corn fritters . farm pics . gardens . pass the hanky
You are my joy. Welcome to our kitchen and garden. Welcome - such a beautiful gentle and sincere word. Well Come. Joy is welcome.
You are all welcome here. We have a good community here. A kind Lounge of Comments. A slow compilation of classic audiobooks. A gentle premise.
The premise: to create a room where we can all gather to exchange views on living lightly on this good earth. The Lounge of Comments is as important to read as the content I write.
Today: Corn Fritters. The last chapters of The Blue Castle. The Frugal Kitchen.
Please leave a like as you move past the ❤️ and comment then share. ☺️ Sharing and Liking and Commenting are signs that our community of earth lovers and gardeners and cooks and nourishes are alive and well. You have impact.
And however you choose to subscribe - welcome.
The origins of welcome:
The English word “welcome” originates from the Old English wilcuma, a compound of wil- meaning “pleasure, desire, will” and cuma meaning “guest,” thus literally meaning “one whose coming is pleasing or suits another’s will,” reflecting a Germanic rather than Latin root, while Romance language equivalents like Spanish bienvenido derive from Latin bene (“well”). ood number of
So there you have it. Your arrival is pleasing. And you are welcome.
Like almost every writer and most readers here I love words. We all have a relationship with words heavily influenced by the words of our childhood. This goes for our understanding of words too. The images and scents we associate with a word. Sounds which bring a word to mind. Which is why reading to our little ones is critical for their vocabulary. For their development and ultimately for their choices as adults.
Reading good books to kids is one of the best things we can do for the planet. Have those conversations. Encourage curiosity. Develop conversation with confidence. Our young people are worried so let’s choose good books and sit with them for good discussions. Have good healthy rules around devices. That includes your phone when in the presence of young people. Be the example you want them to follow.
Most good discussions contain a lot of listening.
Back on the Farm in Illinois
The cows are growing! These cows are beef cows and fed only grass or hay. Fresh or sun dried. No grain at all. They grow slowly with big open fields. Tons of sun (which is critical to health) and big fields for exercise.
Sun and exercise increases the presence of Omega 3. The good omega.
WaiWai the lovely.
Rhonda tells me that they are still collecting lots of vegetables for the animals and Wai looks like he is eating his fair share!
So all is well. I guess. Though I still fret being so far away. You know how I am.
The city garden with the country heart in Melbourne.
White butterflies are teasing the cat and laying their eggs on the broccoli and the sage. Hmm. Cooler temperatures are on the way. I only have 6 broccoli plants and so I just rub the eggs off each day. Any caterpillars that do hatch are summarily despatched. (This is when chickens in the vege patch would be useful!).
Interestingly the cauliflower and lettuce plants are untouched by white butterflies. So far!
Last week we were talking about bolting lettuce.
Yesterday, I was planting garlic. And covering it with what mulch I had available.
I am debudding and pruning the roses and rose petals are edible so into the garden they go too!
A colourful mulch! Little kitchens gardens are small works of art.
I have a soft spot for volunteers. The plants with determination who push through the crowds and raise their voices.
I can’t say no to that little plant but winter is coming! Do you remember those glass bells that they used to use in all The Best Gardens. Like a little cloche but thick heavy glass. I should find one for this little plant though I am told it seldom frosts up here.
Though it is a butternut!
So it will need to be transplanted anyway.
The little volunteer tomato in the rose garden has been fruiting. This is such a long summer here.
The Elegant Frugal Kitchen
To create our elegant frugal kitchen we need to begin by taking stock.
Streamlining your kitchen for nourishment and flow. Is your kitchen cluttered. Your refrigerator stuffed full. Your cupboards so packed you are stacking things one on top of the other?
Firstly. First world problems right?
Secondly. Stop buying new stuff until you have eaten all that old stuff up.
Thirdly. Empty a cupboard at a time. Check all the used by dates. Arrange your cupboards like grocery stores. In sections. New stuff in the back. So you pull from the front. Easy retrieval is the essence of good storage.
It is hard to produce nourishment in the midst of chaos, as is well proven in our present political turmoil, so try your best to create an atmosphere of order, intention and harmony in your gardens kitchen.
Most of our kitchen’s sustainable troubles begin in the single-use category.
Marketing makes us hungry and we need to be careful not to be sucked in by those clever marketers and influencers and inadvertently buy something that sits in the cupboard taking up valuable real estate.
Apply And then What to each purchase. More on that soon.
Be wary of single use gadgets.
Environmentally, the production, use, and disposal of these single-use items contribute to waste streams that are difficult to recycle and persist in landfills for years. Somewhere in the region of 1 trillion disposable food service products are used annually in the U.S. alone, leading to nearly 9 million tons of waste and billions of dollars in waste management costs.
Plastic that is only used once. (eg ziplock bags, packaging, clear film, etc).
Paper that is only used once. (eg paper towels, baking paper, cardboard, packaging, coffee cups, etc).
Single-use kitchen machines (eg popcorn makers, ice making machines, meat slicers, avocado cutters), tend to be bulky, and seldom used, which further contributes to waste and clutter
Consider the future of anything you only use once.
I would love all the gadgets too, I would love the big mixer for making brioche though. But I rarely make brioche. And this city kitchen is too small for a big mixer. I miss John’s air fryer that stands on the counter in Illinois. I am sure I need a meat slicer because I love finally sliced meats. But I don’t need these things. Simple will win. Before you buy anything for your kitchen check that you have space to store it. And will use it regularly. And consider what happens to it when it stops working.
Clutter is not elegant. And clutter breeds in the corners.
Don’t use the refrigerator to hide stuff: box leftovers and label them with a date.
Single use condiments and left overs without a plan are the enemy of a refrigerator.
Do you ever open the fridge - it looks full - but there is nothing to eat. Sort that out. Declare an Eat-The-Fridge Day. Haul out all the bottles and jars of sauces and condiments you opened only once and never used again. If the lid is sealed shut with crud - out it goes. If it has passed its Used By Date - dump it out and save the jar if it is a useful one - otherwise glass is good to recycle but clean the jar first. If not cook with them then don’t buy them again.
After your eat-the-fridge day. Clean the fridge. And love that space. Restock with intention. Leaving space for our planned leftovers. Keep the condiments you use frequently. Allow the fridge to breathe.
Eat the Fridge at least once a week. You will literally save money and gain space. I promise.
If you can - have a quick family meeting, drop a request in your family chat or meet with yourself and make a rough list of the meals you will cook and eat this week. Don’t forget to factor in leftovers. Don’t forget lunch. Then check the fridge and freezer THEN write your grocery list.
And what do I mean when I say And Then What?
And Then What - the system (a reminder)
Before buying an item check where it came from (local is always best but not always doable) then check where it is going when you are finished with it. Say AND THEN WHAT to yourself.
I use a tissue as an example: I buy it - most tissues are made in country but trees died for that tissue. Just sayin’. - I blow my nose on the tissue.
And then what.
Tissues generally cannot be recycled because they are made from very short paper fibers that are too degraded to be processed again. This makes them unsuitable for recycling and often considered contaminants in recycling bins.
So, we have to throw them in the trash/rubbish.
And then what?
I put the rubbish bin out into the street.
And then what?
A big truck comes and takes my rubbish away.
And then what?
The truck either deposits my trash in the landfill or it is compacted and sold to third world countries to burn for fuel.
And then what?
Pollution. My tissue has contributed to both land and air pollution. Loss of trees and pollution. And that’s just the tissue.
Each year, millions of tons of used tissue and paper ends up in landfills, where their anaerobic decomposition produces methane, a potent greenhouse gas that contributes significantly to climate change and environmental pollution.
If the ending is in a bin of some kind (even the recycling bin) let’s think hard about that purchase.
So - what did they use in the old days? Hanky’s. The humble handkerchief . Soft washable squares of fabric for at home and tissues when you are out and about. Is that a reasonable compromise?
We have been given piles of second hand soft cotton and muslin wraps for baby - there are so many that we will never use them all - I am turning a few into handkerchiefs and serviettes. I cut them with my trusty pinking sheers. Then hem them while sitting with my pregnant Daughter in the evenings. Perfect re-purpose.
Saving the planet one choice at a time. Old fashioned but quite doable. I know these are small changes and they don’t feel valuable but I promise you they are. If millions of us do a little we have done a lot.
We are the butterflies.
Just for fun let’s look up the word handkerchiefs. We love words. You and I.
The word “handkerchief” originates from the Middle English “kerchief,” derived from Old French cuevrechief meaning “to cover the head,” with “hand” added in the 16th century to distinguish a cloth carried in the hand for wiping the face or nose from the head covering, reflecting its evolution from a head covering to a personal cloth used for hygiene and as a token for a knight playing war games with lances. Idiots!
I am taunted all day by words. I cannot help myself researching them!
Elegantly Frugal Recipe of the Week
Mama’s Corn Fritters
Simple. Gorgeous. The kind of thing you stir together in a big bowl while the coffee brews and the kitchen fills with light.
You will need:
1 tin (400g or 1 1/2 cups) of creamed corn
1 tin (400g or 1 1/2 cups) of corn kernels, drained
1 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 eggs
1 cup plain flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
A pinch of dried chilli flakes (just enough to remind you they’re there)
A handful of chopped greens – parsley, green onions, whatever’s fresh
About 1/3 cup milk – enough to bring it all together
Pepper and Salt to taste
To make:
In a wide bowl, stir together the corn – both kinds – with the cheese and eggs.
In another bowl, mix your flour, baking powder, pepper and salt and chilli flakes. Tip this into the wet bowl, and fold together gently. Add the greens – bright and green and hopeful – then splash in the milk little by little until the batter is thick but spoonable.
Heat a little oil in your best frying pan – the heavy one. Drop the batter in dollops, and cook until golden on one side, then flip and finish.
Eat warm, with a dollop of yoghurt or a spoon of chutney, or just straight from the plate.
Daughter made these for lunch yesterday. She said to me, “Do you like corn fritters?” and I said, “Honey, I made these for you when you were kids.” “Oh yeah,” she said. “Huh.”
They are delicious in our lunch boxes today, too.
Bedtime Stories for Grown Ups
The Blue Castle by LM Montgomery, read by Cecilia Gunther
What would you do if you had only a year left to live?
All the chapters of The Blue Castle are here ⤴️ now. I am sad to finish this book. But fear not. Another is on the way.
Have a lovely day.
What purchase can you apply: And Then What to, that does NOT end up in a bin of some kind. Leave you answer in the comments so we can all share our successes. It might feel small but it isn’t - you are a part of a movement. Our movement.
Take care and talk soon.
Celi
I love corn fritters. Thanks for one use at a time and thinking it through. I love how you are thinking of cows and pigs in IL while getting ready for winter there. Thanks for your multipassionate care and writing! Have a great week, Cecelia.
LOVE your "and then what?"