Toor dal yellow split peas

Yellow split peas - 'toor dal' if you go by labels - serves 2 to 3 - 1 cup washed peas, 3 cups water, 1/2 tsp curry powder, salt, bit olive oil, bring to boil then stir, turn on low until peas are soft, add raw carrot, chopped garlic cloves, powdered ginger, cumin, black pepper and salt more to taste - I added a bit of ginger paste and a bit of a curry sauce brick, zucchini, green onions, regular onions, chopped sorrel from my garden - let simmer until everything is cooked through and broth has become less soup and more sauce - pour into glass jar to cool - cook rice to nice and fluffy, make two omelets, reheat and pour split peas onto rice - serve up

 It's what is for dinner tonight.

Mark said he would reheat some of the meatballs that he and Esme made on Saturday - and we could split a pack between all of us with him having some rice.

 

I also learned you can chop up peeled garlic and put it in the freezer - did that today with two heads of garlic that I've been worrying about if they were going to go bad and wondered if they would be bad already when I came to get some for this recipe.  I'm in 'do something is better than nothing' mode.  This bag of yellow split peas and a box of oolong tea were the things I had ordered last month to count as my mother's day - and even though they together cost about ten dollars, my anxiety could still let things get away with me about losing this job to the fire - and having to figure out how to get things right again within a month or so.

But, using it in a good way, using resources on hand in good ways and saving little things and organizing and cleaning can take you a little further towards 'it could be worse and we'll work to make it better'  I will probably feel different in a few more weeks - but I know I can only do what I can do, and some of that is more useful than others, but all of it is better than staring into space / into a screen doing nothing.
 

 

 

bits

Made madeleines with Esme today - and chocolate chip cookies, yesterday.

 

 

went out in the front garden and did some more of the clearing out - the dandelions are doing very well there, and the bean I planted last week is also getting third leaves on.  I need to also plant some mustard, komatsuna and have ordered another big pack of beet green seeds (the types of dual purpose beets that are good for both) and some Mississippi Silver cowpeas.  I had resisted purchasing any more seeds since the ones I ordered from the preservation center, but I planted almost all the beets I have and if they do not germinate, I wanted some back up.

 This is two Alice Whiting bean plants, germinated about a month ago and finally put out a week ago.

I think this is a sweet pea in the windowsill germinating  I started another tray of beans to germinate, as well, some of the ones from below, kenearly and the dark red ones that I'm not sure what variety they were

 languages : Working on Turkish and French

April 13th in the garden - peaches, strawberries and peas

My calico cat hunting in the garden - I think it was a lizard or a bug?

 field peas 'Whippoorwill southern cowpea' germinating

I planted peas 7 days ago, and they have begun to come up.  I also planted corn and other beans, radishes and lettuce at that time and nothing else has come up.  Corn and some beans can be up to 14 days.

My black cherry tree 

 The peach trees with tiny fruit

strawberries beginning to set

Pease porridge hot... pea soup for breakfast

Pease porridge hot, pease porridge cold, pease porridge in the pot, nine days old

Not really, it is about twenty minutes old.
And my coonhound is sitting by my elbow, wanting some.

It doesn't hurt that I like pea soup.  I grew up eating it.  And when I haven't had any in a while, I feel like I'm missing some key vitamins.

Pea soup is a natural medicine, and a tasty one! 
Pea soup has a lot of zinc and magnesium in it, especially if you make it from scratch from good ingredients.

It is perfect for chasing off sinus infections and the winter colds. I get sinus infections every year (it's just the terrible way my sinuses are formed), and this is always a great kicker to get that 'gym sock' taste out of the back of your nose.

Pea Soup for Breakfast

Fill the saucepan a little over 1/2 full
Put it on the stove to boil

Add a dash of good olive oil - how do you tell if it is good? (see below)
Add one or two small chicken or beef bouillon cubes
Add celery seed, black pepper, some cayenne pepper if you wish
The bouillon will probably have enough salt in it without adding extra.

Measure out 1/2 cup or a few handfuls (your choice) of dry green peas
wash the green peas in a colander or strainer, then add to the pot
Bring pot to a slow boil while...

Chop one yellow or white onion fine
Add to the pot

You can throw a curry cube or curry powder in this now, if you wish, or just before serving

Slow boil your mixture or simmer on low, your choice, stir often and don't let it stick to the bottom of the pan

Test to see when it is finished by fishing out a bit of green pea with a spoon or knife, and testing to see if it crushes between your fingertips.  If it doesn't smash easily, it isn't going to be a nice soup yet.  When it does, take it and set it aside to cool for a few minutes.  Get out your stick blender or pour whole mess into a regular blender.  Be careful, it is still hot!  Blend up until smooth.

Eat
Feed some to hounds, if there is any left.
Now I have three of them pacing at my knees, asking if there is any left for dogs!


Olive Oil Blues

So, how do you tell if your olive oil is 'good' olive oil?
So much gets sold in the stores that is not actually good quality olive oil.

Here is the way to find our what you have by chemistry.

Take a small portion of what you have bought - enough to cover the bottom of any small container you have.  Place the container in the refrigerator for several hours, up to overnight.

If it congeals like butter in the bottom of your container, that is good olive oil.  If it remains liquid at refrigeration temperatures - your olive oil is actually safflower or sunflower or some other similar oil that has been mixed with olive oil and passed off.

But it says 100% Extra Virgin Olive Oil!
You can't tell by the labels.  It's like them getting to pass off rabbit as fish - some sort of deal that they can call it what they want to call it as long as it passes their tests of smoke temperature and whatever else it is they have for FDA requirements to meet 'olive oil'.  But this test will tell you what it actually is, as few things that meet those tests will congeal at refrigeration temps.

Once you find a good reliable brand you're probably set.  It wouldn't hurt to test a new bottle once in a while, depending on how long it is between your uses.

Heirloom beans at KnitOwl

We just got back from the flea market and talking to lots of people about our seeds.  You can find out more about the seeds we have available this year by going to the KnitOwl shop  I hope we will have a few more days this summer we can take the seeds out and about without rain!  I've posted about seven varieties of beans and some of our corn experiments as well.

I'll be out in the garden checking on things later and might post a few pictures of how things are coming along. 

Went out and planted all but the reserved seeds on the Mayflower beans - in among the corn as I was planning to.  Saw that the Ireland Creek Annies and the Cherokee Wax beans are both getting tiny beans on them - ready to start producing soon.  The Taylor Horticultural are just about there, as well  as the Kenearly Yellow Eye.  I did go and look up the Ireland Creek Annies again and they are dry beans only - but the Cherokee and Pencil Pod wax (in two separate areas) are both useful for fresh beans and for dry beans afterwards.  I noticed the purple Shackamaxons are starting to flower on the fence, as are the 'random' Pintos I put in by the sweet peas.  A few of the black shackamxon 'star' sports are coming up in the corn but not many - that was just not a great time after the rain to plant those?

I looked at the Mandan corn and it is putting on ears and the ears are filling up and putting out brown silks.  It is going to come in long before the sweet corn.  I pulled a yellow summer squash and saw that the Zephyr squash, the pattypan squashes and the yellow cucumbers are all starting to put on fruit, as well.

2013 garden documentation beans, cowpeas, sunflowers and tomatoes

Here is how the garden is doing this year... the sweet corn was a success and went in the freezer a few weeks ago. We've had enough tomatoes already to make about four quarts of good sauce, and the sweet peas and beans have been producing a good amount as well up until now.

Bosnian bean (with one dried pod from the sweet peas).  I planted one plant at the base of the sweet peas and it is now starting to really take off climbing the old vines and the wires.  I have saved about four pods and am waiting for them to dry and see if the beans are like they should be.

 Connecticut field pumpkin growing well

 Glass gem popcorn has been hit by something... wondering if we'll get an ear for seed out of it this year.

 Dark red cosmo flowers

 Lady peas - another heirloom given to me by a local.  The seeds were small and white, oblong, but about the general size of a black eyed pea.  I'm curious to see what the pods look like filled out.

 Another shot of the pods starting out.

 Black  Prince tomatoes, I think...

Japonica popcorn growing.. it is VERY short... hmm..

 Principe Borghese tomatoes from the seedlings we started indoors.

There are TONS and tons of these coming in now.. glad we bought the variety.

 Blue black Shackamaxon bean flowers

I have planted these in several places in the garden and they are doing well.

 Heirloom brown speckled cowpeas (whipporwill, as they were given to me) - is this the third or fourth year we've grown them?  It looks like there will be a good crop this year.  And the purple flowers are so showy..

 Whole line of plants at the end of where the sweet corn was up until a few weeks ago.

 Speckled cowpea pods starting out...

Autumn Beauty sunflowers - this was a seed packet from Azure Dandelion
I have two heads drying from the other seeds I had saved last year - they are growing much smaller than these.. but that happens.  The birds have favored the smaller sunflowers - goldfinches have flown away every time I've been out there.

harvest and dragon

 Sweet peas from today.. two different varieties

I tried to save about ten big ones for seed and a pod from the other variety

 Cucumbers (one that was hiding really well), pepper, zucchini, basil, beans and sweet peas  Esme said it had lots of spikes on it like a cactus.

A purple squishy dragon from the zoo gift shop.

Her name is 'Violent' the dragon.

Cowpeas

Varieties of cowpeas
some are used 'fresh' and some are eaten dry

From left to right: black eyed peas, Mississippi silver brown crowder, pink eye purple hulled peas, mayflower beans

I have been doing some detailed research into different kinds of 'southern peas', also known as field peas or iron peas or clay peas. These are varieties of peas that are used primarily to make dry goods, although some of them can be eaten fresh like the common green peas or sugar snap types. They tend to be less sugary and more 'meaty' or like dry beans in flavor. It is one of those kinds of foods that are good to know how to grow, keep and propagate for the future. It is interesting to me because there are so many kinds of cowpeas, from different times in our history, and all of them have very interesting stories.



Esme said she had to help mama sort seeds


She actually mixed them up more and dropped a lot
on the floor.. but it is the thought that counts!


Cow pea 'bandit'
I asked her to hold the bags up, and she did this.

This last picture really shows how much she has been growing!

The same shirt when I made it last September


Equinox post Animal top shirt
It was much more roomy on her back then!

It is time to make another round! I got a half yard of something in the mail the other day, all the way from Hong Kong. Daddy and Grandpa were wondering why Mama would order something from that far away for something this small.... well... I explained it to Daddy like his description that he could buy all the canned apples from the store they had, and none of them would be as good as a batch he made himself. Further than that, if the produce was from their own garden and nobody else had anything like it at all... it would be even more of an experience eating whatever was made from it. The fabric from this shirt pictured was also from Japan... and I fretted over how to use it well - and I do believe this shirt was the best choice for it. When I use something that special it both spurs me to MAKE the item, and further to continue to use that item over and over with a 'history' of how it got to be what it is. In a way, my interest in heirloom beans and peas also works into that keyhole in my mind - it connects us to something else, is useful and continues to create memories into the future as well.

LATER: Esme has been so cranky the past day or so, off and on - and she is asking for and drinking more milk again, and then crashing for an uncustomary nap. So, my deduction is a growth spurt. I'm working on her 'civility' as she is resorting to 'gimme this' and 'go away', screeching and pushing and shoving with her crankiness... not the way to act. I threatened to remove her from Grandma's house for one of her spats... and she did get better after that talking to. Now that she is napping, I went to check on the garden. There were three small pattypan squashes today that had turned bright white (time to pick), a handful of green beans and a few cucumbers. There were several zucchini, but only picked two as the others may get a little larger. I planted the pink eye purple hulled peas in a little square in the back of the garden. If they turn out to need some support fencing I can add a small stretch later. The beans under the big pole fence are starting to poke their heads up, but not the peas yet or the wax beans.

Notes: boiled cucumber tastes like asparagus to me. the notes I was seeing said that plain solid brown whipporwhill cowpeas were very hard to come by for this year 2011... some crop failures. They are one of the old varieties that might be what Grandma remembers from her childhood. The brown speckled whipporwhills are coming in the mail soon I hope. They are a variant that supposedly tastes very similar and were a family tradition in Tennessee. Now I should kick myself to go sew a shirt for Esme!


saw this dress pattern
and would like to make it for Esme

I made her a green and polka-dotted sleeveless shirt one size bigger than the other one. It is the same fabric in her bird pants. It is a little wide in the neck... but it does fit and doesn't slip around too much. Loose is better than tight in hot weather and bigger is always something to grow in while too small is never good! So, it is a win. I might tighten the front just a tiny bit when I use the Hong Kong fabric for the next one.