Our First Box

Dear Fiends and Family,

Our first community supported agriculture box arrived yesterday. Whoopee!

What goodies did we get?

• rhubarb
• mint
• lettuce
• spinach
• asparagus
• mushrooms
• green garlic
• strawberries
• eggs

A much "easier" selection to eat than last year when the crops succumbed to torrential rains. It's what you sign up for as a member of a CSA - the good, the bad, the ugly.

I'm so excited!


Cheers!
mouse

PS: Dad came in yesterday to see Pioneer. She was a monster all day. Write more on it tomorrow.

CSA Box Contents

Dear Friends and Family,

After a four week hiatus, we're getting a box tonight. Due to bad rains, our CSA had to skip a shipment (and tack one on at the end). The last box we got is long gone. We had some snap peas go bad (I forgot about them), but other than that, we ate it all.

According to the newsletter, we can expect:

• green peppers
• cabbage
• carrots
• bottle onions
• garlic
• sweet corn
• melon
• cauliflower
• heirloom tomatoes
• new potatoes
• red tomatoes
• chard
• lemon basil

And, we get an egg share (a dozen eggs).

My plan of attack (in order of preference):

Tomatoes can be used with our crazy basil to make caprese salad. Melon. Fruit is delicious. Carrots, pre-cut into 3 oz portions for easy snacking. Sweet corn will get roasted and then made into a salad with beans and lime and cilantro. Bottle onions will roast on the grill. Chard gets made into soup, I'm sure. Green peppers will most probably get roasted on the grill. Potatoes get eaten randomly. Which leaves cabbage, cauliflower, and lemon basil. Things that make you go hmm.

And, our garden. I've been having a ton of fun with the garden. The tomatoes and peppers are doing great. We've had 54 cherry/grape tomatoes so far. And, each one is a luscious bite of juicy, red, tomatoey sweetness. There's no comparison. Supermarket tomatoes just taste like water afterwards. We've had 16 banana peppers, 11 jalapeño peppers, and 28 cayenne peppers; it's enough to share. I sent some home with B for Chef M. I repotted the peppers this weekend to give them more room to grow. I'm planning on taking them in for the fall and growing them indoors over the winter. We'll see. Very happy with my peppers. Our zucchini, which was supposed to be the easy, sure-fire thing, has turned out to be a total bust. One sad little zucchini fruit so far and the plant is doing this crazy twisty-turny, climb out of the soil, don't fertilize thing. I've just about given up on it. And, our melons? We have two of the most adorable little cantaloupe growing on our melon vines. We'll see if they grow into anything edible. Next year, I may just do a crazy batch of tomatoes. Or, I may try other plants in lieu of the zucchini.

The other thing grand experiment we'll be embarking on this week is trying to harvest the seeds from the CSA box. I want to try saving the seeds from the melon and the tomatoes. We can plant them next spring and see if anything comes of it all.

And, last but definitely not least, our neighbors got in last night! Well, at least the Mom and Daughter did. Dad wasn't scheduled to come in until Friday. They picked me up at work and we headed out for conveyor belt sushi. Today, they're headed out to Lincoln Park today to go to the zoo, do a cupcake crawl and enjoy the neighborhood walks. I hope the weather cooperates.


Cheers!
mouse

First Harvest

Dear Friends and Family,

We had our first harvest of rooftop vegetables. We had picked one banana pepper and one unfertilized, half grown zucchini before. So, I guess, technically, that was our first harvest. But, yesterday, we decided to pick several (four) peppers from our banana pepper plant. And, walking down with the four peppers, it felt like a harvest.

We stir fried one pepper last night with some chicken thighs and some basil from our basil plant. It felt good and tasted delicious.

Status on the other plants? There are three zucchini growing on the zucchini plants. I attempted to pollinate all three of them. We'll see if they continue to grow green or if they shrivel and turn yellow like the prior ones. There's one gorgeous tomato on the tomato plants. I may pick it soon and enjoy the first tomato of the season. There's several additional ones ripening. We may have a tomato "harvest" in the near future. And, on the cantaloupe front, there's a cantaloupe forming on one of the vines. I'm so excited. It would be beyond cool if I got a cantaloupe.

The peppers are doing well. We still have several banana peppers growing. And, a handful of jalapeños are growing. And, we have a couple of cayenne peppers. Our basil is still huge. I've become a little more courageous about pruning to keep it from getting out of control. The cilantro never recovered from the weekend we were out in the Twin Cities. It really needs to be removed. We have more seeds we can plant. And, the rosemary. Well, I guess there's no harm in leaving it on the roof, but it's all brown and there's really no signs of life on it. Maybe it was too far gone by the time we did the transplant from B's deck to ours.


Cheers!
mouse

CSA Box Contents

Dear Friends and Family,

Wow. Box #3. We didn't do a good job on the last box. So our plan over the next two weeks will need to be particularly aggressive.

According to the newsletter, we can expect:

• romaine lettuce
• cucumbers
• baby onions, leeks, or scallions
• raspberries
• snap peas, snow peas, or green beans
• fennel
• zucchini
• cabbage
• potatoes

And, we get an egg share (a dozen eggs).

And, leftover from our last box:

• kale or collards
• garlic scapes
• zucchini (one)
• grape leaves
• cucumbers

And, we get an egg share (ten left).

My plan of attack (in order of preference):

Raspberries. I love berries. Salad with the lettuce and the cucumbers. Cucumbers and depending upon which peas, as munchable snacks. Green beans, snap peas, zucchini can all be stir fried. Potatoes can be made into a hash with garlic, onion and a little olive oil. Mr. mouse uses the fennel with fish. Garlic scapes, grilled with a little olive oil. Kale or collards, hardy green and bean soup. Grape leaves, stuff them with rice and make dolmades from them. Cabbage, stuff with rice and ground beef. And, last but not least, baby onions, leeks or scallions, seems like something we can use fairly quickly and easily.

And the garden, lots of banana and jalapeño peppers, three pollinated zucchini, and lots of tomatoes. The peppers are growing nicely. I hope of harvest a couple more soon. The zucchini is now officially a science experiment. I pollinated another one yesterday. Tons of blossoms on the cantaloupe, but no signs of fruit yet. And, lots of green tomatoes, but no red ones yet. The rosemary is still looking mostly brown with some signs of green. And, our basil is officially out of control. And that covers the food update for the next couple of weeks.


Cheers!
mouse

Zucchini and Cantaloupe Troubleshooting

Dear Friends and Family,

We harvested our first garden piece this Monday! A banana pepper appeared to be ready. It seemed like it was the right color and form factor with no noticeable changes in over a week, so we clipped it with a pair of scissors.

The tomatoes continue to do nicely. By nicely, I mean there are several green globes at various stages of size and color from light green to dark green. I need to tie the tops of the plants to the stake so they'll continue to grow straight.

But, our cantaloupe and zucchini were acting weird. The cantaloupe had flowered profusely. Then, most of the flowers had fallen off. And, the plant was mostly green with no signs of fruit. And, the zucchini continued to grow little zucchini, but instead of growing, the zucchini would shrivel, turn yellow, and atrophy.

With a little research, I learned that cantaloupe had two stages of flowering. The first, apparently, is all male flowers. Then, the second flowering is a combination of male flowers and female flowers. And, when I went up yesterday, I noticed a couple of new flowers coming in. Seemed like it was headed in the right direction.

With the zucchini, I learned that there are male flower and female flowers. And, if nothing pollinates the female flowers, the fruit begins to grow, but then turns yellows, shrivels up and dies. Bingo! Nothing really flies high enough to pollinate the zucchini. I guess it's something we'll have to add to the plant care regimen. I tried pollinating two flowers this week - we'll see if I have two zucchini fruit to show for my efforts.

The cilantro never really recovered from our weekend away. It's still got a couple of green stalks, but we bought some cilantro this weekend to supplement. The basil has grown into a bush. Guess we can continue to enjoy its bounty for the summer. And, B has a rosemary plant. It's not doing well. So, we agreed to try moving it to our roof this weekend to see if a little additional sunshine can remedy it.


Cheers!
mouse

CSA Box Contents

Dear Friends and Family,

It's Wednesday which means we get to pick up another box. We've made good progress on the last box. The mint, radishes, and pea tendrils are left from it. We'll use the radishes and pea tendrils in the salad this week (forgot to add them the last time) and the mint is becoming mint ice cream.

According to the newsletter, we can expect:

• lettuce
• radishes or turnips
• strawberries
• kale or collards
• garlic scapes
• sugar peas or snap peas
• frisee or arugula
• zucchini
• grape leaves
• cucumbers
• kohlrabi

And, we get an egg share (a dozen eggs).

My plan of attack (in order of preference):

Mint, must make ice cream this week. Strawberries, five ounces a day until they're consumed. Garlic scapes and zucchini, grilled with a little olive oil. Kale or collards, hardy green and bean soup. We made it with the escarole last night and it was delicious. Salad with the lettuce, radishes (both this week's and last week's), pea tendrils, cucumbers and arugula or frisee. Sugar peas or snap peas, I'll munch on one or stir fry the other. Grape leaves, stuff them with rice and make dolmades from them. And, last but not least, kohlrabi, not a clue on what to do with that one.

And the garden, have one banana pepper growing, several zucchini and several tomatoes. Tons of blossoms on the cantaloupe, but no signs of fruit yet. And that covers the food update for the next couple of weeks.


Cheers!
mouse

Food and Food Allergies

Dear Friends and Family,

I had another allergic reaction last night. They've been happening on and off, starting infrequently and becoming more frequent. And, it's gotten to a point where I may be willing (actually, am willing) to modify my behavior not to deal with the thudding, thumping heart afterwards. I have a sneaking suspicion, in the long run, putting my heart in overdrive on a regular basis is not good for it.

So what am I allergic to? I'm not sure what exactly it is, but it's one of the cheaper fat substitutes and/or artificial flavors, preservatives, emulsifiers, etc. found in processed foods. I've had the reaction to commercial baked cookies at work and last night to commercial ice cream toppings. At least, I think that's what caused my incident last night.

Honestly, it's not the worst thing to be allergic to. There are people who can't eat wheat or eggs or nuts or other real foods. My allergies should, theoretically, give me the will power to pass on a lot of suspicious foods out there. It is what it is.

On the food front, I have salad, washed and torn, from our crop share for lunch today. And, I have a couple of super cute strawberries for dessert after my salad. And, last night, we discovered, a tiny, three inch zucchini growing upstairs. I know it wasn't there the day before! I'm going to be watching daily for it to grow. Four to six inches is what more people recommend. I'll probably wait until six or seven, four seems like a waste to eat.



Cheers!
mouse

CSA Box Contents

Dear Friends and Family,

We signed up for the summer crop share this year. And, our first box is tonight. I'm so excited - fresh, organic, local produce. Life is good.

According to the newsletter, we can expect:

• rhubarb
• mint
• lettuce
• radish
• spinach
• hardy green
• asparagus
• strawberries
• green garlic
• sunflower sprouts or pea tendrils

And, we get an egg share (a dozen eggs).

My plan of attack (in order of preference):

Strawberries, five ounces a day until they're consumed. Sadly, I think they'll be consumed too quickly. Mint, ice cream, oh, it's so good. Asparagus, grilled with a little olive oil and kosher salt. Lettuce and spinach, washed and made ahead into salad mix for lunches throughout the two weeks. Sunflower sprouts or pea tendrils, probably stir fried for dinner one night. We eat pea tendrils that way, so my assumption going in is that the sunflower sprouts work the same way. Which leaves the rhubarb, radish, hardy green (e.g. kale, collard green), and green garlic for us to figure out during the two weeks.

Fun, fun, fun. And, lots of blossoms now on the zucchini, cantaloupe and tomato plants. I can't believe I'm so excited about something I so took for granted - my food. It's going to be an amazing summer.


Cheers!
mouse

06.16.08: Working Out

Dear Friends and Family,

In the spirit of trying to lose these excess pounds and get back to goal weight, the weekend activities were centered around working out.

Friday, I got home from work and went for a run. Then, after dinner, while Mr. mouse was sleeping, I get to the gym to lift and to do a little extra stair climber. Saturday, we went for a long bike ride. My legs were killing me. And, the wind gusts and "hills" were tough on already sore legs. Sunday, more weights, and this time I could feel it in the quads, abs, glutes and triceps. To be honest, I'm not sure how many more weeks I can keep this up. The challenge goes until the end of July - seven more weeks. We'll see.

In other news, our vegetable garden is providing a ton of entertainment. We have flowers on the zucchini, the cantaloupe and the tomatoes. We also bought three new pepper plants on Saturday, jalapeño, cayenne and banana peppers for a total of four planters. It's so much fun watching them grow. And, I can't wait to see it fruit and, hopefully, eat it. We bought tomato stakes Saturday and tied down the tomato plants. It's a good thing we did, because, Sunday morning, a helluva storm blew in. The winds were so strong they knocked over our grill. But, our plants were standing strong, thanks to the stakes.

Sunday, we went to a baseball game to cheer on our Minnesota Twins. Unfortunately, they lost 4-2. But, the sausage race was fun to watch. And, Miller Park has great beer. And, since we brought our own food and bought tickets for $30, it wasn't as big a expenditure as going to watch the Cubs play. It's definitely worth the drive.

And, last but not least, Mr. mouse bought a cake this weekend for our anniversary. It's from the bakery where we got our wedding cake. Delicious.


Cheers!
mouse

Vegetable Garden Update

Dear Friends and Family,

My vegetable garden is slowly coming in. Both zucchini have sprouted and grown two leaves. Five cantaloupe plants have broken through the surface and are now nice and distinct from the weeds in the container. And, the tomatoes. Well, we'll see about the tomatoes. There's something growing in the container. It's growing in a straight line. But, so far, it's not really distinguishable from the weeds that are/were growing in the cantaloupe planter. If they grow, great. If not, then two out of three ain't all that bad for a first time self confessed black thumb.

Fortunately, spring seems to have finally sprung, so I think the danger of frost is finally past. And, to make life even better, it's Friday!


Cheers!
mouse

PS: Have decided salad for either lunch or dinner until I get back to goal weight. If the scale doesn't trend in the right direction on Tuesday, I may go back to counting.

04.28.08: Odds and Ends

Dear Friends and Family,

It was a weekend full of odds and ends.

Friday night, I came home from work and went up to the deck to water my garden. And, to my surprise, a zucchini plant had sprouted in the dirt. Yeah! It's so much more fun watering plants than dirt.

Saturday morning, we slept in and it was absolute bliss. We spent some time organizing the kitchen before going outside to diagnose our leak with a borrowed pressure washer - no dice, still no clue. I did succeed in removing some rust from our walls, but only because I took a layer off the wall. Ugh! Lesson learned for next time. Then, Mr. mouse changed out my tires from snow tires to all season tires while I cleaned the extra fridge we had emptied for Earth Day. We re-potted our basil into a larger pot and planted some cilantro into the now empty smaller pot.

Next, it was mail pick up, appliance shopping and raincoat returns to complete out the errands for the day. We also picked up some Korean fried chicken at a small store in the suburbs. They also sell Korean style pizzas (e.g. potato, sweet potato and bulgogi). Wow, who knew we had the critical mass to support that kind of store? To finish off the night, we headed to the gym, which felt really good. Mr. mouse picked up some micro fiber cleaning cloths after reading an article in I.D. about them. He loves them. Our kitchen counters sparkle. I'll write more about them separately.

Sunday, I noticed a second zucchini plant and the barest glimmer of the cantaloupe plants. This is so exciting! I'm stunned they actually sprouted. Just in time for an unseasonably cold night tonight, mind you, but, wow. We went to our favorite bar for breakfast and the F1 race. Then to Target for $12 flip flops, then to Whole Foods because we got a $10 off $50 coupon in the newspaper - Whole Foods coupons? - it's a bad sign for the economy. And, came home. We moved all of our wine and liquor into the empty, clean, turned off fridge for storage and moved some appliances into the empty cabinet. Then, we made a roast chicken for dinner. And, I spent the evening drawing out a scaled version of our kitchen for play while Mr. mouse hung some "new" curtains in the master bedroom and the guest bedroom. They were curtains we bought a long time ago but had never gotten around to hanging. And, when we saw the amount of dust that came out of the old curtains, boy, were we glad to have made the switch.

And, that was our weekend. Lots of odds and ends. And, now, it's Monday.


Cheers!
mouse

04.07.08: Social Butterflies

Dear Friends and Family,

It was a busy weekend. And, as a result, Mr. mouse was a little generous with the snooze button this morning. I think if I'm going to get bent out of shape about it, I should just start setting my own alarm clock.

First the bummer news. I had a doctor's appointment on Friday afternoon. Mr. mouse had felt a "lump" in January, so at my doctor's appointment in February, I mentioned it. And, my doctor requested a mammogram and an ultrasound. She figured better safe than sorry. The mammogram showed nothing. But, the ultrasound showed a teeny, tiny something on the outer left side. They don't think it's anything. But, they want me to come back in six months for a second ultrasound, just in case. So far, I'm not worried. I had an annual exam 14 months ago, so it's not like I let it slide. The watchamacallit that they did find is nowhere near the lump Mr. mouse felt. Worrying changes nothing. I can't control it. Therefore, I will not spend any time worrying over it.

Okay. Onto Saturday. We went to the gym. Then, we met up with three of my work friends for lunch at Piece. We all worked together on a project when I first started with new work. And, these guys take the cake. I love them all. Now, pizza and beer, probably not the best Saturday lunch option. But, still, it was good to spend time with them.

Saturday night, we headed over to another friend's house to play mah jong. Now, there's nothing I like more than a good night of mah jong. We need to regularly schedule it going forward. We found if we start at 5pm, we can finish four rounds at a reasonable hour. I know it sounds really weird, but, having a mah jong routine makes it feel like home, like somewhere I'm less willing to move from. I love the game.

Sunday, we got up just in time to head over to the bar to watch the F1 race (Bahrain) and eat breakfast. My guy came in second to his teammate. And, there's something about watching in a bar full of people all enjoying the event. Another thing that makes me less willing to move.

We came home, and because it was a perfect spring weekend day (both Saturday and Sunday), we did some work on the deck. I planted three planters - tomatoes, zucchini and cantaloupe. We'll see what grows. It was fun, nonetheless. Then, I dragged the umbrella and hammock out. Ah, my lovely hammock. Got about an hour and half of good quality hammock time in before I came down to help Mr. mouse organize the living room, make dinner, and then, I cleared my work inbox which had grown out of control.

All in all, life is going well. We're enjoying settling in. And, we feel like a couple of good years of progress against savings could make a radical difference in our lives. And, we're liking the mouse pad. And, the call I got from a random head hunter about a position in New York, is less interesting, merely from the fact that right now, I kinda like here now.


Cheers!
mouse