Sustainable SW Blogs

If you think believing in God is a stretch, try wrapping your head around the fact that we are but a tiny speck in an expanding universe that is 13.8 billion years old and the observable parts of it are 46 billion light years away.  The good news is accepting Christ is all you have to do to know God is real...a lot easier than accepting the size and age of where He placed us...

A NOTE ON THE BOKASHI COMPOSTING CLASS“The Bokashi composting class on June 10th was great. Taught us a different way to compost using fermentation and anaerobic composting method instead of the traditional aerobic composting that I have done. Going to definitely try this.”
Giant Veggie Gardener/The Tomato Lady of Santa Fe

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Now for the next Home Grown New Mexico class! Still room to sign up

Sunday, June 24th—
12 noon to 2 pm

Hot Sauces and Cold Relishes
In this workshop, you will learn how to make a fermented hot sauce from dried chiles and a spicy fermented relish (or chutney). We’ll also make pickled vegetables and discuss when (and when not) to use vinegar and/or refrigeration.

Fermentation is easy, but requires patience – a declining virtue in today’s “fast-food culture”. Many foods can be fermented, including condiments. Historians tell us that Confucius “would not eat food without its proper jiang (fermented condiment)”. Sriracha is now the #1 condiment in the U.S., replacing ketchup! A few years ago, that would have been unthinkable, but changing demographics and new research on the healthy biome has contributed to the rediscovery of ancestral practices of food preparation and preservation. For many, a little heat simply just tastes good!

Long before refrigeration and canning were invented, people preserved foods by salting and fermenting them. Salt inhibits the yeasts that break down sugars into alcohol, and creates an environment that allows lactobacilli to digest starches and make lactic acid. This lactic acid acts as a preservative and provides many other health benefits.

Please join us for a fun session of chopping and stuffing veggies, and tasting the results. Fermentation isn’t just about sauerkraut – there’s a whole world of veggies and fruits out there waiting for your discovery!

Instructor: Teri Buhl
Location: 2520-B Camino Entrada (Santa Fe Area HomeBuilders Association-next to Habitat ReStore on south side) • Santa Fe
Fee: FREE for members/$10 non-member

Please sign up through Eventbrite:

Well...I fully expected to be hunkered down inside all day with the predicted rainstorm - but that didn't happen (yet).  Had nothing planned so I came up with a long overdue chore to attend to.  Dragged my beast of a mattress outside to clean (hydrogen peroxide, water, baking soda, dish soap) and air out for the day.  It is quite a chore to move it as it is rather bulky and takes up a quarter of my living space inside the hut.  It also gave me the opportunity to repair some wiring that was hidden beneath it - my kitchen light hasn't worked for over a year.  88,100,76,0,B

Another busy day...got a tire done this morning at Terlingua Auto, baked super cookies all afternoon, and prepped a batch of hard white wheat bread dough to bake tomorrow.  I had a non-repairable flat last weekend on an almost brand new Hankook Dynapro tire I bought from Discount Tire Direct.  (And please don't bother to tell me about your super tires - I already know about them.)  When I bought a couple of these for my truck in April, I paid $16 extra for a Certificate for Refund or Replacement for each tire - good for 3 years no matter how many miles you put on them. A 5 minute phone call last Saturday and my free replacement with free shipping arrived on Wednesday.  A very good deal and painless customer service.  91,97,73,0,B   

Put another 400 watts of solar into service today (1,200 total now for my main system).  Figuring out how much solar one needs is always a bit tricky - especially when using items that require AC voltage from an inverter. The good thing is, solar can be modular and you can keep adding panels until you have enough to feed your electronic comforts - and multiple charge controllers can feed the same bank of batteries.  These three sets go to three different charge controllers all hooked up to one battery bank.   My 5,000 Btu air conditioner is rated at 115 VAC and 4.6 AC amps. Using this online converter I figured out my air conditioner is pulling almost 50 DC amps out of my solar system.  With the latest addition, I am now pumping in about 66 DC amps during peak hours which keeps me ahead in the energy game when I require extra cooling in the hut.  The really good news is that we have cooler temperatures and some good chances of rain headed this way for a week starting Saturday.  Now it's time for storm prep.  92,99,73,0,B  

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So social media is flooded with "suicide awareness" this week. FYI - almost 100 regular people kill themselves every day in the US - but a couple of celebrities off themselves and suddenly everyone is all about suicide awareness?  I think Matt Walsh hit the nail on the head here.  This quote from Anthony Bourdain that has been making the rounds on Facebook sends a very dangerous message straight from Satan.  With a life philosophy like that, it's not surprising that Bourdain chose to end the ride....  1 Corinthians 6 Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.
Romans 12: Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

This is Notchi (notch in his ear). When it is really hot out, he spends most of the day under the ramp to my porch. He and George are the only two bunnies here (out of about 60) that I recognize well enough to name.  Video coming Monday... 92,99,77,0,B

The solar oven repair is taking a lot longer than anticipated...but almost done.  94,103,78,0,B

Quick Alpine run for oven parts.  Got some flour shakers in the mail today from my friend David Johnson.  I see more baking in my future.  90,105,75,0,C

Still time to sign up for this fantastic class using fermentation method from Japan for making compost. Totally different than traditional composting or vermi-composting. Gardeners should come and check this one out. Very easy method. Sign up below.

Sunday, June 10th—
12 noon to 2 pm

Bokashi Composting Method-Scraps to Soil in Weeks!
Have kitchen waste? Don’t like to turn piles? Want to make great soil? Then the Bokashi system of fermenting your kitchen waste might be for you. Utilizing a select set of micro-organisms, your waste is turned into a potent pre-compost which, when added to your soil, is rapidly converted to rich soil, ready to plant in a few weeks. What’s in your bucket?

Instructor: Kathy Morse
Location: 2520-B Camino Entrada (Santa Fe Area HomeBuilders Association-next to Habitat ReStore on south side) • Santa Fe
Fee: FREE for members/$10 for non-member

Please sign up through Eventbrite:

Been doing a lot of baking with the solar oven this year so I thought I would freshen up the outside with a new skin.  Discovered the excessive heat has taken quite a toll on the insides - even through a layer of sheet metal (this charred piece was the bottom of the oven).  As bad as it was, the good news is the flash point of wood is 572° so it's doubtful the oven would have ever gone up in flames (although that would certainly make for a good video).  Getting parts and extra insulation tomorrow so I can start baking again by the weekend.   Just ordered aluminum plate and ceramic insulation for the smaller solar ovens I will be selling soon.  100,108,71,0,B  

So the lost donkey story had a happy ending today.  He just got picked up and transported to his new home.   A group of folks are starting a rescue operation for local livestock that gets cast aside or left to die (which happens a lot out here).  Proverbs 12:10 A righteous man regardeth the life of his beast: but the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel.  

A few more days before the lost donkey goes to his new home.   He is still welcome here, for now.  I need a video for my monday matinee.
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