Tag Archives: local food

Wandering on the Last Day of March: Impermanence & Wild Ramps

Yesterday, a hike through one of my favorite places to be in nature revealed several gifts.

First, was a reminder of impermanence. Everything is always changing and it is best not to become attached to any objects, people, or situations.  Strive to find happiness in each moment.

Everything will return to the Earth in time.

Second was a gift of free nourishment!  We found wild ramps (Allium tricoccum), a perennial wild onion.

Patch of ramps

When you get closer, you can tell they’re ramps by the slight reddish-purple color where they meet the ground. And when you pull them, you’ll know they’re ramps by their characteristically onion smell.

Reddish-purple: yup, ramps!

I harvested several.  It’s important that we’re not greedy when wild harvesting things so that we (and other creatures who depend on them) will have these foods in the future. Always leave many more plants than were harvested (some suggest harvesting every 4th ramp).  Another idea is to just pull the ramp up from where it meets the ground — you’ll still get some of the onion, but the bulb will be left to grow again.  Or even consider being regenerative with the onions and if you take some bulbs, use a few to start a new patch elsewhere.

Ramps for me; ramps for free

Ramps have sulfur compounds that are detoxifying for your body — try some today!

Also, did anyone else participate in this year’s Earth Hour?

It’s a fun way to show support for the Earth, be reminded of how much we depend on electricity, and to unplug for awhile! The camera-flash makes it look bright, but we had fun with candles as our only light for over an hour.  I’d like to do this more often!

Candlelight night!

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Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Plant some peas. Start a community garden.

Today is full of the color green in more ways than one. I’ve seen a lot of people sporting green shirts and I’m more than happy that I’ve spent the better part of the day engaged in some “green” activities — pea planting and helping with the foundation for a new urban permaculture garden.

I’ve been doing some garden clean-up activities this week, but today was the first day I really have dirt under my fingernails and that feels totally refreshing. There are so many possibilities for this year’s garden….it’s still very bare (with a few exceptions — some winter survivors, garlic, and weeds)!

The before picture…

Grandma has always said that peas should be planted near St. Patrick’s Day. As one of 12 kids on a farm, I’d say she must be well aware of the best time to plant peas.  So, what better day than the actual St. Patrick’s Day?

Let’s plant peas!

Lucky for me, I didn’t even have to buy peas as I saved some from last year.  This was one of my first tries at seed saving so I’ll keep my fingers crossed that this will work.

Not many but these will do!

I planted about 10 today — 2″ deep and I’m experimenting with them in a circle rather than a row to see if I can trellis them better this way.  I will plant another batch in a week or two. Hopefully that will allow for a bit larger/longer of a harvest than last year.  Last year’s peas were yum-tastic, but they only lasted a couple of meals (and I’m referring to seed peas — the snap peas seem to be around a lot longer).

Last year’s peas. THEY ARE SO CUTE! (and some green beans..)

I also found some stragglers that survived the winter to harvest today. That’s fun!

Carrot and green onion winter survivors.

Earlier in the day, I went to a neighborhood on the East side to help expand City Rising Farm into a new vacant lot across the street from the garden that they’ve established previously.

Mostly the day involved moving wood chips to the front of the lot to start sheet mulching. Many wheelbarrows and tarps full of woodchips were transported from the back of the lot to the front.

Depleted piles of wood chips

After getting a thick layer of woodchips down, two raised-beds were made from rings of old tree stumps.

Young urban farmers

Raised beds bordered with tree stumps

There was also a lesson on beneficial insects that can keep pests down — in this case, there were praying mantis eggs.

Praying mantis lesson

Overall, it was a really inspiring day — it’s great to see people of all ages working together on a project to improve a neighborhood and that will also bring fresh food into an area that wouldn’t necessarily have easy access to it.

There was also a booth set up to write letters to Senator Brown to ensure that he continues his support for small farms on the 2012 Farm Bill.  We can’t let big agribusinesses control our food supply! It’s not sustainable for communities, the environment, or our health!  Take action at the Food and Water Watch website, and also, take action by supporting your local farmers. Find them near you!

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Roasted baby beets in quinoa with feta cheese!

I don’t know that I had ever even tried beets before getting serious about eating locally.  The weird canned ones on some salad bars didn’t exactly cry out, “eat me!”.

But, alas, they are often at the farmer’s market when other produce is lacking, and  I’m happy to have developed a relationship with beets because they are high in fiber, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant.   I’ve come to enjoy them the more that I’ve played around with them, but I’ve never thought, “Wow, this is so delicious!” while eating them.  I’m happy to announce that this is no longer the case and I have crafted a winning recipe.

Roasted beets in quinoa with feta cheese!

The farmer’s market that I frequent most has been held biweekly through the winter.  This has been wonderful because it at least ensures that I am always buying eggs and cheese from people that I trust and who recognize me as a regular.  (This is not true for eggs and cheese sold at the grocery store!)  There has also been a fairly steady supply of root vegetables and some greens grown in hoop houses.  This past Tuesday, one of my farmer’s had baby beets that I purchased.

I also picked up some feta cheese from a local creamery.

A lot of recipes for beets involve feta cheese so I decided to use this relationship.  I also had made extra quinoa the night before and decided it should all be mixed together.  It worked splendidly.

I cut the tops off of the beets but left some of the stems, washed them, placed them in an oven-safe pan, and then drizzled them with olive oil + a touch of salt.

I put them into a 400 degree oven for 30 minutes and made sure they were done after the allotted time by poking them with a fork.  They were ready!

Next, I peeled off the beet skins using a towel so that I didn’t burn my fingers.

I cut some of the beets in half, tossed them into a bowl holding the (warmed) quinoa, and also mixed in some bits of feta cheese. Yum! The combination made the beets taste very sweet and it contrasted well with the feta cheese.  I’m sure the fact that these beets were fresh and recently harvested helped a lot, too!

Hooray for local, seasonal food!!

Introduction to Nourishing Herbal Infusions – Nettle

Many people have jumped on the green juice bandwagon, and for good reason — these juices are a welcome addition of vitamins, minerals, and other nourishment to our diets.  They work well at helping people to feel more energized and healthy. Unfortunately, many green juice recipes call for produce that is not always, if ever, in season in my region.

Are there other ways to get a local, sustainable, and easy punch of chlorophyll, vitamins, and minerals?

Why yes there is.  Hello lady nettle.

Stinging Nettle (Urtica dioica)

I remember my first encounter with nettle.  It happened as a young child when I was helping my mother to weed the garden.  I innocently pulled this ‘weed’ and soon thereafter had a nasty irritation all over my hand. Ow, nettle! She certainly has evolved an excellent defense mechanism.

Luckily, that early interaction did not deter me from learning about nettle and her many benefits.

Susun Weed reports an impressive list of nourishment found in nettle:

{Note from 1/2016: As discussed in the comments, there is some debate about the actual amounts of vitamins and minerals found in these infusions and whether fat-soluble vitamins A, D, and K can be assimilated in this form.  Please see the comments for a link to another analysis of vitamin & mineral content in infusions.  Either way, it is without a doubt that adding infusions to your life will increase the vitamins and minerals you’re consuming and have certainly made a difference for many people’s overall health.}

Nettle is a superior source of protein; 10 percent by weight.

Nettle is a rich storehouse of  readily-absorbable minerals, trace minerals, and micro-nutrients:

calcium (1000 mg per quart of infusion)

magnesium (300 mg per quart of infusion)

potassium (600 mg per quart of infusion)

zinc (1.5 mg per quart of infusion)

selenium (.7 mg per quart of infusion)

iron (15 mg per quart of infusion)

manganese (2.6 mg per quart of infusion)

    plus chromium, cobalt, phosphorus, copper, sulphur, silicon, and tin.

Nettle is super-charged with vitamins:

    Vitamin A (5000 IU per quart of infusion)

    Vitamin B complex, especially thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, and folate

Plus Vitamin C, Vitamin D, and Vitamin K

All of this combines to provide an excellent source of energy and nourishment that is easy to come by and easy to use!

After experimenting with nettle infusion for about a year now, I would not turn back and I drink this infusion about 3-4 times a week.  I find that I crave the nourishment of this drink when I haven’t had it for a few days.  When I drink it, I feel as though I am drinking Earth milk (but I have not tried it on cereal!). I feel nourished and more connected with the natural world.  Plants (commonly considered weeds!) right outside my door can contribute to my health and well being.

The process starts by measuring out an ounce of dried nettles.  I’ve seen other people write about nettle infusions using just a few tablespoons of herb — this will still be a healthy drink, but won’t pack quite the same punch of minerals.  When I was beginning, I measured this ounce out with a scale, but I have since measured nettle out enough times to simply visualize an ounce of the herb in my quart jar.

Ounce of dried nettle

Next, I boil water and distract myself with teeth brushing or other before-bed chores.  When the water is ready, I pour it over the herb, seal the jar, and am off to bed.  The minimum time to leave an infusion is 4 hours, but it is fine to leave it overnight.

(Tip: pour the water over a knife placed across the jar lid to help diffuse the heat and avoid breaking jars!)

Nettle infusion ready to sit for the night

In the morning, I strain the herb and drink the resulting infusion throughout the day.  I drink it cold and straight out of the fridge, but it could also be warmed.  When I first started drinking nettle I added honey a few times to see if I preferred it that way (I didn’t, but I know that others do.  Mint is also a popular addition — just add a tablespoon to the ounce you measured out.).

Straining the infusion

What isn’t used right away can be stored in the refrigerator for several days.  If it isn’t used in that amount of time, it can be used as a hair rinse or to water houseplants.

Don’t forget to compost leftover herbs!

So where do you get this much nettle?  It’s awesome if you can harvest it somewhere local to you, but Mountain Rose Herbs is my favorite source for organic bulk herbs.  You can find their nettle HERE.

FTC DISCLOSURE: As a way to support my blogging and related activities, I may receive monetary or other compensation for my endorsement, recommendation, testimonial and/or link to any products or services within this article. However, it is my promise to you that I am sharing my honest opinion and that I only recommend products or services that I have personally used or recommend and are in alignment with Light Footsteps ideals.

Steps Back to Nature: Harvesting Wild Chives

Beautiful chives!

Harvesting wild foods is a great way to foster a sense of connection to nature.  Not only does it get you outside, but you establish a relationship with a plant and are reminded that this process of taking food from the Earth has happened as part of every meal ever consumed.  Being the one to do the taking yourself makes the connection all that much stronger (although it’s a beneficial exercise to think of how all of your food was handled before it got to you).  Harvesting wild foods also fosters a sense of self-reliance and a beautiful feeling that we are a part of a continuous unfolding of life that cannot come from eating something packaged.

Wild chives (Allium schoenoprasum L.) are very similar to those grown conventionally, but with the added bonus that they can be found for free in moist areas! Despite being the middle of February, I recently was happy to come across a patch of land with several clusters.

Patch of Wild Chives

After inspecting them more closely and making sure that they had their characteristic chive smell (i.e., onion-y), I grabbed several to chop into vegetables for lunch. I also ate a few on the spot as it had been quite awhile since I had eaten food straight from the outdoors!

A few days later I wanted to try having even more fun with wild chives so I collected some in glass jars to bring home.

Harvesting more chives

Once home, I started the process of infusing them into olive oil.  First, I cut them up into smaller pieces so that there was more surface area of plant matter. I put all of these chopped bits into a small glass jar.

Chives to chop

Filling the jar with chopped chives

After this, I poured olive oil over the top of the chives to completely cover all the green parts.

Covering the chives with oil

This oil should be refrigerated promptly and used within a day or two.  The herbs can be strained for ease of use.

Chive-Infused Olive Oil

For more information on chives and to even discover some medicinal uses, see this web page: Wild Chives.

Happy chive hunting!

100% Local Red Skin Potato Recipe

During the summer, I try to eat at least 90% local when I’m cooking for myself. There’s no excuse not to with so many wonderful farmer’s markets around (and what I can grow myself!)! With limited time, I often put things together randomly, but I thought this particular dish turned out well! It’s simple, but wholesome.

I used:

-red skin potatoes (I used the little ones that had probably been sold to me in a pint carton)

-2 green onions

-1/2 sweet pepper

-fresh picked rosemary

-tablespoon or so of butter

-farmer’s market veggie cheese to top!

Mixing together..

1. Slice the potatoes and carrots and steam for ~10 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, go out to your garden (or fridge) and gather 2 green onions. Dice that (including some of the green leafy top) and the sweet pepper. My pepper was green- and yellow-colored.

3. Take the big tablespoon of butter and heat with some rosemary (I guess maybe a heaping Tbs.? Whatever you fancy!).  I did this in the pot at left to make step 4 easier. Add the onion and pepper and saute for ~3 minutes.

4. At this point, you can add the the potatoes and carrots. Mix well.

5. I love my farmer’s market cheese, so I grated some of that on top, but it’s not necessary!

6. Yum it up.

This was all that I ate for dinner that night, so this served one for me, but it could easily be for two if you had another little something to go with it.

Yum!