Beautiful Storage

First a word of caution. Glass is beautiful but not fun if it breaks. Ceramics, if available, are safer, but with an abundance of bottles that come from the grocery store that used to contain honey and the like, why not try to put them to good use? 

And not break them. 

Another challenge can be how to get the labels off of the jars you want to reuse? Not all labels are made the same. Some come off easily. Others require more effort.

As an example, what we did here was soak a nice looking bottle of mustard oil in a pot of water for about an hour to get the label off for the owner.

Then we learned the truth. It was one of those very stubborn, sticky labels that takes effort to get off.

But after encountering such labels over the years here’s some suggestions that have worked well:

After the soaking, use a stainless steel  scouring pad to scrape the outer label off, leaving the sticky glue residue still there. 

Next, dry the bottle and then rub some vegetable oil into the sticky. Mustard oil was easily available in this case. Work it in well and see how magically the sticky starts to unstick.

Next, some dish soap and the same scouring pad is used once again and the bottle rinsed well.

Repeat the oil and washing, if needed.

Next, use a course cloth such as a terry cloth or in this case we used some denim which has a bit of a nap. This helps to get the last bit of oil and sticky off and shine the bottle or jar to its original glory. Before the label, that is.

Wash again with soap and water until all traces of oil etc are gone. Dry well and you now have a nice bottle, as in this case, or a jar. This makes for prettier storage than if you used containers with the labels still on them. They especially look nice for storing spices and other bhoga for Krishna’s offerings displayed on open shelving. 

Another place, as pictured, is for beauty products in the bathroom.

(Special Note: This is a bathroom without a toilet. This house design keeps them separated. In the case where you have no choice but to have a toilet in your bathroom, keeping the beauty supplies out of the bathroom is recommended.)

Another tip is to save bottle tops and jar lids because these can be mixed and matched. One of the bottles pictured above, for example, has a bottle top taken from a dish soap bottle. Now the bottle of oil, in this case olive oil, easily dispenses oil for a massage. 

In the case of the bottle of mustard oil, we couldn’t find a matching top to likewise easily dispense the oil, so the solution was to gentle poke a hole into the top of the conveniently thin metal lid. 

Now oil can easily be shaken out as needed.

Oat Groat Oatmeal

 Freshly ground oat groats are used in this recipe rather than factory produced steel cut oats for freshness flavor and purity. 

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 c freshly ground oat groats 
• 3 c water
• sugar or favorite sweetener, as desired
• ghee or butter, as desired
• cinnamon, as desired
• pinch of salt (optional)

PREPARATION:

1. In the ghee lightly toast the ground oat groats over a low flame. Stir often, especially if using butter. 
2. Meanwhile, bring the water, sugar and salt to a boil in a separate pot.
3. Stir in toasted ground groats
4. Turn off heat and let groats sit covered a few minutes to absorb the water.
5. Stir in butter and cinnamon 

VARIATIONS:

This is another recipe that can have many variations. In this case pictured above, craisins were added. Also try toasted nuts, nut butters, raisins, various dried fruits, dates, prunes, coconut, banana slices, applesauce, milk and or cream or half and half, jam, brown sugar, maple syrup... and let's not forget Lord Balarama's favorite sweetener- honey! 

Krishna’s Perfect Permaculture

It is Krishna’s perfect arrangement that every thing and every creature in His perfect creation have a job to do. If we learn to follow His perfect plan, gardening can become a lot less work. There are groups out there today that utilize a similar realization in the form of what is called “permaculture”. They try to get along with material nature rather than turning everything into a battle. 

Of course, learning  to work with nature will take some trial and error, since we are conditioned to rely on quick fixes rather than nature’s plan.  

In any case, this year we had what is called interplanting or more diverse plantings rather than beds of monoculture or containing one kind of plant only. One example is a bitter melon vine climbing upon an okra plant. 

Besides being a natural extension to the trellis the okra was planted next to, this is said to confuse any bugs. But interplanting requires more planning. It isn't easy until you learn the needs of specific plants. Some don't mind a little shade growing next to bigger plants and some prefer dryer soil, so you have to be careful to group them with other plants with similar needs. Until then, crop rotation seems preferable. As for the okra, it gets very tall and needs to be bent a little to reach the crop above, which may strain the vines growing below. So far this has not been a problem. 

Another thing is that we are gradually adding more flowers. This is not only for deity worship, but also to attract beneficials, creatures that pollinate the plants and flowers such as marigolds can also repel pest that attack your crops. 

We have definitely seen a big increase in butterflies this season, but not sure if it’s always a good thing because butterflies mean caterpillars. Until more predatory creatures enter the ecosystem, they can be a challenge.

Also we  hope to add more perennials such as this rosemary because they save a lot of time having to replant something each year..                                                                   

In this case, we included plantings of fruit trees and berry bushes. There are pears, a mandarin orange, fig, avocados, loquats, a peach, curry and a camphor tree so far.

Most notable was a broadened spectrum of creatures and beneficial insects that made their presence this year in the garden. 

Birds come around at dawn looking for insects. Also on top of one of the trellises covered by leaves we found a bird nest where baby birds grew up and then flew away

A lizard is out and about looking for bugs.

Also seeing lots of spiders. Here is one spotted on a pear tree leaf. 

And there are frogs (and sometimes toads, too) that do a good job eating bugs.

Also spotted have been snakes, dragonflies, soldier flies, wasps, bees, bumblebees, ladybugs, a turtle, raccoon and an opposum.

All are designed to act in beneficial ways. The soldier flies broke down compost. The possum  helped  get rid of cut worms. 

Corn rice

 

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 c rice          
• 2 c water
• 2 ears of fresh corn, shucked and the kernels cut off the cobs
• 3-4 T butter or ghee
• Salt, at least 1 t 

PREPARATION: 

1. Place all in a pot and bring to a boil.
2. Cover and simmer 15 minutes. Let sit covered 5 minutes more. Fluff and offer to Krishna

"The first problem is eating. So if you produce like tons, this corn alone can feed everyone. It is so nice food."-Srila Prabhupada, roof conversation, 2/14/77, Mayapur

VARIATION: Replace corn with peas!

Drying Foods for Storage

Are you a total newb when it comes to drying foods for storage? Fear not; you’re not alone.  The following have been a couple of ongoing experiments with preserving stuff grown on the farm here.

Drying foods makes perfect sense when we study Krishna's natural arrangements. First there’s wet and sunny weather, ideal for growing the crops, which is usually followed by hot, drier weather which is excellent for drying foods for storage. There’s a saying “make hay while the sun shines” which must have been originally said for that reason.

For starters, some carrots tops and celery leaves were dried. So far they’ve been shelved since early summer and still give a very nice boost of flavor  reconstituted in soups, especially pea soup.

We got convinced to try this after successfully drying fresh coriander, ginger root and turmeric root and even grapes turning into raisins, all just on a sunny window sill.

Feeling braver, okra seemed like the next thing to play with, since we have an abundance here in the Deep South.. First we did a small batch for testing that dried in just a few days on a sunny window and then got cooked in moong dahl. While eating  the dahl, we totally forgot  it had been dried because it was so nice and tender again reconstituted. 

Next we went for a larger bunch of freshly picked  okra. 

These were first sliced into quarter inch slices that took only two days of direct sunlight to make them hard and crunchy. 

And just in case there’s any more moisture trapped inside the okra by storing them in jars,  they are instead being stored in absorbent cloth bags for long term storage . We’ll see how that goes by checking them some time this winter!

Also, with the desire to eventually go off grid without electricity, sun drying is the preferred drying method versus using electric dryers or a stove. Krishna provides everything we need for homemade independence!

To be continued 

Tapioca pudding

Yesterday was Ekadasi and this offering to Krishna (we haven't used tapioca in a long time) came out so good, we hope to recall how it went

INGREDIENTS: 

• 1 c pearl tapioca (sabudana), soaked about 30 minutes 
• 4 c whole milk
• 1/4 c sugar
• 3 cardamom pods, seeds and ground
• a handful of cashews, toasted in 1 T ghee

PREPARATION:

1. Bring milk, sugar and cardamom to a boil
2. Drain and stir in the soaked tapioca and bring to a boil again 
3. Lower the heat to a gentle boil and let cook about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally , until thick. That means you can see the tapioca. In other words, it’s no longer at the bottom of the pot and the spoon is getting nicely coated with thickened milk. 
4. Turn off the heat and it will continue to thicken asit cools.
5. If you want to speed up the cooling process, then place the pot in a pan full of water cold water. 
6. When it’s cool enough for offering, stir in the cashews

Gobhi Upma

This recipe called Gobhi Upma (cauliflower Upma), has been adapted from Yamuna’s Cookbook, a favorite recipe book. Pictured is upma served with okra subji with paneer, sliced avocados and a mango blended butter milk.

 INGREDIENTS:

1 cup cracked whole wheat (Or sooji/farina, if whole wheat is not available)

2 T butter or ghee

2 T ghee

A handful of cashews, coarsely chopped 

1/2 T minced ginger root

1/2 T cumin seeds

1/2 t fenugreek seeds

2 T sesame seeds

10-12 curry leaves

1 small cauliflower , chopped 

1 1/4 t salt

1/2 t turmeric 

1 t ground coriander 

Water

2 c water (1 cup can be buttermilk, if available)

1  - 2 T craisins or raisins (opt) 

2 T chopped fresh  coriander or fenugreek leaves 

PREPARATION:

Begin toasting on a frying pan with very low heat the whole wheat with melted butter or ghee.

In a small saucepan toast the cashews by stirring constantly over high heat in 1 T ghee until light brown. Strain and set aside.

In another pot heat remaining ghee and make a chaunk by first adding ginger and cumin. When these begin to brown, add the sesame.

When sesame looks slightly darker, stir in the fenugreek and curry leaves followed by the vegetables and salt and stir them to coat with ghee and spices. 

Stir in the turmeric and coriander powder 

Add enough water to almost cover the cauliflower. Cover and cook on high until the water is evaporated and cauliflower softened. 

The add to the cauliflower 2 cups more water and buttermilk, if available, and bring to a boil. 

While boiling, carefully stir in the hot, toasted whole wheat sooji

Stir to moisten all ingredients and then gently fold in the cashews and craisins or raisins if desired.

Turn off the heat, add fresh coriander leaves and then cover and let sit about five minutes before offering to Krishna with a wedge of lime or lemon.

VARIATIONS 

Try different vegetables. Okra stir fried in the ghee and spices first, is a favorite added with the cauliflower.

DIY bath mat

This mat which was woven from strips of fabric and has undergone so many washings since, that it’s incredible how it has held up for the past few years.

An extra large piece of cardboard was used with notches cut on two opposite sides for a loom. My original attempt is posted here which was made from a smaller piece of cardboard and t-shirt strips. The mat above was made a little differently from an old sheet torn into strips rather than t-shirts. That way a larger mat could be woven that has the same color throughout. This type of weaving with generous strands of fabric also brings a nice texture to your bathroom decor .

Building a wardrobe

 I know, I know, discussing clothing is so mundane, right? But truthfully, I’ve spent most my life trying to find clothes, alongside the usual sari, that are modest but also that I feel comfortable in and are nice looking. So the following is a list of favorites to perhaps spare others the bother of figuring out what to wear that may be appropriate for devotee women. 

Today’s find is the sarong. 

Now generally  a sarong, under various names, is worn by sudranis. In other words, it’s casual wear and often used as a beach cover up in western countries by bikini clad beauties which is simply tied or tucked around the waists (or neck). But the trick here- for ladies- is to add a slip underneath, especially if you plan to wear it in public. And make the first tuck far to your right, next to your hip. That way no slip will show when you walk and sit, etc.. Continue to wrap and tuck like a sari. Only it’s shorter. Much shorter.

I’m no expert on these, but what I like most is the simplicity. A piece of cloth wrapped around you...err, tucked around your slip, and that’s it!  And they come in beautiful colors, often with batik or floral patterns. 

MORE FAVORITES gradually these will be added with links. There’s so many styles(!), these are just the general ideas.

Tunics Click on the link for a sample . Indian tunics usually run a little longer. These pair  well either with jeans, yogi pants, casual pants or skirts.

Crop tops and Choiles: The western style crop top is the closest thing to the Indian style The western style crop top is the closest thing to the Indian style choile. These are great not only underneath saris, but also for low cut tunics, blouses, etc.

Yogi pants, AKA drawstring pants. These can be all purpose. Whether it’s for underneath a long tunic, a knee length skirt with the long slits on the sides, underneath a short skirt, or something to keep your legs warm in the winter under a sari or maxi shirt or something to sleep in, they are very comfortable. We’re  talking about the 100% cotton drawstring types.

Maxi skirts

Blouses , especially to go with skirts.

Scarves and chaddars 

Shirt dresses Team up with pants or jeans of casual skirt. Some seem to fall in the tunic category also.

Cardigan

Ironing

 With my new service of ironing Srila Prabhupada’s clothes , I needed another iron. Fast. That’s because I started noticing stains on the clothes coming from the steam iron I was using(!)

So  I did some investigation to see how to prevent that and the simplest idea was to get a better iron, one of those pre-steam irons like my mother used to use.

In other words, note the smooth surface. There are no steam holes that can leak annoying mineral deposits on clothing! And you can easily supply your own steam by first misting the cloth with a spray bottle of regular water. No more having to buy distilled water!

You cannot but these “dry irons” in stores. I looked. My appreciation for online shopping improved when I found what I was looking for on EBay. A similar iron cost over $50 and the EBay one was a better price, longer cord, free shipping...plus I got the iron in two days. Pretty nice. I just hope it can stand the test of time. 

(LATER NOTE: It only lasted six months! 😞)

(LATER LATER NOTE: After sitting on a shelf for a couple months, I decided to give it another try, and what a nice surprise! It again works perfectly! 🙂🙂🙂 Another thing I noticed, second time around, is that it presses clothes better because it’s heavy in comparison to the substitute iron I was using last couple months. 🙂 )

(LATER LATER LATER  NOTE: I discovered the reason the iron wasn’t working was a problem with the electric cord shorting out. So I followed the following  video to repair it:

Used small wire nuts so everything fit. Now the iron is as good as new, thank Krishna.)

The only other think to watch out for is starch build up if you starch the clothes. This is easy though, just wash the cool iron with soap and water after using starch. 

ONE MORE NOTE: I found out I can get by with less starch. Problem solved. 🙂 Hare Krishna AGTSP

DIY Clothes Starch

I was given an aerosol spray can of clothes starch to iron HDG’s Srila Prabhupada’s clothes each weekend, but I couldn’t stand inhaling that stuff while ironing or the thought of adding yet another can to a landfill. So I did some research and discovered there are several ways you can make your own clothes starch. Cornstarch is often used, and next I will be experimenting with rice water strained from boiled rice. 

Today’s rinsing the clothes in a gallon of water, with cooked and then cooled cornstarch added to it, gave a very nice, crisp finish, as can be seen (but not felt, sorry) in the picture of the shirt on the right, above. I learned about this from a website. Here’s the link, and she gave good reasons why it makes sense to make your own starch. 

And another helpful site that tells about different types of starch you can use is here. 

I didn’t tell anyone else yet how I’m cutting corners. I just want to see if they notice any difference. If not, my efforts are a success! Also, check out the new iron I got for this service and why.  Hare Krishna Jaya Srila Prabhupada.

Home Grown Sponges

When you think of a loofah (the spelling usually used when  sold in stores, especially in the bath or beauty departments), you probably think of it as a product coming from the sea. It does resemble some kind of sea vegetable. But actually loofahs (aka the Latin spelling luffa) can be grown in your own back yard!

That’s what I discovered while gardening this year. Someone handed me some seeds they had saved from the year before and I thought I’d give them a try. After a rather long time to get established, but I tend to keep busy, so no problem, the luffa (my preferred Latin spelling used by growers) that got planted suddenly took off and the plants grew into thick, long vines with big flowers bees and other insects go crazy over. 

Here’s some photos of vines that are  growing, AFTER a major trimming back and in the afternoon when the flowers have shriveled quite a bit. 

The big gourd type fruits eventually turn brown and then you have yourself some sponges. With more seeds included, for next year. 

Yes, that’s part of a bird nest on the left side. The baby birds flew away last week, so now I can finally get in here again. 

I also have been experimenting with picking  the luffa smaller  to  cook in dahls snd subjis. Sometimes it’s been good and sometimes bitter or too spongey a texture to be palatable. And it doesn’t take long for them to turn so spongey they cannot be cut. 

The first time that happened I took off all the hard outer peel  with a paring knife and then discovered the next layer of vegetable matter came off easily, revealing the spongey skeleton inside. Next I washed and squeezed out the seeds and any remaining veggie flesh within. 

Keep in mind this is because the luffa was still green. The result was a nice light colored luffa, whereas even though if you wait for the luffa to turn brown and then the peel  will  come right off immediately , the sponge part inside tends to be brown. Some say they bleach it in that case, most likely for sales appeal, but I believe it’s fine either way.?

Later note: The newest discovery is that the luffas that turn brown first on the vine and then are peeled, aren’t always brown inside. They can have a nice cream color, too. More importantly, they are stiffer, fuller and sturdier. So from now on, I’ll harvest them for sponges only when fully mature with the crispy brown shell on the outside.

Plus I just noticed how the seeds easily fall out when fully dried. The more dry the better.

More information can be found on the web how to grow and harvest luffa and its uses. They are particularly helpful if you like dry brushing, which is often part of an Ayurvedic daily routine. I’ve yet to use  them in the kitchen as actual sponges . So we’ll see how that goes!

ADDENDUM 

They work great!

Okra Subji

Update: It seems everyone  has a preference when it comes to okra. In the southern US especially, some like it cooked to a soupy mush. Others like it raw or barely stir fried for extra crunch…or something in between. . 

Wash okra well ahead of time so that it can air dry on an absorbent towel before cooking. 

INGREDIENTS:

• 4 cups chopped okra (bindi)
• 1 1/2 - 2 T ghee
• 1 t minced ginger
• 1/4 t yellow hing powder (or1/8 t regular )
• 1/4 t freshly ground black pepper
• 1 t roasted ground coriander 
• 1 t turmeric 
• salt, as desired
• lime juice (optional)

PREPARATION: 

1. Heat a wok or frying pan very hot.
2. Add ginger and when it begins to brown add hing and black pepper 
3. Add coriander powder and turmeric.
4. Keeping on high heat, add the okra, stir into the ghee and sprinkle on salt. 
5. Keeping on high heat, every few minutes give the okra a stir (if the burner is especially hot, you’ll need to adjust just lowered enough so it won’t burn). It should be gradually browning and shrinking. 
6. Continue stir frying until desired doneness. Delicious with rice or chapatis. Offer with a squeeze of lime juice or slices of lime (or lemon)

VARIATION: Throw in cubes of paneer while frying