The Southern Soil Blog
Convenience. It’s a matter of choice. It’s all relative. I’m not here to judge or to tell you what’s convenient or if convenience should be the deciding factor in food choices. I just want to challenge you to rethink some of your assumptions. I did. And now I have a whole new appreciation for tacos!
I gave up on resolutions a long time ago. But I like to choose a word that encapsulates an idea or a concept... a way to help me grow personally and to help me grow my business as well. This year, my word is COMMUNITY. On the surface that might not seem like a word that's meant to be a catalyst for change.
It’s just a thought … but really … what if we just changed the whole damn thing? What amazing things could happen in our communities, in our State, in this country and around the world if we, as consumers, just quit buying from companies that want to pay the cheapest rates, cut corners, hurt the environment and don’t care about their employees? What if, instead, we started iNSISTING on paying MORE for things? Buying from companies that charge prices that cover things like employee benefits, fair wages, fair trade, social justice and environmental safeguards? What if??? What could our world look like in 10 years?
I had never heard of a Dutch Baby Pancake until recently (watching Food Network, of course).
As soon as I heard it described as part pancake, part crepe and easy to make - I knew I had to try making one! So, I did. (Here’s the link to the recipe that I used).
This post isn’t necessarily about making Dutch Baby Pancakes, but more about getting out of a rut!
How often do you find yourself making the meals over and over or hitting up the same restaurants? What I want to do today is just encourage you to try something new this week!
And if you don’t already make a habit of cooking regularly for yourself - get in the kitchen! There is something so very satisfying about getting in the kitchen and taking ingredients and turning them into a beautiful, delicious, satisfying meal!
Always remember in the kitchen - there are NO mistakes! So, don’t be afraid to get in there and have some fun. If your omelet doesn’t work… turn it into scrambled eggs. (Or if only one of your poached eggs turned out perfectly, leave the other one off the plate until you put the camera away, then eat that soft boiled egg!)
Go with the flow. Start with good ingredients and let them work for you!
I’m terrible with recipes. Combine ADD with mild dyslexia and perhaps a dash of natural aversion for following the rules and what you get is a recipe for Plan B.
This recipe, for instance, calls for 2 Tbs of sugar, but I somehow had thought that it called for 1/2 cup. Oooops. But, no worries! I scooped some of the sugar out and added a little extra flour. The pancake was slightly flatter than it should have been, but the extra sweetness made up for it! ;)
Being creative is one of the best parts of being in the kitchen (for me). For my dad, the obsessive rule-follower, cooking from a recipe is his jam. Whatever your style, the kitchen needs to be your favorite room in the house!
To round out my brunch. I made a potato and bacon hash - don’t forget the onion! I used the “bacon ends and pieces” from Savannah River Farms. It’s a tasty and inexpensive way to incorporate pastured meats into a meal. I topped it with a poached egg that was given to me by a friend who keeps chickens.
One of my favorite things to use in the kitchen is fresh herbs from my own garden. In this dish, I topped with fresh dill and chives.
I encourage you to get in the kitchen this week and cook up something fabulous!
Brunch, anyone? Dutch Baby Pancake cooked in skillet and topped with blueberry compote. Bacon and potato hash with poached egg and topped with garden-fresh herbs. Refreshing beverage of orange juice, ginger ale and a squeeze of lime.
One of my favorite things about my home is the abundance of wildlife I get to enjoy without even stepping outside. I love that I can see birds from literally every window in my house. And late spring and early summer are when things get really lively around here.
Several years ago, my dad built a bluebird house for me and to say that it changed my world might be an overstatement, but it has definitely made my little part of the world much more interesting.
My favorite part of gardening and growing food is, of course, the harvest!
But in at a close second is planning! Winter is the perfect time to dream of gardens and come up with plans for future plantings. Seed catalogs start arriving and they are all the spark that is needed to warm the heart on a cold winter’s day.
I have been dreaming today and planning my future “secret garden”.
I read The Secret Garden as a child and it truly captured my imagination. My lifelong obsession with walled gardens was nurtured by the beautiful courtyards and walled properties that were common in the area of Mexico where I grew up.
So, I have plans for converting one small section of my yard into my own secluded space. I won’t be building any stone walls, unfortunately, but I plan to create a living fence made of fruit trees and shrubs that will enclose the space that currently has fence on two of the four sides.
This is how the space looks today. Love, isn’t it?
I hope to have it completed in a few years. This year, my focus will be on planting the living fence. The fence will include a variety of espaliered citrus trees interspersed with apple, pear and pomegranate (a mix of evergreen and deciduous).
The space already includes a well-established loquat in one corner and several blueberry bushes along the existing fence. Along the fences there is also a well-established ground covering of oregano and mint.
The finished garden will have a paving stone path, a swing, a multitude of kitchen and medicinal herbs, strawberries, blackberry vine (but not the wild ones that are growing there now), a climbing rose and no grass!
Inspiration - growing a citrus fence
I hope to be able to fill the area with ground-covering plants and possibly a checkerboard area with paving stones and plants. I already know that oregano and mint do well here (perhaps too well), and I hope to have some small patches of strawberries. But I’m still searching for some other good ground covers. I’ve read that thyme is great, but it never seems to last more than a season for me.
If anyone has any experience with a good ground cover, preferably one that is edible or has a medicinal purpose, that does well in our Southeast Georgia climate - I would love to hear about it!
Inspiration - edible ground cover
The goal is to have fruit trees that will bloom and produce fruit at different times, so that it will always be a space that is full of beautiful aromas and tasty things to snack on! During the winter, I love to dream of the finished space and imagine myself sitting on the swing enjoying some fresh picked loquats while engulfed in the scent of orange blossoms!
Inspiration - paving stones
While I’m dreaming of this future space, I’m confronted with its current reality. It could be easy to get discouraged. But one thing at a time. One day at a time. One plant at a time. I’ll get there eventually!
But for today, the dream lives on!
What are your garden dreams?
Sometimes the problems in this world seem overwhelming. Whether it’s the media or our own minds, sometimes the focus becomes all about what is wrong. And when we get tied down with all the problems, it’s easy for despair to set in.
However, as the saying goes, “action is the antidote to despair”.
When we switch our focus from problems to solutions, from despair to action - that’s where the magic happens!
I get to meet some really awesome people in the course of my work and it’s nourishing to my soul to have conversations with like-minded people. People who never look at me questioningly when I say things like: “I’m really into permaculture”, “I hate grass lawns”, “How is your bacon raised?” or “How often do you feed your worms?”
Conversations that easily move from worm poo to medicinal herbs, or bounce back and forth between crop rotation and ethically-produced meats.
It’s after midnight and I’m in the kitchen for a therapy session.
Cooking is therapeutic for me, especially when it involves lots of chopping up of things … aromatics that fill the air … ingredients I can put in a pot and leave on a slow simmer and know it will come out just right!
Tonight, I’m cooking potato soup.
My ultimate comfort food.
