Well folks, the sun has set on the last day of Summer. Normally I'm in full squirrel-mode by this point (Well okay I still am even this year, more on this later), and pretty leaves and pumpkins are the only things on my mind. This summer, however, has been a very special one for me, and I'm sad to see it go.
I've learned a lot this past season. Not only about gardening, but also about myself. I've grown to care about things such as agricultural sustainability, homesteading, and the value of knowing how to just do things yourself. I've realized that I'm really, really good at picking up new skills on my own just by looking up a how-to page on the internet. I feel like I will one day be able to do a lot of things that most people would balk at. Hell, I already know how to bake bread all by myself without using a machine of any sort. Just the other day someone was surprised when I told them I baked bread often, but don't own a bread machine. Sometime in the near future I'll be doing my own electrical wiring (actually this coming spring I'll have to rig up some lighting for seed starting!) and minor home repairs, just because I want to prove to myself that I can. I'd fix the broken switch on the washing machine so we don't have to lift the lid to get the basket to spin, but that involves buying a replacement switch and Trevor won't let me because that's the management's responsibility. I agree with him there, so I think I'll just have the repairman show me how when he does it.
Before I go too far off on that tangent, I'd like to go ahead and go back to that whole squirrel-mode thing. I don't know what it is, but every single year around Autumn I get the urge to hoard food. And this isn't a recent thing, I did this as a very young child. I specifically remember making a list for a winter cache and raiding the kitchen so I could store stuff in my room. My mother was none too pleased to find a bunch of cereal and other foodstuffs stashed in my own cupboards instead of the kitchen's. This year, I have a canner. This year, I bought an entire bushel of apples. And this year, I have garden veggies to freeze and raided the Madison farmer's market for enough jam and honey to last through the coming winter. I still have a few apples to can, but let's just say I won't be hurting for applesauce or apple pie anytime soon.
This year, my ridiculous squirrel instincts have been (mostly) satisfied. It's... well, satisfying. The only thing that would make me happier is if I had an actual cellar with a huge wall of shelves full of jars. Maybe in a few years. I can't wait to see how bad this urge gets when I have children to care for, because my maternal instincts make me even more irrational than my squirrel instincts. Trevor will probably refuse to talk about it.
Oh yes, the garden! The last few pole beans are slowly coming in. I have several pods that I just left to completely ripen and dry out so I can save the seeds for next year. Got some good tomatoes (finally). Those went into vegetable soup. The anaheim peppers have blossom-end rot, so they're going to be a total loss unfortunately. Very frustrating, but at least now that my chili pepper is going wild with blossoms I can give it some milk so they don't end up like the first batch of tomatoes and the anaheims. I bought a string of peppers for drying at the farmer's market, so I won't go without. One little strawberry plant is hanging on like a champ, but I know I'm going to lose it to the same wilt that got the others so I'll probably yank it and use the pot for cold-weather crops. My basil is going nuts again, I'll probably trim it back soon.
As far as cold-weather stuff, I've already got kale, lettuce, and swiss chard planted. They're all leggy as hell since I started them from seeds and only have one puny light in there. I put them outside in the sun before any more damage could be done and picked the strongest ones when I thinned them, but they're still floppy. Ah well, they're still growing well. I plan to plant some spinach if I can just find some seeds. I may have to order some, since apparently none of the stores around here have heard of fall planting. I think I'm gonna do some garlic too, and when it gets too frosty for anything to grow I'll fire up the old Aerogarden.
The summer was a cool one, but it was still kind to me. I learned a lot of lessons and will have a bigger, better garden next year. Signing off for now. Fare thee well, Summer! Until next year.
Applesauce!
Thursday, August 20, 2009
I bought a quarter peck of Lodi apples at the farmer's market yesterday, and since they're not that great for eating and seem too soft to put into a pie, I decided to make applesauce. I have two small jars in the canner right now, and just got done licking the bowl. I put maybe 3/4 cup sugar in there since they were tart apples, and a few shakes of cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice. It took on a reddish tint when I stirred it all up, and it's absolutely delicious. Can't wait until my dad gets here so we can do some more canning. I did learn one lesson today, though: Water bath canners take forever to boil, and even longer if you have an electric stove with small elements (the single large one on my stove doesn't work.) Next time I'll put the water on long before I start anything else.
I think I'll go ahead and bake some bread today too, since I'm already messing up my kitchen and doing heaps of dishes (I've probably done 3 sinkfuls already and will have 2 or 3 more by the time I'm done). The weather is rather mild today, so I won't be roasting here in the apartment.
I think I'll go ahead and bake some bread today too, since I'm already messing up my kitchen and doing heaps of dishes (I've probably done 3 sinkfuls already and will have 2 or 3 more by the time I'm done). The weather is rather mild today, so I won't be roasting here in the apartment.
Another Job
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
I found out yesterday that I'm being hired back at Sendik's, which is a higher-end grocery store here in the Milwaukee area. I'll be making $9 an hour, 4o hours a week. Yeah, big load off my mind. I've been watching our savings steadily decline while waitressing and was really starting to get worried. Crisis averted!
Anyhoo, I did my fall seed-starting. Well, some of it anyway. I found seeds for kale, lettuce, and swiss chard. I still need peas and spinach, plus some new containers and dirt (I didn't plan that out very well.) Here's hoping that we'll have some lovely fresh greens right up until the frost gets bad enough to kill them all off! In other news, my pole beans are flourishing. Every couple of days I go out there and pull off a good handful of deliciously snappy beans. I've been mostly eating them raw rather than cooking them. They're good in salads.
The tomatoes have been struck with blossom-end rot, unfortunately. I'll still have a few decent ones but all the biggest ones are rotting. This is another lesson learned: Forget relying on commercial feed. I've been using Miracle-Gro for them, but apparently they don't put enough (or any) calcium in it, which has led to a calcium deficiency in my plants which causes blossom-end rot. Next year I'm going to do some composting out on the porch and ditch the Miracle-Gro (it's owned by Monsanto anyway and they're not getting another dime of my money if I can help it.)
Not sure what's up with my big pepper, either. It's not getting any bigger and I assumed it just needed to ripen, so far it's still green but it's shriveling in the middle. Dunno if that's normal or not, I'll keep an eye on it. There are more tiny peppers starting to develop on there too, and still plenty of flower buds to open yet.
My strawberries... well, I think they're a bust too. They seem to have Verticillium Wilt. I've already lost two plants, and the others are showing signs of having it, even the little baby runners. I mowed the big ones down to ground level to interrupt the disease cycle, we'll see if they last much longer. Either way I think I might go ahead and yank them and dispose of the soil and bleach the hell out of the containers. At least then I can reuse them for my lettuce and stuff. I'm thinking strawberries might take up too much space for so little yield anyhow. I might ditch them in next year's garden and wait until I can put a big patch in the ground to grow them. Next year when it comes down to jam-making time I'll probably just hit up a U-pick farm.
I bought some new books, including one called "Almost Vegetarian". We're trying to cut back on the amount of red meat we eat, so the books I bought should help towards that goal. Tomorrow I'll go to the Farmer's Market and stock up, today I think I'll take whatever scraps I have left and make pork or chicken fried rice using this method. Maybe even shrimp, although I don't much care for shrimp.
Oh look, it's 10 AM! I Love Lucy is on. Toodles!
Anyhoo, I did my fall seed-starting. Well, some of it anyway. I found seeds for kale, lettuce, and swiss chard. I still need peas and spinach, plus some new containers and dirt (I didn't plan that out very well.) Here's hoping that we'll have some lovely fresh greens right up until the frost gets bad enough to kill them all off! In other news, my pole beans are flourishing. Every couple of days I go out there and pull off a good handful of deliciously snappy beans. I've been mostly eating them raw rather than cooking them. They're good in salads.
The tomatoes have been struck with blossom-end rot, unfortunately. I'll still have a few decent ones but all the biggest ones are rotting. This is another lesson learned: Forget relying on commercial feed. I've been using Miracle-Gro for them, but apparently they don't put enough (or any) calcium in it, which has led to a calcium deficiency in my plants which causes blossom-end rot. Next year I'm going to do some composting out on the porch and ditch the Miracle-Gro (it's owned by Monsanto anyway and they're not getting another dime of my money if I can help it.)
Not sure what's up with my big pepper, either. It's not getting any bigger and I assumed it just needed to ripen, so far it's still green but it's shriveling in the middle. Dunno if that's normal or not, I'll keep an eye on it. There are more tiny peppers starting to develop on there too, and still plenty of flower buds to open yet.
My strawberries... well, I think they're a bust too. They seem to have Verticillium Wilt. I've already lost two plants, and the others are showing signs of having it, even the little baby runners. I mowed the big ones down to ground level to interrupt the disease cycle, we'll see if they last much longer. Either way I think I might go ahead and yank them and dispose of the soil and bleach the hell out of the containers. At least then I can reuse them for my lettuce and stuff. I'm thinking strawberries might take up too much space for so little yield anyhow. I might ditch them in next year's garden and wait until I can put a big patch in the ground to grow them. Next year when it comes down to jam-making time I'll probably just hit up a U-pick farm.
I bought some new books, including one called "Almost Vegetarian". We're trying to cut back on the amount of red meat we eat, so the books I bought should help towards that goal. Tomorrow I'll go to the Farmer's Market and stock up, today I think I'll take whatever scraps I have left and make pork or chicken fried rice using this method. Maybe even shrimp, although I don't much care for shrimp.
Oh look, it's 10 AM! I Love Lucy is on. Toodles!
Stock!
Sunday, August 9, 2009
I will be making a small batch of chicken stock today. I've got leftover chicken bones from our dinner the other night and I saved the giblets too (heart, liver, gizzard, no neck unfortunately). There is a wonderful tutorial on stock-making at http://www.goonswithspoons.com/Chicken_Stock. Trev has also requested a batch of banana bread, so I guess I'd better get on that. It's oppressively hot in Wisconsin today, up to 90 degrees and humid. Windy too, otherwise I'd go take some pictures of the garden to upload. When it calms down I'll try and get some. In other news, I had a job interview the other day. If I get it I'll be making over $10 per hour. The hours are random and that will suck, but I'll at least be able to start putting back money again. Oh yeah, it rained really hard yesterday morning so we had to put off the fair until Wednesday :(
Recommended reading today is the 1969 edition of Betty Crocker's Cookbook. I bought one off Amazon for my dad and have been looking through it, and there are so many good recipes in there it's not even funny. If you come across one, I'd suggest trying to get ahold of it. Right now they cost anywhere between $45 and $100 on Amazon.
Alright, I need to get my stock going and I'm gonna have to do some cleaning today, too. I hate to turn on the oven, but Trev wants his bread so I suppose he's going to get that as well. Toodles.
Recommended reading today is the 1969 edition of Betty Crocker's Cookbook. I bought one off Amazon for my dad and have been looking through it, and there are so many good recipes in there it's not even funny. If you come across one, I'd suggest trying to get ahold of it. Right now they cost anywhere between $45 and $100 on Amazon.
Alright, I need to get my stock going and I'm gonna have to do some cleaning today, too. I hate to turn on the oven, but Trev wants his bread so I suppose he's going to get that as well. Toodles.
Bread!
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Today I got up early so I could get a loaf of bread in the oven before it gets too hot. Nothing beats the smell and taste of fresh bread, and since I still have some strawberry jam left I'm in for a treat later today. I might stop by work later since I've promised my banana bread recipe (I actually got it from Trevor's mom), some green tomatoes, and whatever bread I made next to various co-workers.
I like to be generous at work. It seems like so many people are astounded by the fact that I like to cook and bake, and even more astounded when I tell them how simple it is. I try not to bore them with details about my garden and the finer points of bread-baking (mostly because once I get going it's hard to shut me up), but I do bring in some of my stuff to share. Generosity seems to have gone by the wayside with many folks today. Even Trevor sometimes snarls at me when I'm heading toward the door with half a batch of scones packed up for people at work. "Don't take those to work! They cost money to make! Let them get their own!" I try to gently remind him that we are blessed to have what we do have, and that brightening another person's day with something delicious to eat is never a waste. I fully believe that there is a reason that things tend to work out for us, and that if we ever start acting selfish and greedy that things will go sour. Besides, we're both constantly spending far more money on video games, books, and music than ever goes into what I bake. If we were really hurting for money, those luxuries ought to be first to go, not the occasional treat for friends and neighbors.
Having said that, it's looking like late summer will be a time of plenty as far as beans, peppers, and tomatoes go. I've been keeping an eye on those beans the past couple of days, and they've gone from no flowers at all to too many for me to count. I'm so glad that I didn't decide to prune them back. The tomatoes are still growing extremely well, although I did lose one to a nasty split (I overwatered. Whoops.) New flowers burst open on the anaheim every day. The weather has taken a turn for the warm as well, with it being in the 80's all week and the 90's for the weekend. It'll be miserably hot at the state fair but I don't care. We'll still have a blast.
I need to go check on my bread dough, it should be just about done with the first proof pretty soon. It'll be going into a pan for half an hour after that for the second proof, and then into the oven for half an hour. Then it's going into my mouth. Here's the recipe, for those interested:
Farmhouse White Bread
1 Package Active Dry Yeast
1 Cup Lukewarm Water
1 Tablespoon Sugar
2 3/4 to 3 Cups Bread Flour
2 Tbsp. Unsalted Butter, room temp
1 Tsp. Salt
1. Dissolve yeast in lukewarm water, add sugar, wait for bubbles.
2. Add 1 cup flour, butter, and salt, mix well. Then add the rest of the flour.
3. Turn the dough out and knead 10 minutes.
4. Put dough in bowl, cover, let rise for 45 minutes.
5. Preheat oven, oil bread pan.
6. Punch dough down, put in pan, cover. Let rise another 30 minutes.
7. Bake about 30 minutes.
8. Remove from oven, cool on wire rack.
Enjoy!
Edit to add: My but the birds are out today! American Goldfinches, mourning doves, chickadees, downy woodpeckers... all have been to my feeders this morning. I never get tired of hearing the birds flitting around the tree outside, chirping and singing between raids on my feeders.
I like to be generous at work. It seems like so many people are astounded by the fact that I like to cook and bake, and even more astounded when I tell them how simple it is. I try not to bore them with details about my garden and the finer points of bread-baking (mostly because once I get going it's hard to shut me up), but I do bring in some of my stuff to share. Generosity seems to have gone by the wayside with many folks today. Even Trevor sometimes snarls at me when I'm heading toward the door with half a batch of scones packed up for people at work. "Don't take those to work! They cost money to make! Let them get their own!" I try to gently remind him that we are blessed to have what we do have, and that brightening another person's day with something delicious to eat is never a waste. I fully believe that there is a reason that things tend to work out for us, and that if we ever start acting selfish and greedy that things will go sour. Besides, we're both constantly spending far more money on video games, books, and music than ever goes into what I bake. If we were really hurting for money, those luxuries ought to be first to go, not the occasional treat for friends and neighbors.
Having said that, it's looking like late summer will be a time of plenty as far as beans, peppers, and tomatoes go. I've been keeping an eye on those beans the past couple of days, and they've gone from no flowers at all to too many for me to count. I'm so glad that I didn't decide to prune them back. The tomatoes are still growing extremely well, although I did lose one to a nasty split (I overwatered. Whoops.) New flowers burst open on the anaheim every day. The weather has taken a turn for the warm as well, with it being in the 80's all week and the 90's for the weekend. It'll be miserably hot at the state fair but I don't care. We'll still have a blast.
I need to go check on my bread dough, it should be just about done with the first proof pretty soon. It'll be going into a pan for half an hour after that for the second proof, and then into the oven for half an hour. Then it's going into my mouth. Here's the recipe, for those interested:
Farmhouse White Bread
1 Package Active Dry Yeast
1 Cup Lukewarm Water
1 Tablespoon Sugar
2 3/4 to 3 Cups Bread Flour
2 Tbsp. Unsalted Butter, room temp
1 Tsp. Salt
1. Dissolve yeast in lukewarm water, add sugar, wait for bubbles.
2. Add 1 cup flour, butter, and salt, mix well. Then add the rest of the flour.
3. Turn the dough out and knead 10 minutes.
4. Put dough in bowl, cover, let rise for 45 minutes.
5. Preheat oven, oil bread pan.
6. Punch dough down, put in pan, cover. Let rise another 30 minutes.
7. Bake about 30 minutes.
8. Remove from oven, cool on wire rack.
Enjoy!
Edit to add: My but the birds are out today! American Goldfinches, mourning doves, chickadees, downy woodpeckers... all have been to my feeders this morning. I never get tired of hearing the birds flitting around the tree outside, chirping and singing between raids on my feeders.
An update!
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Well now, it's been a while hasn't it? To be honest, nothing much has gone on, though there has been a little progress with the garden.
The tomatoes, for one, have exploded. I hung the basket up from the roof to catch the sun for a few days, and just left it alone, wondering when the tomatoes would start really developing. Well, a storm rolled in and I took it down out of the wind, and there were suddenly like 20 or 30 little tomatoes between the two plants! It's taking a lot of water to keep them from wilting now. I snipped the baby strawberry runner from the mother plant, we'll see how it fares. My anaheim has a lovely little pepper growing and new blossoms opening every day, and the chili plant has sprung back nicely even if there are no flowers yet. The beans, unfortunately, seem to have stopped producing. They're growing nicely, but after I picked those first beans no more blossoms have appeared. Next year I really need to watch how I fertilize my plants, because dumping fertilizer on nitrogen-fixing crops means lots of foliage but no produce. Lesson learned, I suppose.
I practiced my pie making the other day. I'm terrible, and need a lot of practice. I think most of it will be reserved for the winter, though, because even with though this has been a fairly cool summer so far with us being on the third floor and having poor airflow it gets unbearably hot in here sometimes with the oven on. That's alright, it'll give me something to do while I'm pining for the spring to come.
Oh yeah, Trev said we're going to the State Fair next Saturday. Can't wait! I'll be sure to take lots of pictures. It'll be good exercise stomping all over the fairgrounds for hours. Speaking of exercise, I'm trying to walk on our treadmill every day for a mile. I feel so much better when I do, I think a distinct lack of aerobic exercise might be part of why I feel so tired all the time and have low blood pressure. I'm so out of shape it's not even funny. Eventually I'd like to increase my endurance so I can flat-out run a mile. Right now, it takes forever to reach a mile even walking really fast and it's so boring I can hardly stand it. I try to read while walking but even so. I tried watching TV, too, but the stupid machine is too loud to hear the TV over. Today it's nice and cool again with a lovely breeze, so at least I won't roast half to death.
Oh! Before I forget, it's recommended reading time! We go to Half-Price Books a lot, and last time we went I found a book by John Seymour called The Self-Sufficient Life and How to Live It. It's a wealth of knowledge, and I'd suggest it to anyone who's interested in homesteading. If only I had the means to really put that knowledge to use! I don't think Trev will ever go for it, though. I also found The Gallery of Regrettable Food, which is a hilarious look at the terrible stuff they served back in the 50's and 60's. Hot dogs and beets in jello molds? You bet! My other good find was a book on preserving, which will come in quite handy this fall when we raid the apple orchards.
I'm going to head out now, I need to make the bed up, do some dishes, and get my walking and showering done. Toodles!
The tomatoes, for one, have exploded. I hung the basket up from the roof to catch the sun for a few days, and just left it alone, wondering when the tomatoes would start really developing. Well, a storm rolled in and I took it down out of the wind, and there were suddenly like 20 or 30 little tomatoes between the two plants! It's taking a lot of water to keep them from wilting now. I snipped the baby strawberry runner from the mother plant, we'll see how it fares. My anaheim has a lovely little pepper growing and new blossoms opening every day, and the chili plant has sprung back nicely even if there are no flowers yet. The beans, unfortunately, seem to have stopped producing. They're growing nicely, but after I picked those first beans no more blossoms have appeared. Next year I really need to watch how I fertilize my plants, because dumping fertilizer on nitrogen-fixing crops means lots of foliage but no produce. Lesson learned, I suppose.
I practiced my pie making the other day. I'm terrible, and need a lot of practice. I think most of it will be reserved for the winter, though, because even with though this has been a fairly cool summer so far with us being on the third floor and having poor airflow it gets unbearably hot in here sometimes with the oven on. That's alright, it'll give me something to do while I'm pining for the spring to come.
Oh yeah, Trev said we're going to the State Fair next Saturday. Can't wait! I'll be sure to take lots of pictures. It'll be good exercise stomping all over the fairgrounds for hours. Speaking of exercise, I'm trying to walk on our treadmill every day for a mile. I feel so much better when I do, I think a distinct lack of aerobic exercise might be part of why I feel so tired all the time and have low blood pressure. I'm so out of shape it's not even funny. Eventually I'd like to increase my endurance so I can flat-out run a mile. Right now, it takes forever to reach a mile even walking really fast and it's so boring I can hardly stand it. I try to read while walking but even so. I tried watching TV, too, but the stupid machine is too loud to hear the TV over. Today it's nice and cool again with a lovely breeze, so at least I won't roast half to death.
Oh! Before I forget, it's recommended reading time! We go to Half-Price Books a lot, and last time we went I found a book by John Seymour called The Self-Sufficient Life and How to Live It. It's a wealth of knowledge, and I'd suggest it to anyone who's interested in homesteading. If only I had the means to really put that knowledge to use! I don't think Trev will ever go for it, though. I also found The Gallery of Regrettable Food, which is a hilarious look at the terrible stuff they served back in the 50's and 60's. Hot dogs and beets in jello molds? You bet! My other good find was a book on preserving, which will come in quite handy this fall when we raid the apple orchards.
I'm going to head out now, I need to make the bed up, do some dishes, and get my walking and showering done. Toodles!
Harvest time!
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Some of those beans are ready for harvest today. and my Anaheim finally had a single blossom burst open. The others should follow suit soon.
I made a blueberry crumble the other day. I was going to make a cobbler but I didn't feel like messing with pie pastry, so I just whipped up a crumble topping with a cup of flour, 6 tablespoons of butter, half a cup of brown sugar, and a few handfuls of granola and rolled oats. Tossed the thawed blueberries with some flour and more brown sugar and into the buttered baking dish they went, followed by the topping. I don't remember how long I had to bake it, I just checked it after a while and it was bubbling. Turned out to be quite delicious. I think I need to work on my pie pastry, so maybe tomorrow that's what I'll do since Saturday we'll be busy.
I'm off today, so we might go see Harry Potter sometime after Trev gets home from work. I think I'm going to make vegetable soup tonight, so I'll need to get a bag of my beef stock out of the freezer (I usually make this soup totally vegetarian by using vegetable stock, but there was none at the store. Only chicken and beef.) and should probably go throw together a loaf of bread and get it proofing. I don't think we have any block cheese, which is unfortunate because I always serve soup or stew with crusty bread and cheese for dipping. Blah, maybe we'll just have Salisbury steak and mashed potatoes with the green beans on the side, and I can whip up a bowl of salad. We'll see. :)
I made a blueberry crumble the other day. I was going to make a cobbler but I didn't feel like messing with pie pastry, so I just whipped up a crumble topping with a cup of flour, 6 tablespoons of butter, half a cup of brown sugar, and a few handfuls of granola and rolled oats. Tossed the thawed blueberries with some flour and more brown sugar and into the buttered baking dish they went, followed by the topping. I don't remember how long I had to bake it, I just checked it after a while and it was bubbling. Turned out to be quite delicious. I think I need to work on my pie pastry, so maybe tomorrow that's what I'll do since Saturday we'll be busy.
I'm off today, so we might go see Harry Potter sometime after Trev gets home from work. I think I'm going to make vegetable soup tonight, so I'll need to get a bag of my beef stock out of the freezer (I usually make this soup totally vegetarian by using vegetable stock, but there was none at the store. Only chicken and beef.) and should probably go throw together a loaf of bread and get it proofing. I don't think we have any block cheese, which is unfortunate because I always serve soup or stew with crusty bread and cheese for dipping. Blah, maybe we'll just have Salisbury steak and mashed potatoes with the green beans on the side, and I can whip up a bowl of salad. We'll see. :)
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