Pahinh.Winh's blog

Hanh mitakuyapi. Recently someone remarked about all the fuss over The Wedding Across the Pond in Great Britain & that it was "a waste".  I disagree.  I'm no fan of "giving the bride away" as if we females were chattel property, but it was a delightful bit of fluff & a welcome change from the usual diet of death, attacks by insane people, & so on.

It's also the first time in a long time that I've seen: a couple I believe meet my requirement that they are marrying their very best friend in all the world; & where they aren't climbing all over each other in public, but rather behaving as if they respect themselves, each other, & the rest of us who can't help but see them.  Pilamiyaye!, Will & Kate!  You set a fine example.  We need more of it. 

Hanh mitakuyapi.  It's Spring in the majority culture way.. and the weather has been 'springing' from meltng to blizzard & back again for several weeks.  Flood danger is ever-present, more in some areas than others.  I've put a fair amount of chunli (tobacco) & sweets out for the spirits, asking the river spirits not to flood certain areas in particular; & the wind , rain and snow spirits to consider more than just their idea of fun when they're doing their things with the weather.  Sometimes, they listen - sometimes they don't - but if no one speaks up, they can't hear us..

  I over-wintered some "Cherokee Purple" tomatoes I grew in a 5-gallon pail last summer, and they must think winter is over - they're flowering like mad.  I've been dusting their flowers with a blusher brush to see if they will make tomatoes, since tomatoes are wind-pollinated.  They seem to like the brushing.. they're making more flowers almost every day.  Interesting!

  Since we have frost to the end of May up here at the top of the world, I haven't started the chunli yet, but I got some rare heirloom seeds to try for a change..  this will be only th 4th crop grown from these; because the originals were found in an ancient grave that weather exposed waaay up north in Finland, onl 400 miles south of the Arctic Circle.  Exciting prospect, to grow a holy Standing Nation member that some ancients grew & used in their ceremonies even farther north.

  Also got some Oxaca Green Dent corn, which is another heirloom..  from Oxaca Mexico.  Not merely a novelty for its seed color but also a reminder that more grows in Mexico than dope, and the ancient people there revered this plant, too.

  Spring is a time of hope; and maybe that's another reason some mischievous spirits dump snow on us & others try to make melt happen too fast..  it's about 'balance'.  Have a great day!

I was on the Rez, babysitting, & the young ones wanted brownies.  Unfortunately, one of them pointed out that the oven wasn't working.  How to bake brownies?!

I set everyone to hunting through the pots & pans for something to make an oven from & we found a great big wok with a good-fitting lid (important!) & a rack that sat about 2" above the bottom of the wok.  A square baking pan fits in really well..  in fact, I've since found out that if you have a really big wok, you can fit 2 square pans in, one above the other, if you use steel butter knives to provide a space between them.  (You use 2 knives on each corner, set so that the handles of each pair are not together; so the pan on top will sit level.)

That first time, I had to regulate the heat by guesswork & keep adjusting the flame a tiny bit up or down according to the appearance of the brownie batter, but since then I've just added an oven thermometer, sitting on the rack next to the lower pan.  It works best with a medium-low flame & adjust as needed to get the right temperature, which is about 350F.

Now, even when it's blistering hot out, we can have brownies without roasting us out of the kitchen or challenging the fans.  (I detest air-conditioning & won't use it.)  And my grandchildren think I'm one creative grandma.  A win-win all around.