Recycle, reuse, experiment and grow

I found myself being rather resourceful today. Sifting through th pantry i found some goodies from last years harvest.

In my cupboard i found;

 jars of dried kidney beans..

 3 pumpkins..

dried parasol mushrooms

 I added the extra of garlic and onion that wasn't in my pantry.

I blended it all together to make veggie mush, that turned into sausages for dinner tonight.

It just goes to show what you can make with bits and pieces, and how frugal one can be.

                                              

This is the mix with added flour.

This is what i made it into and then baked in the oven.

To add to my frugal day i thought id post up pictures of my sourdough bread i made, from just natural yeast , flour and water, some salt. 

You can add herbs and sugar if you wish, maybe some chopped olives, sun-dried tomatoes and some oregano could be an option.

This is it raising in the tin overnight.

This is what it came out looking like, nice and fluffy and light, with a gorgeous taste, I recommend trying it out.

I mentioned in my previous post that i like to use and recycle as much as i can, and waste nothing. Part of living this life, is you learn to appreciate everything, and everything has its use. Even the used coffee or tea bags.

I started my garden with compost, and slowly built up to when we eventually got ourselves some goats. 

Then we learnt to utilise their poop, cleaning out their barn every 4 months, letting it sit in a heap on the ground and then feed it to the garden where we needed it most. 

Tomatos, pumpkins, courgettes, peppers, fruit trees are heavy feeders, and i find myself going around my garden with a bucket to top all the main beds up.

 The thing i love about goat poop, is that it comes in perfectly sized pellets and its not sloppy, meaning that you can add it to the soil and it will be a slow releaser, topped with the hay from their barn and you have instant mulch.

If you want to try you hand out at gardening, a good place to start is using old kitchen waste, putting lettuces and onions, in water to establish roots, and then once they have enough roots that look strong, find a nice patch in your garden to plant them out.

Ive decided to give 3 new common weeds in every post i do, easy to find and nutritious. I also urge you to do your homework and research all the things i refer to you. Not only should you make it common practice with everything you read, but it keeps your mind active and learning, there might be more information you find that could help you.

Curly Dock (rumex sp.)

Curly dock resides all over the world and in so many different species the rumen genus, luckily they are all edible.

The leaves can be cooked in stews, curries, roasted. Seeds can be ground into flour, similar to that of buckwheat, roots can also be cooked.

Dock is what they call a taproot, which produces millions of seeds and can spread throughout your garden and become quite a pest and had to pull out once grown big.

The roots have been used as a blood cleanser, like burdock, the flavour is not well liked by many.

Dock is high in Vitamin A and C. Rice in flavonoids, and iron.

In the past dock has helped people suffering from Arthritis, jaundice and scurvy.

It relieves constapation, and reduces inflammation.

The leave are rich in quercetin and myricetin, which are powerful flavonoids that have anitoxidants and anti-inflammatory properties.

Quercetin has antihistamine qualities, myricetin has hypoglycaemic and anti-viral components.

Pineapple Weed (Matricaria Discoidea)

This herb is known as wild camomile, and gets confused with many similar lookalikes. This is very edible raw or cooked or made into tea.

It loves hot sandy conditions.

It looks like camomile but doesn't have white petals. It tastes like pineapple and sweet flavour, and is great in hot water made into tea. There are recipes made from it into jam also adding red clover to the wildflower jam.

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Pineapple weed can help people with fever, insomnia, parasitic infections, chronic pain, inflammation, skin irritations, cuts, indigestion, stress, low milk production, anxiety, and helps t boost immunity, can also help boost energy levels during the day, although don't consume too much.

Too much of this stuff can lead to an upset stomach, diahrrea and nausea, but only in large quantities.

Too much can cause skin irritation, as the oil is potent, try a small amount on good skin before you use it for its purpose on wound, to check if you are over sensitive to it.

It can cause allergic reactions in some people, on the tongue, lips, gums, throat and stomach, it is a member of the sunflower and daisy family so it make cause a negative reaction.

It is a lovely herb and should be tried, remember everything is good in small quantities.

Last on the list for today is....

Plantain (major and Minor)

Plantian major is the broad leafed, the minor is the long leafed variety, both are edible and highly beneficial.

I use Broad leaf plantain for nearly everything, from stings, to cuts, bruises, chewing on a leaf can relive toothache, it has pain relieving properties and helps nerve damage.

It can be distinguished by the long veins in the leaves and its close growth to the ground. The seeds are white and be collected to help digestion and build happy healthy gut and fluff up your stool.

Plantain can help bladder infections, bronchitis, colds, bleeding haemorrhoids. It has been known to kill germs and reduce swelling.

It is probably my go to herb for an all rounder healer, i make it into salves to help skins problems or for my children, as a face moisturiser and skin toner, the happy plantain herb give it a try.

Enjoy and learn, share and try...