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planting season



the rains have arrived. the time has come to visit your neighborhood native plant seller or purveyor of other fine mediterranean (read: drought loving) flora. bring plants home, and put them in your garden immediately. a long season of rain foundationally supports the health and continued vibrancy of new plantings.

many natives 'sleep' during the summer. use this time to watch these bay area denizens wake up with the rain.
i brought home with me today 2 douglas irises and an indian thistle (Cirsium brevistylum and Iris douglasiana)

most nurseries have selections of native plants. do inquire about light preference if you are not aware of the plants' habits. in my neighborhood, the haight-ashbury recycling center, beside kezar stadium, keeps a native plant nursery run by bay area naturalist, Gregg Gaar. Gregg collects wild seed locally, and propagates natives for sharing and for our enjoyment. the nursery asks a donation of $5.

welcome your new plants. and then the native fauna will too.

peace -- namaste

douglas

Posted 11/09/2006   link |

trinity (s)

base (s). foundation

onion, celery, carrot

are at the bottom of most italian soups and many italian sauces. much of the mediterranean holds these three dear.

sauteed in olive oil, in the above order, this root supports the very world above


creole trinity:

onions, celery, bell pepper

without the trinity, is there still gumbo?


latin sofrito: (more than 3 -- blended completely)

onion, garlic, bell pepper, ajicito dulce, hot pepper, tomato, cilantro, culantro


i dare you to add hummous to any already sauteeing pans of these



offered anonymously:

The "Holy Trinity" of Bahian cuisine: coconut milk, dendÍ oil, and malagueta pepper.



care to share a trinity of your roots?

peace -- namaste

douglas

Posted 11/07/2006   link |

hummus -- the ultimate beans*




* no offense to other beans


so versatile, so delicious, so hearty, so giving of themselves to you and me and flavors of the planet.

please, meet:
the garbanzo bean -- the chick pea -- Cicer arietinum -- or, in arabic and hebrew, hummus

so what can one do with this taste of delicious earth?

i first would like to offer my gratitude and love to those who have bestowed the elegant 'hummus bi tahini' recipe almost entirely unchanged through the course of cultivated millenia.

and now, here are hummus:

-- mix and mash, in a food processor, the garbanzo bean with:

garlic, lemon, tahini, salt -- for the classic hummus bi tahini mentioned above, then drizzle with olive oil

or omit any of the above and see what happens

or perhaps add the garlic and salt, sauteed with red-pepper flaked swiss chard

pistachio nuts (sparingly) add a richness that is often complimented by the presence of olives

making a marinara sauce? skim off a few spoons to add to the hummus mix

hold onto your parts, purists -- for a sweeter variation, think about maple syrup and/or orange juice, pomegranate molasses

looking for an appropriate medium to include more ginger or coriander in your diet? aren't we all?

am i yet illustrating a versatility?

no lemons? i recommend apple cider vinegar to substitute, or omit it entirely and adjust accordingly

have a spice grinder? experimenting with spice blends? see how they go over, or in, hummus. zatar is a favorite of mine.

fresh herbs? thyme in a pot on your porch? yes. please.

many claim that dehusking the chick peas before blending make for the creamy-best preparations

i will tell you that sprouting the garbanzo beans prior to use makes for a positively electrifying dish

some will say that canned chick peas are a meager substitute for the dried -> fresh variety. but they sure are ready when you are. and trader joes sells organic, two-serving cans, for $0.89

soaking and cooking dried beans is irreplaceable and magical. feel like you might want some hummus in the next couple days? put some beans in a bowl of water (filtered is preferred) and leave them there for as many as two days. add a bay leaf, maybe some fennel seed, or kombu to the pot for cooking. salt the hummous, not the water -- for softness. at its most obscene, the organic, dried, chick pea market asks about $1.50 per POUND, the weight of which doubles or triples in water. and then the cook water is a great liquifying agent to achieve your perfect consistency. this beats 'can juice' which i drain and rinse away. soaking the beans is also step one of germination. canned beans do not sprout.

and perhaps lastly for now, though i realize i have not even discussed applications with whole garbanzo beans (maybe just one -- try hummmus bi tahini unmashed) -- what if i do not keep tahini at home?

then i cannot have baninis:

organic bananas, rice milk, tahini, blended. viola!


peace -- namaste

douglas

Posted 11/04/2006   link |

the first thing i said about bonsai..

i must take back. bonsai seeds are widely available over the internet. cheaply in fact. and at least some come with germination instructions.

peace -- namaste

Posted 11/02/2006   link |

a bit a bout bonsai

on the availability of 'bonsai seeds':

the short answer is they are rarely ever marketed as such

but on bonsai, some general information:

there are many kinds of trees that are bonsai'd. cypress, juniper, spruce, maple, ficus, palm etc.

so a seed from one of these species, or from another on the incredibly long list of available species, is a seed to bonsai. bonsais are not dwarfed genetically. they are dwarfed through pruning. pruning of the crown and roots, importantly.

my advice: find a list or pictures of the MANY kinds of bonsai trees that exist and appeal. indoor or outdoor living is a good starting point. and then, if it is a plum, for instance. go buy and eat an organic plum. save the seed. search the web for successful germination techniques. give it a go. a half a dozen at a time will increase the likelihood of success. gymnosperm (cone-bearing plants) germination, i believe, is trickier than angiosperm (flowering plants) germination (but it is done!). so maybe - pick up some fallen cones, grab a blow torch, and begin.

peace -- namaste

your gardener : )

Posted 11/01/2006   link |