Green GF Garden

Hot Fudge Sauce that is SOOOO good!

2012-01-05T18:57:00.000-08:00

Long time, no post! Today I made this hot fudge sauce. I did it as directed except it didn't seem chocolatey enough, so I added 2 Tablespoons of cocoa powder. And when it was done, I blended it in the pan with a stick blender until it was super smooth. It was SOOOO good!
-------

Ingredients

1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
4 (1 ounce) squares semisweet chocolate
2 tablespoons butter (no substitutes)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

In a heavy saucepan, combine the milk, chocolate and butter. Cook and stir over medium-low heat until chocolate is melted. Remove from the heat; stir in vanilla.

Slow Down!

2010-05-24T23:07:00.000-07:00

As a person who multitasks yet constantly feels like I'm being spit off the back of the treadmill of life, I found this article really interesting. I try to simplify, yet I also find myself doing things that complicate. Blogging, for example. Web surfing. Various garden projects. Isn't it just easier to buy stuff at the store? Faster. Wait - that's the point. A lot of my projects (which can be overwhelming in their number and scope, especially for my life phase, as I mother little ones) are simplification projects. Growing food is a slow process, a labor of love, a developing oneness with the food. And yet it is also watering, weeding, planting, composting -- translation -- time. It is slow. Yet it is also a time sink. One in the same, I suppose. There is this tension between wanting to get things done so you have time to move on to the things you want to do vs. just slowing everything down and enjoying the process. Being mindful.

Where do I waste time? Web-surfing, email, reading news. But is it such a waste?

We don't really watch TV, so the time isn't being sunk there.

This article points to agreement about increased speed of life now. We get places faster (cars, airplanes) and get information faster (internet, phones), so why aren't we overwhelmed with leisure time? Doesn't that sound nice? Being overwhelmed with leisure time. Yet I don't know anyone who feels that way. Why not? Longer hours at work? Greater expectations for ourselves and our families? More scheduled activities for kids? Multi-generational care across suburban (and global) sprawl?

Some of the ways we try to simplify in our home are:
- almost no TV
- minimal cell phone use (so we aren't getting calls everywhere we go)
- growing some of our food
- preserving some of our food (but again, is this just complicating things? It would be faster to buy a jar of applesauce than make it. But I guess that's the point - SLOW DOWN!)
- I don't like to run errands all the time, so I postpone trips like going to the grocery store (in the article he discusses the merits of skipping a bookstore trip that he doesn't really have time for anyway). But this ends up with less frequent trips. The ones I do make are time-consuming and feel like a marathon!
- intentional reduction in consumption. Freecycle and Craig's List are not only cheaper, but also greener - by reusing stuff. They are more of a process - than the quick accomplishment of just buying something new. So does searching for a pressure canner for a year on Freecycle, Craig's List, garage & estate sales, and thrift shops count as "slowing down"? Or is it just a complication and I should have just bought a new one and got it over with?

I'm afraid that I'm a long way off from having the answers. I'm open to suggestions. How do you simplify your life?

Sign the Petition for Corn Allergy Alert

2010-05-17T22:40:00.000-07:00

Please consider signing the petition for getting the FDA to require disclosure of corn on the primary allergen list. It hides under so many names: natural flavors, citric acid, ascorbic acid, tocopherols, maltodextrin, etc.

McNeil Children's Medications Recalled

2010-05-06T22:03:00.000-07:00

I am so ticked about the cluelessness of my local pharmacy staff that I gotta rant. Have you heard about the recent McNeil recall of children's medicaitons? Well, my local pharmacist hasn't. I went through my medicine cabinet and of my 6 products in varing degrees of used/new-ness, 5 of them were involved in the recall. The 6th was a store brand of ibuprofen. So I called that store just to make sure it wasn't included. The tech and pharmacist assured me it wasn't and, by-the-way, there was no recall on either the Motrin or the Benadryl anyway. WRONG! After looking this information up on the pharmacy chain's website I called back the pharmacist to tell her she'd better read the internal communications to give accurate advice to other families. She said, oops, she'd just checked the shelves and it did look like some of the Motrin and Benadryl was recalled. She actually told me, and I'll paraphrase, that she didn't get the memo. When asked, she still said, no the store brand wasn't affected. I'm not sure I believe her. Her actions don't inspire a lot of faith in her advice or in her knowledge of her own limits.

Teepees and sowing

2010-05-02T23:20:00.000-07:00

As I said, this weekend was great for gardening. After unloading the cow compost from the minivan, I made a teepee from bamboo harvested from a friend's yard. I amended the soil with the great compost and planted it with green bean seeds that Alyssa saved from her garden last year and Red Noodle Yard Long pole beans. Since I expect those to take about 90 days to mature, inside that I planted radishes and kohlrabi. In another part of the front yard I built a less elaborate teepee and planted it with lima beans from the bulk bins at the local market. Inside of that, I put beets. This second teepee will probably need some horizontal twine around it to help support the limas. I grew some last year and found they needed some horizontal support as well as vertical string. The bean seeds I had soaked in warm water overnight, hoping this will hasten sprouting.

In the back yard, I had a grand time planting three types of lettuces, radish, beets, carrots, celeriac, kohlrabi and turnips. In my large herb pots, I added some garlic chive and dill seeds. Those dill seeds are about 9 years old, so I won't hold my breath on them. I planted a Texas Taragon plant that I bought on a whim because its blooms were so pretty. I'm sure it will taste great, too. In a pot, to reduce invasiveness, I planted a lemon balm plant that I also purchased on a whim. It smells lovely. Upon researching the invasiveness of lemon balm last night on the computer, I also discovered that I should separate my spearmint and peppermint plants into different pots so that they don't eventually end up tasting alike. Not that I could really tell you the difference now. But while I was out there potting, I pulled some of each mint from their communal pot and started separate pots for each.

Regarding my cottage cheese container project, I believe I have lost one of the 16 tomato seedlings due to drying out or rough watering technique or something like that. For me and my self-sprouted tomatoes, this is a pretty low mortality rate. I'll continue to be vigilant.

Manure made my day

2010-05-02T22:50:00.000-07:00

This weekend was such a great gardening weekend. It started early on Friday with a preschool field trip to a local dairy farm. It was a very kid-friendly, educational trip. The kids' favorite part was probably getting to play in the cottonseed pile in the feed barn.

Knowing in advance that where they have cows, they have cow manure, I brought my shovel, gloves and trash can. I expected to be offered to muck out some stalls. Lo and behold, this dairy has developed a very successful side business of supplying organic compost to local organic farms. DS, DD, and I stayed after the tour to get some black gold from the compost business. We had a great time watching the compost guy load up an enormous open-topped big rig with about 42 cubic yards of compost. We also came home with a trash can and several bags full in the back of the minivan. Unfortunately, we were late home for lunch, nap, had a chaotic evening and before I knew it, it was Saturday morning and my van was still full of cow manure. For the record, when I opened the car door, the olfactory stimuli were overwhelming. But that was some good s**t.

Political Satire

2010-05-02T22:28:00.000-07:00

What's wrong with this picture? This flag was handed out for kids to enjoy waving at a musical we attended last week. When I saw this flag up close, I was rather taken aback. I'll give you a clue about the problem:

And that's not a sticker that peals off. It is written on the plastic sleeve that is the edge of the flag and holds it on the stick. I think some designer somewhere thought that was hilarious.

The Ugliest Nosegays

2010-04-29T23:00:00.000-07:00

I always wanted to use that word in writing. That, and posy, just don't come up much in my daily life. Anyway, the point of the picture is to share with you my google-informed attempt at rooting sweet potatoes. Anyone tried this? They say to half submerge them in water and they'll root/sprout. So far, I'm wondering if they'll just rot.

Growing cottage cheese

2010-04-29T22:52:00.000-07:00

Today I planted more tomato seedlings and nursed along the ones I put out recently. The windy weather with 30% humidity is hard on the little seedlings, and it seems to be in moments like this that I lose my wimpy seedlings. So today I cut the bottoms off a few dozen yogurt and cottage cheese containers and put one around each vulnerable-looking transplant. Now my garden looks like I'm growing cottage cheese! I hope they create a more sheltered little micro-climate that helps the plants transition. I put in a couple "mystery" tomato volunteers from friend Cathy's garden. Thanks Cathy! We'll see what they become - she's betting a cherry or roma. I also planted into the Topsy Turvy that I got recently at a rummage sale with a tomato start that I actually bought. It is an heirloom called "Mr. Stripey". Love the name, as does 5 year old DS. The other one I'm growing just for its name is "Mortgage Lifter." Do you think it will work?

I thought I'd update on my seedling outcomes that I posted on February 14, 2010: "I planted TONS of seeds to start indoors. Basil, peppers, eggplant, tomatoes (6 types - Black Krim, Brandywine, Yellow Pear, Cherokee Purple, Mortgage Lifter and Pineapple), cucumbers (lemon and gherkin), chard, squash (pattypan, portofino, zucchini - oops, no yellow crookneck?), lettuces and marigolds." Of those planted the basil, eggplant, tomatoes, lettuces, and marigolds had a good success rate. Of the peppers, only 25% took. The cucumbers and squash sprouted but didn't survive long enough in their puny containers to get transplanted. I recall it said something about "not recommended for starting indoors" on the label. But, hey, what do they know? They are just the experts, right? Anyway, perhaps they have a point. I have so many more seeds I want to get in the ground - actually wanted to get in the ground about 6 weeks ago. I hope to have more updates soon.

Garden Update April 2010, Part 2

2010-04-27T21:22:00.000-07:00

Today I finally got some of the tomatoes that I'd started from seed in the ground. I'd planted one about 2 weeks ago but the warm air dried it up into nothing. I'm hoping that the weather will be less extreme in the next few days and these ones will make it. I planted some Black Krim, Cherokee Purple, Pineapple Tomato, Yellow Pear Tomato, and Brandywine. I'm most excited to taste the Pineapple variety. I also put some of my seedlings for eggplant in the ground and the one pepper out of four I started that has survived thus far.

About half of my snap peas are still blooming and growing strong and the other half is done. Why? Essentially the same location. I wonder if it is disease or what. Anyone know?

This Friday DS's school is taking a field trip to a dairy farm. I think I'll bring a trash can to try to bring home some manure. Should I just add it to my compost bin? Anyone with experience composting cow manure?

Finally got a canner!

2010-04-25T23:27:00.000-07:00

I finally found a used canner! On Thursday I went to an estate sale and found a stainless steel stock pot that didn't list the size on the bottom but looked larger than my largest (8 qt) stock pot. I bought it for $3.75. When I got it home it indeed is taller than my other stock pot. I measured the volume at 12 quarts! Yippee! It seems tall enough that I'd be able to do more than the pints that I can fit in my stock pot. Then... while surfing on Craig's List I found someone local selling a canner and canning jars. After emailing back and forth with a young woman, I went to look at it on Saturday. I thought I was going for a pressure canner, so I was beside myself with excitement! When I got there, I discovered that the woman was selling her mom's boiling water bath canner (for a cut of the price) and didn't know a BWB from a pressure canner. I was disappointed, but since I didn't have an big canner with rack and such, I bought the BWB canner (fits 7 quart jars at a time) plus 101 jars (mostly quarts), some lids, some accessories for $75. It wasn't the screaming deal I was hoping for but it's decent. Around here those jars would be $1-$1.50 each in the thrift shop, so not bad. It is good that I got more jars, because I just used the last of mine for storing various gluten-free flours in. I'd still been using these large canisters back from my gluten-days but it just didn't make sense. Instead of 1-3 types of flour, now I use about 9, so the smaller containers make more sense. Anyway, now I'm set for quarts!

And I figure I'll use that 12 quart stock pot for some of the canning cooking (like big batches of applesauce), then process the jars in the BWB canner. Now I just need a bigger kitchen to hold all the big pots!

Garden Update April 2010

2010-04-25T21:25:00.000-07:00

I started seeds MONTHS ago so that I'd be ready to go early to plant them. And here it is the end of April. Just this weekend, I finally put 7 basil plants in the ground, 3 patty pan squash, and 5 shallots. The best laid plans... Anyway, it was good to finally get them in. And I planted them with some gorgeous compost that we'd sifted a couple weekends ago. We used the coarser woody chunks as mulch on the yard to suppress weeds. The fine compost I put in a trash can to store until I needed it in the garden. In addition to a healthy crop of pill bugs and ear wigs, I couple squash-like plants sprouted in the trash can. So I planted those in the garden today too and labeled them "mystery". DS, who loves flowers, was pleased that we were able to plant about 7 marigolds that were already blooming after starting them from seed.

I gotta hand it to our citrus trees. Today I picked the last orange tree clean. They've been feeding us steadily since early December. I've harvested over 216 pounds of mandarins, tangelos and navel oranges! That's a lot of produce.

I've been keeping my "garden finance log" with the expenses and yields of the garden, starting in Nov 2009 with a large seed order. To date, my garden expenses (which excludes water - hard to quantify - and labor) are $132.21 and my yield is $449.41.

We picked more of our carrots today, which is such a great crop for kids. It is so fun to see what comes up out of the ground!

Rummage Sale Score

2010-04-17T23:36:00.000-07:00

Do you have the garage sale bug? I must confess that I do. I was particularly excited to see a multi-family sale and a girl scout rummage sale very nearby. So today I went out looking for a pressure canner, canning jars and a tag-a-long bike.

I found none of these. But, as is the way with rummage sales, I found other things to spend my money on. Since DH doesn't share the garage sale bug, and thus his reaction leaves something to be desired, I gotta tell you about my finds.
- got a basketball hoop for DS for his b-day for $3
- a cute, two piece outfit in great condition for DD for $1
- a silicone mini-muffin baking pan in heart shapes for 50 cents
- a new Topsy Turvy Tomato thingy for $2. (I kept eying those in the stores and catalogs but couldn't bring myself to buy one retail.)
- a bunch of kids books, including hardbacks that look brand-spanking new for 50 cents each
- and here is the real score - hundreds (literally) of packages of various crafting supplies for about 7.5 cents a piece. I spent $20 total on that. I'm going to be selling at a swap meet tomorrow (for other reasons) and have repackaged and crafted with some of the items already to resell. Some necklaces, pins for jewelry, fridge magnets. I needed a way to display them. After killing the black widow spider that had taken up residence on an old cork board in the garage, and dispatching the egg sac as well, I brought the board inside. Using a stapler and a large piece of black cloth that I'd recently received via Freecycle, I covered the cork board to look more professional. I made up little signs for the display items and attached them to the board in little baggies with push pins. To attach the un-bagged magnets, my husband dug some wire mesh out of the garage. I cut a piece with tin snips, covered the sharp edges with black electric tape, and attached that to the board with push pins. The magnets hold onto it so well! In all, I think I made about 100 items to sell on that board. If I sell even 20 of them, I'll make my money back plus have 90% of the crafting supplies left. Cool!
Wish me luck tomorrow. Hopefully I'll make some money at the swap meet AND find a pressure canner, canning jars, and tag-a-long bike.

Breastfeeding saves lives and money - BIG money

2010-04-05T08:39:00.001-07:00

Breastmilk is amazing. "The United States incurs $13 billion in excess costs annually and suffers 911 preventable deaths per year because our breastfeeding rates fall far below medical recommendations" "...95 percent of these deaths, are attributed to three causes: sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS); necrotizing enterocolitis, seen primarily in preterm babies and in which the lining of the intestinal wall dies; and lower respiratory infections such as pneumonia."

http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/04/05/breastfeeding.costs/index.html?eref=igoogle_cnn

I know from experience that it isn't always easy to breastfeed, though. Families need support (LOTS of it) and education.

I was impressed this winter when my family got a bad stomach bug. It killed my 92 year old grandfather. DS (4 years old) was still throwing up a week into it. I was sick for days and days. DD (over 1 year old) was sick for about 4 hours! She still nurses. Amazing.

Love my new widget!

2010-04-04T21:41:00.000-07:00

Most weeks I try to check the watering index in Southern California so that we can adjust our irrigation system accordingly. Some "intelligent" timers adjust on their own, but I think they require a paid subscription. Instead, we check the index. This helps us to water how much our plants need but not use too much water, which besides being wasteful, is becoming increasingly expensive.

Well, now I have a widget on my blog that tells us the watering index! I'm so excited! Check it out. It should be over there on the right.

Demise of the Dare-Me Diet Deal

2010-03-21T22:20:00.000-07:00

I hate to say it, but after weeks of struggling with the Vita-mix diet I imposed on myself, I've given up the ghost, fallen off the wagon, bit the dust, thrown in the towel, raised the white flag, cried "Uncle" and declared myself done! What did me in? Chocolate withdrawal. I know, I could have put chocolate into the VM but that just wasn't in the spirit of the deal. I'm still using it regularly for grinding flours, smoothies, sorbets, hash browns, and pesto. DH graciously agrees that I can keep it. He's such a sweetie - I think I'll keep him, too!

Gluten Free Buttermilk Pancakes

2010-02-21T10:33:00.000-08:00

This morning I made a new recipe of GF Pancakes with amaranth flour and wild rice flour that I ground in my Vita-Mix. It was delicious. To quote DH, "Yum!" I've been looking for a flour blend that I can use without rice, corn, soy or sorghum and this worked out nicely. Of course it is also egg-free since that is a must for me. It could be made dairy free by substituting 1 cup of soured milk substitute (e.g. 1 cup almond milk/rice milk/soy milk with 1 T vinegar or lemon juice) as described here.

This is the recipe:

1/4 c gar/fava flour

1/4 c potato starch

1/4 c tapioca flour

1/8 c wild rice flour

1/8 c amaranth flour

4 t baking powder (GF, corn-free)

1 t baking soda

2 t sugar

1 t salt

1/2 c apple sauce (I used thick, homemade apple sauce)

1 c buttermilk (if you use thin applesauce, consider using plain yogurt instead)

2 t vanilla
2 T olive oil

Mix the dry ingredients together. Add the wet ingredients and stir until just blended. Cook over medium heat on a lightly oiled non-stick pan. Just like other pancakes, turn when the bubbles in the batter stop popping. Cook the other side. Serve warm plain, with maple syrup, or with other favorite topping.

King Corn

2010-02-19T09:00:00.000-08:00

DH and I watched the documentary King Corn yesterday. I highly recommend it. The movie was entertaining and very educational about how we developed such a glut of corn and how it is in almost everything we eat (beef, bread, crackers, etc). They connect the dots of the redone Farm Bill in 1973 to the rise of high fructose corn syrup, obesity, diabetes, and declining life expectancy. It makes me wonder how far we could go in stemming the explosion of health care costs if we just stopped subsidizing corn so that empty calories weren't the cheapest. And here's a far out idea - if we want to support farmers, we could subsidize local, organic farming such that healthy foods became cheaper. What would happen to our nation's weight if a fresh salad from the local market were cheaper than a fast food burger and soda?

Dare-Me Diet Deal Day 8 of (54), no 52

2010-02-14T20:53:00.000-08:00

I'm now on Day 8 of my Vita-Mix deal diet. Since I've lost 2 pounds, I'm committed to a mere 52 total days now. I've been experimenting with different smoothies for breakfast. Some include my homemade yogurt which is a great way to dress it up. Other favorites include humus, hash browns, and "ice cream." A big plus is that it is way easier to clean than a normal blender and it can handle textures that would otherwise not work. Today I even got out the grinder blades to make wild rice flour for pancakes and amaranth flour for tortillas (the latter were good and worthy of repeating.) I also like that it makes it easier to consume greens more regularly. The biggest minus is time. I already run around like a chicken with my head cut off, trying to keep my duckies safe, occupied, fed, and happy. Preparing food from even more basic ingredients than I already do is time-consuming. And I soooo miss chocolate and ice cream. If I ever get some time I'll post some favorite recipes.

Garden Update

2010-02-14T18:56:00.000-08:00

This weekend we got around to a number of garden projects. In addition to weeding, since we've actually had rain lately, we did some planting. I planted about 4.25 pounds of red and gold potatoes into various pots and boxes. Also, I planted TONS of seeds to start indoors. Basil, peppers, eggplant, tomatoes (6 types - Black Krim, Brandywine, Yellow Pear, Cherokee Purple, Mortgage Lifter and Pineapple), cucumbers (lemon and gherkin), chard, squash (pattypan, portofino, zucchini - oops, no yellow crookneck?), lettuces and marigolds. In the past, I've had spotty success transplanting outside the puny seedlings that I start indoors. Now I've got them in a different window, so I hope they'll get more sun and be more robust. We'll see.

We are still eating pounds and pounds of oranges from our trees. The sugar snap peas are blooming and producing nicely, although I wish it were more. When we are out in the garden, the kids snack on the peas constantly. Almost none make it into the house! We've harvested a lot of parsley lately and made pesto. I'd prefer basil but none is ready. I only started 8 basils - perhaps I'd better do more. Although if all these seeds actually take, where on Earth am I going to plant them all?

Dare-Me Diet Deal Day 1 of 54

2010-02-06T18:36:00.000-08:00

To summarize and simplify the math of the intro post, D = 54 - P, where D = the number of Days I'm on my blender-intensive diet and P is the number of pounds lost. 54 days is a shockingly long time. Perhaps this wasn't such a good idea. But if I lost 54 pounds by tomorrow, I'd be done with the blender-intensive diet AND I'd be a skeleton. But perhaps I can find a happy medium here.

Today, P=0 'cause it is day 1. What if I gain weight?! Uggghhh!

Oh, and I forgot to mention in part of the deal, if I cheat, that day doesn't count and I have to tack on a day for it at the end.

Today I got the blender and got home about 12:30pm. The kids were hungry and the house was chaotic, so I didn't have time to unpack it or figure it out before lunch. My lunch entailed salmon, fruits and veggies. Before dinner, I only had time to clean the machine and make a simple green smoothie: greens, carrots, juice, banana, hemp protein powder. Now it is 6:35 and I'm still hungry! I gotta figure out how to use this thing better. I need some nut butter, stat!

Dare-Me Diet Deal Intro

2010-02-06T18:28:00.000-08:00

I've been wanting a Vita-Mix after hearing friends on-line and in-person say how much they like theirs for green smoothies and grinding beans and gluten-free grains. But honestly, who can justify a $600 blender? Well, look at me, I did!

I didn't want to get it and not use it, so here is the dare/deal I made with myself. I'll use it for A LOT of my food initially. Here are the rules, with a little algebra thrown in for good measure. For D days, I will eat:
1) Food prepared in my new Vita-Mix
2) Fresh fruits and vegetables
3) Lean animal meats (fish, chicken, turkey)

Where D = (X/10) - P
X = Cost of the Vita-Mix and
P = Pounds lost

When pitching this elaborate justification scheme to DH, he said, "Well, I guess I have to be honest here." He took a deep breath, and we both braced ourselves for the painful truth. "I think losing 10 pounds would be a good goal." Owwww, man! But he's right, and then some. Not that I mentioned to him that my goal was weight loss. He is so in the dog house for bringing that up! ;) My main goal was to justify a Vita-Mix to use for grinding GF stuff and getting more fruits and veggies in our diets. But losing some of the weight I've gained in the last year would be fabulous. I know what the problem is - I eat junky food for energy, which gives me temporary energy, then makes me tired, so I eat the wrong stuff again, so I have energy, then I'm tired.... You get the idea. I hope this Dare-Me Diet Deal will break that sugar addiction cycle AND justify spending way too much money on a blender. Perhaps this hard-core intro period will get me in the habit of using the Vita-Mix and make me stretch creatively in its use.

So this morning I went out and bought a 5200 TURBO (actually, I'm kidding about the turbo part) at Costco. It had an extra $100 dry grinding unit for the grains and beans. With tax, the horrifying bottom line was $537.20. So, getting back to our algebra:
D = 537.20/10 - P
Let's assume I stay the same weight.
D = 537.20/10 -0
D = 53.72
Let's round that to 54. 54 days. Holy cow! What have a done?! Quick, send me your favorite blender recipes!

Motherly sayings

2010-01-29T09:03:00.000-08:00

"Son, I don't think it's good for the umbrella to hammer on it." Good grief. I never knew I'd have to SAY that.

What to say when we awaken in jail?

2010-01-26T22:07:00.000-08:00

This is so random, but I got such a huge kick out of this thread on Facebook, that I wanted to post it in my blog. Here is the scenario: "If you & I woke up in jail together...using only FOUR words...what would you say to me?"

Here are some of my favorite responses, in no particular order:

No kids! No kids!

My name is JULIO. (That was an "in" joke.)

I don't believe it.

Next time, pants on.

What will Matt think?

We are so screwed.

Dang! We had Fun!

We got some sleep!!

Your lawyer, or mine?

I told you so!

Bring anything to read?

This is your fault.

Awww man, not again.

Thanks for the help.

Fancy meeting you here.

Is that my blood?

What did you do?

Don't tell my husband!

Let's do it again!

You come here often?

Parsley Pesto

2010-01-22T19:15:00.000-08:00

Hi to all my loyal fans! I wanted you both to know that I tried my Fabulous Pesto tonight with the herbs I had on hand and it turned out great. My basil in the garden had not been happy about some 30's-ish lows last month, so I only had a tad of that for my pesto. I had a bit of cilantro and TONS of parsley. It was vibrantly green and yummy on our bean thread pasta. By the time you put parmesan, pine nuts and garlic on anything it would taste great.

How much are 16 caterpillars worth?

2010-01-20T22:05:00.000-08:00

Today's garden yield included 2 cherry tomatoes, over 6 pounds of Manderin oranges and 16 juicy caterpillars. Since early November when I did a big seed catalog order, I've been keeping track of my garden expenses and yields. My little spreadsheet includes expenses of seeds, plants, pots and stakes totally $73.49. I didn't include wages for our work or expenses of watering because they were too hard to quantify and, hey, its a labor of love. My yields record all the garden produce I've harvested since November 1: chard, lettuce, eggplants, tomatoes, herbs, lemons, oranges, lima beans, black-eyed peas, pomegranates, radishes, potatoes, and butternut squash. Assigning values to each produce item, trying to be comparable to organic produce at the store, my yield so far is about $156. But today's yield included 16 little green caterpillars eating my turnip greens. How much are they worth? How will I fit them into the equation?

I plucked them off. They are now residing in a jar with greens from turnips and from a nearby radish, which wasn't infested with the caterpillars. I'm setting it up as a preschool science experiment. Do you think the caterpillars will selectively eat the turnip greens in the jar? Or had they just not noticed my lovely radishes? Oh! Gotta add the radish and baby turnip to the yield totals!

Ok, my science mind is starved by motherhood. I got out some old equations to work on the caterpillar density. I know that 16 caterpillars might not sound that remarkable to you, but they were found in my little container garden. One pot of lonely turnips, the pot being about 12 inches in diameter. Feel free to check my math... That is a radius of 6 inches. The surface area of the pot is pi*r*r = 113.1 square inches. That's 0.15 caterpillars per square inch, or 20.4 caterpillars per square foot. Gosh, if I had an acre of turnips, they'd have 887,397 caterpillars on them! That feels like a caterpillar plague of Biblical proportions in my little pot!

Wonderful worm castings!

2010-01-10T18:41:00.000-08:00

It has been a while since I've tended to our worm bin in a substantial way. We just keep them in a plastic tote in the garage. A month or so ago I'd moved all the contents over to one side of the bin and started adding the new bedding and new kitchen scraps on the other side. This gives the worms a chance to migrate out of the older bedding and scraps and into the new, easing but not eliminating the sorting of worms. Today was harvest day from the old side. In addition to finding a happy, healthy worm population with plenty of egg sacks, I harvested about 2 gallons (I'm estimating from my 5 gallon bucket) of fresh worm castings. These went directly onto our sugar snap peas that are happily blooming. Nothing like digging around in worm poop to really make your day. Elizabeth, you said that it is pretty sad when good limas make your day. Is worm poop sadder? But it was really rich worm poop! I'm linking an image from RedWormComposting.com so you can see what I mean about the egg sacks.

The best lima beans of my life

2010-01-07T20:58:00.000-08:00

Months ago I planted some lima beans from the dried bulk bin. Unfortunately only one of them grew well. The one that took, grew pretty well. Today I harvested all 11 pods since they looked mature. I've never grown limas before so don't really know. Did you know the pod is fuzzy? I did a cursory Google search today to see how to prepare them. My distracted search with DD tugging on me didn't net much useful information. I took a pod to DS's preschool and polled the teachers. Although no one had cooked a fresh lima bean before, the consensus seemed to be to shuck them and boil/steam the beans as one would fresh peas. So this evening the kids and I shucked the limas, yielding a whopping 1.25 ounces of beans (an average of about 2 beans per pod). I put them in a pan with a tiny bit of water and simmered the beans until soft. They were the best lima beans we've ever eaten. I must grow them again! And in a better location to get a better yield. I also think that next time I'll put the dry beans in a wet paper towel before planting to start them sprouting.

The Holiday of Horrors

2010-01-05T17:40:00.000-08:00

It has been a while since I've posted. You know how the whirlwind of the holidays can get ahead of you. And it still is ahead of me, but I've got to share this. We've just experienced what I shall refer to in years to come as "The Holiday of Horrors." I'll post the very abbreviated version.

On 12/26 we drove to Arizona to visit family. On 12/27 my 92 year old Grandfather got a stomach bug and was hospitalized. On 12/28 DS got bug, spent 2 days on the sofa and didn't stop throwing up until 1/2. On 12/29 my Mom got bug. On 12/30 Grandfather died. On 1/1 I got the bug. On 1/2 we drove back home to California without emesis or excrement soiling the new (used) minivan. On 1/3 DS and I were still on the sofa due to the bug. On 1/4 DD got it. So far, only DH has escaped unscathed. I sure hope we are done with it. Today DS went back to school and DH went back to work, so we are pretending we are back to normal.

My husband is a stud-puppy!

2009-12-03T21:53:00.000-08:00

I've been so stressed 'cause my clothes washing machine broke yesterday. I tried to fix it, dear-FIL tried to fix it. I spent the morning running around the neighborhood looking for an available washer to finish washing my HEAVY, soaking wet half-washed laundry. Neighbor kindly helped out. On a good day, I'm up to my ears in laundry so I knew that with the machine out of commission things could get ugly fast.

Sears said they'd charge $130 just to come look at the thing! I called two independent repair guys, neither of whom returned my call. One was recommended by friend Amy as "quick, cheap and cute." Sounds good, right.

DH made the time tonight to take a look at the machine after googling the problem. The internet is an amazing thing, and so is my husband! He fixed the broken washing machine! DH fixed it faster than any of the service guys called me back, he didn't cost me a dime, and he sure is a cutie, if a do say so myself! I highly recommend him!

Pole Beans, Peas, Potatoes, and Ducks

2009-11-15T22:18:00.000-08:00

This weekend we enjoyed more gardening. We shredded up some newspaper and cardboard for our worm bin and checked on the residents. They are abundant and happy - well, at least they didn't complain. We also used the borrowed shredder for shredding more yard trimmings for the compost. One bin was too wet and the other too dry. Some compost swapping seems to have that all worked out now. I FINALLY had the chance to trim some bamboo that we had cut prior into branch-less poles. My plan is to use them as a trellis for the snap peas, which are sprouted and about 4 inches tall now. The snow peas, which were ancient seeds, didn't sprout. Happily, I recently got a seed shipment from Territorial Seed, so I planted Red Noodle Yard Long Pole Beans in their place. We also replanted some limas from the bulk bin. Only one sprouted prior and it looked so lonely. But this is my first time to grow limas, and I'm surprised to tell you that lima bean pods are fuzzy. Very cute. I replanted the remainder of the ancient broccoli seeds that didn't sprout prior. I figure if they are down to a 1% sprout rate, planting the whole envelope might do the trick. Yes, I realize I could just throw them out, but my optimism takes over.

I also planted two containers on our "garden table." The first pot has Garlic Chives, Celeriac Brilliant, and Kohlrabi Kongo Hybrid. The chives are an attempt at growing garlic flavor that ISN'T garlic so that I don't react to it. We'll see. The kohlrabi and celeriac I've never tasted in my life, but I was intrigued by them in the seed catalog. The latter specifically said not to direct sow outdoors, but I did anyway. Why? They were in my hand and I was planting outside, not in. That's my only defense. The second pot is really a cardboard Amazon box. Friend Sara had read that this was a container gardening option when one was too cheap for containers. So into the cardboard box went the Radishes Cherry Belle and Carrots Napa Hybrid.

We harvested the remainder of our potatoes. We got out another 2.5 pounds - these were all red ones except for one gold. The gold one was kinda tucked into the shade of the mandarin orange tree so that plant didn't do as well. While digging in the raised bed we saw lots of happy worms and one grub, which has now been put into the "pet grub" aquarium. I feel like whenever we pull anything out of the ground we outta add something back in before replanting. Since we had no finished compost or fresh worm castings ready, I added worm castings from a bag before planting three squares of Spinach Erste Ernte (that must mean something... but what?), Lettuce Bullet Green Romaine, and Lettuce Green Deer Tongue Loose Leaf. These three I selected for their relative tolerance for heat stress, as I recall. Or maybe I threw I dart.

On the topic of potatoes, one gets dire warnings about only planting seed potatoes and not those from the store. I got mine from the farmer's market and from organic bags at the grocery, cut them up and planted them. They did fine. Perhaps with repeated plantings in the same area, seed-specific potatoes are more important. I did save some tiny potatoes off the plants in a brown bag for next spring's plantings. For the effort, potatoes are way cheap, but hey mine are organic and they are so much fun to dig out. I love the surprise!

Did I tell you what we did with some of the grubs that had inhabited the "pet grub" aquarium? This week, I took DS and DD to a woman's house (Kim) about 30 minutes away to get duck eggs from her free range ducks. It took some convincing to get DS to be willing to bring the grubs as a gift for the ducks, but talking to him about needless suffering vs. happy life/quick ending did the trick. Once he was on board with the grubs going, he seemed happy to pack them up into the jar with the air holes, which he held in his lap (along with this snack - yuck!) all the way there. We also brought Kim some chard form the garden and extra egg cartons. Since we arrived with such generous gifts, she gave us the $4/dozen duck eggs for free! What a deal! And DS even came back with a jar full of feathers and one acorn. We learned all sorts of great things about ducks (the girls quack loudly and the boys mumble soft quacks). DS was so excited about seeing them and her horses, dogs, tortoises, and fish. As soon as we got home, he drew several pictures of the adventure. We haven't tried the duck eggs yet. I'm allergic to chicken eggs but have heard that sometimes people with chicken egg allergies can be ok with duck eggs. I'll let you know when I get up the nerve to give it a try.

No pictures this week. It is way too late, and I'm rambling. Happy gardening!

Fresh Mint Tea - How hard can it be? A dumb blond joke.

2009-11-09T21:50:00.000-08:00

So there is this blond who wants a recipe for making ice... I think the joke went something like that. Well here's another joke along those lines, but it is for real. I've got fresh mint growing in a pot (I'm smart enough to use a pot) on the patio. Every time I try to make sun tea or boiled tea with the fresh mint (combo of peppermint and spearmint) it ends up really bitter. Adding honey doesn't mask the bitterness. Honestly, how hard can it be to make fresh mint tea? What on earth am I doing wrong? Should I be using leaves only? I can't believe that it really has to be dried first to taste good, but I haven't tried drying it yet. Advice? Trader Joe's mint tea ingredients reads: Peppermint leaves. Can't be too tough.

Robeez shoes MIA

2009-11-07T11:22:00.000-08:00

Several months ago one of my slippers went missing. I eventually found it stuffed between my 4 yo son's trundle bed and his mattress. I had also lost a single Robeez shoe of DD's. I am saddened to report that I STILL haven't found it. AND just last week, we lost another single Robeez shoe. The first was lost somewhere between the changing table and the car. The second was lost somewhere between the baby's room and my bedroom (not very far at all!). DS denies involvement and a cursory search of his usual hiding spots has turned up nothing. Good thing I keep buying Robeez for $2-3 a pair at garage sales! Uuugggh kids! The chaos!

Navy Bean Pilaf

2009-11-06T23:04:00.000-08:00

Source: My brain! I was trying to recall the taste of Near East Lentil Pilaf and this recipe came to me as a complete thought yesterday. How weird is that? I wrote it down and made it today. Unlike many of my bean dish experiments, this was really good!

1/2 c dried beans - I used Navy. Soaked overnight - ok, I soaked them nearly 24 hrs by the time I got around to them. Drained/rinsed.
1/2 c wild rice
2 c water
1/2 t onion powder
1/2 t onion flakes
1/4 t salt
1/8 t black pepper
1 carrot, grated REALLY fine

Cook in a saucepan, simmering until all water is absorbed.
----
I love leftovers, so next time I'll make 2-4 times this recipe and try it in the crockpot on low for 8 hours.

November Planting and Harvest

2009-11-01T21:00:00.000-08:00

Today we did more gardening. Happily, we finally got some drip line to more vegetable garden. I planted the pots and one box that I put on my garden table in a sunny spot. Today's seeds were: Lettuce Mesclun Gourmet Baby Greens, Chives, Dill (from 2002), Parsley, Broccoli Earth Gems (2002), Turnip Purple Top White Globe, and Beets Detroit Dark Red. The ones without dates are 2009, so I hope they'll be ok.

We planted black eyed peas this year from the dry bulk bin. I mostly used them for green beans in the newer bean phase, sometimes for greens to cook, but some of the beans got away from me. Today I picked all of the dried bean pods and gave them to DS to shuck. He did a great job and was quite proud of the haul. In all, we had about 1/2 cup of dried black eyed peas. Not a ton, but a fun project and good fine motor skill practice for DS. I have them soaking now to cook tomorrow.

I finally harvested the much talked about, enormous, mutant butternut squash. This puppy weighs in at a whopping 7.5 pounds! That is a lot for a butternut squash. It is also pictured here with the kids for scale, plus our store-bought squash and pumpkins. I love gardening! It is so great to feed the family real food that I know exactly where it came from!

Garden update and Halloween

2009-10-31T21:04:00.000-07:00

Of last week's snap peas and snow peas ONE has sprouted so far. Not an overwhelming yield yet. Today I managed to plant six cloves of elephant garlic near the peas. Also I put in the ground a basil plant and a cilantro plant that I bought about a month ago. They'll probably be happier in the ground. A couple months ago I acquired a table that a neighbor was sending to the landfill. Today I moved it into a sunny spot and chose some pots to put on it. A friend (hi Sara!) had told me about reading that one could container garden in cardboard boxes. So, what the heck, I selected a Amazon box to try planting in as well. DD woke up from her nap before I was able to assess our potting soil supply and decide what I wanted to plant. One thing I've got to put in is some lettuces. The lettuce I planted in September hasn't come up at all. I think the spot is too shady in fall/winter.

I cooked a meatloaf in a halved pumpkin for Halloween dinner. It turned out pretty well, but next time I'll season it differently. I was pleasantly surprised how nicely the pumpkin cooked up, though. Tonight we did the trick or treating thing with DS as a pirate and DD as a ladybug. DS loved talking with the neighbors and got the hang of knocking, saying "trick or treat", choosing candy/toy, "thank you," "happy Halloween," and "have a nice night." Since he can be reserved when meeting new people, the process of trick or treating is actually a great learning experience for him. And this year we filled our bowl with a bit of candy and mostly Halloween gizmos (pumpkin erasers, pencils, kazoos, pumpkin straws). We left the bowl out when we were trick or treating and came back to a well-depleted bowl and no vandalism, so it seems to have gone over pretty well. I prefer the little toys to candy. At least it isn't junk food. But it is mostly made-in-China, destined-for-the-landfill sorts of stuff. Does anyone else do something better? Happy Halloween!

Swine Flu

2009-10-30T21:30:00.000-07:00

Friends and family keep asking me about my take on the swine flu vaccine. We've decided not to do the vaccine due to my concerns that it may have unknown side effects that we aren't yet aware of because it has been rushed to market. My understanding is that the 1976 vaccine for swine flu was rushed to market and was associated with, but never proven to cause Guillain-Barre Syndrome. Since this rare nerve disorder is understood to be partially autoimmune and we have Celiac Disease (autoimmune) in the family, we aren't going there. We do the annual flu shots - 'cause having the flu is so crummy and I feel like the shots have decent safety records. Most of the media reports I hear are that H1N1 has similar mortality rates as regular seasonal flu, but of course, more targeted to younger populations - likely due to some cross protection from a prior strain that circulated. Today I went surfing on the CDC to find the mortality rate data. Sadly, I didn't find exactly what I was looking for - # of deaths per 1,000 cases. If you find that data, I'd like you to send me the link. I did find this interesting chart regarding the flu deaths. This season's curve doesn't look so bad yet, until you realize that this is only week 41 and that the other week 41's aren't really even on the upslope of the curve. We all know that this swine flu continued through the summer (you can see that in pink in the graph above) and is getting going again early this season - but wow - the curves really say a lot. If you add a normal flu season onto this swine flu curve, it is going to be pretty big. Yikes! I hope I'm making the right decision. I realize that it is highly likely that our family will get the swine flu and feel terrible with it. I just hope we won't have any serious consequences from it, like the side effects I fear from a rushed vaccine. All our schools around here have LOTS of H1N1, include DS's preschool as of this week.

What to do wtih that Halloween pumpkin?

2009-10-29T22:00:00.000-07:00

Ok, I admit it. Halloween isn't even here yet and I'm already fantasizing about how to chop up and eat our pumpkins. In the bad old days before I knew that one was supposed to bake with those white pumpkins and that the jack-o-lanterns were bred for decor, I recall cooking them, pureeing them and using them for pie. Anyone else do this with their jack-o-lantern pumpkins? How about just pureeing it and eating it like squash? What about the little pumpkins? Or roasting them with other veggies like one would winter squash? (I found this image at http://www.mguhlin.org/2009/10/costume-hunting-shuffle-like-zombie.html - it isn't my own work, although I wish it were!)

Kids and knock-knock jokes

2009-10-27T21:54:00.000-07:00

What is it about kids and horrible knock-knock jokes? Today DS was interested in the structure of knock-knock jokes and trying to tell some. I found a great website for kids jokes and he LOVED it. The kid couldn't stop laughing. I tried to teach him how to tell one, but he'd keep deviating from the script.

Knock knock
Who's there?
Boo
Boo who?
Boo pumpkinhead (was supposed to be "You don't have to cry about it.")

He still thought it was funny and was happy to tell it and retell it until I couldn't stand it anymore. Then DH came home and DS told him until HE couldn't stand it anymore. From my youth, I recall younger kids telling lame jokes that didn't mean anything and it getting pretty annoying. And now here I am, reliving my youth.

I made up a couple that he really liked:

Knock knock
Who's there?
Ima
Ima who?
Ima silly willy
(his favorite)

Knock knock
Who's there?
Who
Who who?
Are you an owl?

I'm a genius aren't it? Stunning.

Potatoes, Peas and Pomegranates

2009-10-25T21:39:00.000-07:00

Today we did some fun gardening. First, one of the potato plants was looking about done so we went digging for treasure. I'd planted purple, red and yellow potatoes in the spring. Many had been dug up by the squirrel, so I kept replanting. Because of this, I really didn't know what I had where. Never having grown potatoes before, I was thrilled to find beautiful purple potatoes under the plant. While digging, I seemed to get into the space of a nearby red potato, 'cause I got some of those too. Once washed, they looked like jewels with their vibrant colors. I took a picture of them on the dish towel. I chopped them up, microwaved them with a little water and we ate them for lunch. These were the freshest potatoes I've ever eaten in my life. They were so creamy tasting. Yum.

Next we tore out some old yellow crookneck squash plants. In that space we dug in some compost from the mushroom farm and some worm compost from our bin and some from the store. We planted an entire envelope (minus a couple I'd planted in the spring) of Sugar Snap Peas that say "Sell by 12/08." Too old? Well, I had more space, so I used up a packet of Oregon Sugar Pod II Peas (snow peas) from 2003. For the record, NONE of the wildflower seeds from 1999-2006 that I planted last month sprouted. I wonder if any of the snow peas will sprout. We added small soaker hose from our drip system for this area.

We've been eating our beautiful pomegranates for about a month now. This week there were some very bold birds out there feasting on them as well, so we tried to accelerate our eating this weekend. They are so delicious though I want them to last! All of us love them, including 12 month old DD. Here is a picture of the modest pomegranate tree still holding onto some fruit for us, plus one picked fruit awaiting lunch.

In the area of the garden that I planted with carrots, turnips, shallots, and beets about a month ago, the plants aren't looking so good. This is the same area that the amaranth is in, but it looks pretty stunted. I've added more worm compost which hasn't seemed to help very much. As I've watched the area more, I realize that the sun isn't hitting it directly for many hours now. I wonder if all those little root vegetable seedlings will amount to anything. Live and learn.

We do have some very happy butternut squash still producing for us. One is so enormous that I must take a picture when I harvest it. The vine had been confined to a wood trellis leaning against the fence, but of late it has escaped. The huge squash flourished unseen behind the barbecue, half on the patio and half up a step onto the cooldeck. Because of its odd locale, it is developing while standing on its head. This seems to have turned it into a crooknecked butternut.

We continue to eat a variety of things from the garden. Today's garden food included: pomegranates, potatoes, chard, basil, parsley, cowpea green beans, one white and bitter carrot, one itty bitty eggplant, and about 7 cherry tomatoes. Not bad for suburbia!

A quarter of the way to the age of majority

2009-10-25T21:04:00.000-07:00

Today DS became 4.5 years old. I am shocked to realize that he is a quarter of the way to the age of majority. It is overwhelming to think that already a quarter of his at-home-formative years have passed. Not that he won't continue to rely on us in some ways beyond 18, but wow, he's a substantial part of the way to being able to vote, serve in the military, make medical decisions, etc. When I tried to explain this to him, he didn't like the idea at all. He still wants to be a little boy. Which he is, of course. No rush.

The most memorable moment of DS's day was getting overtired, throwing a fit, and (in the process of this fit) tripping/falling on the carpet face first. He got a bloody fat lip and spent most of the evening very unhappy. He was so exhausted from the ordeal that while I was making dinner he laid down on the sofa listening to a Sting CD and fell asleep with an ice pack on his lip. It was hard for him to eat dinner, so he had a couple nibbles of food and two glasses of milk through a straw. Not really the momentous celebration that 25% of adulthood warrants, but he's still 75% kid.

Announcing our first-ever contest: license plate for hybrid car?

2009-10-21T20:50:00.000-07:00

The publisher(s) of Green GF Garden (me) are pleased to announce our first ever contest. You could WIN WIN WIN! Just come up with the winning entry and you will get an official "thank you" on our high traffic blog, Green GF Garden!

Here are the rules (or at least the situation):
My dear mom is considering branching out after 40 years of only driving Volvos. Being a born and bred Volvo driver I can sympathize with her plight. My Volvo wagon gets about 20 MPG, similar to her sedan. Not too green. So she is considering buying the first and only new car of her life (normally she gets used ones). She has her eyes on a Toyota Prius. To celebrate her first and only new car of her life and the fact that it will get great gas mileage, she wants to also get her first and only vanity plate of her life. She's looking for something to put on the plate. She lives in Arizona and the plate is limited to 7 letters/digits. Do you have a great idea? We're not above copying someone else's fabulous plate in another state. But obviously can't copy one in Arizona. She saw one on a Prius that she liked:

YNOTU

As in, c'mon get on the bandwagon and get a lower impact car! I want her to get a vibrantly lime green car and one of these plates:

GOGREEN

GETGRNR

Sadly, she wants a white car so it wouldn't be as big impact. What are your ideas? Remember, you could win an official thank you!

Quote on Food

2009-10-08T21:03:00.000-07:00

I was reading the book, Sprouts: The Miracle Food and ran across this quote attributed to "Norman Walker at 108 years of age."

"The great Law of Life is Replenishment. If we do not eat, we die. Just as surely, if we do not eat the kind of food which will nourish the body constructively, we not only die prematurely, but we suffer along the way."

So applicable to Celiac Disease and many ailments that plague modern societies.

Mortality Risk in Celiac Disease

2009-10-06T22:49:00.000-07:00

Eeee gads! I ran across a JAMA article that I just have to blog about. Here it is. Seems like intestinal inflammation is a bad thing to have! Heal that gut.

Pounds of powdered sugar

2009-09-28T22:43:00.000-07:00

Since my Celiac Disease has caused me to be allergic to corn as well, making icing with powdered sugar has been a challenge. Allergy Grocer used to carry a corn-free version before they collapsed with the Great Recession. After their demise, I bought a coffee bean grinder on the advice of my friends at GFCFrecipes to grind granulated sugar into powdered. It works, but the frosting is still grittier than it would be with commercially prepared stuff. And since my coffee grinder gives dire warnings about only doing 1/4 cup at a time and only two cycles per 5 minutes, it seems to take me a week to grind a couple pounds of powdered sugar. I'd heard that Trader Joe's carried a corn-free variety, but when I asked last spring I was told it was "seasonal". Seasonal? Do people only make frosting at Christmas? Aren't there birthdays requiring cupcakes all year round? Since I bring DS's cupcakes to school for all kids' birthdays so he'll have a GF option, we seem to go through a lot of cupcakes.

So, why am I posting now? Well, today DS, DD, and I were strolling through Trader Joe's when what should I spy? CORN-FREE POWDERED SUGAR!!! Yippeee! Apparently, 'tis the season! We gleefully loaded up the cart with all 15 packages they had! So if you need this product, check out Trader Joe's NOW! Well, not my Trader Joe's now, since they're out, but you get my meaning.

The very hungry caterpillars

2009-09-28T22:34:00.000-07:00

A few days ago when making pesto I found a green inchworm on the basil. What type, I wish I knew. SOOO glad I found it before putting the basil in the Cuisinart! This is the part of home gardening that makes we want to just buy prepackaged stuff. But the disgusting truth is that I probably find more of the bugs before consumption than the mass producers do! shudder

DS, of course, wanted to keep it. So we put it in a 4 oz jar with some basil leaves. The next day, the basil was gone and the bottom of the jar was covered in caterpillar poop - small blackish balls. I never knew what caterpillar poop looked like! We had to pick more basil leaves for the caterpillar and put it in a bigger jar without poop. I'm happy to report that DS decided on his own that the caterpillar wouldn't like to be enclosed with a bunch of poop. Empathy is a good quality to develop! Anyway, we were very surprised how fast that hungry caterpillar could eat through the basil leaves. No wonder my basil looks ratty.

Then yesterday I was inspecting my tomato plants. Some were looking suspiciously leafless. Hummm... Looking on the ground there seemed to be a lot of little black balls that looked remarkably like caterpillar dung. Hummm... Looking closer at the plant... yikes! Two caterpillars. DS of course wants to put them in with the inchworm. Then, we find another. Ok, 3 in with the inchworm. Looking more. Find one staring me in the face and so big that I shriek in surprise. DS shrieks in surprise - in a remarkably prolonged and ear-piercing manner. Wonder where he got that from? He insists we must not put this enormous one in with the "babies" for fear it will eat them. So we got a bucket. Found two more that were too big to go in with the babies. Tonight took another close look at the plant and found the biggest one yet. Despite the fact that I'm looking for them, they startle me in a creepy way when I find them. Happened to mention the tomato hornworms to DS's preschool teacher today who said, "Bring them in!" They already have our figeater beetle larvae as pets and tomorrow they'll get 7 hornworms and an inchworm. Lucky preschool teachers. I put some tomato plant leaves and partially hornworm-eaten tomatoes in with the hornworms, but I bet they'll tear through them pretty quickly. Those are some hungry caterpillars.

Fabulous Pesto

2009-09-26T22:12:00.000-07:00

Last night I made the basic pesto recipe from The Moosewood Cookbook
3 cups packed fresh basil leaves
3 to 4 large cloves of garlic (I used elephant garlic)
1/3 cup pine nuts (I used more!)
1/3 cup olive oil
1/3 cup parmesan
Blend it all up in the food processor and toss desired amount with hot gluten-free pasta. I used bean thread noodles (basically just mung beans and potato starch). It was SOOOOO good. Unfortunately, it used up most of my basil from the garden. What to do? I don't think I can plant more now. Doesn't basil hate the cold? Should I give it a try?

My baby is one!

2009-09-26T21:51:00.000-07:00

I am so stunned that today my second and last baby, DD, turned one year old! Parenting life is such a whirlwind that the year flew by. I plan to post a more thorough update soon on the kids. Today, though, we celebrated her birthday. I started the day by thanking G-d that I was neither pregnant nor in labor. That in itself is cause for celebration!

Garden update from summer plantings

2009-09-23T22:34:00.000-07:00

How are the crops from summer doing? My chard is still happy. Some of those plants are 1.5 years old. Others only 6 months old. My yellow crookneck only gave a few squash this year, but they were yummy. Same with eggplant. Tomatoes - the 3 that self-seeded did fine with moderate yields of cherry tomatoes. A cherokee purple??? has all of 3 tomatoes on it - all still green. There are two other plants that aren't more than 2 feet high that I planted in a new spot - too shady - no fruit. The black-eyed peas keep regularly producing green beans. There are never a ton at once, but I've done a few small panfuls. Or I'll just cook them with something else. Basil is happy. Mints are, too. Oddly, some impatiens in baskets over my raised bed keep self-seeding into the raised bed, so I keep transferring plants out. Getting plenty of impatiens that way. My cilantro looks horrible. Why? Other herbs ok. Amaranth, which is supposed to get TALL (like 5-6 feet) is only about 1 foot tall and starting to flower. It is in a new bed area that I didn't amend intensely. I think they are begging for more compost. I have one lonely lima bean that is just now starting to flower. I think I may have been watering it too much for a while. All of my peppers this year were killed by the squirrel or the heat as seedlings. Still some beets and carrots in from earlier plantings, but these aren't growing too quickly 'cause they are getting shaded out by aggressive citrus, basil and black eyed peas. I was pleasantly surprised by some sunflowers that I planted late from the seeds of a neighbor's flowers. I planted TONS. Only 2 grew. One is about 4 feet tall and the other must be about 8 feet tall. I think today's Santa Anas did them in, though. 100 degrees and 8 percent humidity. Their poor petals shriveled.

Elegant Eggless Omelet

2009-09-20T21:56:00.000-07:00

My favorite gluten-free recipe site and GF community is GFCFrecipes yahoo group. From their archives, I tried the recipe for Elegant Eggless Omelet, modified. http://www.recipecircus.com/recipes/Writermom77/Eggless/Elegant_Eggless_Omelet.html

* 3/4 cup gf high protein flour blend (I used 1/4 each of tapioca starch, potato starch and gar/fava flour)
* 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
* 1 teaspoon baking powder (1/4 t baking soda, 1/2 t cream of tartar, 1/4 t potato starch)
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1 pinch ground turmeric

* 1 cup milk, (rice, soy, almond) (I actually used cow's milk)
* 1/2 teaspoon vegetable oil (I used olive oil)

The link has the full directions, but to summarize you cook them one at a time in a skillet like a pancake. Before serving them, I stuffed them with melted cheese and avocado. 4 year old DS declared them "yummy". Even the baby liked her dairy-free (sub'd water) version.

15 more figeater beetle grubs

2009-09-20T17:51:00.000-07:00

I got out into the garden twice in one day! It is a miracle! I used up the rest of the harvested worm compost in the raised bed garden and some large herb pots. The citrus trees and vegetables got the remainder of the finished hot compost. While distributing tha,t I found 14 more disgusting figeater beetle grubs. Found one more when digging in the vegetable area. I put them all in a bucket with a little compost. Does the preschool want them? They are so gross, and therefore, fascinating. I even had time to set up some new pots for succulents. I put in a few trimmings from jade before DD woke from her nap. A successful afternoon.

Fall Planting, Part 1

2009-09-20T13:14:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I went to a class on winter vegetable planting at my local nursery. It was interesting, but I would have been better off spending the time actually gardening. So, today I had a chance to actually plant some. I used some of our finished compost and some of our home-grown worm castings to amend the soil. I planted a Mesclun lettuce mix in the raised bed. While there, I transplanted some impatiens that were self-seeding in my chives and gave them their own pot.

In a separate area of the garden, I turned DS loose with four packets of old flower seeds that needed to be planted or thrown out: pansies, sweet william, forget-me-nots, and an "annual cut flower mix" that some realtor left on our doorstep. These seed packets ranged in age from 1993-2006. Do you think anything will sprout?

Near our amaranth I put in some more carrots (carnival blend and scarlet nantes) and beets (Detroit dark red). Also planted some white globe purple top turnips - my first attempt at turnips. Using some shallots that I purchased from the grocery store for $1 million per pound, I divided those up and put them in. Flat side down, covering the tips with dirt. If all 7 grow, that will reduce the per pound price I paid.

I hope to find a nice spot for a variety of peas - maybe mid-October would be a good planting time for them around here. It is still 90 degrees today and supposed to be triple digits this week, so no peas yet. I still need to harvest more worm castings from the bin and distribute the rest of it. We also have plenty of compost to spread around. I'd like to put some under the citrus.

And this week we scored a few more bags of Starbucks coffee grounds. DH has to borrow FIL's shredder so that we can chip up the yard trimmings that we have waiting. Once those go into the bin, we'll fluff in the coffee grounds and kitchen scraps and it'll start cooking.

Today I harvested some cowpea green beens to steam for dinner. Yum! DH had some fresh basil on his tomato and cheese GF sandwich. DD had some of the nectarine puree that I made from our tree this summer.

National Day of Service

2009-09-11T22:41:00.000-07:00

I tend to feel a bit meloncholy on 9/11. I really like Obamo's declaration of 9/11 as a National Day of Service. It seems like helping others could not only do the obvious, of creating a better society, but also be a healthy part of the continued healing process from 9/11. Last night I tried to figure out what I could do today for service. Go to a thrift shop and help out? Would they see me come in with 4 yo DS and 11 mo DD and request that I'd be of greatest service to them if I left the shop? Perhaps. Could I go to the preschool and help the teachers prep for projects? Again, they might see us as a hazard. I decided on a simple, close-to-home service. We'd walk the neighborhood in search of trash to pick up. Late this afternoon we did go on a brief walk. Happily (and yet, sadly too) we found no trash dispose of. Did someone do this before we did today? Hummm... We did find an elderly neighbor's water valve box leaking. We knocked on the door, had a neighborly chat, showed her the leak, and told her how to have the city fix it for free. Karmicly, I wonder if that counts as service. Did you do some service today?

Figeater Beetles

2009-09-09T22:47:00.000-07:00

I keep wanting to start a blog, but the task of a grand introduction is too daunting. Therefore, I'm starting right in. This weekend, DH and DS harvested our first batch of homemade compost this year. In it they found 45 fat wiggly larvae. I goggled and called the local nursery. Figeater beetle larvae. They were about two inches long and as wide as my index finger. Since the larvae can eat your lawn roots and the beetles can eat soft fruits (likes figs, peaches), the larvae ended up being pitched into the street for the birds to eat. I'm sorry to say that the birds didn't show a great deal of interest and the street sweeper got most of them on Tuesday morning.