The Stone Soup Institute is an international school offering courses of study which integrate traditional and contemporary practices and knowledge in the Agrarian Arts & Sciences, Crafts and Fine Arts.

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Sunday, July 31, 2011

Making Strawberry Wine

Strawberry Wine is arguably one of the most wonderful possible things that one could invite into life. The taste of the strawberries is beautifully preserved. Just the smell of it reminds every cell of your body that, even in the coldest, most bitter parts of the year, summer will come again.  It reminds you that soon, you will run around and play outside, with bare sleeves and tan skin, and the air will again carry the warm scent of roses. It is full and luscious in body, and dense with scent in the nose. The beauty of strawberry wine is a relationship that you develop- you can not be given or buy the fullness of strawberry wine. For it to be fully salient you must experience strawberries, and summer, and love it, and love it so much that you save the memory in your body, and strawberry wine is the key. I can not recommend highly  enough to make your own- on the most profound level- make it your own- what ever the summer means to you, whatever strawberries mean to you- make it your own, sweet memory, and make strawberry wine to unlock it whenever you might need it. And, I mean- you know you need it....so while it seems like an indulgence, it is, in fact, completely necessary.










Sunday, July 17, 2011

How to Pick Mulberries

For anyone who has ever wanted a large amount of mulberries: the easiest way to do it is to lay blankets down around below to tree. Then climb up into the tree and shake it as best as you can. When the berries are good and ripe, they will fall right off.

These were used to make wine with. They will turn your fingers and lips deep purple. Its best to get involved with mulberries when you don't have anything  to do afterward, where that might make you feel uncomfortable...

Thursday, July 14, 2011

New Chickens!

Chicks have arrived. We bought 20 "La Roux" meat birds from some neighbor farmers to raise birds here. They are as to be expected, cute, yellow, fluffy, and chirping. But, they are also going to be food.  So, we are caring for them with great respect and concern, because our lives are intertwined now.  If they are cared for, soon, we will be cared for, with real food. This is really the stage where the expression " Putting love into it" counts, because once they fed chemically altered and treated food, kept in cramped places, and treated disrespectfully when killed, there is no amount of loving that can bring that dead food back to life. What nurtures you when you eat it- the healthy mineral and vitamin content, the absence of chemicals, lean dark, tasty meat-  can only happen before you kill it. That is something that is very important to recongize becasue that is the truth of food. Good food is as a spiritual, emotional and psychological food as well. The process of creating food is part of the food itself. That is what wholesome is supposed to mean.