Thanks to that little widget down at the bottom I get to see what people search on to find my blog. Typically this results in search text like "wvfarmgirl" or "wv utopia" -- searches that are obviously done by someone who has already been here, but forgot the web address. Then about a week ago a Google search came across the widget that made me wonder: "turn me into a girl".
Huh?
First of all, if you put "turn me into a girl" into Google you get 118 results. I skimmed through the first 12 pages of circumcision nightmares, cross dressing stories, and adult dating sites, but didn't find my little blog (I hate to think I'm in such bad company!). If you then perform the search and include omitted pages you get 12,400 results! Now I neither have the time or energy to look through all of those results to see which page my blog shows up on, but it's probably on the last page or darned close.
So I asks ya, is it worth all of that time and effort just to make less money, torture yourself with high heels and panty hose, and get pinched on the butt by drunk and randy rednecks at bars?
Friday, August 29, 2008
Thursday, August 28, 2008
By the way...
Brie came back minutes after I posted this morning. She was soaking wet, incredibly stinky, but seemed happy to be home. She dove into breakfast, but fell asleep before finishing it. She's been passed out by her dish all day. What a party animal. What do you want to bet she's found some young punk and was out all night drag racing, drinking, smoking, and egging the mailman's house?? Kids these days! What's a parent to do??
How did you do that??
Hey! You in CT! How did you find my other new blog before I even linked to it or announced it? I just set that blog up yesterday and haven't even finished the first post yet, but I see you got here from there yesterday. That's some wicked ESP skills you have! Can you bottle that and sell it? Or just teach me how to do it? Man, that would come in handy at work!
Anyhow, I'm doing a new blog just to chronicle the training of all the rescues. I figure a lot of you are here for the gardening stuff so I don't want to bore you with horse training. This doesn't mean horses will no longer play a part in this blog, I just won't be getting into specifics here about the training of each one. A separate, more "compact" blog seemed like the best idea to help me track everyone's training and to keep a journal on how things go with each one. Any potential adopters may also find the training information useful on the horse that they are interested in. You'll find a link to Training the Unwanted over there on the left if you're interested.
Classy's potential adopter came out in the pouring rain yesterday to check her out. She didn't ride, but will be coming out again either tonight or tomorrow to ride if she can. If not, she'll be riding her Sunday on a trail ride with Glenn and I as a trial. She seemed to like Classy, but she couldn't take her eyes off of Jewel! And Jewel couldn't keep her lips off Glenn. He had walked up to the pasture with us and was the only one to bring a pocket full of treats. Jewel spent the whole time lipping his pants pocket and tapping him in the back with her nose, and at one point she shoved her whole head between his legs from behind. Needless to say, he was a little shocked!
On a sadder note, Brie has been gone since yesterday morning. I'm trying to remain optimistic because she has disappeared overnight before, just not in a very long time. And rarely does she go anywhere in the rain. Usually, she's back and waiting by the door in the morning when I get up, but not this morning. The worry is starting to creep in and if she's not back by the time I get off work I'll take a horse out into the hills and see if I can find her. I've heard horror stories of dogs getting stuck in wild animal traps, but none of my neighbors within miles trap. She's always been smart about cars and isn't the type to come close to strangers, even if they have a raw t-bone in their lap. She's spayed of course, so she's not out trying to make puppies. So where the heck is she??
Anyhow, I'm doing a new blog just to chronicle the training of all the rescues. I figure a lot of you are here for the gardening stuff so I don't want to bore you with horse training. This doesn't mean horses will no longer play a part in this blog, I just won't be getting into specifics here about the training of each one. A separate, more "compact" blog seemed like the best idea to help me track everyone's training and to keep a journal on how things go with each one. Any potential adopters may also find the training information useful on the horse that they are interested in. You'll find a link to Training the Unwanted over there on the left if you're interested.
Classy's potential adopter came out in the pouring rain yesterday to check her out. She didn't ride, but will be coming out again either tonight or tomorrow to ride if she can. If not, she'll be riding her Sunday on a trail ride with Glenn and I as a trial. She seemed to like Classy, but she couldn't take her eyes off of Jewel! And Jewel couldn't keep her lips off Glenn. He had walked up to the pasture with us and was the only one to bring a pocket full of treats. Jewel spent the whole time lipping his pants pocket and tapping him in the back with her nose, and at one point she shoved her whole head between his legs from behind. Needless to say, he was a little shocked!
On a sadder note, Brie has been gone since yesterday morning. I'm trying to remain optimistic because she has disappeared overnight before, just not in a very long time. And rarely does she go anywhere in the rain. Usually, she's back and waiting by the door in the morning when I get up, but not this morning. The worry is starting to creep in and if she's not back by the time I get off work I'll take a horse out into the hills and see if I can find her. I've heard horror stories of dogs getting stuck in wild animal traps, but none of my neighbors within miles trap. She's always been smart about cars and isn't the type to come close to strangers, even if they have a raw t-bone in their lap. She's spayed of course, so she's not out trying to make puppies. So where the heck is she??
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Rain, glorious rain!
I don't know if we're getting Faye leftovers or just some nice summer rain, but whatever the source I'm darned tickled about it. It's been weeks since we've had decent rain and of course I just watered the garden last night. The pastures are dry and cracked, the pond is so low we're starting to see things that the previous owner put in there (you really don't want to know. Ignorance is bliss in this case.), and I've been hauling water from town once a week for the garden and several times a week for the trough for the main herd. Fortunately the bachelors have a spring-fed tank that stays full and fresh on it's own. The main herd has been going through about 275 gallons every other day.
Jewel has finally gotten to the point where she can be caught easily so I've removed her halter. I kept talking about starting her on the lunge line before, but for some reason or another it just never happened. So last night was our first workout together, but I think I probably got more of a workout than she did. I've never bothered getting a lunge whip because my horses simply don't need one. Kita has been trained with voice commands since she was a munchkin, Junior has never needed extra incentive to move forward, and Semi has her own pace and I've never asked for more from the old girl. I now need a lunge whip. Seriously. Tossing the end of the lunge line or the lead rope at Jewel's butt did NOTHING to make her move forward. Want to talk lazy? This horse could kick my ex-husbands' butt in a laziness contest. And trust me, that is saying something!
Glenn was the guy behind the camera last night since Brie still hasn't gotten past the whole lack of opposable thumbs problem yet. Sometimes Glenn gets lucky with the camera. Last night was not one of those times. But granted, I was chasing Jewel around a pretty big area trying to get her to just move and it was difficult for him to keep up. Once the quarantine/nursery paddock and barn are finished a round pen is next up on the to do list!
Note the totally idiotic look on the BDD in the background. This is another reason we need a round pen. Heidi, Brie, and Thor decided that under my feet was the best place to be to get the action. The BDD thought maybe right in Jewel's path was the most exciting place to be. And he's so trusting that he just assumed Jewel would go around him. Why get up and move when you're hot and tired?
The odd thing about Jewel is that sometimes she would gait instead of trot. Huh? A gaited appaloosa? It's possible, just not something I see very often. And it may have just been a "fluke" last night. I'll know more as I work with her more. And another note, not once did this mare even lay back her ears while I was working her. She even got to the point where she'd welcome my touch if it meant killing the deer flies that were swarming all over her. And look at those perky little ears! She's going to be such an adorable little horse once she's broke to ride!
I hopped on Classy again last night... I haven't been able to ride her near as much as I'd like, but hopefully things will start slowing down a bit soon and I'll be able to get more saddle time in on her. The potential adopters are coming out tonight to try her out, but won't be able to take her home for awhile because they are fostering a Percheron stud and only have the one pasture. So until the Percheron goes home or gets gelded, I can't let Classy go home with them. But that's okay, as it will give me more training time with her before she leaves. She's a good girl for the most part, but is still nervous and a bit herd bound to her sisters.
Sleep is still coming in bits and pieces at night thanks to the allergies. Hopefully, this rain will wash a bunch of the pollen out of the air and give me a little bit of a reprieve. And for those of you who don't have allergies, allow me this moment of childish behavior.
Monday, August 25, 2008
As the world turns
I was just told by my friend April that the world revolves around her and she relies on me to produce a new blog post more often than I do. Apparently, she hasn't noticed the Friday then Tuesday post pattern I've fallen into and insisted on having one today. Doesn't she realize that my weekends are CRAZY and I need a day to recuperate before becoming organized enough to blog? So here goes a very unorganized post with a hodgepodge of everything (no change from normal, really).
I do have one thing to mention... I have potential adopters for at least two horses, Classy being one of the two! Wooohoo! One adopter is coming out on Wednesday to try out Classy. The other adopter is looking for a well-broke older horse just to mosey around the yard on. Megalia may fit this to a T, but I've been waiting for her to put on more weight before I evaluate her. She's gotten to the point where you can still barely see her ribs, but her butt, chest and shoulders have filled out nicely so I'll start working her tonight and see what we've got. They may also be interested in adopting Hunter for their little girl once he's broke next year. He looks a lot like the little mini that she rides now, but she'll outgrow him by next year. Both adopters currently have very fat, sleek, shiny, trimmed, HEALTHY horses. This is a big fat bonus when checking out potential adopters!
Guinea update: I realized that I left you guys hanging on the guineas. I believe I last told you that we had one left in the coop, the one that Thor dropped at my feet. The next day, one of the remaining five made it back to the coop and was trying desperately to get in with his buddy. They've been together since and are doing well and growing quickly. We're going to leave them in the coop until we either have more adult guineas to release with them, or until they've bred and raised some keats. This is going to be impossible if they are both the same sex, but I'm using the ignorance is bliss theory and continuing with my happily ever after scenario.
Glenn has been picking on me because my picture has not yet made it onto the blog, but his has. Especially the one of him in his boxers. Hey, that wasn't my fault, I warned him! And because I believe the camera can steal my soul, I hate HATE HATE having my picture taken.
Ok, so that soul part isn't true, I'm just camera shy. REALLY camera shy. I have no current pictures to share with you. So to make Glenn happy, and because I'm twisted this way, I thought I'd share a wedding picture taken back in 1995 when I married some other guy. This is one of the few wedding pictures I even kept, simply because Junior was in it. And I'm far enough way that it's hard to really see me. This alone makes it a keeper. :)
I leave you with a picture of the Jilly Bean (aka Jelly Belly) and a picture of Thor eating her brother, Jack. And a promise that someday soon the allergies will stop stuffing my head with boogers and I'll be a little more coherent.
I do have one thing to mention... I have potential adopters for at least two horses, Classy being one of the two! Wooohoo! One adopter is coming out on Wednesday to try out Classy. The other adopter is looking for a well-broke older horse just to mosey around the yard on. Megalia may fit this to a T, but I've been waiting for her to put on more weight before I evaluate her. She's gotten to the point where you can still barely see her ribs, but her butt, chest and shoulders have filled out nicely so I'll start working her tonight and see what we've got. They may also be interested in adopting Hunter for their little girl once he's broke next year. He looks a lot like the little mini that she rides now, but she'll outgrow him by next year. Both adopters currently have very fat, sleek, shiny, trimmed, HEALTHY horses. This is a big fat bonus when checking out potential adopters!
Guinea update: I realized that I left you guys hanging on the guineas. I believe I last told you that we had one left in the coop, the one that Thor dropped at my feet. The next day, one of the remaining five made it back to the coop and was trying desperately to get in with his buddy. They've been together since and are doing well and growing quickly. We're going to leave them in the coop until we either have more adult guineas to release with them, or until they've bred and raised some keats. This is going to be impossible if they are both the same sex, but I'm using the ignorance is bliss theory and continuing with my happily ever after scenario.
Glenn has been picking on me because my picture has not yet made it onto the blog, but his has. Especially the one of him in his boxers. Hey, that wasn't my fault, I warned him! And because I believe the camera can steal my soul, I hate HATE HATE having my picture taken.
Ok, so that soul part isn't true, I'm just camera shy. REALLY camera shy. I have no current pictures to share with you. So to make Glenn happy, and because I'm twisted this way, I thought I'd share a wedding picture taken back in 1995 when I married some other guy. This is one of the few wedding pictures I even kept, simply because Junior was in it. And I'm far enough way that it's hard to really see me. This alone makes it a keeper. :)
I leave you with a picture of the Jilly Bean (aka Jelly Belly) and a picture of Thor eating her brother, Jack. And a promise that someday soon the allergies will stop stuffing my head with boogers and I'll be a little more coherent.
Friday, August 22, 2008
Let's chat about insomnia
Because if I can't get any sleep, I'd certainly like to daydream about it. Besides, I was wide awake at 1AM this morning writing this post in my head and I'd hate to waste it.
I'm also a little curious about how many people actually read my blog on a regular basis. I'm guessing 9 or 10. And thanks to that little widget down at the bottom, I can seeeeee youuuu. How eery is that? So, Falls Church, Leesburg (by the way, that small town I grew up in? Lucketts!), Wallace, Caro, Bridgeport, Atlanta, Ft. Collins, Queensbury, Wilton, Winchester, and Summersville tell me if you have allergies and what time of year is the worst for you.
My worst time is NOW. Starting mid to late-August and ending with the first heavy frost. There's this little yellow daisy-like flower that blooms every where on the sides of the roads and in pastures that has set off my allergies around this time every year since I was a kid. Sometimes I'd even miss the first couple of days of school because I'd be so miserable. Kinda like now. But at least now there are things like Allegra and Afrin. I hate using Afrin, but unfortunately it is the only thing that keeps me breathing and sane this time of year. Allegra takes care of the other symptoms, like itchy watery eyes, scratchy throat, and sneezing. It also takes care of any sleeping that I think I might need. I haven't gotten more than three hours of sleep each night this week. I'm starting to feel a little on the slap-happy side.
You're supposed to take Allegra twice a day, in the morning and before bed. If I took one before bed, I could kiss those three precious hours of sleep goodbye! And yeah, over the years I've tried everything. So what works for you?
The plus side to being wide awake and miserable at 1AM is that I finally get tired of trying to breathe and sleep at the same time and get out of bed. The horses get fed earlier, which I'm sure they appreciate, the dogs get let out earlier, and I get to enjoy the sunrise from the comfort of the porch with a glass of juice instead missing it because I'm in the barn feeding.
I also got to witness the power of the pack firsthand this morning. I had let everyone out at 4:30 when I finally gave up on sleep. When I got back from the barn, Zeus and Brie were the only dogs that had made it back yet and they were passed out in the front yard. While sitting on the porch typing up this post I heard barking and yelping coming from the neighbor's place. Sure enough, Thor comes running down their drive into our field and followed closely by the neighbor's dogs. Thor isn't exactly a speed demon, so the one dog caught up to him and tackled him, rolling him a few times before getting to his feet. Zeus and Brie were off like rockets after those two dogs. Thor ran to them then turned around and followed behind to give chase. They chased the dogs back to their own yard, then turned around and came back to the house. Zeus and Brie are back in the yard asleep, and Thor is lying at my feet destroying one of Glenn's gloves.
I'm also enjoying the serenade of a 17yo Woogie cat stuck in a tree.
MEOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW
This is doing very little to help my allergy-induced mood. And the little bugger is too far up for me too reach even with a ladder. Oh well, the stupid little bugger hauled his old arse up there, I'm guessing he can get it down on his own too.
I'm also a little curious about how many people actually read my blog on a regular basis. I'm guessing 9 or 10. And thanks to that little widget down at the bottom, I can seeeeee youuuu. How eery is that? So, Falls Church, Leesburg (by the way, that small town I grew up in? Lucketts!), Wallace, Caro, Bridgeport, Atlanta, Ft. Collins, Queensbury, Wilton, Winchester, and Summersville tell me if you have allergies and what time of year is the worst for you.
My worst time is NOW. Starting mid to late-August and ending with the first heavy frost. There's this little yellow daisy-like flower that blooms every where on the sides of the roads and in pastures that has set off my allergies around this time every year since I was a kid. Sometimes I'd even miss the first couple of days of school because I'd be so miserable. Kinda like now. But at least now there are things like Allegra and Afrin. I hate using Afrin, but unfortunately it is the only thing that keeps me breathing and sane this time of year. Allegra takes care of the other symptoms, like itchy watery eyes, scratchy throat, and sneezing. It also takes care of any sleeping that I think I might need. I haven't gotten more than three hours of sleep each night this week. I'm starting to feel a little on the slap-happy side.
You're supposed to take Allegra twice a day, in the morning and before bed. If I took one before bed, I could kiss those three precious hours of sleep goodbye! And yeah, over the years I've tried everything. So what works for you?
The plus side to being wide awake and miserable at 1AM is that I finally get tired of trying to breathe and sleep at the same time and get out of bed. The horses get fed earlier, which I'm sure they appreciate, the dogs get let out earlier, and I get to enjoy the sunrise from the comfort of the porch with a glass of juice instead missing it because I'm in the barn feeding.
I also got to witness the power of the pack firsthand this morning. I had let everyone out at 4:30 when I finally gave up on sleep. When I got back from the barn, Zeus and Brie were the only dogs that had made it back yet and they were passed out in the front yard. While sitting on the porch typing up this post I heard barking and yelping coming from the neighbor's place. Sure enough, Thor comes running down their drive into our field and followed closely by the neighbor's dogs. Thor isn't exactly a speed demon, so the one dog caught up to him and tackled him, rolling him a few times before getting to his feet. Zeus and Brie were off like rockets after those two dogs. Thor ran to them then turned around and followed behind to give chase. They chased the dogs back to their own yard, then turned around and came back to the house. Zeus and Brie are back in the yard asleep, and Thor is lying at my feet destroying one of Glenn's gloves.
I'm also enjoying the serenade of a 17yo Woogie cat stuck in a tree.
MEOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW
This is doing very little to help my allergy-induced mood. And the little bugger is too far up for me too reach even with a ladder. Oh well, the stupid little bugger hauled his old arse up there, I'm guessing he can get it down on his own too.
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Heidi Ho
I was cleaning up and moving around all the pictures on my laptop today and found some really cute ones that I'd like to share. Plus, I'm a little tired of talking about the garden. Just as I'm tired of canning, freezing, and drying. But have no fear my fellow garden zealots, just like I'll be back to do more canning, freezing, and drying, I will also be back to talk more about the garden at a later date.
But this post I thought I'd dedicate to the Ho. She's my baby, and although I try not to play favorites, I sometimes fail miserably at it. In thinking of that, I realized that I've shown very few pictures of Heidi on my blog. So be prepared for a little Heidi picture overkill.
Let's start with adorable puppy pictures. Because who doesn't love an adorable puppy? Ho was 12 weeks old when we got her from a family who had adopted a puppy without realizing how much work a puppy could be, especially when living in a townhome.
This is her "I'm about to do something really silly... want to watch?" face.
This is her patented "I'm sorry I've been bad, but I'm really way too cute to punish, don't you agree?"
Heidi has always adored the cats and the feeling has been returned. Even the playful "eat the kitty" scenario goes over well.
After playing, it's always nice to nap with the one you love.
Even if your pillow chews on your ear.
Three is never a crowd. Whatever.
And sometimes it's nice to just be able to stretch out and have the whole couch to yourself.
But this post I thought I'd dedicate to the Ho. She's my baby, and although I try not to play favorites, I sometimes fail miserably at it. In thinking of that, I realized that I've shown very few pictures of Heidi on my blog. So be prepared for a little Heidi picture overkill.
Let's start with adorable puppy pictures. Because who doesn't love an adorable puppy? Ho was 12 weeks old when we got her from a family who had adopted a puppy without realizing how much work a puppy could be, especially when living in a townhome.
This is her "I'm about to do something really silly... want to watch?" face.
This is her patented "I'm sorry I've been bad, but I'm really way too cute to punish, don't you agree?"
Heidi has always adored the cats and the feeling has been returned. Even the playful "eat the kitty" scenario goes over well.
After playing, it's always nice to nap with the one you love.
Even if your pillow chews on your ear.
Three is never a crowd. Whatever.
And sometimes it's nice to just be able to stretch out and have the whole couch to yourself.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Cherry Tomato and Ginger Marinade
*disclaimer: This is not a food blog. I am not a foodie, however much I wish I was. Frankly, I'm fairly clueless in the kitchen, but sometimes I just get lucky. :)
That bowl of cherry tomatoes from yesterday turned out to be four pounds. Last night I picked another four pounds. This will likely continue until frost. Bring it on, I'm ready!
What I did with those eight pounds of cherry tomatoes was make a most excellent ginger marinade. I believe the original plan for this recipe was to create a type of side dish and not a marinade, but man is it ever so good on chicken and pork!
4lbs firm ripe cherry tomatoes, pricked with a fork
3 1/2 pounds sugar (yikes!)
4 cups water
2 lemons, zest and juice
1 tbsp grated ginger (I like to do 2 tblsp of ginger. I'm just a rebel like that.)
1 tsp pickling salt
Combine the water and sugar and let boil 5 minutes until the sugar is dissolved. Add the lemon zest and juice, grated ginger, and salt. Let that simmer for 10 minutes, then add the cherry tomatoes. If you're like me and want to use this as a marinade, cover and simmer for 30 minutes. If you want something that you can use as a side dish, simmer for 30 min uncovered. This will make it thicker and you will get about 6 pints. If you simmer while covered, you'll get about 9 pints, but the sauce will be very runny (which is fine for a marinade!). Ladle into hot jars and process in water bath canner for 10 minutes.
One of my "lucky" moments in the kitchen happened this morning. I needed food. Sustenance to get me through the coming day. Energy, not empty calories. But the fridge was bare except for some eggs and soft taco shells. Woe is me, what to do, what to do?? I know, check out the Pioneer Woman! She's always got easy and basic recipes on her site. What I did find was a recipe for a breakfast burrito: bell peppers, potatoes, eggs, sausage, etc. Well, duh, I used to make breakfast burritos all the time using shrooms, sausage, eggs, onions, and pepper jack cheese. But I hadn't made one in so long that I forgot about it. Ever have that happen? You fall in love with a food or recipe, don't make it in forever, then forget you ever had it? Happens to me all the time. Maybe I'm just getting old.
There was of course no sausage to be found in the freezer. And we had used the last of the shitake mushrooms the other night. I did find some monterey jack in the fridge and once I cut off the few spots of mold it was as good as new. Really. And when the fridge is bare, look to the garden! The eggplants are coming on strong now. There were no ripe bell peppers (I refuse to eat green bell peppers), but the banana pepper plants are loaded. A ripe Brandywine tomato was calling my name, and the as yet unused Thai Basil was begging for a chance to prove itself in the kitchen. A Walla Walla onion tripped me up on my way in, so I yanked it out and brought it with me.
I got the pan ready with some EVOO (Rachel, is that you?) and minced garlic. Then tossed in the chopped onion, banana pepper, and cubed eggplant. While that was cooking I chopped up the Thai basil and half the tomato and whipped up two eggs with a little milk. I sliced up the Monterrey jack (pepper jack would have been so much tastier) and laid it down the middle of the soft taco shell. Once the veggies were tender I poured in the eggs, scrambled them up with everything, then dumped half down the middle of the shell, letting the mixture melt the cheese. Then piled the mater and basil on top, rolled everything up, made a mess when the taco shell split down the bottom, and ended up eating everything with a fork anyway. But mmmm mmmm good!
That bowl of cherry tomatoes from yesterday turned out to be four pounds. Last night I picked another four pounds. This will likely continue until frost. Bring it on, I'm ready!
What I did with those eight pounds of cherry tomatoes was make a most excellent ginger marinade. I believe the original plan for this recipe was to create a type of side dish and not a marinade, but man is it ever so good on chicken and pork!
4lbs firm ripe cherry tomatoes, pricked with a fork
3 1/2 pounds sugar (yikes!)
4 cups water
2 lemons, zest and juice
1 tbsp grated ginger (I like to do 2 tblsp of ginger. I'm just a rebel like that.)
1 tsp pickling salt
Combine the water and sugar and let boil 5 minutes until the sugar is dissolved. Add the lemon zest and juice, grated ginger, and salt. Let that simmer for 10 minutes, then add the cherry tomatoes. If you're like me and want to use this as a marinade, cover and simmer for 30 minutes. If you want something that you can use as a side dish, simmer for 30 min uncovered. This will make it thicker and you will get about 6 pints. If you simmer while covered, you'll get about 9 pints, but the sauce will be very runny (which is fine for a marinade!). Ladle into hot jars and process in water bath canner for 10 minutes.
One of my "lucky" moments in the kitchen happened this morning. I needed food. Sustenance to get me through the coming day. Energy, not empty calories. But the fridge was bare except for some eggs and soft taco shells. Woe is me, what to do, what to do?? I know, check out the Pioneer Woman! She's always got easy and basic recipes on her site. What I did find was a recipe for a breakfast burrito: bell peppers, potatoes, eggs, sausage, etc. Well, duh, I used to make breakfast burritos all the time using shrooms, sausage, eggs, onions, and pepper jack cheese. But I hadn't made one in so long that I forgot about it. Ever have that happen? You fall in love with a food or recipe, don't make it in forever, then forget you ever had it? Happens to me all the time. Maybe I'm just getting old.
There was of course no sausage to be found in the freezer. And we had used the last of the shitake mushrooms the other night. I did find some monterey jack in the fridge and once I cut off the few spots of mold it was as good as new. Really. And when the fridge is bare, look to the garden! The eggplants are coming on strong now. There were no ripe bell peppers (I refuse to eat green bell peppers), but the banana pepper plants are loaded. A ripe Brandywine tomato was calling my name, and the as yet unused Thai Basil was begging for a chance to prove itself in the kitchen. A Walla Walla onion tripped me up on my way in, so I yanked it out and brought it with me.
I got the pan ready with some EVOO (Rachel, is that you?) and minced garlic. Then tossed in the chopped onion, banana pepper, and cubed eggplant. While that was cooking I chopped up the Thai basil and half the tomato and whipped up two eggs with a little milk. I sliced up the Monterrey jack (pepper jack would have been so much tastier) and laid it down the middle of the soft taco shell. Once the veggies were tender I poured in the eggs, scrambled them up with everything, then dumped half down the middle of the shell, letting the mixture melt the cheese. Then piled the mater and basil on top, rolled everything up, made a mess when the taco shell split down the bottom, and ended up eating everything with a fork anyway. But mmmm mmmm good!
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Life is like a bowl of cherries
Or maybe life is like a bowl of cherry tomatoes.
I think there comes a time in every vegetable gardener's life when they question their sanity over planting more than one cherry tomato plant. These were picked just last night. It took forever for me to pick them because the plants have created a mini jungle and are now up and over the 5' tall cages and sprawling along the ground. For those mathematically challenged people out there, that means the plants are well over 10' tall. I was trying to figure out exactly how tall, but ran out of toes. At least I've got plenty of cherry tomatoes to can this incredible ginger marinade that I found last year. I will share the recipe once it's in the jar and I have pretty pictures to go along with it.
I picked my first watermelon last night! Yes, it's small. And yes, it's supposed to be yellow. For those of you who have never tried a yellow, orange, or white watermelon... shame on you! You just don't know what you're missing. This particular specimen is a Pony Yellow watermelon. It grows small so it's the perfect size for a single serving. I had never been a watermelon fan until I started growing these babies about five years ago. When I brought this one in last night I was reluctant to share it with Glenn. But since he was busy coring, cleaning, and freezing the 20lbs of tomatoes I had also picked last night, I was shamed into sharing. I love the yellow ones, but tops on my list would be the Tendersweet Orange watermelons. It's a shame my plants didn't make it this year.
And here is the long awaited Litchi tomato. It's a good thing I snapped the picture when I did, because they didn't last long! This small handful was gone within seconds of the camera click. And might I add... YUM! These are definitely a keeper for next year's plant list. Now I just need to figure out a way to preserve them, because in about a week I'll be inundated with the little red buggers. I'm sure they'd freeze ok, which may be the way to go until I figure out something better, like jam... mmmm.
The cucumber plants are finally dead. YAY. But I still had a basket full of cukes to deal with. Then on Saturday, it hit me. Dehydrate them. Sure why not? The first experimental batch I did was sliced way too thin and a lot of the slices ended up sticking to the dehydrator and coming off in pieces. But they were GOOD. And surprisingly, they didn't take long at all at 135 degrees. I got another batch started late yesterday afternoon and this time I made the slices about 1/4" thick. My dehydrator has four trays, so I sprinkled one tray with garlic powder, the second with dried dill weed, and the last two with sea salt. They were done this morning, and whoa Nelly! I was hoping they'd be a nice treat dipped in sour cream and chives come December, but I really don't foresee them lasting that long. Glenn was popping them left and right and I especially like the dill weed chips.
We started working on the "nursery" fence over the weekend. We're almost done getting all the posts in and just need to get a couple rolls of field fence and a gazillion and one fence staples. Once the fence is done I'll move Dolly and Junior into the pasture since they need the grass more and it will be easier for me to keep an eye on Dolly if she's closer to the house. Once we have the two stall barn in place, Junior and Dolly will go back into the big pasture and Meghan and Jewel will move into the nursery. I'd love to keep Dolly in with Meghan, but the two girls don't particularly get along. They both seem afraid of each other, even though neither one of them has even so much as laid an ear back at the other and they are both very low on the totem pole.
Appybutt also went home over the weekend. It was a sad goodbye and I still hear him calling for Mav and Hunter every now and then. Once Appybutt was gone we moved Stride, Indy, Chief, and Manny into the back with Mav and Hunter. There's a lot more grass back there, and it makes feeding the old fogies a little easier since they are directly behind the house. Once the winter weather gets here everyone will be turned out together in the big pasture except of course for Meghan and Jewel. It's getting time to revisit the whole Maverick gelding fiasco from several months ago. He still hasn't dropped the second nut, so we'll just have to bite the bullet and get the "big surgery" done on him. I have heard of a couple more vets that are a little further away, but will probably be more competent than the ones I've talked to already. We're also supposed to be getting a new vet not far from here, but he hasn't hung out his shingle yet.
I thought I'd end this post with a picture that shows how well the stay off the furniture training is going with Thor. I think he's finally getting it, don't you?
I think there comes a time in every vegetable gardener's life when they question their sanity over planting more than one cherry tomato plant. These were picked just last night. It took forever for me to pick them because the plants have created a mini jungle and are now up and over the 5' tall cages and sprawling along the ground. For those mathematically challenged people out there, that means the plants are well over 10' tall. I was trying to figure out exactly how tall, but ran out of toes. At least I've got plenty of cherry tomatoes to can this incredible ginger marinade that I found last year. I will share the recipe once it's in the jar and I have pretty pictures to go along with it.
I picked my first watermelon last night! Yes, it's small. And yes, it's supposed to be yellow. For those of you who have never tried a yellow, orange, or white watermelon... shame on you! You just don't know what you're missing. This particular specimen is a Pony Yellow watermelon. It grows small so it's the perfect size for a single serving. I had never been a watermelon fan until I started growing these babies about five years ago. When I brought this one in last night I was reluctant to share it with Glenn. But since he was busy coring, cleaning, and freezing the 20lbs of tomatoes I had also picked last night, I was shamed into sharing. I love the yellow ones, but tops on my list would be the Tendersweet Orange watermelons. It's a shame my plants didn't make it this year.
And here is the long awaited Litchi tomato. It's a good thing I snapped the picture when I did, because they didn't last long! This small handful was gone within seconds of the camera click. And might I add... YUM! These are definitely a keeper for next year's plant list. Now I just need to figure out a way to preserve them, because in about a week I'll be inundated with the little red buggers. I'm sure they'd freeze ok, which may be the way to go until I figure out something better, like jam... mmmm.
The cucumber plants are finally dead. YAY. But I still had a basket full of cukes to deal with. Then on Saturday, it hit me. Dehydrate them. Sure why not? The first experimental batch I did was sliced way too thin and a lot of the slices ended up sticking to the dehydrator and coming off in pieces. But they were GOOD. And surprisingly, they didn't take long at all at 135 degrees. I got another batch started late yesterday afternoon and this time I made the slices about 1/4" thick. My dehydrator has four trays, so I sprinkled one tray with garlic powder, the second with dried dill weed, and the last two with sea salt. They were done this morning, and whoa Nelly! I was hoping they'd be a nice treat dipped in sour cream and chives come December, but I really don't foresee them lasting that long. Glenn was popping them left and right and I especially like the dill weed chips.
We started working on the "nursery" fence over the weekend. We're almost done getting all the posts in and just need to get a couple rolls of field fence and a gazillion and one fence staples. Once the fence is done I'll move Dolly and Junior into the pasture since they need the grass more and it will be easier for me to keep an eye on Dolly if she's closer to the house. Once we have the two stall barn in place, Junior and Dolly will go back into the big pasture and Meghan and Jewel will move into the nursery. I'd love to keep Dolly in with Meghan, but the two girls don't particularly get along. They both seem afraid of each other, even though neither one of them has even so much as laid an ear back at the other and they are both very low on the totem pole.
Appybutt also went home over the weekend. It was a sad goodbye and I still hear him calling for Mav and Hunter every now and then. Once Appybutt was gone we moved Stride, Indy, Chief, and Manny into the back with Mav and Hunter. There's a lot more grass back there, and it makes feeding the old fogies a little easier since they are directly behind the house. Once the winter weather gets here everyone will be turned out together in the big pasture except of course for Meghan and Jewel. It's getting time to revisit the whole Maverick gelding fiasco from several months ago. He still hasn't dropped the second nut, so we'll just have to bite the bullet and get the "big surgery" done on him. I have heard of a couple more vets that are a little further away, but will probably be more competent than the ones I've talked to already. We're also supposed to be getting a new vet not far from here, but he hasn't hung out his shingle yet.
I thought I'd end this post with a picture that shows how well the stay off the furniture training is going with Thor. I think he's finally getting it, don't you?
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Garden Overload
Honestly, how many more pickles could I possibly make?? Luckily (???) for me, my cucumber plants have succumbed to the squash bugs and are dying at a rapid rate. I can't believe I'm happy about that.
Our chest freezer is just about full of frozen tomatoes. I'm going to have to buckle down and do some canning soon. Very soon.
This was Saturday's harvest. It's been this way, or more, every other day for the past week at least.
I could have also filled those baskets with chard and carrots. But I wasn't in the mood for canning and scrubbing. They'll hold till the weekend when I will hopefully feel more inclined to spend my day in a very hot kitchen scrubbing and cursing. Maybe.
Then the hungry buffet seeker is subdued, but the face maker has decided to go play horseshoes, the camera-shy kid is unknowingly walking through the picture, and someone else is, well, licking their butt. 
Our chest freezer is just about full of frozen tomatoes. I'm going to have to buckle down and do some canning soon. Very soon.
This was Saturday's harvest. It's been this way, or more, every other day for the past week at least.
A closer look at basket #1. Just enough corn for dinner, a red onion to slice up on the burgers, and tomatoes. Of course there are tomatoes.
Basket #2 is mostly filled with cucumbers, with some cherry tomatoes here and there. There are also a ton of pineapple tomatillos on the bottom of the basket. And oh look! More tomatoes.
Here's a little advice for those of you who are still impatiently tapping your fingers waiting for your tomatoes to ripen: grow orange. I keep meticulous (read: anal) notes on my gardens, and for the past few years my orange and yellow tomatoes have consistently been the first to ripen, no matter how hot the weather. I would suggest these heirlooms: Orange Oxheart (great for sauce, mostly meat and big!), Kelloggs Breakfast (technically a yellow mater, but ripens to orange), and of course my favorite, the Pineapple tomato. For a pink tomato that ripens first in my garden I'd go with the Brandywine mater. Big, juicy, and some say the best tomato taste ever.
I could have also filled those baskets with chard and carrots. But I wasn't in the mood for canning and scrubbing. They'll hold till the weekend when I will hopefully feel more inclined to spend my day in a very hot kitchen scrubbing and cursing. Maybe.
You know how you almost always have trouble getting a group picture? Like at a family reunion, there's always an aunt Betty who wants group pictures of everyone and you spend an hour trying to make her happy?
First, someones eyes are closed.
Then someone is sticking out their tongue and making faces at the camera, while someone else is bored already and eyeing the buffet table.
Then the hungry buffet seeker is subdued, but the face maker has decided to go play horseshoes, the camera-shy kid is unknowingly walking through the picture, and someone else is, well, licking their butt.
I love family reunions.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)