It's Raining! (Some thoughts on a rainy Wednesday evening)

It's early evening and it's finally raining after days of threatening skies. This is good and I welcome the rain as the grass is very dry and sparse and my plants are looking tired as we struggle through the drought filled days. My list of dependent plants and trees has grown so we need all the water we can get.

The three banana suckers that were planted in the backyard two months ago are growing nicely. The first papaya tree that I planted seems to be holding its own; there are leaves all bundled at the top but it's gotten quite tall. The other one that was only recently transplanted from amongst the flowers seems to have perked up as well. Of course the most remarkable is my apple tree that has grown in leaps and bounds. Last year it bore two little apples that fell off. I had been lamenting that it wasn't doing anything this year but lo and behold one morning recently as I walked by I saw lots of red 'needles' around it. On closer examination I realized that there were quite a number of apple blossoms but they were knee high on the lower part of the tree surrounded by leaves. I was so excited I went in search of someone to share the joy and await the appearance of apples. (Please note, this is an otaheite apple tree.) Then there's my ackee which had begun to send out large new leaves at a fast pace. It grows in the shadow of my neighbour's ackee tree which towers over & above the partitioning wall. I actually picked a half dozen open pods that were hanging over the wall yesterday. How things have changed; It was only two or three years ago that said neighbour offered some ackees as he was picking and I told him that I did not eat them. In fact, I had never even tried them.  I've become more appreciative of the bounty that the land offers and  more open to trying foods that I never ate before, including ackee which is definitely on my new healthier diet, both cooked and uncooked. Thankfully, as I wait for my ackee tree to come into it's own, I am able to partake and share the bounty of my neighbour's trees. I sometimes see ripe fruit falling and spoiling on trees in some yards; what a waste.  There are too many hungry people in this country for us to waste food. Share what you don't or can't eat with others. 


Open Ackees On a Stick



Evening has slipped into night and the rain continues to fall; slower than before but sufficient to quench the deep thirst of the parched earth; for a while at least.  I wish I had a very large container to catch all this free water pouring from the heavens. I did put out a couple of buckets to catch some of it to water the plants in coming days but this will be a drop in the bucket compared to the amount that goes running down the streets and gullies unchecked. I pray that the farmers and the water catchment areas are getting some of it.

My wish is that you are able to capture some of this lovely rain for your own use and that your garden
will benefit. Having a backyard garden is high on the green agenda, so if you haven't started one yet
all this delicious rain would have been wasted; but wait, all is not lost. The rain would have moistened the earth sufficiently for us to dig some holes and plant something tomorrow when the sun comes up.
What do you have to plant? I have a recently acquired avocado (pear) plant that needs to be put into the ground. Happy planting!

What I did with the ackees!

I picked them out of the open pods, popped out the seeds & scraped off the pink membrane .
Then I washed them really well under running water, then dried off some of the water

before putting them to marinate in a very basic salad dressing that I made earlier.

I put them in the fridge & the next day topped some boiled yellow yam with the mixture,

heated it up in the toaster oven & ate it. The ackee was like melted cheese!
(Easy Cheesy Ackee  from Lorna's Experimental Kitchen)

This particular salad dressing consisted of :

1/4 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)*

2 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV)

Juice from 1/2 a small Lemon

1 Tbsp coconut sugar

1/2 tsp celtic sea salt (I skipped the pepper)

Original salad dressing recipe from www.inpursuitofmore.com

*Normally, I would use Extra Virgin Coconut oil, especially If I intend to add heat to the dish 
and reserve the olive oil for totally raw salads. Olive oil should not be used in high heat applications.
On other occasions I've added garlic, turmeric, basil, chives & scotch bonnet pepper to the mix.

Sometimes I'll cook it & sometimes I'll have it raw with quinoa or millet or even a salad.

Here's another salad dressing recipe just because ...

Brawta! (Extra)

Moroccan Vinaigrette

2/3 Cup EVOO

2 Tbsp Lemon juice

2 Tbsp ACV

1 1/2 tsp Paprika

1 tsp ground cumin

1 small clove garlic, minced

1 generous pinch cayenne pepper, ground

1/3 Cup tightly packed fresh parsley, minced (or 4 tsp dried)

1 tsp natural salt or to taste

lots of freshly ground pepper (optional)

Combine & Mix well. Taste & adjust seasoning.

Will keep for two weeks in the fridge.

Recipe courtesy of Whole New Mom :

www.wholenewmom.com/whole-new-budget/moroccan-vinaigrette/

If you try this much with the ackee you might need a dozen or more.

The most important thing to remember about ackees is that they are poisonous if they  

are not allowed to open naturally. They should also be cleaned & washed properly before use.

After that you're free to experiment!

Healthy Green in Twenty Thirteen

Happy New Year & a Healthy Green 2013! 

Memories of a healthy hand of ripe bananas.

I'm sad to say that I fell off the sometimes raw, mostly vegetarian wagon at the end of last year.  I was tempted and gave in, to the christmas cakes, roast chicken and ham that form the normal trappings of Christmas. I'm sorry that I caved in to my cravings but I have the opportunity to start again and do a better job this year. I started by working on cleansing the body after the food binge that was Christmas. I went back to my aloe vera/grapefruit detox juice & aimed for simpler foods; fresh fruits and vegetables as much as possible. It takes some work to be healthy and green so if it's one of your resolutions I hope you're prepared to put in the time.

It has been a bit of a challenge to find some foods as the agricultural scene has not fully recovered from the ravages of Hurricane Sandy. Banana plants were devastated and have not come back as yet. If you do find any the price is much higher than usual. I've been trying to tell myself that this is the perfect opportunity to wean myself from ripe bananas ( I eat way too many ) and I've read that you should give up the foods that you eat all the time if you're doing a detox or have issues such as allergies or food intolerances.

Papayas (pawpaws) were also affected by the Hurricane and have been scarce & very small in size for a while. They are beginning to come back but I have been in search of what I call 'original' papayas, those really large ones that a family could share rather than the 'single serve cutesy ones' such as 'Martha's Best' that only appeared in recent years. You can occasionally find them in the market from a few vendors. I use to think they were just big and tasteless but I've had some that were quite sweet and I've developed a whole new appreciation; I'm even trying to plant a few. I've learnt to look beyond the sometimes mis-shapen fruit to the sweet fruit under the skin to the point where I'm almost eating the skin to get every last drop and it still tastes sweet. Maybe it's edible, who knows? Usually I just have a half of one by itself or with a banana or two for breakfast. Other times I chop it up with some ground oats and flax seeds and have it like an uncooked porridge. You could also add a banana and some raisins or dates for sweetness if you wanted but usually it's not necessary unless you get a really bland fruit.

Locally grown tomatoes were also in short supply, but have been coming back at the Coronation Market and the high prices have begun to trend down, thankfully.  I've come across a few tomato based recipes that I want to experiment with and the one pound of tomatoes that I allowed myself at the market recently (because of the price)  just would not do.

The pear (avocado) season has basically come to an end, so there goes one healthy food that I really enjoy.
The only ones still available are what's called the 'agricultural' ones. I'm a little wary about the quality this late in the season sometimes and of course the prices tend to be higher but I'm willing to chance it until all the pears have totally disappeared.

I've begun to see otaheite apples as well as my beloved mangoes, but make sure they're fit before buying. It's actually best to wait until they're plentiful to ensure fit fruit, but some of us are too impatient and are disappointed when we get home and realize that they were picked too early. I did get some nice apples at the market this past week and in order to keep them a little longer I cut up some and put them in a mason jar with orange and grapefruit juice. They were quite lovely.
( Let me know if you're looking for mason jars in Kingston )

To add insult to injury, we're in a period of drought so some foodstuff are suffering from a lack of water. Cucumbers have been affected and are much smaller in size in some cases or just plain unhealthy looking. One vegetable that seems to be holding its' own is the carrot. It's still plentiful and fairly inexpensive. I've come up with a new way to utilize carrots in order to get more fiber into my diet. If you have one of those small home juicers that does not squeeze out all the juice, this is an excellent way to use the pulp if you juice a lot of carrots. If not you can just grate some. Blend grated carrot or pulp with orange, tangerine or grapefruit pegs and/or juice, then eat with a spoon and enjoy your 'fiber rich fruit salad'. Other fruits can be added after blending as well, such as chopped up bananas, papayas or whatever fruits you like. As different ones appear as the year progresses make sure that you enjoy your local in-season fruits.

 Green Tip

Utilize grey water ( water generated from domestic activities such as laundry, dishwashing and bathing ) in your backyard garden especially as the drought worsens and we have water restrictions. You could also set some containers to catch any rain that might fall, like it did the last two days, after many dry days. The weatherman predicts more for this week; prepare so you have extra water for your plants or general cleaning. 

I'm sorry I've not posted as much as I would have liked last year; I'm working on that but unfortunately it's off to a bad start as it's already late in January but we'll try to pick up the pace. Hope to see you all in healthy green places and spaces.

Disclaimer

Please bear in mind that this is my healthy green journey and some of the information that I share may not be relevant for everyone so always do your own research or check with a medical practitioner if you have a medical condition.