Ah HA!

I had a wonderful “ah ha!” moment  a few days ago at the store.  I had been browsing the section where they have spray oils for pans and dishes.  Of course, most of them are unhealthy oils like canola (baaaad).  There are a few that are supposedly made with olive oil, but in reality, many them contained a blend of oils that just happened to include olive oil.  Or if they were truly made of olive oil, they had other ingredients like Soy Lecithin, Dimethyl Silicone, and some mystery ingredient referred to as propellant.  These may not be the worst things to add, but why use what we don’t need?

And yes, the obvious answer to this is, “Get your fingers messy and spread out some darn butter” or “drizzle your own olive oil”.  True.  But sometimes you just want to spray and GO.  I have two children, so yes, I approve of shortcuts when I can find them.  Besides that, butter-laden fingers aren’t always the best option when the Toddler Tornado is trying to swing on the living room curtains.  But I digress.

There were a couple of sprays that were about as pure olive oil as you could get, but the price!  Five dollars for a can of spray!  Do you know how much oil is actually in there?  It’s pressurized to make it shoot out but there is a very small amount of oil contained in those cans.  And $5 is a dozen pastured eggs… or a latte.

Then came my “ah ha” moment.  Being an herbalist-in-training, I have dozens of lovely little bottles with droppers and droppers, sprays and pour-ers (?).  Why not just fill a small spray bottle up with regular olive oil and leave it out on the counter for times needed.  Voila!

Simple.  Inexpensive.  Refillable.

To save a little more money, you could always fill this with “light” deflowered (non-virgin) olive oil.  I always keep some cheap olive oil on hand for when my hubby makes pancakes and waffles or other manly mystery projects; because getting the man to take a moment to melt down coconut oil is an impossibility and I don’t let him near my good olive oil.

So there you go!  Budget AND health tip all in one.  Just for you dear readers.

Brain Cloud & Olives

I really wanted to write something profound tonight.

Both children are asleep at the same time.

I'm caught up in my school work (for now).

The hubby is working on his own computer.

The house is quiet.

PERFECT time to write.  And I've had all sorts of things I want to write about in my head the last few days without having the time and space to do so...but now... when it is still and peaceful... I have brain cloud. 

BUT... we always have time for a pretty food picture!  ;-)

I had to use some fresh olives for a recipe the other day and had a few leftover.  Now, leftover olives last about as along as leftover wine at this house (I hear rumors of this existing in some households).  So while cleaning up the kitchen I decided to place a little pinch of feta cheese into each olive half and nibble away between dishes and suds.  YUM!

Can We Talk? Real Food / Real LIFE and Economics

Warning:  Rated R for Rant

Years ago, the pastor of my church used to have this catchphrase that he would incorporate into his sermons, “Can we talk?”   He would inevitably use this whenever he had something deep and meaningful to say.  He would lean forward slightly into the pulpit, drop his voice and almost whisper, “Can we talk?”  It was a bit of a performance shtick to be sure, but it was effective.  Like Pavlov’s dogs we would lean forward as well, waiting to hear something profound and meaningful.

Can we talk?  Eating healthy is expensive.

No matter how you define “healthy” for yourself, it’s almost always going to be more expensive than what you were doing before.

One exception… sort of… I remember watching the fantastic documentary Food, Inc as they interviewed this Latino family in California.  After showing this family chowing down on a massive dinner of fast food, the doc then showed them perusing the produces aisles of a store.  They complained that vegetables and fruits were too expensive to eat.  I say poppycock to that.  For the amount they spent on their rather disgusting looking fast food dinner, I could cook a healthy meal for them with vegetables and even a little side meat.

Now I’m not blaming them.  These are hard lessons to learn.  At one point they are pointing out how expensive a vegetable is and how little they could purchase.  They don’t understand that a little bit of this and that puts together a great dish.  They don’t understand that a little healthy goes a long way, this is a concept that takes time to learn.

So no, I think when we really analyze costs, we can all agree it is cheaper to cook than to purchase fast food or dine out.  But that’s not what I’m talking about.  I’m talking about canned soup, ramen noodles, mystery helper, etc.  As I shop the store, I have come to the realization that there is no question – it is cheaper to buy and “cook” with junk than it is to cook absolutely from scratch from fresher, healthier options.  And this should come as no surprise – the premade stuff is loaded with cheap fillers that lower the cost of this phood (phony food – phood).

And, just to be perfectly clear, I’m not even talking about the next level up – organic, pasture-raised, antibiotic/hormone free, etc.  I’m just talking real food as opposed to phood.  Phood is cheaper.

Why am I ranting about this?  I think I’ve read one too many blog posts, articles, and Facebook comments blithely chanting, “Eating healthy now is cheaper than medical bills later.”

Well.  Yes.  I suppose this is true but to say this is the height of pompous arrogance, said by people who CAN AFFORD TO SAY IT.  The fact is, most of us have budgets, and most of us have to draw the line somewhere.  And if you are really trying to detoxify your life, it doesn’t just end/begin with food – the elimination of household toxins is a vital component to health as well, one that I would put on par with the food.  Yes but we ingest food?  What about the air we breathe, do you think that doesn’t count?  It does my friend, it does.  But wait…let’s get back to the food.  We have budgets of varying degrees, so it REALLY irks me when someone points out that the healthier we eat, the healthier our bodies will be.

No friggin’ duh.

But that flippant little fact doesn’t add money to my wallet.

And while we are on the topic, another rudeness I encounter frequently on the health-o-sphere… “We can ALL afford healthy food if you would just give up that latte/ice cream/soda/whatever-food-sin-you-are-currently-committing”.  Yes, my maybe-weekly latte would buy me another dozen pastured eggs, but you know what, I WANT THAT LATTE.  Color me selfish that since I can’t go out and buy new clothes, jewelry, perfume, or a friggin’ bottle of fancy bubblebath (that is probably toxic anyway) that I go and buy a latte for ME.   And the cost of that one latte isn’t the problem when I go grocery shopping.

Ok, I apologize how this has gone off into a rant.  Obviously I have some things I need to get off my mind  ;-)

Can we talk?  I think it’s time we all admit these things, instead of ingratiating ourselves to the health crowd, crowing about our healthy food, our homes, our lives.

Can we talk?  Living healthy is a not a “right”.  It is a luxury.  It’s a luxury not all of us can afford, at least not immediately.  It takes planning.  It takes learning.  It takes sacrifice.  Of course those are the easy things to do.  Unfortunately, it also takes money.

More on this to come…

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Spice up your Cooking!

So as promised, here are a few tips to energize your cooking.  Now, these aren’t “cooking” tips.  You can find a gazillion other sites that can tell you how to organize your cooking, make meals in advance and freeze them, cook in batches, etc. 

BORING.

This is about how to spice up you ATTITUDE about cooking:

Buy cookbooks when you travel – When I was little I used to collect those little touristy spoons or thimbles when I traveled, you know, the useless little things that end up in a junk drawer somewhere?  Now I buy cookbooks.  There is something really special about buying a cookbook with local flavors and recipes (often stemming from the original settlers of that region).  If you can snag a local Jr. League one, even better!  So now whenever I pull one of those out, I also relive that particular vacation with people I love.

Pinterest – this is only for the brave and strong of heart.  You MUST NOT let yourself be misguided here.  Pinterest can incite horrible mommy guilt over all the amazing things that you are not doing for your children.  You must resist this.  You are looking for legitimate, practical cooking inspiration.

Cook naked – the ultimate risk-filled participation sport.  Double points if you are cooking bacon.

Sing while cooking – I had a roommate once who knew when I was singing I must be cooking.  She also knew that when I was belting out opera, it must be Italian food.  Even now when I’m chopping up fresh basil from my garden while noodles are boiling away a sudden belting of “O sole mio” is a sure indicator.

Pretend you are a cooking show host – this is my FAVORITE game to play while cooking.  When I’m really dragging I suddenly imagine myself as a cooking show host, and talk about what I’m doing, why, little food “tidbits”.  Really, I should be winning an Emmy for my work here.  Double points if you can convince yourself that you not only cook like Giada, but you look like her too  ;-)

When in doubt, add bacon.

Don't do too much at once - Serve a fancy meat with simple sides.  Or put all your time and money into an incredible side but serve a simple main dish.  Ok.  So this IS a bit of a cooking tip.  But this is also a warning - overextending yourself leads to burnout very quickly.

Pray over your food – something really undercuts all the mess and frustration if you pray for those who will be eating your food while you are putting it together.  It serves as a reminder of why you are doing this.  If that isn’t your style, at least cook with love.  You can taste it, I promise.  My husband will suddenly say in the middle of a meal, “I can taste the love in this.”  Somehow, they know.

Are you just cooking... or preparing a Meal?

A friend of mine had posted a question on a forum today, about how to make some easy but healthy snacks for her food-driven toddler. After a variety of suggestions (which she appreciated) she made a very interesting comment, “A big part is that cooking and baking I love...however I'm not used to doing it more than twice a day.”

Girl, I feel your pain.

Three years ago – literally THREE YEARS AGO – I was single and cooking for myself. I’ve always enjoyed cooking. My mother once asked me why I never became a chef and I told her it was because it was my artistic outlet and I wanted it to remain that way, not be something I “had to do” to make a living. I had the luxury of choosing when to cook. And that was about once a week. Most of the time I lived on sandwiches, or quick easy things like some chicken and… well, chicken. Sides were a waste of time. Unless you count a glass of wine as a side. But then I would break out with a Stilton Walnut Soup or roasted quail.

Go forward a year and I was cooking for myself and a husband. A year later, myself, a husband, and a child. I wanted to provide nutritious meals on a budget of both time and money. Meals became an endless cycle of trying to figure out what to cook – chicken and side, roast and side, pasta with whoknowswhat, etc. And just to be clear, my idea of a side is a salad of premixed greens, MAYBE cut up a tomato and a cuke just to make it look like I worked at it. And to add further insult to injury, I knew deep down I had little to complain about – lunches were “every man for himself” and my husband often makes breakfast for all of us.

But suddenly, I wasn’t just cooking for dinner. I had this little person who was wanting to eat half a dozen little “meals” a day. Not only that, but I had to keep track of them (that whole food allergy analysis thing, bummer). The energy drain was incredible. Cooking became a drudgery. I felt like I was spending all day in the kitchen. I felt like my food was endlessly dull and lifeless.

It changed, gradually. Children train us in the early days, not the other way around. I figured out her eating patterns and God blessed me with a child who will eat almost anything. But for many months my dinners remained… just food.

Move forward another year and I now have a husband, toddler, and a new baby. Cooking just seemed to become the ultimate impossibility. One day… something happened. I remembered what this was supposed to be about.

Nourishment. Nurturing. Health. Happiness.

Making dinner isn’t about cooking food. It’s about preparing a meal.

Read that again.

Making dinner isn’t about cooking food. It’s about preparing a meal. 

There is a big difference.

Anyone can scramble an egg in five minutes. Not everyone will realize that a few extra seconds (and very few cents can turn something to eat into something tasty, and beautiful, and healthy. That a dash of sea salt and a dollop of pesto can turn that egg into something amazing. Add a slice of tomato and put on a piece of whole grain bread and voila!

My kitchen has exploded recently. I’m not just cooking again, I’m creating. I’m working on my art. I’m recognizing that healthy begins and ends with what we eat but it’s not just about science. A meal nourishes the heart. I want my children to understand this. So if I spend all day in the kitchen, and it’s always a mess, that’s ok. I'm happier. Healthier. Which makes me a better mother.

Another friend of mine posted recently that she was about ready to give up on her own health journey, it was too hard to cook for a variety of palates and tastes.

Don’t. Don’t give up. A healthy body AND soul begins and ends with diet. Just keep saying that to yourself.

Next post I’ll put out some tips I’ve picked up in recent months on how to make things a little easier. :-)

Panko Promises

Isn't this BEAUTIFUL?!?!

This has panko breadcrumbs in it, which I’ve never used before and Holy Cookbook!  They.are.amazing.  Panko, where have you been all my life?  Now I want to look for recipes that use it and eat them EVERY DAY!

So easy too!  I got the original recipe from the September 2011 issue of Real Simple but tweaked it a bit for ease and budget.

Step 1:  Take out 1 cup of frozen peas to start thawing.  If you spread them out on a plate they will defrost faster than a small cup or bowl.

Step 2:  Toss ½ cup of Panko breadcrumbs with a teaspoon of lemon zest and 1 Tbsp of EEVO, dash of salt & pepper.  Mix it well and then put it in the oven at 350 for 4 minutes, stir around a bit, and then another 4 minutes.

Step 2: Start cooking a box of linguine.  When you drain it, reserve about a cup of the liquid.  You won’t need this much but good to have just in case.

Step 3:  Sautee ½ to 1 lb of little scallops in EEVO.  Season as you go with a dash of salt & pepper.  These will cook REALLY fast.  The key to shellfish is not to overcook them, and these don’t turn like shrimp so you want to be careful not to overdo it.

Step 4.  Get a pot or a large saucepan (see pic below) and 3-4 TBsp of unsalted butter.  Melt and stir constantly until golden.  This is going to be your sauce.  Toss in the pasta, peas (if they aren’t done defrosting, you can stick them in the pasta water for a minute or two), scallops, a handful of chopped parsley,  a bit more salt to taste, about ¼ cup of the pasta water.  You might want to add more of the water depending on preference.  Remember the breadcrumbs?  Toss them in last, stir the pasta around a bit.  Feel free to drizzle in some more EEVO if you want.  Done!

It sounds like a lot reading this but really it’s not.  It was easy, fast and SO DELICIOUS.  It tasted like a restaurant meal.  I served it in the final post I cooked it in, family style.  Serve with a nice chilled Sauvignon Blanc (Australia makes some fantastic ones).

Self Pointing the Avocado

I just avocado’d myself…

If you are confused by that opening, I’m referring to a rather brilliant and hilarious piece written by HuffPuff blogger Glennon Melton.  While I highly recommend reading it for yourself here, the basic gist is a mother recognizing that when people do seemingly amazing things for their children, they actually aren’t doing it to spite you.  They really are doing it for their children (at least in most cases).  So just chill out, we all have our virtues and faults as parents.

Yesterday I had an avocado moment, but ironically, it was for doing something good for my own child.  Picture this – art class for 2-5 year olds.  Lots of red clay, lots of mess, lots of fun – genuinely good times.  In the middle of it all, there was a break that involved reading a story and … Snack Time.  I dread public Snack Times.  This is purely self-imposed because I’m rather strict about what my child eats.  Call me crazy, but I don’t need my Toddler Tornado to transition from a whirling dervish into a F5.  I also want her to maintain some semblance of lifelong health.  So I fight to keep sugar at a minimum and no processed phoods (phood = phony food), among other things.  But Snack Time seem to have been created specifically for the purpose of defying my food ideals.

And yes, there it was… fruit punch and…wait for it.. peanut butter crackers.

Ok I love peanut butter and I have no objections for it for my own child.  But my first thought was, “Are you people insane?!  Peanut butter is like playing Russian roulette with children these days.”  Then I sat fascinated, waiting for the first parent to freak out.

No one did.  Every child sat there eating quite gleefully.  Even the peanut butter.  The one parent that was silently freaking out?  ME…because I had brought my child’s own snack. 

When asked if my Tornado wanted a snack, I heard myself babbling incoherently, “Oh no thanks, I brought her own snack.  Because… because… ha ha ha, yeah I’m ‘that’ parent.  That one people dread.  Ha ha ha….”  * voice trails off *

Here I was, judging myself for bring a healthy snack for my own child. To be fair, a friend of mine brought a snack for her child too so I wasn’t totally alone here.  She just had the gumption not to apologize for it.

The more I thought about it, the more I realized how often I’m apologizing for looking out for my child’s health.  Look, I’m not the perfect parent.  I’m failing gloriously in other areas, but when it comes to her health, I’m doing pretty well, and I should never apologize for it.  But with all the “mommy wars” pacifism going on (which has some excellent points to be made) I’m realizing that those of us who are working hard at being the very best parent we can be can be just as easily made the villain.  We feel constantly feel the need to justify ourselves for actually doing something GOOD for our children.  In fact, we probably judge ourselves harder than anyone else.

So yeah, I’m bringing my own snack for child events so she doesn’t eat phood and who knows what else…you gotta problem with that?  ;-) 

Pssst…it was a really yummy snack by the way… I liked it too.  You can find it here.  I made it with honey.  Without the chocolate <wink>.

Do-Over

Can we have a do-over?

I’m a hopeless blogger who goes through spurts of industry before life takes over. Oh well. Once more unto the breach dear friends!

There have been a LOT of changes since I last blogged. Baby #2 (another girl), we are now sans chickens OR pets of any kind. The only other time in my life where I’ve not had an animal of some sort was the year and a half I lived in the dorms at college. I confess it’s actually really nice. Children are basically like high-maintenance pets so they are enough for now. Someday I’ll have dogs and chickens (and who knows what else) again, but it’s just not the season for it in life, and I’m actually ok with that. My mother would be proud ;-) Maybe now I can actually start some herb gardens without chickens or dogs trying to destroy everything I attempt to grow!

Farmers Market Day! All this for $10, check it out!
 

 I’m especially thrilled over these pears. If I tried to eat all local I would rarely get to eat any fruit beyond melons, citrus, and tomatoes. So these are especially treasured. I forgot the name but they are a pretty hard, crisp pear without a lot of sweetness when raw, but once cooked the sweetness comes forth. They’ll be put into Monday’s oatmeal bake.  YUM!

January Sum-Up!

With all the daily mundane routines eating away the vast majority of my time, it's nice to take a moment to look back on the month and see what's been accomplished.


In the garden:
·Laid the foundation for a new herb bed
·Planted a mint bed under the orange tree
·Planted seeds for some veggies that hopefully will be coming up soon
·Brought my chickens back to a more nourished, happy state
·Gradually bringing to life in my imagination (first step to reality) a bee yard in the back corner.


In the house:
·Have about half the house under control now on a daily basis. No small feat!
·While not complete just yet, my goal is by the end of the month (woops! tomorrow!) to have all the Christmas decorations put away


My 52 Week Mini-Challenges have REALLY helped me feel like I’ve taken steps towards taking care of myself on a personal level! Some permanent changes I’ve made:
·I’ve cut way back on my coffee (from 4-5 cups a day to 2) which is healthier AND saving me money! I’ve only made 2 runs to Starbucks this month!
·Fast food elimination! I’ve not had fast food ONCE this month!!!
·I’ve upped my water intake from practically zilch to 48 oz a day
·I’m not exercising every day but I’m trying. I’m generally more active on a daily basis than I was. My flexibility is definitely better with my daily stretching.
·My face is much better now do to making sure to wash and moisturize it daily

Along the way I’ve been able to embark on some fun projects such as starting a batch of culinary orange extract, a new batch of vanilla extract, etc. I really wanted to make some orange marmalade from my oranges but… jelly making and babies don’t mix so well. At least not right now. That’s ok… I’d rather have the baby ;-)

There! I feel better and more accomplished just by writing this out. There is still SO MUCH I want to do, it’s easy to feel impatient or frustrated when time or finances hinder the process, so it’s important to see how far I’ve come rather than where I want to go.

I'm not adding a new Mini Challenge this week. I want to use this week to cement the good habits, wrap up projects, and think about what I want to accomplish in February!

Better go hustle!

Volunteers!

NOW it's getting to be a bit ridiculous! I was outside looking for something and suddenly though it might be where the chicken coop used to be (I move it around periodically until I establish a more permanent arrangement). I go out there and see this (doesn't show up too well in this shot):




That's just one but there are volunteer tomatoes everywhere around the old chicken location! Four total! I know what happened, the chickens get veggie scraps and some tom. seeds sprouted up in the rich "leftovers" the chickens so graciously donated. Unlike in the garden where I can narrow down what sort of tomato plants sprouted up there, here I have NO idea. Could have been from a wormy garden tomato, could be from the farmer's market, could be from the store. I have no clue. I'm definitely not pulling them up though, not now at least. I'll just leave them happy where they are (they aren't in the way of anything at the moment) and let nature do it's thing and have fun with it. Just watch... I'll harvest pounds of tomatoes from them and none from the garden.

Now onto my agenda on this blustery “spring” day in January:
·Zest a ton of fresh oranges to make dried orange peel powder
·Start some orange extract
·Start some new vanilla extract
·Maybe start some vanilla sugar
·Finish off the Memorial Herb Bed and start some plantings there (will post pictures soon).
·MAYBE clean up the front stoop and put some fresh pretty potted things there…it’s looking very grim with the plant mummies from last summer sitting there.
·Plant some seeds… not sure what yet.

Ok I might not be able to get all that done today… let’s aim for this as a weekend goal ;-)

Good Grief!

It looks like the Lone Tomato has friends!

There is another tomato plant popping up, several little fuzzy heads of carrots, and something else that I'm not sure about. It could be a weed but I'm going to delay in pulling it up for a while yet. There are not other weeds in the area that looks like this so it might be a "real" plant.

I'm simultaneously pleased, baffled, and vaguely annoyed. I'm very excited to see things growing but baffled/annoyed they are doing it now and not when I planted them. Whaaaat's up with that?

I know, I know...it's all good. But it doesn't go far in TEACHING me anything. Other than the fact that gardens grow in their own good time.

One thing I DO know, the garden soil is doing ok...I had thought I needed to give it something magical but apparently not. So planting is officially on the agenda for this week.



I just hope what I plant now won't wait til January of '13 to show up.

It's the Lone Tomato!!!

Thus far I have proven to be a pathetic gardener.



I realize part of this is simply the learning process. But seriously.



On my first attempt (spring of ’10) I buried my seeds far too deeply into the soil. I thought I was protecting them from birds but in reality, I was keeping sunshine from them (good analogy to parenting actually… but I digress…).

That fall I was busy planning my wedding.



My next attempt was spring of ’11. I don’t know what happened that time. I planted my beautiful little heirloom seeds and… nothing. The few tomato seedlings I planted did “ok” but never could be called thriving. Most of my toms were wormy before I ever got to them.

That fall I was busy with a newborn. We move quickly around here.



Now I’m facing spring of ’12. Will this be the year? I’m trying to juggle a household, a new baby, a stack of reading material, and a deep DEEP desire for a successful garden. I’ve prepped two new herb beds the last few months, with plans for future beds down the road (right now I’m focusing more on cooking herbs but I very much want to grow medicinal herbs as well, and the sooner the better). I've actually managed to do fairly well with herbs so far. I’ll have to start over with my blackberries as the terrible drought last year did them in at last, despite my best efforts, so those need to be replaced. My grapevines… well… the jury is out on those. My potted dwarf apricot might be dead. Or might just not have leaves.

On the bright side my potted Meyer Lemon and Mexican Lime trees are doing very well. I’m trying to decide whether I want to leave them in pots or plant them this spring. I have other tree plans as well.

Today I went out to water what is alive (or hoped to be alive) and decided to quickly turn up my current little garden bed by hand. I attacked a few weeds and turned soil and suddenly came across something amazing:





A lone little tomato plant from a seed tossed last year? The year before? I have no idea what kind it is. But it’s a gift. And hopefully an omen.

Here’s to the 2012 growing season!!!!

52 Week Challenge!

Do you make New Year’s resolutions?

I’m not sure if I have ever made true resolutions… usually more vague promises to be a better person by trying to attain things like patience, fortitude, a cheerful attitude, etc. Whether or not these things were actually attained I couldn’t say.

For several years running I took a word for the year to center my life around and that technique had amazing results in my life. I should say I was GIVEN a word because the word for the year would just pop into my head with headlights and a chorus of angels singing to let me know it had arrived. When things in my life would become difficult or problematic, often that word would come back into my head and somehow honing in on that word would somehow solve whatever issue was facing me. I wish I had kept a journal of those years because now I can’t remember what words I chose in that time of my in life. “Grace” was one year and “Forgiveness” another. One year was actually a phrase: "Be a grown-up"... but beyond that… ??? Some time ago though the words disappeared and that time in my life passed on to new roads to follow. To everything there is a season.

However, I happen to be one of those people who LOVES self-improvement. My problem is I attempt too much improvement at once and end up frustrated and annoyed with myself, and making no improvement at all. So this year I am doing something different. I am challenging myself to a 52 Week Challenge. Every week I will choose a mini-goal that will either 1) help establish a new habit or 2) break an old one. These are not to be a challenge with a temporary result in mind but something of lasting importance. For example, doing one’s taxes, while a worthwhile endeavor is (I hope) temporary in nature… once April 15th rolls around, you are done. This is an effort to change my life for the better. And just think, by the end of the year I will have altered my life for good in 52 ways! My challenges may be physical, mental, or spiritual in nature.

Come join me! :-)

Baby Steps

First time back in the yard since last summer (other than feeding the chickens and watering some plants. Laid the baby on a blanket in some dappled sunlight and bricked out a new herb bed



The potted tree is an dwarf apricot that I hope is still alive, and the growing on the chain link fence is a white Thompson Seedless grape.

Interesting story about those bricks. They come from a demolished building here in this area that was called the Memorial Coliseum. It was here for decades and a lot of our town's "big" events were held there. When it was torn down I collected some bricks specifically for a Memorial Garden Bed... I like the idea of borders created from interesting recycled bits and this one is really special to me.

Back in the Saddle

I've been gone a long, long time but I think this is as good a reason as any to not be blogging:



Welcome to the world Ava June!!!

More to come :-)

Just getting by...

I'm pretty much on auto-pilot this week. Confession: I'm tired. I'm somewhat cranky. I feel fat. I feel like I'm coming down with something. Can you hear a squeaky violin playing somewhere in the background? ;-)

In all seriousness I'm just "getting by" for the next 48 hours. This week is the last week of my job. Hopefully forever. I can just TASTE the freedom but... I need to make it just a little while longer. Then I will have (hopefully) two months to rest, play, work, and prepare for Baby. Then, according to some, my life will be over. Others say then life will just begin. I'm shooting for somewhere in the middle .

No pictures today. Nothing particularly fun. I can report that the last of the figs have been picked for this year . Those %#%! grackles were merciless. I don't mind sharing some of my figs with birds (especially sweet sparrows or morning doves) but grackles are the worst. They take ONE BITE out of a beautiful, ripe fig and then leave the rest. And they say humans are wasteful... Fortunately the chickens still get to enjoy the half-eaten figs and I have enough to put away one more batch of fig jam, along with some leftovers to just EAT. Then back to the grapes.

It IS interesting, never having really done intense preservation methods before, how much you are at the mercy of the weather and time. I used to think that only applied to gardening itself, but it applies here too. Fig season is short anyway and the birds make it shorter. You only have so many days to harvest, and then put them away (or eat them!) before they are chicken snacks (figs do NOT have a great shelf life). Same with the grapes. We are getting close to their overripe stage so I MUST move forward and pick them this week if I'm going to do anything productive with them. Since I harvest the wild grapes from land belonging to other people, this takes some coordination. But after that, the rest of my plans are on a more relaxed timeline. I foresee being done with grapes and figs by early next week. I think.

Incidentally I just realized this reads as if I view all this as a drudgery. I do NOT! In fact, I'm merely begrudging the fact that for now, for this week - I still have a job and can't do all the things I really WANT to do. I'm being called to a higher work but held back by a few strands of obligations that I'm anxious to finally sever. Just a few more days.... :-)

Last thought: Remember my lofty weekend list? Um, yeah... I think half of it was accomplished. But that's ok, my weekend list is usually the jumping off point for the week's list. And besides... I'll have more time soon!

Scratch, scratch, scratch...

So yesterday I went from this:




To this!




That's what about 10 lbs of wild Mustang Grapes will get you. That and itchy hands. I had always been slightly derisive of people with skin issues. I've heard people complain about the notorious "fig itch" from fig leaves, warning to wear long sleeves and gloves. HA! I boldly go in amongst my Fig Jungle wearing a sleeveless top and barehands. I think my smugness has been due in part to having what has been described as "delicate skin" because I'm extremely fair-skinned. Puh-leaze... my skin may have that look but c'mon, it's Irish skin for a reason; it has a heritage of grubbing for taters in the cold dirt. It's pretty hardy. I had also received many warnings about the high acidity level of Mustang Grapes, proclamations as extreme as the grapes burning the skin of your hands. I did take some gloves but never put them on, never had a single issue during the picking or after.

That however changed in light of actually CRUSHING the grapes. It's not too bad but oi vey, yes, it ITCHES!!!!

But when I look at that row of pretty little sparking bottles of jelly, it's worth it :-)

Garden Nerd Alert!

Just to amuse you (and because it's Friday and work is BORING), I've drawn a little "yard map" to give you an idea of the space I have with which to work. I have no idea how well anyone can see this but here it is:





I know I SAID that I want to use this weekend to focus on the accomplishments we've done in the last few months BUT I can't help but make a list here of what I still want to do in the near future (being fall):

2 semi-dwarf apple trees
1 or 2 peach trees
Any other fruit trees I can fit
I keep thinking that I need to plant the lemon, lime, and apricot eventually or they won't do much but WHERE? How do I keep sunny areas for garden AND plant a gazillion fruit trees? Thoughts?

Also hope to do some more decorative herb beds, but that's easy stuff and plenty of room to squeeze those prettily around the yard.

Yes. I am a Woman Obsessed.

This and That...

Just a quickie little post. I spent all of Monday evening making fig jam and between that and work and the little watermelon I'm carrying with me 24/7 it seemed to do me in for several days. MUST remember that the whole "barefoot, pregnant, working in the kitchen" thing doesn't work for me - my flat feet have to wear shoes! Ugh! Not that I haven't been somewhat productive - Tuesday evening was spent picking wild grapes (and I didn't take my camera, I'm disgusted with myself) out of which I hope to make several batches of jelly and if I get really, really brave - some wine. Wednesday I reveled in the peace of a summer rain that brought joy and happiness to all of us dried-up raisins in S. Texas. Thursday... What did I do Thursday??? I crashed and burned. Oh and I finished my first new fictional read in a long time (lately I've been more of a "books of information" reader), Alas Babylon by Pat Frank (a most excellent book! Suprisingly enjoyable given the topic).

Fortunately I woke up somewhat recovered and I'm trying to get myself in gear for a weekend jam-packed (ha!) full of plans. Here is my Wish List of what I hope to get done. Maybe.

·Make watermelon jelly.
·Possibly get started on watermelon rind pickles -- I hear they are great but honestly, what does one DO with watermelon rind pickles??? Does anyone know?
·Make another batch of fig jam.
·Make several batches of grape jelly.
·Clear out Garden Plot #1 of summer remains, add some manure yum to the dirt, and set it up for a few weeks of sun solarization.
·Prep for Garden Plot #2
·Finish the most long-winded "simple" project I have undertaken this year, what has become known as the Infamous Orange Tree Redo (will have pictures of that soon).
·Finish up the Kitchen Reorganizing Project and have it nice and clean and smelling yummy by Sunday evening.
·Start making some serious headway on the Study Reorganizing Project (which I've started in small spurts of available time).
·Get some progress done on a gift project that has been in the works forever and MUST be done in the next week - a corkboard made of wine corks as a gift to my boss.
·General straightening of the house and those mundane little tasks that make life during the week easier (menu planning, gathering of food from the Farmer's Market and store, etc).
·Really, really need to clean and move the chicken coop (NOTE: this has been on my list for weeks and see how it is still on the BOTTOM of the list?)

Whew... I'm tired again looking at this list. We shall see what actually gets DONE ;-) I would actually love to also make some chicken stock but I don't think I can handle THAT many pots on the stove all at once. Even I have a limit.

Lastly, I feel that I need to take a step back and really look at the yard and space, and consider not what needs to be done next, but enjoy and appreciate all that has been accomplished for the first half of the year. And because I can't do anything without going all Nerd Brain, maybe make a yard map. Oooooh I love maps.....

A Saucerful of Heaven

A word on desserts: Despite my last post on ice cream, we don’t do a lot of desserts in the house. I definitely have a sweet tooth but I try to be careful for a variety of reasons (weight, some blood sugar issues in the family, etc). More and more I’ve been turning to exclusively maple syrup or raw honey as a sweetener for all my cooking. The only exceptions to this is my single daily cuppa coffee and when I make jam/jelly – for those things I still use sugar (albeit organic). I have also been trying to keep desserts simple and incorporating more fruit or natural things (as opposed to a pastry, or something processed). Lastly, I only “make” a dessert about once a week – as a special treat to perk up the middle of the week (not counting my yogurt & honey escapades - that's a PROTEIN snack! Right? RIGHT??!!).

Last week when the figs were first ripening I came up with this decadent little dessert. I did a some research and pulled together ideas from my various foodie websites but the final result is my own creation.

First I cut some figs in half -- aren't cut figs strangely luscious and sensual???



Meanwhile I melted some butter and honey together with a dash of a few spices (you could probably insert just about any spice here like cinnamon, allspice, anise, etc). Then I put the fig halves in a small baking dish and drizzled the honey/butter mixture all over them. THEN I topped them with the teeniest, tiniest dollop of my yogurt cheese. I roasted them for about 15 minutes in the oven and then... voila! A little saucerful of heaven for The Mister and myself :-)