Mashed Potato Hash and a Touch More

We are living green here...as in foliage green

with all the rain along with sunshine, the plants and trees cannot help it

they have no other wardrobe color to wear except chlorophyll...

which makes for pretty scenery

this area on the side of the cottage leads to the back garden

my husband put down a stone walkway to keep our feet clean of mud during rains

it works

however, what I really want to say is...

there is sunshine in my bottles

the ginger beer soda I made is temporarily bottled...

but, it won't be in them for too long

they taste too good to stay bottled

but, don't the ginger soda make for pretty views

after a few days, the soda culture turned nice and fizzy

in fact, I also want to warn you...

if you make homemade soda...

do make sure that you open the bottle lid s l o w l y...

'cause that fizz is going to turn your soda into a liquidy volcano...

if the lid is popped off too quickly

just like real soda that's been shaken

oh wait...no, no!

this is real soda, the homemade one

the other is just lots of bad sugars with chemicals with fizz thrown in to fool us

you know, the ones on the supermarket shelves

and before I forget to tell you...

the commercially made ones don't have that good-for-you probiotics...

and beneficial enzymes...

like the homemade culture does

so, do make your own sodas

it really isn't hard work and you'll wonder how you ever liked commercial soda at all

so now that you have real ginger beer to drink...

how about a mashed potato hash to go with it

for every person who will be eating this, take...

1 medium size potato (2 small ones if you have no medium size)

or more if you are bigger eaters

1 large onion, chopped

herbal seasoning of any kind you like (I'll show you mine further down)

2 Tbs of butter ( I suppose you could use another oil but, it ain't the same)

put the potatoes into a pot of water and bring to boil just until they are turning soft

once they are cooked, put them into a bowl and cool for a few minutes

with a masher or fork, mash up the potatoes, peel and all

the peels have nutrition in them, too

put some sea salt into the potatoes as you mash them, to your taste

don't over mash them, leave them a bit chunky...

it's much better that way

in a pan with the butter, saute the chopped onion till almost soft

add the mashed potatoes and stir them around with the onions just a bit

while the potatoes and onion are cooking...

add the herbal seasoning to your taste

I don't measure but, just sprinkle the seasoning over the potatoes till it looks good to me

my herbal seasoning is a combination of different herbs together into one bottle

it makes it so much easier to just pick up one bottle instead of bringing out the whole pantry

you can see on my fancy labels and lovely handwriting the combination I have

I just buy packages of the herbs (or dry them myself)...

and don't bother using measurements of each - just each package emptied into a bowl...

and thoroughly mixed together, then put into a lidded jar or large mouth bottle

it works

(sorry for the blur - I focused towards the wrong spot)

once the first side of the hash is done, I sprinkle cheese (whatever you like)...

and turn it over to crisp on the other side

voila! mashed hashed potatoes

and you can add anything else you like along the way as it cooks

please your own palate

thought I'd give you a scenic view of fluttering butterflies...

and a pretty, speckled bug on a flower (lower center)

can you see the butterflies in their lovely bright orange-red blurs?

O give thanks to the Lord;

call upon His name;

make known His deeds among the peoples!

1 Chronicles 16:8

May your day or night be praise to the Lord.

Ginger Beer Culture

Before one can make the ginger beer soda pop...

you have to make the culture, so that is what I'll show you first

all I use is 3 ingredients; unrefined cane sugar, fresh ginger and un-chlorinated water
some people use baker's yeast to get their culture started...
but, that is not necessary
the wild yeast in the air will do the job just fine
in fact, using baker's yeast will probably turn your culture in alcohol

this is my way of making the ginger culture...

but, there are other ways of doing this and you can go to youtube...

and type in "how to make ginger soda pop" to find different videos on it

I like this  particular video on how to make the culture...

which also has a part 2

making the culture aka "bug" works best with fresh ginger

fresh ginger should be organic because you don't want ginger that...

has been washed with anything to kill the natural lactobacilli that ginger...

have to protect themselves in the ground, specifically over the winter

if you are not able to find fresh ginger...
you can use organic powdered ginger that has not been irradiated
if it is organic, by organic standards, it will not have been irradiated...
which kills all the good lactobacilli bacteria that ferments the ginger solution into the culture

it's possible that using powdered ginger may take the fermentation...
a couple of days longer to get started

as for the sugar used to feed the lactobacilli...
I have seen different people use different sugars
I do not keep processed white sugars but, I do use unrefined brown cane sugar...
you can find it by the names of turbinado, raw cane sugar or demerara
do not use raw honey as it will take much longer to get the culture going
you can use the white sugar which really is of no real concern...
because the sugars fed to the culture will be broken down...
and be eaten up by the fermentation and you won't be consuming it yourself

after I dig up enough ginger to use for the week...

I brush or lightly rinse the ginger without scrubbing to take off any dirt

and keep the peel on which the lactobacilli live on

fill a glass jar with 12 ounces of unchlorinated water...
cut up a piece of fresh organic ginger into very small bits until you have 1 tablespoon
put that into the jar of water and add 2 teaspoons of sugar into it

once the ingredients are all in the glass jar...

give it a good vigorous stir until the sugar is completely dissolved

cover the opening with a loose weave cloth or a paper towel

you can also use a canning jar's lid band over the cloth or towel

this will give the ginger solution the breathing ability to catch the wild yeasts in the air

set it aside in a warm spot

once a day, every morning...

feed your culture by chopping up small pieces of fresh ginger...

to make 2 teaspoons and add that along with 2 teaspoons of sugar to the solution

stir your culture vigorously 2 to 3 times a day as it likes to be aerated 

it will take about 2 to 5 days for tiny bubbles to appear at the top of the solution

it all depends on how warm your kitchen is

the bubbles tell you the fermentation is taking place

you will continue to feed your culture for 7 days

and next post, we will go to the next step of making soda pop

May your day or night find grace in the Lord.

Winding Down, Avocados Are

Mango season is now pretty much out...

but, we still have a few left that we don't let get away

and one of my favorite drinks is a home brewed tea of...

7 teaspoons of earl grey tea leaves (or 5 to 6 teabags) in a large pitcher

2 tablespoons of grated ginger

1 mango (ripe or green will work) cut up or grated down to the seed

you can even leave the skin on if you wish

put it all in the pitcher and fill with very hot (not boiling) water

let steep for several hours and strain...

sweeten with raw honey (or whatever your favorite sweetener is), then refrigerate

sometimes, instead of the ginger, I'll use mint leaves

that one is good, too

and I have found, this tea is actually better if left overnight to meld the flavors together

I'm going to be sorry when no mango is left to pick till  next season

if you have no mangoes...

you can make this tea with peaches, apricots or even try an apple

and woe is me!

we are at the end of avocado season with our trees

now honestly, I do not know what variety are avocados are

I do know they are delicious

the one in this photo below is long, smooth skinned and has a sweet, creamy tasty texture

I loved this one!

it's quite large and heavy and the meat of it is a creamy yellow

boy! does it make a good chocolate/avocado mousse

then, we have a much smaller avocado that is, well...

good but, doesn't beat the taste of the pear shaped one above

it does fit quite nicely in the palm of my small hand

and when it turns the color of purplish red...

it's ready to eat

and did you know?

avocados do not ripen on the tree

they must come to full maturation, then picked...

and they will ripen usually in the next couple of days, or so

some will change color; others will "give" a bit when gently squeezed

and if you are not ready for an avocado from your own tree, yet...

the fruit can be left there until you are

well, one of my favorite salads is an avocado and tomato salad with fresh basil leaves

the fruits are diced into bite size pieces

spritz a little lemon or lime juice into the salad

and...

whip up a mixture of olive oil and apple cider vinegar with a little raw honey and sea salt...

mix into the salad

and the basil leaves can be cut with a scissors and mixed last

so good!

some shredded parmesan cheese would probably be good as a topping, too

I would rather have good food labored for by the sweat of my brow...

than all the riches of the wealthy who are burdened of all their "stuff"

The sleep of a labouring man is sweet,

whether he eat little or much:

but the abundance of the rich will not suffer him to sleep.

Ecclesiastes 5:12

May your day or night find good food in the sweet grace of the Lord.

Rosemary and Onion Sweet Potato

My intention was to prune my rose bushes back quite a bit

but, when I saw the roses and how they brightened up the patch under the stairs...

I couldn't bring myself to prune

and sure, while I could have picked the roses and bring them into the cottage to enjoy...

I do so like seeing them pretty on the bushes in the yard

after all, with as much as I go outside, it's rather nice to see flowers to greet me...

with their cheerfulness

 so, instead...

I got down and dirty digging up a few sweet potatoes for dinner

yeah, the dirt was wet but, the mud was beside the point

we were going to have sweet potatoes with the meal after some months of none at all

while these are often known as sweet potatoes by many...

here on this island they are usually referred to as sweet yams...

and they carry sporamins (storage proteins) which are key in giving these roots...

an antioxidant property...

which is good for the body in preventing oxidative damage in the cells

the more orange or purple they are, the more antioxidants they have

God thought of that when He put medical properties into foods

once they were cleaned, the sweet potatoes took on a new look

and with a breadfruit from the tree, we eat well

when it comes to potatoes, white or of the yam kind...

I truly like using herbs to rev up the taste...

and, it's a good excuse to add a little herbal medicine to one's food

these sweet yams were peeled and cut into smaller pieces...

then quickly steamed for about 5 minutes just to give them a slight tenderness...

but not soft

while the sweet yams steamed...

a red onion (or any onion) was sliced and sauteed in some butter and olive oil until tender

the sweet yams were cooled and diced into bite size pieces and added to the onions...

and sauteed until they were completely (not mushy) soft; about 10 minutes

once they were done, the rosemary was cut up (I cut mine with kitchen scissors)...

and added to the dish

today, we have a rainy day

that means...

dogs will sleep

and thus, the day has been peaceful

I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep:

for Thou, Lord,

only makest me dwell in safety.

Psalm 4:8

May your day or night find peacefulness in the grace of God.

Mango Preserves at Pilgrim's Cottage

Making fruit preserves was something I've been wanting to learn to do

and since we've been harvesting more mangoes than we can eat...

and selling what we couldn't eat to the market...

and still have plenty left over...

it seemed the right time to hunker down and be brave

because, you see...

I have never canned preserves in my life before

and in fact, I have never canned anything before...

and it seemed such a daunting task

canning is something that has piqued my interest lately and after watching this...

FoodFarmerEarth video...

I just had to figure canning can't be so hard, after all

so, grabbing a lime for the added acidic ingredient for my mango recipe...

since water bath canning can call for it...

I eagerly made my way back up the hill to the cottage with my bucket of fresh picked mangoes 

because this is my first experience at canning...

I won't post the process steps this time

but perhaps, when there is more experience and confidence under my belt...

you can come with me in a later post

I just did 3 pints for my first to get the feel of the task...

and I think it came out all right

as soon as the jars were taken out of the water bath, the lids started to pop shut

I was relieved

heh...at least, that seemed to have gone well enough

and as far as the "daunting" task itself?

it wasn't as nearly so hard as I thought

hopefully, in the next week, as the fun in canning gets into my system...

the shelf in the pantry cupboard will fill up a little more with bona-fide homemade preserves 

Thou hast granted me life and favour,

and Thy visitation hath preserved my spirit.

Job 10:12

May your day or night be sweetly preserved in the grace of the Lord.

Rushing Through the Day

Sometimes, I get one of those days when suddenly...

it becomes quite busy

so this post comes at a rush late in the day

that's when chocolate is one of my best friends...

as far as food is concerned...

like this cocoa/coconut/cinnamon candy

it isn't hard to make nor does it take very long

the recipe for the candy gives about 12 pieces...

so if you want to make more, just double the recipe

and you can adjust the sweetness and cinnamon to your own taste

the ingredients are:

3 oz dark chocolate

1 cup shredded unsweetened coconut

3 tsp of raw honey

2 tsp of cinnamon

start by oiling an ice cube tray with a little coconut oil or...

you can use a candy mold tray

break up and melt the chocolate in a double boiler or...

I just put a small saucepan into a larger one with some water

this keeps the chocolate from burning

once the chocolate is melted and smooth...

turn off the heat and add the rest of the ingredients...

stirring till they are all well combined

spoon into the oiled ice cube tray and put into the freezer for at least 30 minutes

with a knife inserted into the sides of the candy...

they should come out nicely and refrigerated to keep firm 

I whipped up some coconut oil to use as a butter on crackers or bread

to get the coconut oil to whip up nicely...

chill in the refrigerator until firm but not hard...

maybe about 30 to 45 minutes

if it gets too hard, just let it soften a bit for easier whipping

I just break it up into smaller chunks with a knife...

and use my electric beater on high

it's been a pretty warm day, today...

and the coconut oil didn't whip as high as it should of...

but, it still worked well enough for me...

and it will stay refrigerated in a glass jar to keep it's whipped consistency

I like the whipped oil for spreading rather than the liquid...

just nicer and while it is being whipped...

other things such as honey and cinnamon can be added...

for a tasty spread on bread and crackers

May your day or night be blessed in God's grace.