I Love Today

Though blustery, today is an amazing 70 degrees and brilliantly sunny. I know many of you are still dealing with snow and frigid temps, so either this post will warm the frozen cockles of your heart, or make you really mad. I had to grab my camera and snap pics of the awesomeness outside (I'm trying very hard to avoid overused phrasing like "spring has sprung!" or "the earth is waking up!" so bear with me).

First the veggies.

From top to bottom are Oregon Snow Pod II peas, popping up nicely; Little Gem Lettuce seedlings; and one of many broccoli starts in the milk jugs growing true leaves. It was hard to get a good shot of the lettuce because it is SO bright and sunny outside, and because I couldn't get very close because of the mud between the rows.

Next up is the fruit:

It was next to impossible to get a decent shot of the blueberry buds with the wind whipping the branches around. These are the "Powder Blue" bushes that were rescued from certain death in the clearance section of the local feed store last fall, and they almost seem so grateful for the second chance at life that they are outpacing the "Misty Blue" bushes to bud.

Next are the flower buds:

These are buds on my little leaning pear tree. He may be slanted, but he's pretty.

These are buds on my beloved peach tree. It was worth braving the biting ice storm all day to break ice off of her.

And finally, the obligatory crocus shots, first blooms of spring:

Last year I didn't take any pictures of the crocus because I was waiting for all of the bulbing flowers to bloom, but they fizzled out before the tulips, etc. really got going. You can also see the pansies in the long shot, which came back despite being literally pansy-popsicles covered in several inches of ice. I deadheaded them last week and have been rewarded with big new blooms.

And lastly, the little human:

Mud. It does a baby good.



* I must take a moment to thank my husband once again for replacing our old craptastic camera this Christmas. I could have never gotten the bud shots with that old piece of junk. Good camera = good blog.

A Very Special Mutt Monday: The Thrilling Conclusion

Well friends, it's been three months since BD wandered into our yard and refused to leave. After a while, we really didn't mind and seriously entertained thoughts of keeping him. He's a loyal, loving, laid-back pooch, and sometimes I wished that the other two mutts would act more like him.

When our first attempt at rehoming him didn't work, we decided to get serious and sign him up for the Heartland Lab Rescue progam, so we'd know he'd be taken in by folks who desperately wanted a dog just like him. We offered to continue fostering him until he was adopted.

All things work out in the end. We were contacted last week by our coordinator saying that she had a family who fell in love with the pictures of BD on the rescue site, and they were looking for a dog that would be calm around their four small children. I don't know how many Labs fit that distinction, but BD is the ultimate kid-friendly dog. Just ask Joe.

 

We loaded him up and drove over an hour into the city to meet the potential new family at a Petco. BD gave Joe an in-car spa scalp drip treatment on the way. We met up with BD's New Fam and their sweet older Golden, and it was pretty much love at first wag.

 

It turns out that the eldest boy turns 7 this week, and BD will be his. We said our goodbyes, trying hard to remember that we did have two lazy mutts waiting for us when we got home. Later in the evening, I received an email from BD's New Mom, who let me know that everyone was getting along well and "acting like he's always been a member of the family." The Birthday Boy had even decided to keep the name "BD" since it also stood for "Birthday Dog." 

 

It will be a little quieter (and less hairy) in our house, but I'm so relieved that BD is where he was meant to be. This is really the start of a beautiful relationship between a boy and his dog and we feel honored to have played a role in it. I also came away feeling very positive about our fostering experience, and one day when Joe is older, I definitely want to do it again.

Oklahoma is Number 1...For Once

I wanted to jot down a quick post reflecting on my trip to the Annual Oklahoma Food Cooperative Meeting that I attended today with my partner-in-crime One Acre Homestead (Note: She actually took pictures, so be sure to check out her blog).

I wasn't quite sure what to expect from this gathering of producers and members, but I knew there'd be free food, and I'm all about that. There were also free samples of ridiculously good-smelling soaps and bath salts and a tantalizing display of worm castings (I know my non-gardening friends are throwing up in their mouths). We gathered in a large all-purpose room at the Moore-Norman Technology Center (who knew?) and the producers lined the perimeter of their room with tasty goodies while the members sat family-style at round tables in the middle and got to know each other. As we walked the gauntlet around the room, we really had to eat fast to make room on our plates for the bounty of local food there was to enjoy--it ALL looked good.

A few of the products I've already tasted in my first order, but there will be MANY more things added to my cart after this adventure. Things like cinnamon creamed honey, garlic yogurt cheese, feta-stuffed lamb sausage, whole wheat chocolate chip blondie brownies (OUT OF THIS WORLD, people)...it was quite the feast.

The famed yogurt cheese from Wagon Creek Creamery, and now a staple in my kitchen.

During the meeting we voted on at-large members and briefly discussed financials, but what stuck with me was something from the opening speech given by the VP for Customers. She said that there have been 16 statewide coops started throughout the country based on the Oklahoma model, and that for a state that is normally not too high up on other national lists (e.g. education) that's something we can really be proud of. What the OK Coop has right is the distribution--it's entirely volunteer-run and volunteers can actually earn work credits that can be applied towards their order. It's a workable, sustainable system that continues to improve itself.

I left feeling very excited about the decision I'd made to join the coop and fired up to spread the word. If you live in Oklahoma, I encourage you to check out the Coop. If you don't, click over to LocalHarvest.org to find a local coop or CSA in your area.

In Like a Lamb...

The last two days have been LOVELY outside. Low 60s, brilliant sunshine, brisk breeze. I'm trying to hover over the peas/spinach/lettuce that have already been planted, so I have been making myself busy in other areas of the garden. The weather has coordinated nicely with Joe taking an extra nap in the afternoons due to teething, so I'm taking it as a Universe signal that I need to play outside. Here's what I've been up to:

 

Today I planted onions (above), carrots, radishes, lettuce, and spinach in Quad 1. The carrots and radishes went in along the edges of rows of peas. We'll see how that goes. I still have LOTS of onion bulbs and carrots to plant, so we'll see where those get fit in. 

I checked in on the wintersown broccoli and lettuces in the milk jugs:

Cute, right? The broccoli is throwing out true leaves nicely, so hopefully they will be ready for transplanting in another week or two. Just like everything else, I think they were slowed down by the ice storm, and I'm hoping the weather stays mild enough for us to get a harvest from them. If not, we'll just leave them in until fall.

I am optimistic about the cauliflower seedlings that I started inside. I'm starting to harden off the biggest ones outside.

 

They looked so cheerful hanging out on the back porch, soaking in the rays. I hope the other 5 will be ready to join them by next week. Tomorrow is supposed to be another lovely day, so I tilled up Quad 2 this evening to get ready to plant potatoes.

 

 

Here is all 16lbs cut into pieces and drying on the kitchen table. I wonder how long it will take for me to get my kitchen table back...

Sweet Things

Well, hello there blogosphere. It's been a while, huh? I really didn't mean to let the last week slip away from me, but with traveling east and extra work assignments, I haven't had the brainpower to write up a post. I probably still don't, but I at least have cute pictures.

Last weekend, Joe and I flew to MD for my sister's bridal shower. My sister happens to think that I'm a huge dork for blogging, so I should take this opportunity to say HI SHIRLEA! She's getting married later this spring to a really swell guy. Here they are this past Thanksgiving, looking all in love and photogenic and stuff:

 

Yes, a collective "awww" is in order. 

Anyway, in preparing for the shower, I called upon an old friend from school who lives in the DC area to help us with dessert. Her name is Cara and she is the baker extraordinaire behind Cara Lee Cupcakes & Cakes (you should definitely click on that link for her adorable and delicious blog). Because my sister is marrying into an Irish family, fell in love with her fiance while traveling through Ireland, and is seriously obsessed with Gaelic music, we decided to go with an Irish theme for the shower. Here's what Cara came up with:

There were lots of tasty flavor combos of cake/buttercream (peanut butter chocolate, salted caramel, lavender vanilla, etc.) but the hands-down favorite was the "Irish Car Bomb" combo of Irish stout chocolate cake and Bailey's buttercream. Hoo boy, I think I had 5.

 

The rest of the shower was fairly typical of bridal showers. We laughed a lot. We cried. We played silly games (the Olympics are nothing compared to competitiveness of shower-goers). We hooted and hollered every time Shirlea broke a ribbon, which was easier said than done in some instances of industrial strength bows.

It was very satisfying to see my lil sis surrounded by supportive women and kitchen appliances. I'm not quite sure when it became a sacred ritual to bestow whisks and potholders upon the younger debutantes of the tribe, but there is a comfort in knowing that she will posess the basic tools of homemaking (if she so chooses to use them) and, more importantly, she has a gaggle of females who will be there to listen.

  

  

Spaghetti With Loveballs

On Sunday I gathered some of my local food purchases and several thousand cans of tomatoes and endeavored to make my Big Nonnie's spaghetti sauce with meatballs. As you might imagine, this dish is one that I grew up eating every time we visited Nonnie or she visited us. It wasn't until she and Grampa came to visit us here in Oklahoma this past spring that I realized what a huge chore it was to put on the extravaganza of the sauce, but man is it appreciated. As I cooked it this first time by myself (and yes, I had to call Nonnie to ask several questions as I went), I realized that one thing I'll never be able to replicate exactly is the feeling of family I get when I eat it. I'm sure every family has some dish like this; you can taste a lazy afternoon, hanging out with cousins, getting underfoot trying to take a taste, aunts and uncles laughing and talking, and culminating in a meal where we're all crammed around the kitchen table, extra chairs brought in from the bedrooms, and you know you're growing up when you want to linger afterwards at the table to talk with the adults instead of making a beeline for the living room and the library of Disney movies that Nonnie has on hand.

The best I can hope to do is cook it with as much love as I know it was cooked for me in the past, and hope that my own little family can taste it.

As for the actual ingredients, here goes:

Meatballs (makes about 30)

8 slices dry bread

2lbs ground beef

4 eggs

1c grated parmesan cheese

2t salt

1/4c parsley

2 cloves minced garlic

Dash pepper

 Soak bread in water for two or three minutes, then squeeze out moisture.  Combine bread with beef and rest of ingredients.  (You do this with your bare hands, wearing all of your jewelry. This is how Nonnie always did it and it's an art form.) Form small balls.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and bake balls at 350 degrees for only 20 minutes. They will finish cooking in the sauce.

 

Spaghetti Sauce (makes 4qts)

½ medium onion (~1 1/2c)

Olive oil (enough to coat pan ~ 1/3c)

2 cloves minced garlic

2 #2 ½ cans (7c) tomatoes

4 6oz cans (2 2/3c) tomato paste

2c water (use the water to “wash” the tomato cans)

2T sugar

1T salt

1/2t pepper

1T crushed oregano

 2 bay leaves

Cook onion and garlic in hot oil till tender but not brown.  Sir in the next eight ingredients (you're going to need a big pot).  Simmer, stirring occasionally for 30 minutes.  Remove bay leaves.  Add meat balls.  Continue cooking on low for another 2 hours.

What is missing from this original recipe are the following notes that were passed to me orally, and really, the dish isn't the same without them:

*Braise 2 bone-in pork chops (I used pork neck bones) and add to sauce with the meatballs.

*Add several Italian pork sausages (mostly cooked) to the sauce. 

*Add several hard-boiled eggs (peeled) to the sauce if you are serving that day. (If you haven't had spaghetti with hard-boiled eggs simmered in the sauce, YOU SHOULD.)

*Remove all meat and eggs prior to storing extra sauce (it freezes beautifully).

Be sure to have plenty of fresh Parmesan cheese on hand to dump liberally over the spaghetti, and enjoy as often as possible with good company. We recently fixed this dish at the One Acre Homestead across the street using a camp stove during the big ice storm, and then ate it by candlelight. It might have been the way we sort of improvised and gathered around the table together after a long, crazy day that really made it taste just right.

Lettuce Have Peas!

I woke up this morning to see that the ground was YET AGAIN covered with a layer of snow. I know that readers on the East Coast think I'm being ridiculous when I complain about the snow, but we live in SOUTHERN OKLAHOMA! In little over 3 months from now, the temperatures will be climbing close to 100 degrees. That means that we gardeners have precious few weeks--days!--in which to grow cold weather crops in the spring. With all the precipitation we've received, things just aren't looking good for sowing.

Phew.

However, by 11am, most of the snow had melted because the sun finally decided to make an appearance (nice of you to join us, mister!) and my grumpy mood had improved. I decided to take a few minutes to lay down some fresh compost in areas where the winds and rain (and dogs) had uncovered pea seeds. I was rewarded with a few of these little guys:

 

Peas! There are just a handful of these poking up, and only on the one row that we were able to keep covered with plastic during the ice storm last month. But my spirit is renewed, I will not give up. Come ON spring! 

P.S. I'm working on the post about Nonnie's spaghetti sauce with meatballs for tomorrow. Get excited, this may be the best recipe I post all year. ;)