Sunday, January 3, 2010

Surrounded by Life

I suddenly find myself surrounded by a surprising amount of life: A flat of seedlings reaching their tiny cotyledons up to a grow light in the garage, a tray of red wigglers busily making compost in the laundry room, what Laurel Robertson calls “yeast beasties”, frantically transforming freshly ground flour, honey and water into the Staff of Life that sustains…

And what sustenance it is! Following Peter Reinhart’s “Power Bread” recipe, which, though it takes three days to complete, is pretty easy, yielded the best bread I’ve ever made. It’s a lovely combination of whole wheat (I use freshly ground white wheat -- still a whole grain, but lighter in flavor and texture than the traditional hard red) with the sweetness of raisins and honey, and the earthy notes of sunflower and sesame seeds. Although it's quite sweet, it doesn't seem to cause blood sugar issues -- thanks to the combination of proteins in the grain and seeds. And, because the enzymes are given time to do their work over the 3-day process, and the sunflower seeds are ground, it's very easy to digest. I have been on a quest for the perfect bread recipe for some time, and this just might be it -- it has certainly become my new favorite bread recipe...

And the greens and baby carrots we bring in from the garden are vibrant with life. How fortunate we feel, enjoying a fresh salad popping out of the bowl with color -- in the dead of winter! And all it took was a bit of effort last Fall. As Eliot Coleman points out in his wonderful "Four-Season Harvest" book, plant selection, plus timing, really can equal a year-round harvest of fresh food that makes the flavorless (and expensive) produce on the grocery store shelves at this time of year even less appealing. And I can't help but think of all the phytonutrients we're getting -- probably some they haven't even discovered yet, new as that science is.

It's amazing how much more involved with what's real in life we've become.

Our new (portable) greenhouse arrived yesterday. Though I'm itching to put it up (to see what the temperature extremes will be), we're not quite ready. I've taken next Monday off from work to give me time to play with it. The seeds I ordered should be mailed this week (finally -- they were a Christmas gift!!), and the new heating mat, coupled with a second grow light, will allow me to get a jump start on the peppers, tomatoes and other heat-loving things we want to grow... My goal is to be able to harvest fresh food all year, and I'm optimistic that the (relatively inexpensive) equipment we're accumulating will allow us to do just that.

1 comment:

  1. Jen - I believe you have another calling! Your writing is so entertaining to read! Keep up the great work! Heidi

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