Holy Scrap

Help with Health in T or C

2012-02-14T17:13:00.000-08:00

In T or C local shop keeper and herbalist Yarrow Mackenzie offers desert dwellers more than a sweet little health food shop and a healthy lunch. Anyone can stroll over to her store, The Little Sprout and get advice about health and diet. Her expertise is in herbal medicine and nutrition. On the spot Yarrow make up tinctures and remedies, teas and suggests nuanced fasts. It would be easy to take this gift for granted. In the city advice this good would, assuming it could be found, cost me a hundred bucks. I might even have to wait and set up an appointment. Yarrow is a small town treasure.

This week I nonchalantly mentioned that I thought I had congestion in my gallbladder and that my liver was sluggish based on how I felt and on line reading. An acupuncturist also confirmed the belief. Yarrow effortlessly offered up the following simple cleanse which I did right away and made me feel immediately better. I'm posting it here to share in case you need it.

For three nights just before going to bed mix the juice of a grapefruit with three tablespoons of olive oil. Swig. Go to bed immediately (so your laying down) and tuck your right leg up to your chest while laying on your right side for ten minutes or so. That's it! In the morning you will no doubt notice that your gallbladder is being flushed. Thanks Yarrow.

For those who live in T or C, keep an eye out for a spring juice fast Yarrow will be offering.

Virgin Heat

2012-02-13T19:16:00.001-08:00

Virgin Heat, a photo by mikeysklar on Flickr.

Probably not the best idea to purchase your media from yard sales.

Mormon Tea Harvest

2012-02-13T18:44:00.001-08:00

Mormon Tea Harvest, a photo by mikeysklar on Flickr.

This is the best time of year to harvest ephedra. The plants are preparing to bloom, the color is deep green, potency is high and the little spikes are minimal. We went into the desert and picked a large quantity mormon tea to be sold in dry leaf and tincture forms.

New Kitchen Sink Faucet

2012-02-13T18:41:00.001-08:00

New Kitchen Sink Faucet, a photo by mikeysklar on Flickr.

Our old kitchen sink faucet died. It started to leak and was so mineralized that it appeared to be beyond recovery. We had a spare on standby and swapped it. It took me nearly two hours to complete due to the limited space and visibility.

Dead Body at the Park

2012-02-13T18:39:00.001-08:00

Dead Body at the Park, a photo by mikeysklar on Flickr.

Sesame and I took of for our morning run only to return home in record time. The park was closed off with three police cars. When we tried to enter a police officer waved us away. It seems a dead body was found. No information has been released so far as to who died and the cause.

Quickie Eye Pillow

2012-02-12T18:55:00.000-08:00

Due to a lot of time spent writing, my computer time has increased by hours each day. I feel eye strain as a result. I made a quick eye pillow out of a scrap of silk and a woven textile left over from other projects, filled the pouch with rice and ahhhh, instant relief. Like palming, the pillow relieves eye strain. The mild pressure of the sack feels great. The whole project took only 10 minutes.

New Housemate, a Jun Kombucha Mother

2012-02-12T16:21:00.000-08:00

We were just gifted a new kombucha mother making that three distinct varieties that we live with: a standard one (black tea and sugar); a red wine mother that lives exclusively off of red wine; and one we just obtained called jun. Jun lives off of green tea and honey. I love these varieties and have been trying to nuance my cooking to take advantage of their unique tastes. The red wine kombucha produces a port like brew comparable to a heavy balsamic vinegar. Jun is seeming much lighter, sweet and perky.

Bottled: Apple Mead

2012-02-12T15:54:00.001-08:00

Bottled: Apple Mead, a photo by mikeysklar on Flickr.

I finally got around to bottling up the mead I started in early December. Just before corking each bottle I added 3 tablespoons of unfiltered apple cider from apples we harvested last fall. This should add a lot of carbonation. I'm storing the bottles in a cool place to reduce the explosion factor.

Indian Dinner

2012-02-12T08:57:00.001-08:00

Indian Dinner, a photo by mikeysklar on Flickr.

We enjoyed a delicious indian style dinner last night. I made naan for the first time which was fun. The bread required multiple punchdowns with 15 minute waits which was a little disorienting. We harvested our first cauliflower head of the year and tossed it in the sous-vide. We were recently gifted a chutney from 2007 to our surprise was edible and tasted great. It all came together nicely, but could have benefited for a little saag paneer (spinach and cheese).

RO Filter Swap Update

2012-02-12T08:53:00.001-08:00

RO Filter Swap Update, a photo by mikeysklar on Flickr.

I've changed all five filters on our reverse osmosis home water filter. I'm now seeing some decent numbers. We have gone from city water which is registering 540 PPM to RO filtered at 70 PPM. The RO number is still dropping (which is good). I think we are going to max out our filtration on this unit between 38 - 50 PPM.

Filter Swap Day

2012-02-10T13:13:00.001-08:00

Filter Swap Day, a photo by mikeysklar on Flickr.

Replaced the 3 of 5 filters on home reverse osmosis unit. The drinking water quality has been unacceptable low for the last few weeks. The filters I've pulled looked dirty and it was time to yank them. The water quality is still testing bad at 420 ppm so I'm going to pull the remaining two filters after I flush the storage tank a few times.

Sidewinder Trail

2012-02-10T13:09:00.001-08:00

Sidewinder Trail, a photo by mikeysklar on Flickr.

Enjoyed a new hike with some friends this morning. This one is located about 3 miles from our place not far from mescal canyon on the other side of the Rio Grande. It offers lovely views and takes about two hours door to door.

Wendy's Hang

2012-02-08T18:51:00.001-08:00

Wendy's Hang, a photo by mikeysklar on Flickr.

After going nuts from writing for the last several months Wendy has decided to spend her days writing at different spots in town. Sometimes the coffee shop other times the health food store.

Fennel

2012-02-08T18:49:00.001-08:00

Fennel, a photo by mikeysklar on Flickr.

Guess who had fennel salad for dinner. Yep, we did. It grows well in the middle of winter. It doesn't even need a cold frame. Wendy serves it up with a balsamic salad dressing and oranges.

Kimchi down to 20 Minutes of Prep

2012-02-08T18:47:00.001-08:00

Kimchi down to 20 Minutes of Prep, a photo by mikeysklar on Flickr.

I made another batch of kimchi. A little heavier on the carrots than the cabbage on this round as Wendy prefers it that way. Using a Cuisinart to chop everything I'm down to 20 minutes of preparation. We still need to age it for about a week for the taste to peak. I just toss the jars in the cheese fridge which holds a temperature of 50F.

Tempeh Starter Fail

2012-02-08T18:44:00.001-08:00

Tempeh Starter Fail, a photo by mikeysklar on Flickr.

I decided to try and save the mycellium from a batch of homemade tempeh and totally failed. The tempeh fermented nicely with the commercial starter I've been using for years. I let one bar sit for a extra 5 hours (should have waiter longer). I proceeded to try the tempeh overnight using a dehydrator and grind it up the next day with a vitamix. I reduced things down to a fine yellow powder that had a strong odor. However, when I tried my next batch of tempeh with two teaspoons of started it didn't take. I'm going to resume this process of saving a starter. Any tips are welcome.

Tank to Tank

2012-02-08T18:33:00.001-08:00

Tank to Tank, a photo by mikeysklar on Flickr.

I moved one of our water catchment tanks which had been on standby over to the main roof gutter. Wendy came home and helped me cut into both tanks and plumb them together. Now we should have higher quality water on the right tank with less sediment. Rain is the forecast for tomorrow and Sunday. Looking forward to seeing how much rain water we catch.

Evening Walk

2012-02-06T19:27:00.001-08:00

Evening Walk, a photo by mikeysklar on Flickr.

Wendy and Sesame on top of giant dirt pile at Rotory Park.

Tempeh Started

2012-02-05T16:29:00.001-08:00

Tempeh Started, a photo by mikeysklar on Flickr.

Kicked off another batch of tempeh today. We are going to try and save some mycelium from this batch for future tempeh. Buying the starter on-line costs about $5 and makes 18 lbs worth of tempeh.

Bulk Bread Yeast

2012-02-05T16:26:00.001-08:00

Bulk Bread Yeast, a photo by mikeysklar on Flickr.

If you bake bread frequently please consider buying yeast in 5 lb bags. This particular bag was given to me 18 months ago mostly full. I still have about two pounds of yeast left and might get three more years of bread out of it. I store the yeast in the freezer in hope of extending it's life.

Oh, it's cauliflower

2012-02-04T18:31:00.001-08:00

Oh, it's cauliflower, a photo by mikeysklar on Flickr.

We had been scratching our heads since last spring wondering what these massive green plants are that we have been growing. Turns out that most of them are cauliflower and are ready for harvest. I am feeling particularly abundant right now having a half dozen of these cauliflowers, tons of baby arugula, kale just about ready for drying, bok-choy and cilantro. Even the broccoli had grown in nicely. Impressive for the beginning February.

Distilling Again

2012-02-03T11:57:00.001-08:00

Distilling Again, a photo by mikeysklar on Flickr.

Our reverse osmosis water filter is crapping out. The water coming out has gone from 60 ppm to 400 ppm. I've started distilling our drinking water again which uses up a significant amount of our daily energy, but does provide us with high quality water measuring 10 ppm. The new 5 stage water filters have shipped and cost about $90. Half of that expense was the RO filter.

Video: Reviving a Dead Leatherman

2012-02-03T09:43:00.001-08:00

Reviving a Dead Leatherman, a photo by mikeysklar on Flickr.

Using electrolysis on this leatherman skeletool brought it back from the dead. The tool was lost two years ago while wendy was planting trees. It slipped out of her overalls and we were unable to locate it. While planting trees this week the tool was found in unusable condition. I put it into a bath with a chunk of metal and connected it to a irobot roomba 22V battery charger. Within two days the tool was working again.

Light Painting

2012-02-03T09:39:00.001-08:00

Light Drawing, a photo by mikeysklar on Flickr.

We have been playing with a new app on the iPhone called "SlowShutter". It allows for long B exposures and much more. This allows us to draw in the air using nothing more than a LED keychain and our cell phone. I found results were best using the following settings (mode - light trail, shutter - b, sensitivity - 1).

Up Yours, Potato Peeler

2012-02-03T09:33:00.001-08:00

Up Yours, Potato Peeler, a photo by mikeysklar on Flickr.

Wendy managed to mame herself while cleaning out the utensils drawer this week. The guilty utensil was a potato peeler.