Big yolk in the big end and a slightly smaller yolk in the small end.

I bought a flat of jumbo brown eggs for hard boiling.  If you’ve never tried to peel a freshly laid hard boiled egg, you just wouldn’t understand.  The shell does not come off.  When hard boiled eggs are needed, and you want some sort of expectation that the eggs can be cleanly peeled, you have to start with old eggs.  Ours never last long enough to be old enough for hard boiling.

I was having a hard boiled egg and a bit of sharp cheddar snack yesterday.  I cut the egg in 4 lengthwise and was surprised to see two yolks!  Then today I was peeling eggs for egg salad and ran into another!  Wow!

My favorite recipe for egg salad is minced sweet onion, small diced kosher dill and mayo mixed with the egg yolks until all the egg yolk lumps are gone, then stir in the diced whites.  Yummy.

Lots of new growth

I took a picture of the plant wall last night.  It’s really growing nicely.  I’m still waiting on the gutter.  It must be time to nag them again.  I ordered the new aquarium light.  It should be here next week.  I can’t build the new aquarium cover until I’ve mounted the new gutter and got the new light, so it’s wait . . . wait . . . wait.

The yoyo loaches are keeping the snail population in check and they’re fun to watch, but I doubt I’ll have any new babies while they’re in the tank.  They’re like short fat eels who will eat anything that will fit in their mouth.  They dive into the foliage, wiggling their way through to find buried goodies which is just what’s needed to get the snails and their eggs.  Fortunately it takes them a while for themto get up a head of steam in open water and the other fish have plenty of time to shift out of the way.  It’s amusing to see our sole head and tail light getting harassed when he has always been the one  harassing others. Payback, gotta love it.

Our winter wonderland from the deck

Boopy Girl all dressed in winter white

The arrow marks the spot - that's 1/3 of the way to the county road. The drive goes to the left around the south-east pasture and along the barely visible tree line to the arrow where the pasture meets the trees. It then hangs a left and goes another 400 feet down a hill and around a sharp corner before hitting the maybe-plowed county road.

I think we can safely say winter is here, don’t you?

I had plans for today but with the depth of the snow, the length of our driveway, the fact that it’s still snowing and projected to continue snowing all day, I think those plans are officially toast.

If anybody in the neighborhood is going to the store, I need some stuff.  Call me.  <grin>

We’ve got a quarter of beef in the freezer which means we have a lot of hamburger to eat.  That’s not a bad thing but it’s pushing me to expand my hamburger recipe repertoire.  Yesterday I came up with a stellar hamburger.

Mince peppers, red and green, and onion. Sauté until the onion is translucent.  In a bowl mix the hamburger with crushed rosemary, thyme, fresh cracked black pepper and the sautéed vegetables.  Form patties and fry in the pan you sautée’d the veges in.  I put a piece of Havarti cheese on mine but I think it would be just as good with pepper jack, Swiss or whatever.  AWESOME burger.  Even Wadly gave it lots of stars.

Too, totally camou'd

We keep pets for a number of reasons.  Sometimes it’s just for amusement value.  Too is tuck into the ivy and he’s pretty sure, given the background and the surrounding vegetation, he’s totally camouflaged.

Simmering to perfection

I’m making fish stock (soupe de poisson) to use in clam chowder.  I make it and store it in the freezer so it’s available when needed.

I scored a mess of half-off frozen fish at Shop n Kart yesterday including but not limited to ling cod, smelt, tilapia, head on prawns and some seafood mix which includes calamari and fake crab (pollack).  I ended up with enough fishy bits to make two batches of stock, so I divided it up and stuck half back in the freezer.  I don’t have a large enough stock pot to make two batches at once.

In this batch I have some whole fish, minus the gills and headed/gutted fish and prawn heads and fish parts simmering with parsley, onions, leeks, shallot, garlic, tomato, bay leaf, orange peel, celery, saffron, thyme and whole coriander.  I don’t think I left anything out . . . Hmm.  Maybe I should go throw in a couple rough chopped carrots.  Once this has simmered for four hours I will strained out the solids.  If there was somewhere I could put that stuff where the chickens could pick it over without the dogs getting into the bones, that would be a plus.  Hmm.  Time to ask Wadly for a temporary pen.

The last time I made bouillabaisse (chunks of fish, in-shell little neck clams, shrimp and scallops cooked in the above fish stock) I had some orange roughy in the mix of fish.  That is the most lovely tasting fish.  Mmm.  Maybe I can sweet talk my brother into grabbing me some the next time he comes for a visit.  He’s got a huge Japanese market where he lives and the orange roughy is fresh!

I bought some awesome free trade bitter orange peel chocolate at the health food store a while back.  It’s really awesome stuff but pretty darned addicting.  I’ve come up with a fairly nice liquid version.  Add equal amounts of sweetener (I use xylitol) and cocoa (the unsweetened baking kind) (adjust to taste – start with 1 tsp each) to equal amounts (1/2 cup) milk (or cream or half-n-half) and coffee.  Heat it up then grate in some orange zest.  Stir and drink. OMG is it good.

Ready to be put away

I’ve pulled my grow bed apart and gotten it stored away in the loft.  I’ve put the hydroton in barrels and buckets for the winter.  I’ve still got to pull the grow bed frame and cover the tank.  Next year I’ll try and find a nice clean 55 gallon drum (plastic) for storing the hydroton.  That’ll let me put it all in a single container.  The 30 gallon drum I’ve got just isn’t big enough on its own.

Open source window farm

Every so often I do a search on plant walls and vertical gardening to see what’s new.  This morning I ran into this.  It’s pretty cool!  But better than just the idea is the way this system works.  It is built on the airlift model.  Instead of using a pump and timer to handle delivering the nutrient rich water, the system uses an aquarium air pump.  While you can buy the whole system, they provide full instruction for a number of different models that can be made from plastic water bottles.

This is very cool.  If you’ve got a kid who needs a science project, the hanging plastic bottle farm would be a stellar undertaking.  Add an aquarium and some fish and you’ve a great “watch it work” project!

Watch this video.  Then visit our.windowfarms.org and start reading.  Fascinating stuff.

Guess who's waiting for his share?

Tell me this doesn’t happen at your house.  Chuck knows he’s supposed to be sitting on his blanket all the way across the room, not at Wadly’s feet . . . but Wadly’s watching Sunday football and not paying attention so that’s where Chuck’s little butt is parked.  His little ears are pointed at me and he knows he’s in trouble . . . I can hear him mumbling “Mom, don’t notice.  Mom, don’t notice.”

Begonia in the gutter ready to burst into bloom

I haven’t done anything about a gutter yet, and I need to . . . desperately. I’m making that a priority for tomorrow.  I’ve got two sewing machines to run up to be repaired and will handle it on the way.

All the baby fish are doing great.  I lay on the floor and watch them scoot around the tank.  Some are big enough to come out and feed with the adult fish.  I wish I could get a picture but they’re just too small to get into focus through the glass.  I end up with tiny little blobs of lighter colored stuff in a fuzzy greeny background.  Ugh.

One of the gutter begonias has blossom stalks topped with buds ready to bloom.

The big begonia is doing really well though the leaves aren’t quite to the size achieved last summer.  They’re close, just not quite there.  The wood fern is doing well.  I have  some stuff that is just limping along.  My cape primrose isn’t happy.  I’m hoping it will come around . . . it’s really slow to show happy or sad so I just have to be patient and see if the changes I’ve made help.  By late spring I should know.  I think the gloxinia is toast . . . I think it’s been totally overgrown by the surrounding foliage.

About 1/3 of the rex begonias I planted are still growing.  I think they would have done much better if I’d gotten them in the wall when all the other plants were about the same size.  Now I’ve got stuff that’s gotten huge and the rex begonias are pretty much lost in the undergrowth.  Time will tell whether they make it out of the understory.

All the philodendron, ivy and dumb cane varieties are doing tremendously well.  They really like the wall.  The hoja is doing good.  The rain forest cactus are doing fine.  The Christmas cactus bloomed a couple weeks ago, just one pretty salmon colored blossom.  It’s another plant that’s going to be lost in the undergrowth.  It just grows too slowly to stand much of a chance.  <wince>  Ditto for the epiphytes I planted last summer.  I have to stay philosophical about all this.  That’s what planting a vertical garden is all about, learning what works and enjoying the result.

It looks like the babies I thought were guppies are actually neon tetras.  They’ve finally gotten big enough to have color and shine.  Cool!  Where they were hanging out in the tank should have been a clue.  Guppies stay right at the surface until they’re big enough to not be eaten.  Tetras hang out in the middle darting in and out of the foliage and cat babies cruise the bottom.

We seem to have a steady supply of babies in our aquarium lately.  Right now we’ve got 4 adolescent guppies, at least two baby guppies hiding in the foliage and at least one, maybe two, baby catfish.  Not bad for a 50 gallon tank.

The only change I’ve made recently is in feeding.  I’ve been tossing in a cube (frozen) of blood worms twice a week.  These are gut loaded with nutritional stuff fish need and I think the addition to the diet is making a difference.

The plant wall looks great.  The light is making the difference.  I don’t have a new gutter yet.  It’s still in the planning stage.

I got a florescent fixture mounted for the grow wall this morning.  It’s got daylight bulbs in it.  That should help keep the wall growing and healthy.

I had an epiphany.  I’ve been fussing about what to do for a gutter and I haven’t been making a lot of mental headway until yesterday.  My latest effort to find a gutter for the wall involved an internet search for gutter 12″.  I found a place in CA that custom makes gutters as well as carries all sorts of beautiful fittings for people with lots of discretionary income (aka people NOT like me).  They had copper gutters, galvanized gutters . . . and stainless gutters!

A light finally flicked on inside my head.  We’ve got a sheet metal place local to us where they can custom build me the gutter I need!  They’ve done specialty stuff for me before in stainless.  It won’t be cheap, but it will both look good AND perform good.  What’s not to like with that?  I asked Wadly to pay for my new gutter for Christmas.  He’s game so now I just need to design it.

Brew, ferment, drink

I have a jar of water kefir grains brewing on my counter.  It’s one of the few natural things that will help right my system when I eat something I shouldn’t.  It will also chase off a cold if I drink it as soon as my throat start to tickle.

Water kefir grains are supposed to multiply, though mine don’t seem to do so at any visible rate.  That doesn’t seem to alter the effectiveness of the result so I’m not going to fuss about it.

I brew my water kefir with maple syrup and dissolved minerals in filtered 7.2PH water.  I sliced a chunk of unsulfered candied ginger into the water kefir grains mix and cover it with a piece of paper towel, stirring it twice a day while it’s brewing.  I can tell when it’s ready by the way it smells, though I suppose I could measure the brix.  Smell seems to work for me.  The speed of the initial fermentation is a product of sugar content and warmth.

After the grains have fed for a couple days I strain the liquid into a sealable bottle.  I add a few chunks of dried pineapple to the bottle of water kefir and set the cap on without tightening it down.  When all the fruit is floating (usually a couple days) I seal the cap.  Sometimes the fruit stays at the top, sometimes it sinks to the bottom, sometimes it does both and sometimes it hangs in the middle like little fruit jewels.

When I need a water kefir I uncap it over the sink (if properly sealed it WILL fizz as it is a fermented drink) and strain it into a glass.  It’s a lite pineapple/ginger beer filled with good-for-you enzymes and digestive bacteria.  What’s not to like?

Trial boot with "lace race"

You really can’t call this a boot.  It’s a shoe but I’ve snugged the top right up against the bottom of my ankle bone to help stabilize my foot.  This design really works.  I run around outside and don’t even notice I have them on.

I’d like to thank Larry Anderson for the “lace race” term.  It’s perfect.

Now that I know this design works I’m going to make a “real” pair.

A slice off the side of a cube of butter, some maple syrup and a bit of cinnamon and nutmeg. Awesomely delicious squash

In one of our rare outings, Wadly and I had dinner at one of our local eateries. They served squash wedges with a seasoned butter that made the squash taste like pumpkin pie. It was delicious. LouAnn says it was hubbard squash. I’ve duplicated the taste in both acorn and spaghetti squash.

Wadly will even eat this squash, and he is so not a squash fan.

This is a dead easy recipe.  Drop in a slice of butter, add a couple tablespoons of real maple syrup, sprinkle a little cinnamon and nut meg on top the butter and bake.

Coconut macaroon bar cookies Enjoy Life chocolate chips Yum! |

As we all know, women can’t live without chocolate, but when you’re soy intolerant, a chocolate free life is almost the only choice you have.  Chocolate generally contains soy lecithin as the emulsifier which makes it a treat I have to avoid.  Fortunately, Enjoy Life has a product that doesn’t push any of my buttons.

I’ve done lots of things with this chocolate.  Around our house it makes a safe out-of-the-bag snack, great chocolate dipped pecans and a versatile chocolate coconut macaroon cookie.

To make this super-simple recipe, melt the chocolate chips in a double boiler.  If you’re adding anything additional to the recipe, this is the point where you would add it.

After the chips have fully melted, stir in the coconut a half-cup at a time.   Keep adding coconut until you like the looks of the mix.  Use less coconut if you want heavier, more chocolatey cookies or more coconut if  you want lighter, more crumbly cookies.

Dump the mix out on a piece of aluminum foil and spread it out.  After it’s completely cooled, cut it into squares.

I’ve made these with a dab of butter for extra richness or with a couple tablespoons of milk or buttermilk (REALLY good) for additional lightness.  You can add an extract like almond or vanilla, maybe even mint.  I bet orange zest would be good!

If you aren’t gluten intolerant, you can use this recipe as the filling between thin shortbread type cookies for a totally different twist.  Whatever additional ingredient(s) you choose, add it to the melting chocolate before adding the coconut.

I’m going to try a batch with some chevre cheese mixed in . . . I bet that’ll be good!  Mmmm!  It should add a nice creamy tang.

Gluten free roast beef "sandwich" Toast 2 slices roast beef topped by 2 slices pepper jack cheese Saute peppers and onions

Eating out I’m faced with a 10% chance that I will inadvertently end up eating something I shouldn’t and creativity at home prevents me from feeling deprived or limited.  Because I can’t eat gluten or soy, and because I have to be careful of other foods as well, I’m continually trying different combinations that respect my limitations.

I like Subway’s roast beef sandwich (made without the bread), but the last time I was there I got glutened by careless handling of my order.  It takes two weeks to recover which sucks, so creating my own roast beef sandwich became a must.

Safeway’s Primo Taglio house brand of roast beef is really quite good.  I get it sliced the same thickness as deli cheese.  Lucerne has sliced pepper jack cheese.   With a bit of onion, some red and green pepper, a sweet Anaheim pepper and some cucumber and tomato, I get a sandwich that rocks.

The totally goth Lupo.

Our son has a goth Grand Wagoneer Jeep he has named Lupo.  Everyone who comes up behind it knows it is named Lupo because he has “Lupo” in chrome letters on the back . . . just southwest of the bumper sticker which says “I have evil minions on retainer.”  I did say it was goth.  Matt black with chrome accents?  That doesn’t scream “goth”?

I have a ’96 Sonoma in pretty dark teal with custom white and pink striping I call “Boop” after Betty Boop . . . because she’s got great legs.  I don’t have neat lettering on the back to inform everyone my pickup is named Boop, but I will have shortly.  I’ve ordered custom vinyl lettering from DIY Lettering.  I will shortly have raspberry pink lettering on the back of my Boop to match the pink pinstripes!  Chrome lettering wouldn’t be appropriate on something this girly!

Bog fern blooming Up close you can see the little feathers.

Remember the hooch in the jungle, the cabin by the lake? The reed sitting in the north end of the bog filter tank is now blooming.

Last year I had two reeds, a small triangular stemmed one that looked like a very small version of this one and a zone hardy one that had small crimson blossoms.  I lost the small reed and the zone hardy one has morphed into this gigantic thing that’s nearly 4 foot tall with blossoms that aren’t crimson this year.

I can safely say I have no idea what’s going on.  I plan to whack this thing in half when it dies back and give half to Mindy.

ToeToe Walkers

I love my new toe socks.  Who knew toe socks could be so awesome?!  They are max comfy if a tad more difficult to install than untoed socks.

I like these so much I’ve ordered smartwool toe socks.  I have some smartwool knee-high regular socks which are the socks I wear most, so smartwool toe socks should be awesome.  Unfortunately, smartwool toed socks don’t come in knee-high style in my size.  I’m getting mini and anklet in womens small.  Better than a jab with a sharp stick . . .

I came out this morning to a guppy in the sump.  Oops.  I fetched her out but it’s apparent I’ll need some way to prevent the little buggers from taking that ride.

Kids KSOs

If I’m ever going to try Five Fingers, now is the time.  Vibram is having a big sale.  Instead of the normal $80 price tag, the kids’ KSOs are $60.  I ordered mine for REI and ordered black and gray toetoe walker socks from Sock Dreams in Oregon.

Pump out at the top, wall drain at the bottom. The sump sits in the corner under the plumbing. Plant wall draining back into aquarium. The drain is supported by a hanger on the wall. It just looks like it's sitting on the The black at the top is the wall drain. The clothes pin is pinching shut the primer line.

Wadly and I got the wall connected to the aquarium last week.  The first picture is the plumbing to and from the wall.  When we move into our *real* house I won’t be able to drill holes with impunity . . . darn it.

Yesterday I got the sump connected.  I still have to paint the . . . I’m not quite sure what to call it.  It’s a collection of elbows and short pieces of pipe that takes the place of u-pipe and overflow box for controlling the level of water in the aquarium.  The portion in the aquarium will be green, the part out of the aquarium and inside the sump container will be black.  The next hot day we have I’ll pull it and paint it using Krylon Fusion.

I have the pump to push the water into the wall in the sump.  The wall drains directly into the aquarium.   I also have a very small fountain pump in the sump to keep the water circulating between the sump and the aquarium when the pump for the wall isn’t running.  I still need to clean up all the water and electric lines, running them so they won’t clutter the landscape and I still need to provide a cover for the sump to keep out debris AND I need to moderate the sound of running water in the sump.

After I manage all that I need to build a custom cover and light array for the aquarium.  And then I need to find and install the gutter for the wall for when the plant wall comes back in.  And install an overhead light for the wall.  Got the light, just don’t have enough electrical current available to run it but that should be fixed soon.

49 gallon aquarium

The larger aquarium is all set up and connected to the wall.  I’ve run 1½” black PVC pipe from the plant wall out in the sun porch through the wall to the left end of the aquarium.  The pump is in the right end with the hose for the pump using a separate hole high in the wall level with the top of the plant wall.

With the new larger tubing I had to put additional slits in the gutter stand pipe to prevent the gutter from overflowing.

I traded the pleco for a very much smaller one.  I bought five small neon tetra to give the two babies I already had a school and I bought two more catfish for a total of four.  With the guppies and adult neon tetra I have about 25 fish in the aquarium.

My next step is to get the sump built so I can maintain the water level in the aquarium when the wall is being watered, dose the wall separate from the aquarium and top the water up without adding water directly to the aquarium.

LouAnn called last night.  My sunset quilt got People’s Choice at the fair.  I don’t know which day it got it but it’s really nice to have it recognized.

Both quilts come home today.  <smile>

Jungle hooch

Wadly sits in the kitchen in the morning, drinking his coffee and gazing out over his domain.  This morning he said “our cabin by the lake is now a hooch in the jungle.”  It made me laugh.   The reed has gotten to be a fairly impressive size.

The first picture is what we see when we walk out the door.  The second is what Wadly sees sitting in the kitchen.  You can see why he’s calling it a hooch in the jungle.