Over the meadow and through the woods...

Well, we had a delectable and fun Thanksgiving Holiday. A small one after last year's reunion (see the photo on our blog "Belonging"). Our son is traveling, but both daughter's families were here along with a few friends.

It really is a trek to get here... to Grandmother's house, as it is. Where we live is very rural and the highway is the kind of winding road that separates those who must have fresh air and the front seat from the rest of us. Actually, I belong to the fresh air group myself. I never saw the road to my own Grandmother's house in Pennsylvania. My parents drugged me with Dramamine before they let me near a car, and I slept en route to everywhere we went. Fortunately, none of our clan needs medication to make the journey.

I find it interesting that one of the things that always impresses everyone about our holiday meals is that I save the ends of bread all year to make stuffing. Is this so odd? Once they start to dry out (or before they mold) I will take bread and tear it into small pieces and spread it out in a shallow bowl to dry. Once dry I put it in a gallon jar to save for stuffing. It makes for interesting and very good sage stuffing - I have mostly whole wheat bread with sunflower seeds and cracked grains in it, but also white sourdough, rye bread, whatever comes through the house. It is such a favorite that I need two full gallons of dried bread to make enough! It can be made vegetarian or not and is good all year. Here is the recipe:

Simmonsville Sage Stuffing
(Measurements are approximate)
4 cups dried bread cubes or pieces, all kinds
1 c. chopped onion
6 cloved diced garlic
1 c. chopped celery
1 c. chopped mushrooms
Bell's Seasoning
salt
Pepper
Paprika
Chopped parsley
1 egg, beaten in 1 c. water or stock.
1/4 c. butter
2 Tbsp. olive oil

Saute onions in oil and butter until soft, add garlic and other vegetables and saute until mushrooms are soft and celery still slightly crunchy.
Place bread in large bowl. Add cooked vegetables. Put a little water in the pan, swirl and add to bread mix. Season to taste with salt and pepper and up to 1 tablespoon of the Bell's Seasoning.
Toss it all together, then add the egg liquid and a liberal amount of sweet paprika. Toss again and correct the seasoning as needed.
If stuffing a bird remember to do it loosely to leave room for expansion. As a bird-less side dish, place stuffing in covered casserole, dot with butter, cover and bake until heated through - about 1/2 hour at 350 degrees.
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So, with Thanksgiving behind us we are left with a very small window ahead for getting all the Christmas/Hanukkah orders out. How this season gets compressed!
For us, part of the difficulty lies with our wonderful, but remote, location. One pays the price for being far from urban centers. In our case, for one thing, it slows delivery time.

During regular order flow we ship 2 times weekly, Monday and Thursday. That way all orders go out within 1-3 business days. Once we start in the morning the race is on to get the UPS orders ready before the driver gets here - between 11:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. Then we can take a break, as the Postal Service pick up is on their way back to town around 3:30 p.m. (we would never make their morning schedule of 9:30 a.m.).
If we receive an order after the orders are shipped, it will go out the next shipment day. When order volume is up, we ship more days per week to make sure all the orders get out within the same week (excepting orders received after pick up on Fridays). We are shipping every day this time of year.

So, while ground shipping and Priority Mail generally take a "normal" amount of time, due to our remote rural location 3-day generally takes 4 days. What happens is, when the driver gets back to the main office in town after driving his 120 - 230 mile route, the express plane has already left, delaying the package by 1 day.
This is why we do not offer overnite (which is impossible from here) or 2-day, except in very special circumstances, which is a lot more expensive considering it cannot be that fast anyway.

When a customer lets us know it is imperative a package arrive by 'X' date, we do everything we can (and they are willing to pay for) to get it there on that date. But we always recommend that you order up to 2 weeks ahead to guarantee early delivery, as for a gift.

So, with this in mind should you want to bestow a gift of our special Soaps or lovely Gifts this Holiday Season, here is our Holiday Shipping Schedule.

Last possible dates to place orders for on time delivery of Christmas Gifts:

UPS Ground
East Coast, Alaska, Hawaii, Military & Territories: order by Dec. 14 to ship on Dec.15
Rocky Mountain States to Midwest: order by Dec. 16 to ship Dec. 17
Western States: Order by Dec. 17 to ship on Dec. 18
UPS 3 Day Select
From anywhere: Order by 10 a.m. Dec. 18 to ship Dec. 19
U.S. Priority mail
Order from anywhere by 10 a.m. Dec. 18 to ship on Dec.20

Change is in the Air...

This country is nothing if not amazing. What an election!
Yet again, a peaceful r/evolution from one group to another. As we write the outgoing administration works together with the new for the transition to go smoothly.

I have always been non-partisan. I do not follow completely any party's platform, I vote for the people and programs that I believe will do what needs to be done. And, now, I am ecstatic about the possibilities for the future.
It will be a long hard road to get this country economically and otherwise stable again but, with an attitude change away from the philosophy of fear, I think great things are possible.
But then, I believe in manifestation. And I believe the future of the U.S.A., as well as that of the world, depends on the participation of all of us.

The transition team has put up a website where you can learn more about President-Elect Obama and Vice-President Elect Biden, and about their proposed agenda. But more intriguingly, they ask for your vision and opinions to help shape the future. This site promotes open government through both transparency and participation.

I want to share here the experience of someone who was at Grant Park in Chicago as the beginning of this monumental change was confirmed:

I was there to share History. Obama is now, my President - too!

I don't know why, but I feel spirited for some reason - may be, because I am always known to find the hidden gems in moments.. no matter
how distraught time seems, at the time.

It was an amazing experience to stand in the midst of 250,000 people all chanting: 'yes we can"...and filled with hope.. my husband Chris and I in our beloved
Chicago - surrounded by this ocean of love, hope and joy....emanating from fellow humans..
I must say - i was moved to tears too....... and I am not, ; I stand corrected - I WAS not an Obama supporter till last night!

Crowds, row upon row of an elated people....bonded in some magical, invisible yet powerful joy and hope filled way .
Young and old, men and women, dressed up and dressed down - with flags, badges, slogan covered shirts - clutching that palpable air of elation and joy, eyes misty, yet mouths wreathed in smiles....striding purposefully yet politely towards giant jumbo trons that beamed the heralding a new era in global politics.

They waited. Patiently .
It was not a sports arena.
It was not a rock concert.
It was not the winner of a big lottery to be announced over national television.
It was just a balmy night in Grant Park, Chicago.
Yet they waited. Calmly, patiently. With bated breath.
Waited to hear what one man had to say, as he took a mantle , before he took a title, a title conferred to him,
of the people, by the people, for the people - a grand finale to events that culminated a glowing autumn day.

It may be sentimental to say that their eyes were bright as well, but of all the subtle corrosives that broke down the old order and gave rise to the new America,
surely none is as important as the spread of confidence and hope that filled the air around, to an extent unprecedented and as yet unmatched in modern American political history.

People tire of government, tire of endless debates, tire of wars, tire of poverty and above all tire of indifference and apathy from their chosen leaders. Having a democracy that is yet controlled and promoted and sustained by the powers that be, of big corporate interests, or to be held captive by corrupt politicians - to continue only as a 2 party system. Having to live with one of two pre determined leaders, being forced to vote for one of two 'nominated' candidates is bound to be the demise of the enthusiastic voter.....

We know all these things to be true--and yet there, in Grant Park, Chicago, last night, Nov 4th, 2008, I saw a counter case. People had shifted. Energies moved.
A demographic Himalaya suddenly rising on my mental atlas.
It was if someone demonstrated to me in a lab that flame didn't necessarily need oxygen, or that water could freeze at 60 degrees.
It demanded of me, a new chemistry to explain it, a whole new science.... to understand this new brave American Spirit!!

America is indeed still filled with hope and love... people like each of you who so tirelessly work so that you can share your life's passion for life ..is the direct opposite of a global market. It is the essence of an enterprise, so exquisitely local--it demands democracy, literacy, participation, a true cooperation...of its people on a scale that is unprecedented before.

This is a land where the mantle of leadership has passed gently without blood shed from one leader to another... a non relative... over and over again....for 200 years that is karma that cannot be pushed away. That is priceless.

Like Ron Paul, my political star said today : "And, most of all, we have awokened within ourselves a spirit of freedom and independence that cannot be suppressed by any ruler, army, or philosophy of subservience and fear. Yet we must not reflect long. We must press our efforts and lay the groundwork for the future of our movement and our country. ...let the revolution begin. "

I say to you all:
Support Obama.
Not his party, not his politics, not his rhetoric.
But the man. The man who is now your president. The vision he espoused yesterday as your president.
President of the American people. Question his politics, question his policies, seek clarity when you are confused by his party ideas, or him.
Challenge him when you think he is wrong.
Seek and enforce that he rely NOT on color or race or status BUT ON integrity in his decision's for America and Americans.
Demand truth, justice and equality.
But for now, at this moment of a triumph for a nation, for a people who for so long -only dreamed of this day, that a day like this would come to pass in their lifetimes....
- set aside pettiness, strife and insecurities.

This is a colossal moment in History, and you have a leader. Help him be a real leader.
He is no demigod. But a man. A human like you and like me. Human with fragilities, a human who needs both questioning and support.
Your support to help him take the correct decisions and lead this nation along the right path, always.

Don't forget that nation's have destinies that are greater than individuals...

This is OUR LAND.., This is OUR EARTH . .. this is OUR MOTHER.. giver of our Life to live, cherish and protect and that WILL Prevail.... against all odds.
Let America be the one that brings that beacon of hope again!

Yes We Can!

Blessings, love and light.
A'isha Be

Aisha Bauer from www.eSutras.com

The Countdown...

The last days before the election are ticking away. Are you registered? Have you read the voter pamphlets, figured out enough about the candidates and issues to make some kind of decision? Do you know where your polling place is?
If you haven't done those things yet, this weekend is the time to get it done. here are some resources that can help:
Find your polling place at: Vote 411
The League of Women Voters has information on the Presidential candidates as well as all state contests and measures for California, Massachusetts, Missouri, Ohio, New York, and Pennsylvania. Local elections are covered in the most populous counties in California and in Hamilton County, Ohio, the St. Louis, Missouri area (several counties), and Westchester County, New York.
Check your local TV Station, news and State government websites for local issues and candidates.
I never get tired of saying VOTE!!! Vote as if your future depended on it.

Lastly, on another topic, remember at 2 a.m. on November 2, 2008, Daylight Savings Time ends. Turn your clocks back one hour (Fall back... Spring forward, as the saying goes) when you go to bed and enjoy that extra hour of sleep!

Frost on the Pumpkin...

We saw the first migrating geese fly over last week. I start to become anxious waiting to see them this time of year. It's easy to miss them if I'm in the house or shop - you cannot hear them then. But outside their presence is heralded by such a commotion of honking you hear them long before they are in sight, even when they fly so high you can barely see them. I don't think they can flap their wings without commenting on it! This annual migration is one of the great hallmarks of the turning of the seasons for me. More than anything else it signals the coming of long nights and cold weather.

And now we have had the first hard frost. It dipped into the 20's last night, putting an end to all the watering and much of the work in the garden. Also an end to the basil and tomatoes and such – after we eat all the ones that are now ripening in the house! We are still trying to finish all the pre-winter list. Cleaning gutters, coiling hoses and removing filters that keep the drip irrigation from clogging. There is still firewood to split and stack, projects to wrap up, hammocks, folding chairs, and such to put away until next year.

The business prepares for what we call the "Holi-Daze", when we work hard to ship gifts on time for our customers while we ponder when we will get to do our own. All the soap for Christmas has to be made long before Thanksgiving to be cured and ready in time. Woolie soaps must be felted and gift assortments figured out, baskets ordered, flowers dried, all well ahead of November. The economy is bad in many ways, but we must prepare as if everything is the same. We cannot afford not to be there for our customers.

We love putting together the gift assortments. We try to anticipate what might be most fun, most useful, most attractive to each of you when you see the gift in a store display. For the gifts that are sold via the internet store we try to give each a personal touch to compliment what you have chosen to put in the basket. The dried flowers we add are from our, or a friend's, garden. A few are wild everlasting flowers that we gather locally. Our feeling is we try to make each gift as if it is for our own best friend.

We hope our soaps and other products are the personal gift that pleases all who receive them. See our offerings on Simmons Natural Bodycare's gift pages.

To Every Thing There is a Season... Abundance - Part 2

We are just having the first rains of the fall season. Days in the garden are now limited and the plants know it - things are ripening at an alarming rate. Getting things harvested and in the house before they are overripe is a job that leaves no slack. Do it now or lose your food. The same goes for getting the food processed before it rots or the fruit flies get to it. It is harvest season and that's all there is to it - no matter what else is on the schedule. It makes for late nights and/or early mornings.

While we preserve a lot of food every year, we wanted to really fill the pantry in this year of economic uncertanties. On top of that, to compensate for a possible early hard freeze, we planted three small greenhouses with extra vegetables... just in case. The surprise dip in temperature we had last year in September killed all our basil, squash (summer, winter, melons, cucumbers - all of it), and most of the tomatoes. Well, the early freeze did not happen this time and we are swimming in vegetables. Currently it is tomatoes.

Thankfully we love tomatoes, and they are possibly the most versatile vegetable for storage. They can be made into a vast variety of sauces and condiments, can be dried, frozen, or canned and, picked end of season green, will ripen slowly in a cool dark, place giving you fresh eating tomatoes into the winter months. We prefer drying and canning over freezing as neither requires energy for storage.

We do not dry many tomatoes, usually only cherry tomatoes and, this year, a variety called Principe Borghese. I learned about these reading Barbara Kingsolver's fine book "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle". These tiny, paste-type tomatoes dry readily when sliced. I look forward to trying them out this winter. The cherry tomatoes we halve and dry, cut side up. We call them "tomato raisins" as they are sweet eaten out of hand. A treat in salads, especially grain based salads, we like to toss them in casseroles and cooked vegetable dishes. No pre-soaking required.

But the bulk of the crop goes into jars. I originally canned only plain peeled tomatoes and plain tomato sauce that could be seasoned any way I liked and otherwise added tomatoes into the vegetable medleys we use for soup. Over time it dawned on me it was actually easier to have my own "fast food" by seasoning the sauce when I made it. This was even more versatile as I could add other ingredients which may not be available to me mid-winter. So we make onion-herb tomato sauce that is good for spaghetti or other Italian-style dishes. To this we occasionally add the end of a bottle of red wine for a ragu-style. I make a smooth enchilada sauce with Mexican seasonings and a chunky style Mexican sauce to add to chili. The main difference is whether I run it through a food mill or blender or a plain old meat grinder. We add peppers. onions, garlic to all of these. Herbs and spices as desired. The Italian style sauce may get the addition of everything from eggplant to zuchinni, the Mexican variation - chili peppers to tomatillos. Anything available seems to find its way into a jar. Then there is thicker sauce for pizza, catsup (when we really have more tomatoes than we know what to do with!), tomato juice and soup.

Then we do the condiments. There are many salsa variations we play with, but we always make a basic red hot sauce and a green hot sauce (which uses green tomatoes and tomatillos). Temperatures vary depending on which chili peppers did well that year. We also make sure to have a chunky style salsa to be used to dip chips or added to layered dip. A large part of our pantry is devoted to tomatoes - that's for sure!

As I write this there is a stock pot of red hot sauce simmering in the kitchen. Not just for Mexican style food, this is a favorite on rice dishes, casseroles and eggs around our house.
Here is the recipe for those of you who may enjoy this savory to spicy condiment. This is a sweet/hot sauce, almost chutney-like in flavor.

Red Hot Sauce
8 cups chopped, cored, tomatoes
1 - 1/2 cups seeded chopped red peppers, varying degrees of hotness!
(Use hot peppers as desired for your preferred degree of heat in the finished sauce.)
1 quart cider vinegar
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon salt
2 tablespoons mixed pickling spices
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Combine tomatoes, peppers and 2 cups vinegar in a large saucepan until soft. Let cool, then blend in blender until pureed and return to pot (I generally use a second pot).
Add sugar and salt. Tie spices in cheesecloth or place in clean, small, muslin bag and secure top and add to sauce. Simmer until thick. Stir as needed to prevent sticking or scorching on bottom of pot. Add remaining 2 cups of vinegar. Simmer to desired thickness.
Ladle hot sauce into hot, clean jars leaving 1/4 inch head space. Adjust lids and process 15 minutes in boiling water bath.

Note: Remember that rubber/latex gloves are good when cutting and seeding hot peppers. At the very least, wash hands immediately afterwards with (Simmons) soap and water.
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I end now to go put my red hot sauce into the bail clamp beer bottles that we use to keep it. It will process, as any normal jar, in the canning kettle. Here's to a future spicy winter meal!