Aunty is a new senior citizen and loving this phase of her life. Less responsibilities, less fear of being weird, able to do more of the things that I want to do! Older, yes, slower, yes, but life is even more wonderful in my golden years and I look forward to even goldener ones.
I am a take out queen. It is a terrible admission but that is who and what I am. I KNOW I should be cooking healthy dishes and I do thoroughly enjoy a good home cooked meal (mahalo Wandaful!) but all those preparation logistics such as rinsing and starting the rice pot and defrosting frozen meats make me dizzy. And so, I do take out and fast food.
This month, I downloaded the Zipster app. This is a new app by Zippy’s Restaurants to replace the old one. I had paid my $20 annual dues to be in the Senior discount club saving me 10% on my purchases there but that program was going to be discontinued SO they offered me a refund check of $20 or a credit of $100 if I joined the Zipster app. Of course I opted for the $100 and followed the instructions on their fun “how to” video. So now I have $100 in food credit! My first purchase with the app with be a glazed donut. I love Zippy’s glazed donuts. After any first purchase by September 30, I earn a Zip Pack meal – woohoo, such a deal!
The next app I downloaded was the McDonald’s app. Why? Because I made a bet with a friend and lost. The bet was for lunch and he wanted a Big Mac meal. I hadn’t eaten at McDonalds for decades – other than getting their 99¢ large Coca Cola in drive through. I took a bite of my Big Mac. Surprise! It was delicious! Juicy, with dill pickles and shredded lettuce on a soft bun. Probably totally unhealthy but REALLY tasty and satisfying. (Good for the soul but not for the body.)
So he heard from pal Cookie about the deals on the app. Buy one Big Mac, get one free – and our mutual friend downloaded the app and we kept making Big Mac bets, happily winning or losing, going through the drive through windows and getting 2 Big Macs and our 99¢ Coca Colas. Easy to do – order through the deal through the app and tell the drive through teller the 4 digit code that pops up. We order our sodas after we supply the app codes. Only one deal can be done at a time (so we didn’t order french fries.)
But today, my daughter said the deal is a Big Mac and fries for $4.01. Ayeeyah! So I downloaded the McDonald’s app (very fast) and sure enough – that was the deal today. A thank you for signing up deal is a free large fries expiring on August 31, which I will use in the coming weeks. Yum yum yum.
I will soon be old enough to collect the maximum amount of Social Security benefits. Seven decades old.
I walk past windows and if there is a mirror, I sometimes see a senior citizen dressed rather nicely and then I realize that it is me in the reflection. Ouch! Am I THAT old woman?
Yep, I am. And I am growing up and learning to accept it and embrace it. Getting older is quite wonderful. The hidden “rules” of youth such as not farting in public are relaxed and we learn to chuckle at those gastric escapes when they occur.
And old songs that we forgot come into our ear space with the wonders of the internet, such as this oldie by The Seekers that brings back penguin feelings that Uncle and I shared, “I’ll Never Find Another You.”
I found this Tik Tok video and it took me a few tries because they make it look easier than it is – but I love it! (More KNF posts soon to come. Aunty is taking a little break of busyness.)
WARNING: the music in the video is really LOUD. I don’t know how to mute it…
This is the hardest formula to make because it has many steps, uses many bottles, and takes a long time to complete. This is also one of the most important formulas and is used in many of the solutions such as IMO3, Plant Maintenance Spray, Seed Soak Solution, etc. This is medicine for soil, plants, animals and people. It aids in digestion and metabolization, creating environments for pathogenic reduction. It prevents disease and improves beneficial microbes – for our garden as well as for us humans.
Here is a video done by Chris Trump that demonstrates the beginning of the process using dried angelica, licorice, cinnamon, ginger, and garlic:
This might be fun for some people to do but it was just too much work for me. Stirring, adding, subtracting, and storing separately until the end would not be fun at all for this aunty.
So, what did I do? I checked out Chris Trump’s shop (best deal at 32 oz for $64.95) but haven’t been able to get any because it has been out of stock for weeks now. So I shopped on Etsy and found a couple of sellers that sold OHN in 8 oz bottles for quite a bit more BUT I had to have OHN to continue on in my solution and IMO making processes, so I bit the bullet and ordered it. I am hoping to be able to buy some locally – there are some avid KNF people on the Big Island that could be a resource for me, but for now, I have enough to last because OHN is used at a 1:1000 ratio in the plant formulas which works out to 2 ml per half gallon of water or 4 ml per gallon. 4ml is a little less than a teaspoon.
In addition to using it for my soil and plants, I put some in a small tincture bottle and add one drop to our old dog’s water every day. I also put a drop in water and drink it myself when I remember.
If any of you do decide to make this and have a lot of extra, please let me know and I’ll be your customer!
This is another easy recipe of the Korean Natural Farming formulas. Use vibrant “good” plant stock, i.e. herbal plants that supply good health benefits, or plants that thrive with vigorous plant tops. Some examples are comfrey, purslane (portulaca), watercress, sweet potato leaves, emerging mango leaves (unless allergic to mango), moringa, parsley, etc. Plants that grow in your region work best for your garden.
Pal Cleta came for a visit and saw a weed in my lawn and pointed out that it was a Hawaiian herb called uhaloa that was very good for respiratory problems – and the remedy was to pick 9 leaves and steep as a tea. Who would know that? And another friend had pointed out another weed that is called pakai, a prickly amaranth that is good for stomach disorders, cholesterol, inflammation, skin disorders. These and so many other plants are great candidates for FPJ. I now have a new appreciation for the my weeds.
Drake of KNFsupport.org considers these FPJ formulas as food/medicine not just for plants, but also for humans. He will dilute some in water and drink it. The beauty of KNF is that all these formulas are not just good for plants and soil – they are also good for us.
How to make FPJ
Wake up early – just before the sun rises – and clip the tips of the vigorous growing plant. Do not wash off dirt if present. Only gather one type of plant, i.e. purslane only. Layer in a jar with a wide mouth so you can add brown sugar to cover. Massage the plant material and brown sugar until the leaves begin to wilt. Pack tightly, cover with a permeable lid (paper towel and rubber band), and keep in cool dark place for a few days.
After awhile, the leaves and stems float to the top and a syrupy liquid forms on the bottom. Remove the plant material and strain the liquid into a clean bottle. Do not squeeze the leftover plant material to extract every bit possible. Discard the leaves and stems. Label, seal bottle with a permeable lid, and store in a cool dark place for up to a year.
How to use FPJ
Unlike LAB, this is not used as a stand alone product for plants or soil, but it is part of solutions such as Seed Soak or Plant Maintenance solutions. However, the College of Tropical Agriculture at the University of Hawaii has an info sheet on it, and they use it in a 1:500 or 1:800 dilution (1 or 1 1/2 tsp per gallon of water) as a soil drench or spray. It is best to use each plant’s “juice” on itself, i.e. tomato FPJ on tomato plants. Various different FPJs can be combined while diluting. Have fun making this and watching your plants thrive!
fresh greens, brown sugar
after chopping, add sugar and massage
put wilted greens in a jar
cover jar with paper towel and secure. make sure to identify plant
after 10 days (a little long but okay)
yucky mold on top, but we only keep the liquid on the bottom
strain but do not sqeeze
store in a bottle with name, date, and permeable paper towel lid
Here is a really good video of Alika Atay showing how he makes FPJ from purslane (portulaca, pig weed). Good stuff!
Yesterday (Saturday, April 2, 2022), a group of people threw 5,000 “genki balls” into the Ala Wai Canal to clean the waters of sludge and harmful bacteria that have plagued its waters for decades. These genki balls are made of mud, rice bran, molasses, yeast, lactic acid and phototrophic bacteria. These balls release microbes (Korean Natural Farming microorganisms) that oxygenate the bottom soil in the canal, digest sludge, and allows plankton and other natural creatures to multiply that attracts and feed fish.
This was not the first time that these balls were thrown into the Ala Wai. The first was in 2019 by Jefferson Elementary School students on a smaller scale. Less than a year later, the very harmful enterococci bacteria count dropped from 700 to 50, according to data from the state Department of Health.
Genki means “healthy” in Japanese. The Genki Ala Wai Project has a goal of cleaning the canal and making it suitable for swimming and fishing by 2028. It is well on its way to reaching that goal. So far, the area where the first balls were strewn and establishing, fish and birds have returned – and even some turtles.
I find this to be super exciting as it ties in with many of the principles of Korean Natural Farming. Please join me in future posts as I (slooowly) cover the other basic formulas and apply them to my small yard and garden. Next post will be about Fermented Plant Juice (FPJ).
It is such a humble food that we used to make simply by toasting up some bread and then slapping in a piece of cheese while hot to melt the cheese. Or, putting buttered bread with a slice of cheese on a skillet and heat and smash until done. It was never my favorite until I had one at an open market in Ballard with my Seattle transplanted daughter. That day, the air was chilly and a vendor was cooking up several grilled cheese sandwiches on a gas cooktop.
It was SO delicious – greasy, gooey, hot and steamy – in the cold air. This was years ago, before the Covid lockdown madness. On a recent visit to see Seattle daughter and her newborn hapa (haole and Asian) son, we didn’t attempt going out and I don’t think that market was even open. But I kept craving a good grilled cheese sandwich again.
And so, I made it myself at home. I did a little googling and began by putting mayonnaise (NOT butter) on both sides of 2 slices bread. I then heated both sides in a skillet until a slight crust formed. A big slice of Swiss cheese (it was on sale at Safeway’s deli counter) was sandwiched between the two slices and left in the skillet on low heat. Google search specifically said to cook it on low instead of blasting it and smashing. The cheese melted slowly and I flipped the sandwich over to continue toasting the other side.
Was it good?
Man-o-man, it was REALLY ono. Not as greasy as the Ballard market, or as steamy (it is too warm in Hawaii for heat steam), but it was gooey and hot and very satisfying with a bowl of my favorite chicken noodle soup (Lipton’s). I was never a soup and sandwich kind of gal, but I may be turning the corner on that one. I added some moringa leaves to the soup that I picked in the garden so it became healthier by a smidgeon.
Just thinking about it makes me want to make another one. Maybe tonight, after I play in the garden today.
Pal Fay sent me this link to Bon Appetit’s version using butter and only putting mayo on the outside of the bread slices. I will try this way too since I am on a grilled cheese sandwich thing and the joy of biting into this gooey crunchy simple cuisine – at least until I run out of my supply of cheese and/or bread.
Biochar is charcoal-like organic material such as wood that has been burned in oxygen limited conditions. I found a big bag at Koolau Farms – one cubic foot – for $55! This will probably be the most expensive purchase for me in my journey into Korean Natural Farming (I shall use the abbreviation KNF), and a little will go a long way because I will not use it in the traditional way of adding cups to potted plant soil, but will use it sparingly along with the other formulas of KNF. Its effectiveness in the soil lasts for years and years.
Biochar under a microscope looks like pockets of pocketed caverns. It is very light, porous and can last for thousands of years. Its structure is ideal for storing water, nutrients and housing for microorganisms – the bedrock of Korean Natural Farming. It lets plants grow to their full potential.
It is different from charcoal that you use to grill with because of the way it is made. Instead of releasing carbon into the atmosphere, it is stored as a carbon negative energy. It is easy to make yourself, but not recommended because you could start a neighborhood fire if you are not careful, and probably illegal to do so given our strict county laws.
Biochar is the easiest “ingredient” without any processes, mixing, or waiting, except going to the store and buying it (or having a friend share it with you). Master Cho (originator of KNF) has been teaching and practicing KNF around the world. He took a parcel of land in the Gobi desert in Mongolia and put 4 pieces of biochar and IMO4 per tree planting, and the previously barren area now has trees that can survive the severe habitat of high winds and sparse rainfall.
Here is a TedXHilo talk by Josiah Hunt of Pacific Biochar, a biochar enthusiast. An early goal of his was to save the world and get paid for it.
Stay tuned for more “episodes” on Korean Natural Farming with Aunty!
This one is for Cleta – because she is so nice and interested in the goings on in my garden since I started doing Korean Natural Farming. I first posted about KNF back in January and haven’t posted since. Meanwhile, Cleta came over three times with fish, food, and an unreal quiche that I never knew could taste so good.
LAB is one of the easiest formulas to make, using rice water, milk, and brown sugar. It is called the protector and corrector and used when soil or plants have problems. It is also considered to be like hungry emergency workers so it should not be overused or it can restrict IMOs (Indigenous Micro Organisms – the bedrock of KNF). It increases vitality and resilience of the micro and macro in flora, fauna, and animals. It clears out the bad stuff, brings in oxygen, and decomposes animal waste.
Korean Natural Farming is very simple but also easy to make booboos. My first LAB solution smelled bad and I might have killed some plants with it (by mistake). One of the most common beginner’s errors is to make the solution too strong. More is NOT better, so please use the dilutions recommended even if they seem too wimpy.
Making LAB
Step 1
Start by washing white rice in a rice pot. The first rinse is cloudy and we normally throw this out and keep rinsing several more times. However, to make LAB, pour this cloudy first rinse water into a wide mouth jar and set it on your counter in a cool area. Cover lightly or not at all because you will be collecting lacto out of the air.
Step 2
After one day, check on the rice water by smelling it. It should smell slightly sweet and almost like bread. It takes anywhere from a day to a week (if the weather is cold), and a slight film begins to form on the surface of the liquid and residue on the bottom. Siphon out the liquid part avoiding the sediment on the bottom and put in a clean glass jar with wide mouth. You will only need about 2 cups of liquid. Leave a lot of space in the jar because you will now add milk (any kind of milk) at a ratio of 1:3. The recommended ratio is 1:10 but I don’t like to waste milk so I go with the 3 times rate. To the 2 cups of fermented rice water, add 6 cups of milk. Cover with a paper towel and secure with rubber bands so it can breathe. Leave on your countertop in a cool shady dry area.
Check it every few days. It usually takes about 5 days but it could be more or less. The milk starts to separate from the clear liquid and a curd begins to form on the top part of the solution. It should smell slightly sour, some KNF people say it should smell like an old shoebox.
Step 3, and pau!
Remove the curd/cheese part. This can be fed to dogs, left on plants or made into cheese but I haven’t done any of that. It feels weird, like really firm tofu. Strain the rest of the liquid (I use a coffee filter) into a clean jar. This is whey – which is LAB! It should be stored in the refrigerator and will keep for months (make sure you label it) OR mix the whey with equal parts of brown sugar, stirring in a clockwise direction and thinking happy thoughts. Brown sugar will stabilize the LAB so you don’t have to keep it cold. LAB does need to breathe, so cover with a cloth or paper towel and secure with a rubber band in a cool, dark area along with the rest of the KNF formulas.
Using LAB
Some people swear by drinking this formula – it helps their digestion, great for diarrhea, good for their general health. One ounce in a glass of water does it for them. It has been know to promote a strong immune system and is friendly to mammals (us). It can be used to control smells.
When using it in the garden, LAB must be diluted in a 1:1000 ratio or 1 TBS per gallon of water. It can be used as a soil drench or soil/foliar spray. I use it as a soil drench about a week before I add IMO4 (the bedrock). It helps to correct and ventilate the soil.
LAB can be used anytime from start to growth but do NOT use it before harvesting because it makes the fruit less sweet. It helps to develop the root systems and produces bigger, thicker, shiny leaves.
This really is one of the easiest formulas to make, and even if you don’t try anything else in Korean Natural Farming, I hope you try making this. LAB can be a stand alone great addition for your garden and health regimes.
Collect first rinse of rice water
Cover loosely to allow air flow
Skum and sediment form
Experimenting with 3:1 and 10:1 milk to liquid
Results of experiment same so 3:1 milk is my go-to now.
Curd looks like Martian tofu.
Remove curd and strain liquid
Store with breathable cover in refrigerator.
Or mix with equal parts of brown sugar, cover with breathable lid, and store in cool dark place
Here is a video with Chris Trump making LAB. He does it a little differently from me, but same results:
Auld Lang Syne translates to “old long since” and sung to bid farewell to the old year or old times. A bit late since we are now into mid January, but still deserving of a listen.
Mark Ford aka Michael Masterson sent this in one of his non daily emails that I subscribe to. He is a super intelligent slightly cranky brilliant investor and author that I have been following and sometimes admire. His latest email also featured a movie on Netflix, “The Hand of God” inspired by Fellini, winning many film awards this year. [Update: This movie was different because it was in a different language and a different culture. Nudity, messages, and such a variety of characters on so many different layers that I find myself wondering what it was about. Still, it was a film director’s masterpiece and actually one based on the director’s memories of his own youth growing up in Naples, its obsession with their savior soccer star Maradona, and the coming of age of a young boy. I almost want to watch it again, but not sure if I will.]
Another recommendation of his, “Enlightenment Now” by Stephen Pinker, is a non-fiction book with great reviews such as: magnificent, uplifting and makes you want to rush to your laptop and close your Twitter account.” (The Economist). That makes me want to rush out and listen to the book on tape IF the library has it. [Update: Library has it!]
And now, without further ado and still pushing back pending posts about Korean Natural Farming, here is a wonderful version of Auld Lang Syne sung by Home Free:
