Sun Worship - of the Culinary Kind

Patience... must have patience. It is April 16 and it's cloudy again after only 1 day of sun (yesterday) in what seems like forever! It snowed on Easter and several times since, when it wasn't raining instead. I appreciate the good this is doing for the water table, but I WANT SUN!

I shouldn't complain too much. Despite a full work day, we took full advantage of the sunny day we were given, and I hear there is hope for the near future.
I had been hoarding large laundry items such as towels and the dog blanket for the car, and we were able to get these washed and dried outside on the line. In wet weather we have a retractable clothesline and a wooden drying rack upstairs that works great for most stuff.

We also got the solar oven set up and managed to get the two most common (for us) solar dishes cooked before the sky became covered with the high clouds of today's dreariness. First was rice.
By far the easiest way to get perfect brown rice is to bake it, and the solar oven is perfect. We try to use covered glass casseroles for most of our solar cooking, and this is no exception. In a 2 1/2 Qt. casserole place 2 cups of rice and 4 cups of water. Cover and place in preheated solar oven and cook until all the water has disappeared. Voila` Perfect rice! See the wonderful Spanish Rice recipe from Morning Hill Cookbook on an earlier blog post (in the comments section).

Once the rice was done, we immediately replaced it with Banana Cake. Our family has never been big fans of banana bread (which would also bake fabulously in the solar oven), we prefer a cake to use up those bananas that have gotten softer than we like to eat fresh. We bake it in an 8" square pan and serve it without frosting, although you could fancy it up that way if you like.

Simmonsville Solar Banana Cake:
Mix together and set aside:
2 1/2 cups flour (we use whole wheat)
1/2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

In mixing bowl,
cream 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
Add 1-1/2 cups brown sugar (you can use 3/4 cup honey instead) and beat until light.
Beat in 2 eggs, one at a time
Stir in 1/2 tsp cinnamon
(Optional - add 1/4 tsp cardamom)

In a 2 cup measure mash 1 cup bananas (3 bananas is perfect)
Add 1 tsp vanilla and 1/4 cup yogurt or buttermilk

Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture in about 3 parts, alternating with the banana mixture, blending until smooth after each addition.
Stir in:
1/2 cup chopped nuts (walnuts or pecans) and/or dried cranberries, dried blueberries or whatever inspires you!
Bake in greasecd 8x8 inch or 9x13 inch pan (thinner, but just as good) in preheated solar oven until done . It will be brown on top and, when tested with a toothpick or broomstraw - should come out dry.
In conventional oven, bake at 350 degrees for about 1/2 hour.

Enjoy!
P.S. I am happy to finally get to post this on a SUNNY day 9 days later...

Just say no...

I recently was at the doctor with an injured heel. During the "first-time-visit paperwork/interview" they asked what drugs I was taking.I answered "Ibuprophen, occasionally". They asked "what else?", and I said "nothing" and they were visibly surprised.

OK, I'm no spring chicken, but does that mean I'm supposed to be a walking pharmacy? I do take calcium daily and a baby aspirin. In winter I might take vitamins C & D, in summer more vitamin E. I drink echinacea tea when I think it's necessary and drink a glass of water with 1 teaspoon each raw apple cider vinegar and maple syrup twice a day (yum!), but otherwise don't take or eat anything specifically for my health. I believe if you eat good food (for definition of "Food", see anything Michael Pollan writes!) and don't eat too much of it, you will be getting the nutrients you need.

I am in fairly good health and somewhat amazed to think that, at my age (or any age), taking a lot of drugs is the norm. NORM - as in normal thing to do!

What is really different about our life here is all the stuff we don't do. I do not wear make-up. Did once, for my junior high school prom, and that was a bad experience. I reacted allergically and my eyes swelled up and that was that. In part due to my sensitivities I do not drink soda, do not dye my hair, do not eat at fast food places. We do not buy prepared foods, use air freshener or scented candles. We do not take sleeping pills, cold medicine except the rare antihistamine when too clogged to sleep.
It really is a case of "less is more". Could it be we just overload our systems and the result is they get out of balance?

If something is an imitation of something else I stay away from it, including imitation sweeteners, vegetarian phony meat, butter "flavored" anything. Give me real butter, steak, cheese and sugar (or honey). This also goes for artificially colored or scented foods, shampoos, soaps... you name it. Laundry detergent or dryer sheets that make your clothes smell "fresh" - I just dry the clothes outdoors and they DO smell fresh.

People have become crucibles for chemical mixtures that no one has tested in combination, let alone testing them within the living chemical stew that is a human being. I am happy not to be a guinea pig in the race for "new and improved" and, as far as I can tell, healthier for it.
You have probably seen the posters showing how quickly a Meth addict ages - looking ancient when only in their 30's, or how a smoker ages quickly as well - not to mention the other health issues. I'm not convinced that the many chemicals we are exposed to daily don't have a similar effect at one level or another.

This is one reason we started making soaps and body care products back in 1979 for our own personal use, so we weren't forced to use the artificially colored and scented commercial soaps that were available to us. And, since 1982, we've made them available to you, too, at Simmons Natural Bodycare.

Earth Day 40!

This April marks the 40th Earth Day. It's hard to believe it's been that long since Senator Gaylord Nelson (D-Wisconsin) founded Earth Day as an environmental teach-in. First celebrated on April 22, 1970, Earth Day marked the very beginning of the modern environmental movement.

While recognizing these things are important in our life today, knowing the history is inspirational as well. It shows the power we have to make change.

In a time when pollution was so bad rivers were literally burning, lakes were dying, air in cities was becoming toxic with no regulation, and bird species were declining rapidly as a result of widespread use of DDT, this particular day was set aside to make people aware of, and appreciate, the limitations of our planetary habitat.
It brought together many groups, each fighting for a single environmental issue, to realize they were all involved in one larger, common cause.

To quote founder, Senator Gaylord Nelson, 

"It was on that day that Americans made it clear that they understood and were deeply concerned over the deterioration of our environment and the mindless dissipation of our resources. That day left a permanent impact on the politics of America. It forcibly thrust the issue of environmental quality and resources conservation into the political dialogue of the Nation. That was the important objective and achievement of Earth Day. It showed the political and opinion leadership of the country that the people cared, that they were ready for political action, that the politicians had better get ready, too."

Sometimes in our individual efforts working to allay the effects of climate change, to protect and preserve the habitat which sustains us, it may seem we do not have much of a chance to accomplish what needs to be done. Yet since that first Earth Day much has changed.

In just the first 10 years the Clean Air Act, the Water Quality Improvement Act, the Water Pollution and Control Act Amendments, the Resource Recovery Act, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, the Toxic Substances Control Act, the Occupational Safety and Health Act, the Federal Environmental Pesticide Control Act, the Endangered Species Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act, the Federal Land Policy and Management Act, the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act, and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) were enacted. Also in 1970, the EPA was founded to protect human health and the environment on which it depends – all as a result of the concern of the American people.
Just think: We did not HAVE an Environmental Protection Agency before 1970. Not because we didn't need one, but because it hadn't occurred to us that we needed to monitor and protect what was happening to our environment in a nationally cohesive way!

Much is yet to be done and it IS in our power to do it. We must do it, for our future.

We know these concerns are global concerns and we must think of that bigger picture as we act on personal, local, national, and world levels. From governments to businesses to individuals we all have a role to play, even if it is only being conscious of the waste and ways of our daily life and modifying them to have less impact on our habitat. The power and the responsibility is in all of our hands.

During April we give extra recognition to the need for living with awareness of the effects of our actions on the environment around us. Use this time to create new habits, teach others, and remind your government representatives that we can have a sustainable, healthy environment for the future. And then continue this year-round, because in reality there is no "Earth Day", it is "Earth Everyday".