Bikers, get yourself a skull ! Stuck with green tomatoes? Read what you can do with them!

Bikers, get a skull and be protected on the road!

I don't know what it is but after creating leather Halloween jewelry, my mind kept circling around skulls. It might be the time of the year:  on 1 & 2 November we remember the saints and our beloved deceased ones and on the 11th of November, Armistice,we commemorate the end of WWI, when so many died in excruciating circumstances for the benefit of what? This year, November makes me pensive and reflective.

From art classes, I remembered the presence of skulls in paintings, especially in 16th century Venetian paintings as a memento mori (remember you must die) and as vanitas (futility of -, fleeting life) in Dutch 17th century paintings. Nothing new under the sun! It is a good thing to remember that after all we're mortals and we should make the most of our time.

When doing some research about the contemporary meaning of skulls I found out that bikers like the skull symbol, as a memento mori; when riding your bike, the only protection you have is your helmet and sturdy leather clothes; an additional spiritual assistance is hence welcome! And here comes a memento mori in the picture!

Have a small ritual before taking the road!

A skull tattoo does the job but a skull bracelet or necklace is less radical then a tattoo. A skull bracelet or necklace, you can take it in your hand, kiss it or touch your forehead with it. While doing this formulate something, aloud or in your head, ask whoever you believe in to help you and to be protected while on the road. Then pull the bracelet over your hand or the necklace over your head and off you go, serene and tranquil in the knowing that you're not alone and you're protected..

This way you create something solemn, a  small ritual, one minute of your time, (but effective if carried out with mindfulness,)  before taking the road. Of course the skull won't protect you, it's duty is to remind you of your precarious position, remind you to drive carefully and to ask whoever you believe in for protection. Nowadays we are so busy that a reminder in the form of symbol is welcome.

With this in mind, I created some leather skull bracelets, particularly for bikers but anybody can benefit from a "memento mori". This set of bracelets and 1 necklace has the additional benefit  of being all leather, no metal closures hence no metal allergy problems. A sliding knot permits you to pull the bracelet/necklace over your hand/head and adapt the size to your own needs. I used solid 3 mm leather cord and the skulls measure 2 cm in height, 1.2 cm in width, 1.5 cm in depth.

LoveLea's leather 2 red
 eyed skulls bracelet
 with sliding knot

Lovelea's  leather 2 skull
bracelet with sliding knot

So the skulls will stay in place, I added a knot on both sides of them.

LoveLea's leather 2 red eyed skulls
bracelet detail

Below are 2 simple bracelets: the left bracelet has a leather cord, 1 sliding knot and  1 skull, the one to the left has 2 skulls, nothing fancy, but it fulfills the duty of the memento mori.

Lovelea's skull bracelet

Lovelea's 2 skull bracelet

The necklace of course is the most efficient since you will wear the skull closer to your skin and you'll feel it more and whenever you look into a mirror, you'll see your skull. The skull measures 3 cm in height, 2.5 cm in width and 2.7 cm in depth.

Lovelea's skull necklace

Lovelea's skull necklace,
detail

My niece assists in emergency operations: "more than half of the operations are on bikers" she told me. I almost lost my sun in a heavy accident when riding his bike. Bikers, do yourself, your family and your friends a favor and protect yourself!

Green tomatoes in abundance

If you are like me and you have a lot of green tomatoes and I mean totally green tomatoes and you have let go off all hope they will ever turn red, here are some solutions to your problem.

Fried green tomatoes

Who has not seen this memorable, funny and moving movie? when you are stuck with green tomatoes, that's the first thing you think of. Before frying them, I looked in my cook books, on internet: no recipe. How difficult can fried green tomatoes be? I sliced them, fried them in olive oil but the green slices had no taste at all. It's up to you to try this out; maybe I did something wrong, I omitted something, if you know about this, please tell me!

Green tomato jam

My mother used to turn the green tomatoes into jam. She cut the tomato in pieces and boiled them with the same amount of sugar. I loved my mother's jam, exotic and with a little crunch; but I want to reduce our sugar intake so jam is not  an option.

Fermented tomatoes

And here is what I did with my tomatoes: I fermented them.The recipe is from "Fermentation for beginners" by Drakes Press, 2013 Berkeley, Ca, According to this e-book, fermented food is healthy because it is pre- digested and anybody with digestion problems will benefit from eating fermented food. Mind the salt of course.

How to ferment veggies.

It is really a no-brainer: slice or cut your vegetables, in casu  your green tomatoes, put them in jar that is tight closing, if you like, add other vegetables like ginger or what you eat together with tomatoes, add spices, whey, water and salt. I added basil leaves, nigel seeds, 2 cardamom pods, lemon juice (the recipe said lime juice but I only had lemons), black peppercorns, water and salt. If you don't have whey, add 1 teaspoon salt instead. Don't fill your jar too high, you should have 2.5 cm between the water and the lid. Leave it in the kitchen or any other room for 2 days, taste it; if you like the taste, store it in the fridge; if not, leave it in the warmth for a half day, 1 or more days. Keep in mind that the taste will continue to develop while in the fridge and will get more salty. 

I forgot to add sliced onions but I have more green tomatoes in the garden, that will be for another batch. I could have added some garlic, the taste would combine tremendously with the basil, but you know the problem. I might add some to my second batch.

Experiment and try out

Start with a small jar and experiment with tastes and spices, the amount of salt, the exposure to warmth etc. It only takes a couple of days before your fermented green tomatoes are ready and enjoy! I'll experiment with fruit: we have lots of raisins from the garden. They are small and full of seeds, very hard seeds; I might ferment them, a small batch to start with and I can improve or alter when making a second batch.

When to eat them

You can eat them as they are with cold meat, as a contrast to cheese or smoked salmon, to spike up a hamburger, delicious next to fried chicken or fried fish; in Belgium we eat them with french fries to balance and brake down the fat; add some of the juice to your salad instead of dressin, and it is an alternative to vinegar pickles. So many ways to eat your fermented veggies.


Maybe you have a biker story to tell, I would love to hear it!
Maybe you have a recipe to ferment vegetables or fruit, share it here!

See you next week with more news.