The Tomato Cages!

It’s been a very rainy few days, but we have managed to get our tomato cages at least approximately placed (we still need to dig down and get them securely anchored) – but we finally got home early enough tonight I can provide the many-times-promised photos. I am so excited about them! My only worry is that Jaspenelle may come in the middle of the night and steal the orange one They are about 150% the size and 300% the strength of the standard lite-metal cages, so they should stand up much better to the weight of the tomatoes this year.

The Front Yard Garden

It was a beautiful day outside. After lounging in bed for a while this morning and making breakfast, Pete and I decided it was the perfect day to make some serious progress on our yard and house.

When we first moved into our house, I didn’t get a heck of a lot of pictures. We moved in summer solstice of 2008, and with moving and everything else, we didn’t get very far beyond planning the first year we were in the house.  The first spring we were in the house, I was conveniently mostly unemployed, so we were able to plan and put in a fairly substantial garden.  We played with the idea of putting the garden in our back yard, but the fact it is north-facing combined with the fact our neighbor was using chemicals on his apple tree that drifted into our yard encouraged us to put it in the front yard.

So, we planned five garden beds, each about 2-3 feet wide and between 6 and 14 feet long. I am still working on digging up the photos I have of that time, but here is the not-so-great cell phone pictures of before and after putting in those beds:

Yeah, our neighbors all thought we were crazy. We were told that kids would dig up the garden, that putting it in the front yard was “dangerous.” The biggest problem we had with putting our garden in our front yard, honestly, was that we didn’t have enough room. Neighborhood kids showed interest only in the fact that we were playing in dirt. We grew, harvested, and preserved carrots, bell peppers, tomatoes, hot peppers, herbs of all descriptions, corn, beans, pumpkins, radishes, snap peas, potatoes, broccoli, spinach, arugula, and lettuce. So, this year, we decided to add extra space.

It was a beautiful day outside, and we were done adding the extra 50 sq feet or so by 1 p.m. So we made a pilgrimage to the local hardware / general store and got some extra soil, some *awesome* tomato cages (don’t worry, pictures coming soon), and a new tool that I very much intended on attacking the dandelions with. I may have gone a bit overboard when we got home… I dug up the dandelions in the driveway, in the front yard, and then started on our much-neglected back yard. Because the previous homeowners / tenants had parked an RV in the back yard, it wasn’t in great shape when we moved in. Combined with pretty much ignoring it last year so we could get the back porch ripped down and rebuilt, it had pretty much entirely reverted back to weeds. I dug up weeds until I got a blister on my hand… then kept going for a while. Whoops.

BUT – we got grass re-seeded in a fairly sizable chunk of the yard. Pete put down shredded newspaper to help insulate and fertilize the grass seed, and we’re hoping it’ll actually grow. If not, well, we’ll have to see what else we can do. We have to have some chunk of backyard to have BBQs in over the summer, after all.

To see more pictures of the day, including the Smudgie cat enjoying outside time, check out the Flickr set.

Experiments in Growing : Aquabeads

For a while, Pete and I have been playing with the possibility of growing some things in a soil-less medium. Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing better then getting dirt under your nails and digging into the ground. For some plants, though, there are benefits to growing without soil (at least to start them, if not entirely). Feeding my one-to-two pound a week salad addiction is one of the most obvious uses. By growing without soil, we can control the salad growing much more easily – and have a lot more fun with the growing containers!

After getting to play with some AquaGems that my sister-in-law got as a freebie with an Ebay purchase, we decided to give them a try. We actually found them at JoAnn’s, and surprisingly the company is out of Rigby, very close to where I grew up.  A tiny little 10 gram packet will hydrate up to a quart of water. They claim to be colorfast, entirely biodegradable,  non-toxic, and environmentally friendly. So – we picked up a packet of black and a packet of green to give them a try.

Two quarts of water in a container later, and in went the totally dehydrated gems.

Five hours later, we added catnip seeds (we’re trying catnip because it grows very quickly and is relatively forgiving. Plus, our cats will love us) to this:

I’ll do my best to keep you all updated on how this experiment goes.

A Week in Review, with Photos!

Wow, it has been a busy week. In the last 7 days, the first episode of Andrea’s Kitchen has been filmed, edited, and posted.

I have also continued my tutoring of two women in blogging and Wordpress functionality. They’re awesome women, and about once a week we get together so I can help them navigate through search engine optimization, post editing, and the like.

Thursday Shadra and Matt and Pete and I all got together for our usual Thursday pop-culture update – AKA Project Runway. Usually, I admit that I stay away from reality TV. There is something so compelling about yelling at the judges on Project Runway and making fun of the model-drama. Besides, it’s one evening a week to hang out with two awesome people. The best part is, Pete and Matt can play video games while Shadra and I cook, watch TV, and generally chat. Last week’s Project Runway was about as anti-dramatic as it had been played up to be. Anthony should have won, that dress deserved it. I have no F’in clue what the judge’s love of Emilio is all about. Next week is sure to be just as “dramatic.”

Friday evening was, as Pete describes it, an evening of “loud and drinky fun”. Project Mayhem was playing at Daley’s Cheap Shots, and it was the perfect opportunity to not only check out Daley’s, but to see Ryan’s newest band. And hang out with Faythe and Karla and Shadra and Wendy and all other types of awesome people.

Daley’s is simply awesome. Cheap drinks, hot flirty waitresses, and great food – it could very well be a version of heaven. I am also INCREDIBLY glad I remembered to take my camera. I ended up with lots of photos that I really really liked… and it was a great reminder of why I so very much love photography. You can see all 24 of my favorites on the Flickr set.

The weekend included sleeping in, dinner with Michael, Jaspenelle, Damian, and Ivy as well as Caswallon. It always feels amazingly wonderful to see and spend time with that part of our family. We also got together with Ben and Laurie, and played Majhong. It took a while to get back into the groove of the game, but we got through a full five dealings before calling it a night. A moment of the kitten being mischievous ended with an incredibly cute photo of our very shy kitten.

Then, just like that, it was Monday again. Back to work, back to the schedule, and an incredibly exciting package in the mail. The “test” corset for my wedding corset showed up! I have yet to try it on with proper help, but I am SO excited about it!

And tonight, it was not only practice with Adria, but time to test another recipe. This recipe turned out very very well – now all I need to do is come up with a name by Thursday’s filming. It’s a chicken a la king – like dish, made with salmon and cream cheese. Of course, I have been told that I am not allowed to use the name Salmon a la Queen. Something about an image of fish in four inch heels Any suggestions on names?

And that’s the last week. Whew. I think I need to head to bed… the next week looks to be just as busy!

In a Cooking Contest – Farmers Market Orzo

So about a week ago I found (actually, though my work) the Philadelphia Cream Cheese / Paula Deen Real Women of Philadelphia cooking contest / casting call. Just a few weeks ago, Shadra had joked about submitting me to a cooking contest without my knowledge. I figured I’d beat her to the punch.

So, I put out a Facebook plea for help in filming. Then I realized – Faythe and Ryan not only had a wonderfully open kitchen that would be great for filming, but they could also probably be bribed to help. A few emails later, and a Tuesday filming schedule was set.

After four hours of filming, we had tape for two recipes – a Farmer’s Market Orzo and Beet Hummus. Week 1 of the competition is Side Dishes, and I was absolutely blown away when Ryan had the video edited and ready to go in just a single day. It looks amazing, and he managed to take my nervousness and hide it!

So, without further ado, here is the video:

And here’s the full recipe:

* 2 tbsp. of butter
* 1 1/2 cup(s) of sliced carrots
* 2 cup(s) of chopped broccoli
* 1 bell pepper
* 3 sliced green onions
* 3 cloves garlic, minced
* 1 tbsp. of butter
* 1 pound(s) of orzo pasta
* 4 cup(s) of broth
* 1/2 cup(s) of Parmesan cheese
* 1 tbsp. of dill
* 8 ounce(s) of Philadelphia Chive & Onion cream cheese

Steps

1. Melt butter in a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan. Saute vegetables, garlic, and herbs over medium-high heat until brightly colored and fragrant.
2. Transfer vegetables to a large bowl. Set aside.
3. Melt additional 1 Tbsp butter in saucepan. Saute orzo until lightly browned and slightly toasted.
4. Deglaze the pan with 1 cup broth and stir until thickened and bubbling.
5. Slowly add another 2 cups broth and cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, for 8-10 minutes, adding more broth if necessary.
6. Once pasta is al dente, add vegetables, Parmesan cheese, dill, and cream cheese to the pasta. Stir over medium heat until cheese is melted and dish is heated through.