Red Pepper Flakes

First Spring Egg

2012-02-22T21:08:00.002-05:00

These beautiful birds have been taking regular dust baths and sunbathing in this oddly warm winter. For many months they looked as though they'd been chewed-on by a neighbor's dog (i.e., molting/losing their feathers). Now they're both as puffy as can be.

Today Coach graced us with her first Spring egg. She spent the entire day being noisy and bellowing about her accomplishment. Scared us both.

First Aid Kit - The Lion's Roar live Manchester Academy 2 31-10-11

2012-02-07T15:02:00.000-05:00

Shovels & Rope - Boxcar

2012-02-04T10:24:00.000-05:00

"No, I'm taking the chickens to the vet"

2011-11-11T12:47:00.001-05:00

We were scheduled to meet up with a gaggle of friends in Newport, many of whom were from out of town. Back when I was first reading up on chickens, I read about a freaky flesh-eating disease that killed a chicken. I'm panicking, because I think Spicy is going to die of the same thing. I offer to skip Newport and take Spicy to the vet. My reasoning is something sophisticated, like "We can't just let her die."

But neither of us know what is wrong with her, or if it's serious. Spicy has a bare butt and the coop was filled with her feathers. The feathers had fallen out through the night, by the handful. She's a smaller bird, so missing all of those feathers, she looks cold and pathetic. To make matters worse, we've already had our first snow and it's been wet and chilly.

Maybe she's stressed or has separation anxiety? For the last two days Coach had been in the garage in her cage for two days, while we broke her of her broodiness. Since chickens are very social, maybe the separation is making Spicy anxious? And yet, when I pick her up, we find spikes sticking out of her skin where she lost the feathers...as if she sat on a small porcupine.

Horrified, I grab my books and Chris googles "chicken feather problems," "chicken skin problems," and "chicken skin spikes". I suggest he check "molting." I had read about molting--chickens losing their feathers and getting a new "coat"--but didn't know how it looked. I finally read in my master chicken book a passage that says after molting, new feathers grow in through "tubular shafts." Amazing.

So she's molting. And when she started losing feathers on her wings, the "tubular shafts" turned out to be blue. We went to Newport.

Recipe Rursday: Quinoa and Kale Quiche

2011-11-03T06:00:00.002-04:00

Quinoa and Kale Quiche, 9/25/11

While the birds have cut back dramatically on their egg production, for the winter, it was only a few weeks ago that 3 dozen eggs overwhelmed the fridge. Egg recipes are very much on my radar. This new quiche became an instant favorite over the last two months. I've found three occasions to make variations on it: one with less quinoa, and another with arugula. You can change the cheeses, or throw in different greens, but this weekend I'm going back to the kale-original. The recipe came from Hilarybee and is perfect just as it is.

Quiona and Kale Crustless Quiche

Makes About 8 slices

1/2 cup Quinoa

1 cup water

2 tablespoons Olive Oil

1 bunch Kale, stems removed and cut into ribbons

1 Vidalia Onion, thinly sliced

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1/2 cup white cheddar cheese

3 ounces cream cheese, cubed

4 eggs

salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 350 and prepare a 9″ pie dish (either butter the dish thoroughly or spray with baking spray). Rinse the quinoa. Combine the quinoa and water in a pan. Bring to a boil on medium-high heat and then reduce to a simmer. This will take about twenty minutes. Set aside.
Meanwhile, start to caramelize the onions. Heat the olive oil in a large saute on medium heat. When the oil is shimmering, add the onions. Slowly cook until the onions are soft and browned.
Remove the onions from the pan, and place them in a large mixing bowl. Add the kale into the hot onion pan. On medium heat, cook until the kale is wilted and bright green, about two minutes.
Allow the greens to cool. Squeeze out any extra liquid using a sieve or a clean dish towel.
Add the kale, quinoa, garlic, cream cheese and cheddar to the mixing bowl. Stir the ingredients so that they are evenly distributed.
In a small bowl, whisk the eggs so that they are well combined. Pour over the quinoa/kale mixture. Stir until the egg clings to the greens. Add salt and pepper.

Pour the mixture in the prepared pie dish. Bake for about 45 minutes, until the top is golden and the pie has started to pull away from the edge of the baking dish. This dish is delightful hot, but even better at room temperature.

Yellow Heritage Roses

2011-11-02T05:13:00.001-04:00

Yellow heritage rose by the front door, October 15, 2011.

Birthday Bat

2011-10-30T09:40:00.001-04:00

Chris' new Louisville Slugger, 10/28/11.

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Late Garden

2011-10-29T17:12:00.000-04:00

October 10, 2011.

The Birds - October 2011

2011-10-16T14:59:00.001-04:00

Coach and Spicy (Spicy one-leg, below) inside their coop - October 2011

Lana Del Rey - Diet Mtn Dew

2011-09-11T11:46:00.000-04:00

LANA DEL REY-VIDEO GAMES

2011-09-11T11:44:00.000-04:00

Watermelon

2011-09-10T12:25:00.000-04:00

9/3/11

I was sure they'd love this watermelon. They didn't even touch it.

1977

2011-08-31T22:52:00.003-04:00

Chris, somewhere in the Atlantic, August 2011.

If I'm going to ever start posting photos here again, I might as well start here. Thank you to Chris and my parents for the new camera!

6/20/11

2011-06-20T21:58:00.001-04:00

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Bush Beans

2011-06-17T06:48:00.000-04:00

Yellow Bush Beans, 6/14/11.

I borrowed the camera from work tonight to test it out (see above). I'm in the market for a new camera and have only had my camera phone, for…way too long (see photos below).

This is my first year trying to grow beans. I ordered Yellow Beans from Johnny's Seed catalog way back when. These are of the bush bean variety (as opposed to climbers) and only grow 2 feet tall or so. The beans are yellow and long, and we'll see what they're like. Who knows. I planted a crap load of them, in little patches--one on the left side of the garden and one on the far right, in front of the sunflowers.

I seeded them directly into the ground on 5/28 and only 4 days later they busted through the ground. I love these fast-to-germinate seeds. There's something encouraging about seeing results so quickly. Plus, these beans can be planted in batches every few weeks throughout the summer, to get a steady crop. I should probably start another batch in any empty areas.

6/11/11.

Hydrangeas (I think)

2011-06-15T05:44:00.000-04:00

New flowers in the front yard, 6/12/11.

More Surprise Flowers: Pink Dianthus Chinenthis

2011-06-13T06:23:00.002-04:00

Dianthus Chinenthis, 6/11/11

These are Pink Chinese Dianthus (pics). I bought one small grassy plant plant last year at the Southside Community Land Trust plant sale. It grew quite a bit and i read that you can split them, so I did. And then the summer ended, the plants, which was only grass-like leaves, turned brown & purplish. I assumed they had died. Then the snow came.

When it melted, the plants were still there. We moved this box with us to the new house, have kept it watered, and I dug one out and planted it in the ground in the new garden.

Then come the flowers…

...and more flowers…and more flowers. I love this plant. Since it's a perennial, we've got it forever (or until I kill it). I'll keep splitting the plants, and maybe slowly line the borders of the yard with them.

Playing Dead

2011-06-11T18:30:00.005-04:00

5/20/11 - Doesn't it look like she's playing dead? Here, Spicy is laying on her side, of all things. The first time I saw her do this was in the run and it seemed to be part of her dust bath. I had read about chickens flopping around in the dirt, taking dust baths, to clean off their feathers in places where they can't reach.

For a brief time when I was a kid, I had two chinchillas. They took dust baths in a silver/gray powder. They too flopped around like little tazmanian devils. So the first time Spicy laid down on her side, I rightly guessed this was a version of or part of the dust bath. In the rocks she doesn't flip around like she does when taking dust baths in the run, but I have to imagine she was sunning herself. Too cute. Within seconds she had popped back up on her feet and flitted off.

2011-05-28T05:50:00.001-04:00

5/27/11

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Another surprise flowering bush

2011-05-27T07:47:00.001-04:00

5/26/11, back yard

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Drawer bed success

2011-05-27T07:45:00.001-04:00

The drawer beds are doing well. Harvesting greens in the morning helps keep them crisp. So, this saturday morning I'll collect enough for a big salad.

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Garden update: almost everything planted

2011-05-24T06:00:00.000-04:00

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90% of the garden is finished, meaning all purchased seedlings are planted. Only bush beans need to be seeded. Above, in my first in-ground garden, I've got the following:

5 Yellow squash plants (from seed)
10 Sun flowers (from seed)
3 white pumpkins (from seed)
1 cilantro seedling & 2 small sungella tomato seedlings that I don't expect to make it (from seed)
2 cornflower seedlings (from seed)
3 zinnia flowers (from seed)
9 corn plants (from seed)

a flowering grassy plant, overwintered from last year

1 Best boy hybrid tomato plant (starter purchased at last weekend's plant sale)
1 mortgage lifter tomato (plant sale)
1 sungold sweet tomato (plant sale)
1 mammoth sunflower (plant sale)
1 verde pueblos tomatillos (plant sale)
1 Matchbox hot pepper plant (plant sale)
1 Early jalapeno hot pepper seedling (plant sale)
5 genovese basil plants (plant sale)
1 Tall Climbing nasturtium (plant sale)
9 white onions (plant sale)
1 oregano (plant sale)

Corn seedlings, 5/21/11.

Outside of the garden, the love goes on and on. In the raised "drawer" garden (above): 4 kinds of lettuce, arugula, kale, spinach, and carrots.

Thyme (from Elizabeth's community garden, gifted and planted in a hanging planter)

...as well as 2 sweet peas (from seed) and 6 climbing morning glories (from seed) in a hanging planter & a row box, an unknown squash plant in a blue bin (volunteer), and 3 more white pumpkin seedlings in a round planter on the deck.

The roof is caving in...

2011-05-22T10:01:00.002-04:00

5/19/11
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It wasn't a major disaster. We had torrential rain on and off for an afternoon last week, and the weight of the water on the tarp tore through the chicken wire ceiling of the run. We've had lots of leaking into the coop itself, as well. With a week of rain, the pine shavings that cover the floor of the coop were continually soaked in one corner of the coop.

The leaks in the coop probably need a different solution, but for the immediate, we've changed the tarp and re-rigged how the two tarps overlap. Chris cleaned house in the coop. This gave us the opportunity to lay down mite prevention dust to lay under the wood shavings. Our chickens' previous owners passed it along to us, and I imagine it's like getting a flea & tick collar for an ourdoor cat. I climbed in and e-stapled the wire to the side of the coop to close the hole, and we'll add reinforcements there soon.

5/19/11.

plant sale pics

2011-05-14T20:20:00.001-04:00

Quick drive by to the southside community landtrust this morning. A few tomatoes, peppers, and basil--the things I haven't had luck with growing from seed.

Down for the count with a bad cold, and a big day tomorrow. Terrible timing.

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coach laid her first egg!

2011-05-11T08:50:00.001-04:00

5 / 11 / 11

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Morning chatter from Coach

2011-05-08T08:09:00.001-04:00

Every morning when I check on Coach and Spicy, they chatter up a storm--Spicy with her high pitched whistling/cooing and coach with her angry-Marge impersonation.

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Fluffy Butt

2011-05-06T06:49:00.000-04:00

Broodiness Over

2011-05-05T06:37:00.000-04:00

Coach has officially been broken of her broodiness. We had her in the cage for 2 1/2 days, and when she went back in the run/coop on Monday, she spent entire day outside of the coop (as opposed to nesting inside).

We've been letting Spicy out of the pen to poke around the backyard here and there, and we gave Coach a chance to explore as well. They're both very easy to guide back into the pen.

Eggs Eggs and More Eggs

2011-05-04T07:37:00.000-04:00

Every morning one of us checks on the birds. It's getting me up earlier and I'm loving the process of easing into the day with coffee outside on the porch, and checking to see if Spicy/fluffy-butt has laid an egg.

Here's what I found this morning. We're up to 4 eggs in 4 days! And that's from only one hen. I keep saying "amazing". Here it is again. Amazing.

spicy

2011-05-03T18:59:00.001-04:00

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Breaking Broody of her broodiness

2011-05-03T08:38:00.001-04:00

Coach came to us broody. She sits in her nest (above), has to be booted out so that she'll come out and eat/drink, and she's a little snippy. Hens are broody when they're trying to hatch an egg and some breeds (like Coach's) are more likely to go broody. Their body temperature rises and they fluff up their feathers to keep up the heat. They also stop laying eggs. This goes on for about 2 months unless you break the broodiness.

So we moved Coach into this wire cage two days ago. She's on her third day today and we'll let her out this afternoon. The wire cage prevents her from nestling in comfortably--instead she stands or roosts, and the air flow around her keeps her body temperature cooler. The environment gets her back up on the roost where she should be sleeping, as well. I think she's pissed.

At first we had the cage in the yard next to the coop, but she made such a racket, we moved her into the garage. It may be legal in Providence to have chickens, but I'd rather not make the neighbors mad only 2 months after moving in.

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first egg

2011-05-01T07:28:00.002-04:00

Saturday morning, before Chris or my parents (who are visiting) were awake, I went out to sit with the birds. Coach has "gone broody" and I found her sitting in the nest, which is where she'll stay the entire day, if we don't bump her out. She's trying to hatch an egg, even when there isn't one to hatch. The key is to get her back up on the roost to sleep there instead of in the nest. Not an easy task.

That morning I bumped Coach out of the nest, to find the first egg sitting perfectly in the pine shavings. The egg wasn't hers-it was Spicy's egg (pale blue), and it was perfectly clean and almost hot. I brought the egg in and woke Chris up just to show him. I couldn't believe she had started laying again so quickly after the stress of the move.

I wrapped the egg in saran wrap and put it in the fridge. Rinsing a fresh egg removes the "bloom" that preserves freshness. An egg can actually stay fresh for 3 months if it doesn't dry out. Refrigerators tend to dry things out, so you've got about 5 weeks in there. (Of all of the chicken books I own, I'd be lost without Story's Guide).

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Chickens!

2011-04-30T11:00:00.000-04:00

I have a special book shelf down stairs holding titles like Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens, Living with Chickens, The Joy of Keeping Chickens, and Chickens magazine.

For the past two years I've been interested in having backyard chickens. I followed the Providence fight to legalize backyard chickens in the city limits of Providence and cheered when the new regulations passed. And there was the reading. And more reading. And then I'd read something crazy and think 'it's too much of an undertaking.' And then I'd attend a local workshop about backyard chickens and I'd think 'we could totally do this.'

Chris and I bought and moved into a new house last month. We both figured this summer was not the summer for chickens. Next year. That was the plan.

Last month my friend Elizabeth invited me to tag along when she was chicken sitting for friend. We talked about what I would do next year.

At Elizabeth's b-day party, she told me the chickens I had visited needed a new home, as their owners were moving to Boston where chickens were illegal and their landlord would not allow illegal backyard chickens. And she said they're moving in May.

In about a week, Chris admitted he was on-board and we agreed that we were less tied down from moving into our first home than expected. Think we can handle chickens? Sure.

I spent last Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday evening moving gravel and digging up a corner of the backyard in preparation.

Thursday night was the scheduled night for the Great Chicken Move of 2011 as well as a night of great generosity. Despite a delay that put us later into the night, and thus in the dark, and on-and-off rain showers, the entire event was complete in about 4 hours.

A friend of a friend lent a pick-up truck, two amazing friends and the chickens owners helped, and the owners donated everything (the coop, the run, the feeder, food, the waterer, medicine, a wire cage, pine shavings--everything we could possibly need), saving us quite a bit of money.

Four hours later, we had dug the run out of the dirt, disassembled the run from the coop, hauled the run and the coop up over our heads and over two narrow gates, made two trips across town, reassembled the whole thing in our back yard, and were all covered in sweat and dirt and chicken poo.

Excited and nervous that we'd do something wrong, but fully understanding that we had the support of all those involved, we had taken the plunge. We are now chicken owners. Friday morning we secured the run, and the two hens popped right out of the coop to say hello and have breakfast. I can tell already that they have completely different personalities. The previous owners named them "Coach" and "Spicy." We're not sure yet if we'll give them new names...

"Coach" is huge and fluffy, and has dark brown feathers with beautifully detailed stripes. She's a Cochin (her coloring is "partridge," so she's called a Partridge Cochin). She's also in a broody stage right now, which means she's trying to hatch an egg, even though there's no egg to hatch (so she's not laying). This weekend we're going to try to break her broodiness (more details to come).

"Spicy" is smaller, light brown and orange, friendly and curious about everything. She's an Araucana or an Americauna, has ear tuffs (little fluffy feathers sticking out of her cheeks like chops), and lays pale blue eggs.

The morning following the move, both seemed happy. They chattered for about 1/2 hour after eating in the morning, and went to bed on their roost (rod in the coop) an hour before dark, just as the owners had said they would. They really are amazing creatures--chatty and sweet. And officially part of the family.

yellow crookneck squash

2011-04-22T19:56:00.001-04:00

Amazingly hearty-looking, 4/22/11

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morning glories growing

2011-04-22T19:55:00.001-04:00

4/22/11

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Recipe Rursday: Shakshuka (Eggs Poached in Tomato Sauce)

2011-04-20T08:51:00.000-04:00

Shakshuka, 4/18/11

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I've been thinking about trying this for so long. Saveur published a tasty photo of poached eggs in tomato sauce, I printed it out back in November, and it's been floating around the house ever since. Finally we gave it a shot on Tuesday night. Amazingly simple and very tasty. Back-of-the-mouth heat, as well. Loved it.

Eggs Poached in Tomato Sauce (Saveur)

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
5 Anaheim chiles or 3 jalapeños, stemmed,
seeded, and finely chopped
1 small yellow onion, chopped
8 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tbsp. paprika
1 28-oz. can whole peeled tomatoes,
undrained
Kosher salt, to taste
8 eggs
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
1 tbsp. chopped flat-leaf parsley
Warm pita, for serving

1. Heat oil in a 12" skillet over medium-high heat. Add chiles and onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and golden brown, about 6 minutes. Add garlic, cumin, and paprika, and cook, stirring frequently, until garlic is soft, about 2 more minutes.

2. Put tomatoes and their liquid into a medium bowl and crush with your hands. Add crushed tomatoes and their liquid to skillet along with 1/2 cup water, reduce heat to medium, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened slightly, about 20 minutes. Season sauce with salt.

3. Crack eggs over sauce so that eggs are evenly distributed across sauce's surface. Cover skillet and cook until yolks are just set, about 5 minutes. Using a spoon, baste the whites of the eggs with tomato mixture, being careful not to disturb the yolk. Sprinkle shakshuka with feta and parsley and serve with pita, for dipping.

morning glories!

2011-04-17T16:19:00.001-04:00

April 16, 2011.

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final batch of lettuce seedlings transplanted

2011-04-16T08:38:00.001-04:00

Friday morning, April 14, 7:30 a.m.

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Advice from Taylor

2011-04-14T09:03:00.001-04:00

(Blogging from work!?)

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Seeds (round #4 - carrots)

2011-04-14T08:33:00.002-04:00

30+ Orange and Purple Carrot seeds planted in the deep drawer (left)
Thursday morning 4/14/11.

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seed starting (round #3)

2011-04-12T21:37:00.003-04:00

Now that the first batch of seedlings are in the drawers/mini-greenhouses, I have space freed up for new seedlings.

New seeds planted on Sunday (4/10/11):

Cauliflower
Cilantro
crookneck squash
Zinnias
Cornflowers
Morning glories (climbing)

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Raised Beds

2011-04-10T21:13:00.000-04:00

These drawers were from Chris' dresser. The legs on the dresser were broken, but on a fluke, I saved them on the chance that I might find a way to turn them into raised beds.

Raised beds are often open on the bottom, with a mesh or newspaper barrier separating the new soil from the old. But if I tried to remove the bottom of the bed, I knew I'd ruin the drawer. So the bottoms are there to stay. And if the beds were sitting outside, in the rain, the problem is that it would fill up with water like a swimming pool.

So, for drainage, I drilled six to seven holes in the bottom of each drawer. Each I lined with plastic -- pieces a white plastic tarp that our home's previous owners left behind -- using staples to secure the plastic to the inside of the drawers. And then cut through the plastic around where I had drilled holes.

After an amazing weekend of warm weather, working in Elizabeth's garden, and tilling my first little plot in the backyard, today I transplanted a few seedlings I had started indoors. They should be larger before going outside, but I couldn't wait.

To protect the seedlings from the shock of the outdoors, I created make-shift "row" covers with the white plastic. Until the seedlings are larger, I'm hoping the drawers work work like mini-greenhouses. Of course, everything might die on the first night. We'll just have to see...

Kale, Spinach, Green Bibb Lettuce, Red Oak Bowl lettuce, and Arugula - 4/10/11

Recipe Rursday: Celebration Lentil Loaf & Mushroom Gravy

2011-04-07T06:24:00.000-04:00

I haven't posted a recipe in a while. Actually, I haven't posted much lately. Too many big moves going on. But this one definitely inspired a post. My co-worker Michele had just tried this recipe, which she found on the Whole Foods website. My advice is to get the lentils and bulgur wheat (or you could use rice, or other grains) going before prepping the other ingredients. And do NOT skip the gravy. While the lentil loaf was not dry, the gravy was a highlight:

Celebration Lentil Loaf & Mushroom Grav y

1 cup brown lentils, picked over and rinsed

3/4 cup bulgur wheat

8 ounces cremini mushrooms, sliced
1 large onion, chopped
1/2 cup apple cider (non-alcoholic)
2 teaspoons poultry seasoning (we used Bell seasoning)
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/2 cup rolled oats
1 red bell pepper, finely diced
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves

Put lentils in a small saucepan with 2 cups water and bring to a boil over high heat. Cover and simmer until lentils are very tender, about 40 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Put bulgur in a small saucepan with 1 1/2 cups water and bring to a boil over high heat. Cover and simmer until bulgur is tender and water is absorbed, about 15 minutes. Set aside.

In a medium skillet, combine mushrooms, onion, cider poultry seasoning and salt. Cover and simmer over medium heat until vegetables are very tender, about 12 minutes. Transfer to a food processor and pulse until just chopped. Scrape into a bowl and fold in lentils, bulgur, oats, bell pepper and parsley.

Preheat oven to 375°F. Line the bottom and sides of an 8- or 9-inch loaf pan with parchment paper. Pack lentil mixture into pan and smooth the top. Bake until edges brown slightly, about 1 hour. Cool in pan 25 minutes, then invert it onto a serving plate. Remove parchment and use a serrated knife to cut the loaf into 1-inch-thick slices.

Mushroom Gravy (Vegan)

3 1/2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth, divided (we use cubes)
1 cup chopped white onion
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
8 ounces wild mushrooms, cleaned, trimmed and chopped
2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
1/4 cup merlot, or other spicy red wine
2 tablespoons reduced-sodium tamari (we have this, but you could substitute light soy sauce or something lighter)
3 tablespoons nutritional yeast (I used 1T of dry yeast)
2 tablespoons whole wheat or spelt flour (I used 2T of white flour)
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

In a large skillet over medium-high heat, bring 1/2 cup broth to a simmer. Add onion and garlic and cook for about 4 minutes or until onion is translucent. Stir in mushrooms, rosemary and thyme and continue to cook about 2 minutes or until mushrooms release their liquid and start to become tender. Add merlot and cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in remaining 3 cups broth and bring to a simmer.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk together tamari, yeast and flour to form a thick paste. Add mixture to skillet about 1 teaspoon at a time, whisking constantly to make sure paste dissolves. Bring to a boil and boil 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add pepper. If gravy is too thin for your taste, add a tablespoon or two of flour to thicken it.

Seed Starting (Round #2)

2011-04-04T07:43:00.001-04:00

Only a week later -- 3/25/11 -- I planted another small set of seeds. This time, I used some of the new seeds that I ordered from Johnny's Seeds.

New seeds planted:

Green Bibb Lettuce
Red Cherokee Lettuce
Red Oakleaf Bowl Lettuce (left)
Arugula
Sungella Tomato seeds (saved from two years back)
Eggplant seeds (package from two years back)
Marigolds

3/26/11 - The kale planted 6 days earlier looks great.

3/31/11 - And only 5 days later we've got a little batch of lettuce and arugula. So fun.

Arugula

Green Bibb Lettuce

Setting Up Grow Lights

2011-04-02T08:31:00.018-04:00

My grow light set up is far from slick. I've got lights that are supposed to screw into a wall, with no proper attachment to my wire shelving unit. I've used bungie chords to raise and lower the lights to the wire unit, but the hooks I've precariously rigged up, continually slip out. One of these days I'll figure out a better way.

Since reading about winter sowing (on Get Busy Gardening), I have not bought seed starting trays this year. Instead, take-out tupperware containers, and clear-lidded plastic containers, are my mini-green houses of choice.

Upon assemblage, it was clear that two lights weren't going to cut it for my monstrous garden plans; so I picked up two more lights to expand the system. When I got them home, I realized one was the wrong type of lamp, so it's on its way back to the store. A third light, however, allows for a few more seedling trays.

This may be geeky, but with snow on the ground and spring frustratingly flirting only on Mondays through Fridays, planning the garden is a real mood lifter. ...Even if there are only a few hours a week to spare...the plan is big this year. We'll see how it goes.

Right now the garden will include 1) containers from last year, 2) Mini-garden #1 in the ground, and 3) raised lettuce and arugula beds in these drawers (above). If there's time...I'll go for Mini-garden #2.

Seeds Started

2011-03-31T19:08:00.004-04:00

3/20/11 - My grow light mini-greenhouse in the basement is up and running. Planted the first round of seeds -- all old, saved seeds from last year and two years back. I wasn't sure if they'd be warm enough, since the basement is pretty cool.

White pumpkins (seeds from an hierloom pumpkin we bought in Westerly last year)
Gray pumpkins (same as above)
Spinach (saved seeds from plants gifted two years back - last year they didn't make it)
Basil (saved seeds from two years back)
Kale (seeds from Elizabeth)

3/24/11 - Amazingly...only four days later, seedlings are already appearing...kale came first and spinach soon after. The pumpkin seeds may not have any life in them, but there's always a chance.

Chicken-sitting with Elizabeth

2011-03-22T06:07:00.004-04:00

Chicken-sitting with E, 3/20/11.

Elizabeth took me by her friend's house (in providence), where she's chicken-sitting two hens. The coop was so simple, and the set up so easy...feed and water once a day, collect two eggs, and make sure everything's ok. Can't wait until next summer when we add two ladies to the back yard.

March 2011

2011-03-20T18:07:00.001-04:00

Surprise croqui that popped up in the back yard, 3/19/11.

So much has happened this month. At the end of Feb. we closed on our first home-something I had no idea was even possible just a few months back. We spent the next two weeks moving books and boxes in our little Yaris, while movers brought over the furniture last Saturday. Our first house guests arrived this weekend -- Brian and Mike -- which gave us a break from unpacking.

Chris grilled on our first night.

I love the house; it already feels like home. The back yard is screaming for a giant garden, and I'm moving gravel, hauling leaves into our new compost pile, and sowing seeds, every chance I get.

First outline of the new garden, 3/13/11.

URI should be testing the soil in this new plot, sometime this week....

raised beds

2011-03-10T21:19:00.001-05:00

...wondering if I could use these drawers as raised beds in the yard. Dresser is shot, but this old wood is pretty.

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Night-time reading

2011-03-06T21:33:00.002-05:00

Had a great visit with Chris' parents, moved most of the kitchen over to the new place today, and discovered that I can easily start the garden without having someone come in and haul off all that gravel.

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My next garden to be.

2011-03-05T21:35:00.001-05:00

...if I can just get rid of all that gravel.

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house blessings

2011-02-28T22:19:00.001-05:00

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this is happy.

2011-02-28T13:50:00.001-05:00

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Catching up ...January 2010

2011-02-26T17:12:00.002-05:00

The closing on our new home is scheduled for Monday morning, and I can't seem to find any loose ends that need tying up. This nervous butt needs to get out of the house.

In the meantime, I thought I'd post a few photos. Since my late camera's demise, I still try to snap photos here and there, but care less about how they come out. The camera breaking at a time when we're pinching pennies may have been a good thing. These pics of January are perfect just as they are.

1/1/11 - For the New Year, we started off in Florida with my parents.

1/1/11 - New Years Eve. Yes, my parents can party.

And if you have too much fun, you may accidentally break your glow necklace. If it explodes all over your parents' new car, do not fret. (Your parents are pretty cool). Plus, you will find out the next day that glow juice loses its glow and will disappear.

1/12/11 - We came home to Providence to find snow and then more snow.

Snow snow snow.

1/15/11 - Mid-January we visited with Chris' parents and grandma, and had another Christmas! Such a great time, including a trip to a little market in Brooklyn.

1/21/11 - Then, of course, more snow.

1/29/11 - At the end of January we fell in love with a house.

Thus ends this brief overview of the tale that is January of 2011.

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counting down

2011-02-24T22:51:00.001-05:00

Can't wait to be done with this week. Closing on Monday. Almost there.

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The mini-disaster that is packing.

2011-02-12T13:00:00.001-05:00

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oh cat.

2011-02-11T20:05:00.001-05:00

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Pink Flamingo Cookies

2011-02-11T08:01:00.000-05:00

Somehow I brought home a flamingo cookie cutter from my last trip to FL. Oh yeah, and a pre-made cookie mix. The results: very scary birds.

Pink Flamingo Cookie-Making with E, 2/13/11.

the new back deck

2011-02-07T22:12:00.001-05:00

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Homebound...the Last 7 Days

2011-02-06T21:50:00.007-05:00

Last Saturday - Our first outing with our realtor. I have a bit of a hangover from last night's visit from friends. One house we visit smells like dog pee. Third home, walking distance to Chris' work, unexpectedly knocks our socks off. At the top of the stairs of this cute little Cape, Chris whispers to me, "I love this place. We should bid on it right away." I can't argue. It feels like a happy house. At our last stop, we run into a nice young couple also shopping for a home. We wish them luck.

Sunday - Chris & I sit down to make an offer on the happy house, but are ready to play hardball in the bidding process. Our realtor informs us that the couple we met yesterday are putting in a bid as well. Now we're trying not to blow it. We offer asking price and put down the largest down payment possible. The sellers have until 6pm tomorrow to respond.

Monday - I haven't slept in two nights and am going crazy at work. Chris calls just after 1pm to say we got the house (much rejoicing). I celebrate with co-workers, Chris joins us, and we go home and crash. I still can't sleep.

Tuesday - Did we just buy a house in 3 days? We can afford this, right? Did we make the decision too quickly? Can I take a mental health day tomorrow? I can? Thank you so much.

Wednesday - Mental health day = shoveling snow, doing taxes, and meeting with the mortgage broker again. Paperwork paperwork. How do we get home owners insurance? Schedule the inspection as soon as possible? I sleep well for the first night this week.

Thursday - We continue to gather funds, by requesting an advance and looking into borrowing against our 401Ks (first time home buyers have little and sometimes no penalty).

Friday - Chris is on the phone all day comparing insurance estimates. We meet with the realtor again, re-read the fine print, and sign the purchase and sale. I think we just bought a house. Well, if everything goes well tomorrow.

Saturday - We spend over 2 hours at the house inspection. The happy house has no major issues and the inspector gives us a 101 on oil tanks, gutter maintenance, plumbing, termite prevention, and how to get discounts for more efficient insulation in the attic. I see so many great details that I missed the first time through. Chris says "Doesn't this already feel like home?"

Since moving to Providence we've spent thousands and thousands on rent. Now we'll have more control over the results of our work (and paychecks), which in turn leads to more freedom down the road. We got really lucky. We love this city, the housing market was ideal, the mortage rates low, the list goes on and on. We also couldn't have done this were it not for the friends here who have made this city feel like home, and the supports of family and friends who have helped us emotionally through life's dramas, and financially in our pursuit of non-profit careers. Not for a minute could we even think that we got to this place by ourselves. And I know the respite of this home will enable us give more when we're outside of it.

lynx

2011-01-27T19:17:00.001-05:00

Roshi the lynx. From e's house last night.

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Best catalog ever

2011-01-25T22:17:00.001-05:00

Who knew a seed catalog could bring such joy. And what if this spring I'm planting in the ground! It's possible....

A local farmer recommended the catalog to Elizabeth, and it's arrival actually made me giddy.

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1-22-11 Songshare

2011-01-22T18:04:00.002-05:00

bad kitty

2011-01-20T22:21:00.001-05:00

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Saving

2011-01-17T14:03:00.000-05:00

Gym membership canceled.
Family medical insurance plan canceled and replaced with separate workplace plans. So much cheaper.
Home phone service shut off. Cells only.
Cable tv, dvr, and all that stuff, canceled.

--------------

Savings: A ridiculous amount of money.

Down payment, here we come.

Pepper Jelly

2011-01-14T18:48:00.001-05:00

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Recipe Rursday: Pepper Jelly

2011-01-14T07:59:00.001-05:00

I had never heard of Hot Pepper Jelly until this summer, when we were given a jar (home canned) from a friend on Chris' softball team. Many months later, I read up on how hot pepper jelly is used and found that more often than not, it's served with goat cheese on crackers as an hors d'oeuvre.

Turns out, it's sweet like jelly, but leaves behind that great heat that comes from peppers like habaneros, and for some reason it's a perfect compliment to tangy cream cheese or goat cheese.

Canning/jarring preserves seems like so much work to me, though I hear it's not that bad. Maybe late this summer we'll try making pepper jelly. In the meantime, if you see a jar in a Winter Farmer's Market. Get it. (Camera has been playing dead on and off for two months now. Phone pics only for a while.)

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January Snow Day

2011-01-12T10:35:00.001-05:00

Providence, 1/12/11.

No work, no cars running, no going anywhere. I'll be enjoying the day making home made pasta sauce and reading about urban chickens and gardening. Happy snow day.

1/12/11.

winter sowing!

2011-01-08T19:49:00.002-05:00

Linkshare: Containers for Winter Sowing Seeds

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sunrise

2010-12-31T08:24:00.001-05:00

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green drinks

2010-12-30T10:26:00.001-05:00

And we aren't even to FL yet...

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snow day

2010-12-27T15:07:00.005-05:00

golden eyes

2010-12-26T10:37:00.001-05:00

Roshi-sitting while E is away.

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Merry Christmas everyone.

2010-12-25T21:55:00.001-05:00

snowflakes

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Running out of Steam

2010-12-17T08:29:00.000-05:00

12/16/10.

Recipe Rursday: Goat Cheese Empanadas

2010-12-16T06:52:00.002-05:00

11/26/10.

Goat Cheese Empanadas
Using a 3-in round cookie cutter, cut out 16 circles from 2 refrigerated rolled piecrusts. Divide 4 oz. of fresh goat cheese among the circles, dot the edges of the dough with water, fold in half, and press with a fork to seal.

Bake at 375F until golden, 20-25 minutes. Serve with corn salsa.

(I made these with my mom when she was in town for Thanksgiving -- crafty, and easy, if you buy the piecrusts.)

The Veils - Sit down by the fire [Sun Gangs - Studio version]

2010-12-15T19:00:00.001-05:00

One card made, time to buy a box

2010-12-11T06:46:00.000-05:00

12/4/10.

Recipe Rursday: Homemade Hot Sauce

2010-12-09T06:54:00.002-05:00

We go through a lot of hot sauce in our house. On oven nachos, fish tacos, huevos rancheros, and even rice and beans. And with the number of hot peppers growing in the deck garden, and that came in our CSA farm share, it was only a matter of time before we started making our own hot sauce. We had a number of hot peppers go to waste this year and we will not make that mistake again. The hot chilii-infused oil (recipe here) was a great way to use up peppers, and the oil will last for quite a while. But hot sauce doesn't require that you dry out the chilis, and the process was much simpler.
Garlicky Red Chili Hot Sauce (from The New York Times)

4 hot red or orange chili peppers, such as habañero
2 red bell peppers ( 3/4 pound), roughly chopped
5 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
3/4 cup distilled white vinegar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt.

1. Wearing rubber or latex gloves, roughly chop the chilies. Combine all ingredients in a small pot over medium-high heat. Once mixture is simmering, reduce heat to low, cover and continue to simmer until peppers are tender, 7 to 10 minutes. Do not inhale vapors; they will sting.

2. Transfer mixture to a blender and purée. Pour into a medium jar and allow to cool uncovered. Cover tightly and refrigerate for three days. Keep stored in refrigerator; sauce will last for several weeks or months. Yield: 2 cups.

10/31/10.

Notes: This was Chris' project (whew), and he bottled our batch in the cleaned-out distilled vinegar bottle because of its screw-on cap. The sauce is bright orange and a little thick/chunky. Only thing I'd change for the next batch is to turn up the heat. It's hot sauce damn it! If it's really really hot, you can hold back and only use a little bit. Since our first batch was on the more mild side, we're almost through the bottle.

Best band name ever

2010-12-06T23:10:00.001-05:00

Chris: "what's the name of that group...Jesus and the Rocketships?"

Amy: "You mean Florence and the Machine?"

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Thanksgiving Visit

2010-12-05T08:34:00.001-05:00

Our Thanksgiving weekend involved a lot of cooking -- spinach lasagna (with homemade pasta sauce), pumpkin bread stuffing, goat cheese empanadas (above), spicy cauliflower hash, festive quinoa salad, baked haddock, and mom made her broccoli cheese & rice dish. Since my parents arrived late on Thursday, we had dinner out on the town, and our own Thanksgiving dinner on Friday. Note to self: Almost nothing is open on Thanksgiving in Providence!
We made paper, 3-D ornaments (above), watched John Grisham movies, and spent Saturday with my aunt Sandy, my two cousins, and their kids. On Sunday, we took an early trip to the tree farm, and spent the afternoon decorating the tree. A full, and really great, weekend.

11/28/10.

Recipe Rursday: Pumpkin Bread Stuffing

2010-12-02T08:01:00.001-05:00

Three years ago, I posted that I wanted to make Pumpkin Bread Stuffing (from a recipe on VegetarianFood About.com). We hosted Thanksgiving this year for my parents (and brought food to my aunt's), so I gave it a try...though a few years late.

I didn't have time to make the bread, and picked up this amazing loaf of "Pumpkin Seed Bread" at our local bakery, Seven Stars. The best ingredient in this recipe ended up being the seeds, which became more pronounced as the bread broke down from stirring/pulsing in the food processor. If your bread doesn't have them, it couldn't hurt to add them separately.
My changes: I used butter (and much less), dried herbs (1 Tbsp fresh = 1 tsp. dried), and could have used more broth. I prefer stuffing to be very moist (I was raised on Stove Top) and will add more broth next time. I also put the mixture in the food processor after baking, and I'm convinced that with more broth, the processor would get me the texture I wanted. Regardless, a great success.

Pumpkin Bread Stuffing

1 cup vegan margarine, plus 1 teaspoon (1/2 cup of butter)
4 stalks celery, diced
1 red onion, diced
2 cups mushrooms, sliced
2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
2 tbsp fresh rosemary, chopped (or 2 tsp. dried)
2 tbsp fresh tarragon, chopped (or 2 tsp. dried)
2 tbsp fresh sage, chopped (or 2 tsp. dried)
1/3 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
6 cups pumpkin bread, cubed
approx 1/3 cup vegetable broth (1/2 cup or more)

Allow pumpkin bread to dry overnight, or toast in oven at 250 degrees for 30-40 minutes.

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees and grease a large baking dish with butter. In a large skillet/pot over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the celery and onions and sautee for 8-10 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook for a few more minutes until mushrooms are soft.

Turn off heat and add spices, stirring well to combine. Add bread cubes. Add vegetable broth a few tablespoons at a time just until stuffing is moistened.

Transfer mixture to greased baking dish and cover with foil. Bake in oven for 40 minutes. Remove foil and bake for 10 more minutes, or until done.

11/25/10.

The tree

2010-12-01T17:15:00.002-05:00

%
It was so good to spend the holiday with my parents and to share our annual tree procurement! While we always have a real tree for Christmas, we hadn't chopped one down since 2007. Henry's Tree Farm in Scituate was good to us again. And as always, the tree is 90% covered in paper/plastic/foam ornaments, made by friends and family. Each year the ornaments are different (see the history, here) and each year the unpacking of ornaments reminds me of the good friends we have (who affectionately allow me to force crafts on them). My parents added fancy paper ornaments this year (blinged up by mom). More pics soon.

On Barbados

2010-11-30T08:38:00.007-05:00

A few things I learned about visiting Barbados:

1. You might see a monkey running free, or a humming bird, lizards, bull frogs, baseball-sized crabs on the beach, or a mongoose--though we never saw the latter.
2. Instant coffee really is an abomination. Next time, pack good coffee.
3. A huge fillet of fresh, grilled swordfish, in a tiny place on the side of the road...$7 (USD), as opposed to Whole Food's $7/lb.
4. Rum in Barbados is 43% alcohol, and watered down to 40% when sold in the US.
5. Putting bitters in rum punch....Interesting.
6. Add an extra day of vacay to both adjust to the heat, and to mentally power down from work-mode.
7. Put smart phones in waterproof bags when going out, in case there is no shelter during the daily 15-minute downpour.
8. Make early arrangements for Chris' job to pay for another trip to Barbados (the one time when work like this pays, literally).

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Barbados

2010-11-29T08:27:00.003-05:00

11/19/10.

11/20/10.Chris' work trip, converted into a mini-vacation. Such a gift.

love you barbados

2010-11-19T20:17:00.003-05:00

Planting Garlic for Next June

2010-11-15T06:54:00.002-05:00

Last week, I put the garden to bed and this weekend helped my friend Elizabeth do the same. For mine, I only had to pull out the bigger plants. I bunched up the empty containers a corner on the deck and will cover them with a tarp for the winter, so the weight of the snow doesn't compact the soil. For Elizabeth's plot at her community garden (see below), we pulled up anything that wasn't green, bagged it, and covered the bed with leaves.
But, before both gardens were put to bed, we planted garlic...the final experiment for the 2010 garden. Garlic takes quite a while to grow. Planting cloves in early November means I'll hopefully have full heads of garlic to harvest in June or July of next year. I saved the largest cloves from our last head of csa garlic and dried them out in a paper bag, for at least two months. I had been advised to plant at the end of October. We shall see.
Planting garlic, an Urban Chicken workshop at SCLT, and a trip to the batting cages. All outdoors this weekend, and such a great end to the growing season.

Recipe Rursday: Sweet Potato Fries

2010-11-11T07:07:00.003-05:00

10/10/10.

Deli Haus, a retro diner tucked underground in Boston's Fenway Square, introduced me to sweet potato fries. I remember it vividly. I had just moved to Boston and was about to turn 22. Back when Fenway Square had character, before it was devoured by Boston University-owned swanky hotels, the retro square had an old record store, a great coffee shop, and among other things, a downstairs restaurant/diner called Deli Haus. The diner had great food, an excess of coolness, walls saturated with smoke, and beer served until 1 or 2 am. If you were liked, you could stay past 3. Brilliant. And I can't seem to stay up past 10:30 most nights.
The cider reduction makes this more of a fancy pants dish, but a well-salted, simpler version is just as good. From our CSA last month comes another fittingly Fall meal. Inspired by some recipe somewhere, which I can no longer find...and my memory of Deli Haus.

Sweet Potato Fries with a Cider Reduction
(and a side of grilled white asparagus)

Add a cup or two of cider to a saucepan and set on a low boil for almost an hour, until reduced (by more than 3/4) to a thick glaze.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Chop sweet potatoes long-wise (I used 2 potatoes) into wedges and brush with olive oil and salt (not too much of either). Bake on a sheet for 45 minutes to an hour, until soft and browned. I salt them right out of the oven as well. Top with the cider reduction.

Flakes

2010-11-09T07:27:00.004-05:00

1. First snow yesterday. It creates such a mood. Song share: Flakes by Mystery Jets.

2.Snow last winter:
3. Love this photo:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mutephotoblog/4384309793/

Late Halloween Photos

2010-11-05T18:41:00.002-04:00

A few pumpkin pics from the Pumpkin Spooktacular at Roger Williams Park Zoo from 10/31/10 (phone
pics):

Recipe Rursday: Green Bean Casserole in a skillet

2010-11-04T07:04:00.002-04:00

For our 2nd year with a CSA (this year with Four Friends Farms), I am once again very happy; buying a farm share was healthy, socially responsible, sustainable, and it challenged us to try new recipes and learn more about fresh food. We will be CSA-ing as long as we can afford it. This recipe, for example, was inspired by the fact that we had two big bags of fresh green beans...'fresh' as in 'picked a few days ago.' Alton Brown promised the "best recipe," so we gave it a try. Of course, with a few tweaks.

10/17/10.

Alton Brown's Best Ever Green Bean Casserole: My notes: The green beans need to be cooked a minute or two longer and we used milk instead of cream, which means that it needed to be cooked down a bit longer once in the cast iron skillet, as well. Also, if the green beans are salted (you'll know when tasting them before blanching), don't over salt the mushrooms or the final dish.

For the topping:

2 medium onions, thinly sliced
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons panko bread crumbs
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Nonstick cooking spray

For beans and sauce:

2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
1 pound fresh green beans, rinsed, trimmed and halved
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
12 ounces mushrooms, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup chicken broth (veggie broth - also can be salty)
1 cup half-and-half (or milk)

Preheat the oven to 475 degrees F. Combine the onions, flour, panko and salt in a large mixing bowl and toss to combine. Coat a sheet pan with nonstick cooking spray and evenly spread the onions on the pan. Place the pan on the middle rack of the oven and bake until golden brown, approximately 30 minutes. Toss the onions 2 to 3 times during cooking. (beware of blackening) Once done, remove from the oven and set aside until ready to use. Turn the oven down to 400 degrees F.

While the onions are cooking, prepare the beans. Bring a gallon of water and 2 tablespoons of salt to a boil in an 8-quart saucepan. Add the beans and blanch for 5 minutes. (but taste them, they may need a minute or two longer, if they're large) Drain in a colander and immediately plunge the beans into a large bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. Drain and set aside.

Melt the butter in a 12-inch cast iron skillet set over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms, 1 teaspoon salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms begin to give up some of their liquid, approximately 4 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic and nutmeg and continue to cook for another 1 to 2 minutes. Sprinkle the flour over the mixture and stir to combine. Cook for 1 minute. Add the broth and simmer for 1 minute. Decrease the heat to medium-low and add the half-and-half. Cook until the mixture thickens, stirring occasionally, approximately 6 to 8 minutes. (If using milk reduce down longer)

Remove from the heat and stir in 1/4 of the onions and all of the green beans. Top with the remaining onions. Place into the oven and bake until bubbly, approximately 15 minutes. Remove and serve immediately.

Heirloom Pumpkins

2010-11-01T06:33:00.001-04:00

10/17/10.

This year we picked up both a white pumpkin (below) up in Cumberland and a blue-gray pumpkin down in Westerly--both in Rhode Island. I love these more unusual squash and hopefully I'll be able to dry out a few seeds and grow them next year (especially if we have a giant backyard).
The gray pumpkin feels like marble -- the white one was more like a regular pumpkin. And since I wanted it to last, I couldn't carve it up. Thus the Martha Stewart blast of glitter:

10/11/10.

Clark Kent

2010-10-31T10:08:00.003-04:00

My date for last night's Halloween party, 10/30/10.

steel yard iron pour: 10-29-10

2010-10-29T19:31:00.003-04:00

Amazing.

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cat in the a.m.

2010-10-24T18:51:00.001-04:00

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Recipe Rursday: Hot Chili-infused Oil

2010-10-21T05:12:00.008-04:00

At one point in October we had accumulated 40+ hot chili peppers from our CSA. Since they were too hot to eat fresh (for me), and throwing one in a stir fry meant I couldn't eat the stir fry, we needed to find a way to use them, while regulating the heat in the final product.

10/10/10

The solution was simple (and a huge success): Chili-infused Oil. Here's what I learned from the reading up on the process:

Don't use chilies that haven't been completely dried out. I dried the chilies on a paper towel in a sunny window. On the day we/Chris made the oil, he left one of the larger chilies out of the batch, because it still had a fleshy shape and wasn't fully shrunken and shriveled like the ones above. I had read that if the chilies still have moisture (and are closer to fresh than dried), the oil will turn cloudy.
There are a lot of different opinions on what kind of oil to use. We used the olive oil that we buy in bulk, just to save money. Since the chilies overpower any delicate flavor you'd get from good olive oil, the idea is that you should buy cheaper, flavorless oil--like a salad or canola oil. I used almost all of our canola oil for my latest popcorn obsession.
Use gloves. Because I have the constitution of a day-old moth, and am allergic to everything, Chris gallantly volunteered to put the whole thing together, including removing the tops/stems off of the peppers and chopping them all. Even he-who-is-invincible used plastic gloves, given the number of peppers being used. Though there are other ways of getting hurt by this project...
Heat the oil to a shimmer, just before smoke point (don't let the oil smoke). Then add the chopped chilies and remove the pot from the heat. I read and took note of the fact that if water gets into the chili oil while it's hot (immediate steam), or if the oil gets so hot that it smokes and turns to vapor, you will spend the next hour choking from vaporized pepper oil in your throat. The combination of water and oil releases the capsaicin from the pepper and sends it out in a vicious cloud of 'I will make you miserable,' so don't risk it.
Let the chili oil cool to room temperature (maybe even overnight). At this point, you can pulse the oil in a food processor (we chose not to), strain out all of the peppers, or leave all or some of them in the oil when bottling. Chris strained out some of them, not all, and left a few in the top of each bottle. The bottles were cheap at Kmart, but they're also at Bed Bath & Beyond, and the like. We gave one bottle of oil to our friend Bill and kept one for ourselves, not knowing how quickly or if we'd get through the bottle.

Over the next few days, the oil deepened in its red-color and we use it all the time. Ideas: Brush it on pita triangles before baking them into spicy chips, start stir frys with it, add it to roasting potatoes/vegetables, and pop popcorn with this thing of beauty. The popcorn is so good. But I filled the kitchen with the smoke that makes you choke, so I'll use less next time. Huge success nonetheless.

10/17/10.

Inspired by the Pumpkin

2010-10-18T07:28:00.003-04:00

10/11/10. Never gets old...E and Taylor joined us for pumpkin decorating. Taylor rooted us on (he's recovering from a cold). Of course, Chris painted the goofy one.

An inspirational mojo dance?

E's pumpkin, inspired by her new kitten, Roshi (here).

Maybe our last beautiful sunny day, and a perfect day to play with paints and pumpkins and good friends.

With or without...it's all good.

2010-10-16T06:25:00.000-04:00

9/11/10.

Chris shaves and loses 20 years, but looks distinguished with his grays. Lucky bastard.

10/9/10.
We're both 9 years lucky to have each other this month. When do we retire and move to the Caribbean?

Recipe Rursday: Fall Squash Dishes

2010-10-14T08:26:00.005-04:00

Buttercup Squash 9/12/10.

Not a misprint...this is called Buttercup Squash and it showed up last month in our CSA. I imagine you could use any squash for this very simple recipe: pumpkin, butternut squash, or whatever you have in the house. The first version of this Squash & Beans recipe was inspired by Chris' mom who sent us home with an incredibly tasty White Beans & Spanish Pumpkin dish. It's basically a one-off from Chris' Rice & Beans (with his family's sofrito), but cooked longer to fully cook the squash.

9/12/10.

Rice & Beans with Squash

Sofrito or Goya's Racaito
Goya Tomato Sauce (Salsa tomato)
Red or White Beans
Squash (Buttercup, Green pumpkin, Butternut, etc)
Green Peppers (optional)

Start with sofrito or store-bought Racaito (see notes on sofrito here) in the sauce pan, add the tomato sauce. Add the beans and pumpkin or squash (and peppers, if you've got 'em) along with a cup of broth and simmer for 20-30 minutes, until squash is tender. Season with S&P, and possibly 2 T of cumin, 1 tsp. of Adobo, and a half a tsp. of red pepper flakes (all optional). Serve over rice.

Butternut Squash, 10/10/10.

Butternut Squash can be so large they're difficult to fully use in one dish. And I've been determined this year to not let the food that comes in our CSA go to waste. I am challenged by the size and sweetness of squash--butternut squash in particular. I have some frozen (already cut in cubes) in the freezer, to throw into bean dishes like the one above. The rest went to soup, and we still have one sitting on the counter.
An unexpected combination--leeks and squash, but I recently found a leek and pumpkin soup recipe that was easy enough to tweak. I love leeks. And now that I know how to clean them with water baths, I don't mind prepping them for soup. (My first time with leeks led to an amazing soup -- Leek & Chickpea Soup-- and some learnin' about leek cleaning).

Leek and Butternut Squash Soup
This recipe is a combination of 4 others I read before building one for the ingredients in our cupboard. Inspiration: Pumpkin-Leek Soup by Real Simple, followed by Food & Wine's Butternut Squash and Leek Soup.

1 T olive oil
2 celery stalks chopped
1-2 cloves of garlic
5-6 leeks, thinly sliced
1 1/2 lbs of butternut squash peeled and cut into small (3/4"-1/2") cubes
4 cups of broth
thyme (or rosemary)
sour cream (optional)

Heat oil. Add the leeks, stir often and sautee for 5 min. Add celery, and garlic, cook for a few more minutes. Add the squash and broth.

Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook until squash is tender, about 25 minutes. Season with salt & pepper. Use a hand-held mixer or pour portions of the soup into a blender, to puree until smooth. Add 1/4 cup of sour cream just before serving, for creaminess.

Garnish with thyme or rosemary. Or, garnish each bowl with a teaspoon of sour cream. Now that's a bright soup!

On the way to the beach

2010-10-11T08:40:00.002-04:00

R.I. 9/3/10.