Celebrating Mayday the hermit way
Since I just came back from Stockholm International Comics Festival, I thought I could use some solitude before working my ass off again.
So here’s a bunch of photos from my little May 1st holiday …
Morning light.
Dandelions and this annoying weed that spreads everywhere have taken over the future potato patch. Dandelions are of course edible, but I don’t really like their taste, so they will probably have to make room later on.
I sowed corn and sunflowers along the empty spot next to the fence. Unless the slugs munch them all up, maybe they can provide some shade from my neighbours’ curious eyes this year … The bushes I’ve planted there are still too small to make a diference.
Evening light, not enough to illuminate my Andy Kehoe print.
Fencing
So today Ilan helped me build a new fence in place of the old (mostly) wooden one that was totally falling apart.
We forgot to take a “before” picture, but anyway, the old fence is in a pile under the plum tree here:
Surveying the scene …
Goodbye, cardigan ;_;
I wish to announce to the world that I have lost my non-fuzzy wool mix zipper cardigan that has been an extension of my body in the colder parts of the year since 2003 or so. I was wearing it in Freehold, New Jersey, above, and I also wear it in all my hourly comics.
It fell off my bike somewhere between Treptow and Alexanderplatz, and it was nowhere when I went back to look for it. ;_;
Luckily I had not yet washed it or mended all the holes in it as I was planning to do soon. I.e. it was pretty nasty and full of holes. :o/ Maybe someone threw it in the trash. Or maybe some hipster picked it up and is going to use it for some stupid art project, because it’s just so … authentic. Most of all I hope it was adopted by somebody who really needs it. :3
I got it from the Christian thrift store in Lund, Sweden, in my early university years. At first I thought it was kind of strange and I wasn’t sure how to wear it. But gradually I realised how extremely practical it was, and it became my perhaps most used item of clothing ever.
Now I will have to fill this void with another cardigan that will be equally or even more practical and versatile, because how else am I supposed to wear summer jackets in the winter like I usually do.
Kimchi with my weird napa cabbage
It grew slowly in my greenhouse from June to December and ended up looking like this. O_o
It was pretty unhappy most of the summer. In the fall it perked up a bit, but then I couldn’t be around much and tend to it. I’m kind of surprised that it survived at all. Maybe if I’d have watered and fertilized it more during October-December, it would have grown nice big heads.
Now it grew cute little heads instead. :3
I don’t like napa cabbage in anything but kimchi, but then again, I like kimchi very much … People claim it’s one of the healthiest things you could possibly eat, you can eat it with almost anything, and it’s really easy to make at home.
Here is my recipe:
Cut the cabbage in smaller pieces and soak in water (just enough to cover it) and sea salt (or “kosher salt”).
Cover and soak overnight. That will start the fermentation process.
Pour out the water and wash the cabbage. It’s good if it’s still wet and there’s water in the bowl, as that will make brine, the watery stuff in the kimchi. I like to use kimchi brine in salty pancakes. :3
You can pretty much chop up any vegetables you like and put them in the kimchi.
Here is what I added now:
* Carrots
* Scallions
* Fresh ginger
* Garlic (lots)
* Chili pepper flakes
Then mix them all gently with your hand(s). Taste to see if you would like more of something (maybe salt?).
When it’s good, take clean glass jars and wash them again with boiling hot water.
Then put the kimchi in the jars. You will have to press it down in order to fit as much as possible in the jar. Then distribute the remaining liquid evenly among the jars, and close the lids tightly.
Store in the fridge and let them sit and ferment a bit for a couple of days before eating. (Of course you can also eat part of the kimchi fresh … I do. In fact, right now I’m having some in the vegetable soup I just made.)
Normally I make a much bigger batch of kimchi, but this was my extra special weird home grown napa cabbage. It all fit in one jar. :3
