Como fazer Pão, Iogurte, Leite de soja e Tofu em casa

Olá!
Este é um post à parte das coisinhas verdes, um pouco mais artesanal.

Esta semana decidi expressar a minha criatividade e além do iogurte natural, cuja receita vos presenteei num dos últimos posts, fiz também pela primeira vez o meu pão e leite de soja.

Ora, fazer pão caseiro é algo do outro mundo.
É algo intrinsicamente humano e da nossa civilização.
É um prazer pessoal e uma delícia provar um pão acabado de cozer. E deixa um incrível aroma a padaria no ar!
Inspirei-me num documentário que passou há uns meses na RTP2 que se chamava, creio, o pão das nossas gentes e mostrava como, quer os portugueses, quer outras culturas como o indianos,árabes, palestinos, africanos ou orientais, faziam o seu pão.

Basta comprar um pouco de fermento de padeiro vivo, e misturar 20g deste com três colheres de sopa de farinha de trigo integral e deixar num recipiente coberto por uma pano durante 1h, com um pouco de água ligeiramente quente (esta é a fase da activação do fermento que é vivo). No final a farinha deverá ter "crescido".
Depois, mistura-se 500g de farinha ao fermento e mistura-se bem com água quente, amassando e amassando até obter uma massa que não cole. Deixar coberta por um pano 1 a 4 horas.
De seguida, moldar as formas dos pães, deixar novamente coberto por um pano uns vinte minutos para crescer de novo e agora é só cozer durante uns 35min a 200ºC. Provar o pão quentinho, com manteiga, é uma delícia!

O leite de soja ainda mais fácil é de se fazer.
E poupa-se imenso dinheiro.
Basta demolhar durante a noite 120g de feijões de soja biológica, e depois triturar em um litro de água. Coar e ferver durante 20min, coar de novo e deixar arrefecer. O leite de soja mantém-se no frigorífico durante 3 dias. O coado antes da fervura chama-se okara e presumivelmente serve para engrossar bolos e sopas e é uma excelente fonte de fibra. O tofu obtém-se deixando o leite de soja coagular durante 20min com cloreto de magnésio ou nigari.

No fim de semana, colocarei aqui fotografias.

Quinoa, Perenial tomatoes and Delicious dishes

Olá a todos! Hi All!

Its almost winter season and we still mantain our tomatoes blooming, although very slowly and spending the nights indoors and days outdoors. Today we bring you photos of some interesting herbs we use for medicine purposes, a faboulous ornamental eggplant, and even quinoa growing!
É quase Inverno e no entanto ainda um tomateiro em flor, se bem que muito lentamente, apanhando sol durante o dia, e protegido dentro de casa durante a noite. Hoje trazemos fotos também de algumas ervas medicinais interessantes, a fabulosa beringela ornamental e até quinoa que conseguimos crescer!

Lately there is plenty of lettuce on our balcony, nearly 10 containers of them, tasty nhami! spinach, peas, turnips, two beautiful kohl rabi and some starting celery and florence fennel. Everything with absolutely no chemicals. Solely a plastic covering the icy frost these last days, lol!
Recentemente, temos montes de alface crescendo na nossa varanda, quase 10 vasos e floreiras, deliciosos espinafres, nabos, ervilhas de grão, duas belíssimas couves rábano, e novos rebentos de aipo e funcho da florença. Tudo absolutamente natural, sem qualquer químico. Apenas um plástico que pus a cobrir algumas plantas da geada forte destes ultimos dias.

We have currently ongoing a biodynamic experiment to once for all evaluate the effect of moon cycle on seed sprouting. Very clearly, seeds sprout much better during full moon than moon and some of them (mostly leaf vegetables) during watery moon signs and radish during the passage of moon on earth signs! It's true, I came to watch it!
De momento, estamos também a fazer experiencias muito curiosas biodinamicas! Muito claramente, as sementes de vários vegetais germinam bem melhor aquando da lua cheia do que na lua nova, e os vegetais de folha crescem melhor quando semeados em dias de lua em signo aquoso, e os rabanetes quando semeados em dias de lua em signo terra. Sim, é verdade! Foi isto mesmo que obtive e vi com os meus próprios olhos!
Secondly, we are growing carrots in 80% sand soil, mixed with horsetail (which increases silica contents in soil) to see whether the plants will grow longer roots, as they do in their native very sandy soils.
Por último, estamos também a crescer cenoura em ambiente que se assemelha ao que elas verdadeiramente gostam, em solo arenoso, e misturado com silica que é referido como substância requerida por aquelas para desenvolver raizes maiores!

Perspectiva parcial da varanda
Quinoa!
Equinácea!
Delicioso prato com abóbora, funcho, alho, pimento, alho francês, caril e cerefólio!
Uma beringela ainda em Inverno (sim, sabiam que elas e os tomateiros são perenes, se forem protegidas do frio!)

Hey! Did you know eggplants and tomatoes are not annuals, but perenials that thrive and grow into next year if protected from the cold weather!

Conselhos ecológicos e Como fazer iogurte natural

- Guardar água das chuvas para regar as plantas, com várias bacias grandes que adquiri
- Lavar a louça numa pequena bacia poupa também imensa água
- Encher uma garrafa cheia de água e colocar no autoclismo!
- Fazer Sabão natural (http://consciencia-social.blogspot.com/2006/11/sabo-natural-em-casa.html e http://cantinhoverde.blogspot.com/2007/04/fazer-sabo-natural-make-natural-soap.html)
- Fazer Yogurte natural (aquecer leite a 85ºC, bem quente mas sem ferver; esterilizar uma thermos com água muito quente e depois deixar o leite aquecido a arrefecer lá dentro até cerca dos 45ºC, isto é quente, mas sem queimar ao toque; inocular um meio iogurte comercial natural para meio litro de leite e deixar durante a noite; no dia seguinte terás um delicioso Yogurte natural, quanto melhor o leite, mais cremoso e gostoso! ps: não morri ainda!)

Entretanto encomendei diversos e espantosos livros sobre temas "verde" pela amazon que deverei receber precisamente nas próximas semanas, depois conto as sugestões!

Growing your food in containers - how much for your self-sufficiency?

Suppose you have a 10m wide balcony
You grow your vegetables for your house-needs and ask:
How much is possible for your self-sufficiency?

1) First, our story (after our first year of harvests, a small-scale container experiment) growing food on your balcony
In 2007 we grew:
4 tomato plants (one per container), several containers of lettuce in spring and now in autumn, as well as radish, turnips, endive and rucula; 1 container with two peppers (few ones), 1 of potatoes (only for a week), 2 containers with peas, 2 with chickpeas, 2 with lentils (which were enough for 2 meals each, the usual for a week); only one container with strawberries which gave a very small but tasty crop, 4 brocculi, 2 eggplants which gave very small yields, some leeks and this was my humble first year experience. Some things had plenty of success and nice yields, other not so much but we were also not putting many expectations. This is more of a hobby and a soulful artistic activity for me.


2) Our plans for a realistic 1month self-sufficiency in a balcony (1 year growing) Edible container gardening
Clearly it depends on how much food you use, and on your diet
But we suppose a good uninterreupted harvest of veggies over a entire month, for a good supply (maybe lets say aprox more than half of your food comes from the garden)
I will try a small experience this year.
Grow in my 10x1m balcony vegetables for a month self-sufficiency (indeed the experiment is already running and greens coming to our meals!)
Unfortunely my lovely soul-mate and companion love is living abroad and will only follow this at distance ...
Helder I hope you fell also inspired by this!
And the same applies to many of you dear readers you come here for observing my funny nature-dedicated hobby!

I plan for the following:
6 containers of tomatoes, 2 with eggplants (half-month), 2 containers with peppers, 1 with a courgette and 1 bigger with potatoes, 2-3 containers with peas, 3 with lentils, 2 with broculli or cauliflower, 3 containers with turnips, 4 with lettuce and a few others with other salad greens, 2 with leeks, 2 with dozens of garlics, 2 full of radish, 3 of strawberries, 1 with kohi rabi and maybe adquire a few more berries (i am falling in love with their diversity)

... and maybe i am being overly optimistic!
But I remembered from the book conversations with god this important idea: Serve nature and Life, and you're serving the purpose of your life, and of yourself and all other beings

and this way we also aim at a more natural and soulfull way of living...


3) Lastly:

How many containers to grow for a one year self-sufficiency?
How many plants for true self-sufficiency? (Of course lets assume a continuous sowing and growing for a continuous supply over a year, which in some cases is not very easy, since some plants do not grow in cold weather such as tomatoes, and would need greenhouses. The key is clearly vegetable storage, which will spoken of on another day)


The total of containers for a year in underlined:
Tomatoes (sun facing walls, rich soil): 6 plants for summer epoch, meditteranean climates (and 18 others, for spring, autumn and winter, in greehouse or indoors), 24 in total, 1 plant per container
Eggplant (lots of heat and sun, rich soil): 4 plants for a epoch (16 in a year), 1 plant per container
Peppers (lots of heat and sun, rich soil): 24 containers of two plants, 2 per every month
Courgette (1-2 per big container): 12 big containers for a year?
Potatoes (2-3 plants per big container): 12 big containers for a year?
Fruit trees: not suitable for containers, try berries instead (3 containers with different berrie bushes should supply you with a good crop already)
Strawberries: at least 4 flat containers with some plants, for solely a spring-summer harvest
Garlics: 12 containers, each containing a dozen bulbs, should be enough
Leeks: 24 containers, each with a few plants, should be enough
Peas: 18 containers, sow 3 containers (4plants each) every two months
Lentils: lets assume, could be 6 containers (4plants each) for 2 months, that is a total of 18 for a year
Brocculi: these you can grow 2 plants per container for half month, grow 2 containers for month, 24 in total?
Cauliflower: never tried, but assume also 24 in total
Cabbages: does not grow well in containers, try 24 big containers for a year supply ?
Radish: sow 2 containers full of them every month, 24 in total
Lettuce: sow a dozen plants (4 containers), every month, 48 in total
Turnips: sow 3 containers every month, 36 in total (some for greens, some for bulbs)
Endive: 1 per month, 12 in total
Rucula: 1 per month, 12 in total, and as a note grow also some other very tasty less-known greens
Spinach: 2 per month, or 24 in total or maybe more
Beans, chick peas: not much experience with these; grow in big containers about 2 plants, and assume 5 containers are ok for a month, so some 50-60 containers should be ok!
Carrots: like parsnips (which even require more depth of soil), carrot is hard one for containers, try in deep containers (otherwise you will have only baby carrots, which nevertheless are very tasty), two containers is probably enough for a month, so assume 24 in total
Cereals: we have just harvest one container and gave the seeds to birds, lets assume 5 containers give not more than 2 week supply, 120 containers for a year? (lol)
Rice: ehehe, we tried but with no success!, but assume 50 drown containers and probably more for a year
Herbs (medicinal or aromatic): one container of proper size per each species is more than enough - these are the easiest to grow

Not counting with herbs or cereals, assume nearly 450 containers for your self-sufficiency! This should not disencounrage you, since this is equivalent to the space found on a small yard and is about only about 100 containers per epoch which perfectly fits on my 10m balcony.
Extrapolating, a small yard could in fact easily sustain true self-sufficiency for a person over a year, and possibly for a family, provide that soil was deeply cared and compost added every epoch. A row of 20-30 cereals should provide a supply for a year, but how am I to know about that since I have never attempted.

But as far as Permaculture is regarded, we should try the hardest we can to keep cooperation with nature, a equilibrium in the soil and with wild life and never commit the big mistake of our ancestors of over-explotation of soils and lands!

Love for all, Paulo