Friday, January 28, 2011

Old and New


I was struck today by how many things I was doing are a combination of old-fashioned and modern. For instance, I used my computer to look up on the internet how to make yogurt and how to do a certain knit stitch, both ancient arts. I walked to the store to get food that had traveled hundreds of miles to get here. Most of what I bought was produce I could have potentially grown in my own yard. I emailed some friends who recently sold almost everything they owned and moved to live on a boat. It just seemed like a day of interesting contradictions.


Our first attempt at yogurt didn't turn out. The yogurt didn't set; it's all runny still, like milk. I really hope I can figure it out, because it will save me over $2 a quart if I can make it work. We made it into a good science lesson, though. Oh well, better luck next week!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I so know what you mean about the funny contradictions we live through each day as we balance these ancient/modern skills. My husband and I have a small farm, and it's been generations since there were farmers on either side of our families, so we get a lot of our information online, in addition to helpful neighbors, of course. And I still haven't quite gotten up the courage to can (I freeze everything) but can you imagine our great grandmothers needing to be taught to can? They would have been steeped in that knowledge from their earliest memories.

Anyway, don't give up on the yogurt! I don't make it, but I have friends who do!

TrailCooking said...

That is funny...my Mother In Law has been doing a lot of yogurt making using her slow cooker. She updates me weekly on the phone on how it is going ;-)