More Seeds Arriving

Friday we arrived home after our weekly homelearner ski day just in time to get this - our big seed order from William Dam (I'd already received my order from West Coast Seeds the week before).  The boys teased me that it was better than Christmas for me...and they were right.  I could hardly wait to get started but, since I'd been skiing all day, I managed to wait until the next day to start planting. ;-)

I wanted to get a head start on some parsley since it takes awhile to germinate so I potted them up on our window sill.   Seeds have always been truly magical to me so when I came across this Thoreau quote years ago I copied it down in my gratitude/grace notes book.

I have great faith in a seed.
Convince me that you have a seed there,
and I am prepared to expect wonders.

 -- Henry David Thoreau

I too expect wonders each year at this time. Spring...or even almost Spring...is such an exciting time for gardeners. Seeds do require a certain amount of faith and this, I think, is something gardeners have in abundance - faith in seeds and trust in the Earth.

Earlier in the week I had started some Kelsae Sweet Giant onions and some Ailsa Craig Sweet onions and was pleasantly surprised to notice them already sprouting on the weekend as I planted the parsley.  My sunroom windowsill is looking decidedly Spring-ish and that makes me very happy indeed.

Freezing Stewed Tomatoes

I love to have food from my garden tucked away for the winter each year.  Tomatoes have always been a huge part of my love for gardening - there just is nothing like the flavour of a vine-ripe, homegrown, sun-kissed tomato.  And so why not be able to enjoy that flavour year round!  In addition to the regular canned tomatoes and the passata that I can I also like to have a lot of stewed tomatoes in the freezer, that way  I can add as much zucchini, peppers, onions, garlic and herbs as I like without having to worry about potential canning problems.

Stewed tomatoes are very simple to prepare.  I just blanch the tomatoes and slip the skin off then chop them into large chunks. 

While I am doing that I have the chopped peppers, onions and zucchini sauteing in olive oil- I've already run them through the food processor.

I add in some garlic.

Did I mention I was lucky enough to get to buy some gorgeous local garlic...and not just regular garlic - homelearner garlic! ;-)  My family went for a long time this  year without any garlic because we ran out of last year's garlic too early and I do not wish to buy the garlic from China that they are selling in our grocery stores.  Happily we had a supply of roasted garlic powder made by a generous friend out of last year's garlic and so we were still able to satisfy our taste for local garlic with that  (And yes, roasted garlic powder is as delicious as it sounds - we call it "gold" around here and spoon it out very carefully).

Once those veg are all satueed then I add the chopped tomatoes and cook it for a bit then add some herbs - basil, oregano or parsley usually.  Add a bit of salt and then let it cool.

Then I ladel it into containers (yes, still using plastic containers because I've yet to find something that works better for the quantities that I put by - these I can stack at least 4 high in the freezer).

And that's it.  The other thing I love about these over my canned tomatoes is that they already have all the things in that I would normally add to soups, sauces and casseroles (the zuke, onions, peppers, garlic and herbs) so it makes meal preparation throughout the year that much easier.

Living, Learning and Loving

I recently found out about a wonderful little gem of a book written by Leo Buscaglia. I was reading Personhood: The Art of Being Fully Human and was reminded just how much I love Leo Buscaglia's writing, I decided to see if he had some other books I hadn't yet read and came across The Fall of Freddie the Leaf: A Story of Life for All Ages.

This is such a good read and it really is good for any ages. E isn't feeling well so yesterday we sat out on the deck, cuddled up and read this book and then had a good chat about life and Leo. I love reading his books because I feel his light-hearted, open-minded spirit just pours out of the pages of his writing. I find him to be very inspiring (in his encouragement to people to take responsibility to live your own best life) and I wanted to share some of that with E.

I first came across his writing when I read Living, Learning and Loving (which you will notice is one of the labels on this blog and how I prefer to refer to our way of learning). I saw the spine of this book on a table at a library sale and thought - Living, Learning and Loving?!? That's what we do!! (and then, of course, I wrote a blathering post about it) ;-) Since then I've been enjoying his work.

On the end pages of Freddie the Leaf there is a quote that was found on Leo's typewriter the day after he died. It reads, " Every moment spent in unhappiness is a moment of happiness lost." I love the simplicity and the clarity of that thought and I think he was a very wise man, indeed.

For the New Year I Wish You Enough

Somehow I lost a day and thought we still had one more day of 2008 until my son told me this morning that today is New Year's Eve. ;-) I love this time of year - time to reflect on the year past, time to dream and plan for the next year. As always I have lots of dreams and plans on the go and look forward to more living, loving and learning in 2009. Last week I came across a story in the little local newsletter from where my folks live. I loved this part of it and think it a very fitting wish at the beginning of a new year. I'd like to share it here.


I wish you enough sun
to keep your attitude bright no matter how gray the day may appear.


I wish you enough rain
to appreciate the sun even more.


I wish you enough happiness
to keep your spirit alive and everlasting.


I wish you enough pain
so that the even the smallest joys in life may appear much bigger.


I wish you enough gain
to satisfy your wanting.


I wish you enough loss
to appreciate all that you possess.


I wish you enough hellos
to get you through the final goodbye.

I Have Found Such Joy

I love this!

I Have Found Such Joy
I have found such joy in simple things;
A plain, clean room, a nut-brown loaf of bread,
A cup of milk, a kettle as it sings,
The shelter of a roof above my head,
And in a leaf-laced square along the floor,
Where yellow sunlight glimmers through the door.
I have found such joy in things that fill
My quiet days: a curtain's blowing grace,
A potted plant upon my window sill,
A rose, fresh-cut and placed within a vase;
A table cleared, a lamp beside a chair,
And books I long have loved beside me there.
Oh, I have found such joys I wish I might
Tell every woman who goes seeking far
For some elusive, feverish delight,
That very close to home the great joys are:
The elemental things- old as the race,
Yet never, through the ages, commonplace.
~ Grace Noll Crowell

Favourite green bean recipe

Yesterday I picked a huge basket full of green beans. I'm so bad at keeping up with beans, I always end up letting some get too mature. Last night I made my favourite quick and easy recipe for green beans. Just steam or boil beans 'til tender crisp. While they are cooking I put a bit of butter and olive oil into a pan and toast some chopped almonds or walnuts for a few minutes. Add the drained beans and toss for a few minutes, then add a splash of lemon juice and some Parmesan or Romano cheese. Remove from heat and serve. So good!

Thoreau on seeds

"Though I do not believe that a plant will spring up where no seed has been, I have great faith in a seed... Convince me that you have a seed there, and I am prepared to expect wonders."

-Henry David Thoreau

Me too!! Me too!! I'm also prepared to expect wonders. And wonders I shall have. :-)