Category: (it's all about the) food

Garden Update

by Karen, posted in (it's all about the) food, gardening

The garden is looking about as well as expected for early November. I still have carrots in the ground that I haven’t had time to pull. I have snapped off some of the greens from them to feed to the chickens who LOVE them, but otherwise, that’s it. The carrot portion is still laying on the ground next to the bed from which it was pulled by me and then abandoned, left forgotten as I ran off to work/yoga/food shop/(fill in the blank). Shame on me.

What I figured out this year is that as much as I love having a garden, and as much as I love choosing what we’ll plant and where, and as much as I love going to Agway to load up on the seedlings in late May with my husband…it was just too much for me this year.

I had the proverbial “Eyes are bigger than my stomach” attack–I have so much garden and so little time…

So, my husband and I talked and for next year, I am going to really, really keep it small(er). I’ve decided to continue with (and expand) the asparagus and the potato beds. Lettuce. Spinach. Sugar Snap Peas. String Beans. Red bell peppers. Eggplant. Tomatoes: only Romas and a couple of cherry tomato varieties and one heirloom variety. Oh, and strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, cherries, and blueberries…

Wow. My stripped down list still looks very large, doesn’t it?

ADDENDUM: OH! And my sister-in-law Andrea just reminded me about Zucchini! And of course, Yellow Squash. Thank you! 🙂

Angels at Clay Hill Farm, part 2

by Karen, posted in (it's all about the) food, friends, local fun, no fear

I attended the Angel Dinner the other night with a friend and I loved it. I wasn’t sure what to expect, so if you are wondering how it works, let me clue you in.

You come in and are seated by the waitress.

Ruth Kramer is the Intuitive featured at Clay Hill Farm’s Angel Readings. She is a lovely woman with a British accent who is full of energy and enthusiasm for her work. First, she comes right over to introduce herself to you and explain how the evening will go.

You will be seated at a table with other patrons (there were six people total seated at my table). Usually the small room is sold out for Ruth’s Angel Reading dinners, but on this night we were at about 1/2 capacity. This was lucky for us because she had a little more time to spend with each of us for our readings.

Little notepads are provided on the table along with pencils for you to write down any questions that occur to you to ask Ruth as you are waiting for your reading. Dinner will be served in a parade of amazing courses which you will choose upon arrival from a small menu. Warm rolls, then soup or salad. There will be several entrees, including a vegetarian one. Several incredible dessert choices will follow that will most likely be your most difficult decision all evening…which one? Can I have two? 🙂

If you think of it, you can bring a device to tape your reading, if “the angels will allow it”…Ruth says sometimes the angels will not allow her words to you from them to be taped.  So as a back up plan (if you go with a friend like I did) you can take notes for each other as Ruth is speaking (my friend’s idea) so that you can fully concentrate on what she is telling you versus trying to write it down and listen simultaneously.

I took pictures of the food, but the lighting was so low that none of them are really good enough to include here…maybe the angels didn’t wish the food to be seen? 🙂

Ruth will be at the Clay Hill Farm one more Monday night, as of this writing, on November 14. Call 207-361-2272 for reservations.

The Clutter of Days

by Karen, posted in (it's all about the) food, health, Karen's Kitchen, Midlife Crisis, my one word, Pantry Project

I’m reminded, as the new year looms, that I haven’t done an update about My One Word in a few months. You remember… my New Year’s Resolution? Redolent in its simplicity… the purity of one word (“Edit”) that morphed into the clutter of two words (I added “Focus” one month in to make my resolution double in size).

I have been focusing and editing. My bookcase is still looking pretty good. For the most part, when I’ve gotten a new book I’ve removed one (or more) from the shelves to make room (or to compensate…). I’ve done a pretty good job of making meals using what we have already in the pantry or the freezer (although I think my husband would not agree with me on this).

I remember when I was a teenager and in my twenties, I went out of my way to fill my days…every minute of my days…with work or school or time out with friends. I never had a day off. Never. I worked 6 or 7 days per week, sometimes double shifts, and went to school full-time. I wanted it that way. I was happy to have every minute programmed in.

Now, in (okay, at the end of) my forties, I am completely the opposite. I want to have all of my time unscheduled, unplanned. I am thrilled when I can arrange for a day to be completely empty, versus completely filled.

Not that it stays empty and uncluttered, usually, but knowing that there is no where I have to go and no one expecting me to do something or be somewhere at a certain time is a wonderful feeling.

Those days are few and far between.

WHAT is THAT?

by Karen, posted in (it's all about the) food, family, Midlife Crisis, no fear

My husband usually calls to chat when he’s commuting from work. “Remind me when I get home; I have something for you,” he said. I wondered what it might be. He often brings home little surprises. Sometimes it’s a pastry of some sort, or a plant, or a book that he thinks that I might like.

Not this time. This time, my husband brought these home from work.  They were on the kitchen island in a small plastic baggie.

I looked at them through the baggie. I (cautiously! oh so cautiously!) eased them out of the baggie. I laid them out on the island.My husband stood just off to the side, watching, amused.

“So, what the heck are they?” I finally asked him.

“Guess,” he said.

My first thought was this: “Brian Dennehy called; he wants his pods back.”

🙂

He didn’t laugh. He really doesn’t get my jokes.

“Are they an insect of some sort?” I wondered, distracted by the little black “legs” protruding from the surface. “Nope,” he replied.

“Give me a hint, at least,” I begged.

“Well, it’s a fruit,” he said,  unhelpfully.

A fruit? Really? Really? I considered this.

A very hairy, masculine strawberry? On testosterone, maybe.

After a while, I gave up, but he still didn’t divulge the fruit’s identity. He cut it open, removed the center (after which I was leaning back toward my pod theory) which turned out to be a smooth white spongy oval that resembled a small hard-boiled egg, except that there was a pit where the yolk should be.

It tasted like a grape. This, actually, was not useful in helping me to identify the fruit.

Turns out, it’s a Rambutan. So I tried it, which enables me to proclaim that at the age of 49, I got to try a fruit that I’d never had before…and may I just say, “Eeew.”

It is experience that I’m not in planning to repeat.

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Angels at Clay Hill Farm

by Karen, posted in (it's all about the) food, friends, no fear, restaurants

My friend Kristen recently offered me the gift of angels in the form of a visit to my house. It had strings attached, however. One must, after hosting the aforementioned angels for a period of time, send them on their merry way to the households of three other people.

I could not think of three other people who would have been willing to take the time to host. Sadly, I passed on the gift.

Then another friend told me about Clay Hill Farm’s current Monday night special. Rev. Ruth Kramer apparently can speak to angels and, more importantly, tell us what they are saying. She gives readings every Monday night (for now) at the restaurant. I’m interested in that, I thought. It occurred to me that since I couldn’t have the angels come to me…could the angels be bringing me to them?

I made plans for tonight to go hear what they have to say to me. The bonus is that dinner at the restaurant is part of the deal.

Because even when it’s about the angels, it’s still all about the food.

🙂

Critter Crusade, Part 2

by Karen, posted in education, friends, no fear, shopping

So, the baits we (read: ‘he‘, my husband; he did the actual crawling around up in the crawl space) put out yesterday were not effective. It sounds now as if the critters brought in some reinforcements, so we were forced to regroup and redouble our efforts.

  1. First stop: Tractor Supply Company in Sanford. Anyone who has read my blog knows that I love the TSC which is why we went there first. Well, that, and because it was on the way home from the gym and we had limited time today since it was a workday. We split up to make the most of our time. My husband went to the pest control section and talked to the (as it turned out) very knowledgable staff person about…options. I stayed up in front and browsed the books and magazines  (I love books and magazines! This was very soothing to me after my difficult night listening to non-specified critters running overhead). Spent $10 and left with a small bag of …ideas (like reaming out the bait pellets and filling them with peanut butter).
  2. Next stop: Wal-Mart (sorry, Sheila). Waste of time. Staff person told us he had nothing in hardware to address this critter issue, to try looking in sporting goods. What? What? Wal-Mart = Waste of time.
  3. The next planned stop was the hardware store but we ran out of time, so we just came home.

In the interim, I put up a plea on Facebook for ideas from the front. Who has fought this critter war and won it? Well, I got lots of very welcome responses (thank you all!)  but no one who actually claimed to have evicted the little devils on their own, without bringing in the professionals. My friend Mandy gave me a good website from The Humane Society to check out. My friend Denise gave me the names of some good exterminators (you know, just in case). My friend Kristen gave me moral support and commiseration.

Actually, it’s amazing how many people are dealing with exactly the same issue right now. We found a person at the gym, a person at TSC, and people on FB all with critters in their attics right now. I guess it’s gonna take the village…

Maybe some of our efforts were successful today, since I’m not hearing any critters overhead at the moment and it’s well after dark as I write this. At this time last night the antics in the attic were already in full swing.

Here’s hopin’.

Baking healthy

by Karen, posted in (it's all about the) food, baking, books, family, friends, health, quest for the best

No, that’s not an oxymoron…or is it? I set out to bake some muffins that wouldn’t comprise my total recommended caloric consumption for the entire day.

It has not been an easy row to hoe (or is it ‘road‘?  Whatever).  First of all, I have a husband who will always tell me exactly what he thinks of whatever it is that I’ve baked (or cooked, for that matter). I understand that there are some people out there that appreciate this level of truthfulness.

Usually (at least when it comes to my culinary efforts) I do not count myself among them.

I found a recipe that largely drew me because I had everything I needed already to bake them immediately, so I made them while my husband was at work. I figured we’d have them for breakfast in the morning. I tried one (okay, three) when they came out of the oven and thought they were just fine. I tupperwared them up and went to bed.

The next morning, there the lovely muffins sat  on my kitchen island. My daughter tried them. She said they were good. My friend Kristen tried them. She said they were good. I mentioned this to my husband, as he eyed them suspiciously, blatantly not trying them. He apparently was not convinced.

I tried again. “You always say you don’t like baked goods because they’re too sweet. This recipe is not too sweet, which is partly why I chose it.”

“Okay, I’ll try it…” he said. He picked one up. He gingerly took a bite. He turned and spit said bite into the trash. “Ugh, that’s horrible!” he said. He started to throw the remaining piece out when I grabbed it and said, “Stop! I’ll eat it! It’s good!”

Later on that evening, after I’d mostly forgotten (but only partially forgiven him for) his performance earlier in the day, he leaned over and whispered…”You know, I even threw one of your muffins to the chickens this morning.”

“They threw it back.”

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Heavy sigh

by Karen, posted in (it's all about the) food, fitness, health, Someone's gotta say it

I watched a Dr. Oz episode that I taped last week, just for something mindless to do for an hour. I usually tape them every week, read what the topic is, then delete them without watching them. This time there was one I wanted to watch…something about losing weight and maybe becoming a millionaire…great! Sign me up for that, right?

So I watched that program describing Dr. Oz’s Transformation Nation. I was motivated! He’s partnering with Weight Watchers and the program is FREE. I went to the website last night to check it out. It’s actually very similar to the Weight Watchers online program, except that it calculates calories instead of PointsPlus. So, after about 3 hours of completing quizzes, entering lab data, and logging food and activities for the day, I was set to go. I uploaded my picture and started Day 1 of my Oz-blog.

Life was good…until this morning.

When I (still motivated, after getting on the scale and finding I’d lost a little over a pound) tried to log in to set up my food plan for the day, and found it that none of the info had been saved. The website didn’t recognize my email address.

Is all lost?? Is it true that you get what you pay for?? Should I just suck it up and pay Weight Watchers Online to build on what I started yesterday?

I hope not. In the meantime, while I wait to hear back from Dr. Oz’s customer support, I will try to stay motivated.

P.S. I’m not very optimistic about that.

*NOTE: Weight Watchers is currently waiving the joining fee “for a limited time”.

Staying in touch

by Karen, posted in (it's all about the) food, friends, Life in the cube, local fun, relationships

Have you ever left a job and said, “Hey, let’s keep in touch!” with a fellow coworker? Or perhaps the reverse happened: a friend from work moved on to greener pastures and you were sad when you heard her say, “Hey, we’ll keep in touch!”

Why? Because let’s face it: how many of us actually do that? Especially when you don’t live that close to each other. Live, like an hour or so away from each other. Since I am a person who is ‘directionally challenged’, I don’t drive to places that I don’t know how to get to if there’s any way to avoid doing so (yes, I’ve heard of GPS. Don’t care.).

Well, I have a friend who moved on, and we have done that “keep in touch” thing. It’s been more than a year now, I think. How are we doing it? I think the credit really has to go to my friend Shawna, because her idea was for us to meet for lunch once a month.

And we have. It helps that her new job is only about 20 minutes from where I live (and is mostly a straight line to get to :)) and that there are a lot of restaurants within a five-mile radius of her office. Even if there were none, though, it would certainly still be doable. Hey, maybe I can’t find my way to unfamiliar places, but I can pack a bag lunch!

We also meet periodically for other things too: we saw a show (Legally Blonde) at the Ogunquit Playhouse (we love the plays that Sally Struthers graces!) and we go to Merry Madness in Portland’s Old Port every year (this will be our 6th year going, weather permitting). (I think).

Keep in touch with your friends. Good ones are hard to find.

How to grow a watermelon

by Karen, posted in (it's all about the) food, gardening, local fun
intact watermelon

How do you grow a watermelon? Darned if I know. Here in Southern Maine in spring and summertime,  the growing (of anything, really) doesn’t (usually) come easy.

Someone must know how, because I see them all the time at my local farm store, Spillers. I see them at the Farmers Markets. I see them at the supermarket. My favorite gardening book, The Garden Primer by Barbara Damrosch, devotes pages 457-465 to the topic, therefore one must conclude that she must also believe that it’s possible to grow them here.

When my husband decided he wanted to grow watermelons, we picked up some seed packets. We hedged our bets by also planting some seedlings that we found already started at Agway. We tried for three years to grow watermelon to no avail…until this year.

This summer, I even saw them (briefly) in my back yard, on the vine that grew from the seeds that we lovingly sowed in very early spring.  .  . we had such high hopes! This would be the year! And a miracle happened…this was the year!  We had a few fruits on some of the vines. We even glimpsed one good-sized watermelon growing on one of said vines. We were so happy!

We were so naive!

We were happy for about three minutes, which must have been about how long it took before whichever critter from the wild also noticed it and took matters into its own hands–er, mouth. Our next trip out to the garden to lovingly gaze on our produce prodigy ended in tragedy as we noticed the large bite that was taken out of the side of it.

😦

One of the smaller ones remained, so despite its size, we brought it into the house. We weren’t willing to risk losing the last intact melon. With bated breath, I cut it open.

There was enough for my husband and I each to have a teaspoon of watermelon.

The fruits of three years labor. Reminds me of the $64 Tomato.

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P.S. Buy the books at your local bookstore, such as Longfellows or Kennebooks (in Maine), or Literary Bookpost (in North Carolina).