Sustainable SW Blogs

I've spent at least two years trying to figure out a way to eat that settles a bad case of reflux. I tried Ayurveda, quit caffeine, citrus, chocolate and I've been doing a crummy job of quitting alcohol. I don't want to stop drinking wine. This month I'm trying out a ketogenic diet, mostly known for it's helpful benefits to folks with epilepsy.

Ketogenic diets create a shift in the body caused by seriously low carb consumption. The body becomes efficient at burning fat instead of carbs. Logically, it's a high fat diet: 3/4 fat, less than 1/4 protein, and less than 100 grams of carbs (from non starch veggies and no fruit). This diet excludes bread, grain and all variety of wheat.

I don't have epilepsy and I'm not doing it for weight loss even though that's often the outcome of a keytogenic diet. From the very first day on the diet my belly settled down and went quiet. As far as reflux symptoms which range from pain between the rib cage to hoarse voice, and gas, the only remaining symptom after five days is horse voice and it is subsiding. Here's the fun and kinda weird part, it's "on my diet" to eat bacon, cream cheese, fish, meats, heavy cream and butter. These photos show my homemade cream cheese which was seriously easy to make and came out fantastic!

The downsides of the keytogenic diet include over acidity, constipation and dehydration. It is not recommended full time. Most folks who use the diet it use it on and off. They put in periods of high carb consumption, especially if they're athletes. To combat the constipation I made the dehydrated crackers seen in the pic out of the pulp from my juicer, flax, garlic, a roasted red pepper, and a bit of molasses. They're pretty much all fiber and they're super yummy.

I don't like extreme diets and I won't be adhering strictly to this one because I learned what I needed to from it. Fats are not a bad thing. I have become more aware of the wonderful sources for fat like nuts, avocados, and olives. What surprised me is that I can eat a lot of fat and not get fat. But more importantly, I learned about and got good at eliminating starchy carbs and sugar which has made a big difference. A week on the diet had me learning the foods that have a lot of carbs and those that have none, and it made me aware of how easy it is to consume carbs in large amounts. It takes a real effort to eat a low carb diet.

I'll send another report on this in a week or two. Meanwhile, does anyone out there have a copy of the food fermentation potential table?

IT’S HERE! The print version of the 2014 Kitchen Garden Tour addresses and map

Just print it out and come out for the tour. Read on for more info on how to purchase tickets and the homes on the tour!

Our 4th Annual Kitchen Garden and Coop Tour is on Sunday, July 27  from 9 am – 2 pm.  Come get inspired for your own gardens! See five of Santa Fe’s most inspirational gardens.  Pick up ideas that you can use at your place or just enjoy these beautiful edible and functional landscapes.

‘The 5 properties on the tour this year will feature many gardening ideas—beautiful vegetable gardens, backyard chicken coops, beehives, composting, greywater systems, hoophouses, a neighborhood community farm, permaculture sites, edible landscapes and rainwater harvesting systems.’
Excerpts from: Edible Magazine, our premiere sponsor

 Tickets are $25 this year and children under 12 are free.

*Tickets can be purchased 2 ways:
1-Pre-purchase tickets online here.
2-Purchase on day of tour at homes. Cash or checks accepted at each house and credit cards accepted at house #1 only.

HERE ARE THE ADDRESSES FOR THE 5 SPECIAL PROPERTIES ON THE TOUR:

1. Linda and Jim Archibald- 1105 Caminito Alegre
This Casa Solana home features chicken coops, fruit trees, large raised vegetable gardens, perennial and annual flowerbeds.

2. Jesus and Charlotte Rivera - 405 Salazar Place
Tune-Up Café’s owners, Jesus and Charlotte Rivera’s home features raised vegetable gardens, fruit trees, herbs and greywater systems. Charlotte’s goal is to use greywater only for watering all her gardens.

3. Reese Baker - 2053 Camino Lado
The RainCatcher’s owner, Reese Baker’s home incorporates many Permaculture designs. His mature gardens will amaze and inspire all. His edible landscaping includes fruit trees, berries, edible bushes and vegetables. He has chickens, a fishpond and passive water harvesting systems including Zuni bowls, rainwater catchment and greywater systems that channel water to the fruit trees and pond. This site is a great example of what can be done on a small city lot!

4. Poki Pottin/Gaia Gardens - 2255 Paseo de los Chamisos
Poki who started Gaia gardens is known from the Santa Fe Farmer’s Market where he sells his vegetables. This is a phenomenal property that is a neighborhood community farm based on biodynamic principles. The farm features many vegetable gardens, chickens, composting systems, hoophouses and even has ducks! Poki will have lots of  plant starts for sale if you still need some.

5. Jeremiah Kidd - 29 Hidden Valley Road
San Isidro Permaculture’s owner, property in the foothills of the Sangre De Cristos showcases permaculture designs in keeping with our arid high desert. His property features edible landscaping, erosion control installations, grey and blackwater systems, rainwater catchment and a hoophouse. His edible landscaping includes berries, grapes, fruit and nut trees and many other exotic edible plants.

Master Gardeners and the homeowners will be present to answer questions at each site. Don’t miss this exciting Kitchen Garden & Coop tour in Santa Fe this year!

Other contributing sponsors for the tour are: Joes’ Diner, Osuna Nursery and Whole Foods

 

The Adams Pittman Parker Clan91,101,74,0,B

Hummingbird Nest #2, a photo by mikey and wendy on Flickr.

Wendy found another humming bird nest in a different mulberry tree today.

Sesame Refuses to Walk Down Steep Steps, a photo by mikey and wendy on Flickr.

Got the building for my friend today...everything was "as per order" this time.  Although the first round was a bit of a fiasco - I still have to give Derksen Buildings credit.  A pretty good deal for a shell of a building if you have no time or building skills.  Less than 20 bucks per square foot including delivery and leveling from almost 300 miles away (if you pay up front with no financing).  87,97,71, .16",B

Had a rain event overnight.  Perhaps another tonight.  Hope it is more than a grasshopper.  Rescued this little critter when I checked the gauge this morning.  86,99,72, .07",B

Man Discovers How Unproductive He is Without Caffeine, a photo by mikey and wendy on Flickr.

After 10 weeks of being caffeine free I came to the realization that I was not getting much done. Certainly busy work and mindless activities were no problem, but long concentrated work sessions were not happening. Here is to my return to the bean.

Greener Juicing, a photo by mikey and wendy on Flickr.

I have been making a effort to reduce the sweetness in our juicing and increase the greens. Our last one was a mix of spinach, celery and carrot and it came out great. This was also the end of our celery plants for the summer.

More Pom Pom's on irrigation, a photo by mikey and wendy on Flickr. Wendy and I transplanted three Pom Pom volunteers across the yard and setup irrigation for them. These plants quickly grow to 8' tall and provide amazing white noise.

Humming Bird Nest, a photo by mikey and wendy on Flickr.

Found this while digging some trenches in the yard.

Almost missed out on a great day with new friends.  About a month ago, I got an email from a filmmaker wanting to come out to see TFL.  I get these kinds of offers about twice a month.  Instead of saying "no" right away, now I just don't answer the email at all and wait to see if they will send a second request.  I had almost forgotten about the recent email when I got a second one.  This time I checked out the links on the first email and discovered it was actually a person who has done a huge number videos about tiny houses, off grid, sustainability, etc. - Kirsten Dirksen.  I have watched a bunch of her videos over the last couple of years and really enjoyed them.  She and her husband run a site called  http://faircompanies.com/ - community and access to tools on sustainable culture. Kirsten's YouTube channel has 178,731 subscribers and her videos have had almost 74,000,000 views. I answered her email and invited her out. (Of course my recent house cleaning was just because of today's visit and interview.)  I'm glad she gave me a another shot so I would take a first look and get a second chance.  I was really happy it wasn't just another reality TV pitch.  Had a very pleasant visit with Kirsten, her husband Nicolas, and their 3 adorable kids. Don't know when the stuff she shot here will be added to her extensive library.  95,103,68,0,B

I don't know if they really have a name but this is what I am calling them.  It all started with The Most Interesting Man in the World - a character in an advertising campaign for the Dos Equis brand of beer, produced by the marketing firm Euro RSCG for Cuauhtémoc Moctezuma Brewery.    The ads feature Jonathan Goldsmith as the world's most interesting man.  The idea began being co-opted to get across any number of humorous nuances about daily life and situations - by plastering bold text onto the image.  The practice took an interesting turn when instead of cute little lifeisms, the content became attacks against opposing thought.  Now our handsome beer drinking friend is rarely seen in favor of graphic images that better promote the ideal being shoved down our throat... those deep meaning messages branded onto images that are meant to represent the absolute truth about a controversial subject.  Posts like those usually make little sense, don't change anyone's way of thinking, and only serve to divide the population further. Forwarding them only serves that negative agenda. They don't give anyone an "ah ha!" moment - they only make each side think the other is an idiot.  90,101,75,0,B

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Mid-Year Book Count Check-in, a photo by mikey and wendy on Flickr.

It's July and I wanted to see how close I was to my goal of reading 100 books during 2014. It looks like I'm only at 36 books so I'll have to up my reading a bit. I did take nearly two month off from reading while we were traveling so I think the goal is still achievable. Thanks to Goodreads for keeping track of this.

Decided it was time to explore the past some more.  Cleaned out under my kitchen counter.  Found stuff stored there of no use and over 6 years old.  84,97,71,0,B

The shift from Washington State to New Mexico is radical - humidity to dry desert, canopy to open expanse. In WA I got some great elevation training. Where I run in NM its relatively flat.

Our first morning home Mikey and I went out for a run. Two days in the car left us wanting to move and exert ourselves. This morning we hit a familiar dirt road that we always enjoyed. The road was familiar but not the feeling we had running it. A short 4 mile run in the desert felt like 10 miles in Wa. Before leaving NM we'd become water efficient, I could run 10 miles on 20 oz of water, but not upon our return. I blew through 20 oz in just 4 miles. I guess this is good training for us. If we're ever to enter the big ultra races we'll have to be adept at all climates and environments. Who knows, a 50 miler in 2015? We'll see.

High on the list of things that I don't ordinarily do is "go to the shooting range." I am no NRA card carrying member, hardly. I would be easier for me to align myself with the Quakers. In this unusual case, I went to the range to try out and get comfy with a new 9 ounce .22 calibor pistol that Mikey's dad bought us as a gift. The pistol is a great gift, its for camping, thus the light weight. It is seriously cute (in as much as guns can be cute) and it won't add excess weight to either of our backpacks. Before leaving I tried out a .45. Yikes!!!