Point of Interest!: It's not okay to plagiarize my work...

Point of Interest!: It's not okay to plagiarize my work...: It has come to my attention that a woman named Marlene Daniels of Soapconscious has been copying and pasting my writing from this blog a...

From the Cenizo Journal. Written by little old me. The free West Texas arts quarterly. Available online at cenizojournal.com

A Toast to the Fabulous Agave'

There is little so wonderfully refreshing as a salt rimed margarita at the end of a hot desert day. Native to the Chihuahua desert, the agave plant, sometimes called the century plant, is the mother of tequila and has been used in a multitude of ways for thousands of years. In Jalisco, Mexico, the agave is grown like a crop in row after row of the large spiky plants. The waste material of the blue agave plant, the only one allowed to be used in the production of tequila, is re-used to create a paper.

One of the latest uses of interest to Cenizo Journal readers would be as a source of bio fuel. Because of how quickly it grows, the flowering head grows up to a foot a day, the agave is being investigated for use as a bio fuel. It's use could help solve the food vs. fuel debate regarding corn as a bio fuel.

Because the fresh sap of the plant causes contact dermatitis (itching and swelling of the skin) and the heart is poisonous if eaten raw, boiling or roasting the plant is necessary before using it. Agave has been used in the Southwest for more then 4000 years, the pointed ends of leaves were traditionally used as a sewing needle or leather awl. The fiber of the leaves is fashioned into rope much as the yucca plant is used. The cleaned fibers can be made into cloth. The heart of the plant, much like a giant artichoke, can be cut out, roasted and eaten. It has a rich, mild flavor. Cooking is essential!! This is the point at which I ask “who figured out this bit?”

As a precursor to tequila it was fermented into a beer like drink. The fermented liquid is then distilled into tequila.

A boiled preparation of the juice or sap, of the fine agave plant is antibacterial, antibiotic, fungicidal and antiviral.

Many people have heard of or use the processed nectar of the agave plant as a sweetener, it is thought of as having a low glycemic index. Short of pure liquid fructose, processed agave syrup has the single highest amount of fructose possible. The low index is on the unprocessed, raw nectar. So skip thinking that agave syrup/nectar is a great alternative to table sugar and learn the other ways that this fabulous plants can be and has been used.

Maybe on this trip to West Texas you can produce your own walking stick from the stalk of the agave. In the evening when the sun is going down use your margarita to toast a wonderful gift from nature.

World Wide Fire Cider day and little something about me needing to blog more.

I know, I've been gone for, like ever. But here is the thing, well a couple of things. Although I like writing and communicating about my life, plants, seasons, politics, those things take up time. DUDE. A ton of time. I realized something, I have to plan when to write here or it never gets done. Something you all probably knew already. Planning is the way to go.

So what have I been working on? World Wide Fire Cider Day. It's tomorrow!
I'll give you a shot synopsis of why. Back in the day (1970's) Rosemary Gladstar coined the term Fire Cider in her books, classes and teaching. She used a recipe that has been around for generations and many, many families have similar recipes with little details slightly different according to their likes and region.

This recipes went along, used by many, many, people. It got changed and added to according to peoples likes and dislikes but generally stayed the same. You may have heard this called a Master Tonic, too.

Now some business has trademarked the name Fire Cider. And wow! has there been an uproar! I know! Why would they do that? I don't know either, Fire Cider has always been a traditional remedy and has been handed down from mother to daughter, herbalist to apprentice, neighbor to neighbor. Every European Gramma I know has a recipe for Fire Cider.

So, if you would, please sign this petition asking the company to remove the trademark I would really appreciate it. http://chn.ge/1a4hzXW

There is also a facebook group with a wealth of information (none of it trademarked.) http://on.fb.me/1dUuXc3

working away in the apothecary and volunteering

in the produce section of my local co-op. i love the place, it's like berkeley bowl when i was a kid. which lemme tell you i loved so very much, so much in fact i turned my self orange with fresh carrot juice. yes, really. bright bright carrot orange. in the apothecary i am working away on loverly syrups. honey, maple syrup, and agave syrups infused with wonderful herbs. i even have a molasses with yellow dock. one of my favorite things is all the different jars lined up on the counter, it is so beautiful.

winter is coming. i can feel it.

i know this is a little different but it works for me, i do a major cleaning in the fall. most people (i am told) do a spring cleaning. i however, prefer to do the get rid of all the extra collected stuff in the fall. it seems like the perfect time. because fall is my favorite time of year and it feels like prepping for the cave bear style hide out we do in the winter (you already know this if you live in the northern hemisphere). fall cleaning seems to even out the amount of harvesting, still room work, and apothecary making i do this time of year. as if to create all those wonderful winter necessities i need to get rid of the extra.
 

working (not quite) feverishly on my website

which is really of no interest to anyone but me until it is done. but it does bring up some thoughts, people in my world are incredibly busy this time of year. getting the last of the harvest in, creating items for the big seasonal purchasing season, re-making websites and so on. i worked on my labels for ever and they are finally done. donedonedone. and it feels so very good. you know that project that you should have done eons ago but just couldn't sit down and do it? yeah, that was it. so those are them. obviously each one is a little different, the name and ingredients vary. i am super duper proud of these. yay me!

brand spanking new

this is it. a place for me. thank you universe for by creating a situation in which i needed to create an entirely new blog. (i guess you can just walk away and not be able to find stuff on the internet again.)