(Normal) Food.

Normal food is from a big building, which is ridiculously over heated or cooled depending on the season. With florescent cool white lights showing off the sorted "ripe", "cleaned" and glistening with their smooth coating of wax with everything else you don't need. Right? no? hmmm.

Food is grown in dirt (most of the time), in a field or small garden, in the sun, wind, rain. Bugs pollinate the flowers of fruit bearing plants, bugs also eat the plants and fruit. When it rains little dirt particles and bits of sand bounce off the ground and onto the plants/ When the wind blows it picks up the same dirt and sand particles and they get caught by the plants. Fruit and Vegetables get harvested (picked) when ripe. You buy these items take them home and wash them before you eat them, even though they are Organic or chemical free what ever your choice. Why? Because dirt and bugs hide in the leaves or little crevices of the fruit and veg., small local farmers don't have the time or means to pick, clean, sort and deliver all these items. If they did offer these services your food would cost 200% more, for the time and equipment needed. Good kitchen hygiene involves cleaning your food before you prepare it for your meal. So don't be disgusted with the little bits of sand and possible bugs. They are just part of the process or growing local, Organic/chemical free, reasonably priced food. Get acquainted with the bugs because they are in your neighbourhood. Enjoy your food and the time it takes to grow and prepare your meal, food is fun and delicious. Whats missing in our diets of over sanitized, perfectly clean food from those big buildings? DIRT. If you take a bite of something and there is a little bit of grit in it, don't be a wussy and grossed out, just swallow it, You probably ate dirt when you were a kid anyways.

GO out and support your local Farmers Market and Farmers, It's Canadas long weekend and its the Canadian thing to do.
Another Candian thing to do Canadiana Punk Rock playlist
D.O.A. - I am Canadian
Teenage Head - Aint Got No Sense 
The Riptides - Red Dawn
NoMeansNo - Canada is Pissed
The Creeps - Midnight another Phone Call
SNFU - Reality is a Ride on the Bus
Chixdiggit! - Quit your Job & Chupacabra
Propagandhi - Less talk, more Rock
Dayglo Abortions - Proud to be a Canadian

peace I'm out

EATING: Swiss Chard

The Garden has been behaving. We have gotten on top of those pesky leaf miners at least on the chard. Which by coincidence we are having for supper with a sheppards pie, and I wanted to write a post about cause I am bored, chard is delicious, and this is the recipe we are using today.

Swiss Chard with Olives, Garlic, Currants, and Feta

you will need

Swiss Chard - as much as you want
Olives - handfull or as much as you want
Garlic - 1 clove or as much as you want
Currants - handfull or as much as you want
Feta - Crumbled - handful or as much as you want
Salt N Pepa - Push It as much as you want

So first things first get the chard from your garden, you have a garden right? with greens in it? oh you don't ok well grab the chard from your refrigerator.

Wash/rinse your chard, shake excess water off, bunch chard together and cut 1 inch strips or how ever big you like it, chop garlic finely, put pan or pot on medium heat, add a small amount of oil (not really needed).
Once pan is hot add chard, after 30seconds add garlic, wait another 30seconds turn heat source off so as to not over cook "wilt" your chard, add olives and currants, and season with salt and pepper, once doled out sprinkle feta on top.

Ingredients, Check

Ingredients chopped,check!

Ingredients in pot, Check!

Cooked? Check!, oh look at that the bread is done too.

Add Feta, and eat. photographing food is hard.

Thats it Thanks
Peace, I'm out

The Garden

Yesterday was productive, Well it was productive in the back garden. Meaning we planted a lot of stuff or re-potted a lot of stuff. We had planted 7 Tomatoes of varying species earlier, I listed them HERE! but we still had quite a few more maybe 15 more plants. Anybody want a Cherry Tomato plant, here in the Kawarthas? I went and bought 3 more storage totes, from that place that sells a bunch of stuff and has tire in their name. A 115 liter tote holds two tomatoes very well we had two from last year so 5 all together now, plus our 3.5gal pails from the grocery store bakery which used to hold frosting (the gross kind). We also planted 4 Cucumbers which will be trellised, 3 or 4 Courgettes, 4 Basil we have 6 more to plant, 3 Nasturtiums. Also sowed 14 Bush green Beans, and 4 Scarlet runner Beans which will also be trellised, Cilantro lots of em, Chamomile hundreds of em.
Our Kale, Spinach and Chard, are all coming along nice. A couple more Chard and Kale seeds have sprouted and been coming along now for about a week. Leaf miners, Leaf Miners, Leaf Miners have already made an entrance into the raised bed. Picking off eggs sucks, they do what their name means, they hatch burrow themselves in the leaves, and eat eat eat, leaving a miners tunnel behind. They look like little bugger maggots. To Remove poke a hole at one end of the tunnel carefully push from the opposite end of the tunnel to the open end, as if you were trying to get air bubbles out of your phones screen protector. Depending on how early you do it, little tiny maggots pop out or how late bigger ones will come out with a little black dot for a head. CRUSH! those little bastards they are very unwanted. So row covers have been implemented over our chard and Spinach they seem to leave the kale alone.


We have been hardening off our Peppers, Aubergines, Watermelons and Delicata Squash.

Pictures will come later it was uncomfortably humid to be fiddling with a camera today or yesterday. Not used to our season yet.

Peace I'll be back.

Selling and sold stuff.

Kijiji is great, if you need to get rid of something, or need something for yourself, or are just bored and wanna window shop you can do it for hours, yes and make yourself feel bad by looking at all the pets available because "we are moving and cannot have our dog anymore" grow a pair would ya, I thought dogs were part of the family. I haven't rented a place for a long while, but last I heard you cannot be evicted because you have pets. Either way I won't get into that. 
We have been trying to make room in the house and garage. We just have way too much stuff, I was able to get rid of  a CRT TV, huge friggin wall unit for the CRT TV, stereo and speakers, Motorcycle, refrigerator, Tires and Rims. I have more tires a rims too if you need em please buy em off me. Either way if you want to get rid of things price them right you can get rid of it fast. You are trying to get rid of it don't be greedy and it will go quickly. again just another post to talk about myself. sorry.

I wrote this before the murder of Tim Bosma, just a reminder please be careful when selling items if you are meeting new people. Don't let them into your house, if you can show your wares outside of the house it is always better or make sure you have someone else in the house with you or in my case a very vocal dog, all my items are shown on my front porch, in my front veranda, or in the middle of my driveway. Having nosy neighbours helps plenty too.

Either Way Hit the Gas

Peace I'm Out

Too be a Cat

up in the morning, fresh cup of coffee
lounging beside me, small ball of fluff
resisting the sleep, embracing the light
little kitty groans, coming from a box
birds singing chirping, ready for the day
day begins, when kitty says

That is Zoey in her little Red Bed, on top of Beanies apartment. My awesomely talented Mum made the stained glass behind Zoey.

Laundry time

REvisions

Ran out of laundry soap.... gotta go make some I guess. There are a lot of posts about making your own cleaners and detergents, So I am going to add another to the list the more the merrier. We have read a few recipes.... but I don't like that cause I'm not going to eat it. lets call them directions and measurements.

I am not experienced in the whole making your own cleaning products still a little green, my roots are showing but were going to try different things. Right now this is working for us with our city water, I don't know if it will be different with well water or hard water. It took me this long to make our laundry detergent, Trampled by Turtles - Rebellion (lies) (Arcade Fire cover), and a while longer to write this post.

What you will need!
Pure Castile Soap (I used Dr. Bronners Magic Soap)
Borax (Sodium Borate)
Washing Soda (Sodium Carbonate)

So what to do? Well grate the soap with a fine grater make it small flecks, more soluble in water that way you don't have to use hot water cool or warm will work.

After you do that add two cups each of the Borax and Washing soda.

Mix it all up either stir or put in container and shake what ever you prefer.

Use 2 tablespoons We now use 3 - 4 tbls per load of laundry, I use 3 4 - 5 tablespoons when washing work clothes(I am a Diesel Generator Technician I tend to get smelly) put more or less in find what works for you. If you want more Smell from the soap grate another bar and add another cup each of the sodas add some essential oils, though we found that didn't really work.

While writing this I stumbled upon this gem Death (Detroit, Rock and Roll '75) how? I don't know but its great.
 That link no longer works here try this one Death - Politicians in my eyes!
Peace, I'm Out

Woah!

So yesterday was wicked beautiful out, sun shinning. Just beauty bod, had lots of good sun time today. Raked up all the twigs that the cedars dropped over the winter, top dressed the raised garden bed with some sheep manure, brushed all the loose hair off the dogs. just thrilled that it was so warm out, I fully enjoyed it. Got time to take some pictures of our seeds we have been starting in the collector room (the room that collects everything).

First up we have from Edible Antiques, Azoychka Tomato, Pirkstine Orange Tomato, and Moon and Stars Watermellon, This was our first time ordering from E.A. I'm not into writing reviews but delivery was fast, nice envelopes with good description.

Edible Antiques, I like the envelopes.

Then from The Cottage Gardener, we ordered new Sandul Moldovan Tomato, Little Finger Eggplant(I kid here it is), Some flowers Calendula, Heirloom Sunflower mix, Cardinal Climber, Sensation Mixed Cosmos.
From last year we are using King of the North Sweet Pepper, Five-Colour Silverbeet Swiss Chard. We also bought Organic Kelp Extract, we have a hard time finding any good fertilizers that aren't Scotts Miracle-gro brands in our area, so this will apparently make upto 255L.

and from last year or maybe the year before we have from Cubits Chadwick Cherry Toms, Bloomsdale Spinach and from Urban Harvest, Little Bells Pepper (which we saved seeds from last year) we couldn't find anybody who had them and were running low. and Vates Blue Curled Kale.

We have our small greenhouses heating up the soil in the raised garden beds to transplant house Kale, Chard, and Spinach. We took them out yesterday to harden off in the nice weather, today isn't as nice, hence why I am writing this.

Here they are with their packages.

I wanna thank these people also for the work that they do finding suppliers, collecting seeds, find sustainable organic and Heirloom Varieties. Cause its something that I would not want to do. I am happy to support them.

These are our planned plants for this season, we are getting quite the collection.

Sleepers, enjoying the weather. Guarding the Gnomes home.

GreenShire Eco Farms

This is an attempt to reach out to another audience. Friends of mine have been struggling, and need some help. They run Greenshire Eco Farms in The Kawarthas, and practice Permaculture, sustainable growing techniques, Alternative Equine Education and Equine-assisted learning for Humans, and provide agri-tainment and educational workshops to the public, and a home for neglected and abused animals.
I have been on their farm numerous times, either late night bon-fires, visiting the horses, petting the pigs,  and taken their vegetables and eggs home for supper. They are a beautiful, vibrant group of characters, I wish them all the best and we will continue to support them any way we can and right now this is another way we can. Please follow them on Facebook Greenshie Eco Farms, they have organized a Crowd Funding Campaign looking for the kind hearts of other like minded individuals, to donate and or share and spread the word to help raise some funds at It Takes a Village to Save a Farm.

Thank you,

Scratches for "Ziggy Stardust"

Horses hanging out in their "Paddock Paradise"

Gloria likes treats.

Amelie, always a goofball.

Peace I'm out, now I really need to go get something done.