Life of Pyne

Saturday, May 28, 2016

Plant A Better Life

Week one back on the island. A reset of sorts since I've decided to settle in... it's officially time to upgrade the standards of life. Focussing on sustainable living and eating. Welcome to my porch and kitchen.

Being on an island of Dutch, French, English and German speakers, seed packages come in various languages. So to avoid any confusion, Andi has so thoroughly given them name flags with each country's translation. The French garlics don't seem to get along with the German basil, however.

My avocado after a month of sitting in a jar of water. Finally greeting us! Now only about six more years till she fruits. Patience is a virtue, they say.

Plants increase happiness- fact. And if food also makes me happy, surely food grown from the earth will double up on that happiness. So win/win, yeah? Plants and vegetables rule this house.

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Slow cooked spaghetti squash with steamed broccoli, fresh basil and topped with a light peanut sauce (roasted sesame seeds, finely chopped peanuts and amino acids- soy replacement).

Slow cooked eggplant and carrots, seasoned with cayenne, curry, salt, pepper and turmeric. Topped on a bed of sautéed spinach with homemade chia tortillas.

"Mexican Cauliflower Pizza" (cauliflower, egg, oregano, basil, red pepper flakes, salt, pepper) with tomato sauce, kale, onions, peppers, and black beans.

Homemade gluten free (+ wheat germ) chia tortilla wraps with homemade hummus, cucumbers, kale, carrots and beets.

It's a lot of the "homemade" business, but when you live on an island that imports everything and uses the Euro... it starts to make sense. Not only do we save money, but the foods are much less processed, contain no added sugars, preservatives, or any bad additives that make foods taste so good and last so long. Health is life, so make it the best possible.

Tuesday, March 29, 2016

Surprise Dives

Back story: My Olympus Tough Underwater camera started leaking water halfway through the trip. I managed to dry it out and using white duct tape, I covered every possible cranny. It looked like it had barely survived war. Then for some reason the settings on the camera changed to an old school program that I still cannot explain. So the rest of the trip, from Saint Lucia down to Grenada and back up to Iles Fourche, I used a bandaged camera on the default 1990s settings. I also swam with one arm out of the water to try to avoid any excess water getting in... but I'm used to looking ridiculous and it all worked out.

Grenada's Underwater Sculpture Park

Grenada's Underwater Sculpture Park was designed and built by Jason deCaires Taylor, Troy Lewis and a few others. It doubles as a tourist attraction and a synthetic reef. As you can see from the creatures growing on the statues, it has created a little mossy ecosystem. With over 80 pieces you can spend all day there, but after an hour of diving 10-20 feet, exhaustion hits. Quick.

Iles Fourche Nature Reserve

The nature reserve, a mere 30 miles from Saint Martin, was one of the best places to snorkel for wild life. Firstly, it is not a popular destination. It is a tiny private island and not one for beach-goers or for bad DJs to set up and blast "music." It is far enough away that locals will not be trying to sell you their goods, thus making it safer for swimming and only a few charter boats came around. The water was significantly colder than the other bays, but c'mon it's the Caribbean, doesn't get near chilly. Anyways, immediately after anchoring a baby sea turtle approached the boat. Thus prompting me to jump in and find two more turtles lying in the shade of our boat, 20 feet below. Barracudas, stingrays, fish and coral were found around every bend. Unfortunately, no sharks.