Out of a lack of anywhere else to store this information, which I've decided will be very important at some time in the future -
I've decided it would be a perfect idea to have an Independence Day Ice Cream Social (not this year, some year in the future, which is why I need this somewhere that can be looked up in the future).
And to make it that much more Martha Stewart-esque, there would need to be homemade ice cream in 13 different flavors to represent the 13 original colonies... (this was decided because 50 different flavors for the states is getting a bit out there, and there were 56 individual signers, so that's also too many).
This whole project was conceived last week, when I learned that the Library of Congress, in their American Treasures collection, has a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe hand written by Thomas Jefferson (which made Virginia's flavor really easy to pick).
My list follows -
Vanilla
Chocolate Fudge
Maple
Toffee Pecan
Nutmeg
Gingerbread
Strawberry
Blueberry
Apple
Peach
Coffee
Tea
Beer
By state - with alternatives (and explanations).
Virginia - Vanilla (Thomas Jefferson)
Massachusetts - Tea (Boston Tea Party) or Cranberry (state fruit) or Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough (state cookie)
New Hampshire - Maple (2nd largest syrup producer) or Pumpkin (state veggie)
Maryland - Chocolate Fudge (after the icing from Smith Island Cake, the state dessert)
Connecticut - Nutmeg (state nickname)
Rhode Island - Coffee (after the local favorite "Coffee Cabinets", a coffee & ice cream mixed dessert)
Delaware - Beer (Dogfish Head Brewery's 90 minute IPA ranked Best Beer in America - they have, seriously, no other foods of note, unless you consider Chicken an ice cream flavor. A last resort could be stealing Peach from Georgia, as Peach Blossom is the state flower.)
North Carolina - Strawberry (state fruit)
South Carolina - Toffee Pecan (technically native to the Mississippi valley, Alabama's state fruit and Texas' state tree, with Georgia the largest producer and South Carolina not even in the top 5, however their state fruit is peach... and Georgia has 1st claim, and Delaware 2nd so since it's South Carolina's second largest crop we're giving them Pecans.)
New Jersey - Blueberry (Highbush blueberry state fruit)
New York - Apple (State fruit and muffin) or Cheesecake (state dessert)
Pennsylvania - Gingerbread (Pennsylvania "Dutch" heritage)
Georgia - Peach (state fruit, largest US producer) or Sweet Vidalia Onion (state veggie - if you want to hand over Peach to South Carolina or Delaware, Vidalia Onions should be able to make a semi-sweet & savory ice cream)
Yea!
P.S. I made banana bread ice cream yesterday that D says is good, strong banana flavor, creamy enough (better than a lot of store bought ice cream, but not better than all :), it's been doing it's final freeze in the last 20 hours, so we'll see how it ranks tonight. Meanwhile I've started a Cardamom flavor today.
If all turns out well I'll write my recipe for making ice cream without an ice cream maker... hint: it takes a lot longer :)
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Recipe. For Referrence.
I don't have any photos, maybe I'll take some later, as there's a lot left over...
but in the middle of the day, yesterday, it struck me that I wanted to go out with D for Thai food that night (if being his first day at his new job), and then decided instead of going out, why didn't I just make Pad Thai, as that's what I wanted. Then I talked to D (who was between training and meetings) and he told me he'd had it arranged for a week that he was having dinner with a classmate, but that dinner could certainly be my homemade Pad Thai - so I had three. Then, at D's urging, I called two other classmates, and one brought her boy (who we never seem to see, and had yet to be over to our place) so then I had six! (I'm pretty sure Emily Post and Irma Rombauer always said to never serve company a dish you've never made before, but what do they know???) And I scurried off to the Good Food Store to find Tamarind!
I read a couple different sites' recipes for Pad Thai and then made a totally huge quantity and we have heaping gobs left over, but I'm going to try to approximate a recipe for two (generous portions), so I'll have it for future reference.
First the sauce -
1 tablespoon honey
1/4 cup Thai Palm Sugar (I used Zulka unrefined cane sugar, as I guessed it the most similar, easy to find replacement, I would think the lighter brown sugar would work too)
2 tablespoons Fish Sauce
1-1/4 teaspoons Tamarind Concentrate
1-1/4 teaspoons dried chili powder (I made two kinds, one with Chipotle powder, one with mild chili powder, use whatever chili powder you like best)
Dissolve the sugar into an equal part water in a saucepan, then add the other ingredients... taste... expect it to be on the saltier side, but add more chili powder if you like it spicier.
Now you can set it aside. You can make it ahead and stick it in the fridge, or do all the other prep first and then make the sauce, either way, warm up the sauce slightly right before you use it, so it goes in the wok warm and not cold.
The Rest -
1/2 package Thai rice noodles (approx 7-8oz), soaked in slightly-warm water for 10-15 minutes (save the rest, dry, for another day)
1/2 cup dry roasted peanuts, finely chopped
1 cup or more of bean sprouts
1/2 bulb garlic, minced
1 bunch green onions, bottoms sliced thin, green tops cut in 1-2" lengths
1/2 bunch cilantro, roughly chopped
1 lime (only 1/3-1/2 will be used - I recommend the rest for garnishing cocktails)
2 eggs
2 servings of "meat" (I used pre-cooked shrimp, but seared tofu or cooked chicken or any combination thereof would work)
Peanut Oil
So you've got your sauce ready and warmed, your noodles soaked, and your ingredients prepped and within arm's reach of the stove. We'll be dividing all the ingredients in half and cooking in two separate portions. The smaller quantity of noodles in the wok allow them to cook all the way, quickly, without getting sticky, clumpy or mushy.
Pour approx. 2 tablespoons oil in the wok and allow to warm. Add half the garlic and white parts of the green onion. Now sprinkle in half the noodles, holding the clump of noodles above the pan and shaking it, so they fall in loosely and not sticking to each other. Run your cooking utensil along the side of the wok, down underneath the noodles and flip so they all get to be in the oil.
Drizzle about 1/3 of the sauce over the noodles and take your time stirring the noodles until the sauce is well distributed.
In the middle of the wok, add half the bean sprouts and green onion stalks, 2 tablespoons of peanuts, and 1 serving of shrimp (and/or tofu/chicken), then drizzle the rest of the first half of the sauce directly onto these items and fold in (you can separate the sauce into two equal quantities before you start cooking, to more easily keep track of how much you're using in the first batch).
Then push the noodles to one side of the wok and crack an egg onto the bottom. Quickly scrap the egg off the bottom of the pan to mix it up a little bit (alternatively, you could crack and scramble the egg in a separate container then pour in). Let it cook a few seconds, then I slide the cooking utensil under the pile of noodles lifting it up and allowing the egg to spread across the bottom of the pan, then I set the noodle mass back down on top of the cooking egg, which breaks it up. Give it a minute to cook most of the way, then stir everything around so the egg is well distributed.
Now pull out a noodle and eat. It will be chewier than Italian pasta noodles, but shouldn't be hard-chewy, if it's hard-chewy keep stirring and cooking till it's soft-chewy :)
When ready, plate it with a generous sprinkle of cilantro on top, and repeat with the second half of ingredients. When you're done cooking, take a spare plate or serving dish and make little piles with the rest of the peanuts and cilantro, along with several lime wedges and serve this along side. If you like things spicy, consider also putting a small amount of chili powder out or, if you're D, just grab the bottle of Sriracha and go to town...
the bad news, is this dish has over 1300 calories per serving, though as I said, these are generous servings, so you may end up saving some for later (if you're me), or just eating it all (if you're D). Good news is that each serving (half the recipe) has 52 grams of protein per 55 grams of fat... so it's freakin' chock full of protein (shrimp and peanuts leading here, with egg and noodles helping). For a healthier dish, leave out the peanuts (reducing the fat almost by half and the protein by 1/5th, for a 1,000 calorie dish with 41 grams of protein per 34 grams fat).
Anyway - this was calculated using The Daily Plate, where I created a custom dish using the exact ingredients and quantity in my recipe, but I can't seem to link directly to the dish's nutritional breakdown, so I'll just give you the rundown...
Calories - 1312
Fat - 55 grams
Cholesterol -463mg
Sodium - 1843 mg
Carbs - 156 grams
Sugar - 46 grams
Fiber - 10 grams
Protein - 52 grams
And everyone seemed pleased with it, though, granted, a lot of alcohol was consumed by some, so their critique might not be creditable...
but in the middle of the day, yesterday, it struck me that I wanted to go out with D for Thai food that night (if being his first day at his new job), and then decided instead of going out, why didn't I just make Pad Thai, as that's what I wanted. Then I talked to D (who was between training and meetings) and he told me he'd had it arranged for a week that he was having dinner with a classmate, but that dinner could certainly be my homemade Pad Thai - so I had three. Then, at D's urging, I called two other classmates, and one brought her boy (who we never seem to see, and had yet to be over to our place) so then I had six! (I'm pretty sure Emily Post and Irma Rombauer always said to never serve company a dish you've never made before, but what do they know???) And I scurried off to the Good Food Store to find Tamarind!
I read a couple different sites' recipes for Pad Thai and then made a totally huge quantity and we have heaping gobs left over, but I'm going to try to approximate a recipe for two (generous portions), so I'll have it for future reference.
First the sauce -
1 tablespoon honey
1/4 cup Thai Palm Sugar (I used Zulka unrefined cane sugar, as I guessed it the most similar, easy to find replacement, I would think the lighter brown sugar would work too)
2 tablespoons Fish Sauce
1-1/4 teaspoons Tamarind Concentrate
1-1/4 teaspoons dried chili powder (I made two kinds, one with Chipotle powder, one with mild chili powder, use whatever chili powder you like best)
Dissolve the sugar into an equal part water in a saucepan, then add the other ingredients... taste... expect it to be on the saltier side, but add more chili powder if you like it spicier.
Now you can set it aside. You can make it ahead and stick it in the fridge, or do all the other prep first and then make the sauce, either way, warm up the sauce slightly right before you use it, so it goes in the wok warm and not cold.
The Rest -
1/2 package Thai rice noodles (approx 7-8oz), soaked in slightly-warm water for 10-15 minutes (save the rest, dry, for another day)
1/2 cup dry roasted peanuts, finely chopped
1 cup or more of bean sprouts
1/2 bulb garlic, minced
1 bunch green onions, bottoms sliced thin, green tops cut in 1-2" lengths
1/2 bunch cilantro, roughly chopped
1 lime (only 1/3-1/2 will be used - I recommend the rest for garnishing cocktails)
2 eggs
2 servings of "meat" (I used pre-cooked shrimp, but seared tofu or cooked chicken or any combination thereof would work)
Peanut Oil
So you've got your sauce ready and warmed, your noodles soaked, and your ingredients prepped and within arm's reach of the stove. We'll be dividing all the ingredients in half and cooking in two separate portions. The smaller quantity of noodles in the wok allow them to cook all the way, quickly, without getting sticky, clumpy or mushy.
Pour approx. 2 tablespoons oil in the wok and allow to warm. Add half the garlic and white parts of the green onion. Now sprinkle in half the noodles, holding the clump of noodles above the pan and shaking it, so they fall in loosely and not sticking to each other. Run your cooking utensil along the side of the wok, down underneath the noodles and flip so they all get to be in the oil.
Drizzle about 1/3 of the sauce over the noodles and take your time stirring the noodles until the sauce is well distributed.
In the middle of the wok, add half the bean sprouts and green onion stalks, 2 tablespoons of peanuts, and 1 serving of shrimp (and/or tofu/chicken), then drizzle the rest of the first half of the sauce directly onto these items and fold in (you can separate the sauce into two equal quantities before you start cooking, to more easily keep track of how much you're using in the first batch).
Then push the noodles to one side of the wok and crack an egg onto the bottom. Quickly scrap the egg off the bottom of the pan to mix it up a little bit (alternatively, you could crack and scramble the egg in a separate container then pour in). Let it cook a few seconds, then I slide the cooking utensil under the pile of noodles lifting it up and allowing the egg to spread across the bottom of the pan, then I set the noodle mass back down on top of the cooking egg, which breaks it up. Give it a minute to cook most of the way, then stir everything around so the egg is well distributed.
Now pull out a noodle and eat. It will be chewier than Italian pasta noodles, but shouldn't be hard-chewy, if it's hard-chewy keep stirring and cooking till it's soft-chewy :)
When ready, plate it with a generous sprinkle of cilantro on top, and repeat with the second half of ingredients. When you're done cooking, take a spare plate or serving dish and make little piles with the rest of the peanuts and cilantro, along with several lime wedges and serve this along side. If you like things spicy, consider also putting a small amount of chili powder out or, if you're D, just grab the bottle of Sriracha and go to town...
the bad news, is this dish has over 1300 calories per serving, though as I said, these are generous servings, so you may end up saving some for later (if you're me), or just eating it all (if you're D). Good news is that each serving (half the recipe) has 52 grams of protein per 55 grams of fat... so it's freakin' chock full of protein (shrimp and peanuts leading here, with egg and noodles helping). For a healthier dish, leave out the peanuts (reducing the fat almost by half and the protein by 1/5th, for a 1,000 calorie dish with 41 grams of protein per 34 grams fat).
Anyway - this was calculated using The Daily Plate, where I created a custom dish using the exact ingredients and quantity in my recipe, but I can't seem to link directly to the dish's nutritional breakdown, so I'll just give you the rundown...
Calories - 1312
Fat - 55 grams
Cholesterol -463mg
Sodium - 1843 mg
Carbs - 156 grams
Sugar - 46 grams
Fiber - 10 grams
Protein - 52 grams
And everyone seemed pleased with it, though, granted, a lot of alcohol was consumed by some, so their critique might not be creditable...
Monday, May 11, 2009
Quote of the Day.
D gets home from being off at the Uni most of the day, and declares -
"I thought of two great ways we could ruin our marriage...
we could both go to the same law school at the same time,
or we could ride TransIowa together, on a tandem."
"I thought of two great ways we could ruin our marriage...
we could both go to the same law school at the same time,
or we could ride TransIowa together, on a tandem."
Sunday, April 19, 2009
The last nine days.
I swear, I may not be employed, for other people, for money, but I do manage to stay busy.
Like yesterday. I made yogurt. (It's like, stunningly easy).
Heat milk to 185 degress F. Cool it to 120 degrees F. Add some yogurt (straight out of the store bought container). Let sit for four hours.
The hardest part is the Letting It Sit, as it needs to maintain a temp around 115F. When I start heating the milk, I turn my oven to pre-heat on it's lowest temp, which is 170. I let it warm up for a few minutes, then turn it off. By the time I've got the milk ready it's just warm enough to help the pot maintain it's temp in the closed oven. Other people do things like put it in a small cooler partly filled with warm water, etc.
It's more liquidy than you'd expect - but it solidifies a bit once it chills in the fridge.
I can't tell you how super-delicious it is, cause I don't eat yogurt... D had most of a jar for breakfast this morning, before he left, well before I woke up... so it can't be That bad. I'll let you know the verdict when he gets home!
P.S. I'm also making self-watering planters out of Rubbermaid bins, I've got over 2 dozen peppers sprouted with tomatoes and eggplant on the way, our backyard neighbors and I are going to be constructing raised beds, the compost pile is starting to really look good, I planted strawberries and rhubarb this last week, and I've got some asperagus that needs some dirt in the next few days... AND the two artichoke plants seem to be really happy... not to mention the watermelon... photos soon.
Like yesterday. I made yogurt. (It's like, stunningly easy).
Heat milk to 185 degress F. Cool it to 120 degrees F. Add some yogurt (straight out of the store bought container). Let sit for four hours.
The hardest part is the Letting It Sit, as it needs to maintain a temp around 115F. When I start heating the milk, I turn my oven to pre-heat on it's lowest temp, which is 170. I let it warm up for a few minutes, then turn it off. By the time I've got the milk ready it's just warm enough to help the pot maintain it's temp in the closed oven. Other people do things like put it in a small cooler partly filled with warm water, etc.
It's more liquidy than you'd expect - but it solidifies a bit once it chills in the fridge.
I can't tell you how super-delicious it is, cause I don't eat yogurt... D had most of a jar for breakfast this morning, before he left, well before I woke up... so it can't be That bad. I'll let you know the verdict when he gets home!P.S. I'm also making self-watering planters out of Rubbermaid bins, I've got over 2 dozen peppers sprouted with tomatoes and eggplant on the way, our backyard neighbors and I are going to be constructing raised beds, the compost pile is starting to really look good, I planted strawberries and rhubarb this last week, and I've got some asperagus that needs some dirt in the next few days... AND the two artichoke plants seem to be really happy... not to mention the watermelon... photos soon.
Friday, April 10, 2009
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Avocado, like whoa!
I can't decide what I like more, the potential avocado trees, or how they look all lined up before they start growing!
Monday, March 23, 2009
Wait, wait...
If I'm bashing the financial services company involved, I also ought to bash D...
cause three weeks ago I went through and researched and found the company I wanted this money to go to, and then I researched some more to figure out exactly what two funds at said company I wanted this money to go to...
and I considered our other investments and analyzed risk and pondered asset allocation, blah, blah, blah...
and I told D - these are the two funds, at the one company, that I think we should put this money into, and he was all like - "That doesn't sound very good to me, e-mail me all the info and I'll let you know what I think we should invest in."
And besides the obvious that the boy should just listen to what I say, I figured, whatever, we wants to feel involved, he's actually interested in a monetary decision I should run with this! Except it wasn't until TODAY that he finally decided to read what I had sent over, check the links, and make his Pronouncement!
Which was that he thought we should do exactly what I said in the first place.
Note - between last week and this week (including the lovely jump today)... between the time we could have invested the money if he had read the info when I originally sent it and now... the S&P 500 has gone up over 9%.
Be this a lesson to all of you, whether you're one of my financial services companys' reps, or my husband -
DO WHAT I SAY. I AM RIGHT. ALWAYS.
cause three weeks ago I went through and researched and found the company I wanted this money to go to, and then I researched some more to figure out exactly what two funds at said company I wanted this money to go to...
and I considered our other investments and analyzed risk and pondered asset allocation, blah, blah, blah...
and I told D - these are the two funds, at the one company, that I think we should put this money into, and he was all like - "That doesn't sound very good to me, e-mail me all the info and I'll let you know what I think we should invest in."
And besides the obvious that the boy should just listen to what I say, I figured, whatever, we wants to feel involved, he's actually interested in a monetary decision I should run with this! Except it wasn't until TODAY that he finally decided to read what I had sent over, check the links, and make his Pronouncement!
Which was that he thought we should do exactly what I said in the first place.
Note - between last week and this week (including the lovely jump today)... between the time we could have invested the money if he had read the info when I originally sent it and now... the S&P 500 has gone up over 9%.
Be this a lesson to all of you, whether you're one of my financial services companys' reps, or my husband -
DO WHAT I SAY. I AM RIGHT. ALWAYS.
Stupid.
So, I'm all for feminism, or internet-age privacy concerns, or whatever it is at work here... but I'm pretty sure, way back in the day, if a wife called up the phone company and wanted to talk specifics about her phone service, except the account was in her husband's name, nobody would have thought twice about helping her.
So, we needed to get D's Retirement Account from his last job, rolled over, or should I say, Rolled Out Of, where it was - so I called up a financial services company, talked on the phone with this nice woman, she connected through to my computer, in some cool and kinda weird way, and we went through the set-up process together, where I could enter info, but she could also enter info on the same screen... it was good times. When I called I was a little unsure if they'd work with me or not, since I made it quite clear that it was my husband's account, in my husband's name.
No problem. We got everything established.
So, I got my computer back the other day and tried to log onto his account, and since it was a new computer they wanted me to answer some of the security questions before they let me through... I really hate security questions. For most of our financial stuff, we have both our names on our accounts, but I'm the one who's usually logging onto them... but some of them are just in D's name, and I want him to be able to log onto them too, so I never know, when the security question is "What was the name of your first pet?" - if I answered the question with D's first pet or My first pet or the first pet that jumped into my head (and there's a good half dozen between the two of us)... we won't even get started on This particular financial services company, who's security question was "What was the name of your first boy/girlfriend?" Freakin' brilliant!
So, I answered it, and it told me I was wrong, and gave me a new question, which was the date of our wedding. I answered that correctly (I'm pretty sure), and it kept telling me I was answering it wrong. So, then I figured I must have typo-ed when I set it up, so I made D give me back his computer, so I could log on with the computer I used to use. It let me log in, I re-answered the security questions to make sure I they were what I thought, and I went back to my computer, but it still wouldn't let me through. So I gave up for the day.
Today - three days later, I try again. Still won't let me through, when I KNOW I'm answering the questions correctly. So I called the company, to see if they'd unfreeze the account, and the snotty ass brat on the phone says he can tell me what the security measures are, and why I can't log in, but he can't fix the problem for me, since I'm not my husband.
So I can set up an account for my husband, but I can't access it once it's set up???
This happened a long time ago with our mobile phone company, and I just about yelled at the guy that since I was the one who paid the bill I damn well better be able to talk to a customer service rep about it, but I refrained (instead, I called them back three minutes later and said my name was D and I wanted to change my account :). This time I was really tempted to ask to speak with his supervisor... but whatever.
Anyway - I'm just missing the days when people didn't get divorced, and companies weren't afraid to give access to a person's spouse for fear that they were up to something malevolent...
details.
So, we needed to get D's Retirement Account from his last job, rolled over, or should I say, Rolled Out Of, where it was - so I called up a financial services company, talked on the phone with this nice woman, she connected through to my computer, in some cool and kinda weird way, and we went through the set-up process together, where I could enter info, but she could also enter info on the same screen... it was good times. When I called I was a little unsure if they'd work with me or not, since I made it quite clear that it was my husband's account, in my husband's name.
No problem. We got everything established.
So, I got my computer back the other day and tried to log onto his account, and since it was a new computer they wanted me to answer some of the security questions before they let me through... I really hate security questions. For most of our financial stuff, we have both our names on our accounts, but I'm the one who's usually logging onto them... but some of them are just in D's name, and I want him to be able to log onto them too, so I never know, when the security question is "What was the name of your first pet?" - if I answered the question with D's first pet or My first pet or the first pet that jumped into my head (and there's a good half dozen between the two of us)... we won't even get started on This particular financial services company, who's security question was "What was the name of your first boy/girlfriend?" Freakin' brilliant!
So, I answered it, and it told me I was wrong, and gave me a new question, which was the date of our wedding. I answered that correctly (I'm pretty sure), and it kept telling me I was answering it wrong. So, then I figured I must have typo-ed when I set it up, so I made D give me back his computer, so I could log on with the computer I used to use. It let me log in, I re-answered the security questions to make sure I they were what I thought, and I went back to my computer, but it still wouldn't let me through. So I gave up for the day.
Today - three days later, I try again. Still won't let me through, when I KNOW I'm answering the questions correctly. So I called the company, to see if they'd unfreeze the account, and the snotty ass brat on the phone says he can tell me what the security measures are, and why I can't log in, but he can't fix the problem for me, since I'm not my husband.
So I can set up an account for my husband, but I can't access it once it's set up???
This happened a long time ago with our mobile phone company, and I just about yelled at the guy that since I was the one who paid the bill I damn well better be able to talk to a customer service rep about it, but I refrained (instead, I called them back three minutes later and said my name was D and I wanted to change my account :). This time I was really tempted to ask to speak with his supervisor... but whatever.
Anyway - I'm just missing the days when people didn't get divorced, and companies weren't afraid to give access to a person's spouse for fear that they were up to something malevolent...
details.
Friday, March 20, 2009
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Quote of the Day -
D's looking for graham crackers in the cupboard.
M - Left. Left... left.
D - Which way is left???
M - Left. Left... left.
D - Which way is left???
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Quote of the Day -
D - Just because your intellect has the subtlety of a monster truck derby...
(5 minutes later)
D- You're either going to have to delete it, deal with putting it there without context, or look in the mirror.
(5 minutes later)
D- You're either going to have to delete it, deal with putting it there without context, or look in the mirror.
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Plant Markers.
I wanted plant markers the other day... as I was officially starting Seed Set #2. Not that at this point I'm very likely to mistake my eight peat pots of Artichoke seeds, with my three peat pots of Habanero Pepper seeds, but eventually (starting next weekend) I'll be ramping up the seed starting, two or three varieties each week, 4-8 pots of each variety, it's gonna be gettin' confusing.
The process started with my trusty typewriter (as most good processss do). I typed out plant names, spaced about an inch apart, in two long columns down several sheets of card stock. Repeating each name for the number of total plants I hope to end with (four times for each pepper variety, six times for each tomato, and so on).
I then cut up the paper and spread them out on the plastic sheets to laminate them.
(We won't get into why, exactly, I own a laminator, except to say that, like my typewriter, every time I find a reason to use it, I have more fun than is probably, strictly speaking, appropriate).
I then cut them out, again, yes the cutting got a little tiring. Especially considering the cutting standards I hold myself to.
Most of them got rubberbanded and stored for future use, but I deployed three right away!
Yay Artichokes!!!
The process started with my trusty typewriter (as most good processss do). I typed out plant names, spaced about an inch apart, in two long columns down several sheets of card stock. Repeating each name for the number of total plants I hope to end with (four times for each pepper variety, six times for each tomato, and so on).
Most of them got rubberbanded and stored for future use, but I deployed three right away!
Yay Artichokes!!!Friday, March 13, 2009
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Composting.
You start with a desire to Compost. And an old compost heap that "hasn't been doing much" according to our backyard neighbors. Note the plastic bucket, whole pumpkin and large openings. All, obviously, make for excellent composting.
Add some pallets, procured at no cost, via a woman on CraigsList! Nail three together.
Attach cardboard along sides to block openings.
P.S. The boxes that Curiak ships wheels in, are just the right measurements to be flattened along one side of a pallet.
P.P.S. They're also great for boxing up large framed pictures when moving...
Disregard that one pallet is crooked. This is not a sign of sub-par workmanship.
Add nitrogen-rich kitchen waste to the new heap, along with bits of the old heap which is all carbon-rich garden waste (with the exception of the two whole pumpkins...) in a ratio of 1:2 respectively. Eventually the new heap will be well filled and left for several months to finish the composting process, while new additions will then go in the "old" heap, with it's greatly diminished supply of garden waste, and a lower potential for stagnating from a lack of nitrogen.
Create the front door by attaching more cardboard to a fourth, ideally shorter, pallet. Be nice to the neighbors cat while you're at it.
And you'll have a happy compost heap.
"I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship."
Add some pallets, procured at no cost, via a woman on CraigsList! Nail three together.
Attach cardboard along sides to block openings. P.S. The boxes that Curiak ships wheels in, are just the right measurements to be flattened along one side of a pallet.
P.P.S. They're also great for boxing up large framed pictures when moving...
Disregard that one pallet is crooked. This is not a sign of sub-par workmanship.Add nitrogen-rich kitchen waste to the new heap, along with bits of the old heap which is all carbon-rich garden waste (with the exception of the two whole pumpkins...) in a ratio of 1:2 respectively. Eventually the new heap will be well filled and left for several months to finish the composting process, while new additions will then go in the "old" heap, with it's greatly diminished supply of garden waste, and a lower potential for stagnating from a lack of nitrogen.
Create the front door by attaching more cardboard to a fourth, ideally shorter, pallet. Be nice to the neighbors cat while you're at it.
And you'll have a happy compost heap.
"I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship."
Friday, March 6, 2009
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Grandmothers on YouTube!
A friend of ours has a cookbook full of "Depression" recipes.
Then again, you could just go directly to the Great-Grandmothers on YouTube. The woman is 93! And she talks about cops taking hatchets to barrels of whiskey after her neighbors rented out their garage to bootleggers.
Good times.
Then again, you could just go directly to the Great-Grandmothers on YouTube. The woman is 93! And she talks about cops taking hatchets to barrels of whiskey after her neighbors rented out their garage to bootleggers.
Good times.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
The obvious.
"Right now, having a $500 dinner for two feels like the post-crash version of owning a Hummer. Except not if your family is being supported by the guy serving the entrees."
-Gail Collins (vs. David Brooks in Let Them Eat a Little Bit of Cake)
I get annoyed when people do things like Bash banks for spending lots of money sponsoring events and otherwise vacationing clients and employees.
Does nobody understand that these events are planned upwards of a year in advance, were majorily paid for long before things started crashing down, and supply jobs for the people at the locations. This is what we need people with money to do. As I see the problem, too many people who didn't have money spent it, and banks let them do it... but that doesn't mean that people who do have money, shouldn't spend it, that just makes things worse.
Law makers seem to be doing a lot of un-thoughtful bitching and pandering... I'm not worried about the state of the banks, or the falling stock market, or the underlining housing crisis, or unemployment numbers (cause I'm one of them), I'm worried about all the stupid people in this country acting particularly stupid in the next couple years.
Sorry.
-Gail Collins (vs. David Brooks in Let Them Eat a Little Bit of Cake)
I get annoyed when people do things like Bash banks for spending lots of money sponsoring events and otherwise vacationing clients and employees.
Does nobody understand that these events are planned upwards of a year in advance, were majorily paid for long before things started crashing down, and supply jobs for the people at the locations. This is what we need people with money to do. As I see the problem, too many people who didn't have money spent it, and banks let them do it... but that doesn't mean that people who do have money, shouldn't spend it, that just makes things worse.
Law makers seem to be doing a lot of un-thoughtful bitching and pandering... I'm not worried about the state of the banks, or the falling stock market, or the underlining housing crisis, or unemployment numbers (cause I'm one of them), I'm worried about all the stupid people in this country acting particularly stupid in the next couple years.
Sorry.
I kid you not.
Muggle Lane.
Kiki Court.
Snaffle Bit Way.
Real streets in my town... developers should be required to pass an IQ test... a city and urban planning version of the bar exam... for everybody with any authority over sub-divisions, not just the professionals who actually lay out the streets.
P.S. Oral Zumwalt Way
Kiki Court.
Snaffle Bit Way.
Real streets in my town... developers should be required to pass an IQ test... a city and urban planning version of the bar exam... for everybody with any authority over sub-divisions, not just the professionals who actually lay out the streets.
P.S. Oral Zumwalt Way
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