"farm" fresh

I planted them and watered them.  I watched them come up and grab the trellis.  They climbed high.  They grew little white flowers.  Then came the pea pods.  

I watched them carefully through the week.   I wasn't going to lose these to the forces of nature.  These were not going to go the way of the strawberries.  And then on Friday I picked them - a special treat for Shabbat dinner

Oh me, oh my, oh these were good.  Sweet and plump and fresh.  They tasted just the way peas should taste.  No cooking, nothing added - these were perfection.  Too bad there were only about 8.  

Some day I will have my own yard for a garden.  Then I will plant peas galore.  For now this will have to do.  

home is where the art is

{Like my cheesy title?}

Aaron Brothers finally saw fit to have their Penny Sale again.  This is a great sale, especially if you're looking to stock up on some nice frames.  Or if you're like me and have an entire apartment filled with blank, white walls.  Yeah, it's a little apartment but it has big blank walls that are sooooo white.  

I had been anticipating the Penny Sale since moving in.  Just daydreaming of hanging pictures on my walls.  So, when I knew it was getting close we started picking out pictures to get printed.  I have to say, I got a pretty sweet deal on these prints - given that I know the artist.  I choose a bunch of pictures, but eventually narrowed it down to about 13.  {did I mention how big and blank my walls were?}  Then, we headed over to Aaron Brothers to scope out the frames.  

I ordered up the prints {well, Lukas did because I had to go to bed early to get up early for swimming}.  Dropped my food budget on a bunch of frames {yay for rice and beans}.  Thank goodness for the sale - this wouldn't have happened otherwise.  We spent all weekend cutting mats, cleaning frames, wiring them up and so on.  Gosh, that's a lot of standing on your feet and we felt it.  

By Monday night they were all ready to go.  I strategically planned how we could get all the hanging done, eat dinner, and make a trip to the grocery store all in one night.  The answer... Pizza My Heart!  A yummy solution that didn't require me cooking.  

I love my new pictures on the walls.  Love, love, love the way they really make this feel like home.  And how they break up those white, white walls.  

Here's a little glimpse of the pictures on the walls.  

"The Rock Show"

Natural Bridges SB

The only thing on my walls that Lukas didn't take.  This print is from Safed, Israel.  I've had it for several years now just waiting for a frame.

Fun portrait session.

Sedona, Arizona

pizza dinner and the case of the missing earing

I love pizza dinner nights - home made pizza night!  I think I've written about making pizza a couple times now.  Forgive me... it makes me happy.

Last Thursday I hurried home from work to start the pizza dough.  I use a recipe for calzones from the Moosewood Cookbook.  I use 1/2 a cup whole wheat flour for a more flavorful crust.  And I usually have to add in more flour 'cause it gets a bit sticky.  The dough rises in about an hour - great for a week night.  

I'm all about the hand-made aspect of this pizza.  Once the dough has risen I stretch it out on a cookie sheet.  I stretch and pull, attempting to mostly keep it an even thickness {not that this happens}.  Then I smoother the top in pesto sauce, doing the my best to keep the pesto off the cookie sheet.  Toppings for last week's pizza were as follows: black olives, artichoke hearts, mushrooms, and walnuts.  Gourmet!    

And now for a mini-mystery...  "The Case of the Missing Earring"

While the pizza cooked I turned to the sink.  I've really been trying to build good habits like cleaning up as I go.  Certainly makes post dinner clean up all the more easy.  I was contentedly washing the dishes, almost running on automatic, when I heard a little "dink".  The sound was so slight I wasn't even sure if I really heard anything thing.  It sounded as if something tiny had fallen into the sink.  I glanced down, looking for what ever it was that had fallen but didn't see anything.  Weird, I thought, convincing myself that I hadn't really heard anything.  

Then I felt it, well actually it was more of a lack of feeling - my right earring was gone.  I double checked with a soapy, wet hand.  Yep, it was gone.  But to where?  I looked and looked in the sink.  Moved utensils that were cluttering the sink - still no earring.  I scanned the ground - maybe it bounced off the edge of the sink and landed on the ground.  Nope.  I reached my hand into the garbage disposal.  I found lots of soggy pieces food, lots of them, but no earring.  So I looked everywhere again, but when it couldn't be found I reached back into the dark depths of the disposal.  

As my fingers worked blindly around the disposal I heard another small little sound.  I wiggled my fingers and heard it again.  I felt and felt, but nothing in there felt anything like an earring.  Finally, I felt the wire of the hook.  With great finger contortionist technique I twisted my hand around to pinch the earring with my fingers and pull it up.  Dripping with little bits of slimy food I triumphantly held it over my head.  Score one for Megan, nothing for the garbage disposal.  

{ok, I promise no more pizza posts}

garden::peas

The morning light was over cast and when I stepped out onto the patio I glanced up at the grey clouds.  It almost felt like rain.  In my hand I held my watering can.  I doused the little watermelon {I haven't killed it yet, but I don't think it's growing either}, strawberry plant, green onions and tomato.  Then I came to my climbing pea plant.  

By far, my peas having be the stars of the little patio garden.  I was stoked when they poked up through the soil.  I was equally excited when they climbed up the trellis and sprouted flowers.  They still have some clinging buds, so I wasn't even thinking to look for peas.  But I glanced at the vines a second time for some reason and there they were.  First, I spotted one little pea pod and then another and then another.  It was like when you buy a new car and suddenly it seems like you're seeing them everywhere.  My little pea plants are covered in little pea pods.  Ooooo, I can't wait to pinch these from the vine and pop them in my mouth.  But I will be good and wait till they're ready.

On a sad gardening note... my second strawberry that was ripening up nicely was chomped into by some animal over the weekend.  Big bites were taken out of the perfect berry.  So the score for me and the strawberry plant is 0 for Megan, 2 for the forces of nature.  

Craft Hope

About a week ago I stumbled upon this amazing and inspiring blog.  Craft Hope is great project started by a woman, with the goal of bringing hand-crafted items to those that are less fortunate.  Before I found out about this she had already done two projects.  Dresses were made for children in Mexico and dolls were made for children in Nicaragua.  Now, for the third project she is asking the people make blankets, booties, and beanies for newborns.  I'm excited to be participating.

Several months ago two sets of friends both had babies and I made them some booties.  Well, I made an extra pair and have been holding on to them since.  Just haven't been sure what to do with them.  And, then I read about the third project of Craft Hope and knew exactly where these booties were meant to go.  I'm hoping to have time this week to sew another pair too {they're already cut out and ready to go}.  

I encourage anyone who would like to participate to check out the Craft Hope blog.  

basket food

basket food, noun.  1. Food, preferably fried, served in a basket and best eaten with your fingers and paired with a good beer.  2. A little piece of heaven.

The other day Lukas asked me what we were having for dinner.  I reported that we would be having fish nuggets {breaded fried tilapia}, home-made garlic fries, and corn on the cob.  "Yay," he said, "We're having basket food.  Just what I was craving."  When we eat out basket food is usually beer-battered fish and chips or some times even a burger, but at home it's almost always fish nuggets.  This is a fun dinner too because we cook it together.  Lukas is the master seasoner and breader while I fry them up.  

Here's what we do... first I rinse off the fish and cut it into manageable pieces.  For the two of us I usually get just under a pound of fish.  This makes a ton, but it's yummy!  

Lukas seasons the bread crumbs with garlic salt, parsley and italian seasoning.  He's pretty liberal with them all.  Then comes the breading.  The fish pieces are dipped first in flour and then egg and lastly the bread crumb mix.  I heat up the oil and fry them - just a few minutes on each side cooks them throughly.  

While the fish was cooking up in the oven I had going some frozen fries from the grocery store {so I cheated a little and they're not totally "home-made"}.  I heated up about a tablespoon of olive oil in another frying pan.  I tossed in a ton {ok, maybe 5 cloves} of garlic and a bit of parsley.  

This I heated till the garlic started to get fragrant and just a little golden.  Then I tossed the fries with the garlic-olive oil mixture and added some shredded parmesan cheese.  So, simple yet so yummy.

And that, my friends, is basket food!

things that make me smile

::mid week farmer's market 

::walking home with bright sunflowers poking out of the bag slung over my shoulder

::said sunflowers in bright blue jars brightening up the apartment

::home-made bread in the morning {haven't bought a loaf of sandwich bread since moving here!}

::flowers on my pea plants {can't wait for them to turn into peas!}

::quiet mornings

blue mason jars make me happy

When I read this blog post a few weeks back these beautiful jars stuck in my head.  Right away I left her a comment suggesting that she give {me} one.  I had some major blue mason jar envy.  Slowly, I let it go and moved on with my life.  {I know, they're just jars!}

I had just gotten over my envy, when last weekend Lukas's mom asked, "You don't want these old jars, do you?"  I peeked inside the beer box and saw two pretty blue mason jars staring back up at me - plus, a couple other clear, funky old jars.  "Really?!" I asked, "Really?  I can have these?"  I was so excited.  So, I ended up with my own pretty blue jars anyways.

 

Blue mason jars make me happy.

Happy Wednesday!

little red table

For my birthday my parents were super sweet and bought me a brand-spankin' new microwave.  They brought it down here when they came down for my brother's graduation.  For about 2 weeks it was sitting on the counter sucking up the best counter space in the entire kitchen.  Just hogging it all - and there wasn't much to begin with.  So, we were on the look out for a little table that would fit in the spot next to the counter and before the sliding glass door of the patio.  It was a tight fit and would require the "perfect" sized table.  I was carrying around the dimensions in my purse for a couple days.  And then we found it... the perfect sized table at a tiny little second-hand furniture shop in Santa Cruz.  At $20 it was even more perfect... just the color was a bit not what I wanted {sorry for the poor English, but that's exactly what I want to say}.   

Here it is in all it's turquoise glory.  I'm sure some of you probably love this color.  Actually I like it too, but it just wasn't quite right for my little kitchen.  And it totally made me think of the San Jose Sharks hockey team every time I looked at it.  {we debated for a split second just adding a Sharks logo to the bottom and calling it a day.

Instead, a little bit of paint got rid of the "Sharks" table. It was fun to pick out a color and watch the machine make and mix it all up.  {ok, I know what I think of as "fun" is a bit odd.}  

Here's a between shot for you.  Looking a bit purple I've got to say.  Good thing a couple more coats got it nice and red.  {pretty I know, but not what I was going for}

a minor disappointment

So, I have been excitedly watching the strawberries begin to grow on my little plant in the big black bucket on my little patio. I have been patiently waiting as the first one began to show signs of pink and then began to turn red. I was so sure that any day now it would be ready to pick, all plump and juicy, pure summer. So, imagine my disappointment this morning when I stopped my watering to bend down and check it's progress only to find it wasn't as red as I remembered. The color had just faded away. Upon further investigation (read, turning it over) I found the back side had become completely covered in MOLD! Ewwww. So disappointing I couldn't even bring myself to take a picture of it. It went directly into the trash. Now all my hopes are pinned on the next little berries that are coming in.

Here's to second chances!

My Adventures

As I walked out the door this morning for work I glanced down at the ground and saw this little guy walking along the corner where my apartment meets the cement.  He was shiny with segmentations like an earth worm, but with legs and these creepy, beady black google-y eyes.  Quickly, I ran back in the house for my camera.  {just this morning I had taken out of my purse to make more room, but normally I would have already had it on me.}  I snapped a couple shots of this tricky little bugger.  He was moving fast for such short legs.  Then I ran back inside again to grab a paper towel so I could pick him up and move him.  If I learned anything from my years of microbiology classes it is that these kinds of things harbor lots of nasty germs.  {I know, really "technical".}  I gently picked him up, impeding his progress to the underside of the door and then to who knows where in my apartment.  Lukas had a "fun" experience with a lizard in his bathroom a few years back.  I did not want a repeat of that.  I gently tossed this guy into the big plant in the courtyard and hoped he wouldn't find is way back.  8:15 in the morning and I'd already had my first adventure for the day.  

My second adventure came when I got home from work.  My "come home from work" routine is to kick off my shoes, change from my work clothes, water my little garden with my new watering can, and then check the mail.  Well, today after watering my little plants I left the sliding door to the patio open to allow in some fresh air.  The strong afternoon breeze had just started and it felt nice to have the air blow in.  Then I went to check the mail.  Let me explain something here.  The door knob on the front door doesn't need to be unlocked for it to turn from the inside.  {maybe you see where this is going...}  Well, I know this and I think of it every time I go out the door.  And this time I thought of it too.  But I was just going about 5 steps to the mail box so I left the door wide open.  Who cares if the handle is locked because the door is open anyways, was my thinking.  The wind must have read my mind because just then a big gust came and slammed the door shut.  Oh, the other thing about my front door... you've got to push it really hard to get it to fully latch.  If you don't you can just push it right back open again without any effort.  Well, the wind knew this too and the big slam certainly shut the door completely, locking me out of my apartment.  Shoot, I thought but I didn't panic.  Instead, I calmly went and checked my mail {Netflix and insurance papers incase you were wondering}.  And then, I padded around the side of my apartment in my bare feet.  After a second of assessing the cinder-block like wall of the patio I just climbed right over.  Just a couple sketchy steps up, a leg thrown over the top {it must be about 8 feet tall}, a little jostling to get footing on the other side, and then I was down.  Good thing I left the sliding door open as it was my way back into the apartment.  Wait, if I hadn't left it open in the first place the gust of wind couldn't have come through and locked me out.  

Those were my adventures today.  Both happened moments after stepping out my front door.  Maybe the world is trying to tell me I should stay inside, bake a cake, make some popcorn, and watch movies all day instead of doing anything that requires me to go outside.  

Hope everyone else didn't have such crazy adventures on their Wednesday!