A little Stellar Jay from last year.
Special effects courtesy of my new ipad app
Special effects courtesy of my new ipad app
Sunday, January 27, 2013
Heaven
My resolution is continuing nicely. I'm trying really hard to stick to it despite a few obstacles.
I decided to try A Barefoot Contessa recipe from the new cookbook Foolproof that I got at Christmas. I bought the ingredients on Thursday after work intending to make it Friday night. I did my best with the ingredients. The gorgonzola wasn't exactly what was indicated in the recipe but my supermarket only had one kind. Fresh basil is also hard to find so I substituted my home made pesto from my garden grown basil. The tagliatelle I could not find or at least the stuff I saw looked like angel hair pasta and the picture looked more like thick fettuchini. The rest was pretty easy to buy cream, prosciutto, peas, garlic, onions, and parmesan.
On Friday I was almost derailed again when I found out that my hubby lost his job that day. Granted he had only been working there five months after being laid off previously but it is always a kick in the pants never the less. I guess if there is a silver lining he had been looking for something better as he really hated it. I didn't feel much like cooking but instead of wallowing I poured us a nice glass of wine and I got cooking. I was so glad I did because the results were delicious! It was just what we needed.
I decided to try A Barefoot Contessa recipe from the new cookbook Foolproof that I got at Christmas. I bought the ingredients on Thursday after work intending to make it Friday night. I did my best with the ingredients. The gorgonzola wasn't exactly what was indicated in the recipe but my supermarket only had one kind. Fresh basil is also hard to find so I substituted my home made pesto from my garden grown basil. The tagliatelle I could not find or at least the stuff I saw looked like angel hair pasta and the picture looked more like thick fettuchini. The rest was pretty easy to buy cream, prosciutto, peas, garlic, onions, and parmesan.
On Friday I was almost derailed again when I found out that my hubby lost his job that day. Granted he had only been working there five months after being laid off previously but it is always a kick in the pants never the less. I guess if there is a silver lining he had been looking for something better as he really hated it. I didn't feel much like cooking but instead of wallowing I poured us a nice glass of wine and I got cooking. I was so glad I did because the results were delicious! It was just what we needed.
Saturday, January 26, 2013
Spring is coming!
Oh yes, I'm sure of it.... well maybe. I saw some buds on a Magnolia tree so that is my first sign. Yes, and the snow is starting to melt. I'm still putting out some suet for the Stellar Jays, Flickers, Thrush, Juncos and the little native squirrel that has been hanging around. I feel pretty sorry for them this time of year, I know it must be hard to find food. Summer they are on their own.
I'm all signed up for a couple of seminars at Amsterdam Greenhouse. The first one is slated for February 9th, starting seeds indoors. I want to take a trip there anyway and buy some soil for my seed starters and perhaps some seeds.
I saw something very intriguing while looking on Pintrest the other day and it looks like a very cool idea. It is for making mini greenhouses out of milk cartons. I have actually been saving them for a couple of weeks for the spring to put over my tender plants but this is a really cool idea.
The link for the article is on Kevin Lee Jacob's website A Garden for the House. I haven't had the time to really look at his website entirely but it looks great. I can't wait to explore it. There are some pretty cool ideas here! This will be great to start all those flowers I want to put in the back yard. The nice thing is that they will pretty much be hardened off as well. Not like the ones I'm going to start inside. I will probably start my tomatoes and cucumbers and eggplant inside but from the sounds of it they would be fine outside according to this method.
I'm also thinking of doing a small raised bed in a dead area of the yard. Herbs and perhaps chard/kale/spinach and some lettuces would do well there. Unless of course they are tasty to the racoons. The rest will be flowers, flowers flowers!
I'm all signed up for a couple of seminars at Amsterdam Greenhouse. The first one is slated for February 9th, starting seeds indoors. I want to take a trip there anyway and buy some soil for my seed starters and perhaps some seeds.
I saw something very intriguing while looking on Pintrest the other day and it looks like a very cool idea. It is for making mini greenhouses out of milk cartons. I have actually been saving them for a couple of weeks for the spring to put over my tender plants but this is a really cool idea.
The link for the article is on Kevin Lee Jacob's website A Garden for the House. I haven't had the time to really look at his website entirely but it looks great. I can't wait to explore it. There are some pretty cool ideas here! This will be great to start all those flowers I want to put in the back yard. The nice thing is that they will pretty much be hardened off as well. Not like the ones I'm going to start inside. I will probably start my tomatoes and cucumbers and eggplant inside but from the sounds of it they would be fine outside according to this method.
I'm also thinking of doing a small raised bed in a dead area of the yard. Herbs and perhaps chard/kale/spinach and some lettuces would do well there. Unless of course they are tasty to the racoons. The rest will be flowers, flowers flowers!
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Monday, January 21, 2013
Beautiful!
I have to post some pictures of my beautiful Amaryllis.
It is probably one of the most beautiful ones I have ever had. It has three stems on it and two of them are in full bloom. Really nice to have something like this in the house when it is so wintery outside.
It is probably one of the most beautiful ones I have ever had. It has three stems on it and two of them are in full bloom. Really nice to have something like this in the house when it is so wintery outside.
Resolutions
I don't make normal resolutions, they are too easy to break.
I try and make mine fun. No not eating wheat, drinking wine, coffee, going to the gym every day. I know it just wouldn't work. Sure I might do it for a week or two but it is too boring for me.
I got four new cookbooks this year and my resolution was to try and cook something new from each every week. Even that I had trouble with. Who knew that ingredients were so hard to find.
One of the books I received was the new Barefoot Contessa book Foolproof. Great book with pretty nice looking recipes. The first recipe I chose looked pretty easy. It was a pasta dish with two kinds of sausage and a vegetable I had never tried before called Broccoli Rabe. Simple right? First I had to hunt for the pasta. It was a dried pasta called Orecchiette. My grocery store used to have a specialty isle for imported pasta but when I went to look they had gotten rid of it and there were just mason jars there instead. I looked for Broccoli Rabe, again a big no. I knew I saw it the week before at Kins which was why I thought I could try this recipe. I went to Kins next and this week they did not have it. I had already bought the sausage and I asked if just regular Broccoli would do and I was told that no, it has a very distinct taste. However, I did find the Orecchiette at an Italian market around the corner, Yay!
Intrigued, I kept hunting. To make a long story short I checked out three more stores including Whole Foods and even they didn't have it. I finally found it of all places at Extra Foods. I'm thinking that wow, if this is good maybe I will have to try growing some in the garden.
The recipe was pretty simple and I loved the Orecchiette, lovely little pockets that were filled with a yummy tomato sauce. The Broccoli Rabe, well.... definitely an acquired taste. It has a kind of bitter taste which wasn't bad but I can't say that I loved it. Kind of like kale, I don't mind it but I'm not loving it... yet. I'm not altogether done with it and who knows I may try growing it.
I try and make mine fun. No not eating wheat, drinking wine, coffee, going to the gym every day. I know it just wouldn't work. Sure I might do it for a week or two but it is too boring for me.
I got four new cookbooks this year and my resolution was to try and cook something new from each every week. Even that I had trouble with. Who knew that ingredients were so hard to find.
One of the books I received was the new Barefoot Contessa book Foolproof. Great book with pretty nice looking recipes. The first recipe I chose looked pretty easy. It was a pasta dish with two kinds of sausage and a vegetable I had never tried before called Broccoli Rabe. Simple right? First I had to hunt for the pasta. It was a dried pasta called Orecchiette. My grocery store used to have a specialty isle for imported pasta but when I went to look they had gotten rid of it and there were just mason jars there instead. I looked for Broccoli Rabe, again a big no. I knew I saw it the week before at Kins which was why I thought I could try this recipe. I went to Kins next and this week they did not have it. I had already bought the sausage and I asked if just regular Broccoli would do and I was told that no, it has a very distinct taste. However, I did find the Orecchiette at an Italian market around the corner, Yay!
Intrigued, I kept hunting. To make a long story short I checked out three more stores including Whole Foods and even they didn't have it. I finally found it of all places at Extra Foods. I'm thinking that wow, if this is good maybe I will have to try growing some in the garden.
The recipe was pretty simple and I loved the Orecchiette, lovely little pockets that were filled with a yummy tomato sauce. The Broccoli Rabe, well.... definitely an acquired taste. It has a kind of bitter taste which wasn't bad but I can't say that I loved it. Kind of like kale, I don't mind it but I'm not loving it... yet. I'm not altogether done with it and who knows I may try growing it.
Sunday, December 30, 2012
To Do List
One of the things on my To Do List was to plan what to plant where in the garden. Keeping in mind that I don't want to plant things where they have been before it can be a bit tricky in a small garden. I think I have pretty much figured it out with a bit of juggling. I know when the time comes things usually change a bit. I don't know if I will be organized enough to get those wire potato cages done with all the compost that goes in them or if I will be able to get some kind of a better cover for my tomatoes this year. Already I'm feeling a bit stressed about it. Then there is the matter of the fence between my plot and the one next door. I have good intentions but my intentions include my hubby and both of us are building challenged. Saws scare me. I wish my Dad could help, he was an amazing carpenter and would be able to whip up something no problem.
There is also the matter of my back yard at home. It is lovely but now that I have lived with it for 6 months I can see some things need "adjusting". I'm going to wait and see if there are any surprises that come up in spring but a few things need to go and a few things need to be planted in the spots. Number one I want more flowers. There are a few evergreen shrubs in the flower beds and they need to go before they get too big. Homes will be found for them!
Then there is the matter of the Kiwi vine that is growing up to the back upstairs deck. Having never had a kiwi plant before and not knowing what to expect I thought I would wait and see. Well, I've waited and it was just a leafy vine with lots of big spiders in it. Spiders scare me. I know they are good and I steer clear of them but they still scare me. I think they are scared of me too. I chopped a bunch of it down in the fall but it will probably have to be dug out. I thought a honeysuckle would be nice and my little hummingbirds would love it. Pretty much that is the plan for the back yard gradually introduce lots of flowers for the hummingbirds, butterflies and bees. Perhaps a few flowers for inside too. Love Dahlias! Then there is the dead space right by the deck. Doesn't get a lot of sun and I don't think the soil is that deep but I might build a raised bed and grow herbs there or at least try to. Herbs I find are better close to home. Having them in my garden plot is pretty inconvenient.
Happy New Year!
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