It is kind of hard to believe that it is October already. I thought I was ready, but I feel a little like I am falling behind. There is so much fall stuff to do and I need to do it all. Like hiking up all the mountains and then a lot of sitting in a pile of bright fall leaves, wrapped in blankets, wearing my coziest socks, drinking hot drinks, and reading/knitting/napping. All three at once, while the apple and pumpkin things bake and the little paper bats hanging from the ceiling sway in the breeze. Yeah, that sounds about right. And I am getting some of it done, just need to get more of it done. Especially the napping. Haha.
Last week, camping at Zack Woods Pond, was for sure, some of the best we ever have done. Before we got to the middle of nowhere that was camp, we stopped at a harvest festival and did some poking around. Found letters for all the games, a washing machine, and unicorns. Then we drove away some more and checked out a chunk of land that we want to buy but won%u2019t because it is almost unaccessible in the best of times, so yeah no, not gonna work. But the search continues. After the land we headed to the place where we were camping but got a little lost. We had to go to a nearby state park to talk to the ranger and get a hand drawn map to find the place. Well hidden to say the least, but we found it and pretty sure not many other people know about it because we didn%u2019t see a soul. It felt like we had the entire world to ourselves. And oh was it beautiful. The colors were starting to pop, the air was crisp and clean and brisk. The campsite was, well it was a small rock fire pit and trees. Perfection. After setting up the tent we took the kayaks out on the pond and paddled around in all the greatness that was there. Then we hiked around and the hung out by the fire because it was cold. Had dinner facing the pond and all the pretty trees, then the mr did a little sunset fishing. More campfire sitting and off to bed. As it got dark out a couple girls ended up having a fire or something that far away where we couldn%u2019t see them, but we know it was a couple girls because they were very LOUD. And annoying, but they only stayed for an hour or so and their echoing mouths were gone and it was back to being the most silent night and back to sleep. Then the painful part. Waking up the next morning. 33 degrees was the number of the air. We didn%u2019t complain but we did packed up really fast, jumped into the car, and blasted the heat. Cozy and warm and full of happy outdoor feelings. The best way to start a week.
Back home the days did their thing. Work, dealing with stupid stuff, me breaking everything. I dropped my camera and smashed the lens. My phone all of a sudden didn%u2019t want to work right and the battery is now basically dead. The shower head decided to break mid shower and spray water all over the freaking place. I broke a chunk of finger off pugging clay at the studio. Then the stem of my pumpkin broke off right before I broke a flower pot. All not the worst individually, but goodness gracious, give me a freaking break.. Ah hahaha. Oh well. Shit break I guess.
Other then all that, there was a 14th birthday party for Alex. I found a new cute pyrex bowl for 50 cent which made me happy. I went down to the farm mid week and picked bags and bags of parsley to freeze for the winter. Then there was actual farm share with celeriac back in rotation! I worked at the studio (the chunk of my finger is still there), did another birthday party for Coco, who is now 3, and took the littles pumpkin picking with the mr and Barb as per our tradition. They got their jack o lantern pumpkins, I got me my pie pumpkins, and we found a garden snake. A game of tether ball and that was that. I came home after dropping them off and spent the day trying to warm up because it was freezing. And yeah I know,I could turn the heat on but no, not yet. I refuse to turn the heat on for at least 3 more weeks. November 1st. Until then, all the sweaters and socks will have to do to keep me warm.
Today we are doing it, camping at Branbury State Park, even though it miiiight rain. Hoping that it holds off until at least 830 tonight (we will be in the tent by then) or maybe even until we wake up in the morning and are on our way home? That would be great. We will see, and either way it will be good. And not going is not an option. There are only 2 more weekends of camping before everything closes up and it starts to snow. Yup, before it snows. That is happening and I don%u2019t think I can convince the mr to set up the tent in the snow.
Links from the week from the internet of stuff.
-All the pretty colors! What Causes Leaves To Change Color?
-Got a garden? These are the Frost Tolerance of Vegetables. My tomatoes are caput but the chard is looking oh so fine.
–How Gen-Z Is Dealing With a Looming Climate Apocalypse. Yup, shits hitting the fan and everyone knows it,
-Kneadable erasers are the best and I guess work for more then there attended purpose. The best $1.50 I ever spent: a kneadable eraser
-Swetaer weather for sure, but what is sweater weather? What %u201cSweater Weather%u201d Is
–The Female Founders Disrupting the Vagina Economy. Of course they are not.
-Philip Pullman and his dark materials. A new book. I an SO EXCITED, I might just buy it!!! ‘The Secret Commonwealth’
–How to charge your devices the right way. I have been doing it wrong for so long.
-I am good. Actually, even better then good. I change towels pretty much every day. Here%u2019s How Often You Should Be IWashing Your Dish Towels, According to Microbiologists
-I am in love with this little place.
Pictures from the week.
Not just sweater weather, which it had been all week and I am LOVING IT, but it%u2019s lamp light weather too. I forgot that I had all these fantastic lights around my house and yesterday when it was dark out at 6 (it was raining so the sky was cloudy) I got to turn on a couple lamps that haven%u2019t had any action in months. It was soooo nice and cozy. This my friends, this is the best time of year!
Camping last week was great and not so great. The campground was pretty, but our fellows campers were very rawdy and loud and there was a party at the picnic pavilion that had a shitty classic rock cover band playing. The noisy people and shitty music echoed through the park for longer then anyone should have had to deal with it. But I guess that happens, especially on a long holiday weekend. And really, besides the buttheads, we had fun. We went for a nice hike through the woods and into giant fields of wildflowers and goldenrod then spent some great time in the kayaks on a nearby lake (away from all the people). Plus after eating dinner and then packing it in for the night, we didn%u2019t get soaking wet, which we could tell by the many car doors slamming and people screaming at 1am , a good few people did. Our tent stayed nice and dry inside and we even managed to stay dry when we got out of the tent and and realized it was sitting in a giant puddle. We even managed to stayed pretty dry packing up and getting on our way home, in the rain! It%u2019s because we are good at coming I guess.
Then the rest of the week came and went in a fast blur. Mostly some same. Had lunch with Barb, cleaned apartments for new tenants,, made cards for artwork, picked up farm share, and you know, other life stuff. I have been busy in the kitchen harvesting garden food and canning or freezing it as well. Trying to stock up on as much food as I can for the winter. Then the littles slept over Friday. We watched Dumb and Dumber and I fell asleep on the couch. Woke up made waffles (I was so excited to use my waffle iron. It%u2019s been too long) and sent them on their way home to be moody tweens because that is now happening.
Oh, and I can%u2019t forget about how some little shithead smashed in the back of our car. Yup, that happened too. But that is pretty much it. I think%u2026.
Now for today. Mt Auscunty State park if all goes to plan. Should be a fun one with lots of hiking and a big high tower and stuff. I know it is gonna get mighty cold tonight so I am packing my winter long underwear and a jacket, hat, and mittens. So excited!
Links to explore on the internet.
–Doctors are now prescribing houseplants to help treat anxiety and depression. Makes a whole heck of a lot of sense to me. And why not try this simple remedy before trying a bunch of drugs?
-I wasn’t;t surprised much when I read this. Junky processed food is so bad, especially if it is all you eat. .19-Year-Old Goes Blind Due to Diet of Pringles, Bread, Fries, and Processed Meats
–Lush Botanical Forms Translated Into Abstract Embroideries%u00a0. So very pretty.
-Another good reason to ditch that pessimistic attitude and to look at he bright side of things. It doesn%u2019t hurt to try. Optimists For The Win: Finding The Bright Side Might Help You Live Longer
–Why do clowns creep us out?%u00a0Because they are creepy, that is why.
-I want, no, I need this cabin. Totally Off-the-Grid Cabin in the New Hampshire Woods
–This Apple Might Be the Most Anticipated Piece of Produce in History. I heard about this apple few years ago. I wonder if it%u2019s gonna live up tp all the hype. We shall see.
-Why don%u2019t we have one of these? The Otter: The 1950s Amphibious Caravan That Time Forgot!
–Can Bullet Journaling Save You? I am a list maker in all the ways. I a ma doodler to no end. I love pretty things and I love hand writing and have a ton of sketch books but besides the occasional list of note in a sketch book, I have never really gotten into Buju. It%u2019s to time sensitive I think, for me anyway.
–Squeeze in a Quick Nap at Work with This Under-Desk Hammock. A new way to sleep on the job. HA.
Pictures from the week.
Farm share started last week (HOORAY!!!!) but always, at the beginning when things are still getting on growing, we are only getting a few things. Lot of greens which I will never get enough of, and lots of potatoes. Also, I made the mistake of buying a very large bag of potatoes last week right before farm share and now I am basically swimming in potatoes. And so the story goes%u2026.
So what do you do with a shit ton of potatoes? Yeah, I thought potato cannon to but then I realized that I would have to use my potatoes and sure I have a lot, but I am not wasting them on that. So gnocchi they became. Gnocchi. Basically a boiled french fry or a mashed potato meat ball. Or maybe more like a ravioli. Whatever they are, they are loved by potato loving people and are fun to make. I mean, when do you ever get to use the ricer? ( Don%u2019t worry, you can make gnocchi without a ricer.)
To the gnocchi.
The stuff. Potatoes, flour, an onion, some tomatoes, a few cloves of garlic, salt, pepper, and olive oil.
Note. Make sure to use russet potatoes because they make the lightest, fluffiest gnocchi. You could probably use Yukon gold, but any hard wax potato just won%u2019t do.
First step is to make baked potatoes. Place potatoes in oven, directly on rack, and bake for 30-45 minutes until nice and soft and tender. Just like you would when you eat it as a baked potato. Once cooked cut them in half and let them cool off for a few minutes.
Once potatoes are cool enough to handle, scoop all the flesh out of skins. Keep skins for soup or a snack for later.
And the fun part. Flour the counter then rice the potatoes. You can also do this with a food mill or even grate the potato with a box grater. Once all riced, cover with flour and start to fold and mix the potato into the flour gently until the dough starts to come together. If the dough seems really sticky and wet, add in a tablespoon or two of flour, to dry and crumbly, add in a tablespoon or two of water. The goal is a nice fluffy dough that hold it shape but is not overly dense.
Cut off a potion of the dough, roll it into a rope about an inch thick, then cut into inch long pieces.
To cook gnocchi. Bring a big pot of water to a boil and carefully drop in a handful of gnocchi into the water. They are gonna sink, but after a minute or two they start to float. Once floating, remove them from the pot with a slotted spoon and place them on a lightly oiled baking sheet. Repeat until all the gnocchi are cooked.
Cooked and ready%u2026 Ready for what? For anything you want but these are going into a tomato and onion situation.
Mince garlic and dice tomatoes and place into skillet with a good pinch of salt and a splash of olive oil. Place on stove and cook until slightly tender. Dice up tomatoes into small chunks and add to skillet along with a cup of water (if you have gnocchi water, use that) Turn heat up and cook until mixture start to bubble, then turn heat down to low and cook until the tomatoes are mushy.
And then drop in gnocchi. Keep on heat until the gnocchi are warmed completely all the way through.
Sprinkle of salt, lots of pepper, and something green if you want to be fancy.
And then you eat them.
-C
Makes 3-4 servings
2.5 pounds russet potatoes
2/3 cup of all purpose flour
1 large onion
3-4 tomatoes
few cloves garlic
salt and pepper
olive oil
water
Place potatoes directly into oven on one of the oven racks and bake on 450 degrees until soft and tender. Should take about 1/2 hour to 45 minutes, depending on size of potatoes.
Once cooked, remove from oven carefully, cut in half, carefully, and let cool for a about 10 minutes, just so you can handle the potatoes without burning yourself. In the mean time, get a large pot, fill it with water, and set it on the stove to boil.
When the potatoes are not to hot to touch, grab them and with a spoon, scoop out all the potato flesh from the skin (keep skin for a snack or for soup). Lightly flour the counter and start ricing the potatoes directly onto the counter. (You can also use a food mill or a box grater if you don%u2019t have ricer). Once all potato is rices, cover with floor and gently fold potato over into flour, over and over, even using a knife, to kind of cut the potato into the flour, until it all mostly comes together. Be careful to not overwork the dough or else it will become dense make the gnocchi chewy. If the dough seems is sticky, add in a few more tablespoons of flour, to dry and seems crumbly, add a few tablespoons warm water.
Once you have the dough, make sure the water on the stove is still there and has not evaporated and is at a gentle boil. Cut dough in thirds then roll out a portion into a rope about an inch thick. Cut the rope into inch long pieces. Repeat with the rest of dough.
When all the gnocchi are made, grab a rimed baking sheet, coat with oil, and place close by the boil water.
Now to cook them. Drop a handful of gnocchi into water carefully. They will sink. Watch and after about a minute or two, they will start to float. Once floating, take a slotted spoon and take them out of water. Place them on the greased baking sheet. Repeat until all the gnocchi are cooked. (when done cooking, save a cup of the cooking water)
After the gnocchi is cooked, you can do whatever you want with it, like eat it right away with salt and pepper or whatever, but to make the quick tomatoes onion situation, dice up the onion and mince the garlic. Place into a skillet with a drizzle of olive oil and a pinch of salt and place on stove and start to cook. Dice up the tomatoes and once the onion is tender, add in the dice tomatoes and about a cup of the gnocchi cooking water. Turn the heat up until the water is bubbling then reduce to low and cook until the tomatoes are mushy and tender. Once cooked, add in the gnocchi, toss them around, and cook until the gnocchi are fully warmed through.
And then eat it. Maybe a little more salt if needed, definitely lots of pepper, and whatever else you want.
I can’t believe it is Sunday already. The last week has just blown by so fast. These summer days, they can do that. But they are coming to an end and I might be a tad sad about it but I caught myself %u00a0longingly looking at all of my sweaters the other day…%u00a0I will leave that one alone for a little longer.%u00a0
Our camping adventure last week started off with us under a bridge. It was so freaking hot out that my earwax was melting so the mr found the coolest place he could think of to fish, and that was under a bridge. After that, we just headed up the mountain to our campsite. %u00a0When we got there to check in we were pretty much guaranteed %u00a0to see a bear because there had been so much bear activity, especially at our site. So I was a bit nervous, a lot excited, and ready and prepared. %u00a0After the mr started a fire from logs he threw into the air and dropped so they would break (we forgot a saw) and ate our dinner, all traces of food were then packed away in the car. %u00a0All evening every little noise we heard, I was expecting bear but nothing. So we went to bed.%u00a0I had my noise maker ready at my head, my shoes untied and ready to slip on, and my camera because I would need to get a picture. Every time I woke up (I wake up a lot)%u00a0I would poke my head out the tent window looking for a big fury mass, but all night I did not see one. We didn’t get a bear.%u00a0So much for that.%u00a0
After packing up camp super early, it was back to a river for some prime fishing and coffee and reading before heading back to the real world of noise and work and people. And we needed to get back to the cat, which I keep finding in piles of leaves next to the house looking dead. I was scared once or twice but it turns out he just likes looking like a dead cat in a pile of leaves. %u00a0Yup.%u00a0
Tuesday we had the littles over for a sleep over. We gardened, drew pictures, sat around and read, ate lots of corn, and walked down to the neighborhood cornerstone for creamees. After we sent the baby back to it’s mother, the littles and the mr watched another inaproperate Adam Sandler movie, I went to bed, they stayed awake all night watching cooking shows, and I had to shake them awake the next morning in order to feed them all the brightly colored pancakes before %u00a0dropping them off at camp.%u00a0Those guys are doing summer vacation right.%u00a0
Wednesday the mr and I had to quick quick run up to see our friends in the north at Ikea. It was last minute, we needed a countertop, so no I did not have time to call everyone I knew to see if they wanted me to buy them anything. But shitty shit, when we got there, the countertop we needed was not there, so that kinda sucked. But I did end up getting a new toilet paper roller, a toilet brush, and the mr picked out a new pillow. We drove all the way up there, we couldn’t leave empty handed.%u00a0
And how is your fresh farm and garden food these days?%u00a0Farm share is at it’s peak and so is my food consumption. I find myself eating more then I really want to just because we have so much fresh and beautiful goodies that I just can’t stop myself. The tomatoes are so ripe and sweet, how can I not eat like 10 a day? (my acid reflux is kicking up a little) %u00a0And not only are the tomatoes going gang buster at the farm, but my garden is like a tomato jungle. There is probably going to be a day when I am buried alive by the tomatoes. It so could happen.
Saturday was work at the studio. I was on fire and unloaded %u00a02 kilns (someone piece blew up in one) and loaded a glaze kiln in record time. After that I was pretty tired, my hip was sore (to much bending over kilns) so I came home, had a snack, cleaned the shit out of my house (there was watermelon stickiness on everything) and called myself ready for bed at like 8. The days are getting shorter again so I don’t feel so bad crawling into bed earlier. HA
Today is family day. Our cousins are up in Vt at the camp so we are heading there to spend the day with them. After that, the mr and I are camping in some field somewhere (probably a baseball field?) outside of the city to each the meteor shower. It’s at it’s peak tonight and I am super excited to sleep under the stars and watch. Hopefully we don’t get any shit for illegally camping in a park. We aren’t going to have a fire (so we can see the starts, duh) so it really shouldn’t be a problem. Right?%u00a0
Some reads from the internet this week.%u00a0
-It’s tonight guys!%u00a0How to See the 2018 Perseid Meteor Shower
–It%u2019s Time to Admit That Iceberg Is a Superior Lettuce. I wouldn’t call it superior but I have to admit, I do like me some iceberg. It’s kind of like my junk green. Not much nutritional value but taste so mighty fine dipped in mustard. Crisp an refreshing.%u00a0
-I know some people (mom..) that might have a slight buying books addiction, even when they won’t necessarily read them all.%u00a0Tsundoku: The art of buying books and never reading them. I stopped buying books (or rarely do and its usually a book I have read and love so much) and just do the library. It would be very expensive if I just bought books… I read to much.%u00a0
–Angry People Tend to Overestimate Their Intelligence. Ever have to deal with an angry know it all…. its enough for me to run away screaming. So frustrating.%u00a0
-“If you’ve ever seen someone with testicles get kicked in the groin, then you probably know that male genitals %u2014 often portrayed as a symbol of male strength and virility %u2014 aren’t actually that tough.” hahaha, what a great opening paragraph.%u00a0Boxers Or Briefs? Experts Disagree Over Tight Underwear’s Effect On Male Fertility
–What’s the Difference Between Zucchini and Yellow Squash?.%u00a0One is zucchini and one is yellow squash.%u00a0
–Spent $200 on a Weighted Blanket, and It’s Changed My Entire F*cking Life. I don’t think I will ever spend $200 on a blanket, but I am really into the idea of getting a weighted blanket..I think Ikea sells one for like $30.
-I could live in a state of natural silence for ever (or for a very long time)%u00a0Are You Listening? Hear What Uninterrupted Silence Sounds Like
–8 Fruits and Vegetables You Shouldn’t Be Refrigerating
Pictures from the week.
We are moving into the house!!! Oh wait, no we are not, at least not for real, but we are thinking about setting up the tent and sleeping in the yard for a while. It’s summer and it’s been so freaking hot and why the hell not right?
And to prolong our move in date some more, the mr and I have decided to re-floor the entire downstairs. HA! We figured we kinda wanted to but weren’t really sure if we should. And so we said screw it, lets just do it now and get it over with. So keep that in mind if you offer to help cause we might just take you up on it.
Other then house stuff, the week has been full of all the little littles, birthday parties, flowers, and tomatoes! The farm started dishing out the fattest, juiciest, most lovely tomatoes. I have found myself on a few occasions devouring whole tomatoes by accident, like i look at them and just need to eat them. (they take away my will power) Thinking I might have to make a cake with a few of the this week (if i don’t eat them all) and frost them all twirly, whirly sparkly like the cupcakes that I made this week, (they looked so awesome)%u00a0 I think the mr would like that.
But for today, no baking. I would actually like to stay away from anything that creates heat (besides coffee) because it is finally not so hot and humid and my brain needs time to reform from the melt. We will probably just go floor shopping (blah) but that way I can ride with windows down and my head sticking out of the window like a dog. Fun fun.
Some stuff on the internet that isn’t about pokemon (I still don’t quite get it…)
-Slice, Dice, Chop Or Julienne: Does The Cut Change The Flavor?
-I want to turn a really old industrial building into a house.
-Nineteen of Roald Dahl%u2019s Most Important Food Inventions
-This is one bad ass Nike ad. India’s first Nike ad is gorgeous, sweaty, intimidating, and totally inspiring
-And this..A Modern Day “Green Acres”: Family Home with Rustic Mid-C Trailers, Yurts & Cute Critters.. So cool. I oculd totally see doing something like this for the family. A compound of yurts. Ha
%u00a0-Living Room Hammocks & Hanging Chairs.. Huh, thinking I might be needing one.
-Crazy, beautiful. OSSA: The Unwilling Dance Performance of a Deconstructed Puppet
– Not fair. Forget Beanbag Chairs. Amazon Is Giving Its Workers Treehouses.
-In love with these pieces from Henry Street Studio
-Whoa, that’s a lot of people. PHOTOS: For #WorldPopulationDay, How Earth’s 7 Billion Live
And some pictures from life this week.
I am running extremely low on food in my house, like there isn’t a can of beans or a box of pasta left. Yeah, I have a few zucchini left, but I think that mr might be getting a bit sick of it. (He has had zucchini noodles for lunch and dinner for the past few day). And I was going to go to the grocery store before dinner, but then I didn’t. Why? well because I didn’t really feel like it.
Turns out that I didn’t need to go to the store for dinner.I had a few mushrooms, an onion, and a few stalks of chard left in the fridge. (but pretty much nothing else) I just bought a 25 lb bag of flour so I am all stocked up on that and last minute I found a avocado that I thought was a beet in the fridge. All I needed to make a dinner, and a quick and easy, and really tasty one to boot. Plus being so mother F*ing hot, it was perfect because there was no need to turn on the oven.
Now the question is,now that dinner was made and being that the fridge is so empty, should I clean and defrost it? Answer is yes, yes I should, but am I going to? Probably not. I just don’t have it in me to stand in font of the fridge, hacking ice away with a large spoon and boiling water for an hour. It’s to hot. I’ll do it later.
The stuff. Flour, baking powder, olive oil, salt ans water for the skillet bread. A few humngo stalks of red chard, a couple mushrooms (I would have used a few more if I had them). an onion, and a few cloves of garlic.%u00a0 Missing is the pepper and the avocado and lemon that I found while rummaging the fridge.
The bread is super easy. Just whisk together the flour salt, and baking soda then add in the oil. Mix until it’s crumbly then mix in the water until it turns into a soft dough. Gather into a ball and stick in bowl then into fridge for a few minutes to let the dough rest.
After the dough has rested, take it and cut into 4 equal pieces. Roll each piece into ball and then roll out as flat as you can. Heat up a skillet to high heat and once hot, place rolled out flat onto (dry) skillet. Cook first side for about 3-4 minutes or until browned and cook, then turn heat down a bit, flip and cook other side until browned. Remove bread, turn heat back up, and repeat with remaining flats.
For the rest. Remove the leafy part of the chard and set aside .Thinly hop up the mushrooms, onion, and the chard stalk. Mince up the garlic. Toss it all (not the garlic yet)into a lightly oiled skillet , season with salt and pepper, and cook on medium heat until starting to brown. Now toss in a few splashes of water and the minced garlic, mix around, and cover wit a lid. Cook for another 8-10 minutes until the veggies are nice and soft.
Cooked and ready, but wait, chop up the chard leaves and toss them into skillet. Another splash of water and a few more minutes under a lid will wilt them up real quick.
Skillet beads are made, veggies are all nice and cooked up. The avocado and lemon where found, sliced.
Not bad for a last minute-lean out the fridge of all food-dinner. Not bad at all.
Don’t melt
-C
Make 4 flatbread
For the skillet bread
1 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
4-5 tablespoons cold water
For the rest
2-4 white mushrooms
2-3 large stalks of chard (any color)
1 sweet onion
2-3 cloves garlic
salt and pepper
olive oil
water
An avocado and a lemon (optional)
To make the skillet bread. Mix together the flour, salt, and baking soda in a large bowl. Pour in olive oil and mix until crumbly then add in 4 tablespoons of water (5 if it seems to dry) until a dough forms. Gather dough into a ball, stick in bowl and cover, and place in the fridge to rest for about 10 minutes. Once dough has chilled, remove and cut into 4 equal sized pieces. Roll each piece into a ball then, on a clean surface, roll out as flat as you can. Grab a skillet and place on high heat. Once skillet has heated up, place a rolled out dough on hot, un-oiled surface and let cook for about 3-4 minutes or until the bottom cooked with golden brown spots. Turn heat to medium and flip bread. Cook the other side for another 4-5 minutes or until browned. Remove flat and turn heat back up. Cook the rest of the bread like the first one.
For the rest. Remove leafy parts of the chard from the stalk and set aside. Take stalk and chop into pieces about 1/ 2 inch think. Slice onion and mushrooms up as thinly as you can. Mince garlic. Garb a skillet, stick on medium heat and drizzle with a little olive oil. Toss in chard stalk, onions, and mushrooms, sprinkle with salt and pepper and mix around until the stuff starts to brown a bit. Add in a few good splashed of water and the garlic and then place a lid on the skillet. Cook for about 10 minutes, giving the mixture a good stir every few minutes. Once the veggies are all soft and yummy, chop up the remaining chard leafs and place them into the skillet. Add another splash of water and place the lid back on. Cook until the leaves have wilted.
To assemble. Flat bread on plate. Scoop some of the sauteed veggie mixture on top. A few slices of avocado on top with a squeeze of lemon juice and a bit of cracked pepper…You are good to go.
Ah summertime. I hope that you are finding yourself on a beach or river(or someplace you want to be) with nothing but time to relax and enjoy yourself. It’s Sunday and we all need to relax today. We deserve it.
The past week has been pretty satisfying. The house is going gang busters. We had some insulators come and blow insulation into the walls on the first floor and later next week the upstairs is going to be spray foamed insulated…. And then we can move it (No not really) but this is huge. But now got to get ready for the guys to come and finish so we have to hall ass ans finish wiring, prepping and all the good stuff that they need us to do. We got a deadline to meet, but once that’s done its on. We can start hanging sheet rock (who wants to help?) and finish the bathrooms and kitchen and everything!1 AAAAHHHHH!, but we are all good. It’s getting done and starting to seem like we might actually get to move in before the winter.
But it wasn’t all work. The days when the insulators where at the house we took off for the mountains and found some rivers. The mr went fishing, the pup went swimming (and now I don’t need to give him a bath for a while) and I played with river rocks and read. We also visited with the bees up on the roof just to check how the ladies are doing and so far this season they are doing great, buzzing along like the bees do.
Today is one of those days that could go either way. We can work, maybe we really should work, but it’s suppose to get hot and humid and I really don’t want to. What I really want to do is go to the library and pick up (and drop off) books, go see the littles that just got back from Germany and share the watermelon that has been sitting on my counter all week with them. Maybe even go for a bike ride and take a nap.%u00a0 Sounds nice right?%u00a0 Hum. We shall see. At least I know there is a carrot popsicle in the freezer with my name on it.
Stuff of interest on the internet.
– A Golden Girls-themed caf%u00e9….And now I have the theme song”Thank you for being a friend” stuck in my head.
– A USED CARGO VAN BECOMES A MOBILE STUDIO.
-I have all sorts of ideas for making myself a little reading nook. NOTHING QUITE LIKE A PRETTY NOOK.
–Summer Produce Guide from Saveur
-Did you know there is a naked restaurant? I don’t know about you, but IF I wanted to eat naked, I would just do it at home, for free.%u00a0 The Fascinating (and Infuriating) Experience of Dining in the Nude
-I feel like I have lucid dreams, but that could be just in my dreams….What to Do During the Day to Increase Your Chances of Lucid Dreaming at Night
-I want a concrete bathroom floor. The mr does not. What do you think (that I am right, right!) Raw Beauty: 14 Gorgeous Spaces with Concrete Floors
-I am getting this app just as soon as I can figure out my apple ID. THE %u2018SHAZAM%u2019 FOR PLANTS WILL IDENTIFY ANY PLANT FROM A PICTURE
-All about the shoes. Gravity-Defying Shoes Installed on the Streets of London
–Inside the World of Large-Scale Food Heists. It’s for real, even around these parts (stolen maple syrup happens more then you think)
Pictures of some of the awesome that happened this week.
Have a great summertime Sunday.
-C
Let’s see, what did I do yesterday?
Nothing. Well, not completely nothing. I did wake up and go to the gym, but then came home and fell %u00a0asleep on the floor for more then an hour and woke up in a puddle of drool.%u00a0I also continued my binge watching %u00a0of the Mindy Project so I can be up to speed when season 4 started tonight on hulu!!!!!. And I %u00a0cut up a cantaoplue. That’s a good amount of stuff for one day, right?
Anyway. even when I am gone from home for just a few day, I never really quite feel right when I get back until I cook something inn my kitchen.. So after my floor nap, I got up with a hankering for some of the juicy cantaloupe that I got from last weeks farm share (and forgot to stick in the fridge before we left so I came home to very ripe cantaloupe)%u00a0Cut it into chunked, tossed with slightly toasted caraway seeds and then caramelized a bit more. Super fresh and clean and a very almost fall like way to eat the melon. And even though it took me about 4 minutes to do, it’s all I needed to make me feel normal again.
Ah, home and food and Mindy.. Nothing better, Now to back doing stuff all day.
The stuff. Some cantaloupe and some caraway seeds.%u00a0
Place caraway seeds into a dry skillet and place on the stove on high heat. While the seeds are toasting, remove seeds and rind of the cantaloupe and cut into mouth sized chunks and place into a bowl.%u00a0
Once you hear the fist pop from the seeds, dump them in the bowl with the cantaloupe and toss around. Then dump the seed covered chunks back into the hot skillet.%u00a0
%u00a0Sear each side until browned.
And scoop it back into the bowl.%u00a0
Eat right away. IF you want to get down with a scoop of yogurt on top or maybe a bed of some green, I think you should.%u00a0
Enjoy you Tuesday my friends.%u00a0
-C
1/4 of a cantaploupe
2-3 teaspoons caraway seeds
Toss caraway seeds into a dry skillet and turn heat onto high. Toast seeds for about a minutes or so or until you hear the first seed pop. Dump seeds onto cantaloup chunks and toss around then dump the cantaloupe into hot skillet. Let chunks sear for 2-3 minutes on each side, or until they are starting to caramelize.%u00a0Remove from pan when you are happy with doneness.%u00a0
THE LOVELY CRAZY
November 8, 2019 by maximios • Blog
It is kind of hard to believe that it is October already. I thought I was ready, but I feel a little like I am falling behind. There is so much fall stuff to do and I need to do it all. Like hiking up all the mountains and then a lot of sitting in a pile of bright fall leaves, wrapped in blankets, wearing my coziest socks, drinking hot drinks, and reading/knitting/napping. All three at once, while the apple and pumpkin things bake and the little paper bats hanging from the ceiling sway in the breeze. Yeah, that sounds about right. And I am getting some of it done, just need to get more of it done. Especially the napping. Haha.
Last week, camping at Zack Woods Pond, was for sure, some of the best we ever have done. Before we got to the middle of nowhere that was camp, we stopped at a harvest festival and did some poking around. Found letters for all the games, a washing machine, and unicorns. Then we drove away some more and checked out a chunk of land that we want to buy but won%u2019t because it is almost unaccessible in the best of times, so yeah no, not gonna work. But the search continues. After the land we headed to the place where we were camping but got a little lost. We had to go to a nearby state park to talk to the ranger and get a hand drawn map to find the place. Well hidden to say the least, but we found it and pretty sure not many other people know about it because we didn%u2019t see a soul. It felt like we had the entire world to ourselves. And oh was it beautiful. The colors were starting to pop, the air was crisp and clean and brisk. The campsite was, well it was a small rock fire pit and trees. Perfection. After setting up the tent we took the kayaks out on the pond and paddled around in all the greatness that was there. Then we hiked around and the hung out by the fire because it was cold. Had dinner facing the pond and all the pretty trees, then the mr did a little sunset fishing. More campfire sitting and off to bed. As it got dark out a couple girls ended up having a fire or something that far away where we couldn%u2019t see them, but we know it was a couple girls because they were very LOUD. And annoying, but they only stayed for an hour or so and their echoing mouths were gone and it was back to being the most silent night and back to sleep. Then the painful part. Waking up the next morning. 33 degrees was the number of the air. We didn%u2019t complain but we did packed up really fast, jumped into the car, and blasted the heat. Cozy and warm and full of happy outdoor feelings. The best way to start a week.
Back home the days did their thing. Work, dealing with stupid stuff, me breaking everything. I dropped my camera and smashed the lens. My phone all of a sudden didn%u2019t want to work right and the battery is now basically dead. The shower head decided to break mid shower and spray water all over the freaking place. I broke a chunk of finger off pugging clay at the studio. Then the stem of my pumpkin broke off right before I broke a flower pot. All not the worst individually, but goodness gracious, give me a freaking break.. Ah hahaha. Oh well. Shit break I guess.
Other then all that, there was a 14th birthday party for Alex. I found a new cute pyrex bowl for 50 cent which made me happy. I went down to the farm mid week and picked bags and bags of parsley to freeze for the winter. Then there was actual farm share with celeriac back in rotation! I worked at the studio (the chunk of my finger is still there), did another birthday party for Coco, who is now 3, and took the littles pumpkin picking with the mr and Barb as per our tradition. They got their jack o lantern pumpkins, I got me my pie pumpkins, and we found a garden snake. A game of tether ball and that was that. I came home after dropping them off and spent the day trying to warm up because it was freezing. And yeah I know,I could turn the heat on but no, not yet. I refuse to turn the heat on for at least 3 more weeks. November 1st. Until then, all the sweaters and socks will have to do to keep me warm.
Today we are doing it, camping at Branbury State Park, even though it miiiight rain. Hoping that it holds off until at least 830 tonight (we will be in the tent by then) or maybe even until we wake up in the morning and are on our way home? That would be great. We will see, and either way it will be good. And not going is not an option. There are only 2 more weekends of camping before everything closes up and it starts to snow. Yup, before it snows. That is happening and I don%u2019t think I can convince the mr to set up the tent in the snow.
Links from the week from the internet of stuff.
-All the pretty colors! What Causes Leaves To Change Color?
-Got a garden? These are the Frost Tolerance of Vegetables. My tomatoes are caput but the chard is looking oh so fine.
–How Gen-Z Is Dealing With a Looming Climate Apocalypse. Yup, shits hitting the fan and everyone knows it,
-Kneadable erasers are the best and I guess work for more then there attended purpose. The best $1.50 I ever spent: a kneadable eraser
-Swetaer weather for sure, but what is sweater weather? What %u201cSweater Weather%u201d Is
–The Female Founders Disrupting the Vagina Economy. Of course they are not.
-Philip Pullman and his dark materials. A new book. I an SO EXCITED, I might just buy it!!! ‘The Secret Commonwealth’
–How to charge your devices the right way. I have been doing it wrong for so long.
-I am good. Actually, even better then good. I change towels pretty much every day. Here%u2019s How Often You Should Be IWashing Your Dish Towels, According to Microbiologists
-I am in love with this little place.
Pictures from the week.
Not just sweater weather, which it had been all week and I am LOVING IT, but it%u2019s lamp light weather too. I forgot that I had all these fantastic lights around my house and yesterday when it was dark out at 6 (it was raining so the sky was cloudy) I got to turn on a couple lamps that haven%u2019t had any action in months. It was soooo nice and cozy. This my friends, this is the best time of year!
Camping last week was great and not so great. The campground was pretty, but our fellows campers were very rawdy and loud and there was a party at the picnic pavilion that had a shitty classic rock cover band playing. The noisy people and shitty music echoed through the park for longer then anyone should have had to deal with it. But I guess that happens, especially on a long holiday weekend. And really, besides the buttheads, we had fun. We went for a nice hike through the woods and into giant fields of wildflowers and goldenrod then spent some great time in the kayaks on a nearby lake (away from all the people). Plus after eating dinner and then packing it in for the night, we didn%u2019t get soaking wet, which we could tell by the many car doors slamming and people screaming at 1am , a good few people did. Our tent stayed nice and dry inside and we even managed to stay dry when we got out of the tent and and realized it was sitting in a giant puddle. We even managed to stayed pretty dry packing up and getting on our way home, in the rain! It%u2019s because we are good at coming I guess.
Then the rest of the week came and went in a fast blur. Mostly some same. Had lunch with Barb, cleaned apartments for new tenants,, made cards for artwork, picked up farm share, and you know, other life stuff. I have been busy in the kitchen harvesting garden food and canning or freezing it as well. Trying to stock up on as much food as I can for the winter. Then the littles slept over Friday. We watched Dumb and Dumber and I fell asleep on the couch. Woke up made waffles (I was so excited to use my waffle iron. It%u2019s been too long) and sent them on their way home to be moody tweens because that is now happening.
Oh, and I can%u2019t forget about how some little shithead smashed in the back of our car. Yup, that happened too. But that is pretty much it. I think%u2026.
Now for today. Mt Auscunty State park if all goes to plan. Should be a fun one with lots of hiking and a big high tower and stuff. I know it is gonna get mighty cold tonight so I am packing my winter long underwear and a jacket, hat, and mittens. So excited!
Links to explore on the internet.
–Doctors are now prescribing houseplants to help treat anxiety and depression. Makes a whole heck of a lot of sense to me. And why not try this simple remedy before trying a bunch of drugs?
-I wasn’t;t surprised much when I read this. Junky processed food is so bad, especially if it is all you eat. .19-Year-Old Goes Blind Due to Diet of Pringles, Bread, Fries, and Processed Meats
–Lush Botanical Forms Translated Into Abstract Embroideries%u00a0. So very pretty.
-Another good reason to ditch that pessimistic attitude and to look at he bright side of things. It doesn%u2019t hurt to try. Optimists For The Win: Finding The Bright Side Might Help You Live Longer
–Why do clowns creep us out?%u00a0Because they are creepy, that is why.
-I want, no, I need this cabin. Totally Off-the-Grid Cabin in the New Hampshire Woods
–This Apple Might Be the Most Anticipated Piece of Produce in History. I heard about this apple few years ago. I wonder if it%u2019s gonna live up tp all the hype. We shall see.
-Why don%u2019t we have one of these? The Otter: The 1950s Amphibious Caravan That Time Forgot!
–Can Bullet Journaling Save You? I am a list maker in all the ways. I a ma doodler to no end. I love pretty things and I love hand writing and have a ton of sketch books but besides the occasional list of note in a sketch book, I have never really gotten into Buju. It%u2019s to time sensitive I think, for me anyway.
–Squeeze in a Quick Nap at Work with This Under-Desk Hammock. A new way to sleep on the job. HA.
Pictures from the week.
Farm share started last week (HOORAY!!!!) but always, at the beginning when things are still getting on growing, we are only getting a few things. Lot of greens which I will never get enough of, and lots of potatoes. Also, I made the mistake of buying a very large bag of potatoes last week right before farm share and now I am basically swimming in potatoes. And so the story goes%u2026.
So what do you do with a shit ton of potatoes? Yeah, I thought potato cannon to but then I realized that I would have to use my potatoes and sure I have a lot, but I am not wasting them on that. So gnocchi they became. Gnocchi. Basically a boiled french fry or a mashed potato meat ball. Or maybe more like a ravioli. Whatever they are, they are loved by potato loving people and are fun to make. I mean, when do you ever get to use the ricer? ( Don%u2019t worry, you can make gnocchi without a ricer.)
To the gnocchi.
The stuff. Potatoes, flour, an onion, some tomatoes, a few cloves of garlic, salt, pepper, and olive oil.
Note. Make sure to use russet potatoes because they make the lightest, fluffiest gnocchi. You could probably use Yukon gold, but any hard wax potato just won%u2019t do.
First step is to make baked potatoes. Place potatoes in oven, directly on rack, and bake for 30-45 minutes until nice and soft and tender. Just like you would when you eat it as a baked potato. Once cooked cut them in half and let them cool off for a few minutes.
Once potatoes are cool enough to handle, scoop all the flesh out of skins. Keep skins for soup or a snack for later.
And the fun part. Flour the counter then rice the potatoes. You can also do this with a food mill or even grate the potato with a box grater. Once all riced, cover with flour and start to fold and mix the potato into the flour gently until the dough starts to come together. If the dough seems really sticky and wet, add in a tablespoon or two of flour, to dry and crumbly, add in a tablespoon or two of water. The goal is a nice fluffy dough that hold it shape but is not overly dense.
Cut off a potion of the dough, roll it into a rope about an inch thick, then cut into inch long pieces.
To cook gnocchi. Bring a big pot of water to a boil and carefully drop in a handful of gnocchi into the water. They are gonna sink, but after a minute or two they start to float. Once floating, remove them from the pot with a slotted spoon and place them on a lightly oiled baking sheet. Repeat until all the gnocchi are cooked.
Cooked and ready%u2026 Ready for what? For anything you want but these are going into a tomato and onion situation.
Mince garlic and dice tomatoes and place into skillet with a good pinch of salt and a splash of olive oil. Place on stove and cook until slightly tender. Dice up tomatoes into small chunks and add to skillet along with a cup of water (if you have gnocchi water, use that) Turn heat up and cook until mixture start to bubble, then turn heat down to low and cook until the tomatoes are mushy.
And then drop in gnocchi. Keep on heat until the gnocchi are warmed completely all the way through.
Sprinkle of salt, lots of pepper, and something green if you want to be fancy.
And then you eat them.
-C
Makes 3-4 servings
2.5 pounds russet potatoes
2/3 cup of all purpose flour
1 large onion
3-4 tomatoes
few cloves garlic
salt and pepper
olive oil
water
Place potatoes directly into oven on one of the oven racks and bake on 450 degrees until soft and tender. Should take about 1/2 hour to 45 minutes, depending on size of potatoes.
Once cooked, remove from oven carefully, cut in half, carefully, and let cool for a about 10 minutes, just so you can handle the potatoes without burning yourself. In the mean time, get a large pot, fill it with water, and set it on the stove to boil.
When the potatoes are not to hot to touch, grab them and with a spoon, scoop out all the potato flesh from the skin (keep skin for a snack or for soup). Lightly flour the counter and start ricing the potatoes directly onto the counter. (You can also use a food mill or a box grater if you don%u2019t have ricer). Once all potato is rices, cover with floor and gently fold potato over into flour, over and over, even using a knife, to kind of cut the potato into the flour, until it all mostly comes together. Be careful to not overwork the dough or else it will become dense make the gnocchi chewy. If the dough seems is sticky, add in a few more tablespoons of flour, to dry and seems crumbly, add a few tablespoons warm water.
Once you have the dough, make sure the water on the stove is still there and has not evaporated and is at a gentle boil. Cut dough in thirds then roll out a portion into a rope about an inch thick. Cut the rope into inch long pieces. Repeat with the rest of dough.
When all the gnocchi are made, grab a rimed baking sheet, coat with oil, and place close by the boil water.
Now to cook them. Drop a handful of gnocchi into water carefully. They will sink. Watch and after about a minute or two, they will start to float. Once floating, take a slotted spoon and take them out of water. Place them on the greased baking sheet. Repeat until all the gnocchi are cooked. (when done cooking, save a cup of the cooking water)
After the gnocchi is cooked, you can do whatever you want with it, like eat it right away with salt and pepper or whatever, but to make the quick tomatoes onion situation, dice up the onion and mince the garlic. Place into a skillet with a drizzle of olive oil and a pinch of salt and place on stove and start to cook. Dice up the tomatoes and once the onion is tender, add in the dice tomatoes and about a cup of the gnocchi cooking water. Turn the heat up until the water is bubbling then reduce to low and cook until the tomatoes are mushy and tender. Once cooked, add in the gnocchi, toss them around, and cook until the gnocchi are fully warmed through.
And then eat it. Maybe a little more salt if needed, definitely lots of pepper, and whatever else you want.
I can’t believe it is Sunday already. The last week has just blown by so fast. These summer days, they can do that. But they are coming to an end and I might be a tad sad about it but I caught myself %u00a0longingly looking at all of my sweaters the other day…%u00a0I will leave that one alone for a little longer.%u00a0
Our camping adventure last week started off with us under a bridge. It was so freaking hot out that my earwax was melting so the mr found the coolest place he could think of to fish, and that was under a bridge. After that, we just headed up the mountain to our campsite. %u00a0When we got there to check in we were pretty much guaranteed %u00a0to see a bear because there had been so much bear activity, especially at our site. So I was a bit nervous, a lot excited, and ready and prepared. %u00a0After the mr started a fire from logs he threw into the air and dropped so they would break (we forgot a saw) and ate our dinner, all traces of food were then packed away in the car. %u00a0All evening every little noise we heard, I was expecting bear but nothing. So we went to bed.%u00a0I had my noise maker ready at my head, my shoes untied and ready to slip on, and my camera because I would need to get a picture. Every time I woke up (I wake up a lot)%u00a0I would poke my head out the tent window looking for a big fury mass, but all night I did not see one. We didn’t get a bear.%u00a0So much for that.%u00a0
After packing up camp super early, it was back to a river for some prime fishing and coffee and reading before heading back to the real world of noise and work and people. And we needed to get back to the cat, which I keep finding in piles of leaves next to the house looking dead. I was scared once or twice but it turns out he just likes looking like a dead cat in a pile of leaves. %u00a0Yup.%u00a0
Tuesday we had the littles over for a sleep over. We gardened, drew pictures, sat around and read, ate lots of corn, and walked down to the neighborhood cornerstone for creamees. After we sent the baby back to it’s mother, the littles and the mr watched another inaproperate Adam Sandler movie, I went to bed, they stayed awake all night watching cooking shows, and I had to shake them awake the next morning in order to feed them all the brightly colored pancakes before %u00a0dropping them off at camp.%u00a0Those guys are doing summer vacation right.%u00a0
Wednesday the mr and I had to quick quick run up to see our friends in the north at Ikea. It was last minute, we needed a countertop, so no I did not have time to call everyone I knew to see if they wanted me to buy them anything. But shitty shit, when we got there, the countertop we needed was not there, so that kinda sucked. But I did end up getting a new toilet paper roller, a toilet brush, and the mr picked out a new pillow. We drove all the way up there, we couldn’t leave empty handed.%u00a0
And how is your fresh farm and garden food these days?%u00a0Farm share is at it’s peak and so is my food consumption. I find myself eating more then I really want to just because we have so much fresh and beautiful goodies that I just can’t stop myself. The tomatoes are so ripe and sweet, how can I not eat like 10 a day? (my acid reflux is kicking up a little) %u00a0And not only are the tomatoes going gang buster at the farm, but my garden is like a tomato jungle. There is probably going to be a day when I am buried alive by the tomatoes. It so could happen.
Saturday was work at the studio. I was on fire and unloaded %u00a02 kilns (someone piece blew up in one) and loaded a glaze kiln in record time. After that I was pretty tired, my hip was sore (to much bending over kilns) so I came home, had a snack, cleaned the shit out of my house (there was watermelon stickiness on everything) and called myself ready for bed at like 8. The days are getting shorter again so I don’t feel so bad crawling into bed earlier. HA
Today is family day. Our cousins are up in Vt at the camp so we are heading there to spend the day with them. After that, the mr and I are camping in some field somewhere (probably a baseball field?) outside of the city to each the meteor shower. It’s at it’s peak tonight and I am super excited to sleep under the stars and watch. Hopefully we don’t get any shit for illegally camping in a park. We aren’t going to have a fire (so we can see the starts, duh) so it really shouldn’t be a problem. Right?%u00a0
Some reads from the internet this week.%u00a0
-It’s tonight guys!%u00a0How to See the 2018 Perseid Meteor Shower
–It%u2019s Time to Admit That Iceberg Is a Superior Lettuce. I wouldn’t call it superior but I have to admit, I do like me some iceberg. It’s kind of like my junk green. Not much nutritional value but taste so mighty fine dipped in mustard. Crisp an refreshing.%u00a0
-I know some people (mom..) that might have a slight buying books addiction, even when they won’t necessarily read them all.%u00a0Tsundoku: The art of buying books and never reading them. I stopped buying books (or rarely do and its usually a book I have read and love so much) and just do the library. It would be very expensive if I just bought books… I read to much.%u00a0
–Angry People Tend to Overestimate Their Intelligence. Ever have to deal with an angry know it all…. its enough for me to run away screaming. So frustrating.%u00a0
-“If you’ve ever seen someone with testicles get kicked in the groin, then you probably know that male genitals %u2014 often portrayed as a symbol of male strength and virility %u2014 aren’t actually that tough.” hahaha, what a great opening paragraph.%u00a0Boxers Or Briefs? Experts Disagree Over Tight Underwear’s Effect On Male Fertility
–What’s the Difference Between Zucchini and Yellow Squash?.%u00a0One is zucchini and one is yellow squash.%u00a0
–Spent $200 on a Weighted Blanket, and It’s Changed My Entire F*cking Life. I don’t think I will ever spend $200 on a blanket, but I am really into the idea of getting a weighted blanket..I think Ikea sells one for like $30.
-I could live in a state of natural silence for ever (or for a very long time)%u00a0Are You Listening? Hear What Uninterrupted Silence Sounds Like
–8 Fruits and Vegetables You Shouldn’t Be Refrigerating
Pictures from the week.
We are moving into the house!!! Oh wait, no we are not, at least not for real, but we are thinking about setting up the tent and sleeping in the yard for a while. It’s summer and it’s been so freaking hot and why the hell not right?
And to prolong our move in date some more, the mr and I have decided to re-floor the entire downstairs. HA! We figured we kinda wanted to but weren’t really sure if we should. And so we said screw it, lets just do it now and get it over with. So keep that in mind if you offer to help cause we might just take you up on it.
Other then house stuff, the week has been full of all the little littles, birthday parties, flowers, and tomatoes! The farm started dishing out the fattest, juiciest, most lovely tomatoes. I have found myself on a few occasions devouring whole tomatoes by accident, like i look at them and just need to eat them. (they take away my will power) Thinking I might have to make a cake with a few of the this week (if i don’t eat them all) and frost them all twirly, whirly sparkly like the cupcakes that I made this week, (they looked so awesome)%u00a0 I think the mr would like that.
But for today, no baking. I would actually like to stay away from anything that creates heat (besides coffee) because it is finally not so hot and humid and my brain needs time to reform from the melt. We will probably just go floor shopping (blah) but that way I can ride with windows down and my head sticking out of the window like a dog. Fun fun.
Some stuff on the internet that isn’t about pokemon (I still don’t quite get it…)
-Slice, Dice, Chop Or Julienne: Does The Cut Change The Flavor?
-I want to turn a really old industrial building into a house.
-Nineteen of Roald Dahl%u2019s Most Important Food Inventions
-This is one bad ass Nike ad. India’s first Nike ad is gorgeous, sweaty, intimidating, and totally inspiring
-And this..A Modern Day “Green Acres”: Family Home with Rustic Mid-C Trailers, Yurts & Cute Critters.. So cool. I oculd totally see doing something like this for the family. A compound of yurts. Ha
%u00a0-Living Room Hammocks & Hanging Chairs.. Huh, thinking I might be needing one.
-Crazy, beautiful. OSSA: The Unwilling Dance Performance of a Deconstructed Puppet
– Not fair. Forget Beanbag Chairs. Amazon Is Giving Its Workers Treehouses.
-In love with these pieces from Henry Street Studio
-Whoa, that’s a lot of people. PHOTOS: For #WorldPopulationDay, How Earth’s 7 Billion Live
And some pictures from life this week.
I am running extremely low on food in my house, like there isn’t a can of beans or a box of pasta left. Yeah, I have a few zucchini left, but I think that mr might be getting a bit sick of it. (He has had zucchini noodles for lunch and dinner for the past few day). And I was going to go to the grocery store before dinner, but then I didn’t. Why? well because I didn’t really feel like it.
Turns out that I didn’t need to go to the store for dinner.I had a few mushrooms, an onion, and a few stalks of chard left in the fridge. (but pretty much nothing else) I just bought a 25 lb bag of flour so I am all stocked up on that and last minute I found a avocado that I thought was a beet in the fridge. All I needed to make a dinner, and a quick and easy, and really tasty one to boot. Plus being so mother F*ing hot, it was perfect because there was no need to turn on the oven.
Now the question is,now that dinner was made and being that the fridge is so empty, should I clean and defrost it? Answer is yes, yes I should, but am I going to? Probably not. I just don’t have it in me to stand in font of the fridge, hacking ice away with a large spoon and boiling water for an hour. It’s to hot. I’ll do it later.
The stuff. Flour, baking powder, olive oil, salt ans water for the skillet bread. A few humngo stalks of red chard, a couple mushrooms (I would have used a few more if I had them). an onion, and a few cloves of garlic.%u00a0 Missing is the pepper and the avocado and lemon that I found while rummaging the fridge.
The bread is super easy. Just whisk together the flour salt, and baking soda then add in the oil. Mix until it’s crumbly then mix in the water until it turns into a soft dough. Gather into a ball and stick in bowl then into fridge for a few minutes to let the dough rest.
After the dough has rested, take it and cut into 4 equal pieces. Roll each piece into ball and then roll out as flat as you can. Heat up a skillet to high heat and once hot, place rolled out flat onto (dry) skillet. Cook first side for about 3-4 minutes or until browned and cook, then turn heat down a bit, flip and cook other side until browned. Remove bread, turn heat back up, and repeat with remaining flats.
For the rest. Remove the leafy part of the chard and set aside .Thinly hop up the mushrooms, onion, and the chard stalk. Mince up the garlic. Toss it all (not the garlic yet)into a lightly oiled skillet , season with salt and pepper, and cook on medium heat until starting to brown. Now toss in a few splashes of water and the minced garlic, mix around, and cover wit a lid. Cook for another 8-10 minutes until the veggies are nice and soft.
Cooked and ready, but wait, chop up the chard leaves and toss them into skillet. Another splash of water and a few more minutes under a lid will wilt them up real quick.
Skillet beads are made, veggies are all nice and cooked up. The avocado and lemon where found, sliced.
Not bad for a last minute-lean out the fridge of all food-dinner. Not bad at all.
Don’t melt
-C
Make 4 flatbread
For the skillet bread
For the rest
To make the skillet bread. Mix together the flour, salt, and baking soda in a large bowl. Pour in olive oil and mix until crumbly then add in 4 tablespoons of water (5 if it seems to dry) until a dough forms. Gather dough into a ball, stick in bowl and cover, and place in the fridge to rest for about 10 minutes. Once dough has chilled, remove and cut into 4 equal sized pieces. Roll each piece into a ball then, on a clean surface, roll out as flat as you can. Grab a skillet and place on high heat. Once skillet has heated up, place a rolled out dough on hot, un-oiled surface and let cook for about 3-4 minutes or until the bottom cooked with golden brown spots. Turn heat to medium and flip bread. Cook the other side for another 4-5 minutes or until browned. Remove flat and turn heat back up. Cook the rest of the bread like the first one.
For the rest. Remove leafy parts of the chard from the stalk and set aside. Take stalk and chop into pieces about 1/ 2 inch think. Slice onion and mushrooms up as thinly as you can. Mince garlic. Garb a skillet, stick on medium heat and drizzle with a little olive oil. Toss in chard stalk, onions, and mushrooms, sprinkle with salt and pepper and mix around until the stuff starts to brown a bit. Add in a few good splashed of water and the garlic and then place a lid on the skillet. Cook for about 10 minutes, giving the mixture a good stir every few minutes. Once the veggies are all soft and yummy, chop up the remaining chard leafs and place them into the skillet. Add another splash of water and place the lid back on. Cook until the leaves have wilted.
To assemble. Flat bread on plate. Scoop some of the sauteed veggie mixture on top. A few slices of avocado on top with a squeeze of lemon juice and a bit of cracked pepper…You are good to go.
Ah summertime. I hope that you are finding yourself on a beach or river(or someplace you want to be) with nothing but time to relax and enjoy yourself. It’s Sunday and we all need to relax today. We deserve it.
The past week has been pretty satisfying. The house is going gang busters. We had some insulators come and blow insulation into the walls on the first floor and later next week the upstairs is going to be spray foamed insulated…. And then we can move it (No not really) but this is huge. But now got to get ready for the guys to come and finish so we have to hall ass ans finish wiring, prepping and all the good stuff that they need us to do. We got a deadline to meet, but once that’s done its on. We can start hanging sheet rock (who wants to help?) and finish the bathrooms and kitchen and everything!1 AAAAHHHHH!, but we are all good. It’s getting done and starting to seem like we might actually get to move in before the winter.
But it wasn’t all work. The days when the insulators where at the house we took off for the mountains and found some rivers. The mr went fishing, the pup went swimming (and now I don’t need to give him a bath for a while) and I played with river rocks and read. We also visited with the bees up on the roof just to check how the ladies are doing and so far this season they are doing great, buzzing along like the bees do.
Today is one of those days that could go either way. We can work, maybe we really should work, but it’s suppose to get hot and humid and I really don’t want to. What I really want to do is go to the library and pick up (and drop off) books, go see the littles that just got back from Germany and share the watermelon that has been sitting on my counter all week with them. Maybe even go for a bike ride and take a nap.%u00a0 Sounds nice right?%u00a0 Hum. We shall see. At least I know there is a carrot popsicle in the freezer with my name on it.
Stuff of interest on the internet.
– A Golden Girls-themed caf%u00e9….And now I have the theme song”Thank you for being a friend” stuck in my head.
– A USED CARGO VAN BECOMES A MOBILE STUDIO.
-I have all sorts of ideas for making myself a little reading nook. NOTHING QUITE LIKE A PRETTY NOOK.
–Summer Produce Guide from Saveur
-Did you know there is a naked restaurant? I don’t know about you, but IF I wanted to eat naked, I would just do it at home, for free.%u00a0 The Fascinating (and Infuriating) Experience of Dining in the Nude
-I feel like I have lucid dreams, but that could be just in my dreams….What to Do During the Day to Increase Your Chances of Lucid Dreaming at Night
-I want a concrete bathroom floor. The mr does not. What do you think (that I am right, right!) Raw Beauty: 14 Gorgeous Spaces with Concrete Floors
-I am getting this app just as soon as I can figure out my apple ID. THE %u2018SHAZAM%u2019 FOR PLANTS WILL IDENTIFY ANY PLANT FROM A PICTURE
-All about the shoes. Gravity-Defying Shoes Installed on the Streets of London
–Inside the World of Large-Scale Food Heists. It’s for real, even around these parts (stolen maple syrup happens more then you think)
Pictures of some of the awesome that happened this week.
Have a great summertime Sunday.
-C
Let’s see, what did I do yesterday?
Nothing. Well, not completely nothing. I did wake up and go to the gym, but then came home and fell %u00a0asleep on the floor for more then an hour and woke up in a puddle of drool.%u00a0I also continued my binge watching %u00a0of the Mindy Project so I can be up to speed when season 4 started tonight on hulu!!!!!. And I %u00a0cut up a cantaoplue. That’s a good amount of stuff for one day, right?
Anyway. even when I am gone from home for just a few day, I never really quite feel right when I get back until I cook something inn my kitchen.. So after my floor nap, I got up with a hankering for some of the juicy cantaloupe that I got from last weeks farm share (and forgot to stick in the fridge before we left so I came home to very ripe cantaloupe)%u00a0Cut it into chunked, tossed with slightly toasted caraway seeds and then caramelized a bit more. Super fresh and clean and a very almost fall like way to eat the melon. And even though it took me about 4 minutes to do, it’s all I needed to make me feel normal again.
Ah, home and food and Mindy.. Nothing better, Now to back doing stuff all day.
The stuff. Some cantaloupe and some caraway seeds.%u00a0
Place caraway seeds into a dry skillet and place on the stove on high heat. While the seeds are toasting, remove seeds and rind of the cantaloupe and cut into mouth sized chunks and place into a bowl.%u00a0
Once you hear the fist pop from the seeds, dump them in the bowl with the cantaloupe and toss around. Then dump the seed covered chunks back into the hot skillet.%u00a0
%u00a0Sear each side until browned.
And scoop it back into the bowl.%u00a0
Eat right away. IF you want to get down with a scoop of yogurt on top or maybe a bed of some green, I think you should.%u00a0
Enjoy you Tuesday my friends.%u00a0
-C
Toss caraway seeds into a dry skillet and turn heat onto high. Toast seeds for about a minutes or so or until you hear the first seed pop. Dump seeds onto cantaloup chunks and toss around then dump the cantaloupe into hot skillet. Let chunks sear for 2-3 minutes on each side, or until they are starting to caramelize.%u00a0Remove from pan when you are happy with doneness.%u00a0
Eat right away.