits: This blog is a compilation of online research into making Apple Cider Vinegar using apple peels, and general knowledge of fermentation techniques. This method was chosen because it fits perfectly into the apple preserving process I already have in place, and makes a good use out of the scraps, without the need for special equipment.

Credits: Victorio Apple Peeler, an essential tool in the kitchen for anyone that owns an apple tree, or loves fresh apples.
Blog Credits: There are a plethora of blogs, using different techniques, about homemade apple cider vinegar making.
http://www.earthclinic.com/remedies/how_to_make_apple_cider_vinegar.html
http://thehealthyeatingsite.com/apple-cider-vinegar-recipe/
http://www.darkrye.com/cultivate4/

Permaculture Basics: Using Sheet Mulch to Eliminate Bermuda Grass

Permaculture Basics: Using Sheet Mulch to Eliminate Bermuda Grass: Tried and True Methods

After moving into a home with a half-acre overgrown yard in May 2013, I am going to share how to control Bermuda grass using sheet mulch, aka "Lasagna Gardening."

Year One:  Bermuda grass filled the planters around the foundation, and English Ivy had crept into the roof.  Birds were nesting in the rain gutters and the ivy completely concealed stairs leading to a root cellar door.  Fortunately the home had received a new roof before being foreclosed on, and the inside needed only minor upgrades.

The following spring I determined where the Bermuda grass was coming from. My next door neighbor has a Bermuda grass lawn, which has spread up and down both sides of the street.  I live in Northern Utah, and Bermuda grass is considered a noxious weed in this area.

Sheet Mulch Work in progress.

Here is the best way to control Bermuda grass using the sheet mulch method:

1. Spade and turn the grass over or completely remove it.  I recommend removal for best results.
2. Add a thick layer of cardboard, then add straw and mulch as desired.  If you don't remove or turn the grass first, it will come right back in through the cardboard.
3. Dig borders and edge around the entire area, using wood, blocks, or enough rock mulch edging to block all the sunlight in order to stop the grass from growing back in. Controlling the borders is just as important as using sheet mulch. As an alternative, you can keep digging and turning the border area as the grass grows in.
4.  Use the grass you have removed as a dry mulch along fences, etc. to keep weeds down. Dug and dried before seeding the Bermuda hasn't grown back in from the dry mulch.

Simply putting cardboard over the Bermuda grass without removing the grass first didn't work.


The following spring, I enlarged the area, without digging out the grass. I simply covered the dormant grass with a layer of  heavy cardboard, straw, manure and wood chip. 
Since the grass wasn't dug or turned in this addition  the Bermuda emerged quickly as soon as the weather warmed, right through the cardboard.  It appeared the grass just consumed the cardboard and was healthier than ever. The soil itself was rich, and the improvement in the soil was evident; earthworms are abundant. This area had to be completely redone by digging the grass out and then applying the sheet mulch.

After a year, the first area where the grass was removed before applying the sheet mulch was still mostly free of the Bermuda grass, other than where the border had grown back and crept in under the wood edging.

I can't stress border control enough!  Border control is a foundational permaculture concept.  It is key to stopping the grass from growing back into planting areas. 

Original area was small square around wishing well, the front and side sections added.

The second method that has been successful for removing Bermuda grass is to put thick cardboard over the grass, and then lay heavy bags full of leaves on top of the cardboard. Then after a year, remove or dump out the bags on top of the cardboard if the grass is completely gone, or add more cardboard and or bags as needed.  I used this method in a back corner where I am creating compost piles and a chicken run. I collected bags of leaves from throughout the neighborhood for future compost and top leaf mulch.   This isn't an attractive method, but it worked nicely for a back corner of the yard, and also works well for larger areas.  It is an effective natural treatment for controlling Bermuda grass and creating a Lasagna Garden, just expect it to take time.

Use either method of sheet mulching to control grasses and other perennial weeds.

Interestingly, the Bermuda grass doesn't grow in the shade underneath large trees, and previously tilled areas are also relatively Bermuda grass free, making it much easier to control in the tilled areas.  Even if you don't want to till, tilling once in the spring and again in the fall for the first year will go a long way to prevent this persistent grass from spreading.

If you chose to apply a herbicide spray, you will need to spray more than once.  Spray once and again when growth re-emerges.  Broadleaf chemical sprays don't effect Bermuda grass, you need to use an herbicide spray. 

Enjoy your gardening, and keep Bermuda grass under control.  These tested methods were successful from my experience creating an edible landscape and reducing the amount of lawn.

Utah's Colorful Sizzling Landscapes: Beat the Heat with Easily Managed Wood Chip Mulch

Utah's Colorful Sizzling Landscapes:  Create Your Own Unique, Colorful and Easily Maintained Landscape that will Beat the Heat and conserve water using wood chip mulch and permanent design techniques. 

 

This west facing home in Sandy, Utah benefits from unique style and color, incorporated with shady pockets for maximum livability, easy maintenance and low water usage.



West Facing Home in Sandy, Utah

Cobblestone is added for emphasis, and a flowing dry riverbed, complete with bridge, is capable of channeling water from cloudbursts and runoff.  Design with wood chip and bark mulch to reap the benefits of inexpensive setup, maintenance, and huge water savings! Wood chip mulch landscapes combined with a few evergreens, and edible plants, transition from the heat of summer to harsh winter temperatures using permanent design techniques.

 

Triple Water Savings:  Not only do you save water by not having a thirsty lawn that bakes in the hot western exposure, you store and save water in the soil using wood mulch. Water evaporates slower using wood chip mulch.  Runoff and splash back are also reduced.

 

Wood chip mulch breaks down slowly creating a rich layer of soil, great for growing perennials, vegetables, trees and shrubs.  Start with 2 inches of mulch, and add more every couple of years if needed, a little or a lot.  Great soil encourages healthy plants that take less water to thrive in our desert region.

Added Western Whimsy! Personalize your outdoor space.

Western Wishing Well

Plow Disc Planters





Vibrant Hibiscus flowers line the porch balcony in late summer.

  The fully self contained pond in the back provides refreshing relaxation and a respite for wildlife. An herb garden provides culinary cuttings next to the children's play area, in the private fully fenced back yard. 

 



 




Pond, Evergreen Sitting Area and Coral Yucca in Parking Strip.

 

 



Below:  North Park Water Park in Spanish Fork, Utah illustrates using wood chip mulch in larger areas, with reflected sunlight from pavement and sidewalks. 

Clockwise from top right:  Fragrant Sumac, Golden Current, Guara and Jacob's Ladder.

Many local municipalities and commercial companies offer premium wood chip and bark mulch at reasonable pricing.  Save water and lawn maintenance by installing wood mulch today.  

 

 



Healthy Biosphere Today: Wild Rose Hip Tea (Rosa Canina)

Dog Rose Hips March 31, 2014

Long, cold winters take their toll on your energy and healthy immune system. Rose hip tea, high in natural and pleasant tasting vitamin C, is a powerful antioxidant.  Instead of taking a manufactured supplement, try this easily absorbable refreshment from nature. 

Tea made from dog rose hips  has a mild, pleasant orange flavor derived from the deep reddish-orange, semi transparent skin.

Dog rose hips are elongated and naturally shiny. They tend to hang in clusters of five on the bush, and hang until early Spring.
The hips contain many seeds and have tiny hairs inside that are best strained out of the rose hip tea. Fresh dog rose hips can be washed, sliced open to remove the seeds and rinsed to remove the small hairs inside the hip.  The result is a tangy sweet natural fruit leather, also suitable for baking.
Many  boosting concoctions can be derived from rose hips including immune syrup, jelly, and rose hip soup to name a few.

For colder climates, these rose hips can provide more vitamin c per serving than an orange, and were used as a vitamin C supplement during WWII.  Frost improves flavor. Mormon pioneers recorded that the Northwestern Shoshone consumed rose flowers, hips and also made rose hip teas.  (Source:
http://www.historytogo.utah.gov/people/ethnic_cultures/the_history_of_utahs_american_indians/chapter2.html)


Dried Wild Rose Hips

The Dog Rose grows tall and creates a natural barrier and wild life sanctuary.  The blooms are old rose style and either white or light pink in color.  Dog Rose can be a welcome addition to your permaculture garden!

For preppers, vitamin C has a very positive effect for eradicating radiation from the body.
Harvard Medical School indicated: "Our experiment showed that vitamin C can prevent damage from radiation...it somehow keeps the radiation from killing the cells."
Try some wild rose hips today, you may find it's your favorite new cup of tea to fight off the winter blues, safely and gently boost the immune system, and naturally replenish antioxidants.





Impenetrable Wild Dog Rose Hedge
Salem, Utah
 March 31. 2014

Counting Curly Willow

Counting Curly Willow

The Willow Count

I am excited!  This story and the willow count just keeps growing, and gets more interesting with each walk in search of the curly willow.

Recently I moved to the small town of Salem, Utah.  Salem has Salem Pond, which is pretty much what the town is known for.  I must mention Salem High School- because they are one of the best in the state - if not the best.  Go Skyhawks!

The story begins with my count of the curly willow, as they are not found in great numbers in Utah, being a desert state. One of the first people I met here introduced me, with great pride ( and protection I might add) to her curly willow tree on the pond. 

And that is how it started, I began counting these crafty and highly ornamental trees while walking my dog Dodge.

What is the big excitement, you may wonder?  Well, I am overjoyed to report that tonight, I finally made it over to the walking trail.

The Walking Trail

I had seen people walking and jogging on a trail, below the high school, but hadn't tried it myself, not knowing if it was public or private.  It is a little out of my way, just across the main highway, though not very far.  I found out more about the trail, two months ago, when I knocked on a neighbors door two blocks from me.  They have four curly willow in the yard, that were trimmed last summer.  My neighbor explained his story about the willow - everyone you talk to about the willow has a story, so I have learned. If you ask someone about willow, be prepared to have a glass of lemonade and stay a while.

He explained how to plant starts of the willow, and offered to show me which branches to take.  I explained I had been keeping count, and that is when I found out about the trail.  He said he had planted a few at "his walking trail."  So tonight, in between the rain, hail and snow storms, I finally made the trek, after speaking with his wife and checking to see if I could take my dog with me to walk on the trail.

So here is the news.  He has planted, in a preservation effort, TWENTY TWO curly willow along the walking oval! And there are probably more, I didn't take a lot of time observing because of the impending storm. 

 Caption: Top and bottom left, Salem Pond.

Right top: Curly willow starts at walking trail with Krishna Temple in background.

Bottom right: Walking trail dedication marker

 



The Count Continues

So, what is the total count up to at this time?  After running across one willow that was getting cut down recently, and saving my planting from it also,  the count was previously eighteen, and it is now:  FOURTY!

What is a Curly Willow?

A particularly popular cultivar of this species is Salix matsudana 'Tortuosa', the "Corkscrew willow" (also known as the Hankow willow, curly willow, dragon's claw, or globe willow), in which the branches and twigs grow in a spiral, twisting manner. As a result of the ornamental shape of the branches and twigs, this cultivar is commonly used as a bonsai plant and for floral arrangements. However, this cultivar is susceptible to cankers, and is weak-wooded and prone to storm damage. Cultivars that have been selected to resist this include "Golden Curls" (a hybrid with the white willow (Salix alba)); "Scarlet Curls"; and "Navajo", the "Navajo willow" selected in the southwestern United States.  Source : Wikipedia

Curly Willow Crafts

You may be wondering what the uses are for this type of willow and why people like willow. When I lived in a country home with a very large showy globe willow, on a very large home front, I would often have people stop and ask for cuttings. Something about willows means home to many. They are graceful, and beckon a welcome to travelers.

There are many craft uses, which I am still learning about from other people.  The young man cutting down the curly willow to make room for his RV told me about making living baskets.  A woman that stopped while he was cutting, and I was hauling, told me about making Easter egg trees other Easter decorations from them; it is a tradition in her family. There are many other uses, everything from walking sticks to wedding decorations.  And I have been using the extra cuttings for rooting hormone, and wondered if it would turn my newly planted fruit trees curly too.  Well, probably not...

A State Record

Does Salem hold the record for the most curly willow in one city in the entire State of Utah?  It's possible.  That's part of my next adventure on the willow trail.