potionstopesto.blogspot.com: new year

Showing posts with label new year. Show all posts

Sunday, January 16, 2011

And the sky cried

If I could make a wish for this year, it would be to travel through it with some measure of grace, calm and good humour.

Seeing out 2010

It has been a year and a day since my best friend Nerys died. There have been three hundred and sixty six turnings around the sun. Time enough in my life for a new grandchild, a family wedding, a new job, fifty one blog posts, the website launch and in the way of things, another death of a friend. I have missed her love, guidance and support, the stern lectures and the shared laughter. Thanks to both families and my friends I have found a path through the sadness and a measure of confidence to move forward

The pace of 2010 was frantic in all ways. In these first few weeks of the new year we have seen extreme weather conditions around the world causing death and destruction. The news arrives almost instantaneously through the electronic media, reminding us that we are not in control – that life has its own plan for us. In the face of every challenge, be it emotional, financial or physical, we tend to live our lives in the moment and begin to reassess priorities for the immediate future.

This weekend thousands of people have put aside their weekend to help others. Fifty five million dollars has been donated to a flood relief fund, and everywhere there are stories that show people at their generous best. Nerys would have liked that.

Nerys and Marc with Brodie and Pip

Monday, January 4, 2010

Summertime

Today is the first day of the return to some sort of reality as the limbo of the week between Christmas and New Year ends. Shops, banks and the Post office will be open ‘normal’ hours all week and hopefully we will be able to stop asking each other what day it is. Living in a tourist town it is often hard to focus on work when the rest of the world is on holiday but the demands of animals, gardens and harvest keep me somewhat grounded in the practical.

Christmas is the time of year that the St John’s Wort flowers here. Some of the most prolific patches grow on the damp verges of the road to Summertime farm (the same road pictured above). This year the crop flowered early and I harvested a bag of flowers the week before Christmas. Hypericum perforatum is an introduced weed of excellent medicinal properties. Analgesic, anti-inflammatory, antiseptic, antiviral and antibacterial, it has been used To soothe wounds, burns and bruising, ease fibrositis, sciatica, arthritis, rheumatism and gout and to help relieve depression.Last year Nerys and I made extractions into oil and Nerys has posted a blog on this wonderful process that saw yellow flowers gradually turn the oil a miraculous deep red.http://gypsysoul-au.blogspot.com/2009/01/little-bit-of-magic.html and http://gypsysoul-au.blogspot.com/2009/01/st-johns-wort-oil.html This year she asked me to mak

e her a tincture.

Here is the method:

Fill a glass jar with flowers, after the spiders have had a chance to run away.

Cover with the highest proof alcohol you can buy (I use vodka but you can use brandy or gin.)

Label the jar with the date you start and the date the tincture will be ready (10 – 14 days.)
Each day tap the base of the jar 100 times ( or for one minute) onto either the heel of your hand or a folded cloth. This is known as ‘succussion’ and is a process that allows the release of the plants properties into the

alcohol.

After 10 days – 2 weeks, strain the tincture first through a sieve and then through a paper coffee filter into a brown bottle to protect from the light. 5 ml of glycerine added to each 250ml of tincture will increase its keeping properties.

Label and store in a cool dark place.

Dosage is 5-15 drops in 40ml of water three times a day.

Do not give tinctures to children under five.

More information on herbal tinctures is available in 'Healing with Herbs,' click on the cover in the side bar.

The particular magic of making this tincture was that it turned red before our eyes. As the weather became very hot, I decided to strain it after 10 days.By the way, be careful, the red tincture created black stains on my white shirt, which then spookily turn yellow in the wash!

May the New Year bring you joy and inspiration,

nirala

Baked Olives

Pickled Red Cabbage

2kg red cabbage (prize winner if possible!)
3 Tbsp salt
2 litres spiced vinegar, purchased or homemade.

Shred cabbage finely, layer one third cabbage in a ceramic bowl, sprinkle over one third salt and repeat twice.
Put a layer of plastic wrap over the cabbage and then a small plate.
On top of the plate put a heavy weight. A pot of water or a couple of bricks on top of a round chopping board work well.
Leave overnight and in the morning drain liquid and rinse well.
Put in steriised jars and cover with spiced vinegar.
Leave one week before eating with cold meats or cheese or as a side dish with bangers and mash.

One of my all time favourites - perfect for a quick meal on a cold day.

Chickpea and Chorizo Soup

1 onion diced
1 red chilli seeded and chopped
1 Tbsp olive oil
420gm can of tomatoes, chopped
1 can water
2 tsp All Purpose Seasoning (see Seasonings)
1 chorizo sausage, cubed
1 can chickpeas, drained
150gm cabbage, sliced finely
Grated parmesan

1. Sauté chilli and onion in oil for 2 minutes, stirring.
2. Add tomatoes then water, sausage and seasoning powder and bring to the boil.
3. Add chick peas and cabbage and cook until cabbage is wilted.
4. Serve with a sprinkling of parmesan cheese.
TIP
Use other beans if chick peas are not available, use two cans for a main meal dish. Broccoli, cauliflower or spinach can substitute for cabbage. This soup improves with age, I like it better reheated.

Lemon Mushroom Pasta

Serves 4.
Dressing
½ tsp chilli powder
Grated zest of 1 lemon
1 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 cm piece ginger, peeled and grated
¼ cup white wine vinegar
¼ tsp salt
⅓ cup soy sauce
1 Tbsp honey
1 Tbsp dark sesame oil
3 Tbsp olive oil

Pasta
400g dried linguine cooked according to the package instructions
300g fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 Tbsp butter
2 tsp vegetable oil
1 block tempeh, cut in 2cm squares (optional)
1 Tbsp fresh basil, finely chopped
1 Tbsp fresh parsley, finely chopped
1 Tbsp spring onions, finely chopped
¼ Lebanese cucumber, sliced
1 Tbsp sesame seeds, toasted

1. Make the dressing by combining all ingredients, except for the sesame oil and olive oil in a food processor or hand blender. Run the blender for a few seconds, until all ingredients are combined. With the machine running, drizzle in the oils.
2. Heat a frying pan over high heat. Add the butter and oil and when the butter starts bubbling, add the mushrooms. Sauté on high for 3 minutes. Remove from pan.
3. Add more oil if needed and sauté the tempeh until brown.
4. In a large bowl, toss the cooked linguine with all the other ingredients and some of the dressing (to taste.)

Tempeh Pate

2 cloves garlic
1 onion
1 Tbsp butter
300g tempeh
2 eggs
3 Tbsp brandy or ¼ cup port
2 tsp mushroom soy
2 tsp vegemite or promite ½ tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp allspice
2 tsp chilli sauce
¼ tsp pepper
1 Tbsp sesame seeds

1.Saute chopped onion and garlic in butter until soft.
2. Place in food processor with all other ingredients except sesame seeds and process until smooth.
3. Pour into a small, well greased casserole dish. The pate needs to be at least 2 cm deep.
4. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and cover tightly with foil.
5. Bake at 180˚C for about 50 minutes until set. Remove foil and cook a further 5 minutes or until the top has browned slightly.