Method to My Madness (and Fish)

My refridgerator has some weird stuff in it, lately. Besides a whole shelf in the door devoted to grains (whole red wheat flour, ground flax seed, wheat germ, vital wheat gluten), there is also a shelf for stuff I never plan to eat (used coffee grounds, cracked eggshells, veggie scraps). The grains I use for breads. The used stuff is for the garden; grounds for the berry bushes and acid-loving plants, eggshells as a general soil amendment, and veggie scraps for the bunnies and ultimately for manure.

Between these two categories of unusual fridge contents is the little container of crumbs. I used to buy breadcrumbs (Italian-style, of course) which I used in meatballs, meatloaves, on fish*, etc. Since I've started baking my own bread, it's only natural for me to save the ample amount of crumbs. Weird? Maybe, but have you ever sliced up a loaf of fresh bread? There is a LOT left over.

Lately I've been topping my sandwich bread with a mixture of oats, flax, and wheat germ. A lot of it falls off when I slice.

I usually leave the crumbs to dry out a bit for a few hours on the cutting board. Just ask my husband and babysitter how upset I've gotten over them trying to clean up the kitchen.

When they're dry, I scoop them up and put them in an airtight container in the fridge until I'm ready to use them.

Usually there are enough crumbs from just one loaf to make dinner. Now, I'm sure lot's of people have been doing this for years and are rolling their eyes at me and my newbie homemaking status, but this is just how I use them.

I add some melted butter, some fresh or dried herbs (above is fresh basil from the garden), and a little garlic and salt & pepper. I like to top fish* fillets and then bake.

The result is a crunchy topping that actually has a more complex flavor and texture than store-bought crumbs because of the mix of grains. And even with the butter, this is a massively more healthy and tasty alternative to fried fish dishes.

*Mom, I know you're shocked about the fish. Yes, for a good 24ish years I wouldn't touch the stuff with a ten-foot pole. But I can't deny that the stuff is actually GOOD for me, and after a few dishes with salmon and tilapia, I realized I could stand the stuff. Then I was introduced to sushi and halibut**, and realized they are super tasty. Baby steps.

**The above-pictured is halibut, which I found at Walmart in the frozen fish section. It's a brand (Fishin) that actually adverstises it's sustainability efforts which are certified by the Marine Stewardship Council and the fact that the fish are caught wild and not farmed. AND Walmart often puts them on sale: two 3-packs for $7. In my house that's 3 meals for around $1.17 per plate (including the free bread crumbs and free veggies from the backyard to complete the meal). Fishin also sells Wild Salmon and Tilapia at my local Wallyworld.

Fancy Dressing

Now that we're out of the woods frost-wise, I have decked out the house in flowers for summer. Last year I pulled the trigger too early and killed a lovely set of hydrangeas the day after I bought them.

We have 2 cast iron planters hung on the front of the house and 2 window boxes, now chock full of snapdragons, marigolds, petunias, and trailing petunias. I hope to add a third planter to the shed once the siding finally goes up to tie in with the rest of the house. The pics aren't the greatest, but you get the idea. Once they really get blooming it should be a nice pop of color for the front.

And though I'm not too thrilled about the fact that the land behind our house has been purchased by developers and we will soon have neighbors behind us that aren't cows, I figured I should spruce up the back porch, too.

I have such a weakness for hanging baskets of flowers, and Bedrock Nursery in Lawton, OK does a PHENOMENAL job on theirs. I almost felt bad for the folks at Lowes this weekend buying their scraggly looking arrangements for twice the price. In fact, I have to say that Bedrock wins the prize this year for their flower selection. Last year I went with another local nursery, but when I took a peek this year, it was slim pickings. This year I bought all of the wisteria, geraniums, and flats of bedding flowers from Bedrock. They even had really awesome looking tomatoes, peppers, and herbs (the latter ended up in my cart somehow...).

Herb Update

I am going to go ahead and call our kitchen herb experiment a good omen for the spring ahead. As you recall, Joe and I planted the herbs on the 7th, and a mere 6 days later, we saw this:


Life! Why hello there, you tiny little basil baby! Is that a thyme tot I see?


It looks like my mirror-on-the-kitchen-table set up is working! I've filled an old stain spray bottle to keep things nice and moist. We're now on Day 10, and things are looking pretty exciting:


The parsley is a little slower than the rest, but I can see it just starting to poke through the surface. Now if only we can get rid of the foggy, cloudy weather we've had the last 2 days...

Kitchen Herbs or Meet Joe Dirt

Folks, I don't know if I'll make it to spring. I'm kind of an impatient mess right now. I had such high hopes of being able to start seeds for the garden soon, but I'm just not certain that the coldest winter weather on record is going to bear out my hopes for an early frost-free harvest. This past weekend, I convinced myself that 40-degree weather wasn't really that bad and did some clean up and worked on the compost pile for a little bit. Not that I was very successful as it was pretty much a frozen-solid block of kitchen scraps.

Thankfully, my dear friend across the way gifted me with a kitchen herb kit. (I am seriously considering changing the name of this blog to "Thanks Again, One Acre Homestead.") I decided it would be a fun, tactile activity for Joe and I to undertake to try to chase away the cabin fever and to distract him from the pesky cold he had last week. It was an excuse for me to exercise my green thumb and an excuse for Joe to throw dirt all over the kitchen floor--good times.






In the end, we planted 5 pots of thyme, parsley, basil, chives, and cilantro. Whether these actually sprout or not, only time will tell. The directions merely say to position them "near a sunny window," but in my current research about seed starting for the outdoor garden, I'm quickly becoming convinced that nothing will grow without significant investments in grow lights and heating mat contraptions.


This arrangement will have to do for now: sunny window+frequent repositioning throughout the day+cosmetic mirror. I'll keep you posted.