I always thought pigeons were town loving birds...I guess they're adaptable. The barn is warm, dry, and filling up with pigeon poop. Their droppings are supposed to be an ingredient in gun powder. Hey! We're always trying old ways new to us, maybe that's next...
This is a chronicle of thoughts and experiences living off the grid but remaining connected to the world just 6 degrees from the arctic circle.
Tuesday, 25 October 2016
Our growing family
Remember that little family of pigeons that moved into the roof of our house a couple years back? (See "Home Invasion", August 29, 2014.) New soffits got them to move to the barn but, my oh my, how that wee family has grown! Pigeon pie anyone? How about a new tradition, pigeon for Christmas? We keep talking and discussing, but so far the only pigeons eaten are the two our guard dog caught. Thank-you, Thor the Wonder Dog.
Friday, 14 October 2016
Squash Pie
Squash Pie
I'm the first to admit that I'm not a pie maker. I can make pies, good ones, and, since my pie crust recipe came from an experienced and appreciated camp cook who was accustomed to baking many, many delicious pies at a time, I'm able to say I can make a pie with a nice flaky crust (lard, an egg, baking powder, and vinegar being the not-so-secret ingredients). But for me it's a chore - an arduous day consuming chore which I seldom engage in.
But Thanksgiving tickled my guilty bones, and because that one buttercup squash plant I grew this summer produced over a dozen lovely squashes, I began searching the net for squash pie recipes. In the end I relied on my old cookbook (Fanny Farmer, received as a wedding gift 49 years ago) but the net did provide me with a good way to bake the squash so that I could mash the pulp to make the pie.
I got my husband to bring in the biggest squash from the shop where they are stored and he cut it in half on the diagonal for me. I cleaned out the seeds, saved some for next year, put aluminum foil on a cookie sheet, added a bit of water, and baked each half cut side down at 400F. Since I had no idea, other than inserting a knife, how to tell when it was done I ended up taking it out before it was completely cooked. I took a big spoon and scooped out as much as I could then gave the remains to the rams. They seemed quite pleased.
Since my scooped squash still seemed a bit to firm to mash I got out my steamer and cooked it some more. During all of this my husband kept asking if he could help. I believe he was rather excited to experience the fruits of this particular labour. "Is it ready to mash yet? I'll mash it for you," he said several times. "No, not yet," was my somewhat grumbling response. This squash preparation was taking a long time!
I only needed 3 cups of squash for the pie and had much more than that so four more servings went to the freezer. After my husband performed his squash mashing task I further puréed it with my mixer, added the spices, milk and eggs and set it aside so I could put together the ingredients for a pecan pie. If I'm gonna make a pie I'm gonna make more than one!
My crust recipe makes 5 or 6 crusts and, since both these pies go topless, I made two crusts, froze two balls and made Rollie's from the rest. Rollie's are pie crust with cinnamon and sugar rolled up and cut like cinnamon buns, a tradition passed down from my mother who also made good but infrequent pies. After baking they tend to disappear quickly, especially when there's a strong admonition regarding the necessity of keeping the pies for Thanksgiving, regardless of pleading eyes and repetitive suggestions. "One piece wouldn't really matter, would it?"
Thanksgiving arrived, the pie's big moment. Would people like it? Is it as good as a pumpkin pie? Three out of four decided to try both pies, so half and half servings with ice cream were set on the table. One guest declined the squash pie giving a rather lengthy explanation concerning a CPR incident and mouth to mouth resuscitation to explain why he could never ever eat any pie that resembled pumpkin. I'll leave the details of the incident to your imagination.
I'm happy to say it all turned out. The pies were a hit and appreciated over and over. Next day we had another guest who loved squash pie and gave this one a thumbs up. Day three another appreciative squash pie eater arrived along with one decliner who could never ever eat anything containing cinnamon, going back to his youth and involving a stick of super hot cinnamon gum and a girl he was trying to impress. The gum was so hot it brought tears to his eyes, but he kept smiling and chewing until he had a discreet opportunity to dispose of the gum after which he smiled and pretended to chew.
Interesting isn't it, how unpleasant incidences carve themselves into our memories, sometimes subconsciously, and determine food likes and dislikes throughout our lives. For me it was peas, in jello, served at my grade school cafeteria where the nuns required us to clean our plates. For that matter I had a preconceived notion about squash pie. This was my first. I had that "never tried it, don't like it" mind set to overcome. So is my first squash pie my last? Not likely. I am already thinking about those two frozen crusts and the remaining squished squash with a certain amount of culinary desire.
Saturday, 1 October 2016
People Power
Some of us have our eyes wide open, some have them closed, most see what they want to see. But we do, in my opinion, have one thing in common - no matter how much we see or don't see, we all feel powerless. We don't think we can make a difference. We don't think we have any control over governments (our vote doesn't count), big corporations (all our jobs are going overseas), or the degradation of our environment (many Canadian jobs are linked to the depletion/destruction of natural resources). We all have to make a living. We all want to provide for our families as best we can. And sometimes just trying to make a go of it does seem to render us powerless in the face of the big picture.
But there is one power we all have - Purchasing Power.
The oil and gas industry, here in Alberta especially, is a huge contributor to our economy. Anyone who thinks we can totally eliminate exploration and production of this resource has their head in the sand. Still, we can use our purchasing power to make changes within this industry - changes that will be good for us, for our grandchildren, for the future. The most obvious products provided by this industry are gasoline, lubricants and diesel. Our country is enormous. We drive - lots. We have to or we stay home. I have to drive 16 km just to get my mail! We could purchase vehicles that use less fuel. We could car-pool. We could take public transport. We could become more organized so that we combine several errands into one excursion. We could buy local and seasonal thus saving fuel for the transportation of goods. We could holiday closer to home. We could.
Conspiracy theorists grumble that oil companies stifle inventions that will lessen/eliminate fuel usage. Perhaps they do. But it's possible they'll see the writing on the wall. There's really no reason why an oil company can't use their financial resources to branch out into alternatives. Maybe someday electric cars will replace what's available now. Research is being done. When prices are finally within the reach of the average wage earner we may be able to get away from gas powered transportation. But we need to recognize that electric cars have to be charged. That charge comes from somewhere. We need to press our government reps to seek alternative and planet friendly means of producing electricity.
In any case we won't get away from oil. Take a look at one or both of these web sites. Oil usage goes way beyond gas!
---------------------------------------
A partial list of products made from petroleum - (144 of 6000 items) One 42-gallon barrel of oil creates 19.4 gallons of gasoline. The rest (over half) is used to make things like: ...
Ranken Energy. www.ranken-energy.com › products fro
---------------------------------------
How Products Made from Oil End Up in Your House | Oil and Gas InfoOil and Gas Info
www.oilandgasinfo.ca › oil-gas-you › pr...
What's the first thing that comes to mind when you think about something made from petroleum? Gasoline, probably. Or maybe plastic bags. But there are actually thousands...
---------------------------------------
We eat, wear, drink, package, sit on, write with, ride on, play with, preserve with, clean with....and lots more....products made with oil. Some of these products have proven to be pretty hard on our environment.
Plastics are one of the worst and plastic products are everywhere. They literally permeate every facet of our lives and it seems to be getting worse, not better. My biggest peeves in the grocery department are the plastic boxes in which things like donuts, cakes, etc are packaged; the impossible to open crackers etc that used to be packaged in cellophane (from cellulose so I guess a wood product, but at least you didn't need a scissors to open the pack); and the individually packaged treats for kids lunches. Then there's the plastic loops holding the beer cans together, plastic chairs, plastic cutlery, plastic bottles, milk and juice jugs, bags, jars, cups and that horrible poured on plastic that envelops toys...yikes! If you don't buy this stuff, if you make a point of doing this and many others do too, it will change the way things are done. Companies want to sell their products. Whatever makes them sellable they will do. If it's good for you, good for the planet and good for the producers bottom line, well, its good, isn't it?
Paper, a wood product, is one alternative to plastic. Wood is sorta renewable, but we need to watch our logging practices. Removing every tree from the landscape isn't doing our local environments or the planet a lot of good. It effects the weather. It causes displacement of species. It's ugly. It removes millions of oxygen producing organisms and contributes to global warming. Although we don't have as much biodiversity in the Boreal Forrest as in the rainforests to the south, our logging operations can be quite destructive. So, since paper is a good alternative, we should push hard for hemp, a crop that has so much diversity it's astonishing, and from which you can make paper. Hemp is not marijuana. In any case it's time we stopped fearing this medicinally useful and recreational plant anyhow. Alcohol is far worse. But that's another subject.
Paper, made from wood, should be respected and used sparingly. A simple rag can replace hundreds of paper towels. Cloth napkins can replace paper napkins. Cloth bags can replace grocery bags. On line billing, reports, magazines, newspapers, books can save tons of paper. (Sometimes access to a printed version is needed/wanted, but it's not always necessary.) And those paper plates and cups together with plastic cutlery... Well, I'm guilty. But think about it. Remember the last occasion at your local hall, where real dishes were used? Washing dishes can be an enjoyable social connection with others.
Consumer choices regarding food can drive producers to change as well. Buy local, seasonal, organic (certified or not), unpackaged. Garden, even in pots if you lack space. Cook from scratch! We have been duped into thinking that convenience foods are healthy and, for that matter, that they are actually convenient. I'm always amazed when I see people use a pancake mix, adding water, eggs, stirring. A small twist of the wrist to add baking powder and salt is about all the convenience you're paying for. Cooking from scratch is healthier, less expensive, tastier and far easier than modern cooks have been led to believe.
Water in plastic bottles is another consumer accepted and embraced product which is disastrous for the environment. No matter how many studies/reports have proven that it's pretty much the same as tap water, it has become a convenience and a sort of status symbol. Look at me, I buy water for my kids, not sugary pop! Some people recycle the bottles, many don't. Much of the water in the bottles is never drunk, people take a sip or two and forget about it, lay it down, find it later and wonder whose bottle it is, and down the drain it goes. Aquifers are being drained to the detriment of local residents. Clean water is being thought of as a privilege rather than a basic right. There's numerous posts on FaceBook encouraging people to stop buying bottled water but few seem to care. Change will not come unless we care.
I know this blog sounds preachy, and I'm certainly not perfect. But I do try to make wise consumer choices. This may seem insignificant. But when millions make good choices we do have power - people power, consumer power. I'm only suggesting that we give some thought to what we buy, and, when we can, we should make better choices, ones that will help to preserve our environment and that of the other species that inhabit planet Earth.
What's that saying I keep seeing on FaceBook? "You are the change!" Are you?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)