Organic Granny

This luscious Ginger-Grape Jam is made with my own organic seedless green grapes! *Recipe for cakes below The kitchen smells of Jam.   Ginger-Grape Jam.  It is a dark rainy night in the Comox Valley. This is the kind of night that Grandmothers use to make jam.  We have a grape arbour that produces sweet seedless green grapes. This was a long hot, dry summer-- apparently the kind of growing season that these grapes enjoy! Originally the grapes  were used for wine-making. But we call them "Table Grapes". We freeze each little gem and use them in smoothies for most of the winter. And we make Jam.  Please note: This jam was made with ORGANIC seedless green grapes during ORGANIC WEEK!   So, let's get right to the recipe: Pick the grapes (at least 1 Kg/2 pounds) and soak 20 min. in basin of water with 1/4 C. Vinegar mixed in.   INGREDIENTS: 2 pounds/ 1 Kg  Fresh, Ripe Grapes .  1/4 Cup / 60 g  Sugar  or other Sweetener 1/2  Lime, Juiced , Fresh lem

Thornless Blackberries are the most prolific fruit in our back garden. Thornless (or prickle-free) blackberries are a cultivar of other blackberries -- maybe wild blackberries, but most often, other commercial varieties, such as loganberries. Wild blackberries still spring up with wily abandon on most empty lots in the Pacific Northwest (Canada and the USA).   When we came to Vancouver Island nine years ago this Fall, I was thrilled to hike around our neighborhood berry patches with a pail every summer.  Most of our neighbours were quite incredulous at my  industry-- why was I picking so many berries?  Most of them picked enough for a pie or a few jars of jam, and that was it.  The novelty had worn off.  They had so many other wonderful fruits and berries to choose from, many growing in their yards.  At the time, my husband and I were falling in love with-- actually, fast becoming addicted to-- green smoothies.  We were amazed by the simple abundance of the FREE blackberries.  W

I love lavender . Beautiful hues of purple. Drought resistant. Heavenly scent. Edible. Organic. What is not to love?  Here are 25 Things You Can Do With Lavender (if you have other suggestions, please add below!) 1. Scent your Linens :  Put sprays of dry lavender in with your sheets for a pleasant, relaxing effect. 2. Protect your Wardrobe: Hang Sachets filled with lavender buds to repel moths and bugs. 3. Make Lavender Chocolate Truffles for that everything-chocolate Auntie with a birthday. 4. Create a beautiful Lavender Bouquet for your wedding. 5. Bake a Lavender Cake for that Summer Tea Party. 6. Stop a Heat Stroke in its tracks with a couple of drops of  Lavender Essential Oil 7. Braid an enchanting Lavender Wand . 8. Chill out with Lavender Ices (ever so elegant!) 9. Spritz home-made Lavender Water to disinfect and before storing linen and clothing. 10. Wash doggie down with home-made Lavender Doggie Shampoo and repel fleas. 11. Relieve a heada

Traditional Landscape by Sterling Landscape Architects; Designers SURROUNDS Landscape Architecture + Construction -----------------------------------------------------------------  You may have deer trespassing into your yard, hoping to get a meal around your patio. Or, as in the case of our son, you might have bunnies chomping up your strawberries (leaving the lettuces intact-- there goes that myth)or neighborhood dogs-without-boundaries bouncing through your tomatoes. What to do? What to do? Well, traditionally, an elegant fence (like the one above) is an adequate barrier to roaming, intrusive critters. Here are some suggestions to keep other critters out of your garden area: Cats  are usually drawn to a veggie or flower garden because of the loose soil that is easy to dig up and dispose of their feces.  Cat feces are not suitable to compost or dig in as fertilizer because they are carnivores, and as such, may harbour pathogenic bacteria and viruses in their feces t

Our smallish Canadian city (12,000 souls) is a battleground for the grocery big stores: Costco, Walmart, Superstore, and Sobey's (via Thrifty's, that used to be a Vancouver Island chain in the not-distant-past). Safeway will be closing May 2014. Read more HERE Safeway recently opted out, or was opted out when Sobey's failed to follow through on the purchase.  Target (or Tar-jay as I hear it called by the 30somethings who shop there) also has a grocery section, but it is nothing much, mostly American brands we've seen on TV for years and already know are poison. We have another large store in town called Quality Foods, and in 2012 (I think) it won a national grocery store award.  However, over the last couple of years QF has been receiving  injections of support from the rival SaveOnFoods cartel (aka Jimmy Pattison).  The irony is that QFcame in and set up in the same mall location that had been vacated by SaveOnFoods.  A greater irony is that another rumor ha

I am in the market for a bike helmet because recently I broke down and bought a bike.  I have been considering doing that for a very long time. True, I walk 5 miles a day and if I need to go to town I can either drive or catch a ride with my hubby.  However, I do want to do my bit for the environment, and bicycling is every so much more eco-friendly than driving a vehicle that runs on fuel (probably more friendly than driving an electric car as well when you consider that the electrical energy is often STILL produced by burning coal).   I need an adult carrier/basket like THIS So, I chose a bike that is easy for me to get my legs over -- I needed a lower type bar than many I have tried.  I also didn't particularly want to have gears to bother with, that is how old-fashioned I am.  And I like handlebars that are curved in the old school way, as well.  So, here is a picture of me on my new bike (which also has a chain guard that extends over the entire chain-- how

Fragrant, toothsome baked tofu and spanish rice!  This combination recipe might have been in Frances Moore Lappe's 1971 "Diet for a Small Planet" but if it was, it likely included some cheese and olive oil.  This particular recipe is LOW fat..... way low......... like, the only fat in this recipe is in the tofu and veggies!  But the flavour....... (oui oui... in Canada we use the tasty French way of spelling flavoUr)........ wow! And next to the taste is the fragrance of the marinade-covered tofu as it bakes!  Oh yum yum yum- But on with the recipes!! SPANISH RICE (6-8 servings) Ingredients: 2 cups cooked  Rice  1 red Onion , chopped 1 C. chopped Broccoli , fresh or frozen 3 Garlic cloves , crushed   1 C. Water  1 C. organic vegetarian Pasta Sauce (or 6 oz. Tomato Paste) Sal t, to taste Cook the rice according to directions, or as you normally do In a wok, or large pot, combine the onion, broccoli, garlic and water, and bring to a boil, then s

My friend Jill McKeever has a fantastic recipe for Tangy Chick Pea (Garbanzo Bean) Salad on her site at Simple Daily Recipes . My husband and I are eating Low Fat Vegan and trying to implement Dr. John McDougall's " Starch Solution " as well. I'm reading that book at present and am finding so many exciting facts that I didn't know-- such as you can eat tons of starches (potatoes, rice, corn, beans, quinoa, etc.) without gaining any weight IF you delete the fats and oils and too many processed foods from your recipe. Finding tasty recipes is key to keeping us "in" until we are over the period of fats withdrawal (whenever that happens!) A delicious tangy chick pea salad open sandwich, thanks to the salad recipe from Jill McKeever at Simple Daily Recipes Jill has made a great vid tutorial about the recipe that she gave me permission to use on here.  She will give you her recipe and I include my adapted recipe underneath it.  I have to say that this s

When I was a young girl I seem to remember my grandmother talking about "a poultice". To my ear it sounded like something to do with the "milk toast" that was part of Grandma's comfort food outlay when children were sick.  I have no idea where the association came from between 'poultice' (A soft, moist mass of material, typically of plant material or flour, applied to the body to relieve soreness and inflammation)and 'milk toast' (a soft, milky mass of white toast and warm milk, butter, and sugar applied to sick children to relieve them of hunger and boredom). But just recently I began to be interested in the idea of poultices again.  That is not to say that before this current interest I haven't read a little about poultices, seen some simple ones demonstrated, and even tried my hand a messy one or two myself. I have. The operative word has always been "messy".   My husband and I use activated charcoal for a number of sit

Fragrant Flowers on our Morning Walk (**identified in bottom of post) In my more youthful days of gardening I was all about organic food plants.  As I get older I have begun to enjoy planting and caring for flowers and herbs more. That is not to say that I do not have organic food gardening as a priority!  This year my husband has stepped into the gap in a big way (the 'gap' being my spending less time in the garden).  He has a 5-gallon pail of compost tea burbling away at all times, another pail of comfrey tea brewing under the grape arbor, and is experimenting with strewing agricultural lime in any patch of ground my eyes have fallen upon.   We have just put in  Saskatoon berry bushes, a few Sea Buckthorns, and 3 Sour Cherry trees (or bushes or whatever they will be) as well as the usual assortment of greens (kale, chard, collards, cilantro, parsley, romaine, etc.) and beans and a vast forest of little tomato plants, many donated by kind friends and neighbors. 

Here is a recipe for a delicious and nutritious steel-cut oats recipe for those who like banana pudding more than porridge: INGREDIENTS: 1 C. Steel-cut Oats 2 C. filtered Water 1/2 C. unsweetened organic Coconut shreds 1/4 C. organic dry Cranberries (or raisins) ripe organic Banana cut into 1" chunks dash of Coriander METHOD :   Combine all above ingredients except Banana and Coriander and cook until boiling.   Add the Banana and the Coriander, and mix in.   Cover pot and reduce heat to Low.  Continue to cook for another 15-25 minutes (making sure it doesn't burn).  Stir with a wooden spoon when done. Dish up and pour on Coconut Milk.  Serve. ADDITIONAL DELICIOUS GOURMET VEGAN PORRIDGE RECIPES: Company Porridge (Baked) Blueberry-Carob Macaroon Porridge Cheery Pie Oatmeal Crazy Carrot Cake Oatmeal Deluxe Apple Pie Oatmeal Nut Jam Toppings on Oatmeal Pumpkin Pie Porridge Slow Cooker Porridge

The older I get, the more freaked I am about getting dental work done (also called  dentist phobia ).  I know, such high anxiety doesn't seem to make a lot of sense, but I figure it has to do with (1)blowing my adrenals in my past role as a social worker and (2)having too many frickin root canals along life's way.  In any case, today was the day where I had to go and get the prep work done for a new crown. A couple of days ago I called the dentist to let them know that I would like to have some Nitrous Oxide.  Two friends told me it was like "a twilight sleep" and that sounded good.  I checked out some of the forums online and was careful not to read the ones that complained about the Nitrous Oxide not working for them, or causing more anxiety or whatever.  I just knew that I needed something to handle all the tension in my shoulders, my racing heart, my rapid breathing, my dry mouth, etc. etc. etc. And of course I worried that it would also affect my new

I love pumpkin pie and could eat it any day any time, but the fact is that pumpkin pie is generally pretty much off my dietary radar what with the custardy ingredients and pie crust.  So, how nice to know that there is a ' pumpkin pie "fix" that is healthy, vegan, gluten-free and a great breakfast item full of Vitamins A, B and fibre!  I have also included the recipe for Pumpkin Pie Spice, a mixture you can make it bulk and then just add a spoonful to your future pumpkin porridge pie recipes.  Make your own with organic spices.   The spices will help to keep your LDL and triglycerides at normal levels. Pumpkin Pie Spice Mix Ingredients: (for one pumpkin pie porridge recipe below)  1/2 teaspoon ground Cinnamon   1/4 teaspoons ground Ginger 1/8 teaspoon ground Nutmeg   1/8 teaspoon ground Allspice   1/2 teaspoon organic Stevia powder  Preparation: Combine all ingredients. If you make extra, store in an airtight container. Pumpkin Pie Porridge