BOOK REVIEW - DEEP DARK AND DANGEROUS - not recommended

BOOK REVIEW – Deep Dark and Dangerous

Recently I was straightening up my daughter’s room and discovered an unfamiliar book.  I asked about it and discovered it had been a gift from one of her teachers at school.  Concerned that it looked like an unsuitable book for a Christian teenager, I took the book and read it to see what the content was.  I discovered that it was not a book that I want my daughter or any impressionable teenager to read.  I write a review here to provide other concerned parents with an informed criticism of the book so they may decide for themselves its suitability.

Author: Mary Dawning Hahn

Publisher: Sandpiper Books, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Boston, New York

Year Published: 2007

Category: Fiction, Ghost Stories

Technical Information: Paperback, 187 pages, no index, no illustrations, forward or introduction.

ISBN-13: 978-0-547-07645-4

Retail: $5.99 USD

Summary:  This is a teen genre ghost story about a young girl who vacations with her aunt at the family’s beach house that has been unused for decades.  A mysterious tragedy during her aunt’s and mother’s childhood resulted in an aversion to returning to visit the cottage. As an adult, the aunt goes back ostensibly to work on her paintings, but also with an unspoken desire to resolve issues related to the tragedy.  The ghost of a young girl who died in that tragedy comes back to haunt the family and manipulate them into bringing closure to the circumstances surrounding her death.

Main Characters:

Alison “Ali: Dwyer – niece and central character

Dulci Thornton Madison – Alison’s aunt

Teresa “Sissy” Abbot – ghost

Emma Madison – Alison’s younger cousin and charge

Claire Thornton/Dwyer – Alison’s mother

Edith – the doll

Jeanine Reynold Donaldson – a neighbor familiar with the events

Setting: Gull Cottage on Sycamore Lake near Websters Cove, Maine

General plot.  In 1977, Teresa Abbot is playing with the two Thornton sisters, Dulci and Claire.  A mean prank by Teresa centered around the doll, Edith, leads the three girls to take a boat out on lake Sycamore  Lake at night where they quarrel over the doll.  The doll and Teresa end up in the lake and drift away from the boat.  Dulci and Claire drift back to shore and return to their home without telling anyone what happened to Teresa, who drowns.

Thirty years later Dulci returns with Allison as a babysitter for her niece Emma, who befriends an uninvited visitor who calls herself “Sissy.”  Sissy turns out to be the ghost of Teresa Abbot, who is still mean and prone to trouble making.  At first the visitors think Sissy is just a local girl, until she reveals her real identity to Alison and alternately coerces and cajoles her to bring Dulci and Claire to admit their complicity in her death and help recover Teresa’s remains for proper burial.  After considerable suspense, a convoluted plot development and other complications this is accomplished.  Theresa and her family have closure, Claire and Dulci make amends and Alison and Emma escape further hauntings.

The story is well written, follows a cohesive and logical story line and is successful in holding the attention of the reader.  As a Christian parent I find the book objectionable because although it makes an effort at addressing the need for resolution and justice and has an overtly moral theme, it dabbles in occult subjects and does not address important issues through Biblical principles.

Teresa’s meanness and disregard for her own and others' safety is in fact what results in her death by accidental drowning. At no point in the story is Teresa apologetic or repentant for what she did.  Nor does she admit any role in the circumstances of her death, but squarely blames the two sisters, Dulci and Claire, who are in fact Teresa's victims.  The story assumes that the appearance of Teresa as a live (though subtly unnatural) girl is a plausible phenomena and gets no technical explanation.  This clearly contradicts scriptural principles that the dead do not communicate with the living but are only impersonated by unclean spirits.  Moreover, during the development of the relationship between Alison and Teresa, Alison actually invites the ghost to sleep with her in her bed at night and Alison consults “Sissy” in multiple instances.

The practice of consulting with the spirit of a dead person, in this case to learn of the circumstances of their death and the location of their remains, even if for ostensibly good purposes, is clearly occultist in nature and prohibited. Inviting the spirit to enter the home and then sleeping with it is both a dangerous form of spiritism and perverse behavior.  It suggests that such spirits may be placated by normalizing them into household life when in fact they should be promptly exorcised.

This is a dangerous and objectionable book and should not be read or kept by Christians, especially youth.  The objection comes because it portrays a perverse and unscriptural approach to resolving an accidental death and consequently aberrant behavior. The story also demonstrates a tolerance, even approval for occultist practices such as consulting spirits of the dead and placating them through ceremonial ritual.  It is dangerous, especially for teen readers, because it not only is wasteful of reading time when so much better literature is available, but it can lead to the mindset that ghosts may be consulted and even consorted with for potential benefit and without consequence. The story also ignores the real source of resolution which is admission of sin and repentance with restitution (when possible).  It is especially dangerous because the good quality of the writing provides an attractive and persuasive vehicle for its perverse and erroneous content.

As an final point of interest, the story seems to imply that the bizarre artwork of Dulci is precipitated by her troubled conscience, but any change in her behavior as a result of her admission of complicity in Teresa’s death is not discussed. My final word on this is that the book should be kept out of Christian homes and not circulated.

THE FUN THINGS - CIVIL WAR REENACTING

I write about a variety of ways we cut expenses to manage during the current recession.  Many of those things are mundane, some involve hard work, and a few are downright unpleasant.  But that doesn't mean we don't have fun.  In fact, we do have some truly memorable and exciting adventures.  One of them began last year on 10/02/2010 when we went to watch reenactors recreate the historic civil war battle of Fort Crawford.  A link to more information on that event is given below:

BATTLE OF FORT CRAWFORD 2010

We watched in excited fascination as modern reenactors in period costume with reproduction small arms and cannon battled back and forth for several hours across the hilly fields of Bill and Ann Ainsworth's ranch.  Over 500 reenactors entertained some 2000 visitors, and 1100 school children from four local school districts.  The battles were truly dramatic with 19 cannons and about 50 cavalry.  Infantry squared off in battle lines punctuated by the booming of cannon.  Charges set in the ground and water simulated the fall of heavy munitions and acrid clouds of smoke from spent black powder drifted across the fields. There was even a horse drawn field ambulance that dashed about retrieving simulated wounded soldiers.

After the battle, we toured the reenactors' shops and camp, learning first-hand something of the rigors experienced and inventiveness exercised by those 19th century soldiers and camp followers.  At the end of the tour we stopped to admire the artillery and were regaled by "Captain Buster" James Horn.  He mixed history with anecdotes, his personal experiences and an invitation to join the activity to persuade us to come back for more.

So we did. 

My daughter and I went last weekend to Mansfield State Historic Site near Mansfield, LA where Cleburn's Division were holding a mandatory artillery school.  Using artillery in reenacting is actually significantly dangerous (and expensive) business.  To use them in state parks, Louisiana requires reenanctors to be properly trained and certified to exacting standards.  We went to take the training and learn more about reenacting.  Since this is the 150th anniversary of the American Civil War, it's become a major activity across the nation, even attracting international attention!

MANSFIELD STATE HISTORIC SITE 

We arrived for the class on the morning of the 12th, and had a thorough lecture on safety and etiquette with some humor and cautionary tales thrown in.  The park office's small auditorium was packed to overflowing with a group of primarily middle aged men with some women and youth.  Most were in period clothing, the majority being a wide spectrum of Confederate military uniforms.  The red kepis of artillery men dominated.

After the classroom lecture, there was a graphic demonstration of the potential hazards of loading and firing cannon.  A cannon was set up in the large open field before the park office and the trainees made a wide semicircle behind the cannon.  A heavy steel T-post was driven deep into the ground before the cannon muzzle.  A thick, fire-resistant glove was stuffed with a raw chicken, one piece of which was placed on the touch hole of the cannon.  The glove was then securely tied to the post.  The cannon was loaded, and after a dramatic pause and a stern warning, was fired point blank at the glove with a charge of about 1 3/4 lbs black powder and no projectiles.

After the roar faded and the smoke cleared, the bare T-post was visible, burned and bent like a bow by the blast.  Eager onlookers spread out on the field and retrieved small, charred fragments of the glove that smelled strongly of burned saltpeter. No trace of the chicken was found.  It had evaporated!  The piece on the touch hole had been badly blackened and burned too by the hot gasses spewing from that small orifice. This is what would happen to a hand carelessly placed in front of or on top of the cannon when it is discharged.  Since a single serious injury could shut down an event, not to mention cripple or kill a participant, they are to be strictly avoided.

For the rest of the morning we trained on how to load and fire a muzzle loading cannon.  Without actually using any ammunition, we cycled through the seven positions required to service the cannon.  The details of this training can be found at the Cleburn Division website:

CLEBURNE'S DIVISION

Loading and firing a cannon was much more complicated than I had imagined.  It takes real teamwork to carry it out correctly and safely.  My daughter enjoyed it and bragged about the experience to her friends who had declined to come with us.  Some of them regretted missing the unique opportunity!  I can scarcely imagine the discipline needed to carry out that routine under fire during the chaos of a real battle.

Afterwards we spent the afternoon resting and then enjoyed some lively recreation around the campfire after dark.  The reenactors gathered to sing songs, exchange stories and enjoy good food and drink.  It was a little bawdy for my teenage daughter, who tuned out a good portion with her ipod.  There was a full spectrum of people and no lack of colorful opinions.  All was exchanged in good humor with southern hospitality and generosity on full display.  It was about as close to period camp life as one could hope for.

We spent a very cool night in a walled tent provided by our host.  Even a modern propane heater didn't completely chase the late winter chill away.  As I lay in the cold darkness my thoughts went to the museum displays of artifacts and letters from those who had battled here over a century before.  Many of those who died in the battle of Mansfield are still buried here.  It was a privilege to stay on that hallowed ground and be in the presence of brave and selfless men who had fought for their principles under such terrible conditions.  The loss to our nation of such good men and material was tragic and the personal losses were grievous beyond measure. I hope that preserving the memory of such events preserves for future generations such good as resulted from that titanic struggle.

THE LITTLE THINGS - THE AMAZING POTATO AND FRIENDS

One of the upsides of the budget crunch is that the temptation to buy junk foods is greatly diminished when the cost/benefit ratio is factored in.  This is especially true of potato chips and popcorn. However, I miss those snacks and from time to time feel a powerful desire to munch.  

The colorful bags of popcorn and chips in the store are very enticing, but very dear.  Typically they go for $2 or more for a 6 oz. package.  Top grade steak is in that price range, and is both tastier and more nutritious.  So, reluctantly, I pass those by.  However, the basic ingredients, potatoes, popcorn kernels, salt and oil are still very affordable.  In fact, I can grow or make all three of those at home.

The main ingredient, potatoes can be bought for $1 a pound, or even half that for seed potatoes (in season) at the garden store.  Popcorn is even cheaper by the pound for kernels, and you can grow more from a handful of uncooked kernels, roughly $2 per lb.  Oil can be bought for about $3 for 32 oz. Salt is cheap, about $1 for 26 oz. and if you are desperate, can be obtained from wood ashes by filtration. 

Popcorn is easy to make.  Just heat up about 2 tablespoons of oil in a pan on medium high on the stove, add about 1/4 cup popcorn kernels, cover and gently shakes until the kernels stop popping - about 3-5 minutes. Shake salt and other seasonings (I like grated Parmesan cheese, rosemary and melted butter or olive oil on mine) on the popped kernels and serve. Since salt as it comes from the store is too coarse to stick well to the popcorn, I put it in the spice (or coffee) grinder until it resembles confectioner's sugar. That seems to work better.

Potato chips are a little trickier.  I grew up when the brand Wise potato chips dominated the market that has since succumbed (at least locally) to Lays and various corn chip makers.  They have their following, but for me, Wise was the standard chip and remains my favorite.

To make something like the Wise chip, heat a quality vegetable oil at medium heat on the stove.  Peel and slice whole red potatoes about 3/32 in thick, as uniformly as reasonably possible.  If available, put the slices in a wire basket that will fit in the pot of oil.  Otherwise, carefully toss the slices by hand into the hot oil. The slices should boil vigorously as the moisture in the potato turns to steam.  Watch them carefully and periodically (about every 1-2 minutes) pull out a sample chip.  When they are crisp and lightly browned at the edges, remove and place on paper towel.  Sort through them and toss back any that are still soft or very white. Remove and discard any burnt ones (eating them is OK). When cool enough to handle, place in a brown paper bag with plenty of salt (about 1 tablespoon for a lunch bag sized batch) and shack vigorously but gently (to distribute the salt evenly without smashing the chips.) A metal spatula or spaghetti spoon is handy for removing the chips from the oil (don't use plastic for obvious reasons).

Once you have made chips, it's a small step to making fries.  I can't believe the fast food restaurants that charge $1 or more for a little 2 oz. bag of hot French fries.  I used to enjoy buying them from little kiosks in Europe on winter days for as little as $0.10 a bag.  It was such a treat to enjoy the fresh, hot, salty snacks with snow swirling around my face as I bit through the crisp exterior to the creamy inside that steamed gently in the cold air. They were wrapped in cleverly folded pieces of newspaper and thickly cut compared  to McD's famous spuds. But they were delicious! Making my own brings back those pleasant memories. I figure a serving of fries take one 8 ox. potato, about 2 tbls of oil and about 2 grams of salt.  That's less than $0.65 per serving.  I've heard that a secret to McD's famous fries is beef tallow.  I've experimented with a variety of tallows, including beef, pork and venison.  Plain oil suits me just fine and there are no finer potatoes than what you can grow yourself!.

It's great to enjoy a treat like these now and then and some real satisfaction comes from knowing you grew it yourself and the profits stay local!

THE LITTLE THINGS - HOME MADE WINE, CHEESE AND CRACKERS

During challenging times like the, one of my favorite comfort foods (along with chocolate and peanut butter) is cheese and crackers with a cool glass of red wine.  One of the obstacles to this is the price.  Crackers can be bought for under $2 a box, but cheese is at $5 a pound and wine at $6 or so per750 ml bottle.  In a week it is easy to spend $10 or more on such luxuries and by the end of the month the funds equivalent to the highly necessary telephone service are spent.  I can't give up the telephone and feel these small treats are near necessities since they qualify as food and drink.

Therefore, I deceide to make them myself.

CRACKER RECIPE

:

Step 1: Ingredients

• 3 1/4 cups Mixed Flour*
• 3/4 tsp Salt

• 1/3 cup Olive Oil
• 1 cup Water

• 2 tblsp ground rosemary

For the dough, I've use white flour and various mixtures of white and whole wheat, oatmeal, rice and other grains.  I found that more than 1/3 whole wheat and any self rising flour were not very palatable.  Corn meal sprinkled on the baking sheet helped prevent sticking, but didn't make satisfactory crackers if used in the dough. To make flour from oatmeal and whole grains I used an electric coffee grinder and sifted the results for consistently fine flour.

Step 2: Prepare the Dough

Mix dry ingredients thoroughly. Add in wet ingredients and mix with a fork until dough is uniform in texture and add water or flour until dough is not sticky or crumbly. Knead a few times just until fully combined and form into a single lump. 

Step 3: Roll Out

Working in small batches, roll out the dough into very thin sheets on a well floured breadboard or counter top with a rolling pin.  A pasta machine does well to if you have one.

For the first batch I suggest trying a couple of different thicknesses to see what you like. For our baking conditions, 3/32 of an inch does fairly well. 

Step 4: Prep

To prep the crackers for baking, score into cracker sized pieces with a serrated pizza wheel or a fork to create parting lines and prevent large bubbles.

Sprinkle with coarse salt and ground rosemary.

Step 5: Bake

Bake at 350F for 15-20 minutes or until well browned. Transfer the bakes dough to a cooling rack immediately. The crackers easily snap apart along the score lines.

That was the easy part.

Making cheese was a bit more involved.  Thankfully our local supermarket had a sale on one of my favorites: whole milk at $2.24 per gallon!   

Rennet is essential for curling the cheese and can be bought online at:

WHERE TO BUY RENNET TABLETS

There is also a recipe on that website for hard cheese there which I give in modified version below:

BASIC HARD CHEESE

by Dr. David Fankhauser, for Redco Foods 10 June 2003

One gallon of milk yields about one pound of cheddar-style cheese. You may use skimmed or whole milk for this cheese, but whole milk makes a richer cheese. This cheese has no added color. 

Ingredients to turn one gallon of milk into one pound of cheese:

• 1 gallon fresh milk (the fresher the milk, the more predictable the cheese)
• 1/4 cup active cultured buttermilk (1/2 cup plain yogurt will also work yogurt must contain live and active culture)
• 1/2 tablet rennet (1/4 tablet will work, but takes a bit longer to coagulate, see step 5)
• salt

Required Apparatus:

• thermometer, reading range 0 to 225F (-10 to 110C)
• whisk or other effective stirring and mixing device 
• two sterilized stainless steel 4-6 quart pots, one with a lid. (A thick metal bottom prevents burning.)
• a long bladed knife (9-10 inches long)
• 8" strainer
• A large handkerchief, sterilized by boiling and drying
• A cheese pressing frame (4" diameter, 5" tall can, about 20 oz, ends removed, save one end for a follower)

1. INOCULATE THE MILK: The evening before you plan to make cheese, warm 1 gallon of fresh milk to 68F (20C) in the sterilized pot. Thoroughly blend in 1/4 cup buttermilk to inoculate. Cover inoculated milk with the sterilized lid.

2. INCUBATE OVER NIGHT: Let sit out at room temperature overnight

3. WARM THE MILK: The next morning, gently warm the milk up to 86F (30C). Meanwhile, dissolve 1/2 tablet of Rennet in 1/4 cup of cold water.

4. ADD THE RENNET: Stir the dissolved rennet into the 86F milk to mix thoroughly. Cover, let sit undisturbed for an hour or more in a warm place in the room. Be patient. Do not disturb the milk until it has coagulated.

5. ACHIEVE A CLEAN BREAK: Test for a "clean break" (completed action of rennet): Probe a clean finger into the milk and lift. If it has gelled enough to break cleanly as the finger is lifted, go to next step. If the milk is liquid or semi-gelatinous and softly flows across your finger, let sit until a clean break is obtained. It may take as long as 1-2 hours more. Be patient, do NOT disturb the milk.

6. CUT THE CURD: Once a clean break is achieved, cut the curd with a long knife: begin at one edge of the pot and cut straight to bottom. Cut repeatedly parallel to first cut, but increasing the angle of the knife until reaching 45 degrees at the other side of pot. Rotate the pot a quarter of a turn, cut as before. Repeat the rotating and cutting two more times, yielding 1/2 inch cubes of curd.

7. SET THE CURD: Place the pot over a low fire, stir curd with cleaned bare hand by reaching down to bottom, gently lifting and stirring. Cut larger curds as they appear. Do not mash or squeeze. Continue stirring for 15 min to prevent the curds from clumping together or overheating at the bottom. Warm the curds to 92F (34C) for softer curd cheese, or as high as 102F (39C) for very firm cheese.

8. SEPARATE CURDS AND WHEY: Stir and maintain 92F until curd has contracted to consistency of firm scrambled eggs. Remove from stove and let sit for 10 minutes. The curds should sink in whey. Pour off the whey through a strainer and save for ricotta if you wish. Place the curds in a large bowl.

9. ADD SALT: Sprinkle two teaspoons salt over curds, working with hands to mix in. Pour off any additional whey.

10. PRESS THE CHEESE: Line a smooth-sided 4" x 5" tin can from which both ends have been removed with a sterile large white handkerchief. Place the still-warm curds into the cloth, press into the can. Fold the corners of the cloth over top of the curds and cover with the cut-out end of the can. Place a heavy weight on top to press down the curds. Let the milk culture sit at room temperature for 12 hours or so.

11. CURE THE CHEESE: The next morning, remove and unwrap the cheese from the press. Rub the outside with salt, re-wrap with a fresh handkerchief and place on a rack in the refrigerator. Replace "bandage" when it becomes wet (daily at first). When a dry yellowish rind forms (about one to two weeks in the refrigerator), dip in melted wax, store in refrigerator for about a month (if you can wait that long). The longer you wait, the sharper the cheese.

Avoid aluminum pots because the acid will dissolve the aluminum.

Sterilize the pot just before use by pouring 1/2 inch of water in the bottom, covering, and bring to a rolling boil for at least five minutes. Pour out the water, replace sterile lid, and keep sterilized pot covered until you are ready to add the milk. 

My experience with cheese making was that holding the temperature constant on the stove top was a real challenge as it varied with room temperature and finding the sweet spot on the electric range control took some experimentation.

I had most of the necessary items on hand except the thermometer and the cloth.  The thermometer was for sale in the supermarket for about $1.89, and a clean cotton sheet cut into round circles 20" in diameter fit the other part of the bill.  I traced the circle using a round baking sheet, black sharpie and scissors.  The rennet was ordered online and took about a week to arrive in the mail.

Things went pretty much according to plan, except that in the coolness of our poorly heated house, the curds didn't form as firmly as desired.  I turned up the heat on the stove (as if making ricotta cheese) and that solved the issue.

Since most metal food cans these days are stamped out of one sheet of metal and then have the lids pressed on, it was difficult to find a can which was easy to open at both ends.  I have a nice can opener that opens the seam rather than cuts through the lid, and this makes a nice can to use as a cheese mold.  I found that cans of evaporated milk still have seams on both ends typically, and used these for the molds.  Wooden circles cut to size and placed at each end between a well scrubbed and sterilized c-clamp completed the cheese press.

When removing the curds from the whey, I found that a small strainer was very helpful too.  This left me with nearly a gallon of whey.  Not wanting to waste it by pouring it down the drain, I ladled it into the water dish for the dog that happily lapped it up.

It took about a week for the cheese to harden in the refrigerator after the whey was pressed out, then, unwrapped, another two weeks to harden.  The result was quite tasty.  I used some cheese before it hardened like cheese spread and it too was quite good on the crackers.

The wine was another matter.  Retail grapes are expensive and pressing store-bought grapes is not a solution if cost savings are desired.  I planted some grape vines in the yard last spring, but it will be a couple years yet before they are mature enough to harvest.

Thankfully, East Texas has a native grape, the Muscadine that grows wild.  A friend who already had wine making equipment and I went found a very large vine by the roadside and picked about 100 lbs of fresh grapes during the midsummer season.  We made the wine approximately according to the following steps:

http://www.weekendbrewer.com/Wine_making_basic_steps.htm

Wine Making Basic Steps

1) Clean all grapes de-stem and place them into a coarse cloth or nylon bag. Set the bag in a clean, sterilized 5 gallon bucket or one with 20-25% more capacity than the volume of juice anticipated, and squeeze the bag by hand until the only a little juice dribbles from the pulp.  Give the pulp to the chickens and wash the bag,

2) Test the density and sugar content of the juice and add water and or sugar to achieve the desired strength.

Example: If the juice and water you test with your hydrometer is at 1.040 then ADD sugar to bring the starting gravity up to 1.085 - 1.090   for wine with a finished alcohol of 12 to 12-1/2 % A/v. If you want a lower alcohol, add less sugar.

3) Test for acid balance. Follow the instructions from the Acid test kit

White Wine .65 - .75 Tartaric  /  4.2 - 4.9 ppt. Sulfuric
Red Wine .60 - .65 Tartaric  /  3.9 - 4.2 ppt  Sulfuric
Fruit Wine .55 - .65 Tartaric  /  3.6 - 4.2 ppt  Sulfuric

Add 1 ea. level Tsp. of ACID Blend to raise the Acid level .15 (15%) Tartaric or 1 ppt Sulfuric to one gallon of the juice.

Excessive Acidity will cause the wine to have a sour taste and odor.

Note: Muscadine grape are pretty tart, and I didn’t have to add any tartaric acid.

4) Juice cut with water will require nutrients to be added back. On an average add 1-tsp. per gallon of Yeast Nutrient (Diammonium Phosphate)

Fruits contain pectin in the cellular structure to retain their juice. The pectin enzymes break down the cells to release the juice and flavor. Also pectin will cause a cloudy finish to your wine. Pectin enzyme will clear the wine by breaking down the pectin's. It is best added before fermentation.  In liquid form add 3 drops per gallon. In dry form add 1/2 tsp. per gallon.  Alternatively, filter through charcoal to remove the cloudiness.

5) Your fresh fruit will have wild yeast and bacteria. An easy way to get ride of these contaminants is to add 1 each crushed Campden tablet per each gallon. Let the juice stand for 24 to 36 hours before adding the commercial yeast. Note that Campden Tablets contain Sodium Metabisulphite which makes the taste somewhat bitter. And adds suphites

If you are allergic to sulfur, and do not want to use Campden Tablets, then you will need to bring the juice just to a boil and then cool it covered (If you don't want to lose a significant portion of the natural aroma and flavor). Cool to 75 degrees and then add the yeast starter.

6) A good time to start your commercial wine yeast is while you a waiting for the Campden tablets take care of the wild yeast and bacteria. That is, start the yeast culture about 18-24 hours before adding the yeast.

 Yeast Starter: Boil 1-1/2 cups of water and 1/2 cup of the juice with one tablespoon of sugar for 3-4 minutes. Let this sugar mix cool to 75 degrees. (You may place it in the freezer for a few minutes to aid in cooling).  After the mix has cooled, sprinkle the yeast on top. Cover and let the yeast work for 18-24 hours. Lightly swirl the yeast mix to put all the yeast back into suspension before adding to the wine must.

A very easy way to start your yeast is to use a 750ml wine bottle. Sanitize the bottle and fill it with the cooled yeast starter. Add the yeast to the bottle and seal it with a #2 stopper and an air lock. The starter will start to ferment in a sanitary container that is easy to pour into your main fermenter.

7) After adding the yeast starter slurry to your wine juice. We recommend fermenting your wine in a closed fermenter. A clean, sterilized food grade bucket with a matching lid is a good way to start. Make sure the lid is airtight. Drill a small hole in the lid for a rubber stopper to fit snugly. Insert an air lock into the stopper or a piece of tubing long enough to go into the stopper and over the side of the bucket and below it one foot (approx. 2 feet long). With one end of the tubing in the stopper, that is in the lid. Place the open end of the tubing into a half filled gallon jug of clean water. (used plastic milk jugs work well). This is called a Water Lock. It will allow the CO₂ to escape but no air to come in as the CO₂ bubbles exit the fermenter into the water jug and the water prevents air from being drawn back into the fermenter through the rubber hose.

8) Make sure your fermenter is in an area that will keep a constant temperature and not exceed about 75 deg F. After the CO₂ has started, keep an eye on the water jug. If it starts to get to full or dirty, replace it with clean water. With the lid still tight on the fermenter, swirl the fermenter to keep the must blended.

9) After approximately five days the wine fermentation will start to slow down. When the fermentation starts to slow, wine is ready to transfer to the secondary fermenter. The specific gravity of the wine at this time should be 1.040 -1.020.

NOTE: The secondary fermenter IS ALWAYS the size of the final batch. Excessive air space can contaminate your wine and cause it to turn to vinegar. It is recommended that a glass container be used as your secondary fermenter. Glass will not leach chemicals that can affect the taste and quality of the wine as plastic may do as the alcohol content rises to 10-12-1/2 percent.

Transfer the wine out of the bucket by siphoning into the glass fermenter. Make sure the sediment in the bucket stays in the bucket and does not get sucked up in the siphon while transferring the wine. Always transfer the wine down the sides or fill the glass fermenter from the bottom up. Never splash the wine. Slashing will start oxidation and cause off flavors.  

10) Let the wine stand for 3-4 weeks or until fermentation is completely finished. The wine can age longer if it is kept sealed. Or, you may want to stabilize the wine (kill all of the yeast) and add the finings now. Before stabilizing the wine, take a hydrometer reading. It should be 1.000 or lower. If the reading is 1.000-1.005, and you like sweet wine you can stop the fermentation at that point.

11) The fermentation can be stopped by killing the yeast,  This is done by adding again 1 each Campden Tablet for each gallon of wine. Crush the Campden well and add to the wine with the finings. Stir your wine very well to bring the CO₂ up to the top of the fermenter. You will be stirring up the small layer of sediment from the bottom.

Important: If you have more than 1/8 inch of sediment in the bottom of your fermenter and your wine is cloudy. You should first siphon off the sediment and then transfer it back into the glass fermenter. Do this BEFORE you add the Campden tablets and finings.

You may have to stir the wine two or three times in a two day period to remove the CO₂ or degas the wine.   After degassing and adding the Campden tablets and finings, let your wine stand for 2-3 weeks.  Finings will remove most or all the small matter floating in your wine. A Fining popular with white wine is Sparkolloid powder. Others include Isinglass, bentonite and gelatin. Note: clean cat litter is a source of bentonite clay.

12) Transfer your wine off of any sediment into another container. If you are going to bottle the wine at this point, and the wine is not to dry for your taste, then proceed. This is the time to sweeten the wine if that is desired. You can bottle some of the wine as is or add a sweetener to the remaining wine. Add potassium sorbate (1/4 tsp. per gallon) to your wine to prevent renewed fermentation before you add the sweetener. To sweeten your wine we recommend for five gallons removing One cup of your wine. Add to the one cup, 2 cups of sugar and bend well. Add 4 tablespoons per gallon or sweeten to taste. Remember you can bottle part of the batch dry, slightly sweeten the batch and bottle more. And if a desert style wine is desired, add more sweetener to the remaining wine to suite taste.

13) A easy way to sanitize your corks is using One Campden tablet to a 1/2 gallon of hot water (not boiling). Let the corks soak in the Campden water for 20-30 minutes. Always make sure your bottles are sanitized before filling.

14) When corking. The length of the cork times 2 equals the amount of space left in the bottle. If your cork is 1-1/2 inches long then the space in your bottle should be 3 inches before you start to insert the cork.

15) If you are going to store your wine in a lighted area, it is best to use a dark bottle. But if you store your wine out of light use any color or clear bottle you have.

END OF INSTRUCTIONS

I ended up with about fifteen gallons of a drinkable wine.  The muscadine grapes gave it a strong flavor that was an acquired taste.  I added considerable sugar too, so it has about 12-13% alcohol content and was pretty potent.  Besides being cheap and strong, it isn’t very popular so I get to drink it all myself.

We also had a good crop of watermelons this past summer.  I made a few bottles of wine from them and added lemon juice as was recommended by one other experimenter.  In a few months I’ll give that arty too.  Meanwhile I will continue to try to improve on what’s been done and report on any significant successes.

Easting and drinking my own wine and cheese was a laborious process, but well worth the expense and effort.  The quality, efficiency and cost were not competitive with an off-the shelf purchase initially, but that’s to be expected when there’s a learningin curce to be climbed.  What I did produce what healthy, tasty and satisfied my need for comfort food.  Moreover, I derived a lasting satisfaction knowing I had made it without the usual compromises involved in business decisions such as exploitation, abuse or pollution.  Moreover, now I have all the equipment, ingredients and know-how to do it again.  And I expect to improve on all the above with each process cycle.  Eventually I hope to be able to produce these things in the flavors nad to the quality standards I prefer.  Then I expect to have the full satisfaction possible from these little things.

THE LITTLE THINGS - THE COMPOST HEAP

My neighbors have started breaking ground for this year’s crops and I'm in the process of tilling and planting the half acre behind our little home.  It's about time to plant peas, potatoes and other spring crops. Two of the primary expenses in gardening after equipment are seeds and fertilizers.  (If you love gardening as I do, labor isn't a factor - it's a pleasure!) During the halcyon years in the past I gladly spent $300 to $500 on seeds and fertilizer for a garden that would yield perhaps $200 worth of fruits and veggies.  Besides fruits and vegetables that were way beyond the quality found in the supermarket, the effort at gardening helped keep me toned and trim in body, mind and spirit.  Plus there was usually a surplus to share with friends, family and neighbors with the plus that it bolstered these important relationships. Lastly, involving the children in such projects is an essential part of their upbringing.

This year the available budget is about $40 for seed $5 for fuel, with nothing left over for fertilizer.  I'm in the process of building a biofuel manaufacturing system to help escape the horrific cost of fuel, but that's still incomplete.  The seeds are already ordered, and most of them received.  (Does anyone know why Durham wheat is so scarce?) To cut the seed bill I saved seeds from some of the better plants from last year.  In terms of corn, that amounts to all the corn I need to plant this year.  For amaranth, that amounts to a tiny handful from the one spindly plant that survived. (Odd, how a purportedly drought and poor soil tolerant plant like Amaranth failed while fertilizer and water-hungry corn did remarkably well in our poor, dry, sandy soil!?)

For fertilizer we have an abundant supply of horse and turkey manure.  Both animals are quite helpful in that they generally pick one or two spots to deposit their contributions, and from there it easily shoveled up and put in a compost bin.

The trick was in the compost bins - no budget for these.

For the turkey poo I found that I could stack used tires into a hollow column and drop the poo in from the top.  When it had composted or needed to be turned, it's a simple matter to remove each tire and dump the contents in a wheelbarrow or on the ground.  Then the tires are restacked and either the turkey manure is spread in the garden, or returned to the tire column for more composting. I've seen an even more interesting digester design using some PVC pipe and truck inner tubes that captures the methane gas that evolves for cooking gas, but that's for future consideration.

I wanted to build a fancy barrel design composter for the horse manure where I could turn a crank and tumble and/or sift the contents into the wheelbarrow.  But there were insufficient funds and materials for such a project.  However, I did have about 16 feet of chain-link fence left over from building a dog pen.  (The same can typically be found in the scrap yard for a few $s.)  That and a few wooden posts and some baling wire made a fine compost bin.

Rainwater on a compost heap tends to leach nutrients and make the pile heavy and soggy, so I located this one under the eaves of the small barn I built.  Before heaping up the manure, I collected it in one spot and left it out for the chicken to scratch through for a few days.  They shredded it nicely from the round nuggets the horse produces (called "horse apples" by some) and left a product not unlike grass clippings.  This was raked up and heaped into the 4' x 4' x 4' tall square bin.

The first time I built the pile it seemed rather dry, so I added about a gallon of water every six inches.  After a couple months I broke the pile down to see how it was doing.  (This was a simple matter of removing the baling wire ties that secured the fence material to the posts, and slipping the fence off the pile.)  A good couple shoves with a tined rake and the pile was turned.  It was composting well enough, but still a bit dry, so I added another gallon of water or so to each 4-6 inches as I rebuilt it. I also learned that it's better to put the posts on the outside of the fence than the inside because the dead space around the posts is wasted and can create a site where loose compost easily spills out.  Therefore, put the posts outside the fence if you build a pile like this.

Another composting project involves teabags.  If you're a regular drinker of either iced or hot tea as I am, you probably toss those used tea bags away as I did for many years.  Then I was visiting a friend, Irina D., who had a lovely lemon tree growing in a pot on her kitchen window.  It was quite healthy looking and the soil in the pot was rich and dark.  I asked her what kind of potting soil she used to get such good results.  "Chai," she replied simply.


I hadn't heard of such a brand before and asked her where she bought it and whether it was expensive. 


"Here," she said, picking up a tea strainer and dumping the contents out into the pot, "and it's free."


Last year I tried that too, but the tea leaves dried out easily in small pots.  So, this year I'm adding a little soil to the mix.  I have plenty of egg cartons to start the seedlings in, and the bonus with paper ones is that you can plant the seedling 'pot' and all!  I'm going to start lemon, orange, date and olive trees in some Chai and will see how they turn out.

In a week or two I will start planting potatoes in the manure-compost, and by spring should have a nice crop of spuds!

THE LITTLE THINGS - WASHING DISHES

As I wrote before, it seems that whenever income dries up, appliances decide to develop malfunctions or die altogether.  I suppose that if we had a dishwasher, it too would have failed by now.  For good or bad, our rental home didn't come with a dishwasher and obviously we can't afford to buy one now.  That leaves three options.  One is explained in the following joke.

JOKE

A man visits his father who has retired to a small, primitive cabin in the woods.  They eat dinner together and as they dine, the son notices that the glass he's drinking from isn't exactly spotless.

"Dad," he says, "this glass doesn't look clean.  Was it washed?"

Without looking up, the father scowls and replies, "That's the best Cold Water can do son."

As they finish the meal, the son looks at the dishes and remarks, "You know, these dishes really seem rather dirty and the food tasted funny.  Are you sure they were washed properly."

The father goes to get dessert while the son clears the table. "Don't be so fussy.  You know we don't have fancy dishwashers like folks in town.  That's the best Cold Water can do."

Dessert is served and the son looks at his serving with some apprehension.  "I'm full dad.  I think I'll pass on dessert.  Besides, it's late and I should be heading home."

"Suit yourself," the father replies and eats both desserts as the son puts on his coat and hat.  

As the son is leaving, he stops and watches his father lay out all the dishes on the front porch and whistle loudly.  "Here Cold Water, come and get it!" he calls.   A large hound dog lopes up and begins licking the dishes clean.

The son decides he won’t be dining there for awhile.

END OF JOKE

Now, while we have do have a dog, we NEVER let her eat from the same dishes we eat from.

The other two options are to use disposable plates, cups and utensils or to wash by hand.  The former seems like an extravagant waste, so we are relegated to the latter.  I don't like washing dishes and my daughter detests it.  So we take turns, but due to obvious friction, it seems to be more often my turn than hers.

I have learned a few things from this.  

1. wash the dishes after each meal if possible because they stack up rapidly and fill the sink and counter.  Also, left in the open long, the food dries or turns nasty and this makes washing by hand all the more unpleasant and tedious.

2. use good dish washing soap.  I tried cheap brands and I tried making my own.  Spending 20 or 30 cents more for a bottle of Dawn or the like is very much worth the extra cost. 

3. A good sponge, preferably with scotch brite on one side is a great tool. Scrub brushes and metal scouring pads aren't usually worth the extra expense and effort.

4. to clean metal with tarnish or charred spots use baking soda and lemon juice backed up by vigorous scouring with scotch brite. (Copper is easy to clean, stainless steel the most difficult)

5. to clean teapots and other glass or ceramic drinking vessels with deposits in them use a special coffee pot cleaner - Dip It works well if allowed to soak overnight.  Rinse thoroughly after cleaning though or you’ll have a new and startling taste sensation!

6. don't bother drying the dishes if you are not in a hurry.  They will air dry perfectly well in the dish drainer, and have a capacious drainer with a separate slot for utensils and hooks for cups.  Note: dry cups upside down so the water can run out.  Place on a towel if there's no room in the dish drainer.

7. Put the dishes away when they are dry for two reasons:

       a. you'll need the room later

       b. if you accidentally bump a large pile of dishes the result can be highly embarrassing!

8. don't let wooden or carbon steel (like cast iron pans) soak in water, they will rot and rust.  Aluminum pots and utensils should also not soak or be exposed t caustic cleaners.

9. wash cans and bottles you intend to recycle or save.  This doesn't require much more effort and is a kindness to the recycles and provides you with a handy supply of containers. Save labels for the local public school if they redeem them for things from the vendor.

10. replace sponges at regular intervals of a week or so – or else!

Despite being underemployed, I do have a busy schedule and so rather resent the time spent on washing dishes.  For a while I just stood there at the sink and endured this seeming waste of time until I realized that there are some things I can do even when my hands are busy (and my brain isn't!).

Singing!

I sing base in our church choir and am not yet one of the best choralists. So I prop up a hymn book on the window frame and sing while I scrub the pots and pans.  Progress is slow, but there has been significant improvement in my skill since beginning this program.  Playing accompanying music on the CD player also helps.  Admittedly, hymns can become a little monotonous at times too.  So, I throw in some ballads and folk songs now and then.  They are easy and simple and repetitive, so not too challenging for an amateur like me. 

Lastly, we don't forget the dog.  BEFORE washing the dishes, we scrape the leftovers into a feeding bowl and let her contend with the turkeys for the scraps.  Between them nothing remains, not even potatoes peels!

Someday I hope to have a dishwasher again.  The thought that I shall use a bit more electricity or water does bother me, but by then I should have reached my peak as a singer and will look forward to respite from the sponge.

BOOK REVIEW - FASTING BY SCOT MCKNIGHT

I love to read and the current budget crisis has meant looking for alternatives to retail book stores for quality reading.  A friend of mine told me about programs where you can receive books for free in return for reading them and writing reviews.  The first one I signed up for that sent me a book was Booksneeze (Thomas Nelson Publishers). As usual, things didn't turn out as simple or easy as I'd hoped.  I expected to either like or dislike the book and be able to read it through once and write a simple review explaining why.  The book, Fasting, by Scot McKnight turned out to be a very weighty book with some significantly good and bad points. The exercise to read and review it was far in excess of the value of the $12.99 cover price, but the effort was well spent.  For it forced me to think critically about an important subject and produce a review worthy of a piece of quality literature.  I shall do this again. To fulfill my obligation and give potential readers a good overview of the book I submit the review below:

BOOK REVIEW

Author: Scot McKnight

Publisher: Thomas Nelson, Nashville, TN

Contributing Author(s): Forward by Phyllis Tickle, General Editor, Ancient Practices Series

ISBN: 978-0-8499-4605-9

PHYSICAL ATTRIBUTES:

Price: $12.99 USD

Reading Time: 4-5 hours

Format: Paperback

No. of Pages: 198 pages (forward 3, introduction 11, body 169, study guide 5, acknowledgements 2, recommended readings 1, notes 7, biography 1)

Dimensions: 21.1 x 14.0 x 4.3 cm (8 3/8 x 5 ½ x 9/16 in)

Weight: 197g (7.0 oz).

Cover Design: color cover by Casey Hooper

Illustrations: none

Maps/Inserts: none

Appendices:

     index: none

     bibliography: yes

     biography: yes

     glossary: none, one neologism - benefit-itis

     Other: acknowledgment, recommended reading, notes

                     

Other books by author: A Community Called Atonement 40 Days Living the Jesus Creed  The Blue Parakeet: Rethinking How You Read the Bible A Companion Guide to the Jesus Creed  Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels  Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels  Embracing Grace: A Gospel for All of Us  The Face of New Testament Studies: A Survey of Recent Research  Finding Faith, Losing Faith: Stories of Conversion and Apostasy  Galatians  The Historical Jesus in Recent Research  Interpreting the Synoptic Gospels  Introducing New Testament Interpretation  Jesus And His Death: Historiography, the Historical Jesus, And Atonement Theory  The Jesus Creed Devotional  The Jesus Creed: Loving God, Loving Others  Jesus in Early Christian Memory: Essays in Honour of James D. G. Dunn  Light Among the Gentiles: Jewish Missionary Activity in the Second Temple Period  A New Vision for Israel: The Teachings of Jesus in National Context  Peter 1  The Real Mary: Why Evangelical Christians Can Embrace the Mother of Jesus  Rzim Critical Questions Discussion Guides  The Story of the Christ  The Synoptic Gospels: An Annotated Bibliography  Turning to Jesus: The Sociology of Conversion in the Gospels  Who Do My Opponents Say That I Am?: An Investigation of the Accusations Against Jesus  Who Was Jesus?

Rating 8/10

SUMMARY: This is a book in a series on ancient Christian practices and is focused on fasting.  It is written primarily from a Protestant viewpoint, but includes relevant material from Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox teachings and practices. The main theme is on voluntary limits on food and drink and addresses abstinence in general more peripherally. The material chiefly presumes Biblical precedents and principles and draws almost exclusively from mainstream Christian sources. The author is a degreed theological professor with multiple books published on Christian topics.

REVIEW

The review of this book should begin with well deserved praise. Scot McKnight has done the prodigious job of summarizing much of the broad subject of fasting presented in scripture and in classical and contemporary literature in a systematic fashion, and presented his findings in a very readable and well organized book.  He has uncovered the fundamental principles and ultimate goals of fasting and more or less stated them in plain, understandable language.  That alone is a significant accomplishment.  That iT has reached publication in a readable and manageable book is even better.  Moreover, he has done this while remaining true to his Anabaptist tenets and largely resisted temptation to yield to the common but questionable practice to inject trendy ideas and purulent content to enhance sales.  Overall it is an intermediate level book on fasting, cautiously and conservatively drawn with no great surprises but some interesting research and useful insight and opinion.

To use an analogy, the production of this book could be compared to the situation where a mechanical genius was presented with a great heap of mixed aircraft, helicopter, truck and tractor parts (plus a lot of trash), sorted them out, discarded the irrelevant ones, repaired the damaged parts, fabricated a few missing ones and miraculously assembled a functional helicopter.  However, he hadn’t charged it or fueled it and was afraid to fly it. So the builder was content to let it be inspected and admired by others, on occasion to play with the controls and swing the blades round once or twice a year by hand. As can be guessed from this analogy there are some things missing from the book and a great deal of potential not realized.

The analogy is explained as follows. Initially Scot defines fasting as “…a natural, inevitable response of a person to a grievous sacred moment.” Then the author also at first confines the topic to food and drink and sets a twelve-hour limit on fasting for most practical purposes. Thirdly, the author confidently asserts that the body and soul are integrated and at the same time frankly admits he can’t clearly explain the difference between soul and spirit.  The last point suggests to me that Scot has yet to thoroughly study the body/soul/spirit subject in depth and similarly has not yet had a truly profound spiritual experience.  This means both that he has some very amazing and wonderful discoveries ahead of him, and that a main theme of the book, that the body is the primary focus of fasting, should be revisited when he has.

The commitment to defining fasting in terms of grief also causes the book to tell only half the story.  The other side, joy in fasting, is only addressed very briefly and lightly. The miraculous experience of prolonged fasting in communion with God without thirst or hunger and without the need for food or water is not developed at all. This is a great loss to both author and reader alike. These narrow definitions also create some difficulties for the Scot later in the book when he must deal with Isaiah 58, where social justice is equated with fasting.  This is patched up by lumping other forms of fasting into abstinence and recasting social justice as a product of what is termed “body poverty.” Which is a round about way of saying compassion and social justice are the products of food and water fasting, which doesn’t stand well on its own. This leads to further unnecessary complications where justice and solidarity and holiness are made “companions” of fasting father than facets of fasting. It would have been better to leave them as legitimate, stand-alone expressions of fasting.

McKnight goes to great length to avoid three errors he calls: instrumentalism, dualism and rigorous fasting.  Instrumentalism is trying to manipulate God or people through fasting. Avoiding this subject means that the use of fasting to receive God’s provision by this means is also neglected and a source of great transforming power to the believer ignored.  Dualism in the book means regarding the body and soul and separate and unequal. The assumption that they are integrated and equal highly simplifies the approach to fasting for the sake of the book but it means that very useful functional distinctions between physical and spiritual aspects of fasting remain unrecognized and unaddressed.  Scot plays safe by downplaying rigorous fasting both from a theological and medical viewpoint. This means that while no great harm could come by someone following this book, neither would any great benefit occur either.

There are also a few places where Scot assures the reader that the scriptures support a premise of the book – these should not be passed without carefully checking the facts. Lastly, the author treats some of the great church fathers and reformers rather lightly. While it’s his book, I think that when writing from the relative safety and stability of academia, special care should be taken when judging the lives of those who lived in less enlightened times and who can no longer defend themselves in print.  But these last two are a subjective points and leaving it at that, I conclude with some more good points about the book.

Scot McKnight surely spent time in prayer and listened hard for the answers because the conclusions he arrives at are very much on target regarding the material he presented. “Encountering God’s utter holiness,” he writes, “and deep love prompts fasting.” (pg. 121) is an acutely perceptive observation given the role of grief in fasting. He also recognizes this joyful side of fasting when he writes on page 149, “There is joy in simply communicating wholly with God. Communication with God is, in my opinion, the intent of fasting.”  He is right on the mark with this.  The author also provides the reader with a good test for whether fasting is working or not. “If your fast does not lead you to deeper love for God and others or to a more complete holiness, your spirituality is leaky!” (pg. 138) and “If you are not discovering some moral improvement, you are not fasting aright.” (pg. 139). “The singular marks of piety in the New Testament are these: loving God, loving others and living in the Spirit.” Well done!

The final and most profound truth about fasting is tucked away on chapter 10 where McKnight cites the Eastern Orthodox church’s teaching that “’The aim of life of each and every Christian, the Orthodox teach, is union [henosis] with God and deification [theosis].’” (pg. 128) It is in that union with God and the deification of the believer that grief turns to joy and communion replaces other needs with the fullness of God. That, in essence, is what fasting celebrates and looks forward to.

In closing, I do not recommend this book to new or lightly experienced believers because some of the above mentioned deficiencies could lead them on unprofitable tangents or discourage them from deeper efforts into fasting.  It is very useful to the mature Christian for its insight and scholarship.  This book is also a good foundation for a more exhaustive work and I’d really like to see that get off the ground.  Overall this is a well done book deserving of more thought and commentary.  So I will post a more in-depth review on my blog, www.falken-farm.blogspot.com.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com <http://BookSneeze®.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”