Eat your zucchini... part 3

Okay. Here is the final installment of the zucchini trilogy.

And, I believe I saved the best for last.

Zucchini pickles:

Ingredients
16 cups fresh zucchini, sliced
4 cups onions, thinly sliced
1/2 cup canning or pickling salt
4 cups white vinegar (5%)
2 cups sugar
4 tbsp mustard seed
2 tbsp celery seed
2 tsp ground turmeric ( I used curry powder, because I don't have any turmeric)
Directions
Step 1 - Brining
Cover zucchini and onion slices with 1 inch of water and salt. Let it stand 2 hours.
Step 2 - Drain
Drain (and discard) the liquids from the zucchini and onions.
Step 3 - Mix the spices, vinegar and heat
Combine the
4 cups white vinegar (5%)
2 cups sugar
4 tbsp mustard seed
2 tbsp celery seed
2 tsp ground turmeric
in a saucepan and bring to a boil.
Step 4 - Add the zucchini and onions
Add the zucchini and onions. Simmer 5 minutes.
Step 5 - Fill the canning jars
Fill the jars with zucchini/onion mixture and pickling solution, leaving 1/2-inch of headspace.
Adjust lids and rings snugly.
Step 6 - Process in a water bath canner 15 minutes.

Yummy.

So, my friend Hanna let me borrow a book called Birthing from Within. It is weird. But interesting and I am learning from it.

Anyway, she (the author) recommends doing some birth art to get your psyche ready for pregnancy and birth. I liked the idea and did some last night. I picked the exercise where you are supposed to draw an animal that you think exemplifies excellent pregnancy/birthing/mothering/etc. I chose a Clara, because she is so sweet and calm and her body has expanded easily to accomodate baby, and she has a lovely mammary system, etc. My cow was okay. It didn't have a lot of oomph. The proportions weren't quite right. You could tell that somehow, my heart wasn't in it.

And then, today, I drew the right picture. It is not of a cow, but it is of a farm animal with which I am even more familiar. The game hen. (Game chickens are the kind traditionally raised for cockfighting.) And not just any game hen, but a broody one. Which is the chicken equivalent of pregnant woman. And this picture? Has OOOMPH. It's me, baby. I don't have a scanner, so I can't show you my drawing. But I did find a pic online of the animal of my inspiration.

I don't think I can say much more about how I feel about being pregnant. It's all right there, in full color.

For those of you who really cannot interpret animal thoughts and feelings just by looking- I'll add a quote. "Vacate the premises immediately. Failure to do so will result in your immediate annihilation."

I don't feel murderous all the time, but I do get me hackles up pretty quickly if someone doesn't respect my physical, emotional, or spiritual space.

And then, this evening I did some more birth art. Because I like it. I put a big piece of paper on the floor and had some fun with my kids' crayons.

I think it is good for me. I should keep doing it.

But anyway.

I am going to go eat some ice cream. And read the book about birthing from within. (I can't help but think to myself, where the heck else are you going to birth from? But I guess the author's point is that a lot of women allow others to dictate their pregnancy and birth, and so that is kind of like Birthing from Elsewhere. But the title still makes me smirk.)

XOXO

Joce