We interrupt your regularly scheduled gardening related post to talk about receipts. Perhaps you, my darling smart readers, are already aware of this. Quite frankly, I hadn't really given it a thought, but a discussion in my house this weekend came about as I was throwing away a receipt. It went kind of like this:
Me: "Do you need this receipt?"
DH: "No."
Me: *crumples up receipt and throws away*
DH: "What are you doing?!? Recycle!!!"
Me: "You can't recycle receipts. It's not the right kind of paper. It's THERMAL, or something."
DH: "What?! You're crazy. Google it."
Me: "Oh Google, how did we ever solve disputes before you?"
Long story short, you can't recycle receipts, and I had somehow absorbed that knowledge, but I don't know why or from where. The thermal (shiny, slick) paper has actually been shown to have BPA in them. Yes, the same BPA's we are constantly confused now on plastic materials. :)
Did you guys know this???
Proof is in the pudding. Or in this article. =) What other green things have you found surprising?
Jan 29, 2013
Jan 28, 2013
Spring Fever
A friend of mine recently wrote in her own blog about having a case of spring fever. =) Well, today, in Wichita, the temperature is supposed to reach 70 degrees... IN JANUARY!!!!
I, however, am longing for winter, I have not worn all of my favorite sweaters, still haven't used my new snow shovel I bought for LAST YEAR, or had nearly enough hot cocoa. Oh, how I long for shovel-able snow. (I realize this is weird. I'm from Texas, snow is still a novelty.)
I'm afraid that my dear friend has nature on her side, though, as my plants seem to be in agreement. Here come the daffodils!
I also planted 50 grape hyacinth to go with the daffodils, and they are creeping up. I'm a little afraid I'll lose some to the wacky temperatures we've been having, but we'll see.
I hope I get to see what I envisioned when I planted them last fall. Meanwhile, all this warmth means just one other thing has gotten a head start this year... THE WEEDS. I refuse to pull weeds until at least March. Gosh, Mother Nature, get it together, man.
I realize that last sentence made absolutely no sense. But weeds make me CRAZY!! There they go, taking over the neighborhood! Happy Monday. =)
I, however, am longing for winter, I have not worn all of my favorite sweaters, still haven't used my new snow shovel I bought for LAST YEAR, or had nearly enough hot cocoa. Oh, how I long for shovel-able snow. (I realize this is weird. I'm from Texas, snow is still a novelty.)
I'm afraid that my dear friend has nature on her side, though, as my plants seem to be in agreement. Here come the daffodils!
I also planted 50 grape hyacinth to go with the daffodils, and they are creeping up. I'm a little afraid I'll lose some to the wacky temperatures we've been having, but we'll see.
I hope I get to see what I envisioned when I planted them last fall. Meanwhile, all this warmth means just one other thing has gotten a head start this year... THE WEEDS. I refuse to pull weeds until at least March. Gosh, Mother Nature, get it together, man.
Jan 7, 2013
Only somewhat related to gardening...
A couple of days before the new year arrived, I decided to take a step back from facebook. With wi-fi everywhere I go and an iPad, it had gotten to be quite a habit for me: wake up, check facebook, look at every single notification all day, anytime I was bored, before bed. All of these few checks adding up to who knows how much productive time!!
One of my friends had, at one point, deleted her facebook account. Now, I'm not going to go that far. Facebook is, for me, a way to keep in touch with all the people I know from living all over. I love seeing pictures of kiddos and knowing what's going on in my friends' lives, especially when I don't get to see them every day. I have a very small list of people that I'm friends with on facebook, people that I am really friends with in real life. I don't often just sit on facebook, definitely don't play games, etc. However, I started wondering what the benefit was for me to be constantly on facebook.
In other words, a little personal gardening needed to be done. =) I want to make sure that the friends that I love and value get the treatment they deserve. A little bit of this is a re-ordering of my life too. I've been known to give and give until that's the basis of my friendships, which is not fair to me. I need to re-evaluate both what and who are important to me every great once in a while.
Since I've stepped back, I've sent more texts and e-mails to friends because I was thinking about them randomly. I've picked up the phone to call my family more often. I've also found that no one has noticed my absence from constantly checking facebook, or at least no one has commented on it. =) All the things I've learned from gardening relate to real life: patience, nurturing, tenderness, balance. I know, like any good gardener, that I need to find my balance, and I trust that I will soon.
One of my friends had, at one point, deleted her facebook account. Now, I'm not going to go that far. Facebook is, for me, a way to keep in touch with all the people I know from living all over. I love seeing pictures of kiddos and knowing what's going on in my friends' lives, especially when I don't get to see them every day. I have a very small list of people that I'm friends with on facebook, people that I am really friends with in real life. I don't often just sit on facebook, definitely don't play games, etc. However, I started wondering what the benefit was for me to be constantly on facebook.
In other words, a little personal gardening needed to be done. =) I want to make sure that the friends that I love and value get the treatment they deserve. A little bit of this is a re-ordering of my life too. I've been known to give and give until that's the basis of my friendships, which is not fair to me. I need to re-evaluate both what and who are important to me every great once in a while.
Since I've stepped back, I've sent more texts and e-mails to friends because I was thinking about them randomly. I've picked up the phone to call my family more often. I've also found that no one has noticed my absence from constantly checking facebook, or at least no one has commented on it. =) All the things I've learned from gardening relate to real life: patience, nurturing, tenderness, balance. I know, like any good gardener, that I need to find my balance, and I trust that I will soon.
Jan 4, 2013
Random
This is a somewhat circuitous story about the trees in my backyard. You're welcome in advance for your daily laugh. =)
Since the trees close to the deck in the backyard have been removed, I'm almost certain I won't see Fluffy again. He's made two appearances on this blog, which, as you know, makes him quite famous. You can read those posts here and here.
He, like me, liked those trees. I'm almost certain they made him feel safe and stately while on his lofty perch. I haven't seen him in quite some time, and perhaps he's just been busy hunting for his dinner, but...
I randomly yell, "Fluffy!!!" When I'm driving around town and see a red-tailed hawk. So, if you see me randomly yelling while driving around town, you'll know why and won't think I'm a crazy person. Well, I guess you might still think I'm a crazy person. Happy Friday!
Since the trees close to the deck in the backyard have been removed, I'm almost certain I won't see Fluffy again. He's made two appearances on this blog, which, as you know, makes him quite famous. You can read those posts here and here.
He, like me, liked those trees. I'm almost certain they made him feel safe and stately while on his lofty perch. I haven't seen him in quite some time, and perhaps he's just been busy hunting for his dinner, but...
I randomly yell, "Fluffy!!!" When I'm driving around town and see a red-tailed hawk. So, if you see me randomly yelling while driving around town, you'll know why and won't think I'm a crazy person. Well, I guess you might still think I'm a crazy person. Happy Friday!
Dec 17, 2012
The Royal Herb
Aside: The word Basil comes from Greek, meaning "royal."
Basil. It's a truly wonderful thing. In fact, I often comment that I "should have planted more." No matter how much I plant, I always feel that way. Basil is a wonderfully fragrant herb and gives great flavor to dishes, and even better, can be used to make pesto. Pesto also has many uses, so basil is the herb that keeps on giving.
This year, when my garden was taken over by unnamed persons, I knew I should have lots of basil coming. I had planted a lot, it was a hot growing season (which basil loves) and I was already dreaming of pesto. Yes, readers, I dream about pesto. =)
One day, I inquired about the basil. This gardening novice knew nothing about frequent harvesting of basil, and had let it flower. Once it flowers, folks, it's the end of the basil. So, I took what was out there and ran inside to make some glorious pesto.
Aside: I have been known, on occasion to make people in my kitchen stop what they're doing and smell the pesto. I've just decided, "Stop and smell the pesto," is my new life motto.
If you look closely in the photo below, you can see the tiny white flowers at the top left.
When you are growing basil, pinch off the tops when it starts to get tall or show signs of flowering. You can also just pinch off a small amount if you need a bit for a recipe. It will continue to produce a lot more, until the weather turns cold. For now, you can buy basil at the store, or try your local nursery to see what herbs they have available in plant or seed form.
Food note: If you find yourself with too much basil, send it to me. Okay, but seriously. You can dry basil to save it by hanging it upside down and then crushing the leaves. However, I prefer to harvest it fresh, make a quick pesto, and then freeze that pesto. It freezes and defrosts beautifully and then you can have the taste of summer all year round. Below are two of my favorite recipes for pesto. Enjoy!
Pasta with Pesto Cream Sauce
Grilled Veggie Pizza with Pesto
Basil. It's a truly wonderful thing. In fact, I often comment that I "should have planted more." No matter how much I plant, I always feel that way. Basil is a wonderfully fragrant herb and gives great flavor to dishes, and even better, can be used to make pesto. Pesto also has many uses, so basil is the herb that keeps on giving.
This year, when my garden was taken over by unnamed persons, I knew I should have lots of basil coming. I had planted a lot, it was a hot growing season (which basil loves) and I was already dreaming of pesto. Yes, readers, I dream about pesto. =)
One day, I inquired about the basil. This gardening novice knew nothing about frequent harvesting of basil, and had let it flower. Once it flowers, folks, it's the end of the basil. So, I took what was out there and ran inside to make some glorious pesto.
Aside: I have been known, on occasion to make people in my kitchen stop what they're doing and smell the pesto. I've just decided, "Stop and smell the pesto," is my new life motto.
If you look closely in the photo below, you can see the tiny white flowers at the top left.
When you are growing basil, pinch off the tops when it starts to get tall or show signs of flowering. You can also just pinch off a small amount if you need a bit for a recipe. It will continue to produce a lot more, until the weather turns cold. For now, you can buy basil at the store, or try your local nursery to see what herbs they have available in plant or seed form.
Food note: If you find yourself with too much basil, send it to me. Okay, but seriously. You can dry basil to save it by hanging it upside down and then crushing the leaves. However, I prefer to harvest it fresh, make a quick pesto, and then freeze that pesto. It freezes and defrosts beautifully and then you can have the taste of summer all year round. Below are two of my favorite recipes for pesto. Enjoy!
Pasta with Pesto Cream Sauce
Grilled Veggie Pizza with Pesto
Dec 14, 2012
Jalapeño Business
What does a nosy pepper do?
Gets jalapeño business.
One not-so-great thing about having a garden can be overproduction of a certain crop. Depending on the year and conditions, you can have a surplus of just about anything. To this point, I've only tried to grow enough produce for two people. I don't want to get into canning and preserving, because that's more time and energy than I am willing to give/have at this point in my life. Heck, readers, I can barely find time to blog as of late.
Anyway, back to the point of this post. Jalapeños and peppers in general are one of the things that I love having in excess. Notably, because they freeze well. I take my extra peppers, like so:
Simply place them in a freezer bag and stick them right into the freezer. I like to make salsa year round, and I've found that you can throw a frozen pepper right into your food processor straight from the freezer. No cutting of the stem required! The last few years it has worked out that I am running out of peppers by the time the next planting season is rolling around. That's pretty perfect for me.
Food note: I usually like to roast my peppers on a fall day, when I can have the windows wide open. You can blacken them on a cast-iron skillet (or comal like I do), or under the broiler for a few minutes. (Watch carefully if you choose this method, as they will quickly become burned if you turn away.)
Once the skin is charred, wrap them in a paper towel and put in a plastic baggy and let sit. When cooled, you'll rub the blackened skin right off and stick in bags to freeze. The added flavor is amazing, but be warned... Your house will be a little spicy-smelling and smoky; Thus the reason I prefer to do it with the windows wide open. =)
Gets jalapeño business.
One not-so-great thing about having a garden can be overproduction of a certain crop. Depending on the year and conditions, you can have a surplus of just about anything. To this point, I've only tried to grow enough produce for two people. I don't want to get into canning and preserving, because that's more time and energy than I am willing to give/have at this point in my life. Heck, readers, I can barely find time to blog as of late.
Anyway, back to the point of this post. Jalapeños and peppers in general are one of the things that I love having in excess. Notably, because they freeze well. I take my extra peppers, like so:
Food note: I usually like to roast my peppers on a fall day, when I can have the windows wide open. You can blacken them on a cast-iron skillet (or comal like I do), or under the broiler for a few minutes. (Watch carefully if you choose this method, as they will quickly become burned if you turn away.)
Once the skin is charred, wrap them in a paper towel and put in a plastic baggy and let sit. When cooled, you'll rub the blackened skin right off and stick in bags to freeze. The added flavor is amazing, but be warned... Your house will be a little spicy-smelling and smoky; Thus the reason I prefer to do it with the windows wide open. =)
Aug 21, 2012
Under New Management
My garden has been taken over, by persons that shall not be named who have grand plans for said garden. Honestly, my 2 small squares were enough to keep me busy, so I gave said person my garden when said grand plans were hatched. Not much has produced this summer because of the heat and because frankly, I think my garden feels betrayed. =)
Honestly, I feel a little lost without it too. This blog and that small patch of earth have provided a writing and creative outlet that I love. So, dear friends and avid readers (Read: the 2 of you know who you are.): Help. What should become of this blog? Is there anything else you'd like me to write about? Or, should I let my small plot of land rest in peace?
Honestly, I feel a little lost without it too. This blog and that small patch of earth have provided a writing and creative outlet that I love. So, dear friends and avid readers (Read: the 2 of you know who you are.): Help. What should become of this blog? Is there anything else you'd like me to write about? Or, should I let my small plot of land rest in peace?
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