by Krista | Jun 17, 2016 | Winter
Yesterday afternoon as thick, black clouds blotted out the sun and made our little world wonderfully dark and still, I sat on the veranda with my Luna girl and just enjoyed it. Grass parrots flitting about in streaks of color, occasional bleats from the newborn goats in the paddock, our three little sheep trotting along from one grassy morsel to the next. In such moments our farm feels like a world unto itself. How I love it.
The last couple of months have been precious to me, ones of healing so deep that I nearly feel giddy from the heady sensation of darkness dispelled and crushing burdens dissolved. I knew my physical ailments were rooted in past trauma, but I had no idea how much until those traumas were addressed, healed, and released, and my pain went with them.
I’ve been on pain killers nearly every day since I got out of the cult fifteen years ago. Now I only need them on rare occasions, usually after a treatment as my body lets go of all the bad stuff. I haven’t had a nightmare in months. I fall asleep quickly, sleep well, and wake up most days without an alarm clock – which is saying something since I get up at 1:50 a.m. for work.
The biggest change has been the connected feeling I have within myself. As a coping mechanism, I learned to disassociate, to disconnect from myself and others, but I don’t need to do that anymore. And bit by bit, like collecting puzzle pieces that were thrown hither and thither by an enthusiastic toddler, I’m being pieced back together again. It’s been the most exquisite reunion, a wondrous sense of wholeness.
I’m deeply grateful for the lovely Bernie Giggins who has done so much to heal this battered heart and body of mine. Her kindness, wisdom, and marvelous sense of humor have seen me through the darkest moments of my life with a sense of security and strength. I’m still working through things, still finding areas that need to be visited and healed, but the progress I’ve made thus far means the world to me and gives me such hope.
That’s why I’ve been so quiet here. It’s been my time to be my own Mama Bear, to look after own soul with all the ferocity and loyalty of a grizzly mother. To fight for quietness and rest so my body can recuperate after each healing session. To protect my time to learn new ways of being, behaving, and connecting that are healthy and loving and good. And to focus on the things that bring me joy: my people, my gardens, animals, and books, my art and going on little adventures.
I haven’t had words until now. Not for my journal, not for my blog, not even to speak, but I’m finding them, and as I string them together, I’ll share them here.
It’s winter here now, but you’d never know it. I’m still picking tomatoes, my pea vines are covered with pods, and we have baby goats leaping about all over the place. It’s marvelous.
Bear and I have been doing all sorts of creative projects: building high backed medieval chairs, sewing a medieval quilt, and wood-burning everything from boxes to wooden clogs. I made a potting shed for my gardens and have been weaving sticks into my garden fences to create an artsy barrier for our goats. I made quince jam and Hungarian sausages, hot pepper jelly and apple wine. It’s been so fun.
One thing I’ve learned through all this is the importance of little adventures, and in the weeks to come I’ll be sharing some of my favorites from the last couple of months.
What is your favorite way to Mama Bear your heart? xo
by Krista | Sep 1, 2015 | Winter
It’s still quite shivery this morning as we welcome September 1st and prepare for the much longed for Spring.
You can see glimpses of it in budding berry canes, flowering fruit trees, and a shimmering green through the waving brown grasses in the fields. Chickens and geese are sitting on overflowing nests of eggs, and baby goats have found their sea legs and are galloping happily around the paddocks.
Veggies I planted months ago are now ready for harvest: beetroots, radishes, snow peas, sugar snap peas, kale, spinach, silverbeet, and lettuces. Blueberries are turning bluer, lilly pillies pinker, and I’ve even got a green tomato nearly two inches wide!!
It’s such an invigorating time of year and I feel a surge of excitement as I make plans and start projects.
I’ve been taking time each day to linger over tea with my journal, jotting down hopes and ideas, scribbling lists, and giving myself a few moments to celebrate each little thing that is completed. I love those quiet moments of reflection that settle my frazzled self and help me focus on the important stuff with a peaceful heart.
Today I’m spending the whole day between my gardens and my office, getting things ready for this new season.
Yesterday I planted broccoli, cabbages, and a rogue tomato that popped up in my strawberry bed, and now I need to get them all mulched so they’re protected from the coming heat. There are potatoes to be planted, all sorts of seeds put in trays, fruit trees sprayed and mulched, and seedlings transplanted. I do love getting out there in the sunshine, digging in the dirt, giving everything a good drink.
Over the winter my office became a catch all for myriad projects and is in dire need of a clear out and spruce up. I’m excited to get everything sorted and organized so my creative space is a haven again.
Now it’s time to finish my last sip of coffee, bundle up against the morning chill, and go feed all the animals, collect eggs, and get the next load of laundry on the line.
What is your favorite part about the change of seasons? xo
by Krista | Aug 31, 2015 | Winter
Saturday morning Bear and I were up at 4 a.m. to pack the car, dress in medieval clothes, and head to Fort Lytton for a day with friends representing the 12th century.
Normally during medieval events, we are busy from morn until night doing demonstrations and talking with the public, but this one was laid back and relaxed and so much fun. We actually had time to hang out with each other, and that was brilliant.
We got to wander into each other’s tents and see the variations of food, craft, and furniture used by different groups representing different cultures. I was delighted by these rustic little apple hand pies.
And who can resist hummus, salted nuts, smoked hams and sausages, dried fruits, lovely cheeses, and those oh so gorgeous strawberries? Medieval food provides mighty good eating indeed.
I also liked looking at all the unique crafts practiced by each group. My friend does the most beautiful naalbinding, a precursor to knitting, churning out cozy mittens, socks, slippers, and cord. Her hubby makes handmade leather shoes that are gorgeous.
My friend Sue and I spent several hours making brightly colored Bedouin tassels for our Bedouin tent, camel saddles, and robes. It was so fun to sit in the shade of the tent, visiting with old and new friends as we worked.
Since it was such a small event, our Templar friends told us to not worry about bringing all our gear, and instead shared their tent with us. It was so great to get to spend time together, telling stories and jokes, swapping tales about past events, and sharing our latest bits of medieval research and discovery.
I especially loved learning about the history of the Templars, their role in the Crusades, and the diverse assemblage of pilgrims from around the known world who accompanied them to the Holy Land.
My favorite bit was hanging out with such a great group of people, doing something we love with others who love it too.
Bear and I returned home exhausted but inspired, full of ideas for projects and improvements and additions to our camp. With our next event less than a month away, we have a lot of fun work to do.
What is your favorite memory from your weekend? xo
by Krista | Aug 28, 2015 | Winter
As I got ready for bed Wednesday night, I opened our bedroom window just in case rain started to fall. I had watched the clouds all afternoon, hoping it would rain, and if it did, I wasn’t going to miss it. I turned on my lamp, cozied in with my book, and began to read.
About an hour later the silence was broken by a rush of wind through the gum trees and the first tentative splatters of rain on our tin roof. Bear and I grinned. The rain was coming at last.
It rained through the night and when we woke the next morning, it was still falling. It was the best kind of rain, soft, gentle, quiet, the sort that stays where it falls and doesn’t disappear in a sudden deluge or get dried up by fierce winds.
I couldn’t stay inside on such a day, so I donned my gum boots, hat, and flannel shirt, grabbed my pitchfork and headed out to the gardens.
It’s amazing what a difference a bit of rain makes to plants. Although they live with regular watering, they absolutely thrive with rain. They seem to relax when the rain falls, no more stalwart growing in the face of drought and withering heat, this is when they grow without even trying.
Peas, beets, radishes, and cabbages, radicchio, carrots, silverbeet, and kale, they all perked up, lifting leaves to the sky to catch as much water as possible and let it run down to their roots.
I worked next to them as the rain fell, steadfastly digging a new garden plot for my berry bushes.
Digging garden beds in Australia is serious business. The sun-baked earth does not welcome shovels, and weeds, grasses, and a ludicrous number of rocks have to be removed with crowbars, pitchforks, and sheer grit. I broke one pitchfork with my exertions and was limping along with a handle-less one I found in the barn when Bear approached positively beaming as he handed me what he called “an early birthday present” – a beautiful stainless steel, ergonomic, “the best money can buy” pitchfork. I nearly cried right then and there. He knows the way to my heart.
I hugged and smooched him soundly and returned to my endeavors. It took me all day. Alllllll day. But I did it. And Bear took a break from his projects to help me haul wheelbarrows full of goat manure and sawdust. I spread them over the planting areas, dug them in, and then we set up two big frames for the berries to ramble along. I planted loganberries and boysenberries and am so excited to see them get big and productive in the years to come.
During our breaks, Bear and I love to have slices of homemade spelt bread with butter and honey, or cheese and tomatoes, or piled high with tuna salad.
Unfortunately my oven died this week. This death was preceded by the demise of my hot plate and electric frying pan. Good heavens. When my bread machine kicked the bucket this morning all we could do was laugh. Because what else are you going to do?
Determined not to let these disasters get the better of me, I set my brain to work on another way to cook bread that didn’t require me going outside and building a fire. I wondered if you could bake bread in a slow cooker, and went online to find out. Much to my delight I learned that you can!!!
You don’t get the rise or crust that you do from a regular oven, but if you don’t mind a soft crust and lovely but dense loaf, you’re in business. I made a spelt loaf today and was delighted with how it turned out, and more than a little relieved. While we save up to get a new stove, at least we can still have fresh bread. That makes me smile.
What is your favorite quick lunch when you’ve been working outside? xo
Spelt Bread Dough
Ingredients:
3 cups spelt flour
1 tsp sea salt
1 Tbsp brown sugar
2 tsp active dry yeast
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 large egg
1 cup water
baking paper
Directions:
- Turn slow cooker on high.
- Place dry ingredients into large bowl and whisk together.
- In small bowl, whisk together olive oil, egg, and water.
- Add wet ingredients to dry and stir to combine.
- Scatter flour on counter and place dough in center.
- Knead until dough is smooth and elastic.
- Set dough in center of large piece of baking paper and lower into slow cooker.
- Replace lid and cook for 1.5 hours, checking to make sure it doesn’t burn on the bottom.
- Remove from slow cooker and cool on rack.
- Note: slow cookers cook at different temperatures so check your bread (the bottom will have a good crust on it) to see what cooking time is best.
by Krista | Aug 26, 2015 | Winter
Much of the work around our farm requires a great deal of bustling, lifting, hauling, and heaving, but there’s one that is pure relaxation: watering.
I really like watering my gardens. Seeing the water droplets cascade onto parched leaves and sink deep into the soil, causing the plants to perk right up. I like how the colors change once the film of dust is removed. They intensify, deepen, and look so fresh and clean that you can’t help but breathe easier.
I also love the smell of damp earth and sodden hay, drenched leaves and wet wood, how a mere sprinkling of water can draw out the heady fragrances of rosemary, lavender, and dill.
And I really like how it looks. There’s something quite magical about crystalline water droplets clinging to stalks, stems, and blossoms.
Watering is such a peaceful chore, almost meditative as you watch the spray fall to the earth, shimmering in the sunlight, pattering gently onto cabbages and apple trees, sugar snap peas and radishes. It’s my “just breathe and let the cares of the world fall away” time. As the clutter in my whirring brain dissipates, I’m able to gently work through niggling issues, find resolutions to problems, and clarify what to do next. I like that. Giving life to the gardens while renewing my own.
After a morning spent watering our five gardens and three orchards, I’m definitely ready for something hearty, nourishing, and cool. Even in winter, working for hours in the sun makes me crave cooling foods.
This week my favorite dish has been chicken salad filled with lusciously sweet prunes, earthy sorrel, and sprightly mint, coated with a creamy, cinnamon-y dressing. Yep, it hits the spot nicely.
Do you like watering your garden? xo
Chicken Prune Salad with Sorrel and Mint
Ingredients:
2 cups chicken, roughly chopped
¾ cup prunes, chopped
1 handful sorrel leaves, chopped
¼ mint leaves, removed from stem (if large, chop)
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1 Tbsp runny honey
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
½ tsp ground cinnamon
1 sprig mint leaves for garnish
Directions:
- In large bowl place chicken, prunes, sorrel leaves, and mint leaves. Toss to combine.
- In small bowl whisk together mayonnaise, honey, cider vinegar, and cinnamon.
- Pour dressing over chicken mixture and stir well to coat. Garnish with mint leaves.
- Serve immediately or chill in fridge until ready to use.
by Krista | Aug 23, 2015 | Winter
With the arrival of warmer weather, my gardens have shot up, producing all sorts of good things to eat. My goal is to have something from our farm with every meal.
Sometimes it’s eggs and dill with breakfast, sugar snap peas and coriander with lunch, kale leaves with dinner.
It feels so good to be growing what we need each day, things that make us healthier and stronger.
But sometimes I like to venture outside the garden and do a bit of foraging.
I’ve always liked the idea of foraging, and I’ve done my fair share picking huckleberries in the woods in British Columbia, collecting wild fennel in Italy, and this week, collecting plantain leaves from our Big Orchard in Australia.
Plantain is one of the nutrient-rich “weeds” that grows unbidden in nearly every environment on earth. You can find it in alpine meadows and shady woodlands, rain-drenched roadsides and heat-baked Australia.
For some reason, plantain has taken up residence in our Big Orchard, flourishing in verdant clumps near the citrus trees. While I pull out other weeds that might draw nutrients away from our fruit trees, I encourage the plantain knowing it will provide free, nutritious food for us throughout the year.
Foraging expert, Katrina Blair, has written a fantastic book called: “The Wild Wisdom of Weeds: 13 Essential Plants for Human Survival.” I love it. Chock full of history, folklore, and scientific research, it also contains excellent recipes for how to eat nutrient dense wild foods such as dandelion, thistle, amaranth, and, of course, plantain. Plantain is loaded with good things: vitamin E, calcium, potassium, Omega-3 fatty acids, iron, micronutrients, and protein. It is also anti-inflammatory, a digestive aid, helps women during PMS and menopause, and, oddly enough, increases sperm count in men, according to the latest research from the University of Malaysia.
Blair’s book has had me looking at our woods, fields, and paddocks with a whole new purpose, and set my creativity whirring as I dream up ways to use these nutritious and delicious wild foods that grow for free all around us.
This weekend I picked my first harvest of plantain leaves and set to work turning them into dinner.
I picked baby radishes and baby beetroots from my garden, along with a few kale leaves and an Asian green I can’t remember the name of. I heated up olive oil in a large pan with a few chopped garlic cloves, then added the halved radishes and beetroots to brown and caramelize while I chopped the kale, greens, and plantain leaves. Cooking radishes removes the heat completely and leaves you with a sweet, earthy vegetable that is truly delicious.
When the root veggies were done, I added all the greens, covered the pan and cooked the greens for a minute or two. Then I added shredded chicken, a handful of sliced sugar snap peas, and a hearty drizzle of ginger garlic sauce, heated everything through and dinner was ready.
Absolutely delicious. The sweetness of the root veggies and dressing perfectly balanced the earthy greens, while the chicken gave a savory note and the peas gave a light, fresh crunch.
For my first plantain dish, we gave it a resounding YES!
Do you have a favorite food you like to forage? xo
Wild Plantain Stir-Fry
Ingredients:
1 bunch plantain
1 bunch red Russian kale
1 bunch Asian greens
olive oil
2 garlic cloves, sliced
½ cup baby radishes, trimmed and halved
½ cup baby beetroot, trimmed and halved
1 cup shredded chicken
½ cup sliced fresh sugar snap peas
¼ cup ginger garlic dressing (if you don’t have a bottle, whip up your own with fresh ginger, garlic, soy sauce, sesame oil, and a bit of brown sugar)
Directions:
- Wash and chop greens and set aside.
- Heat olive oil in large frying pan, add garlic and cook about thirty seconds. Add radishes and beetroot, cut side down. Fry until golden brown on cut surface.
- Add greens, stir to coat with oil, cover and cook for 1-2 minutes until just wilted.
- Add chicken, sugar snap peas, and ginger garlic dressing, stir to coat, cover, and heat until just heated through, about 2-3 minutes.
- Remove from heat and serve warm or cold as a salad.
