Dec 18, 2008

Are feeling a little chilly?

I have mentioned this before but my husband is a soup-aholic. He always wants to eat soup no matter what time of year. Of course during winter we get into the thick, heartier soups. We made this the other night and it was delicious! I adapted it from a Martha Stewart recipe, and if you want to change some things (like adding veggies, or swapping veggie grounds for meat, etc...) go right ahead! I am sure it will still be delicious as long as you keep the base seasonings the same. :)
Got this recipe from Martha S. website. We made it last friday and it was great! Thought I would share.

 ~Turkey and Bean Chili~
You can substitute an equal amount of lean ground beef for the turkey. Other types of beans, such as black, northern or kidney beans, can be used instead of pinto beans. Serves 8.
Ingredients
4 turkey bacon slices, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
3 pounds ground turkey ( I used extra lean and it was fine)
4 cups chopped onions
1 chopped green pepper
1/4 cup minced garlic cloves
2 medium fresh jalapeno chiles, ribs and seeds removed for less heat, if desired,
minced 3 tablespoons chili powder
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
4 teaspoons ground cumin
2 cans (28 ounces each) whole tomatoes in puree
2 tablespoons unsulfured molasses
Coarse salt
3 cans (15 1/2 ounces each) pinto beans, drained and rinsed
*Toppings-- Fresh cilantro leaves (I think these are essential to this soup!), sliced pickled jalapeno chiles, reduced-fat sour cream, crumbled cornbread, grated lowfat cheddar cheese

Heat a Dutch oven (or other heavy 5-quart pot) over medium heat. Add bacon; cook until crisp and brown, 6 to 8 minutes. Raise heat to high; add turkey. Cook, stirring and breaking up meat with a spoon, until no longer pink, 8 to 10 minutes. Add onion,green pepper,garlic, and jalapenos; cook until soft, stirring often, about 5 minutes. Stir in chili powder, cocoa powder, and cumin; cook, stirring, until fragrant, 1 minute. Break up tomatoes with a spoon or your hands, and stir them in along with the puree. Add molasses, 1 cup water, and 4 teaspoons salt; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer; cook, partially covered, 30 minutes. Add beans; continue cooking, uncovered, until meat and beans are very tender, and chili is thick, about 30 minutes more. Serve with desired toppings.

Dec 9, 2008

GIft Shopping for that hard-to-buy-for person? Also biodegradeable wrapping paper!

Well I was searching for cool stuff to buy for my parents. They have enough money to buy whatever they want so I have a hard time shopping for them. I planned to make them something but I ran out of time and was busy with other projects. Then I had and "AHA!" moment and remembered this cool site I bookmarked just for this occasion. It's called Neato stuff and it's a HUGE listing of neato stuff that you might not just stumble across anyday but could just be that PERFECT gift for that person you can't think of what to buy for. So if you are going through it as well, head straight to Neato Stuff. Also if you want to buy a gift for someone while making a difference in a shelter animal's life try checking the Animal Rescue Site store. All profits go towards feeding animals in shelters and they have lots of cool stuff! Lots of fair trade and jewelry, it's not all animal things. :) they have cheap shipping too! Also while on the site I came across this super awesome wrapping paper that has seeds embedded into it. So when you are done with it, the reciever can plant the paper and will get flowers! Cool huh? Way better than all that wasteful super glossy crap.

Dec 8, 2008

It's official: Men really are the weaker sex

December 7, 2008

~~~~It's official: Men really are the weaker sex~~~
Evolution is being distorted by pollution, which damages genitals and the ability to father offspring, says new study . Geoffrey Lean reports

   The male gender is in danger, with incalculable consequences for both humans and wildlife, startling scientific research from around the world reveals. The research – to be detailed tomorrow in the most comprehensive report yet published – shows that a host of common chemicals is feminising males of every class of vertebrate animals, from fish to mammals, including people. Backed by some of the world's leading scientists, who say that it "waves a red flag" for humanity and shows that evolution itself is being disrupted, the report comes out at a particularly sensitive time for ministers.
    On Wednesday, Britain will lead opposition to proposed new European controls on pesticides, many of which have been found to have "gender-bending" effects. It also follows hard on the heels of new American research which shows that baby boys born to women exposed to widespread chemicals in pregnancy are born with smaller penises and feminised genitals. "This research shows that the basic male tool kit is under threat," says Gwynne Lyons, a former government adviser on the health effects of chemicals, who wrote the report.
    Wildlife and people have been exposed to more than 100,000 new chemicals in recent years, and the European Commission has admitted that 99 per cent of them are not adequately regulated. There is not even proper safety information on 85 per cent of them. Many have been identified as "endocrine disrupters" – or gender-benders – because they interfere with hormones.
These include phthalates, used in food wrapping, cosmetics and baby powders among other applications; flame retardants in furniture and electrical goods; PCBs, a now banned group of substances still widespread in food and the environment; and many pesticides.
    The report – published by the charity CHEMTrust and drawing on more than 250 scientific studies from around the world – concentrates mainly on wildlife, identifying effects in species ranging from the polar bears of the Arctic to the eland of the South African plains, and from whales in the depths of the oceans to high-flying falcons and eagles. It concludes: "Males of species from each of the main classes of vertebrate animals (including bony fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals) have been affected by chemicals in the environment. "Feminisation of the males of numerous vertebrate species is now a widespread occurrence. All vertebrates have similar sex hormone receptors, which have been conserved in evolution. Therefore, observations in one species may serve to highlight pollution issues of concern for other vertebrates, including humans. " Fish, it says, are particularly affected by pollutants as they are immersed in them when they swim in contaminated water, taking them in not just in their food but through their gills and skin. They were among the first to show widespread gender-bending effects.
 Half the male fish in British lowland rivers have been found to be developing eggs in their testes; in some stretches all male roaches have been found to be changing sex in this way. Female hormones – largely from the contraceptive pills which pass unaltered through sewage treatment – are partly responsible, while more than three-quarters of sewage works have been found also to be discharging demasculinising man-made chemicals. Feminising effects have now been discovered in a host of freshwater fish species as far away as Japan and Benin, in Africa, and in sea fish in the North Sea, the Mediterranean, Osaka Bay in Japan and Puget Sound on the US west coast. Research at the University of Florida earlier this year found that 40 per cent of the male cane toads – a species so indestructible that it has become a plague in Australia – had become hermaphrodites in a heavily farmed part of the state, with another 20 per cent undergoing lesser feminisation.
    A similar link between farming and sex changes in northern leopard frogs has been revealed by Canadian research, adding to suspicions that pesticides may be to blame. Male alligators exposed to pesticides in Florida have suffered from lower testosterone and higher oestrogen levels, abnormal testes, smaller penises and reproductive failures. Male snapping turtles have been found with female characteristics in the same state and around the Great Lakes, where wildlife has been found to be contaminated with more than 400 different chemicals. Male herring gulls and peregrine falcons have produced the female protein used to make egg yolks, while bald eagles have had difficulty reproducing in areas highly contaminated with chemicals. Scientists at Cardiff University have found that the brains of male starlings who ate worms contaminated by female hormones at a sewage works in south-west England were subtly changed so that they sang at greater length and with increased virtuosity. Even more ominously for humanity, mammals have also been found to be widely affected. Two-thirds of male Sitka black-tailed deer in Alaska have been found to have undescended testes and deformed antler growth, and roughly the same proportion of white-tailed deer in Montana were discovered to have genital abnormalities. In South Africa, eland have been revealed to have damaged testicles while being contaminated by high levels of gender-bender chemicals, and striped mice from one polluted nature reserved were discovered to be producing no sperm at all. At the other end of the world, hermaphrodite polar bears – with penises and vaginas – have been discovered and gender-benders have been found to reduce sperm counts and penis lengths in those that remained male.
  Many of the small, endangered populations of Florida panthers have been found to have abnormal sperm. Other research has revealed otters from polluted areas with smaller testicles and mink exposed to PCBs with shorter penises. Beluga whales in Canada's St Lawrence estuary and killer whales off its north-west coast – two of the wildlife populations most contaminated by PCBs – are reproducing poorly, as are exposed porpoises, seals and dolphins.
  Scientists warned yesterday that the mass of evidence added up to a grave warning for both wildlife and humans. Professor Charles Tyler, an expert on endocrine disrupters at the University of Exeter, says that the evidence in the report "set off alarm bells". Whole wildlife populations could be at risk, he said, because their gene pool would be reduced, making them less able to withstand disease and putting them at risk from hazards such as global warming. Dr Pete Myers, chief scientist at Environmental Health Sciences, one of the world's foremost authorities on gender-bender chemicals, added: "We have thrown 100, 000 chemicals against a finely balanced hormone system, so it's not surprising that we are seeing some serious results. It is leading to the most rapid pace of evolution in the history of the world. Professor Lou Gillette of Florida University, one of the most respected academics in the field, warned that the report waved "a large red flag" at humanity. He said: "If we are seeing problems in wildlife, we can be concerned that something similar is happening to a proportion of human males"
   Indeed, new research at the University of Rochester in New York state shows that boys born to mothers with raised levels of phthalates were more likely to have smaller penises and undescended testicles. They also had a shorter distance between their anus and genitalia, a classic sign of feminisation. And a study at Rotterdam's Erasmus University showed that boys whose mothers had been exposed to PCBs grew up wanting to play with dolls and tea sets rather than with traditionally male toys. Communities heavily polluted with gender-benders in Canada, Russia and Italy have given birth to twice as many girls than boys, which may offer a clue to the reason for a mysterious shift in sex ratios worldwide. Normally 106 boys are born for every 100 girls, but the ratio is slipping. It is calculated that 250,000 babies who would have been boys have been born as girls instead in the US and Japan alone. And sperm counts are dropping precipitously. Studies in more than 20 countries have shown that they have dropped from 150 million per millilitre of sperm fluid to 60 million over 50 years. (Hamsters produce nearly three times as much, at 160 million.) Professor Nil Basu of Michigan University says that this adds up to "pretty compelling evidence for effects in humans".
  But Britain has long sought to water down EU attempts to control gender-bender chemicals and has been leading opposition to a new regulation that would ban pesticides shown to have endocrine-disrupting effects. Almost all the other European countries back it, but ministers – backed by their counterparts from Ireland and Romania – are intent on continuing their resistance at a crucial meeting on Wednesday. They say the regulation would cause a collapse of agriculture in the UK, but environmentalists retort that this is nonsense because the regulation has get-out clauses that could be used by British farmers.

Dec 4, 2008

My T-Day Recipes

made a "feast" on T-day this year for just Jarrod and I. But for once, EVERYTHING turned out really good. So I thought I would share these recipes with you in case you need or want any. :)

Herbed Bread Stuffing with Mushrooms and Sausage
Making your own bread cubes is easy and yields delicious results. You can prepare the toasted bread cubes two to three days before Thanksgiving; store at room temperature in a zip-top plastic bag. If there's space in the oven, bake the stuffing while the turkey roasts. Otherwise, bake it in the morning, and reheat it while the turkey stands.
1 1/2 pounds peasant-style white bread (I used a garlic loaf, not garlic BREAD, but a fresh loaf baked with garlic)
4 (4-ounce) links sweet turkey Italian sausage (I used Gimme Lean Soy sausage crumbles, which are really good, instead of turkey sausage. It comes in a tube like regular ground sausage)
2 teaspoons butter
1 pound cremini mushrooms, quartered
Cooking spray
 2 cups chopped onion
1 1/4 cups chopped carrot
1 1/4 cups chopped celery
1/2 cup minced fresh parsley
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
1 tablespoon minced fresh sage
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 large eggs
1 (14-ounce) can fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth

Preheat oven to 400°.Trim crust from bread. Cut bread into 1 1/2-inch cubes. Arrange bread cubes in a single layer on 2 jelly-roll pans. Bake at 400° for 10 minutes or until toasted.Reduce oven temperature to 350°.
Cook sausage in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat 10 minutes, browning on all sides. Remove from pan; cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices.
Melt butter in skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms; sauté 4 minutes. Combine bread cubes, sausage, and mushrooms in a large bowl.
Heat skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add onion, carrot, and celery; sauté 5 minutes or until lightly browned. Add parsley, thyme, sage, salt, and pepper; sauté 1 minute. Add to bread mixture. Combine eggs and broth, stirring with a whisk. Add to bread mixture; toss to coat. Spoon into a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 45 minutes or until browned.
Yield: 12 servings (serving size: about 1 cup) CALORIES 208 (27% from fat); FAT 6.2g (sat 1.7g,mono 1.9g,poly 1.2g); IRON 2mg; CHOLESTEROL 68mg; CALCIUM 46mg; CARBOHYDRATE 25.9g; SODIUM 635mg; PROTEIN 13.6g; FIBER 4.1g Cooking Light, NOVEMBER 2004

Brussels Sprouts with Bacon-Horseradish Cream
Makes 6 servings, 1 cup each 

Ingredients
1 ½ pounds Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved
4 strips crisp-cooked bacon, finely chopped (I used turkey bacon)
¼ cup reduced-fat sour cream or lowfat Greek yogurt
 2 teaspoons prepared horseradish
¼ teaspoon salt
⅛ teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Instructions
1. Place a steamer basket in a large saucepan, add 1 inch of water and bring to a boil. Put Brussels sprouts in the basket and steam until tender, 6 to 8 minutes. 2. Mix bacon, sour cream, horseradish, salt and pepper in a medium bowl. Add the Brussels sprouts and toss to coat.

Roasted Beets with Feta
Yields: 4 servings
"This colorful and elegant side dish is so easy to make. I love making this with beets and shallots straight from our local farmers' market. Green onions or chives may be substituted for the shallot if you prefer."

INGREDIENTS:
4 beets, trimmed, leaving 1 inch of stems attached
1/4 cup minced shallot
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Wrap each beet individually in aluminum foil, and place onto a baking sheet.
2. Bake beets in preheated oven until easily pierced with a fork, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Once done, remove from oven, and allow to cool until you can handle them. Peel beets, and cut into 1/4 inch slices.
3. While the beets are roasting, whisk together shallot, parsley, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and red wine vinegar in a bowl until blended; season to taste with salt and pepper, and set aside.

4. To assemble the dish, place the warm, sliced beets onto a serving dish, pour vinaigrette over the beets, and sprinkle with feta cheese before serving. *Note I made the beets the day before and then sliced and heated them up before dinner and did the rest.

Honey-Brined Turkey
Bon Appétit | November 1999
 
by Janet Fletcher
The bird gets its incredible moistness from being soaked overnight in a brine enhanced by thyme, garlic cloves and honey."Because of the brining process, we don't recommend stuffing this turkey."
***Note when brining a turkey always make sure it's labeled "All Natural" or "Wild" or "Organic" because otherwise this will be too salty with the saline solutions that other kinds of turkeys are soaked in before selling.
Yield: Makes 14 to 16 servings

Turkey:
1 19- to 20-pound turkey
 8 quarts water
2 cups coarse salt
1 cup honey
 2 bunches fresh thyme
8 large garlic cloves, peeled
2 tablespoons coarsely cracked black pepper
2 lemons, halved
2 tablespoons olive oil
5 cups (about) canned low-salt chicken broth.

For turkey:
Line extra-large stockpot with heavy large plastic bag (about 30-gallon capacity). Rinse turkey; place in plastic bag. Stir 8 quarts water, 2 cups coarse salt and 1 cup honey in large pot until salt and honey dissolve. Add 1 bunch fresh thyme, peeled garlic cloves and black pepper. Pour brine over turkey. Gather plastic bag tightly around turkey so that bird is covered with brine; seal plastic bag. Refrigerate pot with turkey in brine at least 12 hours and up to 18 hours.
Position rack in bottom third of oven and preheat to 350°F. Drain turkey well; discard brine. Pat turkey dry inside and out. Squeeze juice from lemon halves into main cavity. Add lemon rinds and remaining 1 bunch fresh thyme to main cavity. Tuck wings under turkey; tie legs together loosely to hold shape. Place turkey on rack set in large roasting pan. Rub turkey all over with 2 tablespoons olive oil.
Roast turkey 1 hour. Baste turkey with 1 cup chicken broth. Continue to roast until turkey is deep brown and thermometer inserted into thickest part of thigh registers 180°F, basting with 1 cup chicken broth every 30 minutes and covering loosely with foil if turkey is browning too quickly, about 2 1/2 hours longer. Transfer turkey to platter. Tent turkey loosely with foil and let stand 30 minutes.
*Note I made this with a 15lb turkey. To brine something this big you need a large pot or a bucket. Then put the lid on it and set out in garage (if you have cold winters) or in a fridge with a lot of space.You can do the bag, but it will be big too.Also my 15lb Turkey only took 2-1/2-3 hours to cook.

Pumpkin-Maple Pie 
We've made our pumpkin pie even richer by adding maple syrup. 
Crust: (I didn't use this crust recipe- see below)
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup chilled butter or stick margarine, cut into small pieces
3 1/2 tablespoons ice water
Cooking spray
Filling: 1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup maple syrup
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 large eggs
1 cup evaporated fat-free milk
1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin
 Yield: 8 servings (serving size: 1 wedge)

To prepare crust, lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine the flour, 2 tablespoons sugar, and salt in a bowl; cut in butter with a pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse meal. Sprinkle surface with ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time; toss with a fork until moist and crumbly (do not form a ball).
Press mixture gently into a 4-inch circle on heavy-duty plastic wrap; cover with additional plastic wrap. Roll dough, still covered, to a 12-inch circle. Freeze 10 minutes or until plastic wrap can be easily removed.
Remove 1 sheet of plastic wrap; fit dough into a 9-inch pie plate coated with cooking spray. Remove top sheet of plastic wrap. Fold edges under; flute.Preheat oven to 425°.
To prepare filling, beat 1/2 cup sugar and next 5 ingredients (1/2 cup sugar through eggs) at medium speed of a mixer until well-blended. Add milk and pumpkin; beat well. Pour into prepared crust. Bake at 425° for 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350° (do not remove pie from oven); bake an additional 50 minutes or until set. Cool on a wire rack.
 CALORIES 267 (25% from fat); FAT 7.5g (sat 4.1g,mono 2.2g,poly 0.5g); IRON 2mg; CHOLESTEROL 72mg; CALCIUM 129mg; CARBOHYDRATE 44.5g; SODIUM 152mg; PROTEIN 6.3g; FIBER 2.6g Cooking Light, NOVEMBER 1999


Essential Eating Well Pie Pastry
Makes about 14 ounces dough, enough for one 9- to 11-inch pie or tart.
* Note I added 1/4 cup fresh ground flax seed swapped for 1/4 cup of the wheat flour. I also used less butter. It was perfect!

Ingredients
¾ cup whole-wheat pastry flour
¾ cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons cold butter (½ stick), cut into small pieces
1 tablespoon canola oil
¼ cup ice water, plus more as needed
1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon lemon juice or white vinegar
Instructions
Whisk whole-wheat flour, all-purpose flour, sugar and salt in a medium bowl. Cut in butter with a pastry blender or your fingers until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs with a few larger pieces. Add oil and stir with a fork to blend. Mix 1/4 cup water, egg yolk and lemon juice (or vinegar) in a measuring cup. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture. Add enough of the egg yolk mixture, stirring with a fork, until the dough clumps together. (Add a little water if the dough seems too dry.) Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead several times. Form the dough into a ball, then flatten into a disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Tips-Refrigerate for up to 2 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
Nutrition Information Per 8 servings: 166 calories; 8 g fat (4 g sat, 1 g mono); 41 mg cholesterol; 19 g carbohydrate; 3 g protein; 1 g fiber; 82 mg sodium; 16 mg potassium.
Per 10 servings: 133 calories; 6 g fat (3 g sat, 1 g mono); 33 mg cholesterol; 15 g carbohydrate; 2 g protein; 1 g fiber; 65 mg sodium; 13 mg potassium. Per 12 servings: 110 calories; 5 g fat (3 g sat, 1 g mono); 28 mg cholesterol; 13 g carbohydrate; 2 g protein; 1 g fiber; 54 mg sodium; 11 mg potassium.

Well that's about it. I also made potatoes but I don't really use a recipe for those. I used 5lbs red potatoes, boil them, then mash with buttermilk, a teensy bit of butter (like 1-2 tbls depending on how many potatoes), some roasted garlic (roast whole head wrapped in foil with a little olive oil for about 40 min then squeeze out cloves), and salt of course. These are easy to make a day before and reheat the day of.

But all these recipes, even with my substitutions noted, were really really good! I highly recommend them.

Nov 10, 2008

Delicious Stews for Fall

OK I will try to keep up this blog again at least once a week! But I would love to know if anyone reads it. It would be nice. :) Otherwise- I'm not just writing this for myself! ha ha.

Well I have a couple soups/stews to share with you that we've been munchin on. One is veggie and one is not. The first I used my kale from the garden in it the second I needed to use my tomatillos and jalapenos from the garden so it was perfect. Both are delicious, and i was skeptical of the squash soup with the olives but I must tell you it's fabulous(if you have an aversion to bell peppers, just leave them out). I had it with some rosemary bread, yummmmm...

Bon Appétit | January 1996
Yield: Serves 6


1/4 cup olive oil
3 large onions, chopped
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 3 1/4- to 3 1/2-pound butternut squash, peeled, seeded, cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes
3 red bell peppers, seeded, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
1 1/2 cups canned vegetable broth
1 1/2 large bunches kale, thick stems trimmed, leaves cut crosswise into 2-inch strips
1 tablespoon dried rubbed sage
5 15-ounce cans cannellini (white kidney beans), rinsed, drained
1 cup Kalamata olives, pitted, halved
Freshly grated Romano cheese

Heat oil in heavy large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onions and garlic; sauté until tender, about 10 minutes. Add squash; sauté Add bell peppers and stir to coat with onion mixture. Add broth. Cover and simmer until squash is just tender, about 10 minutes.
Mix kale and sage into stew. Cover and cook until kale wilts, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes. Add beans and olives and stir until heated through. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Transfer stew to large shallow bowl. Sprinkle generously with cheese.











Sep 19, 2008

I am not posting right now

OK I am seriously not posting anything lately because I am fairly certain no one is reading this. In which case I feel pretty narcissistic. I will probably get back to this. But if you want to peruse my past postings, most of them are not about me but more about the projects I've worked on this past year or other things I've been doing and like to share how you can do them yourself (cooking, organic gardening info,sewing, etc...)

Jul 29, 2008

My Verdict on the "Nicole" line by OPI

Ok saw this stuff at the local walgreens and liked the color Turbo Teal. I vaguely remembered reading something about OPI making a formaldehyde free line of of their nail polish. I'm not a super nails done kinda girl but once in awhile I get bored and paint my nails like a lot of others. I like it. My toes look prettier than they have ever looked. Even covered in dirt from the garden and splattered in raspberry jam from making jam tonight. In fact I think my raspberry jam kinda goes with Turbo Teal. http://www.nicolebyopi.com/ourphilosophy I think I am gonna paint Gypsy's nails now too to match. We just got finished filing hers down with the dremmel tonight. Although I am not sure if she will sit still for this...

Jul 27, 2008

Make Your Own Organic Insecticides, It's Easy

Well here is some useful info for you gardeners out there. I've been a busy bee in the garden this summer (which means no new things in the store really) and this weekend is no exception. Came across these recipes in this months issue of  Organic Gardening magazine and thought I would share for those who also like playing in the dirt.

 ~All-Purpose Spray~
"works on a multitude of pests, including slugs and Japanese Beetles"
  • 1 garlic bulb
  • 1 small onion
  • 1 tsp powdered
  • cayenne pepper
  • 1 quart water
  • 1 tbls liquid dish soap
Chop the garlic and onion in a blender. Add the cayenne pepper & water. Steep for one hour. Strain through a cheesecloth. Add liquid dish soap so the spray sticks to plant leaves. Mix well. Spray the mixture on both sides of the leaves. Store remaining spray in a labeled jar in the fridge. Note: Certain plants are very sensitive to soaps and can develop leaf burn. Always test on a leaf or two the day before spraying the whole plant.

~Hot Pepper Spray~
"Easy to make hot pepper spray repels insects and curious cats and dogs when they eat treated plants. Wear rubber gloves when preparing and uding the mixture. The peppers can cause irritation."
  • 1/2 cup hot peppers
  • 2 cups water
Puree peppers and water in a blender. Strain the liquid through a cheesecloth. Apply every 5 to 7 days until pests are gone.

~Tomato-Leaf Spray~
"the alkaloids found in tomato leaves are toxic to soft-bodied pests such as aphids. Bonus: This spray also will attract the beneficial Trichogramma wasp, which preys on corn-earworm eggs."
  • 1 to 2 cups tomato leaves
  • 4 cups water
Gather tomato leaves from the bottom of the plant so won't interfere with tomato production. Mash or chop the leaves and add 2 cups water. Let steep overnight. The following day, strain out the leaves and discard. Dilute the liquid with 2 more cups of water. Spray on the effected leaves, especially the undersides of the lower leaves where aphids congregate. To lure Trichogramma wasps, spray the entire corn plant.

Jul 14, 2008

Clean your Veggies! And eat them too

Well sorry I am not posting so often. I am so busy in my garden in the summer, and I celebrated my 30th bday in CA with my nephew and rest of family on the last week of June. I'm a busy girl right now! Although not busy with my crafty stuff :( Hopefully I will have time soon. I was washing my kale and snap peas from the garden in a bowl of water when I was reminded of the Oprah Earth Day show which I totally LOVED that she did and had all these fantastic topics and information for the masses who may not have otherwise accessed it. I remembered there was a friend of Julia Robert's (who was also on the show) on there who had a recipe for a veggie spray to clean your veggies and fruits. I am going to get the stuff to make it tonight, but I thought I would share it with you as well if you are interested.

Sophie Uliano's Veggie Cleaner Spray
Sophie Uliano's veggie cleaner spray










If you can't buy organic produce, you need to make sure you wash it thoroughly. Use this spray to make sure your fruit and vegetables are squeaky clean.
INGREDIENTS
Combine all ingredients in a large container or large bowl (baking soda will fizz up at first). Then, transfer to a spray bottle with a pump. Spray mixture on produce, and rinse thoroughly after 5 to 10 minutes. She said on the show that it takes 5-10 min to get all the pesticide residue and waxes to come off from your veggies and fruits. But also with organic you need to wash as well because of the manure, compost and possible other things they may use for fertilizer and/or pests that aren't necessarily safe to ingest (ie. diatomaceous earth I use in my garden). IF you are interested in Sophie's website and other green ideas check out her awesome website Gorgeously Green!

Jul 5, 2008

Garlic Scapes! How do I love thee? Let me Count the Ways



Garlic scapes are these curly things that grow from the tops of your garlic in the garden. They usually pop up early-to mid summer and they are actually how the garlic "seeds". The best time to cut them is about as soon as the start appearring, but be sure to gaze at them often, because they blend into the foilage and are hard to notice at first! I had to sit and stare at mine a few minutes before I noticed they were everywhere. Though if you don't plant more than a few garlic plants, you won't have to look so hard. I have two big patches of garlic growing in the garden right now as we love garlic and the flavor is SO much more amazing when you grow your own than buy that garlic at the store. There's no comparison.

But I really look forward to when the scapes are ready to harvest. Even if you choose not to eat them, it's best to cut them off when they start growing as they take away energy from the plant growing the bulb underground. You may be lucky enough to find these at your local farmers market. There are plenty of recipes for garlic scapes out there, but not many very unique ones. You will see a lot of the same ones out there, sauteed with butter and salt, pepper is most common and easy. Since they are mdly garlic flavored, but with texture of asparagus, they are good that way. I have a bag full of them to eat right now and I have been adding them to soup but last night I decided they would make a great pizza topping and I am glad I tried it! They were AWESOME on pizza! Here are the two recipes I tried and both were really good. I was nervous that the red sauce would overpower the flavor of the scapes but they blended beautifully and tasted out of this world.

We bought the inexpensive pre-made pizza dough at Trader joes, but any crust you prefer would work fine. We baked one on the pizza stone and the other we used a grill method, first baking it for about 5 min at 400 degrees, then sliding on the top rack of the grill (on low) and putting the cover over it. Keep an eye on this though, if it gets too dark on the bottom move it back to the oven to finish it. But it adds nice flavor and cooks it like it's in a woodfire oven. :)


Jul 2, 2008

My First Quilt Was a Challenge

<----My nephew Noah Napping with his grandma in his new quilt . Well I first say sorry I haven't posted in a couple weeks. I had no idea it had been so long! I don't know if many people even read this, but I got caught up with all kinds of business the likes of which I can barely remember. It is a blur, but I ended up flying to California to stay at my parents and visit with my brother, sis-in-law and nephew for his 1st bday party on the 28th. My bday is on July 3rd so we celebrated together. For Noah's bday I really wanted to make him a quilt but I had NEVER made one before. THose of you who are familiar with the process know it's not for the weary. I waited too long to make it as I was busy (as previously mentioned) and I had about 2 weeks to throw something together. I had fabric in mind for it and since I am a total beginner I used this very simple pattern from about.com to started. I used the diagonal pattern and I wanted to use sock monkey fabric, banana print, brown paisley for the backing and the sock fabric print for the border. After I got all the squares together using my serger (as some quilters do not recommend serging a quilt because of accuracy, I was too busy to worry about that stuff!) I realized that it was going to be huge, so I cut off about 5 rows of squares on the bottom entirely. IN the end it was about 36" square. After that I attached border strips using the sock fabric print, and then "bagged out" the quilt to finish it easily rather the more fancy, accurate way of finishing. I figure Noah may end up dragging this thing around anyway, so accuracy was not too important, and serging was important for durability. Quilting it was a challenge as I could barely fit all that stuff in my sewing machine and still sew straight. You must need a special foot for quilting but I was too flustered to even look for one, I just had at it on my regular little Brother sewing machine. I quilted the quilt in diagonal lines for easiness and to avoid highlighting my sometimes, inaccurate seams by not "stitching in the ditch". I bought my first cutting mat and rotary cutter for this project, they were on sale at Joann Fabrics 40% off so that was good enough excuse for me to get one. I have to say, if I cut all this with scissors it would have taken MUCH longer! Cutting all the pieces was the most tedious part of it. Ironing and sewing the patches was the next hardest part. I did little parts at a time. I cut one day, sewed the front another, sewed the backing another, and layered/quilted the last day. IT was necessary as I have no patience with myself. Overall, it's a cute quilt! Not perfect by any means, I would have liked to have the bananas on the backing and the paisley where the bananas are in hindsight. But there was no way I was gonna tear that thing apart and start over again! I also made Noah a sock monkey, I put it together in the car while we drove to the Seattle airport (1-1/2 hour drive) so it was very, ahem, home-made looking. I didn't get a picture of it but you wouldn't be impressed anyway.

Jun 12, 2008

Planet Green Channel

The first "all green channel" http://http://planetgreen.discovery.com/ Planet Green I don't know when this channel started airing officially but I am sick today at home and I cannot change the channel! Everything on is interesting and fun to watch. Even if I am aware of many of the things they are doing I am really enjoying seeing people adjust their lifestyles and not to mention all the hot guys, and sexy people in general talking compost, green building, etc... Right now there is the show on with hottie Adrian Grenier called Alter Eco, http://http://planetgreen.discovery.com/tv/alter-eco/ and they are building a house the green way but meeting interesting people and showing cool edofriendly shops while they are doing it. OK i know that being green is getting trendy, and this is kinda cheesy for those of us who have always been into protecting the earth, but if this is what it takes to make things more positive for our future let's just let this run its course and hope that it turns out positive. BEsides I can't get enough of these hot guys like Leanardo DiCaprio http://http://planetgreen.discovery.com/tv/greensburg/ talking green ! And they have http://http://video.on.nytimes.com/?fr_story=36144fd6c6cc39bfcb995f6b75346b16f0f84e9a funny commercials! And did I mention SEXY HOT GUYS???? (Yes guys, that machositic "I can't give up my giant truck" primative attitude is NOT attractive to most women).

Jun 5, 2008

Pasta Bolognese My Way

Earlier this year my parents came out to visit us in Washington state. We went to Seattle for dinner one night and ate at this wonderful place called The Pink Door http://www.thepinkdoor.net/ . I ordered some homemade spinach lasagna, Jarrod ordered some sort of pork chop, and upon the servers reccomendation my parents both ordered pasta bolognese. I don't eat beef but of course I've heard of the dish, it's pasta with meat sauce I thought. BIg deal. But all my parents kept saying was "this is so good" and had Jarrod give it a try which had him saying the same thing.
   So ever since I've been wondering the big deal is. This weekend I whipped out the ol pasta machine and decided to make my own version to see if it was any good. The recipe sounds so simple I couldn't imagine what was so great about it. So first I made a wheat noodle version of tagliatelle, since that's the type of noodle the dish was served with at the restaurant. Tagliatelle is a wide egg noodle, wider than fettucine.
Then I made my own version of the sauce after reading several different highly rated recipes of the beef version, I adapted them to make my own recipe. The sauce smelled wonderful cooking and the noodles were a pain to make, as is all homemade pasta, but well worth the effort as always.
While you don't have to make your own noodles, I highly reccomend you buy fresh made noodles or at the very least, get those fettucine noodles in the refrigerated section to make this dish. The results were out of this world yummy, I don't know why because the ingredients are very simple. I do admit that the use of milk in the sauce seemed very weird to me and I was skeptical, but not anymore. From now on this will be a treat in our house.

Cara's Pasta "Bolognese"
Serves 4-6

For the Noodles Makes 1 1/4 pounds.
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for kneading
1 cup whole wheat flour
5 large eggs

Mound flour in center of a large work surface, and make a well in the middle. Crack eggs into the well. Using a fork, beat eggs; slowly incorporate flour, beginning with inner rim of well. When flour is incorporated, gather dough together to form a rounded mass. Begin kneading dough with the palms of your hands. Once dough comes together, scrape up any dried bits of dough; discard. Lightly flour work surface; knead dough until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. Wrap dough in plastic wrap; rest for 30 minutes at room temperature before using. Divide dough into 4 pieces; keep 3 pieces covered with a slightly damp kitchen towel. Flatten dough to a shape somewhat narrower than pasta machine opening. Lightly dust dough with flour. Feed through machine's widest setting. As pasta emerges, gently support it with your palm and guide it onto the work surface.
Fold dough in thirds; roll out again. Repeat process 5 times. Pass pasta through the next finer setting, repeating the folding and rolling process 6 times. At the third setting, repeat process only 3 times. If pasta sheet becomes too long to work with easily, cut it into 2 pieces. Dust pasta lightly with flour to prevent sticking, if necessary. Roll dough through progressively thinner settings, without folding, until you have reached the thinnest or next-to-thinnest setting. Using the widest-cut attachment of the pasta machine, cut pasta sheets into 1/2-inch wide strips. To cut pasta by hand, cut each pasta sheet into 10-inch lengths. Brush lightly with flour, roll up sheet, and, using a sharp knife, cut into 1/4-inch-wide strips; unroll. Use tagliatelle immediately, or dry on a floured work surface and store in an airtight container for up to three days.

For the Sauce
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, chopped fine
4-6 cloves garlic, minced
3 carrots, chopped fine
3 celery ribs, chopped fine
1/2 pound ground lean turkey
1/2 pound Hot Italian Turkey Sausage, removed from casings
1 cup milk (any FF, 2%, whole, whatever you prefer)
freshly grated nutmeg to taste
1 cup dry white wine
 28- to 32-ounce can whole tomatoes including juice
 1/2 cup tomato sauce

**To make a vegetarian (lacto/ovo) version use Gimme Lean Veggie Sausage grounds and/or Veggie meat grounds in place of the turkey. I am sure it will be just as tasty!

In large heavy saucepan heat oil over moderately high heat and sauté onion, carrot, and celery, stirring 2 minutes. Add turkey and turkey sausage and cook, stirring, 2 minutes, or until meat is no longer pink. Season mixture with salt and pepper.
Add milk and nutmeg and cook, stirring, until most milk is evaporated, about 10 minutes. Add wine and cook, stirring occasionally, until liquid is evaporated, about 10 minutes.
In a blender or food processor coarsely purée tomatoes with juice and stir into sauce with tomato sauce.
Cook sauce at a bare simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, 1 hour and 15 minutes (sauce will be thickened) and season with salt and pepper. Sauce may be made ahead and cooled, uncovered, before being chilled, covered, 2 days or frozen 1 month. In an 8-quart kettle bring 7 quarts salted water to a boil.
Cook pasta until al dente (about 6 minutes for fresh, longer for dried) and drain in a colander. In a heated large bowl immediately toss pasta with sauce. This is essential to toss the pasta with sauce because the noodles will absorb some of the flavor.

After making this I've decided I need to get an electric pasta machine. That hand cranker is quite a pain in the ass after awhile!

May 30, 2008

Old School Soups for those chilly Spring Nights



Well I've been SO busy in my garden this month I have barely had any time to work on anything else. Hence the lack of any new items in my store lately.
Spring is "go time" for me in the garden and I am so busy planting veggies, tilling, weeding and watering that I have to put almost everything else on the backburner. Not to mention the 2 stray cats we are taking care of for now until we can find homes for them. Having 6 cats and 3 large dogs in a tiny 1000 sq ft home can get a little crazy and messy!
But back to my point- even though it warms up and we are ready with our shorts on, we still get a sporadic sprinkling of chilly and/or breezy spring days that make us grab the sweatshirts in defeat. As I've mentioned before, my hubby LOVES soup so we pretty much always have some every week even in the summer. I've got a long row of leeks that I planted last summer, they overwintered and then got big enough this spring. Now I think they are getting too old because some are going to seed, look at this big wiggle "scape" growing on one of them. I cooked this one last night and I couldn't bear to throw into the compost so i wrapped it around my neck like jewelry for the evening.


So one thing I have been making lately is potato soup with leeks to use up the leeks. This soup is something my grandma used to make all the time and always in HUGE batches because my mom came from a family of 12, yes 12! My grandma is gone now, and over the years of trying to get this recipe the way she made it I've realized that the most basic of ingredients is all that is needed.

Potato Soup
2-4 leeks (depending on size)
Bag of baking potatoes
Garlic (optional)
Salt Pepper
Chicken or Vegetable Broth (optional)

Slice tops of leeks off the leek and discard into your saintly compost pile. Then trim the end of the leek off, slice in half and thouroughly wash them out under water, to get all the dirt out of the layers. Then slice them up, put a little spray of oil or bit of butter in your pan and start to sautee, chop up the garlic and throw it in the pot too.
While they sautee over medium heat, peel and chop your potatoes up. They don't need to be fancy cause you will be pureeing the soup at the end. Throw em in the pot and pour water or broth over the vegetables until they are covered. Bring to a boil until potatoes are soft, stirring occasionally.
Turn heat to low, and puree the soup in batched or with an immersion blender. You can make it as smooth or chunky as you wish, just try to make sure you blend up those leeks. Then salt and pepper to taste. Voila, potato soup.
I like to serve with fresh snipped chives, sour cream, and/or light cheddar cheese to sprinkle on top.

The other soup I have been making lately is a new favorite for us, but an old favorite for a lot of people, chicken and dumplings. I never had this before I made it for myself and I don't know why. It's satisying, comforting and delicious. The original recipe called for 1 medium chopped onion, but I like to use sliced leeks instead.

Chicken and Dumplings
1 1/2 pounds organic chicken breast tenders
2 tablespoons butter
1 russet potato, peeled and diced
2 medium carrots, peeled and diced or thinly sliced
1 medium onion, chopped or 2 medium leeks, sliced
1 rib celery, diced
1 bay leaf, fresh or dried
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon poultry seasoning,
 1/3 palm full (I use season salt)
2 tablespoons flour, a handful
1 quart organic/free range chicken broth (it's one of those boxes- like 4 cups)
2 cups Heart Healthy Bisquick Mix (the lowfat one)
1/2 cup organic milk
Fresh dill
Fresh chives
Handful flat-leaf parsley, chopped
1 cup frozen green peas

Dice tenders into bite size pieces and set aside. Wash hands. Place a large pot on stove over medium high heat. Add butter, vegetables and bay leaf and cook 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Season mixture with salt, pepper and poultry seasoning. Add flour to the pan and cook 2 minutes. Stir broth or stock to the pot and bring to a boil. Add chicken to the broth and stir. Place biscuit mix in a bowl. Combine with 1/2 cup milk and mined fresh herbs of choice (like the dill and/or chives).
Drop tablespoonfuls of prepared mix into the pot, spacing dumplings evenly. Cover pot tightly and reduce heat to medium low. Steam dumplings 8 to 10 minutes. Remove cover and stir chicken and dumplings to thicken sauce a bit.
Stir peas into the pan, remove chicken and dumplings from heat and serve in shallow bowls. There you have it. Both recipes are easy and delicious and perfect for those breezy evenings.

May 22, 2008

Ski-To Sea Weekend Here

Well it's that time of year here in Whatcom county, Ski-to-Sea is on sunday!It's time for Ski-to-Sea race this weekend for any of you interested here is the info. Ski To Sea relay race info The Ski To Sea Race consists of 7 legs starting at the Mt. Baker Ski Area. The 2007 Race is online, with video of each leg. Visit them by pasting this into your browser http://www.skitosea.com/content/Race_Legs_info/Race_Legs_info.asp The legs of the race are as follows: Cross Country Downhill / Snowboard Running Biking Canoe Mountain Biking Sea Kayak I am NOT racing this year! I don't know if I will again ever, it's tough and the people I get stuck training with don't really take it seriously so I've given up. I may be down at the festivities and party area though. There's plenty of bands, bars, parades, and festival all for celebrating the end of the race. And don't forget the parade on Saturday! You can see the Blonde Ambition Belly Dancers (my old troupe!) in the parade if you go :) Cross your fingers for great weather! It always seems to rain except the year I raced it was super hot, of course.

May 11, 2008

Making the Meditation Flute Bag

SO my friend Greg sends me a message a couple months back and says he has some knitting missions he would like to take on for him. I of course say I will. This is one of them. Being a musical type he recently bought a meditation flute "Ala David Carradine" he said and he needed a bag to carry it around. This flute is 3 feet long and very narrow.

So I bought 2 skeins (135 yards each) pretty Manos Del Uruguay Space-Dyed Wool Yarn in "Jungle" -shades of green (http://www.manosdeluruguay.co.uk/) and knit the pattern for a Mutidirectional Scarf from this site in a very long length. www.angelyarns.com/free-patterns/noro-scarf.php Then I threw it in the wash with some towels and felted it. It felted very nicely and made the colors blend a lot better. But the purpose of felting was to get a more fabric-like material.

I cut the width and lenth of the scarf out of the felted yarn and then if I was thinking this out, I would have sewn the strap on the edge of the fabric at this step. I used nylon webbing and 2 D-rings to create the strap. Taking a very short length of the webbing (maybe 2-3 inches) I singed the ends with alighter (to keep it from unthreading) and then folded it over the top of the 2 D-rings and sewed it together. Then sewed the piece near the bottom end of the fabric. Then I took the rest of the of the webbing (about 2 yards) and sewed the top of the strap about 4 inches below the top of the fabric on the edge. Really I didn't do this till later, but I will explain why, it was a mistake.


Then I sewed a thin layer of cotton fill, the length/width of the fabric, onto the felted fabric. At this point I folded the piece in half (with filling on outside of fold) and sewed up the seam on the edge. Carefully I turned the tube right-side out. I took some thin, black taffeta and sewed a tube almost the same width and length of the bag and with the right side facing out, I sewed the top of the bags together, afterwards, stuffing the black tub inside the felted tube. This is the lining so the flute can easily slide in and out of the bag.

At this point this is when I actually hand-sewed the straps to the bag because I was such a scatter-brain and forgot to do it earlier. But don't do this, sew them on before you close the bag together, it will be MUCH easier! And you can use your machine. Then I used a small piece of silky thick string and sewed it around the outside of the top of the bag with a yarn needle, using big stitches, so that it can be used to open and close the bag. I used almost ALL of the yarn, so make sure you get enough. That's it, voila metitation flute tote! I know I may not be explaining this clearly enough, and if I was thinking about it I would have taken pictures as I was putting it together. But I was too impatient and felt rushed as I made Greg wait long enough for me to put this together and I have yet to finish two other scarves for him! If you do attempt to make this bag or something similar, feel free to contact me and ask any questions. I will do my best to help you :)

May 9, 2008

MEow Meow kitties Attack!

WTF? I am a kitty beacon or what? As you may or may not know, there has been construction in front of my house for about a month now. They are moving our road away from our house about 50 feet. The thing is, across the old road is a big strip of trees and brush that has separated some lawns from the road, and this where a lot of strays seem to find themselves. Seems that the noise and big construction machines are scaring these cats out of the woods. The last batch of strays (Alice and Tater) were living over there.

Then this last kitty we have at the moment, Harley, we are not sure if he is from over there or not. But now another cat showed up in my front yard yesterday when I got home from running errands. After I pulled in the driveway this cute little lady walked up to me with some hungry sounding "meow meows" and she was crusty with no collar and thin. I fed her and she totally pigged out and drank the water I gave her. I would be surprised if she belongs to anyone, and if she does, they don't deserve her if this is the way they treat her. SSSOOOOOOOOOOOOOO we have yet ANOTHER stray cat in the garage, living in the big dog crate. We already started dewoming her and she's very cuddly. She loves to eat and seems to be quite happy with the new situation, although a little nervous.

Earlier this week we paid to have Harley spayed and tested for feline aids and leukemia. Even with a coupon from the Alternative Humane Society, the bill was over $100 bucks. Now some of you might think this is crazy, but I cannot turn my head and look the other way when I see stray dogs or cats, how can you???? At the very least you can take them to the humane society. There are TONS of stray cats and dogs and besides being overpopulated and neglected, many of these animals are sick, passing diseases to one another (and your cats if you let them outside) and they are breeding like CRAZY. This is a community responsibility. We should all take this responsibility and there wouldn't be this problem! I can't afford this but I am not going to ignore these sick and/or starving animals wandering around my neighborhood and I really can't understand why ALL of my neighbors ignore it! It's heartless and cruel.

I have 4 cats already and a tiny house, so even though these strays are all lovely and sweet I cannot afford to keep them. I spay and neuter them because in the chance they become stray again, they won't be spreading babies around all over the county. The stray cat population in our county has grown over 200% in my county in the past 5 years..... IF this is happening in my county you better believe it's happening in yours! Take some responsibility, even if you don't want to keep any, you can help. Call your local shelters there are plenty of them around to help. Post an ad in craigslist with the requirement to neuter or spay when they are adopted. And stop leaving your cats outside! It doesn't matter if you think they like it or not, it's not safe for them be outdoors. http://www.hsus.org/pets/pet_care/cat_care/keep_your_cat_safe_at_home_hsuss_safe_cats_campaign/its_a_dangerous_world_out_there.html

FYI- if anyone is interested in my aprons or jewelry stuff, feel good shopping there knowing that most if not all of my "profits" are going towards taking care of these animals and all of my 7 pets (4 cats and 3 big dogs) as well that were rescued. Not that this is supposed to be plug, but I can't handle this by myself! I am NOT an ANimal Shelter!!!! And our local non-kill shelter stopped fostering cats, so they have nowhere to go except the regular Humane Society and you better believe that kitty season is from Spring through fall and no adult cats are getting adopted, they are just getting euthanized. So I am not taking them there. I have a tiny 1050 sq ft home, it barely fits us as is, but I have to do this because it's the responsible thing to do for us, and our community and these sweet cats and dogs who cannot help themselves. They cannot speak for themselves either, so give them a voice and help. YOu can find A LOT of your local shelters listed on www.petfinder.com