Yam Patties

Yam (or Sweet Potato) Patties

serves 3-4 people

Ingredients: 

2 large yams or sweet potatoes - I used yams [from the only potato grower in San Diego county]

Bunch of green onions [from our backyard]

Lemon thyme [note to self: prune a bit more, getting a little woody]

1/3 cup Coconut Milk

Large fresh lemon [from a guy in Ramona who sells rad veggie starter plants from his backyard and gave us a bag of lemons from his tree]

Cheese [Tillamook because they're a co-op of small dairy farmers who take care of their cows]

Olive oil

Sea salt n Pepper

Cooking instructions:

1. Bring water to a boil with some sea salt

2. While you're waiting for the water, rinse your yams and cut the smooshy end bits off, peal the skin off if you prefer but it is very nutritious so I prefer it left on,  and slice into thinnish pieces

3. Throw them in the boiling water for 10-15 minutes, til they get soft enough mash

4. Drain them, then mash with coconut milk and...

5. Cut off the roots of the green onions and the end part of the long green whispy leafers that are limpy.. leave the rest, it's all good. Dice them up small and mix about 2/3 of them into the yam mash

6. Add salt, pepper, lemon thyme, a slice of lemon juice

7. Form into patties, fry in a skillet with a lot of olive oil so they don't stick

8. Flip in about 7-10 minutes and on the new face up side, sprinkle remaining green onions, some lemon zest (use a potato peeler), and cheese

FIN.

Badass Gardening Ideas

Succulent Art [take it to the next level]

step one: Build frames!

step two: soil

step three: cuttings, let callus

step four: create!

remember - don't hang til well rooted

BUILD A TRELLIS

 http://www.ehow.com/how_2224037_build-aframe-trellis.html

Save space by growing up! Squash, melons, cucurbits, peppers, grapes! 

((tepee trellis))

 

Gardening is my favourite thing. When I get a job or my jewelry/art takes off, I'm going to invest in getting all the certifications I need to sell our food to people through CSA membership and farmers markets or stores or even small restaurants. It would be a dream to make a living from farming and art. I would still have so much time to volunteer, set my own hours, take trips, constantly delve deeper into permaculture... I'm going to make this happen.

Off-shore oil drilling... really Obama?!

What is going on with this country? 

 above: Gulf of Mexico oil spill (space view)

In 1896 the first oil rig was put in salt water, off the coast of Santa Barbara, CA. According to the US government, about 1.3 million gallons of oil are spilled into the ocean each year by vessels and oil rigs. Right now there are roughly 210,000 gallons of oil spilling into the Gulf of Mexico daily and it's only been spilling for a little over a week, started April 20th I believe, so that totals about 1.68 million gallons. Math is the shit! But oil spills are not the shit at all! They're actually really shitty. The people trying to fix it are looking for some switch to turn it off or something but can't get to it. Waaay nuts. And this is happening in a place that is incredibly rich in amazing wildlife like sea turtles, brown pelicans, and Arctic peregrine falcon which are all endangered or threatened, soon to be endangered. There are 400 species of endangered plants and animals in the Gulf of Mexico and 31 are off the coast of Louisiana where this is happening, but it will spread all over. Of course there are tons of people out there trying to clean it up, we're in the middle of an oil economy with a new puppet who just opened more coastline to offshore drilling on the eastern coast from Delaware all the way down to Florida, also in northern Alaska in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas. 

above: Walruses chillin in the Chukchi Sea... or trying to.

What a shame. There are so many fragile creatures out there that are struggling so hard for their lives right now with the sea ice receding more and more every year. Walruses! Definitely my next painting. I could so use beans for my little brown walrus. Engage...tomorrow. I've drifted away from my point a little - what in the hell is this president thinking?!? There have always been problems with offshore oil drilling and it's not different now. There is no safe way to do it, no fool proof way whatsoever and when the things blows up or sinks there is no easy way to turn it off. Clearly there are some kinks and this planet shouldn't be a testing ground for crazy human obsessions, especially dangerous ones like fossil fuels.

Solar and wind are fully capable of getting the job done efficiently and far cleaner, it's renewable, the technology is there, it would provide jobs in turn help the local and national economy, local communities, and it's far safer! We have a voice and we need to tell the government what we want. Let's not just think about ourselves, but the future of the human race and especially the planet which has no voice.

TAKE ACTION! Because you care.
Sign a petition: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/6/continue-the-fight-against-offshore-drilling
or 2: http://takeaction.oceana.org/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=45
3...: http://salsa.wiredforchange.com/o/1488/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=1522
Join the facebook group: 1,000,000 Strong Against Offshore Drilling - http://www.facebook.com/dontdrill
Blog about it, tell your friends, write letters, call your representatives, make paintings, write it on walls, take pictures, tattoo it on your face... anything you can think of! And send me pictures. greenearthalive@gmail.com People rule when they come together.



My references:
http://www.healthygulf.org/our-work/species-at-risk/species-at-risk-home
http://abcnews.go.com/WN/Eco/bp-oil-spill-national-significance-obama-administration/story?id=10509844
http://www.livescience.com/environment/oil-spill-faq-100423.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/31/science/earth/31energy.html
brain

Update + PELICANS!??

It's February and we're already back in Tejas visiting family and friends. I love seeing everyone, but I actually can't wait to get back home to San Diego! My art was up in a coffee house for 2 months, Monica's at the Park in University Heights. I didn't sell anything, but it looked great on her bright green walls and getting a little exposure was great!

 And my newest piece, largest to date, and on handmade canvas by me and Harrison:

When we get back I'm going to invest in some wall space at a gallery, probably Distinction in Escondido - I've heard good things about it. My jewelry is also up for sale at a small art supply store in Normal Heights! Only sold 2 pairs to date, but hey it's a start. They look great on his painting covered wall with the little sign I made for them. "Dino'z... For Conscious Earz". Aside from that, we have a beautiful garden in the backyard of our humble abode. When we first moved in it was absolutely horrendous looking, but we're nearly finished with it and it's wonderful! The back slope is covered in groundcovering, flowers, and my newest addiction - succulents! It's so amazing how succulents can be clipped, callosed, and then grow new roots and reproduce like bunnies... We also have a wonderful veggie garden featuring: tomato plant, strawberries, broccoli, cauliflower, onions, green onions, and lettuce. MmMmMm farm fresh goods from my own backyard!

In other news: About a month ago we were riding our bikes to Carlsbad for our weekly helping of Farmers Market vegetables and scrumptious Greek food. On the way there, cars were stopping up and down the 101 due to a California Brown Pelican walking around the highway! The poor thing couldn't fly very well and kept crash landing in the street. We ran it over to the side of the road and saved it from the life-threatening vehicles. I called Wildlife Assist to no avail and eventually a lady stopped who wanted to help. She set off for a dog kennel to put the large bird into, Harrison went home to get his car, and I was left to watch the bird. After many failed attempts, it finally picked up flight and crash landed smack dab in the middle of the road again. After getting it into a median for temporary safety, a man stopped and told me he talked to the lady with Wildlife Assist and would be taking the pelican to the Oceanside Harbor until she could pick him up to be cared for. Long story short, the bird was picked up that night, given some antibiotics and care, then released back to the wild. YAY!!! The good citizen who helped me catch and transport the pelican said that he had rescued 6 in just the past week, so I did some research and found that this problem is very widespread along the California coastline. Hundreds of Brown Pelicans have been found starving and malnourished in parking lots, on highways, and in backyards from San Francisco to San Diego and the situation is perplexing scientists. Many of the birds are waterlogged because the feathers that keep them dry have become contaminated, more than likely due to the heavily polluted runoff making it's way from cities to oceans. These awesome birds have been on the endangered species list for 40 years and were just taken off last November.

Pelican stories:
http://www.cbs8.com/Global/story.asp?S=11978452
http://yubanet.com/california/DFG-Investigating-Cause-of-Brown-Pelican-Deaths.php
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/02/16/MNDO1C0VAC.DTL

A trip across the country entailed...

more to come...