Healing aloe

My latest experiment in healthful smoothies, liquados as they are known here, is the inclusion of fresh aloe. It is delicious and very good for you. Aloe is well known for healing skin or epidermis, the lining of the stomach and the intestines has the same properties and for this reason aloe delivers great curative powers to the stomach. The important ingredient is the preparation of the aloe “filet”. After experimenting with a few methods this works best for me, take a lovely large and juicy leaf and clean and dry it. (Be prepared to get your hands all gooey, but the amazing thing is if you rub it in like a lotion it disappears and you get lovely soft hands. ) You'll need a sharp peeler, a sharp knife and a soup spoon. First of all the cautionary notes: at the base the leaf exudes a bitter yellow to bronze juice, DO NOT USE THIS! This bitter juice will cause severe diarrhea. What you want is the clear jelly inside. I like to have all my other fruit ready in the blender and add the aloe last.

A few pieces of pineapple, some papaya and fresh water is all that is needed. Additions such as other fruit or yogurt are also tasty. The curative effects come from the aloe, papaya and pineapple. The Pineapple and papaya both contain valuable enzymes that aid in digestion. Blend your fruit and if you like throw in a couple of ice cubes. The frothy mixture is a delight to the mouth and taste buds and your insides will thank you.

Home for lunch, best smoothie so far... fresh coconut, papaya, pineapple, yogurt and a splash of water, nice and refreshing and love those helper enzymes from papaya. An early morning trip to the "bomberos" market yielded some necklaces for Amelia and got the abuelas all excited to bring more next week. I finally figured out how to look interested in something else while I am checking out what I really want. Duh you say, that seems so obvious, I just don't have the acting ability!

I also found some very simple and light sandals at the sunday market and have been wearing them just about full time. They cost about $4.65 a pair with good solid rubber soles.

In these days the weather is dry and sunny and then there are sets of 3 or 4 days with lots of wind, the ritual for the shop keepers is to sprinkle water all around their stalls and on the busy street to keep the dust down. It really helps. This shot is overexposed, the sun is so bright but up on the left is a man sprinkling water all around.

At the dock the other day a man was selling macadamia nuts, not cheap (relative) he says he buys them for about 70Q per pound a little less than $10.00 but they are so amazing fresh from the shell, he carries a hammer with him to release the nuts. That and a few tortillas made lunch. That day I only had boat fare so could only buy a small handful of nuts. If you think I'm obsessed with food here, I AM. So many amazing fresh things, so challenging to clean, the ongoing battle. Off to the lake, that's all for now.

Sunset tonight a tapestry of grey, black and gold. Usually there is more pink in there. I feel the same way. A day of emotions, the phenomenon of NGO's (non governmental organizations) in 3rd world countries can be trying at times.

In the boat ride to Santa Cruz I overhear some exhuberant, dewey (white american) young men talking about their church and projects here. Don't get me going, isn't this how the troubles began here back in the days of the spanish conquistadors?! At any rate the question remains, such a beautiful country and so much need but how to help by teaching people to help themselves.

Here is my friend Jiff in the new kitchen at Cecap in Santa Cruz. The kids are having fun baking cookies, notice the rapt attention, but after they bake they go over the recipes and talk about what it cost to make the cookies and what they might sell for or what someone might buy one for. This includes time to go by boat to town, gas to bake, not even mentioning the existence of an oven which is a rarity. Most cooking is done on wood fired stove tops. The fact that the school is there to begin with is something short of a miracle and much work by the Amigos de Santa Cruz take a minute to read about this group.

Looking down from the windows of the school one sees incredible beauty and great poverty, the song of life here. These are two views from the same window. When I am walking up the switch back road to the village there is a characteristic smell in the air, wood smoke from cooking fires, dry soil and a slight pitchy dry scent from the grasses that grow alongside the road. I'm not going to mention the other less enticing odors this time!

My friend Francisco and his family live farther up the hill. He has just finished hauling about 300 of the 600 cement blocks, 40 bags of cement, much sand, rebar and wood to add on to his house. The original adobe house has one main room where he, his wife and their 5 sons live. The last several hundred yards of the delivery process is on your back which is actually and improvement from a few years ago when the small pick up truck could only get to the town center with materials! The industry and perseverance is admirable.

Soaking in the sweet Guatemalan breezes, outside the window a jasmine perfumes the air. I have a few projects brewing, enfleurage for my collection. By placing a small amount of an unscented light olive oil, soak fresh flowers in the oil, replacing the flowers each day until you are happy with the scent. Last year my jasmin kept it's fragrance all year. Soaking from left to right is alyssum, jasmin, gardenia& honeysuckle.


Last night I decided I needed a touch of home and made some potato latkes much to the surprise of my local family. We ate them inside corn tortillas which was really quite delicious. (Yay for the double carbs.) I was unable to find applesauce in the market and too lazy to make my own. But they were still yummy. I was worried they'd be soggy with the potatoes here but after a brief soak and wringing out in a towel they latkes were deliciously crispy.

Today the plan for a morning swim was altered by strong wind and waves, maybe it will settle down a bit for an afternoon visit. I'm trying to rest and recover after all the work getting the new greenhouses ready for spring production before I left. I'll be hunting around for some odd seeds to trial as I do every year.

Now my idea with the blog is to keep it light and simple so I don't stress about the content and just get some words and images out there for you to enjoy. I would love to get feedback or suggestions if you want me to look at any particulars.

Today in the garden Miguel found this snake and gave him his due, the poisonous snakes have taken over a bit since he was in the states working but he's been out there every day since we arrived trying to get things back under control. Anybody know the identification of this particular snake?

Walking to town the other day I followed a local abuelo in his traje (the customary clothing). I never want to invade people and sneak shots from behind. I hope to include a study of the lovely color combinations that the women put together for their daily dress. Well and I had to put in this photo because it just cracked me up. Barbie goes to Panajachel!

So, long time no posting. There has been a lot going on. Today will be the short version. I have moved my business to a new location. New and Improved! We are in the construction/restoration phase at the moment but will be planting crops in February 2012. We will be at 192 Breakfast Hill Road in Greenland New Hampshire. I am restoring the greenhouses at the Garden of Eves. It is going really well thanks to the huge amount of support and help from my friends and colleagues, I am forever grateful.

2011 Catalog is now ready

What a lotta snow we've been getting. Last week we had to shovel and scoop off the snow on the hoop houses to keep them from collapsing! That was fun! This weekend I had to shovel off roofs at my home to keep the water out, more fun. I almost launched myself off the roof into a snow bank, at least I hope it would have eased the landing.

The catalog is out, but it is only in pdf form (no paper copies) so if you are reading this and would like a copy send me a note. I am trying to save paper and mailing costs to offset the cost of transitioning into a biodegradable planting pot. It is made of coconut coir fiber. We are excited about it but do see some issues with the soil filling. It's always something. It will be great for the plants because there is no transplant shock/root damage and when they are planted they will be very happy, and then at the end of the season the compost pile will be happy too.

Here is a closeup of the nice root growth. Another exciting thing is that these pots do not wick like the old peat pots AND they don't turn into a slimy mess that you don't want to touch! I'm off to batten the hatches against this lovely temperature drop. More later.....

(other) Home again

Returning to the cold, dark north is particularly painful, leaving the warmth of my friends, family and gardens in Guatemala, where going out is as easy as slipping on sandals and skipping down the stairs. I return to my family and friends here and this home is lovely, showing all the love and hard work that went into creating it and in June with the sun shining in it IS the best place in the world. This morning brings the second N'or easter to the coast, and the first I've seen this year. Yes it is lovely, snow falling to almost white out, the bees are huddled in their protective ball protecting the Queen. I am huddled in my home praying the electricity stays on for the greenhouse! Yes, the generators are at the ready.

Life in Guatemala is an amazing blend of contrasts, running the gamut of deliciousness to horrific. I live an insulated life thanks to all the protections and services here. A particular incident comes to mind, taking a good friend to a clinic for an ultrasound revealed the daily frustration of the third world indigenous person. First, there are no appointments, you show up when the place opens and hope to get your name on the list early. Second, if there is an emergency, every one gets bumped forward for however long it takes. Third, you are told it is alright to leave and come back in 1 or 2 hours but then when you come back mysteriously your name is now farther down the list. Fourth, you may wait all day and then be told it is closing time and you still haven't been seen and please to come back tomorrow and start the whole process over again. Did I also mention, if you happen to be an indigenous person, you will be treated like you are not human and have no mental capacity?


Walking out on the street I see carefully laid stone paving, palm trees, Justicia, banana trees, trumpet vines, bouganvillea, but !watch out!, while you were looking up you almost stepped in excrement. The powerful volcanoes loom over the lake of indescribable beauty, but that lake is being polluted 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Why? Because some town official and all of his lackeys feel it is more important to pad their pockets than to take the designated money to build the sewage treatment plant to protect this environmental wonder. Sigh.

My friend Murray likes to say that his home is in the first world and when we go out on the street it is back to the third world. A simple trip to get food can be a mind bending flashback if you go to the open air market, or you can go to the local "dispensa" a mini version of an american super market. It is true, returning exhausted from the 2 hour event that is sunday shopping, the relief of turning down our little street and seeing and smelling the fresh plants and blooming flowers soothes the soul.