State of the Garden
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Please Don’t Use Peat Moss
I learned a number of years ago of the environmental devastation from gardening with peat moss and stopped doing so. Here’s a great blog discussing the down and dirty of peat moss.
Most of us are gardening for beauty, to have better food, and to help the environment. The more we know about how we garden, the more beauty we can create–in our own gardens and wherever our gardens are sourced.
- Art and Culture | Community and Family | Food for the Body | Food for the Mind (Yoga Philosophy, etc)
Happy New Year (and vegan Hoppin’ John variant)
Having grown up in the New York metropolitan area without much in the way of traditions of any kind, I was not familiar with Hoppin’ John. I am fairly certain that the first time I heard of it was from a college friend whose family has been in South Carolina since before the Revolution. As it is not part of my tradition, I do not feel bound to any particular recipe (I am sure it is sacrilege in some circles to leave out the ham/bacon) or to eating it at any particular time of day (e.g., immediately after the clock strikes 12 midnight). It would not be Hoppin’ John, though, if I did not know its tradition and know where I was deviating from tradition. (Though this would entail a much longer blog than is within my time frame today, this balance of freedom from tradition and needing to know and honor tradition is very much an issue for the Western yoga practitioner.)
1. Soak a cup of dried black-eyed peas for at least several hours or overnight.
2. Dice one small onion or 1/2 large onion (about a cup), a few celery stalks, including the leaves, and mince a couple of cloves of garlic.
3. Heat a few tablespoons of a flavorless oil (peanut, corn, or safflower) in a pressure cooker (my preferred method for saving energy and time) or a stock/stew pot.
4. Saute seasoning vegetables along with a few hot peppers until onion is translucent. I used the last habanero from my harvest and so left it whole. You can use fresh or dried chilis in an amount to your taste/tolerance for spiciness.
5. Stir in a cup of brown rice until rice is coated with oil.
6. Pour in 1/4-1/2 cup of white wine and stir until absorbed (as if making risotto). [You could use stock instead. If you are using white rice, skip this step, which serves to partially cook the brown rice, so that it will take the same amount of time as the black-eyed peas.]
7. Crumble in some dried thyme (preferably from your own garden) and a bay leaf or two.
8. Drain and rinse the soaked black-eyed peas and stir into the cooking pot until all ingredients are combined.
9. Add one 28 ounce can of diced tomatoes and 2 1/2 – 3 cups of vegetable stock or water. How much liquid depends on (a) whether you want a soupy consistency or one more like pilaf or risotto; (b) how liquid are the tomatoes; (c) whether you are using a pressure cooker (less liquid needed) or cooking in a pot.
10. If using a pressure cooker, cover and bring to full pressure, then lower heat and cook at full pressure for 28 minutes. Allow natural pressure release (about 15-20 minutes additional). If cooking in a regular pot, bring to a boil, stir, then lower heat and cook for an hour or more until rice and peas are tender, stirring occasionally.
11. While rice and peas are cooking, mince a few cloves of garlic.
12. Rinse and chop several handfuls of greens (collard or curly kale are best; don’t use spinach or chard, they are too tender). Heat oil and garlic together. When garlic start sizzle, add damp greens and saute until greens are wilted and dry.
13. When rice and peas have finished cooking, stir in sauteed greens and bring back up to full heat. Adjust seasonings, adding more salt and your favorite hot sauce to taste (or allow guests to add their own hot sauce at the table).
I don’t know whether having eaten this will bring me luck and prosperity, but I’ve started the year with lots of vitamins, minerals, fiber, flavor, and cooking, which for me means health, love, technique, tradition, flexibility, and joy! Try this, make your own, read all about Hoppin’ John, or call a friend from the South who must eat Hoppin’ John on the New Year and learn about the tradition and what it means.
“Meet and Greet” with Tommy Wells
On Friday night, I went to a neighbor’s house for a “meet and greet” with Tommy Wells, who is running for reelection for the Ward 6 Member of the DC Council. I had received an email invitation and was thinking about going. Then on Friday morning, a neighbor who is just around the corner stopped by to give me an invite in case I hadn’t gotten the email. I decided it was important to go to connect with neighbors I already know and like, to meet new neighbors, to clarify my thoughts further about the upcoming primaries (don’t forget to vote!), and to get a chance to talk to my council member.
I walked the two blocks to the party with nothing in my pockets but my keys. Even though I did not know the hosts, I knew or recognized from the neighborhood at least half the people who were there. Given the purpose of the gathering, much if the discussion about what changes we would like to see in the neighborhood and the city to make our lives better (and, of course, I gave information about installing solar panels to a couple more neighbors).
Tommy Wells speaks to my condition, because he takes action in connection with his campaign slogan: “a livable, walkable city.” After we all had time to catch up with each other, Tommy’s campaign manager gave a solid introduction, talking about key accomplishments in the past four years. Tommy then talked about what he wanted to do next and fielded questions, including ones about the disposable bag 5 cent fee, which has cut down pollution in the river significantly) and what is going on with the community gardeners at Virginia Avenue v. the marines.
I, like the others, came with a specific question, but I did not ask it in the group. I was not sure that everyone present would be in agreement with me, and I did not want to cause controversy. I asked about it afterwards, when people went back to connecting and enjoying the food. Tommy recognized me, probably from my three-year stint as a member of the Board of Directors of the Eastern Market Preservation and Development Corporation, which coincided with the time when Tommy was getting noticeably serious about his engagement in politics as a way to make some visions actual.
“I gave up my car for the war,” I started. “That’s great,” replied Tommy, “thank you.” We followed up a little on living without a car in the neighborhood. Then I got to my point.
“Every time I walk to work, it feels like I am taking my life in my hands,” I continued, after thanking the District for having put a four-way stop and zebra crossings at the intersection of Constitution Ave. and 10th St., NE. “I did not want to bring this up in the group, because I was not sure how everyone would feel, but I have a few locations where I think it would be great to have a traffic camera.” I then described the intersections I had in mind. He told me that he has a task force on pedestrian issues, and that if I went to his website, I could contact Ann Phelps, who would be interested in hearing the suggestions for particular intersections. He left me know that the District is getting more cameras and the cameras are mobile, so it would not be hard to try the different intersections suggested.
“Wow, that’s wonderfully more responsive than I’d dreamed,” I thought. I thanked him and left to talk to other friends and to give other people time to ask their own questions.
These are the times when I truly love being part of a neighborhood. It is not just about being able to walk to a party two blocks from your house hosted by someone you have never met and know or recognize at least a few people and find all sorts of connections and commonalities. It is not just about sharing a way of life that holds a similar commitment to the city, even if politics, religion, work, and lifestyle in other ways are diverse. It is also about meeting people who care and have depth and out of a true calling for service truly give of themselves to make things better for all of us.
