Have shovel. Will Dig.

This boy really likes to dig a hole...

He asks, "Where should I put this worm?"

This particular bed was turned into a strawberry pyramid.
Hope you get in some gardening time, between rain drops!

~Becky

Up to our eyeballs.

Charlie, taking a break from his day to have a sip of tomato juice.

Ruth Stout.

I got a little curious to see what she looked like, and thought those of you that have read her book  on no-work gardening (using mulch) would appreciate this picture. We've all been reading Ruth Stout's Gardening without Work (this link will take you to an excerpt from the book on the Mother Earth New's website); well Trav and I are in the middle of it, but we got the copy from my Mum and she was recommended to it from Liz. I think Steve should borrow it when we're done. Liz is waiting on another one of Stout's books, which all but the one listed above seem to be out of print. So the library and subsequently SELCO do not carry any except for Gardening without Work, BUT they do have a movie called Ruth Stout's Garden. Its only 23 minutes long, and is described as: "Ruth Stout, age 90+, gives out advice on topics from aging to child-rearing in her free-thinking and unorthodox way as she shows off her garden. I'm intrigued.

On a somewhat related note- eccentric figures from the past that care what goes into their bodies I guess- I recently watched the documentary Netflix has on Dr. Bronner, called Dr. Bronner's Magic Soapbox. I liked it very much. I had recently purchased some of the fragrance free variety, for various uses (including making foam soap for our hand dispenser, Charlie likes his foam) and was hoping that the movie wouldn't turn me away from the brand. He's wacky (Dr. Bronner), but I really appreciate how the family has maintained their integrity and the quality of ingredients has only changed for the better. Currently they are heavily supporting Washington state's push to require a label on genetically engineered foods. They are even spreading the message on their bottle (which is very appropriate).

~Becky

A few nice days.

We're so lucky that when its nice outside, we have the time and ability to take advantage of it. And I don't mean to complain, but FINALLY we have us some spinach (poor Charlie wasn't feeling that great, but I think the fresh air was good for him).

We didn't even use dressing, they were delicious!

I found this lovely little garden basket for Charlie at Salvation Army- perfect for picking radishes with Daddy. And of course, a hat just like Grandpa Wiste's.

Our first Sun Tea of the season. Tea in water, sitting in the sun. If you want to try it, you can even put a small amount in a quart or half gallon glass jar with a lid. Plus it won't take up as much room in your fridge.

We probably needed the rain days after to recuperate. Trav has a few things left to plant, and if he doesn't get it done soon, he might be too far behind to catch up in the garden competition this year (plus, fresh beet salads, mmmm). I am pleased that I got a few beds weeded, with a few left to go. My goal this year is to try to maintain; we'll see how that goes. I keep going back and forth with myself as to whether or not I'm willing to sit in my flower bed for a million years to try to get rid of some kind of invasive flower that produces trillions of bulbs. But so far I've prioritized the garden and I might decide I don't care enough to be so uncomfortable. ~Becky

Last day of school.

I kind of forgot we were going to have radishes- good thing Trav and Charlie are on the ball. A tasty treat to go along with brats, potato salad and jello for lunch on our last day of school- very traditional.
~Becky

Bebop-A-Reebop Rhubarb

 Rhubarb Lemonade (from Beth Dooley in the La Crosse Tribune): Put about 3 cups chopped rhubarb into a large glass bowl and cover it with water. Let the rhubarb sit overnight. Strain off the "lemonade" and sweeten to taste with sugar or honey. Serve over ice. We used honey, and it was delicious!

Asparagus Frittata (from Parents magazine): 5 eggs, 1/4 cup milk, 1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese, 1/4 tsp. salt, 1/4 tsp. ground black pepper, and 1/2 cup fresh asparagus cut into 1-inch pieces (about 1/2 lb.)
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Lightly coat a 9-inch pie plate with cooking spray and set it aside.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, cheese, salt, and pepper. Stir in asparagus and pour into prepared pie plate. Bake about 20 minutes or until set. Remove from oven and let stand about 5 minutes before slicing. Makes 4 servings. I also added spring onions, and again delicious!

And with whole-wheat toast and jam, we had ourselves a very scrumptious breakfast for lunch (no leftovers). Seasonal eating is the best. Credit to the Wiste farm for the eggs and honey.

~Becky

It's that time of the year again (finally).

We love us some spring multiplier onions around here. While I'm waiting for my favorites- lilacs and peonies, to bloom, I like to have a few extra picked and cleaned so I can admire them in a clear glass as one would a flower bouquet, with the convenience of pulling out a few to use (just remember to change your water once or twice a day). We don't have as many this year because we moved them last year, but the ones we do have are dandies and it is so fun to start using some fresh veggies. For green vegetables, I only have a half bag of broccoli and a few small miscellaneous bags (asparagus and okra, I think) left in the freezer.

So today, with spring onions, I made Rice with Carrots. I do have a lot of frozen blanched carrots left, and this is so far my favorite way, besides soup maybe, to eat them. They just aren't as good cooked and eaten plain as fresh ones are. This is the first time I didn't over cook my rice (it only took me three times), and I substituted about 1 1/2 cups of chicken broth I needed to use up for some of the water. I'll probably halve the recipe next time, but it went over pretty good with marinaded pork chops. I would put that recipe on here, but it wasn't a favorite. It was still good and moist, and the pork chops themselves were amazing, but it had more lemon juice and vegetable oil in it then I have used before. Typically I like a marinade with a lot of vinegar, and small amounts of soy sauce and Worcestershire with a little bit of olive oil.

I figured why not blog a little bit more about food. Gardening is our biggest summer hobby so its actually a good insight as to what we've been up to, and Katie and I both listened to a public radio broadcast this week about Michael Pollen, who is an author of many food books. Trav also brought home an article from the star tribune in which they interviewed the same guy! The premise of his book is that cooking is one of the most important things we can do, and yet the average person spends only 27 minutes cooking and 4 minutes cleaning up. That's per day!
I think this is the correct link, if you'd like to listen:
http://minnesota.publicradio.org/features/npr.php?id=180824408

~Becky

Truman's pumpkin patch.

~Becky

Kale Chips.

1 bunch kale (washed and dried)
2 Tbs. olive oil
2 Tbs. lemon juice
1/4 tsp. sea salt

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 2. Chop kale into 1/2-inch pieces. 3. Place in a large bowl.
4. With hands, massage oil, lemon juice, and salt into kale. 5. Place on parchment-lined baking sheet.
6. Bake at 350 degrees F for 10 to 15 minutes until dark green and crispy. 7. Cool and serve.

*Don't overdue the liquids. The flavor of mine were good, but they were too soggy.

~Becky

I'm Ba-ack.

After a short break from the blog-sphere (after repeatedly short attempts at blogging), I have decided to Facebook less and blog more. Like maybe a summer break from Facebook, so instead of checking out what other people are doing, I will be doing something. And then maybe I will blog about it.

I am inspired mostly by Kali  (I love seeing what you are up to all the time!, finding out what you are thinking about in that moment, and of course wedding updates), and also by the amount of time I waste looking at other people's Facebook pages. After Charlie goes to bed. As in I try not to watch television or go on the computer while he is awake (mainly because it is better for him, but also because it is very difficult most of the time), so I am totally wasting part of my personal free time. Which we all know is very valuable.

So stay tuned... I seem to keep threatening to start, and then when I do it is a blog post about blogging.

I will add a little about my day-

- I washed and made my bed twice today. Charlie spilled milk on my clean sheets, and so I had to take them back off to wash them, and then remade it. Ha, moments like that. What else is there to say?

- Charlie rode Bob the Builder's truck at Wal-Mart, as he does mostly every time we go there. He just loves that thing.

- I blanched and froze the remaining 5 or so heads of Spring cauliflower.

- I cut and washed MANY gallons of various types of lettuce from the garden, and have been working on giving as much of it away as I can.

- Travis thinned the beets again, but this time the beets were surprisingly large. I boiled a few for his lunch, and then Charlie and I ate the rest (large portions each) for supper. I didn't know if he would like it. Will he pee red tomorrow and will that stain his diapers? Only time will tell.

- I made chocolate chip cookies with the good chocolate chips- Ghirardelli good.

That's enough for now I think :) I have to go watch Mad Men on Netflix until Trav comes home from work.

~Becky

Breakfast (in pictures).

*Hint. If you click on the first picture, it pops up as a slide show for your viewing pleasure. 

Then just click the Right arrow to see the rest.

 Also lunch, because it was Fab! Even Pooh joined us (that's spinach from the garden, yo).

Ha ha. My kid always has a dirty face.

~Becky

Think spring.

Trav started SO many plants already for this year, and we've been eating on some of the basil. So he brought me up some basil, cilantro, parsley, greek oregano, and italian oregano to plant for the kitchen. Love it! Charlie keeps asking to smell them.

And we're eating cheese burgers tomorrow! Going to try some homemade french-fries, too. We've still got some potatoes left. That's sort of where we are at this year... trying to eat up on some of our last years goodies so we can start fresh again.

And Charlie! We went to toddler tales yesterday at the library, and he made himself a Dr. Seuss hat. He also likes hanging out in the kitchen closet.

 

And trying on everyone else's shoes. 

He's got "Ma-ma" down now. For the longest time he would call both Trav and I, Da-da, and who knows what all else. Then he started correcting himself. Now he says it with emphasis. He's playing around with when to use it... and its just one of those special things I'll savor for ever.

 ~Becky