Monthly Archives: February 2016

Making paper

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I enjoy making crafts from stuff that people generally throw away. When I make candles, I use wax left over from old candles. I reuse paper coffee cups or toilet paper rolls to make the candle molds . When creating mosaics, I use shards from broken pottery. I love recycling and reusing. It makes my art more meaningful to me.

One of my favorite things to make is paper. In fact, we made our wedding invitation from handmade paper. At the time I was lucky to be working with an AmeriCorps member who was stationed at the Woman’s Studio Workshop, which has a wonderful paper making studio. Stacy was very patient, but also a perfectionist. She helped me make beautiful wedding invitations and some extra pieces that I later made into our Ketubah.

Mathew has also become enthusiastic about paper making as well. Last week we started to make some paper for valentines. It’s a great activity to do with kids.

You will need some supplies:

Blender, tub, deckle, shredded paper, colored paper and sponges

Blender, tub, deckle, shredded paper, colored paper and sponges

  • Blender (do not use the same blender you use with food,  as some inks in paper may be toxic)
  • Deckle (get an empty picture frame, then staple a piece of window screen to the inside of the frame)
  • Shredded paper
  • Colored paper
  • Sponge
  • Tub
  • Water
  • Old newspaper

 How to make paper:

  • Fill blender 3/4 with shredded paper, do not pack. blender
  • Add some colored paper.
  • Fill blender with water, leaving about an inch and half space from the top.
  • Cover and start blender on low setting and move to higher settings gradually. Do not leave blender on too long, since it may burn out the motor.

    blending paper into slurry

    blending paper into slurry

  • Stop when the mixture has completely macerated and looks a little like oatmeal – now you have slurry.
  • Add the slurry to the tub.

    pouring slurry into the the tub

    pouring slurry into the the tub

  • Repeat above one or more times.
  • Once you have filled the tub half way, you are ready to make paper.
  • The slurry will be thick; stir so there is an equal consistency throughout tub.
  • Now you are ready to “pull” a sheet. Scoop the deckle down into the slurry towards the bottom of the tub at a 45° angle, totally submerging it. Slowly lift the deckle out of the water allowing the water to drain out (back into the tub) for about a minute. This may take some practice, no worries the paper is very forgiving.

    pulling paper

    pulling paper

  • If you do not like how it came out, simply turn the deckle over and “kiss” or touch the screen to the slurry, all the paper will go back into the slurry.
  • Each time you put the deckle into the slurry make sure to mix the slurry again to disperse the fibers evenly.
  • Once you have “pulled” a good sheet, cover the top of the deckle with old newspaper and flip quickly and lay the newspaper/handmade paper/deckle (in that order) on flat surface
  • Start to tap screen so the handmade paper releases from screen onto old newspaper and slowly pull one side of the deckle away from handmade paper.
  • Gently lay sponge on handmade paper and push with a flat level hand to absorb water. When done put in a place to dry.

    removing moisture

    removing moisture

  • Once handmade paper is totally dry, it will simply peel away from newspaper 
    handmade paper drying

    handmade paper drying

    Congratulations you now have a piece of handmade paper! It is ready to be written or drawn on, made into something, wherever your imagination takes you. Enjoy!

    handmade paper

    handmade paper

Repurposing the marc

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I love to reuse, repurpose and eliminate waste wherever I can. It actually makes me a little giddy to create something valuable out of a thing most people would discard. So, when I read Rosemary Glasdstar’s suggestion to use the marc from making Fire Cider into chutney, I was all over it. The marc is the plant material left over after you have filtered/pressed all the liquid out. My Fire Cider recipe was made from such wonderful and powerful ingredients (ginger root, horseradish root, turmeric, onion, garlic, jalapeno peppers, and lemons), it did seem a shame to compost it. And thanks to Rosemary, I have something yummy to do with it.

During the process, I learned that it was not necessary to put the Fire Cider through a press which leaves the left over marc rather dry and chutney is not supposed to be dry. I ended up adding some Fire Cider to moisten it up. Therefore, if you intend to use the marc from the Fire Cider, simply filter it through a cheesecloth lined stainless steel strainer.

Here’s my version of Fire Cider Chutney.

  • Fire Cider marc
  • ½ cup chopped dried apricots
  • 1 cup raw buckwheat honey (I like how the bold, rich taste of buckwheat honey balances the hot and spicy taste of the marc)
  • Fire Cider, if marc is too dry

Add all the ingredients to a food processor and mix on pulse; you want it chunky, not a paste. Gently warm the honey so it will mix easily with the Fire Cider marc, add to taste (make sure not to heat honey over 120°F, as it will kill the wonderful enzymes and bacteria that are so rich in healing properties). You want a hot spicy and sweet chutney; play around with the ingredients.

I was so excited to share my new creation that I brought little jars to a dinner party for friends to taste and experiment.  I was overjoyed with the results, some people simply enjoyed it right out of the jar, and others added it to hamburgers. I am having fun adding it to many of my favorite dishes. I love the spin it gave my chicken soup. My brother-in-law enjoyed it on his falafel sandwich. I can’t wait to try it on my next Salmon dish, I usually mix mango chutney with mustard but I think Fire Cider Chutney will be a nice twist. Add the chutney to stir fry, eggs or veggie dishes. You are only limited by your imagination.

Store the chutney in the refrigerator to ensure freshness.

Enjoy!Fire Cider Chutney