Figuring it out

Pesticides.

April 28, 2010 in Cooking, Nutrition | 2 comments

Environmental Working Group has some good information. Choosing organic foods is important to me, but sometimes they are not available, the quality is poor or they are too expensive. They’ve compiled two lists: the dirty dozen (only buy organic) and the clean 15 (lowest in pesticides). Here is a link to a printable guide of their list.

Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides

Dirty Dozen	Clean 15
Buy these organic	Lowest in Pesticides
1. Celery	1. Onions
2. Peaches	2. Avocado
3. Strawberries	3. Sweet Corn
4. Apples	4. Pineapple
5. Blueberries	5. Mangos
6. Nectarines	6. Sweet Peas
7. Bell Peppers	7. Asparagus
8. Spinach	8. Kiwi
9. Kale	9. Cabbage
10. Cherries	10. Eggplant
11. Potatoes	11. Cantaloupe
12. Grapes (imported)	12. Watermelon
	13. Grapefruit
	14. Sweet Potato
	15. Honeydew Melon

Robin.

April 17, 2010 in Experiences | No comments

My newest peeping Tom - or Tomasina.

Starting seeds.

April 16, 2010 in Garden | No comments

We have a little farm in our basement. I started with sweet peas figuring that if I am successful with this lot, then I will start other plants from seeds as well. In early February I began my search for the most beautiful and lovely scented sweet peas. I ordered peas from Enchanting Sweet Peas, Fragrant Garden Nursery and Renee’s Garden Seeds. Plain and simple, I ordered too many – close to 300 seeds. So far, Enchanting Sweet Peas wins for most beautiful packaging. Planting 300 pea seeds all over our yard was challenging, however, I kept a record of which seeds I planted where so later I can judge flowering quality. Peter Rabbit mowed down about 2 feet of new plants a week ago even though I thought I had them well protected with little wire cages. Grrrr…

Purchasing and soaking seeds before planting.

After I soaked the peas, I used the sharp corner of a fingernail clipper to nick a little hole in the seed coat. Some of the seeds were so hard, I could not nick them. I put them to sprout in a separate tray and they did just fine, in spite of the “Bad Peas?” sign I posted.

It didn't take too long for these seeds to sprout. Then I put them under grow light bulbs.

After the 3rd set of leaves emerged, I took a few days to hardened the plants to the cooler weather outside.

One of the numerous places in the garden.

Quince.

April 13, 2010 in Experiences, Garden | No comments

We have a 3 types of quince in our yard. One never blooms because it is in shade and it is impossible to move.Another quince is a new red-flowered bush that will help cover our back hillside. We have five of those. This year I noticed that our double-salmon flowered quince has one branch of double-cream flowers. It is so beautiful. It must be from the root stock? I had nothing to do with it other than to notice.

white flowers on salmon quince

the original flower

the rogue double cream quince

The standard red quince, soon to cover our hillside.

Peeping Tom.

March 25, 2010 in Experiences | No comments

I felt as though I was being watched.

The neighbor boy.

Lemon steamed pudding.

March 7, 2010 in Cooking, Figured out | No comments

Delicious lemon steamed pudding from the book The Craft of Baking by Karen DeMasco & Mindy Fox.

Leo Laundry.

February 19, 2010 in Experiences | No comments

Leo helps with the laundry. Always. Nothing better than warm socks dropped on your head.

This can be dangerous if your eye is too close. Its okay for glasses wearers.

This part can be dangerous if your eyes or fingers are too close. Its okay for glasses wearers.

He will nail your toes too if he gets the chance.

He will nail your toes if he gets the chance...

...or the camera cord. Whoa - look at that speed.

Portland.

February 9, 2010 in Experiences | No comments

This is our Christmas gift - what a great idea!

This was our Christmas gift - what a great idea! Look closely at the dates on the bottles.

Mt. Hood from the car window

What a delightful weekend from beginning to end. Staying at McMenamins Edgefield near Portland,Oregon was a wonderful destination. An incredible soaking pool – huge, beautiful gardens, entertaining murals on every wall of the old poor farm – way too much to include here. I suggest scheduling a massage right away so you get a full hour. Our half hour set the stage for a great day. The food is okay and their beer is great. If you’ve never had milk-chocolate stout, this is the place. I wish I had taken pictures of us playing darts. I didn’t do too badly – actually had a sore arm the next day. HA! For brunch one day I was able to connect with a dear friend, whom I had not seen for 20 years , which was an added plus. On Saturday night I had the best Southeast Asian food I have ever eaten atPok Pok Restaurant in Portland. We lived in this city when we were in our 20’s, so we had to drive by the old abodes. Nothing stays the same, but it brought back great memories. On the way home we stopped at the FishTale Brew Pub in Olympia. Good food, great brew. We picked up a couple of growlers for the Super Bowl Game. What a weekend.

Ruby's spa at McMenamin's Edgefield

our first Portland apartment missing the leaded glass windows

our first house - not the same anymore

fellow travelers

Fish Stew.

December 18, 2009 in Cooking | No comments

This is Real Simple smokey fish stew from the January 2010 magazine of the same name. It was delicious. Served with crusty parmesan baguette and a crisp 2007 Albariño (Torre Fornelos).