So-Cal, Cilantro, Ai-yiy-yiy

Oh California dreamin… leavin, on a jet plane… go to California, go to California… okay enough DJ shit. :) The trip was great and we are home in one piece. I lugged my laptop across the country only to use it to check directions to the Barnes and Noble and if S6 went to the coast. (It does.) So we home and holy family and people! I can make conversation for about two hours, I discovered, before I run out of shit to say and start majorly wishing there was a cow to slap around. I spend roughly eighty percent of my time either alone or in the presence of livestock or dogs so being cornered into conversation, and conversation about something besides the pros and cons of grassfed beef say, I run out of shit to say. It’s like the t-shirt says, I’m not a quiet person so if I’m not saying anything it’s because we’re not talking horses. Beautiful country north San Diego though, Escondido and the hills too. We got to hike a little and that was probably my favorite part of the trip, that and the Mexican food in Old Town. I can highly recommend that. The Wild Animal Park and Balboa Park and Coronado were cool too, but driving and getting out and walking, seeing the real California, was even cooler. Touristy stuff has never really been my thing.

In honor of the wonderful food and extremely hard working people who served it to us, today’s herb is cilantro. It’s a classic herb used in Mexican cooking, extremely flavorful and essential to any salsa.

Cilantro is a member of the parsley family and the leaves of this two foot high are used for cooking. It’s an annual unless you leave the flower heads, then it will reseed itself and regrow the following year. Start the seeds directly in pots as transplanting disturbs the roots and causes early bolting. (News to me.) They can also be started indoors six weeks before planting outdoors, I’m assuming either in peet pots or directly in a pot. I’ve had luck with using a peet pot, but the plants last year were very fine and kind of weak so might not want to listen to me. If sown directly and started in rows instead of containers, the plants need nine to twelve inches of space and they grow well in a pH range of 6.5 and 7.5. (So much for my throw manure on and go theory.) Cilantro likes a soil that drains well, can take full sun or some shade mix, doesn’t like to be overwatered, and will grow indoors under lights as well. It takes about six weeks to get a saleable plant.

Amazingly, though I got little else done, I read and wrote a goodly sample of poetry on vacation. Mostly I read Ai and started Wislawa Szymborska. http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/1996/szymborska-bio.html Here’s a YouTube of some Ai poems, lovely reading and hearing.

Ai uses narrators and persona in her work, brutality and femininity running side by side in a no-holds-barred narrative that’s as beautiful as it is unflinching.

So it’s back to reality today, at my desk early and work tonight. It’s been raining almost since we left so will have to see if the cows are floating or if we need to inflate the ark.

Welcome home  :-p

Herb Gardens and Kilts (Oh you know you want to! :)

I don’t know about you, but I can kill flowers if I stare at them too hard. Some people, however, can get the goofiest shit to grow when and where it shouldn’t. Gardening looks complicated and hard and seems to be all about perfectionism. This is a gardening guide for the rest of us, the lazy, the uninspired, the ah-hell-throw-it-in-the-ground-and-see-what-happens, those of us who can kill grass with a dirty look. It’s not science or probably even right in many cases, but it’s what works for me.

The plants and region will typically be Midwestern, since that’s what I’m familiar with, and I’ll try to remember to note that for those living elsewhere. None of this is backed up by any sort of science or professional association whatsoever, unless noted. Most of it has been learned in the field and I’m still scratching my head over why the hell it worked. So, kick back, smile, and let’s start gardening.

As most of you might guess, I live on a farm so there’s plenty of space for our big vegetable garden. I detest flowers since they do absolutely nothing useful except look pretty and require work, but herbs on our farm are my special baby. I love cooking with fresh herbs and I love using them in home remedies. Instead of having them out in the big garden, however, I keep them in containers on the back porch for easier access. Container gardening is extremely flexible and you can plant in anything, old boots, bowls, wire hanging baskets. I’m boring and prefer the traditional clay pots. The key is making sure the root bulb has enough room in the pot. To get you started, here are some creative ideas for pots http://containergardeningtips.com/containers-for-gardening/ .

Some basic kitchen herbs include: basil, oregano, garlic, cilantro, parsley, rosemary, and sage,. If you want to give it a little flash and flair and home remedy action, also try bee balm, borage, mint, lavender, lemon balm, and penny royal. Over the next few days, I’ll focus on each herb in turn, along with some poetry stuff.

Speaking of poetry, anybody have any fav poets or poetic movements they’d like to mention or see covered? I just discovered poet Robert Service http://www.robertwservice.com/ and here is his ode to kilts.

A Song For Kilts

By: Robert Service

How grand the human race would be

If every man would wear a kilt,

A flirt of Tartan finery,

Instead of trousers, custom built!

Nay, do not think I speak to joke:

(You know I'm not that kind of man),

I am convinced that all men folk.

Should wear the costume of a Clan.

Imagine how it's braw and clean

As in the wind it flutters free;

And so conducive to hygiene

In its sublime simplicity.

No fool fly-buttons to adjust,--

Wi' shanks and maybe buttocks bare;

Oh chiels, just take my word on trust,

A bonny kilt's the only wear.

'Twill save a lot of siller too,

(And here a canny Scotsman speaks),

For one good kilt will wear you through

A half-a-dozen pairs of breeks.

And how it's healthy in the breeze!

And how it swings with saucy tilt!

How lassies love athletic knees

Below the waggle of a kilt!

True, I just wear one in my mind,

Since sent to school by Celtic aunts,

When girls would flip it up behind,

Until I begged for lowland pants.

But now none dare do that to me,

And so I sing with lyric lilt,--

How happier the world would be

If every male would wear a kilt!