rudderless

Week of Love

Today this old man has been on my mind. Perhaps it’s the LOVE theme surrounding Valentine’s Day. He hated “Hallmark Holidays” but appreciated the calls and cards from his “Chirrun” (children) just the same. He would have enjoyed watching my girls diligently coloring their Valentine’s yesterday. He would have hung them on his credenza behind his desk with a straight pin and told anyone who’d listen that his GREAT-granddaughters sent them to him.

He asked me to help him write his memoirs about ten years ago. We didn’t get far- just some notes and a few precious tape recordings I need to transcribe. He never mastered the art of talking to a tape recorder. Every episode starts out with, “Ellen, I can’t get this DARN CONTRAPTION to do what I ask it to do.” But I have letters, notes, his Chirrun, and many, many images to get me through. I will write his stories down so that my Chirrun will know one of the most beloved people in my life. My oldest Valentine.

That’s the book I am writing in my head, on long bike rides, on my sunrise walks with Rosy. I am writing the stories of my three wonderful grandparents. I hope there will be some vignettes along the way. I need to sort through the blog my sister and I started about my grandmother and then abandoned- one more corner of the Internet gathering dust. I need to give my mom some time before I start extracting the tales of her Mother. They are just too fresh. But him, I am starting with him. With a picture, with a promise to finish what we started.

Local Harvest!

I’ve never gotten completely comfortable with South Florida’s upside-down growing season. It just seems counter-intuitive to stock up for the summer months and have local stuff in the market in the winter. But that’s what we do. We go strawberry picking on the first week in February. And what a wonderful harvest it was. This morning we are eating our “jam toast” and drinking smoothies, all with the berries we picked a few days ago. Knaus Berry Farm is in the only part of Miami-Dade I really enjoy. The Redlands is a paradox- a gorgeous, flat and fertile swath of agricultural land above Homestead, made possible only by diverting water from the Everglades in a network of canals that effectively ruins the natural flow of water from Lake Okeechobee. We have seen some moves towards restoring the natural environs of this area, but honestly, it wouldn’t be America without big business entering the picture . . . That said, I love visiting the Redlands and we patronize a co-op of organic producers, along with the Berry Farm. Occasionally when I’m going north and need to extend the drive a bit for a sleeping baby, I find reason to get off the main roads and drive through the green. Green in winter, that is.

Red Pot Meals- Chili!

First off, thanks for the well-wishes and support when it comes to living aboard. We will be back and forth for the next month as we close out the land base and try to get the mast on the boat so we can live at a mooring (where the breeze is better!). But I can’t tell you how amazing it was to see the ladies loving the boat. The most gratifying thing EVER.

I’m concerned that the big red pot won’t fit in the boat’s oven, as I’ve recently become a fan of slow-cooking in the Dutch oven by putting it inside the oven (my version of a crock pot). Perhaps it will work out, and perhaps the pressure cooker will give me a similar effect in a fraction of the time. We’ll see, eh? Yesterday we cooked this chili all day long and it was, hands down, the best we’ve ever made. Try it-

Chili in the Red Pot

2 tbs oil
2 medium onions, chopped fine
1 medium red bell pepper, diced
6 cloves garlic, minced
¼ cup chili powder
1 tbs ground cumin
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp dried oregano
½ tsp cayenne pepper
1 pkg. ground turkey (or beef, i suppose!)
2 cans beans- dark red kidneys, pintos, whatever you please
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can tomato puree
salt
condiments: scallions, cheese, etc.

1. Heat oil in Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onions, bell pepper, garlic, veggies are softened and beginning to brown- 10 mins. Increase heat and add meat. Cook until no longer pink and beginning to brown.

2.Add everything else and bring to a boil, reduce heat, simmer for 1 hour. Remove lid and simmer for 1 hour longer. Alternatively, put the whole pot in the oven at 225 degrees for 6 hours or so. You won’t regret it.

We eat ours alone with sour cream, or in true Southern form- ladled over a hot dog, in a bun, in a bowl with onions and mustard on top. My grandmother would insist on putting oyster crackers over the whole thing. A true Scrambled Dog- famously served at the small-town pharmacy in Columbus, GA where she took her children and grandchildren to dine at the lunch counter.

One Small Change, and one rather large one

Last month we joined Hip Mountain Mama’s One Small Change project- one earth/family/environmentally-friendly change per month leading up to April and Earth Day. Ours was to try some new recipes from Nourishing Traditions and continue to make organic dairy and meat a habit, not a splurge. Even if it means forgoing snack foods and other luxuries. After watching Food, Inc., buying decent meat seems to be a moral imperative.

The cooking went great- I’d recommend the cookbook to anyone and everyone- we made a beef stew, pot roast, potatoes, and a chicken dish that John loved. We played with sauces and marinades. Everything was from scratch, and it felt good to expand the repertoire a bit more. The premise of the book is to resurrect “traditional” recipes, simple, and from scratch, that optimize digestion and overall health. I look forward to many more meals from its pages.

I did my best to reach for the organic stuff despite the cost. I am enormously frugal, but have come around to appreciate quality over CHEAP. I put less meat in a dish to be able to recoup the cost of organic. I am heartened to see the natural meats picked over and the supermarket debuting its own line of organic dairy. All good signs. It’s still a matter of considering most everything I pick up- but once it becomes a habit, it will get easier, I’m quite sure.

This is the month of THE BOAT! We spent last weekend living aboard, getting adjusted, and are so excited about our new home. February brings the challenge of outfitting the boat in the most earth-friendly way we know how. Re-rigging our solar panels and fitting the DC system to run from our batteries (currently we have shore power that runs our insanely efficient fridge, a TV and 2 lamps- not bad!). Smalls things too, like using dish soap that won’t hurt fish. Reducing our laundry (potty trained babies help in that department!). Driving less (moving aboard shaves 500+ miles of driving off the odometer every week). Buying pillows and sheets that aren’t full of fire-retardants. So many things to consider in a 33-foot space. But we love it. And we’re living it.