So, I love Becoming Minimalist - the blog. There is soooo much good information there. And usually, I want to forward almost everything to everyone. But today, today is different. Today I'm going to argue with a hugely misguided post. So first of all, this is a guest post from the folks at Minimalist Baker and while they have some delicious recipes and I love the intent behind the post, I think they missed something really, really important. Let me follow their post and explain. ***Quick disclaimer - this is just my opinion people. If you think a Kitchen Aid is the devil incarnate then you'd probably not want one. 1) Kitchen Aid - a great place to start since, ahem, I have not one but two. But wait! There's a story (isn't there always?). I started buying whole grains about five or six years ago and no matter how much you might want it to not be the case, it turns out you can't mill grain with many things other than a grain mill. We started off with a manual mill from Lehman's (but got it cheap on EBay). And it's a great mill, I have no complaints. At the same time, let me do the math for you - a primary grader, two working parents (one full time) and trying to make everything from scratch. Spending a half day to mill grain for the next couple is um... not an efficient use of time. Not.Even.A.Bit.
So, I started searching for other options. I found a white KA that could handle a grain mill. Well, it sort of did. It went back a couple of times under warranty but largely, it made the difference between healthy, fresh milled heritage grains and not. Oh, the second KA. So the one I used for milling kept having problems - the plate that held the beaters in place would fall out. The Reluctant Goatherd got brilliant at fixing it but then a friend of mine was selling all of her stuff to literally move to the other side of the world. In amongst the items she needed to sell - a slightly less beefy KA. So now I have a cookie baking etc KA and a grain mill for around the price of a great grain mill. And, unlike when I was using my hand mixer, I can be creaming butter for cookies while I throw things in the oven and all of those other things I end up having to do that require hands. Probably few people need two KAs but there you go. 2) A crock pot. Working mum who likes homemade food. Used regularly. And who is paranoid to leave the oven on (but somehow a crock pot is ok, I do see the illogic there). Also - heating up the whole house with the oven could be a good thing or a bad thing. Contrary to my original position, I'm reconsidering this one. Oh - except in winter. Never mind. I love having a cauldron of hot apple cider and one of mulled wine when we have guests and often don't have enough burners as it is. 3) Knife block. Handy where and when I need it. Small chance of cutting my hands grabbing it out of the drawer. 4) 3 Pots and 3 pans. I'm not too far off. Bwahahahahaha who am I kidding? I have two stock pots for canning season alone. I do only have three pans; a large stainless one, a medium cast iron, and a small cast iron. Pots, well, as I said, two stock pots - both get used in canning season. A soup pot. A medium pot and a small one. Oh and two dutch ovens. Yep, they all get used. Sometimes I have many going at once. I find cooking anything acidic in cast iron - like tomato sauce - gets a tinny sort of thing going on. I can't high temp bread in my soup pot nor do I like to make soups in the dutch ovens. Could I have fewer? Maybe. I tried getting rid of a bunch and in frustration have re-bought them. So probably not. Consider this - in one evening I had bread going in the oven, a chicken in the big dutch oven thawing (in the fridge), pasta in the soup pot, sauce in the big pan, veg in the medium pan with steamer (though now that I have some drop in steamers for the big pot, it might simplify things). Anyway, the point is, I bake and cook a tonne and if you do too, pare down carefully lest you end up like me, re-buying. 5) More than eight plates etc. I've got them beat there. We're a family of three and we have three in circulation. I do have spares in the cold room however. I also have a disability that, at times, results in broken dishes so... we kind of need some spares on hand. I broke three mugs in one day not too long ago. Lame but there it is. I won't even bother on the idea of using disposables. I take my own dishes to potlucks and you should too... 6) As above. 7) Toaster oven. Well, I don't own one but my parents in law do and they swear by it. There's just two of them most of the time and to reheat things like pizza or bake a small cake or batch of cookies, it's far more economical than the big oven. 8) Wok - sure. Unless you're hardcore about Asian cooking like my cousin. He would tell you a wok is the only way to go. I did get rid of mine and just use my lg frying pan. 9) Juicer - so much work to clean them! Though I have a friend who wants to give me one and I'm not sure I'd say no. Could be handy for canning season, I suspect. 10) I couldn't agree and disagree more about the home brewed espresso. First of all - do not spend your money on coffee out. The Reluctant Farmer and LG often give me gift cards for the coffee shop near my office. Happily for my mood, sadly for my waist, they're awfully generous. But, if not for that, I would be kicking my coffee out habit. I agree though because my sister (who is a professional cupper - only sounds dirty if you have a dirty mind) would tell you the best way to get the best coffee is made with a moka pot. And it's cheap too. 11) Grilled cheese maker - agreed! Unless it's way more economical than turning on the stove, which it just may be. 12) Rice maker. I don't have one but I confess I do miss it. It kept a burner free and guaranteed un-scorched rice. I'm mixed on this one. I don't buy a new one because I worry about the coatings in them but I do miss it. 13) Doughnut pan. I probably don't need it but I do love it. And the doughnuts taste different when baked in pan (though if pressed, I could probably give this one up). 14) Panini press - do people really have these and a grilled cheese maker? Aren't they the same? If not - I agree, get rid of it! 15) Frother - maybe. It can make a glass of warm milk especially fun for kids (and adults) but a scrambler? I didn't even know such a thing existed. I think what bothered me is that for me, it confused simplifying with decluttering. My life isn't simpler if I have more counter space because my KA is gone but now I'm buying processed flour and not baking from scratch. Not simpler, not healthier, and not cheaper. It's like the coffee one - I asked a friend about this article and she laughed as she quickly calculated what her coffee costs would be without her moka pot. She estimated a minimum of $10 per day. That's a lot of extra hours to work to save a teeny amount of space. My intent isn't just to rip on the article - I do like that it made me look at my kitchen and whether I could give up things like my crock pot and what else I could down size. It also reaffirmed for me that getting rid of things doesn't always lead to the end result I'm seeking. Drop me a line and let me know what you think about all of this. Seriously. This one has to cross the road to get to her pond around which a secret nest has been hidden. This one just hangs out on the road: It's kind of funny and then kind of not, when you consider I just took a duck over the burial spot after being hit by a car.
Why not just keep them home? Great idea - please send me a note and tell me how you would do that. When we clip the muscovy wings, we find they're predator bait. And cats... yes, mine are outside cats because their job is to deal with the mice around the shieling. Also - yes, I get to live here. Swoon. Now I don't know about you but here we re having a major drought. Summer came early and it came hard. I have raspberries ripening about two weeks ahead of schedule and lacking about two week's worth of flavour. Bummer. Everything's kind of like that this year too. So, here I am thinking about the fall and wanting to be sure I have an awesome garden that sustains us and I have no idea of how to go about that. Is it a warm El Niño year, or a cold one? I have no idea. Both seem to be written about. And if the season is two weeks (or more) ahead, will we have a longer growing season or an earlier winter? Yikes! So many decisions and as you all know, two weeks can mean the difference between life and death for a young plant. So, to that end, I've decided on a couple of courses of action. First of all, I'd always thought we were Zone 4 and truthfully, I'm sure we are some years. But largely we're just not. More like Zone 6 according to most of the hardiness charts. So, I'm going to garden as though we're Zone 5. I'm not just splitting the difference. I think if I go with the expectations that it will be a slightly harder, slightly earlier start to winter, likely the plants will survive. After all, it's better to have them a little mature at the start of winter, rather than too young. So, better to have it be all a bit more mature and harvest it sooner than have this happen too early: Though I confess, by the time it comes I will so be happy to see it! So, my plan is to use one of the garden planners to figure out what I need to be planting and when. Now, if you're super fancy, you could use this frost date finder along with this handy chart of temps that keep plants happy. While I am super fancy (of course) I'm also going to cheat and use something like this: Here's another one specifically for zone 5. Either way, it's definitely not too early to start thinking about which delicious things you'd like to eat over the winter fresh, from your own garden or greenhouse. And also think about ways to make that happen.
Not sure what I mean about that? Well, that will be a great topic for the next post, won't it? 'Night! So, we live in a world where busy-ness is a normal way of life and exhaustion, its partner. I've seen a lot of "recover from exhaustion" posts but not many of them apply to parents (especially single parents) or even people with other day to day obligations. So, here are a few tips to help you feel less exhausted and more grounded without telling you to quit your job, take a day of silent, private, contemplation, or other thing many of us really can't do.
1) Take your shoes off. Ideally, you'll read this in warm and not too wet weather and you'll take your shoes off outside and walk barefoot in some grass, or a garden, or somewhere that you can really feel the earth. Are you parenting/caregiving? If so, take the people you care for to walk in the grass with you. If you can't get outside, grab a small towel and a straight backed chair. Put the towel on the floor by your feet and using only your toes, scrunch the towel up, moving it along until you've worked the towel all of the way along to the end. I learned about this from my cousin, the Cranky Daoist (also a professor of Traditional Chinese Medicine) and it works like a charm. He uses it to deal with jet lag. I'm finding it works well with life lag. My instructions make no sense at all? Well thank Dogs for the internet. Here's a video on You Tube that shows a demonstration. Can't do that? Try this next one. 2) Make yourself a cup of tea, hot chocolate, coffee, warm milk, hot water and lemon, anything you find comforting (ordinarily). When the beverage is the right temperature - not cool but not hot enough to scald you - take a sip and don't swallow. Instead, close your eyes. Take a moment to savour the flavour and identify it. Is it rich? Sweet? Bitter? Astringent? Soothing? Alert-inducing? What does it make you think of/remind you of? Swallow it and take another drink. Go deeper into it. What do you taste? What good memories come up? Bad memories? No room for them, just the good and savouring ones. One more sip and just totally savour it. 3) Shower. I know this is a difficult one for a parent, especially a single parent. If you don't have a daycare option, see if you can trade with a friend to watch your kid(s) and then you'll watch theirs. You only need about 15 minutes, though you'll likely want more. I just did this one so I'm intimately acquainted with it. It's shocking and rejuvenating and I think you might know where I'm headed. Yep, cold shower. Sometimes I like to have cold and then warm, sometimes, like today, I need the shocking, liberating, freeing effect of all cold. Sometimes I do cold, warm, then cold, it all depends on the day and my mood and all of those variables. Whatever your mood and where ever you want to place the cold, let it shock the bad, blah, dark, angry, whatever is holding you back, right out of you. Let it shock it out and carry it off. It can be returned to the earth and recycled. If you need soothing, you can follow it up with a hot shower but sometimes it's best to just hop out of the shower right after and leave all of the gik (yeah, you read that right) behind. 4) Another recycling option- find a place in nature. Ideally it will be a quiet, private place where you can be alone (I'm giggling a bit remembering how easy that would have been with a four year old). It's ok with you can't be alone - you can teach this one to your kids. Lean against a tree or, if you have no trees around, be close to plants or growing things. You must be in contact with something natural for this to work and while trees work best, it doesn't have to be a tree. Make contact with the earth - with your feet, sitting, or even laying on the earth. Imagine there is a conduit running from your spinal column into the earth and everything bad, yucky, or negative is going through you and into the earth for recycling. Be there for as long as it takes to feel cleansed, or until someone needs a snack/potty/ other demand and you have to get up. Teach your kids to do this too. Let the earth take all of the stress and troubles and cares. You still have to deal with your day to day life but the earth can take some of the stress from them. 5) Plant something you can eat. You might not have money, time, or space for a garden or even a packet of seeds. Most food banks, permaculture centres/programmes, etc. can help get you started, often at no charge. All you need is a pot and something like calendula seeds or nasturtium seeds. Not only are these edible (so safe for small people) they'll absolutely brighten up your life and are pretty fool proof. Seeds+dirt+ water = sprouts. A bit of sunlight= growth and blooming. They're low maintenance. You'll be amazed at how they brighten things up. 6) Forage something yummy. There are few things more fun (for me, but maybe because I'm weird?) than getting some food for free. This is also an adventure you can take your kids on but make sure, before you eat anything or feed it to anyone else, that you really have what you think you have. Some things, like Hawthorn berries or Rowan berries don't taste like much but make good liqueurs. Other things, like lambs lettuce, can be steamed or sautéed to eat - find a reputable foraging site and get hunting! Here are a few I love (in no particular order): http://www.urbanoutdoorskills.com/ http://www.christophernyerges.com/ http://www.urbanhuntress.com/ http://outdoorselfreliance.com/ http://www.selfsufficientish.com/main/ http://www.eatweeds.co.uk/ http://nordicfoodlab.org/ So, that's a decent smattering from the northern hemisphere. I know there are others and please do send them to me if you'd like them included. That concludes your six tips to help get you back online when things are feeling off. They shouldn't cost you anything, can mostly be done if you're caregiving, and don't require too much effort. Happy doing. A tip for those visiting rural areas or recently relocated, especially if you're there from an urban (or more urbanish) centre. Not everyone living in 'the country' wants to stop and chat while you feed our horses roadside weeds. Sound cranky? Did you notice the title of this post?
Many of us are here precisely because we want to be far from the madding crowd. Truly. And sometimes we do have a minute to chat. Many of us however have busy lives, especially at this time of year. For myself, I'm able to get a quick walk in while my sprinkler is on one part of the garden. I can't leave it too long or it over waters which is a needless waste. I may have goats out grazing, weeding to do, a kid to pick up, or something in the oven that needs checking. Those of us in the country for the lifestyle may actually be incredibly busy. As much as the Reluctant Goatherd wishes it wasn't so, it's not all long hours whiling away in the hammock, not AND feeding yourself out of your garden. So, when you run into your neighbour, or your host's neighbour, remember that a friendly hello is a great thing and a quick 'how are you' is ok, and maybe they'll chat longer, maybe not. |
AuthorI'm a 40-something writer and smallholder living in the wilds of BC with my family, our small herd of Nigerian Dwarf Goats, chickens, ducks, dogs, and cats. Archives
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