Its been cold in Texas,  and New Mexican food is always my "go to" for warmth and comfort.  Tonight's dinner was some lovely green chile stew -a friend asked about my recipe so here goes:

Brown 1 lb bison stew meat in about 2T olive oil - remove from oil when caramelized.  You can use pork, which is traditional, or even beef.

add

2C chopped onions

2 carrots chopped

2 ribs of celery

Saute until translucent 

(Note:  I once had an argument with my Mom about adding carrots to Green Chile Stew.  She phoned for our Saturday chat and asked (innocently enough) what I was putting in my crock pot of green chile stew.  I listed all the usual ingredients plus carrots.  Mom was appalled to learn that I would put carrots in green chile stew and had, thus committed a crime against New Mexican cooking and really, all humanity.  Since that day, I always include a few carrots in my stew, and sometimes zucchini - its a happy memory of that conversation)

add 4-6 cloves garlic and saute

Add 1 T cumin and about 2 t dried or fresh oregano

Then, add stew meat back into the pot with about 6-8 cups stock.  

Add 2-3 (or more) roasted chopped Hatch chiles and I added about 1/3 cups dry green chile from Chimayo.  Use more fresh roasted chile if you don't add the dried.  I don't peel them, I think the roasted skin is interesting in flavor & texture.

A lot of folks add tomatoes to their stew, if you are using tomatoes, add them now.   I frequently do add tomatoes, but didn't tonight.

Simmer on low until meat is tender - about 2 hours.  Add more broth if necessary.

Cafe Pasquals adds corn to their Green Chile Stew and we like the texture so add 1-2 cups corn kernels

1 lb potatoes in bite sized pieces. I had red potatoes on hand so that's what went in the pot

 Cook until potatoes are tender

Adjust salt & pepper and serve in big bowls with warm corn or flour tortillas.

and now the song

Pippin sleeps in a big spacious crate.  Yesterday, when I got him up for breakfast, the song, Senior Don Gato popped into my head, and we've been singing it all weekend. Here are the lyrics:

Senior Don Gato

Oh Senor Don Gato was a cat
On a high red roof Don Gato sat
He went there to read a letter,
Meow, meow, meow
Where the reading light was better,
Meow, meow, meow
'Twas a love note for Don Gato

I adore you wrote the lady cat
Who was fluffy, white and nice and fat
There was not a sweeter kitty,
Meow, meow, meow
In the country or the city,
Meow, meow, meow
And she said she'd wed Don Gato

Oh, Don Gato jumped so happily
He fell off the roof and broke his knee
Broke his ribs and all his whiskers,
Meow, meow, meow
And his little solar plexus,
Meow, meow, meow
Ay Caramba cried Don Gato

Then the doctors all came on the run
Just to see if something could be done
And they held a consultation,
Meow, meow, meow
About how to save their patient,
Meow, meow, meow
How to save Senor Don Gato

But in spite of everything they tried
Poor Senor Don Gato up and died
And it wasn't very merry,
Meow, meow, meow
Going to the cemetery,
Meow, meow, meow
For the ending of Don Gato

When the funeral passed the market square
Such a smell of fish was in the air
Though his burial was slated,
Meow, meow, meow
He became reincarnated,
Meow, meow, meow
He came back to life, Don Gato.

Have a great evening!

Cynthia

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Cynthia McKenna is a therapist specializing in anxiety & depression.  When she's not helping patients, she can be found gardening, cooking, and reading.  Here is the website

I am surprised to learn that probably 1/2 gallon or more of the compost tea has evaporated...I don't think Pippin drank that much.  It might be wise to use a lid next time I make compost tea.

My plan was to foliar feed my garden with the compost tea, but the winds are howling today as our first cold front of the year moves in.  So I'm heading out to the garden to harvest all the tomatoes, peppers and those strawberries that decided to fruit in November, then I'll pour my compost tea on the young seedlings.

I will also probably start a second batch of tea, it won't be cold  and windy on Wednesday and that would be a great time to foliar feed after we come out of the little cold snap.  

BTW - if I had been able to use the pump sprayer to apply the compost tea, I would have poured it through one of the paint strainer bags to catch any large particles that escaped when I initially immersed the tea bag int he water.  I did not have the bag tied closed and some debris definitely escaped.  

Happy compost Tea brewing everyone.  I hope you'll try it, its easy and your plants will love you for it.

*************

Cynthia

The technical name for compost tea is, "actively aerated compost tea"  That is what the air pump and air stones are all about - putting as much oxygen into the water as possible.  This makes a healthy environment for the bacteria and fungai to grow, and multiply like crazy.

Compost tea should smell earthy.  It might smell sweet like molasses if you added molasses.  It might smell yeasty.  If your compost tea is really stinky, it's gone anaerobic and that's a bad thing.  That means you are growing bad or dangerous bacteria and you don't want to put them into your garden or onto your plants.  Dump it out and start a fresh batch.

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Cynthia McKenna is a psychotherapist in private practice in the Texas Hill Country.  You can learn more about her at www.cynthiamckennacounseling.com

The compost tea is brewing and I want to share the process I used.  I referenced both Bruce Deuley and Bob Webster for my tea bucket and the method.  Thanks to their generous spirits, the plants should be benefiting in about 24 hours

You'll need:

• 5 gallon bucket
• air pump for 50 gallon fish tank
• air stones
• plastic tubing
• T splitter or other splitter to get additional lines in bucket
• paint strainer bag
• water:  de-chlorinate your water or use rainwater (I used pond water)
• 1 quart of good organic compost

This is the splitter I used.  Also my pump has two lines so I can get even more air lines into the bucket

Air stones which create lots of bubbles in the bucket of water

Because the bacteria and fungi will need something to eat while they grow and multiply, I added 1/2 t molasses and 1 T fish emulsion, and about 1/3 cup oatmeal to the water. 

Next -fill the paint strainer bag about 1/3 full of compost, tie the bag shut and add your bag of compost to the bucket of water..

Tie bag with a string and if you are using multiple lines & air stones, put one line down in the bag.  Here is my final set up:

Special thanks to Mr. Pippin for making sure I did everything correctly.

Now we wait 4-6 hours then remove the bag and let bubble for another 18-24 hours.

**************

Cynthia

Cynthia McKenna is a psychotherapist in private practice in the Texas Hill Country.  You can learn more about her at www.cynthiamckennacounseling.com

I am getting ready to make compost tea tomorrow.  I have been watching videos on the internet, and I ran to local stores today to get the supplies.  I am planning on blogging the process so if you are interested, check back over the next two days & watch the progress.

Here is a great set of very informative videos featuring my favorite organic gardening expert, Bob Webster, from Shades of Green in San Antonio, TX.

Compost Tea

*************

Cynthia McKenna

Therapy for women

Happy Halloween!