I have a problem with extremism. It's probably not the kind of extremism that you're thinking, really, especially given the media these days. No, my extremism is a different sort - I get extremely into whatever thing it is I'm into. My latest thing but, one I haven't been able to shake (ok, I don't really want to) are slow textiles. Slow textiles are ones that you're willing to wait for. They're hand made in some way and usually in some slow, low impact way. I'm a bit obsessed with natural dyes right now, to the point where I was COMPLETELY rejecting acid dyes. I even declined to teach an acid dye class. And then the irony of it all hit me. I wear regular clothes. Sure, I try to wear low impact, reused, reclaimed, homemade clothes and I definitely but truthfully, I have a closet full regular old clothes. And so does Wendell Berry. How is that relevant you ask? Well, as you already know, I might really admire him And I think we'd all agree his commitment to the health of the environment is beyond reproach and, as I was wrestling with this whole thing (how can I make and dye ALL of my own clothes and still do everything else I need to do in a day? Oh, and not look or smell overly historical) and there's Wendell Berry, sitting there in what appears to be a handknit sweater vest and a regular pair of pants and shirt. Regular, likely bought at the store. You know, maybe even made with some super toxic crap somewhere along the supply chain. I literally sat there staring at the screen. I wasn't really listening to the very important message, I was checking out his clothes. Now while it's possible he or someone close to him made all of that, I think it's improbable. Even some serious hardcores, like Norm Kennedy: But even Norm Kennedy, who does make some of his own clothes from his own washed, spun, woven, naturally dyed fabrics doesn't wear ONLY things he made himself. Sometimes, what happens for me is that I can't do the thing 100% and it gets me a wee bit hopeless about it. And then I just kind of abandon it. Well, I still feel strongly about the impact of the textile industry, and I would definitely like to be part of the solution but I also am realizing that I don't have to do ALL THE THINGS to help. Maybe that could be one of the commitments I make to myself for 2016? Less extremism? can I do it without being extreme? Hmmm....
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Stock. Yep, so glamorous. So this is the result of a chicken carcass and a turkey carcass cooked for two days on the woodstove until this was all that was left. Carcasses + water and that's it. None of the "add carrots and onions" and so on. Just water and carcasses. But when you add the carcasses DO NOT fail to add the skin and fat. First of all, those are not unhealthy fats but even you're adverse to the them, they're where a huge amount of the flavour hangs out. So, cook the stock with all of the bits intact and then toss them after. And you can skim off the fat once it' cooled but again, that's going to impact the flavour. Of course, this not only made for the most delicious, "just add a pinch of salt and you're good to go" stock but also left us with chicken stew and dumplings, many meals for the faithful farm dog, and some love bone ash that's great for the garden and greenhouse. Just be sure you have an epically large stock pot for the cooking. It makes a huge difference to have lots of water and a long, slow simmer. I'm pretty sure I won't be buying bags of tortillas anymore. You may have already known how easy these delicious little morsels are but I did not. Today though, I was buying my seasonal sack of white flour and I was going to buy tortillas when I realized I can get two bags of tortillas for the price of one 10kg bag of flour. Health stuff aside, that seemed like glaringly bad economics. But wait, I told myself, maybe they're hard to make. Fortunately, I knew I had an emergency package of tortillas in the freezer. If these ones bombed, I would grab those and carry on with supper plans. Well, supper was just ok but the tortillas rocked. I'll let you in on the secret. Let's start with the flour. Although I have a wonderful assortment of organic, local, whole grains, I opted for white flour. Why? Well, let's just say that the white flour pay off the brain gets makes a homemade experiment much more likely to be accepted. I use unbleached, no additive white flour - but it's not organic, I confess. So, I dumped flour into my food processor (about two cups), added some baking soda (maybe a teaspoon and a half), and a generous pinch of salt. You really need the baking soda or they won't puff up right. I zipped that up for a second and then dropped in some lard. I was thinking of adding something like a tablespoon but definitely added more than that, probably two tablespoons or more. And then I zipped that up. I basically figured if I made a pie crust but not flaky, I'd be close. So, I added cold water a little at a time while zipping until I got a pie crust kind of looking ball. When that happened, I turned it onto a floured board and kneaded for a few minutes to give it a bit of a bread-like quality. I rolled it into a log and broke it into a bunch of pieces (that I should have rolled into a ball but didn't) and rolled it out. I put them one at a time in a hot, dry pan and watched them puff up a bit (sorry, no pic). I gave them just about a minute and then flipped them. They were delicious. So delicious that this is all that's left: But, since it's Spring Break, I'm mostly home and we can make another batch tomorrow. Maybe one white, one half kamut, and one corn. Yum!
Here is the recipe written out halfway logically. In your food processor or a big bowl add 2 cup flour 1 1/2 tsp baking soda 1/2 tsp salt Mix. 2 Tbsp shortening, butter, or oil (could be melted because you don't need a flaky quality like pie crust). Mix. Add enough water (might as well use warm) to make a stiff ball. Turn out on floured board. Knead for a couple of minutes until smooth and elastic. Roll into a log and break into equal pieces. Roll each piece into a ball (I bet that would make them look better), turn out on a floured board and roll until uniform and thin. Place in a hot, dry pan and watch it bubble up. Flip it over when it's started to brown the underside (about a minute but could be more - depends on your heat). Cool and eat. I suspect you could stack them and they'd cool really soft but I didn't try that. |
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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