Love and bountiful blessings!
Kathryn xoxo
Footnote: And, if you’d like to watch that again, ON A BIGGER SCREEN, it’s now on YouTube!!
Posted on October 10th, 2011 by Kathryn
Filed under: Book Notes | 12 Comments »
Plant Whatever Brings You Joy: the Trailer!
Vegetable Pie!
rice and beans: basic
When Antonia turned five we moved to Europe. After exploring avenues in France we settled on Holland, where we felt more at home. One reason we felt at home was due to our connections with a vegetarian restaurant called The Garden, which was well located on the Museumplein in the heart of Amsterdam. The Garden was run by a very international group of folks, ultimately including myself. One of the women we worked with was a feisty salt-of-the-Earth dark-haired woman from Ireland who taught us all how to make Vegetable Pie, which became a staple on the menu. To this day vegetable pie is part of our family culture and today I’m sharing it with you!
One of the wonderful things about vegetable pie is that you get to pick what grain, what legume, what veggies you will use each time you make it. Today I picked Spanish rice and black beans and zucchini. But I might just as easily have chosen couscous, lentils and red peppers. The rule of thumb is this, though. You choose a grain, a legume, one or more veggies, plus onion, tomatoes and a cheese. Seasonings are also up to you except for one: you need to include tamari for this recipe.
So. Here’s a pictorial of my process. Visual learners (I’m one!) will especially appreciate. Ready?
First, I soaked the beans overnight. Easy.
So I put those on first thing this morning. I didn’t even season. I just let them cook in water for an hour or so, until they were soft. While I know it’s easy to open a can when it comes to beans, companies continue to use that dreadful chemical in our tin cans, so it really is so much better to simply cook your own. It takes only a minute to get them soaking before you go to bed at night. And there they are, all ready, in the morning. Presto. Unadulterated beans. And cheaper.
Here were the veggies I needed today.
I decided to grate the zucchini and put in a pan and heat quickly over a bit of water, just to be sure they were on their way to being cooked, but just barely.
Okey dokey. Then I whipped up a single piecrust, and put it in the oven at 425 F. for about five minutes, just so it was half baked. Then I removed from oven and put in my first layer: the rice.
Next came the cooked beans.
On top of the beans went the squash. (Isn’t this fun??)
Following the squash come the tomatoes. I had plenty of cherry tomatoes from the garden so I just cut mine in quarters and arranged on top. Prettier by the minute!
I then sauteed the onion and a bit of garlic, and added on top of the tomatoes. NOW is a good time to add whatever spices you want to add. I added fresh oregano from my herb garden. I also now add the Tamari, which I dribble here and there. (Shhh! It’s the Secret Ingredient!) 🙂
Lastly I add a layer of grated cheese. I used cheddar today but I also like to use jack. You can experiment or just use your favorite–or a combo.
I put this delightful concoction in a 350 F oven for about 20 minutes, or until the entire mixture is hot and the cheese is melted. Dinner tonight looks like this!
I really do hope you will try your version of vegetable pie and then stop by and let us know what you combinations you came up with that you liked best! Express yourself! Be creative! And enjoy!
Love and kitchen blessings,
Kathryn xoxo
Book News: Ode Magazine ran the story “Rotate Your Crops”, excerpted from Plant Whatever Brings You Joy in their September issue in Holland. They kindly translated the story into Dutch. Interestingly, “Rotate Your Crops” happens to be the in-detail story about working at The Garden in Amsterdam! Those of you who might like to read the full story (and who have not read Plant Whatever Brings You Joy yet) will have the opportunity when Ode Magazine publishes the story in their American issue in January 2012. 🙂
Posted on September 27th, 2011 by Kathryn
Filed under: People at Life | 14 Comments »
Pictorial Guide to Heirloom Expo
For weeks now I’ve been excited that Baker Creek Seed Bank was sponsoring the National Heirloom Expo in Sonoma County. Today was the day I elected to go, primarily because a lot of bee folk were on the agenda. Upon arriving at Sonoma County Fairgrounds, however, it took only a few minutes for me to ascertain that the place for me to be was among the vendors in the main hall armed with my camera. I also realized quickly that to do justice to sharing the experience was going to be primarily a visual record, so I set myself the task of primarily recording those images that I was most drawn to and that had the greatest impact on me. So this post is visually informative, rather than pragmatically informative, a kaleidoscopic walk through the Heirloom Expo. I hope you enjoy!
What I had been expecting was lots of fruits and vegetables, of the heirloom varieties. I was not disappointed!
lovely organic apples
heirloom tomatoes and peppers
organic raw olives
These olives are prepared by soaking in salt water for 8-12 months. I commented that this must be a very old practice. I was delighted when I was told that, indeed, sailors used to drag bags of olives off the back of their boats and the sea water cured them! What a marvelous image! I love it!
dried corn
The woman at this corn booth let me know that this corn is all the same kind, but displays in varied colors, called Rainbow Indian corn. This is the kind of corn I would love using in displays in the upcoming Halloween and Thanksgiving seasons.
baskets
Crafts were also a part of the expo. Need something in which to carry home your wares? Planty of choices! I love these African baskets. I bought one years ago as a kitty basket for my Maine Coon, Luna, and she sleeps in it to this day.
corn doll
A sweet addition to any room in your home–a corn doll! This would be a lovely project to create with your children at home, particularly handy if you grew corn this year!
handmade quilt
What an ambitious quilt the above, a true treat for the eyes.
birdhouse
The ribbon on this unusual birdhouse indicates it was honored at the Sonoma Co. Harvest Fair. The little sign above the door says “CHURCH OF ONE TREE“.
Plant Whatever Brings You Joy
It is always gratifying to see my book for sale among other gardening titles, I must admit. 🙂
Turning the corner I was suddenly among plants of many descriptions. These orchids were an education in themselves, as I personally had never seen these varieties. I was told you would have to travel far and wide to see them–or go to an orchid show, which apparently I will do in February. On the list!
These orchids all had a kind of spidery quality combined with the illusion of each having a face. It is most obvious this is no accident, rather a measure of protection insured against all who pass by. Fascinating, and a bit unnerving! 🙂
succulent
This pic I took for one reason and one reason only–when I saw this plant I immediately thought of Pam of Digging. Pam, this pic is for you! 🙂
Suddenly I found myself among these very large dahlias! What a burst of color!
And, now dear readers, I invite you into an (unattended) booth that, upon entering, I immediately teared up. I guess I found my heart and home at Heirloom Expo. I was immediately very powerfully impacted by the large photographs lining the sides of the booth space. I know you would be, too.
Honestly? I knew the booth was to honor bees and beekeeping, but it was a combination of pics, a medley for bees, and no one was there. I stood and soaked up whatever was present in that booth and moved on. I later returned and, as fate would have it, the woman who had taken the photos that had so moved me, was in the booth. Her name is Amanda Lane, a very talented and lovely Dutch-Brit. Here’s one more of her pics:
As I was speaking with Amanda a young girl appeared, Amanda’s daughter, Sophia, who explained to me that the pic above was her hand, and that, “It’s a drone. He had left the hive. I found him. The warmth of my hand and my breath brought him back to life.”
And that is the task at hand: to bring the bees back to their lives. And so it is. And so it will be. Must be.
Love and blessings from Heirloom Expo,
Kathryn xoxo
Footnote: It is two days since I posted this and this morning I very unexpectedly and synchronistically discovered that Church of One Tree is a very old church made from a single redwood in Santa Rosa. I have added link.
Book News:
*Many thanks to Ode Magazine for translating one of the stories from Plant Whatever Brings You Joy, “Rotate Your Crops,” into Dutch and publishing in their September issue in Holland! Intro here! The English version will be published in an upcoming issue in the States.
*A book review of Plant Whatever Brings You Joy and an interview with me will very soon appear in Dig-It Magazine. I will post the link here!
*Western North Carolina Woman is selecting several stories from my book to excerpt in upcoming issues!
Posted on September 16th, 2011 by Kathryn
Filed under: Field Trips | 6 Comments »
