Homemade Jun, Aloe Gone Wild, Sea Turtle Spotting, and Masoor Dal
Homesteading activities are moving indoors as we close in
on October. We ate a lot of great food over the weekend. I made an amazing
Punjabi-style sabut masoor dal with fresh lime and topped with crushed kasuri
methi one night, Jamaican rice and peas another, and red quinoa with the last
of our garden tomatoes and garden lemongrass another. Finally, I made us a rich
lentil soup with lots of veggies and a little garam masala. I’ve been feeling
like dallying in the kitchen and making high-prana food.
At the fermentation station, I started a Jun scoby using
green tea and raw honey as a substrate. Jun is called ‘the champagne of
kombucha’, and I’m eager to try it. Lighter than black tea kombucha, it’s said
to have a heavenly honey flavor and lots of bacteria-happy bubbles, like
champagne.
Our two new kombucha scobys matured too. They’re a little
thinner than I like, so I put them in a glass bowl with some fresh booch and
placed them in the fridge. They should grow a bit in there, and when they’re
used to make kombucha, they’ll definitely get bigger. Patience.
I’ve been turning my attention to our indoor gardens. The
indoor plants see some neglect in summer. All our focus is on the food and
flower gardens, and the indoor life kind of hangs on until now. Everything was
taken to the sink and watered deeply, cleaned, and fed. Our aloe vera has grown
so big that my husband had to carry it to the sink. It’s put out countless
pups. It’s pretty much outgrown its large pot. I have to start thinking about
an even bigger vessel for this gorgeous aloe.
The quenepas pits have germinated. We have about a dozen
plants. My friend, who gave me the pits this summer, is a native of Puerto
Rico. We all know what has been happening there. Aside from the high wind and
water assaults on human and animal life, Puerto Rico’s plant life has been
decimated. My friend suggested I carefully nurture these plants, and I will.
While on our boat in Long Island Sound last Sunday, my
husband and I spotted a gigantic sea turtle. Without exaggeration, this awesome
creature was the size of a Fiat. He was magnificent beyond description. We were
so dumbstruck by the sight of him that we just didn’t think to pull out the
ubiquitous phone cameras and grab images. We just stood there, holding hands,
watching this beautiful, beautiful animal bob his head out of the water, dive
down, pop up, and dive down.
Today is September 26. It’s 90 degrees and sunny yesterday
and today. This is the best of Indian summer. My internal clock is speaking to
me of autumn and cooking and homesteading, sleeping long and sipping cacao, but
the outdoors is calling us to our boat and the woods. We plan to savor every
last day of this breathtaking weather. Autumn is here and winter is coming, but it’s all good.
Be kind to one another.
Much love,
Barbie xo
