Fallen Fruit Leather - No Sugar Added

 Sounding slightly unappetizing, this is actually a tremendously delicious way of using fruit abundance as it comes - instead of waiting until all the apples (plums, pears) ripen. The fallen fruit is usually either ahead of the game (i.e. nearly ripe) or at times is damaged by birds, hail, worms. Unattractive perhaps, but still is mostly good and tasty. In a very productive year, dealing with fallen fruit is something quite challenging - it overwhelms the compost and the farm animals pretty fast.

Cucumber Over-abundance and Refrigerator Pickles

When the garden (or farmers' market) is overflowing with fresh seasonal cucumbers, consider this easy and tasty recipe to enjoy the bounty - refrigerator pickles. These are not canned, they are fermented to give them their lovely flavor and to increase their palatability and nutrient content. Summertime fermentation goes so fast, that these pickles can be done as fast as in two days! 

Gardening with Herbs - Tea Time!

 What a delight for senses, all the herbs that come out of the garden all season long - starting in springtime with Nettle harvest, and moving right along with the rich bounty of leaves and blossoms of such garden favorites as Lemon Balm, Strawberry, Rose petals, Lavender and a whole list of plants!

Windowsill Garden - Winter Harvest

Washing Clothing by Hand

Inspired by recent permaculture design course and stay at Sustainable Settings Ranch in Colorado (a ranch, farm and educational center all folded into one vibrant and inspirational setting) I am returning home to begin doing what was on my mind for a while now - getting engaged with my life hands-on!

So many ways to do it. It is summer, it is hot, and lots of my toddler's clothes get too dusty from the water/mud play to take indoors to the washing machine. So here is the perfect opportunity to put my determination into action.

I begin with washing some of child's muddy clothes by hand, in my outdoor kitchen that is equipped with a large sink for washing veggies. There is even an easy hook up to house's hot water! And it is shady and lovely under a large tree, so the whole thing quickly transforms into a version of water play - though with tangible and useful side effects!

Early Fruit Compote - Green Apples, Tart Plums and Unripe Peaches Medley!

This compote is very timely for in late July when gardens are overflowing with fruit, some it still unripe. Birds are beginning to peck at peaches before they are ready and tasty; racoons are raiding trees for the ripest fruit; plums are showering on the ground - some fleshy and sweet, others still tart and hard. Apples are nowhere near being palatable, yet trees are so heavy with fruit that fruit thinning is needed badly to avoid overproduction. All that fruit and not much to do with it! In permaculture this is called "The Problem is The Solution" - so here is one way to use all the unripe bounty - Fruit Compote for a tasty summer  drink.

Radical Homemakers of New Mexico

My latest project is Radical Homemakers of New Mexico Facebook page, a way of weaving a community of mothers, fathers, gardeners, builders, homesteaders, permaculture practitioners - all people who share interest in a wide spectrum of skills and information that is hard to bring together under a single topic.
I invite you to join the page, or create your own in the bioregion that you call home. Many states have such pages, following the inspiration of the book bearing same name, "Radical Homemaking".
And, as my friend and co-conspirator, and co-founder of this page, Kyce Bello said: "Normal homemakers are welcome too!"

May Harvest: Stinging Nettle - Permaculture Plant of the Week

An aggressive tall ground cover, a plant that makes many people wonder why grow it in the first place, it stings indeed quite strongly - this is a favorite in a permaculture food forest! If planted in a well selected spot where it can spread without negatively affecting gardener's comfort, this plant produces heavily, grows without many demands and puts its incredible life force into dark green foliage that is ready to harvest in mid Spring.

Freezing Food in Glass

Knowing how to freeze food in glass comes handy in every season - berries, vegetables in the summer, herbs in spring, chicken, meat and fish stocks in winter. Commercial meat is often wrapped in plastic and can be transferred into glass at home to reduce contamination. Other garden grown or purchased foods, such as grated garden zucchini, grated apples, raspberries, blanched greens, peas, corn, tomato paste, pesto and many others can be placed in glass containers for storage. When orchard stone fruit comes in, it is a good time to freeze some pie cherries or mulberries for midwinter muffins!

Radical Home-making: Sewing and Knitting for Children

Pattern here.

A photo gallery of clothing-making inspiration - for parents, grandparents and unattached adults - reclaiming another lost skill of working with fiber arts, making clothing with love and meaning - sized and tailored and envisioned and imbued with love just for that special person - to keep them warm, to dress them up, to cheer and to make feel special. Above is a girl's dress made for my God Daughter - woolen dresses are so good to keep the little bottoms warm while looking feminine and lovely. Knitted dresses are also great for long time - as the child grows, the dress becomes more of a long top, still functional and much loved!

Herbs for Dental Health!

A great discovery of my year - this DVD by wilderness man Doug Simmons, talking about his experience in using herbs for healing cavities, maintaining dental health (needless to point out - he does this without dentists and their invasive mechanical methods) - and about so much more related to our use of herbs and plants and body wisdom to stay fit. 

Handfull of herbs - for teeth, gums, cavity restoration

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Doug Simons is telling his story.