I'm Against Plastic

Everyone who knows me is aware that I have been in a war against plastics for decades. I don't like to wear it, store my food in it, and especially consume it. Yet it is a war that I will never win as a consumer. That's why I have been researching ways to raise fiber crops and am trying to learn how to spin fiber, weave and knit. It's a way to take charge of what I wear and live with.

My mother's knitting needles await

Currently all my rugs, linens and clothes are wool, cotton or silk, but it is getting increasingly hard to find. Especially now that manufacturers are making synthetic cottons and passing them off as natural.

Everything, including jeans, has plastic in it these days. Those "stretch jeans" are full of plastic. If we can put nicotine and birth control patches on our skin and absorb the medicinal compounds therein, what makes us think we are not absorbing the contaminants in plastic garments as well? I'm just saying.

Offgassing. This is a word I hadn't even heard of years ago. Now it is a normal part of my everyday speech.

We now run water through PVC piping. Kettles and coffee makers are plastic. Our rain barrels and composters are plastic. I regret using plastic sheeting for my hoop houses. (I intend to construct a glass greenhouse as soon as possible. But glass is difficult to find in the ubiquitous consumer grade greenhouse kits.) Everything is poly-something or other. I'll likely have to have a conservatory built.

Screenwriter Buck Henry's prophetic word "plastics," which he predicted as the industry of the future, in the 1967 film The Graduate, meant perhaps more than even he dreamed. From the cars we drive to the computer I am typing on now, plastics have wound their way into every aspect of our lives... including the food chain. Chewing gum for instance. Tell your kids not to swallow it!  Synthetics like polyvinyl acetate are used today for gum base; a component used in wood glue. Gum base is also made from polyethylene, the plastic used in shopping bags; and butadiene-styrene rubber, which is used in car tires.

Last night my cousin had an unfortunate plastic encounter. She was chewing gum that got caught in her throat. She ended up with a tracheotomy.  "Plastics!!!"

Salsa Verde

This is a fresh mild salsa which is a nice addition to burritos, tacos or simply as a side dip for tortilla chips. My ingredients all came from my garden, but most can be purchased from a grocer. Like just about anything made from scratch, the taste of fresh salsa verde is nothing like the bottled variety. It has that special toothy crunch that makes it worth the effort.

RECIPE

Remove husks from tomatillos and wash. (The tomatillos are slightly sticky when you remove their papery husks.)

Chop finely. Then seed a jalapeno pepper. 

Mince together with:

1/2 a jalapeno (or more if you like your salsa with a kick)

clove of fresh garlic finely chopped

1/4 onion finely chopped

cilantro (a handful) chopped

add juice of half a lime

pinch of salt

The taste is fresh and well, green. Hence the name - salsa verde.

My tomatillo crop has been a steady source of deliciousness for the last two weeks but this was the first day I finally had the chance to make a salsa. The plant has been loving its new home inside the comfy hoop house, which is warmed by candles inside at night. It's quite a sight to see. A single candle in each bed has transformed each hoop house into a giant luminary. An unexpected and magical delight. 

A Candle in the Wind

Here's a nice tip I picked up from thegardenchannel.tv

Placing a candle inside your greenhouse (or hoop house) on cold days will raise the temperature inside a couple of degrees. Sometimes that's all you need.