Gardening Excursions of 2011: Thus far...

Spring is still on its way, and lots of things are happening lately! Between two jobs, just accepting another one, a funeral, Easter, family get togethers, brewing lots of beer, and biking, I'm a pretty busy gal! One gorgeous day a few weeks ago I managed to find enough time to prep my garden for the year. I did the usual: turning over and aerating the soil, adding fertilizer and compost, pulling out any weeds (yeah, I will definitely have to do THAT again...), and evening out the soil to make the bed look pretty.

That day, I went to Amelia's Flower and Garden Shoppe to pick up some new seed soil because my first experiment of the year didn't go very well. I tried putting my seeds in a new location because I thought they would get more sun in the upstairs bedroom, but there was not enough ventilation. Combined with bad seed soil that didn't drain well from Bachman's, and getting a little too wet, my seeds got moldy. I was not a happy camper. So Amelia's mixed me up a beautiful medley of sand, peat moss, and good soil which has made my new seedlings very happy. I also moved my setup to my previous location which seems to make them happier. At least it makes ME happier to see them whenever I walk to my bedroom.Except I have to go by the litter boxes. Not my favorite thing. My marigolds, petunias, purple coneflowers, and green peppers don't want to germinate. What gives? My seedlings include: cherry tomato, brandywine tomato, eggplant, jalapeno, sweet pepper, zucchini, leaf lettuce, lettuce mix, spinach, swiss chard, petunias, marigolds, coneflowers, and basil.

My tomatoes sure are pretty! Anyways, the nice salesgirl at Amelia's suggested that I try planting my lettuce outside because it is really hardy. She recommended covering them with something, just in case. I figured I had an afternoon to kill, so why not try it? I didn't want to buy a bunch of stuff for my seedling cover, partially because I didn't have any money, but also because I could only see myself needing it until about May 15th. So I devised a plan to come up with my own jerry-rigged system using and re-using things around my house. The only thing I bought was duct tape. Why we did not have any duct tape is a question I cannot answer.

What I call my "seed tent" was made up as I went along. I used duct tape, Roundy's bags, string, bamboo grilling sticks, and wire hangers.This was before I knew I was using wire hangers to weigh down the sides of the tent.

I started out with a Roundy's bag. Actually, ten of them.
Chairman Bob's Seal of Approval for this project.

I cut the tops off of all of them to make squares.

Next I duct taped each square together. And since I'm a little OCD, all the Bobs had to go the same way.Next I straightened out two wire hangers and duct taped them to the ends for a little support and weight.Next I realized that the bamboo skewers needed something to be tied to. So I cut holes in the duct tape parts (for more security and durability) and looped some string into the hole. The skewers inside ended up acting like a skeleton for the whole tent, though to hold down the tent I just stuck skewers through the duct tape to secure it to the ground.
Next I added the last two bags to the end to close up the tent.
I found this entire project to be entirely amusing. I mean, who duct tapes plastic bags together? Apparently, I do.

Here it is in action. I planted Grandpa Admire's Lettuce, Mesclun Mix, Swiss Chard, Spinach, Leaf Lettuce, and a few other varieties under this tent on April 5th.
Mandi found this angle to be deceptive. It's really not taller than 6 inches. Or the width of a Roundy's bag. Rocks are weighing down the little flappies on the ends.

Most people I talked to about this project were worried that the seedlings would die from cold temperatures. I was skeptical as well, which is why I planted additional lettuce seedlings inside. After two (separate!) days of snow on the ground in April, and countless freezing nights, I was sure they were dead. But to my amazement, they're still with us!I laughed maniacally when I discovered them.
I plan on still covering them at night, but for today I'm going to let them have a little sunlight. If it comes out today.

I can't wait for gardening season! One of my favorite things to do is to bring my seedlings out on "field trips" to get them used to being outside. After being in the sunlight for the first time, they visibly change color! Soon it will be nice enough....

Until next time,
Happy Gardening!

This is what I'm drinking...

I thought it would be fitting to review a bike inspired beer after a bicycle-centric day. Today I worked at the shop all day, and then followed the shop boys to a bike art show after chilling out in the parking lot. Me and a bunch of guys. Yup. Thus the beer of the day: Lakefront Brewery's Fixed Gear American Red Ale. Another great 22 ouncer from Lakefront. It pours a modest white head and has a beautiful red color, and leaves a little bit of lattice on the glass. This beer is really floral and a little malty in the nose. This great red ale has a medium body, very mild bitterness, and a long floraly finish, thanks to great amounts of dry-hopped Chinook and Cascade hops. This is a great early spring beer, the medium body is very filling and satisfying for the season. Eat, drink good beer, and be merry!

Lakefront Brewery India-Style Black Ale

Spring is finally starting to arrive here in Minneapolis. I think the groundhog was very mistaken in his call this February, spring did not come early. At all. I am thoroughly disappointed in that rodent. Everyone in the city seems to be antsy to get outside and enjoy the weather. Bikers were everywhere today! Now the remainder of the city should come to the bike shop and buy one from me. Seriously.

With the lingering cold weather, porters have been a very comforting friend to me. My favorite porter lately has been Flat Earth Brewery's Cygnus X-1 Grand Design Porter, which I intended to write about today. But since I forgot my ID for our trip to Surdyk's, I was out of luck. Once I found my darn ID, our neighborhood liquor store had a different beer in store for me, an India-Style black ale by Lakefront Brewery, Inc., a brewery out of Milwaukee whose slogan is "Pure Milwaukee Genius." Genius indeed. This wonderfully malty IPA reminds me of the full bodied-ness of a porter, but with the lively taste of an IPA. It starts out malty, and a little bitter, and it has a long floral, citrusy finish. And oh God, is it good. This beer is almost black, though in the sun it has a slight red tint. It leaves a light bubbly lattice on the glass, but not too much. And I was thoroughly surprised by the thick caramel head it poured. This beer is thick and hearty, and would be great enjoyed with a roast pork sandwich. Like the one I had at Brasa today. Great stuff. I think this beer would also be awesome used as a base for a steak marinade too! But that is for another day. Enjoy this beer while enjoying the cool crisp evenings of this slowly approaching spring.

Banana Almond Shakes

Ahhh, more detox stuff.

So I was doing great on my detox diet last week, I lasted a whole five days, but I had to stop because we went out of town to visit my man's family. Since I didn't want anyone to have to make a special supper for me, I decided to quit for a little bit. It was also me and my man's four year anniversary this week! Thus, I wanted to be able to drink some beer and eat some not-so-detox-friendly Indian food (white rice, cream, and paneer, oh my!).

So I started up again yesterday. After the first five days, I felt a lot less bloated, a little slimmer, and more... errr.... regular. So the detox definitely helped. I think I'll continue on until the 18th. So what else have I been eating other than great chili and the soon to follow Banana Almond Shake recipe? Lots of things! Some breakfast items include fruit, yogurt, shakes, and oatmeal. Lunch could be avocado and whole wheat sandwiches, tuna fish sandwiches (mayo doesn't have dairy, even though I still feel like I'm cheating), salads with orange segments and mustard vinaigrette, and rye crackers with yogurt dip. Dinner is about the same, though I usually try to stick to filling soups, such as Curried Parsnip Soup, lentil soup, salads, rye crackers with tzatsiki, or even steaks!

The lack of dairy has been hard on this Minnesota girl, but these Banana Almond Shakes taste like the real thing! I've gotten a little sick of yogurt shakes, so these really hit the spot! Almond milk is a new thing to me, and I don't know much about it other than it is great! It's smooth and silky, with a little nuttiness. I have used soy milk as a milk substitute many times in the past, and though I really like chocolate soy milk, I hate regular. It has this weird aftertaste that I just can't stomach. I will use it for cereal, making a roux, or smoothies, but I just can not drink it alone. Almond milk seems like something that I could just drink.

Anyways, these shakes are awesome! I tweaked a recipe from the Bon Appetite Magazine's Food Lover's Cleanse. I didn't have any ice cubes in the freezer, but I did have frozen fruit! Here's the recipe for one (big!!) shake.

1 cup almond milk
1 banana
1 cup frozen blackberries (substituted for the ice)
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 T brown sugar
a little shake of nutmeg

Add everybody to the blender and process for for about a minute, until everything is well combined.
Enjoy!!

Food Lover's Cleanse

After the holidays (and making too many truffles for my family) and getting REALLY sick with the flu after that, my system is now a little, errr, unhappy. It probably didn't help that I ate pizza for 3 days straight (on an aside note, The Rustler pizza from Luce's is the BOMB! Mock duck, banana peppers, pineapple, cheese and bbq sauce? Yes please!).

Now that all the leftovers and most of the junk food is out of the house, it's time for a cleanse. I came across the Bon Appetite Food lover's cleanse yesterday and thought I'd try it out! It pretty much consists of avoiding alcohol, dairy, sugar, coffee, and bread, drinking a lot of water, eating at least one salad a day, and regulating portion size. You can check it out here: http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/food-lovers-cleanse/rules.

So today I've tried to stick to the diet. I've done really good so far. For breakfast, I had oatmeal and a little brown sugar, a glass of juice in the middle of the day, and for lunch I had a nice spring green salad with cashews and orange sections with a white wine and sesame oil vinaigrette. Obviously the first day is kind of difficult, so I'm allowed some small... indiscretions. We had some chuck roast defrosting, and that needed to be used. So I decided to make chili! It turned out pretty amazing! I got to use my new dutch oven too!

So the chili is following the cleanse because it doesn't have any of the bad stuff in it, and as a bonus, it will be a nice protein boost for going back to the gym tomorrow. Deal with it.

I wanted to make something really nice for my boyfriend, and since he wanted shredded beef, I gave him shredded beef. We roasted the chuck roast and shredded it before adding the beef to my favorite chili. Here's how I did it.

Mix together:
1/2 cup ketchup
1/4 cup vinegar (I used white wine vinegar)
1 T Worcestershire sauce
1 T soy sauce
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp cracked black pepper
1/2 tsp dried minced onion
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp dried red chili flakes
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp paprika

Salt and pepper the chuck roast (about 4 lbs) on all sides. Brown on all sides in a large dutch oven (mine is 5 Qt). Pour sauce over roast and toss in the oven. Bake at 325 for about 2 1/2 hours. I roasted for 3, and it ended up a little darker than I would have liked. Baste the roast about every 1/2 hour, and half way through cooking, flip it over.

When the roast is finished, take it out of the dutch oven and let it rest for 15 minutes to let all the juices redistribute. Scrape out any crud on the bottom of the pot. Next we'll work on the chili.

You will need:
1 medium red onion (diced)
2 green peppers (diced)
1 red pepper (diced)
1 jalapeno (I remove 1/2 the seeds)
3-4 cloves garlic (diced)
1 14 oz. can kidney beans (drained)
1 28 oz. can chili beans (drained)
1 28 oz. can diced tomato (reserve liquid)
2 chipotle peppers (diced)
2 cups chicken broth
1 T chili powder
1/2-1 tsp cinnamon (I like a lot of cinnamon, it adds a really different taste to the chili!)
1/2 tsp cumin
2 T brown sugar
1/2 tsp paprika
salt and pepper to taste

Shred the beef and set aside (it's probably best to get this out of the way before you start cooking everything, unlike what I did...)
Add a little oil and the onions to the dutch onion. Get them nice and carmelized. Add green, red, and jalapeno pepper and cook through. Add beans, tomato including the liquid, and chicken broth. If you want a less hearty, soupier chili, add a cup or two more chicken broth. Next add spices, brown sugar, and chipotle peppers. And finally, add the beef.

Bring everything to a boil and simmer for 45 minutes. You will end up with this fantastic-ness.
You get the awesome spicy broth, the little bits of carmelized pulled beef, and all the veggies. That is definitely the most important part of a chili to me, all of the veggies.

Well, hopefully I can add a few more recipes for this cleanse over the next two weeks.
Bon Appetit!

It's been a long time...

Oh. My. Goodness. It's been a long time since I've written on here! So... What have I been up to lately?

Well, a decent amount. Job Searching (Fun! not really), belly dance class with my cousin (really fun), seeing an therapist who is helping me learn to take joy and pride in the process of life instead of just the results, dieting and going to the gym (and losing 12 #'s!), and finished up my garden!

Here's some good gardening pics:

Those zucchinis were HUGE!
My cherry tomatoes were as tall as me! The neighbors said they were the best on the block!
There are those monstrous zucchinis again!
I remember walking out to the garden one day after working about 5 days in a row. I didn't have time over those days tend to my garden, and to my amazement/horror, BOTH of these zucchinis were in there! they were about the size of my forearm.... Obviously smaller zucchinis are better, and this was INSANE, but it was fun to see how quickly these buggers grew!

My boyfriend and I also went up north this summer and had a lot of fun! We went to Tettegouche State Park and Palisade Head.
This is me at Palisade Head with a blueberry. This morning we had camped out on the beach on the lake and woke up to a beautiful sunrise. We drove up to Palisade Head after breakfast, ascended a narrow, one lane road that wound through a thick forest and climbed monstrous hills and slopes that bulged out of the side of the headland. Palisade Head is basically a giant rock that hangs out over Lake Superior. On this particular day, the hillsides were much warmer than the lake, and in the distance of this picture, you can see the dense fog over the lake. Gusts of wind brought the cool fog up onto the hillside, quietly bringing a refreshing relief from the oppressing heat.
It was absolutely breathtaking.

I also went to a Twins/Detroit Tigers Game at the new Twins Stadium. That was a fantastic experience! I loved the new stadium.
And my man and I both cut all of our hair off. He had dreds half way down his back, and my hair was about the same length, though normal...It was muuuuch longer before...
Well, I think that's all for now, but tomorrow I will have a new recipe for you!
Peace Out!

Two Tomato Tempeh and Pasta

Frantically searching through the fridge for dinner, I discovered that I only had a few slightly strange ingredients. What was I supposed to do with tempeh, sun-dried tomatoes and regular tomatoes, mustard, rosemary, and lemon? Though it sounds weird, this dish turned out to be fantastic.

So what exactly is Tempeh? To wikipedia.com, it is an Indonesian food "made by a natural culturing and controlled fermentation process that binds soybeans into a cake form". To me, it's manna sent down by God himself, soft bean curds with a nutty taste. To my boyfriend, it's a weirdly-textured fermented soy bean cake. Okay, maybe to some it does have a weird texture. But when sliced and sauteed in butter, it's awesome.

So here's what went down:

I started off with a package of tempeh. Since this meal was only for me (read: would feed two normal people) I only sliced up about half of the tempeh.

Oh, look at all that bean-curdy goodness...


So I dumped all my tempeh in a cast iron skillet with 2 tablespoons of butter.

I also had some pasta going. I really like rotinis!!
Anyway, cook those babies until they're a little browned and remove them.
Chop 1/2 cup tomato, de-seeded, 1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes, either from oil or reconstituted with some vegetable stock, 2 cloves garlic, 1 teaspoon both thyme (I grabbed this from the garden) and rosemary and kosher salt to taste. We'll also use about 1/2 tablespoon Dijon mustard. You can obviously change up the proportions, but I was working with what I had. And I can only take so many sun dried tomatoes.

Add everybody to the skillet, except for the regular tomatoes. Let them saute for a minute, and add the tempeh and tomatoes.
Saute everyone together until the tomatoes and garlic are cooked through and soft. Serve atop some pasta with a little sprig of thyme, just for aesthetics.




Marley's watching somebody get pulled over. Oh, lyn-lake neighborhood, I love you almost as much as I love tempeh.

This could have probably fed two people, but I devoured it. Don't judge me. I have a lot of love for this wonderful soy bean cake...