Glory Quilts

Mjeddrah

That's the name of the recipe I'm making for dinner.  It is from the Diet for a Small Planet book.  According to the book, this meal is a very popular dish in the Middle East.  I was a bit skeptical about the taste as the lentil stew part is fairly simple, but I must say that it is pretty tasty, and I haven't even tried it with the salad yet.  I resisted my usual habit of "tweaking" recipes...at least until I taste the original verson .

Here is the recipe:

Mjeddrah

1 1/2 cups lentils, rinsed

4 cups water

3 to 3 1/2 tbl olive oil

2 large onions, coarsely chopped

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 cup brown rice

Bring lentils and water to a boil, then reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 25 minutes.  Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a skillet and saute onions and salt until onions are translucent.  Heat remaining oil in another skillet and saute rice for 3 minutes.  Combine lentils, onions, and rice, cover tightly, and simmer until lentils and rice are tender, about 1 hour.  Up to 2 cups more water may be needed to cook the rice.  Stir occasionally.  Add more salt, if necessary.

Mjeddrah is traditionally eaten with a salad and the flollowing dressing on top (like a tostada without the tortilla).  Choose among lettuce, spinach, tomatoes, green onions, cucumber, radishes, bell pepper, and sprouts. 

For the dressing, combine 3 tablespoons olive oil, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, 1/2 teaspoon paprika, 1/4 teaspoon dry mustard, 1 clove garlic, minced, 1/4 teaspoon honey, and salt to taste, and toss with salad.

In the News...

More reason to grow your own produce, or buy from local sources that you can trust in this article about the

Irradiation of spinach and lettuce. 

Yuck..... I will definitely be growing my own greens!

Blessings,

Catherine 

Pondering these words...

 from the book, Living More with Less by Doris Janczen Longacre:

When someone steals a man's clothes we call him a thief.

Should we not give the same name to one who could clothe the naked and does not?

The bread in your cupboard belongs to the hungry man;

the coat hanging unused in your closet belongs to the man who needs it;

the shoes rotting in your closet belong to the man who has no shoes;

the money which you hoard up belongs to the poor.

~ Basil the Great, Bishop of Caesarea, c.365

Makes one think, does it not?  These words make me more than a little uncomfortable as well.   Especially as I am preparing to pack up our household once again and am a bit disgusted by all of the "stuff" I have to do something with. 

Perhaps I shall take these words to heart and lighten the load...........considerably!

Blessings,

Catherine

Deer-proofing the Garden ???

Hi guys!

Just popping in quickly with a question or two for you... 

Any simple methods for deer-proofing the garden, other than the obvious fencing???  I want to plant a few veggies in what will in the future be my herb and flower beds this Fall, and it isn't really an area that can be fenced right away.  I know there are some plants that the deer don't like...will planting those help keep them away from the more tasty ones? 

Thanks for your input!  I love watching the deer graze; but I'd rather not watch them graze on my garden !

Blessings,

Catherine

Beating the Heat by Preparing for Fall

My Spring/Summer garden did not fare well, at all .  We got a late start, planted without doing enough soil preparation, and just didn't have a good season. 

The pepper plants are hanging in there, and actually look great.  The okra is trying to produce, but as soon as a tiny pod appears, the ants swarm it and cover it up with little bits of "grass" or something.  Very strange.....  I've decided they must need it more than I do, so it's all theirs; this time. 

I still have a few chard plants that are growing ever so slowly, and a few other things are trying to survive the heat.

The heat is making me long for Fall!  I love the cool, crisp days of Autumn. 

In the midst of playing the "waiting game" regarding our upcoming move; one that is coming just 4 short months after our last move...I'm planning for Fall and planting seeds to get a head start.  I've already got seedlings for cucumbers, squash, tomatoes and chard.  They really sprouted fast- I guess it was the heat.  I also rooted  suckers from the tomato plants in the garden.  I just cut off healthy stems, plopped them into a jar of water, and put them in the kitchen window.  They rooted in just a few days and are going into containers a.s.a.p.  I plan to attempt to transplant the peppers and eggplant from the garden into containers.  I don't yet know whether I'll have a "real" garden this Fall, or whether it will be limited to the flower bed and some containers.  Either way, I plan to grow some veggies! 

I was inspired by the sustainable backyard garden video to try growing at least a few little patches of grain, too.  I'll have to do some research to find out more about growing those.  But, I love an adventure, and it should be fun, as well as educational, for us all.  I really want to work on growing as much of our food as possible in the coming days. 

The guys plan to do some work on the lot we are going to use for a community garden tonight.  Once they've gotten some of the weeds and poison ivy  under control, I can get in there and see how many raised beds we'll be able to make.  I also want to do some small fruit trees and, oh, lots of other things there !  First we will have to do some fencing to keep the deer from devouring everything we plant.  Poor things are hungry this year because it has been such a dry season; just not much for them to graze on.

OK, that's a little update from the Love home.  More on the move when I have something definite.  Should be within the month for sure.

Blessings,

Catherine

Just Popping In...

to say "Hello"!

I've been busy in the garden these days.  The heat has just about done in the green beans and cucumbers.  The squash are holding their own, and the okra and eggplant are just "getting growing" good .  I have lovely tomato plants, but sadly it is too hot for them to set fruit.  My herbs are doing well, and I'm having great fun making herb teas and just smelling them!

When it's too hot to garden, I've been attempting to keep cool by hanging out in the room with a/c and reading lots of books!  My office/storage/junk room does not have a/c, and it's not a pleasant place to be once it starts to heat up outside; which is just about the time the sun comes up! 

Once again for our family.....change is in the air!  We're fairly certain that we will be moving again shortly.  Yes, we've been in this house all of 3 months, and will be on the move again probably in another month or two.  I do seriously think we're nomads!  We'll just be moving "down the road", but even just down the road requires packing, loading, unloading, and unpacking!  The good thing, or really I should say the "God thing" in all of this is we're moving next to what our small group plans to turn into a type of Community Garden!  That will be so much fun.  It is just an uncleared lot at the moment, but the guys have big plans!  For those of you who "know" me, a community garden has been my own little dream for years; and the Lord is not only providing that, but with the added benefit of help from some of my dearest friends.  Psalm 37:4 says, Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.  I have to believe that not only did He put that desire in my heart; but He brought it to pass in His timing and by His own means.  God is good!!!

OK, more about our move, gardens, etc. when I have details.  For now, I'm heading to a cooler spot...like out on the front porch for a cup of tea!  The "new" house has central heat and air, oh praise the Lord! 

Herbs, How I Love Them!

I've been having the best time with my herb container gardens this year!  My sweet family bought me lots of new "pets" for Mother's Day-

Applemint

Kentucky Colonel Spearmint

Peppermint

St. John's Wort

Feverfew

Marjoram

Thyme

Lavender

Dill

Pineapple Sage

Rosemary

Pennyroyal

I've probably left out something, but you can see I have quite a collection of herbs now.  It  has been several years since I've had this many herbs to play with.  I'm having fun making teas and just smelling the fabulous scents of them while I water, pinch, and prune . 

I planted Basil this spring, and it not only makes the front flower bed look pretty, but provides a spicy fragrance (and a quick nibble or two) to those passing by.  My Lemon Verbena that moved here with us is growing well, and finding its way into the teacup almost daily.  The Bay tree (it's really a sad excuse for a tree) is holding its own, though still a stunted, tiny thing.  A pretty white Moss Rose somehow sprouted in the pot and is just about to cover up the poor little tree.  I've had that little thing for at least 3 years and it hasn't grown much at all.  My husband teases me and says that it's because as soon as any new leaves appear, I pick them for the pizza sauce pot !  Not so, but I'm obviously doing something wrong.  Anyone have any suggestions???

One more new thing I'm attempting to grow- Malabar Spinach.  I bought a little seedling to try it out, and just put it into the garden yesterday.  I hope it does well because real spinach can't take the summer heat here. We eat LOTS of spinach in our family, and it makes my favorite smoothie! 

OK, time for me to go pet the herbs and see which ones are thirsty.

Garden Blessings,

Catherine

My All-Time Favorite Garden Tool

is the Stirrup Hoe!  I just love mine . 

Weeding  is by no means my favorite gardening activity .....that would be planting, which leads inevitably to more of my less favorite....weeding! 

When I picked up my trusty stirrup hoe at a garage sale for less than $1.00 , I had no idea what a bargain I was getting!  New ones cost somewhere around $30.00, I think.   But, if I couldn't find a great deal on a used stirrup hoe, I would gladly pay for a new one!  

It is simply amazing how this tool allows me  to zip through weeding the garden in a snap.  No bending, squatting, back-breaking pulling necessary.  Just pull the hoe lighly through the soil and it cultivates up all those freshly germinated weeds and they are gone gone .  Our garden is small this year, just about 15' X 30' .  I weeded the entire garden (except for the spot where I seeded some greens) in less than half an hour! 

If you love gardening, but not the weeding ; try a stirrup hoe, you'll be glad you did!