tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-61838562574574273712024-02-20T23:53:42.290-05:00Carolina Backyard Farm<center>
growing our own on 2/3 of an acre in Charlotte, NC</center>Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10898758395476932882noreply@blogger.comBlogger124125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6183856257457427371.post-66686938372046217492012-11-22T10:46:00.001-05:002012-11-22T10:46:25.048-05:00Keeping chickens"Keeping" describes exactly what we try to do with chickens. Not that chickens are difficult to care for: they aren't, but they are hard to hold on to. Two weeks ago, I heard an acquaintance lost all of her chickens <i>except the rooster, </i>and I saw this post on my facebook newsfeed this week:<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUtw1qQkUbj3BFD_NfE3JIFAaLY5XUQl5bYAUoyWU9gl2xdGDrS72sbIb10mkVNBCVCnC6lYxumJAMVhdrX0qxVUMUryfdf105oloGeXFTK3uZc8CgPuUy9LspQz03OlxrjkfLmMm3VOD6/s1600/Capture.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="138" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUtw1qQkUbj3BFD_NfE3JIFAaLY5XUQl5bYAUoyWU9gl2xdGDrS72sbIb10mkVNBCVCnC6lYxumJAMVhdrX0qxVUMUryfdf105oloGeXFTK3uZc8CgPuUy9LspQz03OlxrjkfLmMm3VOD6/s320/Capture.PNG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I question why four people "like" this.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Watson does an admirable job keeping hawks away, so we haven't really had too much trouble with predators until this week.<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT3eEcKfjIpViexWqOr1ekjqark2aQbP5lcsYhyphenhyphenESd7rRP3mrJn7hQCf8Ofs76qYCj7ZOmsxq5L_JCPSc-hPkd_C_JhPaH9KKcF1sxCvZfU0VxlsYxpVEZ_EDhnqC48sDs-i5erVlzTJKP/s1600/IMG_2000.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="448" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT3eEcKfjIpViexWqOr1ekjqark2aQbP5lcsYhyphenhyphenESd7rRP3mrJn7hQCf8Ofs76qYCj7ZOmsxq5L_JCPSc-hPkd_C_JhPaH9KKcF1sxCvZfU0VxlsYxpVEZ_EDhnqC48sDs-i5erVlzTJKP/s640/IMG_2000.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
Monday morning about 3 am, the dog must have heard something in the yard. His whining woke Abe. Fortunately for our chickens, Abe is a light sleeper and got up with a sense that something was amiss. He went outside and sure enough, found a possum had been in the chicken coop. Friendly (one of our very first chickens and a very sweet Rhode Island Red) had been frightened into a corner, wedged under some pressure washing equipment. That rotten possum had torn her tail feathers and left a serious wound on her (you know what?) chicken butt.<br />
<br />
So Abe shot the possum with a BB gun, shushed the other hens and herded them as best he could back to their roost. It turns out that our kitten-harassin' boot-lickin', chicken-chasin' coon hound loves our hens after all, and I am so thankful for my light-sleepin', BB-gun-shootin', possum-killin', chicken-protectin' husband. I don't even mind how redneck I sound to tell about it. <br />
<br />
Friendly seems to be pulling through. So if I can have another moral to this story, it's to raise fat chickens.<br />
<ul>
<li>Fat chickens are harder for hawks to carry.</li>
<li>Fat chickens can't easily fly or fit through fences (which, unless you leave the gate open - not that we know anything about that at our house - is how chickens encounter possums in the first place).</li>
<li>Fat chickens don't have as many places to hide if they scatter at night and you have to search the yard in the cold looking for them.</li>
<li>By the way, having a fat kitty has most of the same advantages. Get one! </li>
</ul>
Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10898758395476932882noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6183856257457427371.post-71888169498858567762012-11-09T17:31:00.002-05:002012-11-09T17:31:29.970-05:00the cold and catching upDid I miss fall entirely? Stores are pushing Christmas decorations but I feel like we hardly even had <a href="http://carolinabackyardfarm.blogspot.com/2012/06/incredible-overnight-growth-of-zucchini.html">zucchini</a> this year.
September, October and nine days of November have gone by while I've
been all wrapped up in work. It's time for me to find a balance.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWJOqnyw4k3RZApvlVzWyZgJ3Iu_2XTRgE-cRecgfdbn1mivr9PLqhlGPewSJwV4bogzU3JNoYzFG-c2onzWUKOYuG-9Mvk1R3F7IC9bMpAYpouY7GgyFRl4aq5UIrqMAOjvJB0cQxESwv/s1600/IMG_2019.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="preparing for our winter garden" border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWJOqnyw4k3RZApvlVzWyZgJ3Iu_2XTRgE-cRecgfdbn1mivr9PLqhlGPewSJwV4bogzU3JNoYzFG-c2onzWUKOYuG-9Mvk1R3F7IC9bMpAYpouY7GgyFRl4aq5UIrqMAOjvJB0cQxESwv/s640/IMG_2019.jpg" title="insulating greenhouse" width="640" /></a>The greenhouse is re-insulated and sealed for winter weather just in time for the two freezes we've had this week. I'm grateful that somehow the baby lettuces in our raised bed seem to have survived.<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJfvTGjnWbKuI9AS_Xe6lIwu0oK1WpX6byPzKUSZm5E62p8MxiQmIfHPYLM_9af7TZ_J85miZpZgdgnsvS2nKdJtvcgNSlcaaBb8BDIyiSadoD-eju-huyV_7ERCWOIzQSi8hw32dc_wmG/s1600/IMG_1990.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="raised bed gardening" border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJfvTGjnWbKuI9AS_Xe6lIwu0oK1WpX6byPzKUSZm5E62p8MxiQmIfHPYLM_9af7TZ_J85miZpZgdgnsvS2nKdJtvcgNSlcaaBb8BDIyiSadoD-eju-huyV_7ERCWOIzQSi8hw32dc_wmG/s640/IMG_1990.jpg" title="baby lettuces" width="640" /></a></div>
Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10898758395476932882noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6183856257457427371.post-30613599444214194162012-10-04T17:24:00.000-04:002012-10-04T17:24:15.534-04:00a meal most satisfying & how to roast a butternut squash<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfD-B730hHP6QmU9uryfR1L9TMzaAbyHC_mHN8r2rYnfwMdLEEIDLekHnwlLCUBPfipKbUxvdpUnlyjE4zoPQ_IliVlXkpVV3LtTjmYLnphFXDT5UVfdcJpOS2QFh7-L7nQ0dJiVpwlzNF/s1600/soup.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="grown from scratch" border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfD-B730hHP6QmU9uryfR1L9TMzaAbyHC_mHN8r2rYnfwMdLEEIDLekHnwlLCUBPfipKbUxvdpUnlyjE4zoPQ_IliVlXkpVV3LtTjmYLnphFXDT5UVfdcJpOS2QFh7-L7nQ0dJiVpwlzNF/s640/soup.jpg" title="butternut squash soup" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">and garlic butter naan</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
On Monday it rained all day. It was the first cool day in Charlotte that really felt like winter. It was kind of a bummer.<br />
<br />
So Monday afternoon Abe roasted the butternut squash that we grew accidentally from a seed in our compost.<br />
<br />
There are two ways to roast a butternut squash, and if you don't know about them, you should, because butternut squash is delicious and inexpensive (or free! Grow your own for next year by accident):<br />
<ol>
<li>The Fancy Way, where you take the time to peel and chop the squash before you roast it, therefore producing beautiful, perfect bright orange cubes like they would serve you in an expensive restaurant, and </li>
<li>My Lazy Messy Way, which involves cutting the squash once from top to bottom, rubbing it with a bit of oil inside and out and roasting it whole face-down in a pan. The squash cavity can also be a good place to roast a bit of garlic, but only if you have a good pan: otherwise the garlic will burn and your squash will taste foul. Oh, and don't forget to scoop out the seeds and stringy bits -- that would be after you cut, and before you oil.</li>
</ol>
I'm a lazy messy kind of girl (no sense denying it). I'm ashamed to admit how my arms ache after cutting up an entire butternut squash, and also because the skin does come off easily and nicely after it's roasted.<br />
<br />
Anyway, on Monday Abe roasted the butternut squash The Fancy Way with olive oil, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbes_de_Provence">Herbes de Provence</a> and love. When I got home, dinner was simple: We caramelized an onion and sauteed garlic, then added the butternut squash, a pinch of marjoram and vegetable stock. A quick turn with the immersion blender, and we had the best butternut squash soup I've ever tasted.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<i>Only by growing some food for yourself can you
become acquainted with the beautiful energy cycle that revolves from
soil to seed to flower to fruit to food to offal to decay, and around
again. You will be fully responsible for any food that you grow for
yourself, and you will know all about it. You will appreciate it fully,
having known it all its life.</i></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<i>-Wendell Berry, "The Pleasures of Eating." Please read the whole essay <a href="http://www.ecoliteracy.org/essays/pleasures-eating">here</a>.</i></div>
Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10898758395476932882noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6183856257457427371.post-36781431870505427732012-09-17T23:07:00.001-04:002012-09-17T23:07:52.549-04:00We're jammin'<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO-VE29yRGV35R2TGPv7siPGvYZ80rc-lurIx5nBTnvlzlhMnpF9XWVrWDiK9LEcIJc7aUm-1eiQbrnEZ3-78G1NTyYoLspdKbynAZ-cyY3VtfWHtJMBg_2hDEBrkacgtgofkgs8eoEJAG/s1600/IMG_1639.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="North Carolina figs" border="0" height="484" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO-VE29yRGV35R2TGPv7siPGvYZ80rc-lurIx5nBTnvlzlhMnpF9XWVrWDiK9LEcIJc7aUm-1eiQbrnEZ3-78G1NTyYoLspdKbynAZ-cyY3VtfWHtJMBg_2hDEBrkacgtgofkgs8eoEJAG/s640/IMG_1639.jpg" title="fresh picked figs" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I can neither confirm nor deny whether my glasses have been cleaned since this picture was taken.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Yesterday these figs became jam with a little sugar, a little honey bourbon, and a little orange cognac liqueur.<br />
<br />
I don't can often enough to remember what needs to be done: most importantly, to <i>calm down</i>.<i> </i>Part of it's the heat (stirring ten boiling pints of fruit pulp next to a vat of boiling water), part of it's the uncertainty (Why Will It Not Thicken?!), part of it's the frustration that I never wrote down how I did it last year. All of it is taken out on Abe. Poor Abe.<br />
<br />
So this year while I tore out my hair with one hand (um, not the same hand I was stirring with) and yelled at Abe to sterilize the jars, I scribbled some messy notes on how to make fig jam:<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>I Wanna Jam It With Figs</b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
makes 10 pints</div>
5 lb. 4 oz. of figs (cleaned, with stems removed)<br />
1/2 c. Grand Marnier/La Belle Orange<br />
1/3 c. honey bourbon (obviously)<br />
3 c. sugar<br />
1 lemon<br />
Use a vegetable peeler to remove the yellow zest from the lemon in strips, then dice. Chop or smash the figs, then let them mascerate with all the other ingredients in a heavy-bottomed pot for at least an hour. Use this time to sterilize your jars and lids and sample the honey bourbon (if anyone asks, you're doing quality control). Bring the fig mixture to a boil, stirring frequently. Wait for it to thicken. (This takes <i>forever, </i>at least an hour, or possibly not - but I can say that
because these are messy notes, not an official "recipe.") Once it thickens to a jammy consistency, it's ready to go into jars. I leave about 1/4" of head space before capping. I use a <a href="http://pubs.ext.vt.edu/348/348-594/348-594.html">hot water bath canning</a> method and leave the jars in for 10 minutes.<br />
<br />
And I always freak out over the ones that don't instantly seal when they come out of the water. But unless you did it all wrong, they just need time (up to 24 hours), and if <i>I've </i>never managed to mess it all up, your jams will be okay too.Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10898758395476932882noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6183856257457427371.post-35389288294176589052012-09-12T15:44:00.003-04:002012-09-12T15:46:05.216-04:00Distract-o-duck!I feel like I've been caught in a whirlwind the past few weeks -
finishing up at two jobs, hosting a (wonderful!) new friend during the DNC and starting in my new position.
Abe and I are figuring out how to do life from what feels like the
beginning. New hours mean new bedtimes and setting new alarms, new work
locations mean new traffic jams and new routines for everything: when
and where to grocery shop, who starts supper and who feeds the animals. (Cash suggests having Watson for dinner.)<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg000xTCfxE6q8-hwQM-1dZq4dTsfnT9ics9jEyTj9kQTP0v_3VbU9JCznIdyCgQW6KL9__hxzmzU1i2aBt1I_XTddrt5etreaXtAPHGp4vG1jSYXRnN_0kdo7ScR3pK-jaMenw3tf8bqHv/s1600/IMG_1414.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="duckling and dog" border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg000xTCfxE6q8-hwQM-1dZq4dTsfnT9ics9jEyTj9kQTP0v_3VbU9JCznIdyCgQW6KL9__hxzmzU1i2aBt1I_XTddrt5etreaXtAPHGp4vG1jSYXRnN_0kdo7ScR3pK-jaMenw3tf8bqHv/s640/IMG_1414.JPG" title="hunting dog coon hound" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
I'm still in the middle of my first week at my new position, so I'm really just ducking in. I don't think I'm quite ready to come back to a regular or frequent blog posting schedule.<br />
<br />
This afternoon we're starting the fall garden, so I will try to get back soon with pictures and at least a brief update.Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10898758395476932882noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6183856257457427371.post-38257235107821195172012-08-21T13:20:00.000-04:002012-08-21T13:21:13.271-04:00About a duck<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFzaC3BMAiB7ll87VSGhJs_p3xWSFnD414ursn53KfNf-q8bAiTS6kfMZ5irSLU990Fzqnk9WJ9lQuNwKQ58Qh4eHcxVZz4Fqn4Vzs3QAm3_5iBHbJQCdnDQMTvMcOsZFeoJmc80Mz21-x/s1600/Waston.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="baby duck swimming" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFzaC3BMAiB7ll87VSGhJs_p3xWSFnD414ursn53KfNf-q8bAiTS6kfMZ5irSLU990Fzqnk9WJ9lQuNwKQ58Qh4eHcxVZz4Fqn4Vzs3QAm3_5iBHbJQCdnDQMTvMcOsZFeoJmc80Mz21-x/s640/Waston.jpg" title="pekin duckling" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
Here is the thing about a pet baby duck: he is equal parts terrified of you and desperately in need of your constant company. And he's obsessed with feet. So you have to be very, very careful where you walk to avoid having a duckling literally underfoot.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOjXWhyphenhyphensgBXV4tN1SKQmcRuMGVUxyPO5qmRswkF8CCgZt5XCzkCum5N7ulRh2cQ_qNbHtIGzZgzq5jMws5Rhyhl-1yz_lsDWxQvs2QoO9LkkG9ZD4PLCOaX27zrbCa-k5xhouJse4ZEfie/s1600/IMG_1283.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOjXWhyphenhyphensgBXV4tN1SKQmcRuMGVUxyPO5qmRswkF8CCgZt5XCzkCum5N7ulRh2cQ_qNbHtIGzZgzq5jMws5Rhyhl-1yz_lsDWxQvs2QoO9LkkG9ZD4PLCOaX27zrbCa-k5xhouJse4ZEfie/s640/IMG_1283.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">bird not to scale: that is, he looks much taller in this picture than he does in real life.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
We've only been together two days, but I'm very quick to make a list.<br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #bf9000;"><strong>Things a duckling will do to your delight:</strong></span><br />
<ul>
<li>Paddle his little feet in your bathtub</li>
<li>Wiggle his little tail</li>
<li>Flap his little wings (They are <em>so</em> little! Sometimes he tips over and needs help getting up.)</li>
<li>Cuddle</li>
<li>Eat bugs <em>right out of the air as they fly by</em></li>
<li>Provide hours of entertainment much cheaper than cable</li>
</ul>
<span style="color: #bf9000;"><strong>Things a duckling will do to your dismay:</strong></span><br />
<ul>
<li>Poop his little turds in your bathtub</li>
<li>Poop his little turds in your kitchen</li>
<li>Poop his little turds in your lap </li>
<li>Poop his little turds on the stuffed bear that you got for him to cuddle. </li>
<li>This is serious. There are a <em>lot </em>of little turds.</li>
</ul>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4Gi6vm3wV5SpaFW6fyn-CYXMmNuBnyuxZSFT922IR6AU_mmmkS2jRHPHKVL2_75OW6jpva_HfqaFSRgcs7B4m-y_B6F0Mke1D0vqjH0HMMGQRAMrp0Dp1aUtAGzUmvU78aczemTA2hD_l/s1600/IMG_1388.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4Gi6vm3wV5SpaFW6fyn-CYXMmNuBnyuxZSFT922IR6AU_mmmkS2jRHPHKVL2_75OW6jpva_HfqaFSRgcs7B4m-y_B6F0Mke1D0vqjH0HMMGQRAMrp0Dp1aUtAGzUmvU78aczemTA2hD_l/s640/IMG_1388.jpg" title="ducklings poop every 10 seconds" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
Here is some advice before you get a duck:<br />
<ul>
<li>Get a box for your duck. Make sure it's a box you don't care about because it will soon be full of poop. Even if you think you're a free-range duck kind of household, find a box. In the last 24 hours, I have learned that <em>there is no such thing as a full-time free-range duck kind of household. </em></li>
<li>Buy stock in paper towels. (*Not sustainable, but like I said, there are a <em>lot </em>of little turds. Almost enough to order these <a href="http://ducksindiapers.com/?id=413">duck diapers</a>.) (About duck diapers: you might think they're a joke like I did... until I got a duck.)</li>
<li>Feed the cat. You don't want him getting any ideas.</li>
</ul>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLW3_6ua1DnVkrm4C5HiLIk-QLgmtNfX6qOJSCyhKMygLBTi8DPTQNWRaLhnK0ney916EHiTGfkTl6Et5n414FBWCzCEWfc5a06Pn97DcwIZneZcKecZ6Ccvyzqq5IBvy9qXwUoPjQ_HtE/s1600/snacks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="cat thinks baby duck is dinner" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLW3_6ua1DnVkrm4C5HiLIk-QLgmtNfX6qOJSCyhKMygLBTi8DPTQNWRaLhnK0ney916EHiTGfkTl6Et5n414FBWCzCEWfc5a06Pn97DcwIZneZcKecZ6Ccvyzqq5IBvy9qXwUoPjQ_HtE/s640/snacks.jpg" title="cat and duckling" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />You can see a tiny clip of Watson <a href="http://youtu.be/wAjFVCir8mU">here</a>.Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10898758395476932882noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6183856257457427371.post-36570894368296313632012-08-20T11:49:00.002-04:002012-11-09T16:32:46.061-05:00Watson, I presume<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I was feeling wistful about how grown-up Peso is getting and worrying for You, Internet, since this blog is so much more entertaining with baby animals around. Then I got a text from our friend Hannah, who was offering us her duck.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Abe said heck no, saw a picture and promptly recanted (Isn't that how everyone gets their pets?).</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz8TL0_DXsLoSrtrkoP2G_aeGBGH-tMHsoYnPmuwKFMLoFAolXfsL0GwovpbL-gCcPog9DxbXmY6KPRVmP9YM4drx7lGtPbdCgEcAsEEF9ASuA8BHJwsKvqTvZQltWIV3x8RkLZuTIpX5-/s1600/Watson.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Watson, our baby quacker" border="0" height="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz8TL0_DXsLoSrtrkoP2G_aeGBGH-tMHsoYnPmuwKFMLoFAolXfsL0GwovpbL-gCcPog9DxbXmY6KPRVmP9YM4drx7lGtPbdCgEcAsEEF9ASuA8BHJwsKvqTvZQltWIV3x8RkLZuTIpX5-/s640/Watson.jpg" title="pekin duckling" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">ohmygoodness, he snuggles!!!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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If Abe<i> had</i> needed more convincing, this duckling's name is Watson, as in "Wat, Son, could be cuter than this face?"</div>
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Hannah dropped him off yesterday, so today I have a memory card full of duck pictures and Watson poop all over my floors.</div>
Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10898758395476932882noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6183856257457427371.post-68397396208618807682012-08-16T13:38:00.000-04:002012-08-16T13:38:57.726-04:00Ode to Tomatoes<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisRbyRDK73xh9hCWirsAC_G1F5NG3aKAQOZOESUQLXyY_cMrVqgXTwMFR3Wx7yOd7oLEft0Vpeu4Fp1FeQiz5WKQmafJbFHgJYwp-bOJyNUDO2qTC7oMiK3_Heu0pOSbDpQ3ENSqOPiTu6/s1600/tomatoes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisRbyRDK73xh9hCWirsAC_G1F5NG3aKAQOZOESUQLXyY_cMrVqgXTwMFR3Wx7yOd7oLEft0Vpeu4Fp1FeQiz5WKQmafJbFHgJYwp-bOJyNUDO2qTC7oMiK3_Heu0pOSbDpQ3ENSqOPiTu6/s640/tomatoes.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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The street<br />filled with tomatoes<br />midday,<br />summer,<br />light
is<br />halved<br />like<br />a<br />tomato,<br />its juice<br />runs<br />through the
streets.<br />In December,<br />unabated,<br />the tomato<br />invades<br />the
kitchen,<br />it enters at lunchtime,<br />takes<br />its ease<br />on
countertops,<br />among glasses,<br />butter dishes,<br />blue saltcellars.<br />It
sheds<br />its own light,<br />benign majesty.<br />Unfortunately, we must<br />murder
it:<br />the knife<br />sinks<br />into living flesh,<br />red<br />viscera,<br />a
cool<br />sun,<br />profound,<br />inexhausible,<br />populates the salads<br />of
Chile,<br />happily, it is wed<br />to the clear onion,<br />and to celebrate the
union<br />we<br />pour<br />oil,<br />essential<br />child of the olive,<br />onto its
halved hemispheres,<br />pepper<br />adds<br />its fragrance,<br />salt, its
magnetism;<br />it is the wedding<br />of the day,<br />parsley<br />hoists<br />its
flag,<br />potatoes<br />bubble vigorously,<br />the aroma<br />of the roast<br />knocks
<br />at the door,<br />it's time!<br />come on!<br />and, on <br />the table, at the
midpoint<br />of summer,<br />the tomato,<br />star of earth,<br />recurrent<br />and
fertile<br />star,<br />displays<br />its convolutions,<br />its canals,<br />its
remarkable amplitude<br />and abundance,<br />no pit,<br />no husk,<br />no leaves or
thorns,<br />the tomato offers<br />its gift<br />of fiery color<br />and cool
completeness.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
-Pablo Neruda, <a href="http://www.soupsong.com/ftomato2.html">translated by Margaret Sayers Peden</a></div>
Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10898758395476932882noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6183856257457427371.post-50470859673449028422012-08-15T08:42:00.002-04:002012-08-15T08:42:56.256-04:00Introducing:<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-J7xqBJh0IffFNuGnYtyWTXJvelxyW-feGZJbxWVbjkOSIhvWIuSQer72mUeittLTxx7vE-OI5mESPnetlAr-D62VypLmIzw-fHyrmCuJSqYQrR3TtSgkhsnjCwbD8RFKQVQqHclQBbNc/s1600/weekend3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-J7xqBJh0IffFNuGnYtyWTXJvelxyW-feGZJbxWVbjkOSIhvWIuSQer72mUeittLTxx7vE-OI5mESPnetlAr-D62VypLmIzw-fHyrmCuJSqYQrR3TtSgkhsnjCwbD8RFKQVQqHclQBbNc/s640/weekend3.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
This is a picture of the new office manager at <a href="http://gonsteadnc.com/">Gonstead Family Chiropractic</a>. The job's part time but there's potential for growth, and he's excited about the schedule (off weekends! off Wednesdays!) and the opportunity to do work he believes in. He started this week.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcG2GrlijkrMlS4IQqfb2vwlhxqRah7OQCVPEMLzzcHE3C0g9k-LlMuAQrBvv7mhzUiN4esxEroW4bHxyF2xX1Wd-xDT6cYMRVPxAQ0D36q60X4gfGpa2CZmCBONID6KKdid0nDlL306c0/s1600/weekend1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcG2GrlijkrMlS4IQqfb2vwlhxqRah7OQCVPEMLzzcHE3C0g9k-LlMuAQrBvv7mhzUiN4esxEroW4bHxyF2xX1Wd-xDT6cYMRVPxAQ0D36q60X4gfGpa2CZmCBONID6KKdid0nDlL306c0/s640/weekend1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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And this is the new Operations Manager of <a href="http://www.changedchoices.org/">Changed Choices</a>. (Me, not the cat, although I suspect Peso would do an excellent job promoting community partnerships and he's fascinated by "tweeting.")</div>
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These are the changes I mentioned before. I'm sad and scared and excited (and way more emotional than I realized. Has that ever happened to you?). I'm giving up my restaurant job and my housing and credit counseling position, starting something all new and looking forward to weekends off with my husband. I'm all over the place during this transition, so if I'm less <em>here </em>for a while, wait for me.</div>
Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10898758395476932882noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6183856257457427371.post-16669500283544815222012-08-14T13:32:00.000-04:002012-08-14T13:32:10.791-04:00get what you needI look forward to Saturday morning all week: to collecting the eggs from the chicken coop with Abe, driving to the farmer's market for juicy "Local Toms," and drinking coffee with the neighbors. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWsb3mp8NgsjsvZwPV1ja27oEMCjT2_p6kbzjxMDEBcVoeMTNWlfWaKP6D4wDugw6xgS5lWwtSAOpGo7r5vQbiR7SdpH20y9-DV5VSToiDQ2fTP8qmoKfJf7WPy3HNIBEyjGReCOlxwzOv/s1600/weekend+sustenance2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="328" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWsb3mp8NgsjsvZwPV1ja27oEMCjT2_p6kbzjxMDEBcVoeMTNWlfWaKP6D4wDugw6xgS5lWwtSAOpGo7r5vQbiR7SdpH20y9-DV5VSToiDQ2fTP8qmoKfJf7WPy3HNIBEyjGReCOlxwzOv/s640/weekend+sustenance2.jpg" title="weekend sustenance" width="640" /></a></div>
Right now I'm craving summer weekends and routine. I know exactly what to expect on a Saturday morning in August: hot and sticky humidity, coffee and a breakfast burrito, sleepy kitties and at least two loads of laundry.<br />
<br />
Lately I've had to make some tough decisions and it feels like everything is changing. (A post on that is coming soon.) I've noticed this: As a kid I had no trouble identifying the things I wanted, but I wasn't in tune with my needs. As an adult, I easily identify my needs, but I have a harder and harder time knowing what I want.<br />
Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10898758395476932882noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6183856257457427371.post-34712139459917031472012-08-08T18:23:00.000-04:002012-08-08T18:24:16.997-04:00taking a minute to smell the begonias<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaJfGsqZiTztFbG_Uxi5pKMlqyKvHRPNyl35N6B9OYJOA94E7eYbgmU6UOuLm8RzHm0GovvR37_V5Fc02HrvBOZ3BakvMRlKXwXn3xZLOd6rC6bxh7RHbrLvU2CB-3-e0JAAmKwJD2iMpN/s1600/begonia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaJfGsqZiTztFbG_Uxi5pKMlqyKvHRPNyl35N6B9OYJOA94E7eYbgmU6UOuLm8RzHm0GovvR37_V5Fc02HrvBOZ3BakvMRlKXwXn3xZLOd6rC6bxh7RHbrLvU2CB-3-e0JAAmKwJD2iMpN/s400/begonia.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Summer<br />
<br />
The pollen on a bee's wing,<br />
His hum against the pane,<br />
Are hints that Summer thinks of us,<br />
Would woo us back again<br />
To old beliefs we had in dawns,<br />
In sunsets and in dew--<br />
Before this hurry blotted out<br />
The primal me and you.<br />
<br />
-Nellie Seelye EvansKarenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10898758395476932882noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6183856257457427371.post-18051534371479599712012-08-06T15:46:00.002-04:002012-08-06T15:46:27.019-04:00the other kind of hops<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpGNq7ovQc3ZBiRL8BciH8O2lFyG8TpSPxmUsXleYMYuXSFOhyWUV108V0PEr4k3BvPFRl7a033cXssQNcLM7SN6K1rFKngUBhcRScWmYe_9bZOlBEA92BrgepLpgLr_I_aZMnhId66pQ-/s1600/hops2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="vining Cascade hopes" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpGNq7ovQc3ZBiRL8BciH8O2lFyG8TpSPxmUsXleYMYuXSFOhyWUV108V0PEr4k3BvPFRl7a033cXssQNcLM7SN6K1rFKngUBhcRScWmYe_9bZOlBEA92BrgepLpgLr_I_aZMnhId66pQ-/s640/hops2.jpg" title="homegrown hops" width="640" /></a></div>
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I've shown you <a href="http://carolinabackyardfarm.blogspot.com/2011/09/carolina-backyard-furrybottoms.html">the more animated hops</a> we've grown at Carolina Backyard Farm. These hops are destined for a delicious homebrew as soon as they're dried out and sticky enough.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN_pFvPWACAHpoOQ7-FQMQcCAhYIT1nK5cYAZuz8ebKBMJw0bsit4HQgzsEUb3SM0iR1jM4HuWQM0rP8UdGTqzlbT5SgBvQFndIDj6TlHpuz55ZvJkrMzRyogUlKQZSRmPsj9o0MY1e0wl/s1600/hops.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Cascade hops" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN_pFvPWACAHpoOQ7-FQMQcCAhYIT1nK5cYAZuz8ebKBMJw0bsit4HQgzsEUb3SM0iR1jM4HuWQM0rP8UdGTqzlbT5SgBvQFndIDj6TlHpuz55ZvJkrMzRyogUlKQZSRmPsj9o0MY1e0wl/s640/hops.png" title="growing hops" width="640" /></a></div>
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More information on growing your own hops <a href="http://morebeer.com/content/growing-hops">here</a> and <a href="http://beersmith.com/blog/2008/04/10/growing-hops-in-the-garden-how-to-grow-beer-hops/">here</a>.</div>Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10898758395476932882noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6183856257457427371.post-42471693613249608412012-08-05T22:32:00.003-04:002012-08-05T22:32:29.539-04:00a little help with the laundry<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Peso doesn't mind sorting the socks.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiemV9j9n64uJtg-FkyR69qY_hqRLb38bEw1t7GirekPdwRWnV8ulPPf8UuABxcYwrwGCwu_283LPmzQtkKaSgqQFT5oUmym0Imvm4Mj-dz8h5PLn9UbhDVp0Bxv-Sz00BbKAFWHaX37h1c/s1600/laundry.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiemV9j9n64uJtg-FkyR69qY_hqRLb38bEw1t7GirekPdwRWnV8ulPPf8UuABxcYwrwGCwu_283LPmzQtkKaSgqQFT5oUmym0Imvm4Mj-dz8h5PLn9UbhDVp0Bxv-Sz00BbKAFWHaX37h1c/s640/laundry.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10898758395476932882noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6183856257457427371.post-72743925792818755442012-08-03T17:00:00.000-04:002012-08-03T17:00:03.187-04:00happy weekend, y'all<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieUef4t2482XHgnzVXfX9TIt8ro9dGBcZepZmboz2qohL1z-tLC_aLRr5A4qwH7bBsiq3z-_raFp32mZJtzk2KuB1sYLCbu-p34FJNvNUekn8QwxWcShO08ZAK5yMi5QqDvol4S_h-lZlT/s1600/weekend.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieUef4t2482XHgnzVXfX9TIt8ro9dGBcZepZmboz2qohL1z-tLC_aLRr5A4qwH7bBsiq3z-_raFp32mZJtzk2KuB1sYLCbu-p34FJNvNUekn8QwxWcShO08ZAK5yMi5QqDvol4S_h-lZlT/s640/weekend.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10898758395476932882noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6183856257457427371.post-79284163028115506102012-08-03T08:00:00.000-04:002012-08-03T09:19:41.723-04:00Lowes Foods supports local<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="http://www.lowesfoods.com/community/locally-grown-club-2012/">Lowes Foods has a kinda/sorta CSA</a>! Their program is seasonal and started in June, but it's not too late to participate in the three week program or week-by-week. The cost would be about 2.00 per pound for the 6 week program, about $2.16 per pound for the three week option, and $2.32 to purchase week by week. Depending on how many more costly items (like blueberries) are included, that's very comparable to the farmer's market, and includes the convenience of making one stop for groceries.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9BcyOj8r8mBrfgNClERedCoP1P-TWV7pdrdqgmcBgdMpV5SFbjLFpihlus67gaUgBtUo8ZkfLGh0ZPYcSSh-u2nYxfbbear0ABjQtcOsNHKCWk2tMGhjYgasasPVuHfWe9pM7Kwai-HJG/s1600/local+food+club.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9BcyOj8r8mBrfgNClERedCoP1P-TWV7pdrdqgmcBgdMpV5SFbjLFpihlus67gaUgBtUo8ZkfLGh0ZPYcSSh-u2nYxfbbear0ABjQtcOsNHKCWk2tMGhjYgasasPVuHfWe9pM7Kwai-HJG/s1600/local+food+club.JPG" /></a></div>
From their <a href="http://www.lowesfoods.com/aboutus/pressroom/support-local-farmers-with-lowes-foods-locally-grown-club/">press release</a>:<em> "Lowes Foods Locally Grown Club will feature six to ten varieties of assorted produce in each box that may include zucchini, yellow squash, green peppers, blueberries, sweet potatoes, cabbage, cucumbers, tomatoes, peaches and many other seasonal items. Customers will receive over twelve pounds of produce each week for the entire seven weeks, one three week period or for a single week. Customers simply sign up through Lowes Foods to Go, pay in advance for their subscription and pick up their box each Saturday in the Lowes Foods to Go pick up lane." </em><br />
<br />
Lowes has partnered with a number of North Carolina farms and with <a href="http://pilotmountainpride.com/index.php">Pilot Mountain Pride</a>, which is an awesome aggregate organization of small farms in the Winston-Salem area. Formerly dependent on tobacco production, by banding together with "Pilot Mountian Pride," farmers have been able to retain employment and increase the viability of producing local food for their community. This video about their project isn't perfectly polished, but it totally inspires me about the possibilities for local food and small farmers.<br />
<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="480" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/sPC4R9Y9ctA?rel=0" width="640"></iframe>Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10898758395476932882noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6183856257457427371.post-42884359819279090912012-08-02T11:26:00.002-04:002012-08-02T11:31:09.726-04:00A backyard attempt at technology. With pets!We recently met a friend's 3 month old kitten who rivaled the size of our 8 week old Peso. Provided I can keep Franc out of his kitten kibble, I think our baby boy is well on his way to being the pet mountain lion of my dreams.<br />
<br />
I get a lot of questions about how we're getting along with two humans, two felines and a hyperactive coonhound under one roof. I <strike>failed at blogger-video-uploading only six times before I gave up and</strike> created a youtube account so I could show you. Enjoy, and stay with me: the very best part is the end.<br />
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<iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/9sFzIaNg02s?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10898758395476932882noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6183856257457427371.post-77640407330627764642012-07-25T11:02:00.001-04:002012-07-25T11:02:17.799-04:00I've had the time of my lifeAbe and I have been married for four years today. I'm finding it hard to write about our life together without using cheesy cliches. I'll just say that I'm every bit as happy with my choice of partner as I was the day I picked him.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLMpKZmBgV3oavzewJ3PP8tQ1h37cNjM4HCy8OPj-mGJroc-dUup0nONgwV216up2A7Bd1ufyoBJ5SqD_Cm2UXrwJH4eCqzrDjNQHZTswJSMu5Qfur8YmWp7uYtZAv3lXFmZx64LGaoaT4/s1600/wedding3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLMpKZmBgV3oavzewJ3PP8tQ1h37cNjM4HCy8OPj-mGJroc-dUup0nONgwV216up2A7Bd1ufyoBJ5SqD_Cm2UXrwJH4eCqzrDjNQHZTswJSMu5Qfur8YmWp7uYtZAv3lXFmZx64LGaoaT4/s640/wedding3.jpg" width="496" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">photo by Ben Depp</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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"May you be in love every day for the next 20,000 days. And out of that love, remake a world.”</div>
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-Ray Bradbury</div>Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10898758395476932882noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6183856257457427371.post-8351910607586034902012-07-19T13:43:00.002-04:002012-08-02T13:14:02.989-04:00growing seeds from grocery store peppers<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUFEfbPGHtlVk0agD_yfxy9M3QoWsKl9aYNAid_FiQ9sZNX9h2QWh5sYL5sh3P1yE6Tjt-6tH4ToclFNA9VG-kWSM4wvPqjCWkqUiTqaDqtVJrkrPsOvqUIEUynA0JQN3-kLeunHgZ_0Al/s1600/peppers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="homegrown peppers from grocery store" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUFEfbPGHtlVk0agD_yfxy9M3QoWsKl9aYNAid_FiQ9sZNX9h2QWh5sYL5sh3P1yE6Tjt-6tH4ToclFNA9VG-kWSM4wvPqjCWkqUiTqaDqtVJrkrPsOvqUIEUynA0JQN3-kLeunHgZ_0Al/s640/peppers.jpg" title="2nd generation Trader Joe's peppers" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Homegrown peppers - second generation from Trader Joe's.<br />
Also, I'm bringing back The Doily.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Everyone who sees these peppers thinks they're spicy. They're not - they're more like tiny sweet bell peppers. These were actually started from seeds harvested from Trader Joe's peppers - those cute mini tricolor pepper-ettes. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTzGWGwHkD8dqCgKqYbDxGMsKs2fD_DamZekweqLss0KKTKlCbg38HJ0OZHVt7i-xt6iVPpnQfb6l3vjl6u_5X_PP5eRx1gCYkClEYUT0IA_t5wYmxN2Tcmuxh8EL-IT5DhwEq4ANiKi7k/s1600/peppers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTzGWGwHkD8dqCgKqYbDxGMsKs2fD_DamZekweqLss0KKTKlCbg38HJ0OZHVt7i-xt6iVPpnQfb6l3vjl6u_5X_PP5eRx1gCYkClEYUT0IA_t5wYmxN2Tcmuxh8EL-IT5DhwEq4ANiKi7k/s640/peppers.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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It's a bit of a risk trying to grow from commercial seeds (and <a href="http://survivingthemiddleclasscrash.wordpress.com/2009/02/05/the-multiple-ways-monsanto-is-putting-normal-seeds-out-of-reach/">illegal if the seeds are from Monsanto</a>): most commercial vegetables are hybridized so that they may not produce, and if they do, the vegetables will be a different variety. But since we'd already bought the peppers, we took a chance, planting a few of seeds from each color pepper (yellow, orange, and red).<br />
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Apparently when mini bell peppers are grown commercially, each color is grown separately - they're three distinct seeds with similar size, flavor and shape. As you can see, we got none of the lovely colors from any of the seeds, but we were lucky to get peppers at all, since it turns out store-bought bell pepper seeds are usually infertile.<br />
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Have you ever grown anything from the grocery store? A few gardening forums I checked out seemed to indicate decent success growing hot peppers (red chili, habaneros), since heirloom varieties are sold more commonly.Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10898758395476932882noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6183856257457427371.post-44245842008224807802012-07-18T14:49:00.000-04:002012-07-18T14:49:28.279-04:00on becoming a morning person (with gratuitous baby animal pictures)Look at this ferocious snuggling beast. If you had a tiny animal this soft and sweet in your bed sleeping, you wouldn't want to get up, either.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj01OImDKQ4vg7mjrerNxYQkxoXWWZLhJY53FgOK8GDxXru2FwM3P4cPiESng3_uO5vBXvZfNPJMs1ccHrud6xvmsUPdPT-DeBNTszeE5kN64jJiUx0eFcgTTYR-W1ORp0MsDmOqb73HOCf/s1600/IMG_0914.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="164" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj01OImDKQ4vg7mjrerNxYQkxoXWWZLhJY53FgOK8GDxXru2FwM3P4cPiESng3_uO5vBXvZfNPJMs1ccHrud6xvmsUPdPT-DeBNTszeE5kN64jJiUx0eFcgTTYR-W1ORp0MsDmOqb73HOCf/s640/IMG_0914.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />But the truth is, I was an anti-morning person long before there were any cats in my bed. I hate to wake up so I only do it in a bad mood. (Can I blame <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Werewolf">lycanthropy</a>? The grumpiness wears off by noon, and I'm generally a peach the rest of the time.) Abe has to set his cell phone alarm for both of us, because mine doesn't dare go off.<br />
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So you know that reputation farmers have for being up before dawn? I am not that farmer.<br />
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But I'm trying. Today I let Abe drag my sleepy behind to the gym at 6 am. I <strike>wasted 15 minutes rolling around on the bed whining</strike> struggled through 30 minutes on a recumbent bike, but most importantly <strike>I</strike> Abe survived, because I didn't kill him.<br />
It wasn't that bad. I might try it again tomorrow. And then, who knows? Maybe before I know it, I'll be a morning person.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfRzaxYYM-lKAsG82h_AZfuzTgrfZCmy_ymrgLxFabAvP5tEaITWRydeWEpeQYOxBi9oxtR3GeMIWwub1H20bh8J7vWRiCpZuzbc6q0NZWeO57B6pfCyUYKCBzzN3TuCPuWM9XiJINv5ME/s1600/Peso4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="We call him Peso" border="0" height="518" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfRzaxYYM-lKAsG82h_AZfuzTgrfZCmy_ymrgLxFabAvP5tEaITWRydeWEpeQYOxBi9oxtR3GeMIWwub1H20bh8J7vWRiCpZuzbc6q0NZWeO57B6pfCyUYKCBzzN3TuCPuWM9XiJINv5ME/s640/Peso4.jpg" title="tiny kitten" width="640" /></a></div>Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10898758395476932882noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6183856257457427371.post-31271123238716003852012-07-17T13:23:00.000-04:002012-07-17T13:40:35.016-04:00farm earnings year-to-date: one PesoWhen I walked in the door after work Saturday night, Abe was waiting. "I've got a surprise," he said. Surprise indeed.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzVjDuX7J8bLz85BMlY3nAfzg4an-rHhxMGpPtG0e8ChcpeuSiE5rwvBC0M9roxuj4SE-Dmo-MDGWzrJJu_-xLBAKzECUYFhkSTXf7rEyeW4VqHJCuCo41F2lpyVpd-nGfObxutfbnUDQ0/s1600/PicMonkey+Collage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="603" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzVjDuX7J8bLz85BMlY3nAfzg4an-rHhxMGpPtG0e8ChcpeuSiE5rwvBC0M9roxuj4SE-Dmo-MDGWzrJJu_-xLBAKzECUYFhkSTXf7rEyeW4VqHJCuCo41F2lpyVpd-nGfObxutfbnUDQ0/s640/PicMonkey+Collage.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Abe found this scrappy little fleabag (now a.k.a. Peso*) walking in the street in the middle of the night. He was starving and incredibly friendly. His purr rivals the noise of a mac truck, and I'm not sure he's stopped using it since Abe brought him home. No kitty has ever been so happy to find a family.<br />
With the aid of some friends who were staying over, <a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=sexing+kittens&rls=com.microsoft:en-us:IE-Address&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&sourceid=ie7&rlz=1I7AVSA_enUS461">google</a> and graphic images of male vs. female kitten butts, early Sunday morning we came to the conclusion that Peso is a boy. That was confirmed yesterday by the vet, who found he's 6 weeks old. (He seems big for six weeks, so I'm hoping it turns out he's a baby puma. Please, let me dream.) Since then he's been:<br />
<ul>
<li>dewormed</li>
<li>eating <em>everything</em> in the house</li>
<li>flea-dipped</li>
<li>thoroughly licked all over by Franc and Cash</li>
<li>litter trained (we really <em>really </em>hope!).</li>
</ul>
I went digging around in my old blog in preparation for this post, because I was hoping I'd already written something about our monetary theme for naming animals.* I didn't find what I was looking for, but I did find <a href="http://www.klekov.blogspot.com/2009/08/bare-minimum.html">sobering advice about taking in pets</a>. (Also sobering? My old blog was much more hilarious than this one. I think the last two years I've had osteoporosis of the funny bone. Now I <em>really </em>need health insurance.)<br />
*we have one.Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10898758395476932882noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6183856257457427371.post-2229041000998115162012-07-12T18:20:00.001-04:002012-07-13T00:39:24.681-04:00We're back!I missed you. It's been hectic! I've been busy:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwgTu2i_Ovty1XQrAr5sPB-ihn9cA5IZSmE-_o2JrNIltF51zphXb_ziefwYXtGcVvxyGDxSVUurej3onfBBN21Czt2OtWx0r2x_uLQN2tP3edRXzWG6TjUnRjXvE9zza960zh4nkgSrJ2/s1600/IMG_0859.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwgTu2i_Ovty1XQrAr5sPB-ihn9cA5IZSmE-_o2JrNIltF51zphXb_ziefwYXtGcVvxyGDxSVUurej3onfBBN21Czt2OtWx0r2x_uLQN2tP3edRXzWG6TjUnRjXvE9zza960zh4nkgSrJ2/s400/IMG_0859.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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celebrating birthdays (this mad farmer's 29!)</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo6QNwSAIElkMb0_y5TYykuooaFXWkmmoaRDxY4ADXqrfZUxOphKQEBArigUcbLc9YhehXAf6Mmh8QzVHxqTjIJu0CbBkiQur1nyOMYI3prewKHUB9GhP30LByk2NO7ig273XSvbDov-ok/s1600/IMG_0835.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo6QNwSAIElkMb0_y5TYykuooaFXWkmmoaRDxY4ADXqrfZUxOphKQEBArigUcbLc9YhehXAf6Mmh8QzVHxqTjIJu0CbBkiQur1nyOMYI3prewKHUB9GhP30LByk2NO7ig273XSvbDov-ok/s400/IMG_0835.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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growing a sweet 'stache </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitvtXXc52Gm6FFRTu1vBKnZ9P7ghtBCoIOjnpqB-vN8BM1-bHv0xGPXWiPqZgDrTgbozKGqj5QbjeAI65D3iJDkI4JGyDE-h2f_ZUS1AXC3G563DdDX79e2ArPypMAtmzTO9NjT9PNUl_2/s1600/refinishing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitvtXXc52Gm6FFRTu1vBKnZ9P7ghtBCoIOjnpqB-vN8BM1-bHv0xGPXWiPqZgDrTgbozKGqj5QbjeAI65D3iJDkI4JGyDE-h2f_ZUS1AXC3G563DdDX79e2ArPypMAtmzTO9NjT9PNUl_2/s400/refinishing.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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refinishing a vintage picnic table </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlxZhfztm8NqGZva4FkrxXyugIGbBKBeiL5gKfhK4YpGNOcWqevEqA0U2_cGQ3FW5aXFEsx_V59cgyZ_LLZ8tFesiD-f2igmPkUYXGPMSkp1r1ANUoFfMDfxgPYWVWIkvWFB7i-8xnfVxF/s1600/finished+deck.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlxZhfztm8NqGZva4FkrxXyugIGbBKBeiL5gKfhK4YpGNOcWqevEqA0U2_cGQ3FW5aXFEsx_V59cgyZ_LLZ8tFesiD-f2igmPkUYXGPMSkp1r1ANUoFfMDfxgPYWVWIkvWFB7i-8xnfVxF/s400/finished+deck.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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& enjoying our deck. It was totally worth the heat exhaustion from sanding & staining on the hottest day of the year. Our deck is <i>beautiful </i>and you should definitely come have a drink on it.</div>
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</div>Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10898758395476932882noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6183856257457427371.post-58780396934291547522012-07-02T17:25:00.002-04:002012-07-02T17:25:25.104-04:00gettin' it doneCongratulations, y'all. We've officially <a href="http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m6hqduvGpC1qa0uujo1_1280.jpg">halfway</a> survived 2012.Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10898758395476932882noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6183856257457427371.post-90690341539074493122012-06-27T08:00:00.000-04:002012-07-26T13:41:59.202-04:00Matt's Wild Cherry TomatoesThe federal government has sponsored research that has produced a tomato that is perfect in every respect, except that you can't eat it. We should make every effort to make sure this disease, often referred to as 'progress,' doesn't spread.<br />
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-Andy Rooney</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHbb-3BEMKVB72bGl8_lcLpHHK8l4GTHZGbkOfzpjLxXQgPjpAuAIGud0qKfSjsuUg_Nx5fgXxxMNUYAg5GNZtPNAp308rIHagYe0kRZDZW0gTNhdvwK5zFNvWKJ7L6c31M0cspZBbocSH/s1600/tomato.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="heirloom cherry tomato" border="0" height="203" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHbb-3BEMKVB72bGl8_lcLpHHK8l4GTHZGbkOfzpjLxXQgPjpAuAIGud0qKfSjsuUg_Nx5fgXxxMNUYAg5GNZtPNAp308rIHagYe0kRZDZW0gTNhdvwK5zFNvWKJ7L6c31M0cspZBbocSH/s640/tomato.png" title="Matt's Wild Cherry Tomato" width="640" /></a></div>
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<br />If you're completely overwhelmed when selecting seeds for your garden (and personally, after twenty minutes with a seed catalog, I'm ready to hang it on the wall and shoot darts in lieu of actually choosing), you'll welcome this recommendation: <a href="http://www.highmowingseeds.com/organic-seeds-matts-wild-cherry-tomato.html">Matt's Wild Cherry Tomatoes.</a></div>
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<br />We purchased our seeds from <a href="http://www.renfrowhardware.com/renfrows-history">Renfrow's Hardware</a> more than two years ago, and we're still going strong. The plants have never given us any problems with pests or blight, and they produce tons of cherry tomatoes all summer long. The fruit is sweet with rich, red flavor, and its seeds produce new tomatoes so easily that you'll likely end up with seedlings next year from this year's plants - perfect for the lazy gardener (a.k.a. me). If you doubt yourself and start too many, let me also suggest<a href="http://www.food.com/recipe/sweet-tomato-chutney-70119"> Madhur Jaffrey's sweet tomato chutney</a>, which we ate on everything from tofu dogs to grilled vegetables almost every day for two solid months, and still look forward to eating this summer.</div>
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<br /></div>Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10898758395476932882noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6183856257457427371.post-27999769026066326512012-06-26T15:43:00.004-04:002012-06-26T15:43:53.705-04:00Food for the trailsIf food isn't the first thing on your mind when you think about backpacking, you probably don't want to hike with my family. You never know when a snack might be your last: on the same trip in the past three years, we've had second degree burns and two head injuries. Lesson learned: you'd best eat while you can.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbbnsFJLjvIsTa_m7HixOtM5Z1QUnwRIjYL-7YXJpWDnkiYV024j5e-G_m9bbpCDwUt2konXaAP7DV8WPaY3Fl4JuGocwYIXEN7ul2XTPIdonapiuaiqJjGZzBBciNwfocq4F6otX2zf41/s1600/PicMonkey+Collage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbbnsFJLjvIsTa_m7HixOtM5Z1QUnwRIjYL-7YXJpWDnkiYV024j5e-G_m9bbpCDwUt2konXaAP7DV8WPaY3Fl4JuGocwYIXEN7ul2XTPIdonapiuaiqJjGZzBBciNwfocq4F6otX2zf41/s400/PicMonkey+Collage.jpg" title="tea break, coffee break" width="400" /></a></div>
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Hiking all day is the only way I can possibly burn enough calories to eat <em>everything</em> <em>I want</em>... so for two and a half days, that's what I do. (And the Appalachian Mountains are okay-looking, if you're into that sort of thing.)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOKNtbaa9EOUz49xYVdBNINjHoY8ocuhg5zxY6C5pWpvidXOSVLanCfwe3tl0_IJR1ekm04MVBkFCeE6hjoeiRCFcK3HJ5vkVXdfp3_hk56KuLeRGq3lQzoap-FNneegiUk0nge2KTCTQM/s1600/grayson.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOKNtbaa9EOUz49xYVdBNINjHoY8ocuhg5zxY6C5pWpvidXOSVLanCfwe3tl0_IJR1ekm04MVBkFCeE6hjoeiRCFcK3HJ5vkVXdfp3_hk56KuLeRGq3lQzoap-FNneegiUk0nge2KTCTQM/s400/grayson.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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To start your packing, <a href="http://www.traderjoes.com/">Trader Joe's</a> has every kind of delicious snack mix you could possibly want, and health food stores with bulk bins can source your dried fruits, grains (like quinoa or oatmeal) and goodies (chocolate-covered everything: yes, please). But this year, our best meal came mostly from our very own garden.<br />
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For Christmas, my parents surprised Abe and I with an <a href="http://www.excaliburdehydrator.com/">Excaliber dehydrator</a>. (If you don't have a dehydrator, come to N.C! Use mine.) We brought it out for the first time before our trip this past weekend, drying zucchini,* squash, rainbow carrots and peppers, as well as store-bought mushrooms. The vegetables shrank down to almost nothing and I was a little concerned how they would turn out on the trail. <br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_EWhg9vzYZMMw0Qd3kTPGC_V9blW-GQrYfGmBiZ2DTySxVZDfGjI0DIVwbWF3sntYKPbivXvSsOXkBzhFC6y2JCYPE40dM6Z_MQQM_fR2Gp8CEK7LICaGilx38I7smQ3fpmZG26zd49wT/s1600/IMG_0497.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_EWhg9vzYZMMw0Qd3kTPGC_V9blW-GQrYfGmBiZ2DTySxVZDfGjI0DIVwbWF3sntYKPbivXvSsOXkBzhFC6y2JCYPE40dM6Z_MQQM_fR2Gp8CEK7LICaGilx38I7smQ3fpmZG26zd49wT/s400/IMG_0497.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ben's unimpressed by the crunchy dried veggies from a local health food store; Cash shows the proper attitude.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I picked beef Ramen - now stay with me, <a href="http://www.zubuddy.com/2011/09/first-ramen.html">it gets better</a> - to eat with our veggies, since it's so lightweight, and added some curry powder and ground ginger to a <a href="http://www.webstaurantstore.com/crushed-red-pepper-1-gram-portion-packet-200-cs/125PCCPEP200.html">packet of red pepper flakes</a> (left over from a pizza delivery a few months ago). I also packed some spicy Haitian peanut butter in a mini tupperware, and just to have options, some soy sauce and Chinese mustard packets.<br />
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Maybe it was the vigorous exercise (or maybe not, since I offered to make Abe virtually the same meal for dinner on Monday night at home), but the resulting dinner was delicious! We boiled water on our camp stove, then added the carrots, since they would take the longest to rehydrate. After a few minutes, we threw in the mushrooms and then the other veggies, along with the contents of my spice packet. After the vegetables had rehydrated, we threw in the noodles with a pinch of the Ramen flavor pack and stirred for another minute or two. I added peanut butter to taste, and discovered that a sprinkle of cashews (picked out of the mixed nuts we'd brought along) added just the right richness and crunch.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG4ROjelf6oaFAMcuua2BpKNEkQxS5YqIsc6cFx3fa9nfFQMFGX8sWn85ilY4szGuK-F4G-aqm08IN_IV9nzpa9kjep5HSP7vtjdDUB7AO7rQA-JR6fvAu77b7Rn9iP79QXxjyCTlQHVBF/s1600/dried+vegalicious2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG4ROjelf6oaFAMcuua2BpKNEkQxS5YqIsc6cFx3fa9nfFQMFGX8sWn85ilY4szGuK-F4G-aqm08IN_IV9nzpa9kjep5HSP7vtjdDUB7AO7rQA-JR6fvAu77b7Rn9iP79QXxjyCTlQHVBF/s400/dried+vegalicious2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bon appetit and happy trails!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">*Are you struggling with an over-abundance of zucchini? Are you going to choke if you have to eat another bite of zucchini bread? Can you just-not-wait until </span><a href="http://holidayinsights.com/moreholidays/August/sneakzucchini.htm"><span style="font-size: x-small;">August 8, "Sneak Some Zucchini Onto Your Neighbor's Porch Day</span></a><span style="font-size: x-small;">"? Dehydrating your vegetables will shrink them down to almost nothing so you can almost forget how many there are! They'll also keep longer, allowing you to <em>mail </em>them to other people with too many zucchini as an ironic joke.</span></div>Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10898758395476932882noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6183856257457427371.post-53034318172890542292012-06-23T08:00:00.000-04:002012-06-23T08:00:10.289-04:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifDcAp1pEofncZvTkBzn-0lItmLvUv2MWDWTw6LrG8K063zWHoXh7X-ppeWFSvmlydumL4ldYMiywyiCCQQNcQimNNKsb5cucNwDbc1A5c5pgP6pLcmIyXFROh2VCMbk9RqHJJ9JM8sxNV/s1600/PicMonkey+Collage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifDcAp1pEofncZvTkBzn-0lItmLvUv2MWDWTw6LrG8K063zWHoXh7X-ppeWFSvmlydumL4ldYMiywyiCCQQNcQimNNKsb5cucNwDbc1A5c5pgP6pLcmIyXFROh2VCMbk9RqHJJ9JM8sxNV/s400/PicMonkey+Collage.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Top left: Charlotte Regional Farmers Market; Top right: heirloom zephyr squash for sale<br />
Bottom left: Rainbow carrots; Bottom right: Heading home to the kitchen (the greens are daikon)Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10898758395476932882noreply@blogger.com0