Healing Starts in the Garden

                                                            

"Healing starts in the garden".  This is one of my favourite quotes.  It might seem simple, maybe cliché.  You can imagine some old lady sitting in amongst her fragrant roses feeling surreal, whispering this secret to some small child.  

However, I seldom think of this quote without feeling moved.  Because the story behind it is so moving.  It’s a story of two girls in the Netherlands who with their parents hid and helped Jews escape. In their home during WWII the family built a secret room in which they hid the Jews from the Nazis, but the family was betrayed and arrested.

After the hiding place was found the whole family was sent to concentration camps.  Their story is told by one of the girls, Corrie Ten Boon in her book The Hiding Place. They survived many hardships that I find hard to imagine in my nice cushy well-fed, warm-bed life in 2011.  But they never gave up hope.

While in the notorious Ravensbruck concentration camp they talked about how, when they got out, they would open a big house for other survivors to come to, to rest, to be renewed, to be healed.

Corrie survived Ravensbruck and went on to open the home, but her sister, Betsie, died in the camp. Before she died, Betsie told Corrie that as soon as people arrive at the home she should put them to work in the garden, "healing starts in the garden" she told her.  Corrie later writes that she found this to be true.  People who had been through so much, lost so much, found healing amongst the flowers, the cabbages, the fruit trees.  It still amazes me that something so simple can be so powerful.

In my life I have reminded myself of this truth from time to time.  When I feel low, when something has sapped my strength emotional or physically, I find rest in my garden.  As I breathe the sea air, take in the majesty of the mountains, the simplicity of a flower, the fragrance of the orange blossom, the first little leaves of a new shoot, the simple bird song, something happens to me.  Stress starts to leave and rest starts to enter.

Its not just me either, more research is being done the effects of nature upon us.  For example, Roger Ulrich and his colleagues at Texas A&M University found that people who commuted along scenic roads recovered more quickly from stressful driving conditions than those who saw billboards, buildings, and parking lots. Ulrich also noted something he termed an “inoculation” effect: Drivers who had taken the scenic route responded more calmly to stressful situations later on.  More research shows that surgery patients that see trees and greenery out their hospital windows need less painkillers.

In Australia they have taken this one step further with building a 'park within a hospital and a hospital with in a park.  A hospital for children where they are "spaces infused with nature" that can 'speak to children and aid in the healing' (http://www.hphpcentral.com/article/royal-childrens-hospital)

I could turn this blog into an essay this week there is so much research in the effects of nature upon our mental, emotional and physical well-being....but I won’t.

I have a horrible stinking cold at the moment, and a looooooong list of jobs to do.  The two combine to make me feel extra dreadful and slightly overwhelmed.  I suddenly felt extra grumpy when I saw the dog jump the fence and go after the farmer’s ute as it went by with the hazards on......meaning only one thing......around the corner sheep or cattle were about to appear.

With my arms tightly wrapped round my tired body, a grumpy look on my face, my slippered feet shuffled down the drive way and out the gate to make sure the dog didn't get into trouble.  The fluffy creature joined me and we strolled down to the beach.  There we stood next to each other: the sun warming and soothing the stress lines on my face, the sea’s rhythmic motion bringing calm to my soul, and the relaxed sheep trotting passed us up to the pastures on the hills seemed to bring a slower pace to the day.  In those few moments as I paused to drink in the creation around me my troubles lifted, I felt a little better.  This has been my experience many times through my life.  As I plant a seed, spot the first seedling, then first bloom of blossom, it brings peace.

So if the aftershocks have got to you, or the job is stressful, or the housework is piling up, take a moment!  Walk outside, find a green area, relax, unwind.  Buy a pack of seeds, plant them and watch them grow over the next few weeks.  Get a plant for your desk, make a change!  

Bring creation into your day in big or small ways and take the time to stop and smell the roses.

I don’t have a recipe for you this week just an unchangeable fact that something grown by you, from seed, is the sweetest tasting thing there is.  So dig a plot, or get a small pot and plant a herb and keep it in the kitchen.  Trust me, theres healing in your garden.

                                                      My daughter with a home grown apple

Comfort me

                                                                       

The news is alive with snow predictions.  Now two things happen when I hear snow is on its way.  Firstly my heart rate quickens and I become more excited than a kid who has just been told Santa is halfway down the chimney.  The second is my mind thinks mmmmmm mulled wine and comfort food.

On the last snowfall I came in cold and satisfied after rolling through the crisp untouched snow a ball until it grew to a snowman followed by having a snowball fight with my kids and the neighbours grand kids.  I had paused at the holiday home next door, glanced at the sparkly white, uninterrupted carpet of crisp snow and dreamed of making snow angles in the untouched blanket.  The fire was crackling when I got in and the marshmellows a toasting by three red nosed and happy children.


This time Im even more excited.  Because for the first time since the February earthquake I have a working oven.  So today I have prepared.  Lemon drizzle cupcakes are cooling on a plate (minus 7 that got eaten straight away).  Sponge as light as a snowflake laced with tangy lemon encrusted with sugar and dusted to perfection.  A lemon tart is also cooling, I plan to have this tomorrow as I watch the magic of floating white fluff dancing down from the sky.

Theres lots of lemons around and they are so versatile I love them.

Fresh lemon juice in a hot toddy when Ive got a cold, the sweet and sour mix of lemonade the kids make, squeezed over calamari, beef noodles or a salad, the zest dried and added to sugar to make cake dusting the possibilities are endless.  Its even great for cleaning!  I keep the skins with the squeezed flesh still inside. Slice them layering them in jars with chilli, coriander seeds, bay leaves and salt, squishing them down to let the remainder juices flow.  I'll give the jar a shake each day for three weeks until they are preserved.  Perfect for adding to Moroccan dishes or curries.

The day will start tomorrow with warm cinnamon rolls.  They are so easy to make.  Making up a batch of bread dough with a dollop of maple syrup in it.  I knock it back after the first rise, dust wit flour and roll out to a rectangle, then smother it with butter and sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon.  Roll it up and slice it into sections.  You simple need to butter and flour a big pan and arrange them in with a couple of inches in-between each one and pop it into the fridge until the morning.  They will rise nice and slow in the fridge and can go straight into the oven in the morning.  I like to give them an egg glaze before they go in to a 150degC oven.  Bake for 20 minutes until golden brown, take out and let cool slightly.  Drizzle icing over while still warm and enjoy.  TOP TIP: to keep the bread nice and soft I put a small mental bowl in the bottom of the oven while its heating up and then throw in 4 or 5 ice cubes when the rolls go it.  They steam away and keep everything soft and moist.

I guess even though I now live in a Country with Christmas in summer the associations with cold and celebrations are strong for me.  Im currently trying to resist rummaging around in the loft to get out the fairly lights and Christmas CD's!  I cant promise if it snows tomorrow you wont find me strolling up the road singing "Im Dreaming of a White Christmas". 

Home Sweet Home

Although I love to be outdoors, exploring, visiting new places, meeting new faces, and old, I always love to come home. "Lets head for paradise" the kids say when we leave the city to head for home.  Where we live is very beautiful, but its more than that that make it paradise for us.  Its the things we do here.  The fires on the beach, walks in hills, friends round for food, picking our veg and fruit from our own garden, watching our ducks fly down the garden at feeding time.  A wealth of time and love has been shared at our little home.

                                                          Me with my favorite 4 people!

This Saturday I had a glorious day.  Our youngest had a rugby match and with car pooling there was no room for me to go.  As much as I love to support him in his sport, it is a very rare thing indeed for me to find myself at home alone!  And as if to make this time alone even more special the sun came out and turned it into a glorious warm winters day.

So what to do with half a day totally to myself?! I whizzed through housework as quickly as I could.  Then slipped out side, tidied some of the garden, did some weeding and then.....one of our olive trees laden with beautiful black shining olives caught my eye. straight away I could see a little line of jars sitting in my kitchen full of olives quietly curing away.

So I dropped everything and started picking.

Soon I was curled up on the sofa with a bowl of clean rinsed olives, making a little slit from top to bottom down one side of each.

After that I filled jars with the olives and poured a 10% salt brine right to the top.  Now all I have to do is shake the jars each day and change the brine solution each week for 3 weeks

Then they just need to be marinated in a vinegar brine solution with flavorings such as garlic, oregano and lemon.  I ant wait, I'll let you know how that turns out.

Feeling all motivated I turned my attention to some new products I had been working on for our shop available at the Preserved Workshops and online.  Lately I have really got into finishing salts and sugars.  I love making them as its so hands on and it really feels like a lot of love goes into them, it also makes the house smell gorgeous with smells of lemons, oranges and chilli drifting through.  Its such a delicious way to lift a dish.  Smoked Chilli salt on your pizza, citrus salt on your fish, lavender sugar on your cup cakes...mmmmmm.  They are so beautiful and colorful too.  I'm looking forward to using them more in the kitchen and sharing my recipes with you, and I'll let you know when we have them ready for the shop!

Soon the peace was over and the house was filled with the sound of exited kids home.  I love lazy afternoons where you just lie about chatting to each other, fire going, toy soldiers covering the hallway floor, mucky knees and smiling kids.  Even more happy when they discover Ive made their favorite for tea - spaghetti bolognaise. My special ingredient is I start by frying off some home cured pancetta, then taking it out of the pan and frying off the mince in the juices before adding it back in.  It adds a real depth of flavor, home dry cured smoked bacon is also wonderful releasing a wonderful subtle smoky flavor through the dish.

But my favorite recipe of the weekend has to be pancakes with stewed tamarillos and Creme anglaise.  Its simple and delicious to make and tamarillos are in season now!

Stewed Tamarillo 
Blanch the tamarillos in boiling water for a few seconds and then plunge into cold water, this should make it easy to remove the skins. (optional but the skins can be a it bitter)
Cover the bottom of a saucepan with water, add the tamarillos, some brown sugar, cinnamon stick and a pinch of nutmeg. heat gently and let stew, until the fruit is soft.  using a slatted spoon remove the fruit leaving the juices, reduce until think on a medium heat.

Creme Anglaise.
A delicious light custard sauce.
Beat together 4 egg yolks with 1/2 cup white sugar until it is light pale yellow and when you lift the whisk up the mixture leaves a ribbon on the surface for a few seconds before disappearing.
Beat in 1 tsp of cornstarch (optional but helps stop the eggs scrambling if you let the temperature on the next step slip to high.)
beat continually while drizzling in very gradually 1 1/4 cups boiling milk.
Pop it all in a heavy based sauce pan over a low to medium heat and stir continually until it coats the back of a spoon with a lovely light creamy coating.  DON'T let it come anywhere near a simmer or it will scramble so keep an eye on it!
Take off the heat and beat for a couple of minuets as it cools.

Pancakes - crepe style (Made by my fab hubby)
Mix together with a whisk 1 cup of flour, 2 eggs, 1 cup milk, 1 tbs melted butter and a pinch of salt, until it is lovely and smooth.
Pour a ladle into a nice wide frying pan, move the pan around to spread out the mixture, add more if needed, but your looking for a nice thin crepe.  Once it has dried out and lost its shine flip it over, it wont take long, maybe 30 seconds to cook that side.

slide your pancake onto a plate, spoon on some of the tamarillos onto one half of the pancake, add some of the reduced sauce and top with creme anglaise, fold over and enjoy! mmmmmm.  Iv made myself hungry now, I think I might just leave you all and go make another batch.

Have fun in your kitchen
Anna.

for information on Pig in a Day workshops and more www.preserved.co.nz