(More) Fruits of our labor

A quick update on our garden progress! The pic above represents what has been coming in for a couple weeks now.Three different types of tomatoes: Yellow Gooseberry, San Marzano and Brandywine. These just started ripening, so we finally have some color in our garden! There are about 18-20 of the little yellows in that bowl, with several more just around the corner for picking. The San Marzano's are coming in (color) about two at a time, so not sure if there's any chance we'll be using those for canning (sauce) as we'd thought. The Brandywine's are so big and have taken on such peculiar shapes, but they are so, so tasty! There are several more of each just waiting to turn out there, and it would certainly be nice if they all - or, most - turned at once.
Our funny little peppers. We pulled a couple banana's a few weeks back (one of which was the size it should be), and a couple little greens. That green one is twice as big as the two still out on the vine. I think we need deeper soil next year (yes, dear).Ah, the stars of the show! This zucchini is a great example of the 4 or 5 we've already plucked. So yellow, so shiney, so yummy!

Unfortunately, I didn't get a pic of the yellow pole beans I picked and cooked up just the other night. We had them roasted with some green ones we got in our farm share, and ours were certainly the tastier of the two!

Other than that, we're just keeping our fingers crossed for some potatoes and carrots (neither of which we feel comfortable uprooting yet, to check progress). They've each got some beautiful green up top, so here's hoping. Our Winter squash plants all died, and we're not sure why. I shouldn't say all, because there are two that Michael separated from the batch in the box and planted in the ground, and they seem to be thriving. We'll see if we get anything. Of course, we'll also have another member of the family by then!

First fruit from the garden...

...and it's fruit! The only fruit we planted (well, besides rhubarb) is strawberries. We got two bright, beautiful babes this morning!!

We may get one or two more this year. We weren't expecting a lot, since this is the first year and we started the four plants late. Next year, however, we should see much more.





Speaking of progress, some pictures of what's greening up in our back yard:

Beans, with a tomato on each end.
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Tomatoes!! These are the plants started from seed this Spring. We almost gave up on them, but I'm glad we didn't. Here, Michael is stringing up the center ones to reach for the top slat.
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More tomatoes (from plant), peppers, herbs and eggplant. (isn't that grapevine in the background gorgeous?!)
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Closeup of basil. Yay, basil!! I have a pot on the deck I've been pinching off of for regular use. This, if it yields enough, will be used to make and freeze pesto for the winter. Two of the squares are cucumber from another box that was thinned. We're hoping we can get the cuc vines to just drape over the edge of the box.
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Back three are Summer squash (though, we may be harvesting closer to Fall), and the other squares are onions.
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Cuc's in the back, middle two rows are onions and leeks, and the front is dill. A little overkill on the dill. It's okay, we'll give some away (let us know if you want any).
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Potatoes in back, carrots up front. Lots of carrots!
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Greens, greens and more greens! Swiss Chard, arugula and salad greens. We should be able to start harvesting some very soon. There's also a bunch of radishes in there.
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Winter squash. Two kinds, both good Winter keepers.
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Window boxes of herbs. These are plants from the farmers market, since our seeds never did take:( We've got Thai basil, parsley, tarragon, oregano, rosemary and sage in here. Hopefully I can transfer them indoors and find a good spot to keep them going in the Winter. This is a South facing window, in the dining room, but it's fairly shaded. The Winter sun may be different, though. We'll see.
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The raspberries. Of course, we didn't plant these, but I had to show how close we are to harvesting. I'm really looking forward to having enough to freeze, can and eat fresh. There are so many plants in this bush, it shouldn't be a problem.
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And, finally, I had to show some of our compost. You can see the difference in the color of the soil surrounding the peppers here. The darker is our compost from the turning composter we picked up 4-6 weeks ago. Beautiful stuff!

My husband is a natural at this stuff. We wouldn't have the amount of crops and the progress thus far if not for him. He is a farmer in the making, I'm convinced of it. He is always outside, checking, weeding, thinning, watering..doing whatever needs to be done. Check out his blog on how all of this was put together here.

This is how we do salad

Lately I've been layering salads. Not just layering ingredients, but layering textures and temperatures. I know, that sounds weird, but it's actually quite the pleasant experience.

First take a cold salad of greens and "stuff" (onion, peppers, tomatoes, etc.) and pile atop some crispy chips. Next layer, something sauteed and/or roasted (serve while still warm). Top it off with some cheese, and maybe even a drizzle of dressing.

Yum. Taste, temp and texture explosion!

Take tonight's dinner for example. Not the best salad of this type I've come up with thus far, but pretty good.First, I bake up little cutup triangles of corn tortillas, with some olive oil and salt brushed on before hand (Michael discovered how great these are a couple years ago; it's a cheap alternative to bags of chips. AND, you can cut 'em all up, throw them back in the bag, and just make a cookie sheet at a time, as needed).

Next, quite simply (this time), some greens (Romaine, I believe). Nothing fancy for the cold, crunchy portion of this salad.

The warm layer...this time two different animals. First, I've discovered something that my husband could eat every night (at least while the stuff is in season), and it's so, so simple! I throw some kale and cut up beets in the oven (400 degrees) along with some garlic and olive oil, until the kale is crispy and the beets tender. Crispy, charred kale is AWESOME - I highly recommend trying it! Second, I sauteed up some broccoli, cauliflower and local chicken sausage until the broccoli was bright green (these were all items in my refrigerator that were in dire need of use, today). Oh, and I threw in some fresh basil, of course, from the pot out on the deck (if you didn't know, I absolutely LOVE basil, and attempt to sneak it in wherever I can). All of the warm items went on top of the greens. (the kale and beets second to the other, because I wanted that combination of color on top).

Lastly, I chopped up some lovely local Gruyere. This is one of my all time favorite cheeses..if not my absolute fav. Michael just happens to love it too. It's not often we both drool over the same cheese. All crumbled on top (it's a crumbly cheese), this was a nice finish to the salad, because it's sharp and flavorful, and just gets better with a little warmth from the warm ingredients in the salad.

That's it! The chips on the bottom, if the salad was made with a dressing, get a little pliable, yet still crispy, so you can use them to scoop up the salad. This time, they stayed pretty crispy, and were nice to bite into about halfway through a bite of salad.

I wish there were leftovers...


(p.s.: all veggies used were local and seasonal, partly from our farm share and partly from our trip to the farmers market this morning; the chicken and cheese, as mentioned, were from local farms; and, hey, the corn tortillas were from a local vendor too!)

Hope I've inspired!

Cold Veggie Pizza

Okay, a girl's gotta be creative when the "standard" recipe for something she likes consistently includes ingredients that would never be found in her kitchen. One of those things she likes: cold veggie pizza.

Every recipe calls for mayo (um..no thanks) in the spread and Pillsbury crescent rolls for the crust (sorry, no over processed, frozen Pillsbury products at The Wedge, or in my kitchen). I was also amazed by how many recipes called for canned veggies and the like. Ewe.

Fresh, fresh, fresh is the name of the game in our house, so...

Here's what I came up with:

The crust: I bought a pre-made pizza crust from The Wedge (made right there in their bakery) the other night, and it was so very tasty. I thought, "why not use a pizza crust?". I was really concerned it wouldn't work - would either get too crispy or wouldn't cook thoroughly without getting crispy, etc. I baked it at 425 instead of the recommended 450, for 10 minutes. It came out perfectly done and not crispy. Just what I was hoping for.

Next the spread: Like I said, most cold pizza spreads called for mayo, and if you read about my egg salad creation, you know that doesn't work here. I figured cream cheese should be just fine without the mayo, but perhaps we need a thinner consistency. So, I opted for Greek yogurt. I've never had Greek yogurt, but I've heard it called for in many recipes from spreads to salad dressings. I put about 1/2 cup of the yogurt and an entire 8 oz container of cream cheese into the food processor, after using said processor for chopping up a couple handfuls of spinach. So, once spinach was chopped and blended in with the yogurt and cheese, I then added a bunch of fresh dill (mmm...dill just screams Summer, doesn't it?).

Set aside spread (give it a taste or two, of course), and move onto the veggies...

(pizza crust is baking, and then cooling, during this time)

Of course, you can use whatever veggies you like. This time, I used: Asparagus, Red Pepper, Green Onion and Carrot.

All chopped up into little pieces and mixed together (throw some salt in there too). Mind you, the only veggies in this recipe that are locally available right now are the asparagus, green onion and spinach. I think this would be good with just those items, too, if you wanted to be more strict about eating local. I wanted a lot of flavor and color this time, so I opted for a couple of organic produce items from my co-op.

Okay, crust is cooled, spread is made and veggies are chopped and mixed (and smelling oh-so-yummy). I wanted my pizza to be portable this time, and the perfect container was one I saved from a store-bought cheesecake (reduce/reuse/recycle!). Using it just meant cutting the crust down a bit. To my surprise, I was able to cut damn-near the perfect circle to fit into the container, and had leftover crust pieces for dipping in any leftover spread.

I stuck the crust into the container, thinking this would be smart, but after getting everything on top and attempting to cut through (the crust is a bit chewy - it totally works for this, but is tougher to get a pizza cutter through), I think it best to leave it on a bread board and load it up there. Then you can use a nice, sharp knife for cutting. The rest is simple: spread on the spread, sprinkle on the veggies, and shred some cheddar over the top.

And it's a hit! The only complaint from the hubby was that the pieces were too big, so it got a bit messy trying to tear into it bite-by-bite. But, overall, a really nice little dinner for two.

(I ended up using only about half the spread, and about 2/3 the veggies I had chopped up. I threw them together and Michael took that, along with the leftover crust pieces, for lunch today)

Memorial Day Weekend = Garden Time!

So, we're on our way (hopefullly) to having a lot of food, grown right here in our own backyard (even if we don't "own" the backyard itself). We couldn't have asked for a better weekend, weather-wise - absolutely perfect!

Michael, making the raised beds. Materials were either free (old crates from his office, on their way to a landfill) or cheap (Home Depot "oops" bin or Ikea as-is section), but some of it required a lot of extra elbow grease, and it all required hundreds of screws. Michael did not walk away unscathed: he kept getting slivers in his hands, he formed a callus on one from drilling and a burn on the other from a hot drill bit. Not to mention, many sore muscles.

Pile o' dirt. "Grower's Blend" of manure, compost and fertilizer. 2 1/2 Cu. Yds. We may have overshot on the amount we'd need. I think we've used about 2/3 of it.

The beds in place. We named the boxes so that we could record (on paper, rather than on the boxes themselves, in case we do other things in the same boxes next year), and labeled each 1-4 and A, B, C (12 squares in each box). Michael cunningly thought to name the boxes after each Friends character (and if you know us, it's fitting). You should have heard the numerous conversations, yesterday, that started out something like this: "Well, we have three squares left in Monica, so what should we put in those?"

The boxes, fairly up close. We stapled on jute to tie off the squares (intended to be 12" squares, but ended up 11.5" - close enough). This helps keep everything organized, and made planting so much quicker and easier. The one in the back of the picture looks half empty - the one half has 3" of soil with potato pieces in it. 2" of soil, the potatoes and another inch of soil. As the potatoes start to bud, we'll put another inch of soil over them, and continue that process until we're to the top.

A box on the fence, with wax beans and a couple more tomatoes (we had 2 extra tomato plants after planting them in the other boxes). The "trellis" is the side of a crib, which came in a $15 cart full of odds and ends from Ikea - lots of good, usable material in that cart for 15 dollars!

Squash box. This is our one and only ground box, and it contains the Winter squash. We may have to cover this with some chicken wire or something, since we have an abundance of cute little hungry rabbits in our neighborhood.

Window boxes on South side of house. These now have sage, tarragon and oregano seeds. Basil, dill and thyme are in the other boxes, and I'm hoping to get some lavender and chamomile soon to put in the flower boxes at the front of the house. Yay, herbs!!

Grapevine. Looks like a lot of grapes will come from this, but we'll have to see how bitter they are. We trimmed out the Virginia Creeper, so that may help yield even more fruit. Heck, even if we don't end up eating them, the greenery is nice to look at.

Raspberry bushes abundant! Our neighbors tell us they've been "sharing" these raspberries for years now, and there's still too many to harvest between the 3-4 households that pick from them. We sure hope so. We plan to freeze some, as well as can some, and it would be nice to eat some fresh this Summer while we're at it. Michael cleared out the dead branches, so it should be even easier to get at these lovely fruits.

The deck. I'd like to put some smaller planter boxes around the perimeter. One reason, for some flowers that may attract birds and butterflies, and also to keep anyone from falling off (namely, me - for some reason, I'm very cautious about falling these days; I suppose the extra person on board throwing off the center of gravity will do that to a person). Of course, a table and some chairs are in order here, and at the back, by the door, a grill. We'd also like to create an apparatus to do our canning on outside, to keep that humidity out of the kitchen.

Our shiny new compost bin (and a cat to match)! Pretty cool, it turns right there on its base, and the base is also a sort of "drip pan" for compost "tea", if you will. Another convenient aspect is the bin rolls right off the base, and you can roll it to where you need it.

What we've planted:
2 types of tomatoes
2 types of peppers
Eggplant
Summer squash
Winter squash
Beans
Carrots
Potatoes
Cucumbers
4 types of greens
Onions
Leeks
Herbs (Basil, oregano, thyme, sage, dill and tarragon)

This was (and will continue to be) a truly happy process, and something we've been looking forward to doing for a long time. Fingers are crossed that we'll see plenty of food from our endeavors - especially from Mike's. He worked so, so hard. It would be a great reward to be able to eat and preserve the fruits of our labors. I'll keep you posted!

Just a thought

Call me crazy, but finding a single strand of white hair on my head today was really cool. I remember finding what I was pretty sure was the same thing (in relatively the same spot) last year, just before the wedding. I plucked it then to compare it to a white sheet of paper, and it was indeed white from what I could tell. I plucked this one to get a better look as well, and it's definitely white. (now I'm wishing I hadn't, and that it was back in my head) I'm thinking this one came from the same spot as last time, and will continue to come in white from now on. How strange, though, to only have one...

This makes me wonder, too, how my hair will age. If it will come in spurts of white, and eventually be all white..? I'm not one of these women who have bought into the idea that white and gray needs to be covered. In fact, I look forward to getting it. I think it's a sort of right of passage, a sort of walking into the next phase of your life. It symbolizes years of wisdom and grace, stories to be told and a history to share. Why are we so ashamed of that, as women? Seems silly to me.

Beth's Mayo-free Egg Salad

Michael hates mayo (and Miracle Whip, of course) - won't touch the stuff. I only really "enjoy" it myself in salads, and even then, minimally. Needless to say, we don't keep it in our fridge.

One day, a while back, when I was hungry for egg salad, I discovered a reasonable alternative: hummus! (cottage cheese is good, too, if you're going for creamier, but Mike doesn't like the texture - it's better for dipping than for sandwiches anyway - pretty sloppy. what? you don't dip chips in egg salad?! call me weird, but I have always loved salads as dip).

Anyway, it's been a while since I mixed up some hard boiled eggs with hummus, and the other day I thought I'd try it again, this time a little fancier. (I'm trying to incorporate more eggs into my diet, since they are ideal for the non-meat-eater in terms of getting the protein baby needs for growing)

I wanted more than just the egg for texture. I wanted salad! So, here's what I threw together:

*note: I'm not a "measurer" of ingredients, as most of my creating is off the cuff, so this is more of an ingredient list than a recipe; I work with what I have, and I don't generally plan things - it usually works out*

3 hard boiled eggs (it's all I had at the time)

Hummus (we buy this locally, from Holyland)

Ramps - I imagine you could use anything in the onion family; it didn't take much as ramps are pretty flavorful

Red Pepper - I absolutely love the additional flavor a little bit of chopped up fresh bell pepper brings to egg salad

Celery - very little, cut super small; I didn't want my egg salad to taste like celery, I just wanted that little bit of freshness and crisp that they bring to dishes

Salt and Pepper to taste - I kind of hate the term "to taste". I never "taste" to see if I need more, I just throw some in, a sprinkle at a time, until it seems right

**I would have thrown some mustard in if I'd had it. It was perfectly tasty without, though.

That's it! Mix it up and throw in a tortilla with some lettuce, spinach or micro greens, and you've got a kickass little wrap. No guilt and plenty of nutrients. If it's protein you're after, this wrap gave me a minimum of 20 grams (with organic flour tortilla from Stacey's Big Organic). If you really want to get serious, toss in some flax meal or the like - you won't even taste it.

***Of course, you can always throw some potatoes in the mix, for a salad that stands on its own.

Oh, and sorry, no picture. I ate the other half of the mixture between a couple slices of pumpernickel, and got about 2/3 done before I realized "this is so good, I should share the recipe". So, it wouldn't have been a very appealing picture.

Earth Day...Make it the first day of the rest of your life!

Earth Day. What does it mean?

To my husband and me, it means many things.

It means, essentially, the beginning of our relationship. Our first "date" was on Earth Day, 2006. The date was comprised of a walk around Uptown Minneapolis, a "tour" if you will, as I was not yet living in Minneapolis and was looking for a neighborhood I could call my own. Without knowing too terribly much about me (but, apparently, just enough) Michael was insistent that Uptown was MY neighborhood (he had moved here from Iowa that January, and had instantly fallen in love with Uptown). It was 2-3 hours of walking, talking, exploring and friendly & spirited conversation. I got a taste for the neighborhood (I was immediately hooked as well), a taste for what would eventually become our Saturday morning breakfast spot every Saturday for now the last 2 1/2 years, and a taste of what life would be like with this wonderful person new to my world. (since then, of course, I've stopped nervously tripping over everything - apparently, I trip when I'm nervous, and I did several times while we were hanging out, but Michael was kind enough not to mention it until I did so, at least a year into our relationship)

Looking back, it seems that was the beginning of what our life has become. A culmination of things we had held dear prior to our meeting one another, our life has grown into something wonderful as we have grown as a couple.

You know the whole reduce, reuse, recycle thing? Yeah, that was something we considered, genuinely, and we did it when we could. We recycled glass and plastic bottles (when we remembered to); I always donated my used items to the Salvation Army and my magazines to the laundromat; and we'd even started taking reusable bags to the grocery store (again, when we remembered). Not long after the beginning of our courtship, but especially once we moved in together, however, there was a subconscious shift. Not sure how it happened, but somehow - perhaps, instinctively - we began an unspoken journey together. Soon, we were looking at ways to not only recycle (nearly everything!), but ways to reduce our waste to begin with. From there, we started evaluating our consumption, and taking notes as to what we could live without. Before we knew it, we were passionately seeking out local restaurants to patronize, making trips to the farmers market part of our Saturday morning routine (seeking out local growers instead of just "the good deals"), and there was no longer a roll of paper towels to be found in the apartment (I had switched to using rags made from old pillow cases, boxer shorts and t-shirts).

And, I'm serious when I say this happened almost silently. We've never sat down, yet to this day, and said to one another, "We need to do everything we can do reduce our carbon footprint. Lets make a list!" I don't think most people do. Things like this just seem to have a snowball effect. You do one thing, it feels good. You're inspired because you see how easy it is, so you do something else. Before you know it, all this stuff that seems overwhelming to most of us (I get that argument all the time), isn't so overwhelming after all. It happens gradually, and it "sticks".

Still, today, we're seeking ways to utilize the "3 R's", but for the most part, our daily practices are just that - daily practices. They don't involve much thought, because they've been incorporated, slowly but ardently, into our routine. I feel very proud to sit here today, on the third anniversary of the beginning of our relationship, and on my third anniversary celebrating Earth Day, and say that our "footprint" is minimal. There's still much to do, and I believe, by carbon footprint standards, it would still take 1 1/2 planets to support our lifestyle should everyone do what we do. But we're getting there. (find out what your footprint is, here)

You can get there, too. Start small, start slow...but just start! Start by just asking yourself some questions.

When you go to throw something away, ask yourself if it's something that has more life in it (if not for your own use, for someone's?); if it can be thrown into a recycling bin instead of the trash can (nearly everything can); or, if it's organic matter, can you throw it into a container dedicated to composting (someone you know is composting; if not, find out if your city has started a pickup for it; or start your own compost!).

When you purchase something, ask yourself where that item came from (how far did it travel to get to your hands?); who is benefiting and who is suffering to make that product; what natural resources were used to make it, package it and ship it, and is it possible to find a friendlier alternative? Can I buy it used? You'd be amazed how many everyday items are just sitting there, waiting for you at thrift stores and consignment shops, with plenty of life in them. And, you'll save money! (make it a routine, as I have, to go through your own items and edit out what you're not using, drop those things off at a thrift store, and then head inside the store with a list of things you "need").

Ask yourself if you can go paperless. I'm here to say it IS possible to have a virtually paper-free household (the major exception, of course, is TP. For now.). Instead of paper towel, use rags for cleaning. Rags can be washed. And washed, and washed, and washed. Sure, it takes water and soap to do that, but they take up very little space in the washer, and you'd be amazed how little soap you really need in your washing machine. That, compared to the energy (not to mention the resources) it takes to make paper towel, and then to recycle it (if it's recyclable, and if you remember to do that), is minimal. Same goes for napkins. When we ditched the paper towels for cleaning, we also started using cloth napkins (well, a shared kitchen towel at first), and I started using handkerchiefs (took a while, but Mike got on board with that last one eventually). Can you do your banking and bill paying online? Most of us can these days, and that will cut down on paper coming in by mail, checks going out, etc. Go one step further and request to be removed from junk mail and credit card lists.

When it comes to waste, there are many, many things we've grown accustomed to using, and most of us don't think twice about them. Simply because that's the way it's always been done, doesn't mean you shouldn't ask yourself if that's the way it needs to be done. We are creatures of habit, and we've also very much grown used to convenience. Nearly everything contributing to landfills today is a result of convenience, from the plastic bottles that your favorite water comes in (most of which is no cleaner or safer than your own tap water), to disposable diapers (which never really decompose; stats are based on decomposition requiring air to do so - how much air do you think gets to them?), to packaging (seems everything has a ridiculous amount of packaging, and every little thing is worthy of a bag to throw it in!).

If you have access to bulk foods (becoming more and more available even in large supermarkets), do it! Your favorite spaghetti noodles in the box are no different than the bulk stuff - in fact, the bulk stuff is often times better for you. These next few months of nice weather mean farmers market shopping - take your own bags! Running to Target for toiletries? Skip the bag, or buy one of their canvas ones (they're for sale right there, by the register; oh, and be adamant about not taking a bag - it's a bit awkward for the cashier who has been trained otherwise, but that doesn't mean you have to take one).

Really, where you start is becoming more conscious of things. Being a part of life instead of just an onlooker. It doesn't mean saving the planet. It means being aware of the things your're using and wasting, and doing your part to lessen that. So you can sleep at night. So you can leave something of a healthy place for your children and your grandchildren to live. So you can start living healthier, saving money (believe me, you will), and finding the things in life worth having and hanging onto.

Week One Plant Progress

One week in, and we have some beautiful growth with our veggies! Very exciting. Our tomatoes and peppers were planted with more than one seed per block (we're not going to say who did that), but I took it upon myself to break up the units and put one bud in each new seed block. The process has, thus far, cost us a few buds, but we still have a couple of dozen plants to work with. As you can see in the front of the picture, our peppers (Wisconsin Lakes and Sweet Chocolate) are about ready for dividing. Just behind the peppers, on the right, is an onion box (Australian Brown). Difficult to see here, but these spindly little buds are starting to come up full force too.

Here are our tomatoes (Yellow Gooseberry and Brandywine) . Most of them are reaching up, strongly, thanks to some toothpick structuring and a good sopping of the soil. It was sad when we woke up yesterday morning to see a lot of them had started to droop, but with my quick intervention they're looking good now. Keep it up little fellas (and ladies)!


We are, however, experiencing some slow (or, nonexistent?) growth in the leeks (Prizetaker) (above) as well as the herbs (below). Hard to see it, because it's so teeny, but there is one little bud in the leek box. ("Where's Waldo?")

I had transferred the herbs from blocks to boxes on Wednesday, the same day I renewed the tomato blocks, because one of our precious little felines had smashed down a few of them. I decided to just forgo the blocks for these and give each their own box. Nothing is happening yet, but they haven't had enough light, I'm afraid. With one grow lamp, I may have to do an alternating sort of thing between these and the veggies.

Things we did not plant, because they can be planted right in the soil once it's warm enough (can't wait!!), are:

Double Yield Cucumber, Queensland Blue Squash, Pencil Pod Wax Bean, St. Valery Carrot and Golden Zucchini Squash.

We got our potatoes in the mail the other day too. I'm sure we could have picked up some regular ol' taters at the store, but these should prove to be good planters. Apparently all that's involved is letting them sprout over a week or two, cutting them up into cubes, and planting them several inches into the soil sprouts-up. Easy-peasy, right? We'll see...

~

FYI:
All seeds came from Seed Savers Exchange, out of Iowa. They are organic and come from a long line of savers, making the lot of them heirloom seeds.

~

With the money spent on seeds, and buying into half a CSA share, we're anticipating a pretty nice bulk of fresh produce this Summer on not too much money (up front costs are always a bit scary, but pretty much always pay off if spent on smart things). Not to mention the excellent deals at the farmers market. Our preservation this Summer (canning and freezing) will be focused on getting us through next Winter, and we're planning to make our own baby food, so this may be just enough. If you don't see much of us from June to September, you know why. :)

Dinner for one

Michael has a pretty full evening away from home tonight, so I'm taking advantage of having dinner alone, and eating just what I want: pickles, pickled herring, crackers, white cheddar and tomatoes. I could have thrown a bunch more stuff on there, but figured this was a good mix.

And, I'm watching a girlie movie (not that Michael's opposed to those; he just wouldn't choose to watch them).

The sky is gray (the perfect Spring gray), I have a couple of candles burning and my shoes are off. Time to start the movie and get snackin'!

Starting seeds for the future garden!

Michael and I are started some seeds this weekend! We're so excited to have the opportunity to garden at the house, and since we aren't moving in until the end of April, wanted to get a jump start on the things that need it. Of the 17 seed packets we ordered, 11 items needed to be started indoors: all herbs except basil, both tomatoes, both peppers, onion and leek. Our seeds were ordered from Seed Savers Exchange, a company out of Iowa (as local as we could find) that specializes in heirloom varieties, and, obviously, seed saving/exchanging (which is how they have so many heirloom varieties!). A lot of our veggies will be the same veggies our grandparents (or great grandparents) may have grown in their time!

We decided to use the seed block method our friend, Jed, had used and blogged about over at his myspace blog, using a "plunger" method. With this, a person can create a seed block without having to use a container. This allows for easier transfer to the ground without the transplant trauma of removing from a container first.

Soil, water, bucket for mixing, tray and "plungers"

Tip: once a shower curtain goes "icky" and can no longer be used for its intended purpose, don't throw it out! Cut off the nasty parts and keep it on hand for dirty stuff (especially smart for apartment living). I've kept our last couple, and they have come in handy for things like this

We played it by ear and mixed in some water to get the moisture level right for packing. The soil we picked up was made up of compost, peat, rice hulls, and organic fertilizer, and was a bit dry.

The plungers, made quite simply, of: an aspirin-type plastic bottle, a bolt and a couple of nuts; soil gets packed in and then pushed out, creating a compact soil "block"; on the top of the pod is a divot for seed(s), roughly 1/4" deep.

We placed our seed pods into a tray and a few plastic boxes that Michael's been saving and stacking up in our apartment for some reuse project (like this one!). We ended up making "beds" in two boxes, one for the onions and one for the leeks, since those packets came with so many seeds (100 in one of them!). Hopefully, transplant won't be too tricky.

Our challenge in getting seeds to grow is the lack of sunshine (not just because it's a dreary Spring, but because we have one set of East facing windows, the rest North. NO Southern exposure!). So, we set out to either find grow lamps or to make them. I'm sure we could have found the lamps relatively inexpensive, but I challenged Mike to make them (thinking that making them would be cheaper). And, he rose to the challenge! Here's a guy who can make anything (I'm convinced of it) that he sets his mind to. It wasn't an inexpensive endeavor, but how many people can say they can make a light fixture?! He's brilliant, check it out:

We covered the beds with plastic to create a sort of green house affect. The set sitting on the radiator (which should be good, the warmth) doesn't seem to be showing any results, but the other set has quite a few little sprouts, like these little guys:

I believe these are the gooseberry tomatoes, which I'm super-excited about. They're plump yellow cherry tomatoes. Yummy!

With the exception of the smell of soil permeating our main living space, and the fact that I'm sure our neighbors will think we're growing pot, it's pretty exciting to have this little setup right here to watch everyday. I really hope we're successful at getting at least a little bit of each of the things we planted, so that we can transplant to a big, full garden Memorial Day weekend (I read that that's the ideal time for the soil).

Wish us luck!

Bargain Hunting...or Pirate in Training?

I'm not a "braggadocios" type of person. Never have been. But, it seems the rare occasions that warrant bragging, in my life, are finding some great deals. I am a "thrift" shopper by nature. I will take used, second-hand, hand-me-down stuff over new, any day of the week. I've always been more comfortable in and around things that have age and character. Fortunately, that usually means savings too!

One of my favorite places to shop is NuLook - a great consignment shop at 50th and Penn. I went today, with fingers crossed, for some pants...

I had to post about my loot today, in part, because it involves pants. I've been on the hunt for some comfortable bottoms since I started expanding, and always, always, always came up short. It's quite frustrating. Well, today, I found three pairs! Two of the three are not maternity, just a larger size than I normally wear (which will be useful for a while yet, and again post-birth). All three are super comfy, and in great condition. As you can see, there are two pairs of black, but one is a dress slack (J. Crew), the other for yoga (the latter are actually maternity).

I also picked up two pairs of shoes. One is a boot, very (very) similar to the boots I've been wearing, but newer and in much better shape (the old pair are getting tossed - a hole in the seam and a Winter's worth of salt and mud means trash - but, at least I bought those used too, so I don't hardly feel bad about tossing them. Though, I wonder if there's a way to strip down shoes for parts...). Originally $24; at 75% off, I got 'em for 6 bucks!! Oh, and they're NINE WEST.

The other is a pair of slip-on's, for everyday wear. These babies came in at a whopping $2! And, they're DOCKERS. I feel like a pirate!!

**please ignore the pasty white legs in the pictures, or quickly move past them to avoid hurting your eyes**

**also: I'm not typically one to boast about brands, but I've come to realize you get what you pay for, and seeing certain names on the labels means you'll get a bit more life out of them, which, essentially, means lowering your overall consumption**

The sweater in the picture is another proud score. It's a long, cozy sweater with a hood (I love long sweaters!), in warm browns. Perfect for days like today, the quintessential windy, overcast Spring day. I took it to the register, thinking I was getting away with something tricky when the tag read 75% off, making it 6 bucks. To my surprise, it rang up $2!! Apparently, they were having an "anything with a date older than 11/1/08 is $2" sale today. Yay, me!!

All in all, 3 pairs of pants, a sweater and two pairs of shoes cost me $58. That's $11.60 an item. Sure, you could do just as well, or better, at some place like Wal-mart, but not only would you not get the quality of names like Dockers and J. Crew for that price, but you'd also be supporting a corrupt system of underpaid workers ("slaves" is probably the better term) and a corporation that cares more about its bottom dollar than its employees or the community naively supporting it. Consignment shops and thrift stores are nearly always (if not always) locally-owned, often times hire developmentally disabled persons, or they're a non-profit benefitting the community (instead of depleting it). AND, of course, you're not buying new when you're shopping thrift and consignment. New items carry a huge eco-footprint, and often times (especially at this one) consignment shops are plum-full of quality items worn very little by rich-bitches (oops) who need the latest & greatest. Take advantage - go pirating!!! It feels great.

Arrrggghh!

Craving...

Green

...anything! (outdoors, that is)



















Farmers Market

...supplying more than meats.






















A trip

This one may not be too far behind. Michael is most likely taking a business trip out to Portland, first week in April, and I may tag along for a portion of it. I've only been through Oregon, when I was 11 and a miserable member of the caravan from MN to CA (a van containing 10 people traveling all those miles...not my idea of a lovely family vacation). I'm looking forward to seeing the West coast, especially this time of year. Green!!




















A hug from my mom

There is nothing that compares. A hug from anyone else is a different hug altogether - not necessarily better or worse, just different. I may be heading to Brainerd this week or next, so it's not far away.





















Space

Our apartment has been overrun with Michael's electronics hobbies! I'm only kind of complaining. And, actually not really complaining at all, because this is a result of him having established himself a community of creative people for inspiration, and of him quitting World of Warcraft (!!!). I'm just pining for a space that is uncluttered, not only for my sanity (visual chaos does not sit well with me), but for doing yoga, painting, feeling otherwise inspired. I don't feel the least bit inspired in clutter and mess. In fact, I feel the opposite. Soon enough, though. This house we're moving into has just enough space, and I'm really looking forward to having just a few square feet more. The basement ("family room") will serve as the "activity center", so all the mess will be down there and out of sight, and I'll have a living room again (!). The baby's room will be pretty empty for a while, so I may be able to utilize that space for myself for a while too. And, of course, a yard...