Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Natural Beauty

Do you ever feel like you aren't the person you want to be?  I've spent much of my life being insecure about who I am, what my style is or isn't, what image I portray, what I spend my free time doing, etc...  I can think of very few but specific times in my life when I haven't had this problem and I remember how good it felt, how confident I was.
I suppose we all change and we are not always what we appear to be.  This is evident in the people we immediately envy based on their outward appearance and then later realize they are severely lacking in what we imagined was substance.
What I sometimes catch myself forgetting, is that the outside is only one layer and a superficial one at that.  Life's beauty is far deeper and it is naturally occurring.  The times when I have been most confident in my life may have been colored by a nice pair of hiking sandals, a great hair cut, a new kitchen accessory :).  But it's base is grounded in the people I've surrounded myself with, the projects I've been working on, and the hobbies I've let myself indulge in.  To hold onto those things, to remain grounded and fulfilled in life is a great achievement.  Not only do I need to strive to reach this in myself, but I also need to strive to find a community filled with people who are grounded in such a wealth of natural beauty and light and passion for life.  Step by step.  Day by day.  Life is a process and we all must immerse ourselves in making that process more beautiful and more meaningful.

Thursday, July 19, 2012

Color

Rainbow Chard

Chard Bath :)


Dill

Purple AND Green beans

Learning to drive a tractor out at UK's horticulture farm during my Sustainable Agriculture apprenticeship.

Monday, July 2, 2012

Trying my hand at canning


There's something so wonderful about the summer and the bringing forth of fresh fruits and veggies.  Especially when you have helped grow them or at the very least know where they came from.  This summer I am apprenticing on the University of Kentucky's horticulture farm, specifically to work with the organic area that offers a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) to students and employees.  Though there are days when this experience is tiresome and the hundred degree weather makes me want to hide in the walk-in cooler, the knowledge that I am gaining and the organic produce that I am bringing home keep a smile on my face.
Growing up, my family always had a garden in the summer and it was a kid's worst nightmare when the time came for green bean harvesting and canning.  Now that I am older and farther away from my family than I would like, canning is one of the many skills that I regret not learning from my mother.  Fortunately for me, she is just a phone call away when I need to pick her brain.
This is the first summer that I have canned anything by myself beyond the pickles I made last summer.  It's a daunted, but intriguing task that I so want to master and with plenty of vegetables in excess around the farm I have helped myself and jumped in feet first.  Last week I made salsa and if my husband isn't just trying to earn brownie points, than it is pretty darn good.  This week I am trying tomato sauce and I must say it is also quite tasty.  I just didn't realize how many tomatoes it really takes to make just a few jars worth.  
Without writing anymore, I will leave you with the note that so far my recipes are all adaptions from Ball Canning's website: freshpreserving.com.  Check it out and enjoy!



Chopping up the veggies



Cooking down the sauce