Living with Less

Gatineau Park, January 2012

I think most twenty-somethings go through a "get rid of all of my belongings" phase. For me, it started some time during University, around the time I realized that until you own a home, owning things meant moving things. It was easier, I reckoned, to live without things than to have to haul them around from place to place. Of course, there are necessities, not least of all my cooking paraphernalia, but I tried not to hang on to anything I wasn't strongly attached to. Every time I move, I try to pare it down a bit more, and I think I've really got it to a minimum. There's no point in tossing out things wastefully that I will later need.

These days, I'm inclined to think of things a bit differently. It's not about being okay with not having anything because I can't have anything, it's about being okay with having nothing because, in reality, the physical things don't really matter that much. The things I do have, I appreciate. A lot. And the things I don't have? Well, I probably don't need them. I don't want to need them. If I need them, then I need a means to get them, which means I need money. And money, my friends, is probably a thing I am not going to be blessed with in my life. Not if I can help it, anyway.

Community Garden mural at Bank and Laurier, Ottawa.

See, I tried living for things, for a while. I tried really hard. And it was fun there, at times. But I wasn't happy. And over time, I began to realize that what made me happy had nothing to do with acquiring belongings. It was the way I lived that brought me pleasure, joy, and contentment-- or not, as the case was, back then. It felt wrong to drive 20 km to work every day to a job I didn't love at a company that sells people things they don't really need (nothing against that particular company, though! All companies do that. That's how the system works). I didn't feel like I was connected to anything real. Except, that is, when I pulled out those seed catalogues, and those garden planning books, and starting soaking up knowledge about how to become self-sufficient. I didn't even do it consciously. I just wanted to have a garden because I like food and cooking and growing things. But in hindsight, I see the logic behind it all. If I don't have to buy food, then I don't have to have a job I don't love, and I can do what I love all day, if I want to. I can grow food.

Cozumel, Mexico

It's true, I'm a dreamer. I've always been an idealist. And for a really long time I thought that my dreams weren't realistic. Or that, if they were, I would never be happy if I really chased them, because I wouldn't have money and I would always be struggling to survive. But then this crazy thing happened.

I took a risk, and I tried it out. I lived with nothing. I grew food, and I spent a great deal of time alone, and I wandered around in the woods, and sang to myself, and I dug in the dirt, and laid on the grass in the rain, and finally-- finally!-- I felt real.

I've been living with very little for some time now. I would love to spend the money left over from each pay cheque on exotic foods, but I don't. I get just as much pleasure from digging out a 4 month old squash that I grew myself, and turning it into dinner. And I keep the money I save, to pay off my debts. And I feel a sense of satisfaction when I take a delicious bite of a potato, onion, carrot and kale stir fry seasoned with paprika and garlic, because most of those ingredients are items I grew myself.

Vanderwater Park, December 2011

When I'm done eating dinner, and I'm thinking about my day, I don't think about things I wish I had, or what I don't like about my job or the fact that I have to live in the city as a necessity of modern life. I think about how I love my life. I walk in the door when I get home from work and take pleasure in the smell that makes me feel home. I enjoy my roommates, so I hug them. And then we eat some of the zucchini chocolate cake I made, and talk about how water is like liquid diamonds [me], or like a miniature lake in your hands [Rachael]. I enjoy the little nest I have to sleep and dream in. I like winter, because of the way the sun falls on the snow, and the exhilaration of the cold, and the rosy cheeks, and the hot chocolate and the way that life slows down just enough that you can finally take time to appreciate it. I like living, because I'm friends with the world that I live in. Nobody's out to get me, and the world is not against me-- it's on my side. And if I play my cards right, the earth will give me everything I need to sustain myself.

I don't need money. At least, not much of it. If it weren't for the system we live in, I wouldn't need any at all. The less reliant on money I get, the better I feel. So I've decided it's time for another life experiment. Recently, I had to make a [self-imposed] choice between going West to make money, and heading East to learn how to be more self-sufficient. I chose the latter.

It was a long road, but it was a good one.
[ancient Mayan ruins]

In March, I'm going to head home to make maple syrup with my Dad. And in April, I'm going to drive to a permaculture farm in Nova Scotia and set up house in a tent trailer for the next 7 months. I'm going to live on vegetables, exercise, and love-- love for the earth, love for my fellow farmers, and love for the life that I've been given. I'm going to swim in the sea, slide on the mud flats, bike for miles, and spend day after day sweating and straining to make things grow.

And I am more certain about this about anything I have ever known before: I'm going to be happy. I am happy. I've finally made that choice.

Pumpkins Aren't Just for Pie!

First, a few things you may or may not know about pumpkins.

1. They are pretty much interchangeable with winter squash. Basically any recipe that requires squash can take pumpkin, and vice versa. Just be sure that the sugar content is accounted for. Generally, squash is sweeter, but there are many varieties of pumpkin that are bred for sweetness too.

2. Pumpkin is really good for you! It's orange colour is an indicator that it is full of beta-carotene. But in addition to that, it also contains significant amounts of Protein, Calcium, Magnesium, Potassium, Iron, Folate, and Vitamin E. Pumpkin seeds are also an extremely healthy snack, full of those important Omega 3 fatty acids (the only kind your body can't make itself).

3. When kept cool and dry, pumpkins and squash won't rot for months, and can be used for most of the winter. This is a really great way to make use of your summer harvest all winter long. Last year, I sliced open some delicata squash from my CSA share which I had forgotten in the drawer of the fridge until some time in mid-March, and they were still good!

4. Pumpkin and squash flowers are edible-- and pretty tasty! A lot of people recommend stuffing them with cheese and other fancy stuff, but I think they are delicious all on their own too. Okay, so it's the wrong time of year to tell you this, but this summer you should try it out, especially if you are growing your own-- they can be pricey at the farmer's market. The trick is to make sure you are only harvesting the male blossoms, since the female are the ones that bear fruit. You'll be able to tell the difference because you can already see the little fruit starting to form at the bottom of the female blossoms. Make sure to leave a male blossom or two on each plant so they can pollinate the females!

But isn't pumpkin only good for pie?


Umm... short answer? No! Pumpkin is delicious, not only in all sorts of baking, but also on its own, enjoyed baked like squash and then mashed, mixed in with other veggies, or even mixed into something fancy, like a Pumpkin Souffle!

Here are a few recipes that I've tried.

Pumpkin Soup

You can go in a lot of different directions with this one-- don't be fooled into thinking that seasoning pumpkin with cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves is the only way to go! I have had some delicious Coconut Pumpkin Soup made with coconut milk and fresh cilantro, for example. In the fall, it's also nice to use apples and your typical pumpkin pie spices for a sweeter soup. Basically, anything that can be cooked down and blended up with the pumpkin is a good candidate. Why not try an experiment?

Pumpkin Pie

I swear to god I took this photo myself! I was making pie for a dinner party and decided to do the lattice on a whim. It's actually a LOT of fun. The key to lattice is to make the strips really big, so you don't have to do that many. Start by laying the first two perpendicular pieces, and then alternate between adding horizontal and vertical strips, pulling the previously placed strips back as you go so you can create the weave pattern.

Anyway, pumpkin pie is pretty much self-explanatory and delicious, so even though this post is about doing something different, don't deny yourself this traditional treat!


Vegan Pumpkin Cheesecake

While it certainly isn't what one expects when they think of cheesecake, this delicious creation really got me excited about what can be done with pumpkin. There is actually no flour in the "cheesecake" part-- just ground almonds, which make for a unique flavour and nutty texture. I also substituted any sugar for maple syrup and honey, and the graham cracker crust could easily be substituted for a gluten free crust, making it a deliciously healthy vegan dessert!

I found the foundation of the recipe in a wonderful cookbook called Ripe From Around Here by Jae Steele.

Pumpkin Muffins


These are fairly self-explanatory, like the pie. Make muffins, and add pumpkin! You can alter your favourite recipe, or look one up. There's one in my fave cookbook, Simply in Season, as well as all over the internets!


Pumpkin Souffle
(In this case, it's Pumpkin and Blue Cheese Souffle with Cayenne Pepper)

This was my latest experiment. It went reasonably well, if you consider the fact that a) I have never made  souffle before, let alone a pumpkin one! and b) in my current living situation, I do not have the use of an electric mixer-- so I had to whisk by hand.

A souffle is essentially a puffy egg and cheese dish. It's very light, and not very filling, but is pretty versatile, so you can add lots of delicious things to it to make lots of seemingly fancy dishes with one basic recipe.

To make a souffle:

- Take a bunch of eggs and separate the yolks from the whites (if you don't know how to do this, google it)
- Make a roux (melt butter and add an equal amount of flour, whisk smooth).
- Add milk, and heat til thickened, about 5 minutes.
- Add cheese, the egg yolks and anything else you want.
- In a separate bowl with cold utensils, beat egg whites until they form stiff peaks.
- Fold egg whites into white sauce mixture and bake for 30 to 45 minutes until puffy and set.

Obviously the number of eggs you want to use effects the other ingredients, so you'll need to find appropriate recipe for the number of people you are feeding!

For the pumpkin souffle, I had to find a recipe for a basic souffle to make sure I had all the basics down pat. Then, I found a recipe for a savoury squash souffle which was right up my alley, so I altered the ingredients to fit the number of eggs I wanted to use, and went for it.

During the step where you add the cheese and egg yolks, I also added cayenne, nutmeg, salt, and pumpkin. The result was delicious, if I do say so myself-- definitely a recipe I will re-try in the presence of company. But I used a bit more pumpkin than necessary. A word to the wise: a little goes a long way!

Let it Rise

If there is one thing I find more satisfying than making my own fresh homemade bread, it's eating it.

And after that, it's coming up with delicious variations on the recipe, while listening to good music and enjoying a peaceful Sunday morning in November (well, to be fair, I would like this in any month, but at any moment, I like right now most of all, so the sentence still holds true).

Lately I have been back on the bread train, and I've become obsessed with experimenting to create bread that is better than they sell at the bakery. I feel like I am on the right track. It's become a habit I can take pleasure in, like brushing your teeth or walking the dog. Making bread makes any place feel more like home. And the best part is, whenever I bake bread, I get to witness this little miracle: yeast.

Okay so before you start rolling your eyes, give it some thought. Do you like beer? Wine? Basically any liquor? You can thank yeast. Do you like having a healthy digestive system? Well you better make sure you're getting your yeast then! You like how your garden grows? You'd better, if you're reading this blog! And you guessed it, yeast helps bees and insects pollinate flowers. So it's really important.

 In all seriousness, yeast is a fundamental part of every ecological cycle. Different species of yeast are everywhere-- even in the air. In fact, until it became a commercialized product, bread yeast was just made by letting yeast ferment the sugars in grains. I couldn't believe this was something I didn't already know, until my roomie explained that this is what bread "starter" is all about. It's like a teeny tiny little family of superheroes who do all kinds of cool things that make our everyday lives awesome.

But best of all, it helps me make delicious bread.

Now, since I've only recently become aware of the miracle that is bread made from home-grown yeast, I've still been working with store-bought yeast. And I am okay with that, because it's pretty freakin' cool too. Here's what I'm leading up to: a sequence of shots of the yeast working its magic on one of my recent batches of bread.

It begins.

Ooh, look! Bubbles!

Kinda looks like the moon . . . or the blob. Or cheese? Okay maybe that's a stretch.

Okay, wait, what?! How did this suddenly go from pictures of yeast to pictures of funnel cake?
I think I can even make out a face in that.

The same, yet different . . .

Weird pancake floating in a bowl? Weird species of jellyfish? Perhaps the face of the virgin Mary?

I think it might be growing hands.

Really fat hands?

Almost ready for flour!! (Get ready for a time warp)

And voila! Le pain.

I have this really great recipe for molasses oat bread to share with you all, too, but it will have to wait, because I am sleepy. G'night all!

Little Bones

It was like a scene from a horror movie.

I was standing in a dark, damp, dirt floor cellar, with barely enough light to see by. The cold dirt floor, shadowy corners and musty smell, though reminiscent of childhood fears involving axe murderers and bogeymen, were not what dismayed me.

No, what really bothered me was the nightmarish scene before me: countless cobwebs hanging thick and low from the ceiling, filled with sawdust and the mummified skeletons of hundreds of large, dead spiders.

And even more terrifying: I was about to perform the task of removing them.

Cellars are wonderful things, but I recently discovered just how wonderful a habitat a cellar can be for those lovely creatures that prefer to dwell in dark basements. Luckily, as disgusting as the above description sounds, it wasn't really as bad as it seemed at first. I just grabbed a stick of firewood and rolled up those cobwebs like cotton candy, spiders and all. Once the spiderwebs were gone, a little broom work and I was ready to store my crops for the winter. Sort of.

First I had to clear a space for them.

I wouldn't really consider my parents pack rats. They are usually pretty good at clearing out the old junk. But basements are funny places. They tend to collect junk. And it seems like the darker and more musty they are, the more weird old crap just accumulates there. In my cleaning, I encountered empty canning jars with rusty lids, plant pots, maple syrup bottles of varying shapes, sizes, and ages from young to ancient, interesting looking pieces of firewood, a rat trap (ew), empty wine bottles, an old garden hose, various rusty cans of something unrecognizable, a bunch of little jam jars full of black ooze, etc. Okay, so maybe that list isn't all that weird, but that thick layer of dust and cobwebs  that blanket everything sure makes it seem like this stuff has been here for eons.

And apparently some of it has. At least, long enough for the rust to eat a hole in the lid of this jar. Hmm... do you think it is still edible?

Seriously. I actually have no idea what the contents of these jars are. Maybe we should do a smell test? It could be fun! Right?  . . . Right?

And yes, in the background you are observing a bag of lamb starter, a stack of egg cartons, and an empty can of Guinness, among other things.

Side note: There is something beautiful, or at least entertaining, about the kinds of odds and ends that collect in basements. You can learn a lot about a person from the things they hide away in the cellar, but don't throw out for some crazy reason. Maybe it will be useful someday, or maybe it has nostalgic meaning, or maybe it's just been there so long you were no longer aware of its existence. Regardless of why it's there, what you keep and what you throw away tells a story. But, I digress. This is supposed to be about food, isn't it?


Well, here it is. Not really that impressive in photos, but it was satisfying to store away some of the crop. The remainder was shared with family or came with me to Ottawa, where it will become the subject of future blogs!

The basement is pretty cold, so the gourds (squash and pumpkins) will keep for a few months there. The rutabagas should too, but if they don't I won't be heartbroken. One can only eat so much rutabaga, you know! I intended to cover them in paraffin, but lacked the time or energy to carry out that experiment. It will be interesting to see how long they last.

Since the carrots were so mangled by chipmunks that there wasn't enough left to store for winter, the only other storage vegetable I had to worry about was parsnips. They got the same treatment that the carrots would have, had they survived.

They don't look all too appetizing like that, do they? Kind of like little bones, or tiny skeletons, buried in the sand.

Oh god. I gotta get out of here.

Giving Thanks

Okay, so my Thanksgiving post is a few days late.

I think the act of giving thanks is partly to blame for that. It was such a wonderful weekend, it reminded me of how important it is to seize the day.  So, I've been doing just that-- carpe diem!

Turns out, that makes for a busy life.

Tonight, I am reflecting. Having a little post-Thanksgiving thanks giving time. And among my blessings, I count an abundance of home grown food in my cupboard, fridge and freezer, a beautiful farm I get to spend tons of time on, and a family that I wouldn't trade for anything. So, in no particular order, I'm going to share a few of the things I got to be thankful for this year.

1) Winter vegetables.

No, I am not getting ahead of myself! That's just how all the cookbooks and gardeners refer to those long-lasting veggies. That's because they will keeping feeding us well into the winter. In addition to the traditional turkey, mashed potatoes, and stuffing, we had home grown baked squash with butter, and a lightly spiced mix of turnip, parsnips and carrots (purple and orange) for our family dinner.

For spices I just used some cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg, plus salt and pepper. The veggies were simply cut into chunks and tossed in cooking oil and the above seasonings. Sometimes I like to keep it traditional.



Oh, and speaking of tradition, here's another one: home made pumpkin pie. And when I say home made, I mean really home made. When Dad and I were off flying and bringing in firewood, Mom was working very hard to turn those lovely orange gourds into a delicious dessert!

(As a side note: isn't pie that is not a garishly fake orange colour just so much more appetizing?)

The how-to guide for home made pumpkin or squash pie will follow. This is just a visual taste:

2) Human flight.

The fact that we can fly, period, is incredible. The fact that I somehow got to go flying with my Dad on the most beautiful October Saturday morning in all of history is indescribable (and the crepes that I whipped up for brekky afterwards were pretty damn tasty as well!).

Okay, so maybe this isn't all that relevant to the focus of this blog, but the pictures sort of are.

Quin Mo Lac Road

Moira Lake. And, uh, a forest. I like the way the light falls in this shot.

If you can tell what this is a picture of, I will be impressed (in other words, I have no idea). 

Either this person is taking advantage of the extra long haying season, or they got lazy. Them cows ain't gonna like that moldy hay too much!

Yeah, that's right. Them cows!!

Isn't it beautiful?

Hey, I think I can see my house from here! (Can you spot the air strip?)

3) Children (and babies!) (and music!!)

When I arrived home this weekend, my mother was busy preparing a Sunday school lesson for Thanksgiving Sunday. She was trying to think of appropriate songs for the occasion. I was busy doing something that was probably super-duper important on my computer, but I suddenly came out of my technology-induced comatose state to the sound of music-- in my head! Mom's efforts had thrown me back in time, to my days as a camp counselor. I grabbed my guitar and played Johnny Appleseed for her. Mom was thrilled. Consequently, I was recruited as entertainment for the children at church on Sunday. No weekend sleep-in for me!

But this section is supposed to be about kids, right? Well, hang on, I'm getting to it! You see, kids are great, but they can be chaotic. When you try to get kids of various ages to concentrate long enough to make a turkey centrepiece out of construction paper, you run into trouble. But music is amazing, and so are kids. When I finally got my guitar tuned again after having the tuning key savagely tweaked by an adorable 3 year old (who was instantly forgiven), I began playing the song. It was magical. They all came out from their respective corners, and the chaos calmed just long enough for everyone to sing (or hum) along to the song. Johnny Appleseed is right-- I do have all the things I need!

Like this guy. My new nephew. He's kind of a big deal, because he and his generation are yet another thing to be thankful for. Also, he's adorable. But seriously. I'm making a point here. I swear. And that point is: thank goodness for babies!

And although that seems like an appropriate conclusion to this post, I have one more story to tell. Hold tight. It's a good one.

4) Laughter

This was originally intended to fall under the kids section, but it has occurred to me that the act of laughing is almost as great as the cause of the laughter. Almost.

The cause has a name: Madison (uh, hopefully her parents are cool with her name being published on the internet? Hm...).

Madison is imaginative. She also has a good memory. For example, she remembers exactly where the dolls and toys are stored in the basement of my parents' house. And she knows that she can't carry them up the stairs by herself. So one day, she asked my Dad (whom she refers to as Farmer Fred), for assistance. She advised him that it was important to hang on to the railing on the stairs, or " I might fall down, hit my head, and bleed all over the place." Needless to say, Farmer Fred had a laugh over that one.

This past weekend, Madison wanted a toy for her baby doll to play with. Farmer Fred thought he would have a little fun.  He told her he wasn't sure about going downstairs. “I don’t know," he said.  "I might fall down, hit my head, and bleed all over the place!”

“No,” she responded matter-of-factly, “You just hold on to the railing! At least, that’s what I’m going to do.” So smart. So freakin' smart.

Farmer Fred took the advice very seriously, but unfortunately he had an accident. From the living room we heard a ruckus. Someone had evidently fallen down the stairs. When the pair returned to the living room, he announced “I fell down the stairs, hit my head, and nearly bled all over the place!”

But, he tells us, Madison was not sympathetic. She simply told him, “You’re not bleeding. Get up.” 

I guess even a child's imagination has its limits!

Harvest Time

It's that time of year again. The leaves are beginning to fall, scattering their colourful skeletons in the streets. The smell is unmistakable, reminiscent of days gone by, a reminder of the year's slow progression toward cold and darkness. It's bittersweet. Every year, when autumn arrives, I think, "this is my favourite season!" But then again, I think that with every season.

In my mind, autumn is a time of celebration. As with every other season, I celebrate with food. And there is much to celebrate! The squash and pumpkins are ripe on the vine, turnips, carrots, cabbage and parsnips (as well as any other late root veggies you've got growing) are awaiting the last frost, and the fatted calves and lambs are ready for harvest too. Apples are in abundance, ready to be made into pies and crisps and cider and sauce.

In my mind, this time of year is a time to plan for winter. It's time to think ahead to ensure there is plenty of food to sustain us through those cold winter months when homegrown veggies are hard to find.

This year I've done more canning than any year before. For the most part, it's been experimental. Here's a summary of what I have learned about preserving my own food.

1. The basic principle is to preserve food by placing it in a jar that is sealed by creating a vacuum. The most common way of doing this is by sealing the jar tightly by hand and then heating the jar and its contents. As the jar cools, the air inside contracts and creates a vacuum seal. Basic canning often also makes use of an acidic brine, which is antibacterial and generally makes for safer preserving. The basic premise behind pickling is ensuring that the veggies don't rot if the seal isn't perfect. An exception to this is with foods that are already acidic, like fruit and tomatoes, which don't require a brine.

2. In order to preserve foods that are not acidic without pickling them, one can make use of a pressure cooker or canner. By increasing the pressure under which the canning jars are processed, you can ensure that the jars seal successfully. Using a pressure canner, you can preserve pretty much anything. This includes greens, non-acidic veggies like beans, corn, peas, and even meat!

3. Because canning essentially requires cooking the contents of the jars to some degree, there are certain foods that preserve better than others. For example, this year I decided to try canning some of the abundance of kale that I grew. Although the kale probably held its own better than spinach or another green might have, kale is generally thought to be tastier when cooked very litte. So I am pretty sure that opening those jars is going to be interesting.

4. Some things are just better suited to being frozen. As much as I love my toast and jam in the mornings, I do prefer to freeze my fruit. Freezing retains more of a food's nutritional value, and also quite often tastes better. The only downside to freezing is that it requires freezer space (at least, until temperatures drop low enough to permit putting the food outside)!

This year, I tried to keep it simple: no fancy chutneys, and no weird relishes that are going to sit on the shelf for months on end. My goal was to can things that I could either eat straight out of the jar, or that could be used as ingredients in other recipes. Here is a list of what I've accomplished so far:







- Summer Squash and Cucumber Bread & Butter Pickles
- Spicy Pickled Beets
- Canned Kale
- Canned Tomato Sauce (in Spicy and Kale varieties!)
- Canned Salsa
- Canned Applesauce
- Frozen Kale
- Frozen Blueberries (picked in Tweed)
- Frozen Strawberries (picked in Foxboro)
- Frozen Asparagus
- Frozen Rhubarb (for those mid-winter strawberry-rhubarb pies!)
- Frozen Summer Squash and Zucchini

In addition to these items, I'll have plenty of carrots, turnips, squash, pumpkins and parsnips to last me well into the winter.

Someday, I really hope to live a largely self-sufficient lifestyle. It's probably a long way off, but I think this is a step in the right direction. Let me know if you are curious about a recipe for a specific item mentioned above-- I'm happy to oblige.

Heritage

Recently, my Mom and sisters tried to explain to my grandmother why, in addition to the usual red tomatoes, we also have purple, yellow, orange and pink tomatoes this year. I wasn't there, but I know my grandmother well enough to know that she was intrigued, a little fascinated, and overall, rather impressed with this novelty. The only part of the concept she struggled with was the word for those fancy new [old] tomatoes. "Heirloom" just didn't stick. To her, they were "heritage" tomatoes.

Same thing, really.

The point is, they are old. Or at least, the seeds are (old tomatoes can get pretty stinky, pretty quick). These aren't genetically engineered, hybrid seeds. They are descendants of those seeds that were passed down from generation to generation by seed-saving women and men who valued the plenty that was provided by their tomato crops. Just like my grandma, they are that good kind of old: the kind that makes you feel richer, somehow. Yep, I am rich with tomatoes-- and with the love of a good family.

But when you are rich with tomatoes, you've really got to do something about it. Lately, I've been doing a lot of different somethings.

With the first little tomato crop a few weeks ago came my first green pepper, as well as some cucumbers, and a little red rocket pepper. I decided to challenge my family's concept of soup, and make a refreshing pot of gazpacho!

Gazpacho

You can have it pureed, or chunky-- your call. Basically, you just chop up a bunch of vegetables and throw them in a broth, then let it sit in the fridge for a while to let the flavours mingle. Here are the amounts, which are pretty flexible:

- 2 cups tomatoes, diced
- 1 cup green or red pepper, finely chopped
- 1 small white onion, finely chopped
- 1 cup cucumber, finely chopped
- 2 cups of vegetable broth
- 2 cloves of garlic, grated or very fined chopped
- a few splashes of Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 tsp of finely chopped hot pepper (mine were called red rockets!) or several drops of hot sauce to taste
- 6 or more ice cubes
- A splash of red wine vinegar for a little kick (optional)

Yum! Heritage in a bowl.