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blueandyellowmakes

Author • Speaker • Homesteader
Executive director of the utopianseedproject
The Whole Okra, 2020 James Beard Awardee

Well, that was a crappy 5 days that I wouldn't wis

Well, that was a crappy 5 days that I wouldn't wish on anyone. Woke up this morning still sore and achy but feeling like I've turned a corner. Stay safe out there.

Live action kittens, happening right now ❤️ #

Live action kittens, happening right now ❤️

#Kittens #nachoandnoodle

Not much growing in the garden, but the basement i

Not much growing in the garden, but the basement is pumping out mushrooms 😍

#mushrooms #oyster #growyourownfood

Making friends with Abigail the Donkey via the med

Making friends with Abigail the Donkey via the medium of banana peels 💛

#IsItFriendshipIfTheyJustWantSomethingFromYou? #longhashtags

We started strong on our commitment to spend more

We started strong on our commitment to spend more of our weekends in the outdoors, enjoying the beautiful place we live.

#beautifulweather #terrifyingweather #2022

First time growing King Oyster mushrooms. #Mushro

First time growing King Oyster mushrooms.

#Mushrooms

This homemade tempeh is making me very happy and I

This homemade tempeh is making me very happy and I'm enjoying exploring all the ways to use it. Tonight was tacos (toum base, rice, crispy tempeh, fermented spicy radish).

#Tempeh #instapottempeh

So this happened... Meet Nacho and Noodle. #Cats

So this happened... Meet Nacho and Noodle.

#Cats #kittens #rescues #notjustforChristmas #feraltofriends

As a writer I believe in the show don't tell rule,

As a writer I believe in the show don't tell rule, however I think this picture needs a few things pointing out.

1. I'm very excited about this iron on okra patch from @southernfriedstitching 💚
2. Frog scarf from my mom is my new favorite scarf
3. @lieswine bought me a giant metal chicken for my birthday, which has been on my long term wish list.
4. Christmas tree in the background that I accidentally grew and cut down in my back garden.
5. I don't think you can tell from this photo, but I'm one year older.

Look what I found in the new Indian supermarket on

Look what I found in the new Indian supermarket on Patton Ave 💚

#Bhindi #okra #okrachips

I love our arboretum #winterlights

I love our arboretum #winterlights

My bread may not have risen, but as always @wellse

My bread may not have risen, but as always @wellseasonedtable to come to the rescue!

#makesanythingtastebetter

Instapot tempeh success! I've made tempeh before

Instapot tempeh success!

I've made tempeh before, but always struggled to get consistently good results using a dehydrator.

I recently upgraded to a larger instapot which has a dehydrate, slow cook yogurt, and sous vide setting, all of which offer micro temperature adjustments and a controlled environment. I've still got a few tweaks to try out, but I think this is going to be the future of my tempeh making.

Also, homemade tempeh is delicious. And you can use that stockpile of @rancho_gordo beans, pulses and other legumes that you have lying around...!

#Tempeh #instapot #instantpottempeh

Emily calls my mum Apple because my mum didn't wan

Emily calls my mum Apple because my mum didn't want to be called Granny Smith!

It's hard moving thousands of miles and a large ocean away from your family, especially when you have children.

I miss fish and chips, effective public transport, road cycling without fear, and equitable access to health and dental care. But proximity to family is the hardest thing to substitute.

Also, check out the Abigail (Donkey) photo-bomb!

#Family

Sometimes they seem so big, and sometimes they are

Sometimes they seem so big, and sometimes they are so incredibly small.

I wrote a book on okra in 2019 published by @chels

I wrote a book on okra in 2019 published by @chelseagreenbooks. In 2020 it/I won a James Beard Award (@beardfoundation). I don't know what I expected from writing a book on okra, but a wonderful thing that happened is it launched me into so many awesome connections with okra-loving people doing incredible okra things.

If you want a signed copy of The Whole Okra (for yourself or as a gift) you can purchase through the link in my bio or DM me. I'm never sure how to talk about this book because it covers so many things - I will say it's written to be interesting and entertaining as much as informative and educational (i.e. it's not dry and academic). I have a MA in Creative Writing and my editor allowed some creative license in my manuscript! How would you describe it?

Here are some things that other people say:

Michael Twitty (@thecookinggene) graciously wrote the foreword said, "The volume you hold in your hands is a love song long overdue."

“OMG. Who’d a thought brilliant and marvelous would be used to describe a book about this most unlikely topic? No garden/foodie geek will be able to put down this insightful, witty, humorous masterpiece.”―Felder Rushing.

“Chris Smith takes a deep, deep dive into American okra culture, and the result is this amazing encyclopedia of our most misunderstood vegetable. The Whole Okra is a long-anticipated contribution to the foodways of the American South.”―Sean Brock @hseanbrock

“Okra is a contentious vegetable―folks love it or hate it. No one is ambivalent. Well, I am an okra lover, an okra apostle, an okra evangelist―and Chris Smith is my absolute hero. He has written the definitive book on okra. The Whole Okra is packed with tips, techniques, gardening advice, and recipes. It’s an absolute must-have for okra devotees.”―Virginia Willis @virginiawillis

“Okra is delicious, versatile, plentiful, and worthy of the attention it gets in The Whole Okra. If you are an okra lover, this book is an affirmation, filled with interesting stories and great ideas for using pods, flowers, and more. If you are not yet an okra lover, Chris Smith’s enthusiasm may well convert you.”―Sandor Ellix Katz @sandorkraut

2021 next book started!

I got some left over super ripe persimmons from @h

I got some left over super ripe persimmons from @hoodoohaint and made 100% persimmon fruit leather. So sweet and tasty 🧡

#Persimmon #fruitleather

Weekend adventures led to colorful chairs 💚 🧡

Ever since reading about the possibility of okra f

Ever since reading about the possibility of okra fiber textiles in an agricultural journal from the late 1800s, I have had a long time dream to make some okra fiber clothing. This dream starting taking shape when I interviewed @gabrielle_eitienne earlier this year. During the interview, while talking about okra fiber, she said, "This must be the reason the universe brought us together," and I think she's right, we had so much fun! Sometimes you just need a partner when launching yourself into the unknown.

Over the last week, Gabrielle and I have been on an okra fiber adventure that took us from okra stalk (which I'd retted in barrels for about 30 days) to Doug and Yanna's house for fiber processing, heckling (see: metal hedgehog), cordage making and drop spinning! Then with this knowledge and some more backyard fiber cleaning we headed to Mira Brown in Burnsville NC. We had no idea what to expect, but had been told that Mira could spin anything. Mira herself told us that she'd been spinning from such a young age that she doesn't even remember learning.

It was Mira's mother, Karen, who taught her to spin, and while we didn't get to see Karen spinning, she did feed us the most delicious corn bread that I've ever tasted. Like, magic corn bread. I can still taste it, but fear I could never recreate it!!

It felt miraculous to sit and see Mira spin our fiber into thread and then wrap a skein of okra fiber for us to take home. It also felt way to easy, but I think that was the illusion of the super skilled. Still, I want to get my hands on a spinning wheel and give it a go... Our next step is to wash in soda to soften the fibers, maybe to dye it, and then to weave or crochet or create some other okra fiber thing yet to be decided.

And while the okra was our focus, the people we met along the way were the icing on the cake. Such grounded beauty and sharing and authenticity that my faith in humanity is a little fuller, and my commitment to being a better person is even stronger.

This is certainly the start of something special.

#okra #okrafiber #seedtostem #thewholeokra #plantfiber #spinning #cordage #fibermaking #localfiber #localcloth

I honestly never knew our toaster oven had a flame

I honestly never knew our toaster oven had a flame grill setting...

Zoe and the clump of soil 💚 Zoe has been doing

Zoe and the clump of soil 💚

Zoe has been doing a lot of farm work these last two days. We've been harvesting roots and digging for worms.

#farming

I'm excited for this ferment, it's mainly cabbage

I'm excited for this ferment, it's mainly cabbage (plus a little carrot, red pepper, red onion and broccoli stem - basically any aging vegetables I had in my fridge), but I added cumin seeds and black lime spice from @burlapandbarrel plus a healthy dose of my own mixed hot pepper spice blend and some of last year's turmeric powder. It smelled incredible going into the jar and I think you could eat it just as a relish, but fermentation is bound to power it up!

#Fermentation

Okra stalk retting in action!! #okrafiber #retti

Okra stalk retting in action!!

#okrafiber #retting

Kitty cat meets giant multicolored panther at @roo

Kitty cat meets giant multicolored panther at @rootshummus!

Amazing non-alcoholic cocktails arrived in the mai

Amazing non-alcoholic cocktails arrived in the mail today courtesy of @curiouselixirs 💜

There's stuff in these bottles that I've never heard of (and I feel like I'm pretty good with plants!).

I'm very excited to try Curious No. 3 which has juniper (a personal favorite), angelica, orange blossom, lemon verbena and ash!

#Cocktails #elixirs #herbalelixirs

Fermented hot pepper lineup 🔥

Fermented hot pepper lineup 🔥

If Instagram had a smell feature then I'd probably

If Instagram had a smell feature then I'd probably get banned...

Retting some okra stalks!

#okrafiber

Baby vole? I think their family may have eaten som

Baby vole? I think their family may have eaten some of my sweet potatoes....

To know how truly amazing it is to see this okra i

To know how truly amazing it is to see this okra in space animation you have to listen to @vivien.sansour speaking about okra rockets in Episode 2 of @theokrapodcast 💚

#okra #okrainspace

Reposted from @tanaka_tatsuya ⠀
MINIATURE LIFE SEOUL
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at MPX GALLERY
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MINIATURE LIFE展 in ソウル
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I always enjoy writing for @edibleasheville and I

I always enjoy writing for @edibleasheville and I greatly appreciate @ginakaesmith's thoughtful edits. In the latest edition I got to write about edible flowers, with input from @ashevillemicrogreens, @soulandsoilproject, and @thechefsfarmer.

I've been trying to start writing more regularly again. I definitely feel pulled to do it. My main challenge at the moment is working out what to write... When I was in the thick of the okra book, I remember thinking I couldn't wait to get back into writing fiction, but in reality once I had finished the manuscript I spent about 18 months catching up on sleep (and starting a non-profit, and surviving a pandemic, and enjoying my wonderful children).

But I'm slowly getting back into it and I've been spending my small chunks of free time focusing on completing my short story collection (actually the final novella), so I can send it out to agents. However, I know the fiction is a long shot and that if I could get a decent proposal together, publishing another nonfiction book would keep me writing and heading in the right direction. But even in that direction I'm unsure where to go, a privileged problem of too many ideas and options...!

Something is going to happen 😊

#Ilovewriting

We picked the first sub 40F night to camp out on t

We picked the first sub 40F night to camp out on the trampoline, under the stars and (bright) moon.

It begins! Big fiber extraction project for a bu

It begins!

Big fiber extraction project for a bunch of Abelmoschus species and a couple of Hibiscus. This is A. tetraphyllus about to be submerged and sealed away for 20 days...

@gabrielle_eitienne

#Okra #okrafiber

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