Better than Pesto

Fresh Italian Seasoning Concentrate!

Last fall I put fresh tender sprigs of rosemary, sage, oregano, tarragon, and parsley into the food processor and ground them up.  (A mortar and pestle would word too.)  I then added salt and pro-biotic vinegar.  (I make my own, but raw apple cider vinegar with live culture would work as well, or even fresh whey from home fermented yogurt cheese.)  I can't give you measurements, because I just did it to taste. 

Next I jarred it up in those tiny 4oz jelly jars they sell in the canning supplies section of country markets.  (You can also order on-line.)  And from there it went into the freezer. 

Now when ever I want that savory taste of summer I pop a jar out of the freezer, and mix a little into a serving of rice or soup.  A little bit goes a long way!  One of my favorite no-gluten treats is to take an organic Lundberg Family Farms rice cake, spread it with a tad of Wilderness Family Naturals organic mayo, spread rounded teaspoon of my 'Italian Seasoning Pesto Concentrate' on top of that--which is really awesome all by itself.  But sometimes, like now, some thin sliced organic Colby cheese from Horizon Organic's is exactly what I crave for the perfect topping!

Reproduce this idea next spring or fall, or even think about what's out in the garden now.  In my garden, the parsley is still doing well, as is rosemary and oregano, and a number of kinds of cress and mustard.  The fennel is also trying to make a comeback, and wasabi arugula has self sown a nice little patch that will be ready to harvest soon.  Have fun with what you have on hand and if you have plenty--freeze some up for the next season as well!

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A little note from me . . . .  I have been fairly absent from this blog, as any of my few followers have surely noticed.  I am still blogging, however, my focus is Boycott for Peace.  However, I still love the garden and the really good food that gardens provide.

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Boycott for Peace!
http://boycott4peace.blogspot.com/
https://www.facebook.com/boycott4peace

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Ox Eye Daisy, Cheerful, Useful, and Instructive!

The ox eye daisy is a common field and roadside wild flower here in the Pacific North West.  It also makes a lovely carefree addition to garden borders, where it attracts beneficial insects and offers nectar to our very important pollinators.  

It is reported as being a European immigrant and sometimes as invasive.  However, just because a plant that is considered an alien naturalizes itself into a niche in the environment, does not mean it should be considered invasive or even unwanted.  

Before considering a plant invasive, ask yourself a few questions:

1.  Does it provide pollen and nectar or other food to important pollinators or native animals?

2. Does it provide ecosystem benefits; such as stabilizing slopes, slowing erosion, building top soil, providing animal habitat, or reducing human and domestic animal impacts to the land?

3.  Does it increase or decrease the genetic diversity of an area?

4.  Is it useful to people for food, medicine, or utility and does it grow where they can access it?

5.  Is it crowding out rare or endangered plants or animals?

Let’s apply these questions to our ox eye daisies:

1. Yes it provides nectar to pollinators and pollen to beneficial insects, as well as seeds to birds later in the season.

 2. Yes, it provides ecosystem benefits, in that it is often found growing on disturbed slopes, where it helps stabilize the soil and reduces erosion.

3. Simply by its presence it increases the genetic diversity by one, the insects and birds that depend on it may also help increase the genetic diversity of the area.

4. Yes, it is useful to people as food, medicine (see links below), and for attracting pollinators and beneficial insects to the garden and to foraging areas.

5.  Probably not, but if so, and someone is committed to tending the threatened native plants, the ox eye daisies should be weeded out with as little physical and chemical disruption to the area as possible.

 

When we really stop to think about it, many of the plants that are targeted with eradication as aliens or invasive may be better off ignored, or even embraced, used, and celebrated.  The eradication activities are often more harmful to the environment than the plants that are removed. In addition, unfortunately, known endemic plants are often targeted as 'invasive,' by people who have not done their research and make unfounded assumptions.  For more words of caution regarding being overly quick to judge and destroy plants that are considered alien, as well as a discussion about who profits from their eradication, please see:  http://www.jlhudsonseeds.net/NativesVsExotics.htm

Many plants that were once considered alien and invasive have turned out to be indigenous.  We owe this knowledge to the botanical archaeology conducted on fire pits and midden mounds, as well as cores taken on lake bed sediments.  There is no definitive list of all the plants that were here in North America before contact.  However, a truly invasive plant is often easy to recognize. A truly invasive plant quickly crowds out other plants and reduces diversity, over a season or over a number of years.  And it does it, right before your eyes.  Plants that quickly colonize soil that has been bared for any reason, such as mud or landslides, floods, or fires; even plants those plants that form near monocultures on hillsides or meadows are not necessarily invasive or alien plants.  Be sure to do your homework before you undertake or participate in any plant eradication efforts.

 

Back to our cheerful ox eyes, I’ve never done more than taste these daisies, so I am not an expert on their use or identification.  Not all daisies are edible, and some are actually insecticidal and may be toxic to people too.  Always be very sure of your identification of any unfamiliar plant, and study up on the toxic and poisonous plants in your area, so you know what to be cautions of.

Here are some links to more information on edible, medicinal, and historic uses of ox eye daisies:

Ox eye daisy, raw edible plant 

Ox eye daisy tempura recipe 

Medicinal and historical uses 

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Comments, questions, tips are always welcome.  If you find typos or broken links please leave a comment and I will fix it up as soon as I can!

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If you are interested in herbs and haven’t read my books yet, your local librarian or bookstore if they can order them for you!   More information can be found here:  https://www.goodreads.com/author/list/429832.Harvest_McCampbell

 

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Updated 10.30.15

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Copyright 2014, 2015; all rights reserved.  Republishing by permission only.  Sharing on the other hand is most welcome.

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Some Fats Are Good For You! (And you can grow some of them in your garden . . . )

We know that too much of the wrong kinds of fat are very bad for health.  However, what a few people may not know, yet, is that too little of the right kinds of fat is really just as bad.

Our cell walls are only three molecules thick.  These three molecules consist of one protein molecule sandwiched between, drum roll please, two fat molecules.  

The layer of these three molecules provide our cells with their first line of defense against invading disease organisms, toxins, and allergens.  They also are directly involved with helping to ensuring proper cell electrical activity, and corralling nutrients, enzymes, and other important biochemicals within the cell where they are needed.

In addition to being a major part of our cell walls, good fat is also used in the transportation of nutrients, as insulation for our brain and nerve cells, as a source of energy, and as raw materials for the synthesis of many biochemicals that help our cells perform the tasks that keep us alive.  Good fat rules!

We need good fats in our diet for many metabolic reasons, as well as maintaining our very important cell walls.  As cells come in many shapes and sizes, including sources of a small amount of a handful of different types of good fats important.  By doing so, the body has lots of shapes and sizes of fat molecules to choose from in building and repairing the three dimensional jig-saw puzzles that make up our cell walls, as well as having a variety of essential fatty acids for all of our cells chores.

There are many different kinds of good fats available.  Some of the best are from plants, and ingesting them in as raw and unprocessed as possible is a good idea.   Animal fats are generally better avoided (except for low mercury high Omega 3 fish) unless the animals they come from have been raised on organic pasture.  Butter, butter oil, and ghee from organic pastured milk are super-foods! 

Once you get your chosen oils or fats home, heat them as little as possible before using.  Heating vegetable based oils even a little, or animal fats to the point of smoking, causes then to form free radicals—which are implicated in cancer and heart disease.  Frying and baking should be reserved for special occasions and is best not a daily part of anyone’s diet.

Are you getting too much bad fat?

Signs that you are getting too much of the wrong kinds of fat can include; indigestion, reflux, greasy hair or skin, acne or other skin eruptions, and obesity or weight gain.  If you have been getting too much of the bad fats for a long time, you may have been diagnosed with any number of different diseases and your doc has probably advised you to cut back on fats.  Pay attention!  It might just save you from some unnecessary suffering.

Benefits of good fats include:

Improved immunity, mood, mental function, hormone balance, and energy; and also the health and appearance of the skin.

Signs you may not be getting enough good fats include:

Memory, mood, or brain function problems, hormone related problems, chronic fatigue, inability to gain weight or to absorb and utilize nutrients, dry skin or hair, premature aging, and chronic inflammation.

Finding good fats that agree with you:

You can experiment with adding a variety of different healthy fats to your diet, in small amounts and one at a time.  In addition to the organic pastured butter, butter oil, and ghee mentioned above, you might want to try some nuts and seeds.  Walnuts are considered a particularly good source of Omega-3’s as are flax and chia seeds.  Avocados, sunflower and pumpkin seeds, and unprocessed red palm oil are good sources of Vitamin E complex as well as other nutrients.  Olive oil has many health benefits as does grape seed and coconut oil.  Choose one to try and read up on it by searching on the Internet.  You might want to start with as little as ¼ teaspoon of pressed or centrifuged oils, or a teaspoon of whole seeds or chopped nuts.  

If you find you like a particular healthy oil or good fat, work your way up to higher amounts gradually.  Most moderately active people will find that they can tolerate, enjoy, and actually thrive on much more healthy fat than they ever imagined.  However, if you find you are gaining unwanted weight, getting indigestion or reflux, of if you skin is breaking out or your skin or hair is becoming too oily, you are very likely either getting too much fat or ingesting a fat that doesn’t agree with you.

Good fats from the garden:

Depending on your garden zone and the size of your yard, you can grow oil producing trees and shrubs of many kinds including pine nuts, olives, and avocados.  Pumpkin, sunflower, and flax seeds are also easy to grow.  Folks living in warm dry regions can grow chia, and anyone living in a tropical climate who has some patience can grow coconuts and palm nuts.  

Red Palm Oils I have tried:  

I actually like the one on the far right the best.  It is from Wilderness Family Naturals.  It is clearly the least processed, it has the deepest color, and the freshest loveliest scent.  This fabulous red palm oil is Certified Sustainable.  I use just a little red palm oil, along with a little coconut oil and olive oil on my popcorn; and then I season it with turmeric rich curry powder, dulse powder, fresh ground chia seeds and black pepper. Yum, and so good for you too!   For more information on the health benefits of red palm oil please see:  http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/why-you-should-give-red-palm-oil-try

In other good fat gossip, I also snack on whole raw sunflower and pumpkin seeds--in moderation,  and I enjoy chia seeds hydrated in dilute juice with spices.  An occasional avocado wedge finds its way to my plate, and I sometimes alternate the coconut oil mentioned above with an organic raw pastured coconut/ghee product.  Additionally I eat eat a few small servings of wild Alaska salmon--sometimes every week, sometimes every month. That about rounds up my fats, except for the teaspoon of organic sunflower oil that I use to pop my corn. It can take the heat required without smoking.  Any time you make oil smoke it forms free radicals, and that is definitely not healthy.

I do mention fats and oils, very briefly in my book, Food Security & Sustainability for the Times Ahead, but more from the standpoint of how to produce them with the least technology possible, rather than as a source of super nutrition.   If you have any questions or comments on that section of the book, please feel free to post them here as well as questions or comments on this blog post. 

If any of you are growing and expressing your own oils and you have information available for folks that would also like to try  their hand at doing it themselves, please let us know where to find your article, blog, video, or book!

And as always, if you find typos please let me know, I will fix them as soon as I can!