Snow Day!

This was Daddy Cat's view off the back stoop this morning. He insisted I open the back door, but was puzzled about what to do next. Over a foot of snow greeted him, and he's maybe a foot tall. So he came back in and we watched the morning news and the closings list. Butler University (where I work) was listed as having a 2 hour delay. I decided to sit tight (in my pj's) and let them come to their senses. They did! Classes were cancelled! So Daddy Cat and I enjoyed a leisurely breakfast and I played around on Facebook while watching the local news snow coverage. It was a good day to stay off the roads!

I eventually put my jeans on over my pj's and ventured out to see if I'd remembered to fill the gas can for the snow blower. Yes! It started on about the 20th pull. (It's been idle for two years.) I cleared the driveway and carved a path to the back door. Daddy Cat had to inspect my work. He looked longingly at the spot where his catnip grows. The nip was buried and I'd neglected to shovel it out.

While watching tv (all day!) I was struck by the fast food ads. Mostly, my brain just skips over all the foods I can't eat. But today it really hit me how drastically my eating habits have changed . . . and why obesity is an epidemic in the U.S.

Arby's is running a new special - Texas Toast meals. They feature a grilled sandwich made with two slices of Texas toast (which is four servings of starch right there,) large fries (probably two more starches and several servings of fat,) and a jumbo soft drink (gobs of empty calories.) I don't eat ANY of these things anymore. I guess lots of folks still do. Before going gf, I was a mostly healthy eater, with a few indulgences. What I miss most is the camaraderie of food. I wish I could enjoy dinner out with my friends. But I don't really miss the junk. My mind and my taste buds have changed.

I fixed pork loin with baked apples and green beans with potatoes. It was a great snow day lunch. Daddy Cat really liked his bite of pork.

BTW, I'm still thinking about Spring. I spent last weekend researching how to construct an indoor worm farm. (Gross note: kitchen scraps turn into compost faster when they are digested.) I'm ready to start farming, but it's too cold to ship Red Wigglers (the Cadillac of worms!) from PA to IN. I'm ready! As soon as it warms up!

Time to give up shoes and socks!

I've been waiting a long time for spring to start feeling like summer. We've had a few warmish days, but the nights have remained cool. It's certainly been comfortable. And I haven't had to turn on the air conditioner or the furnace. But my vegetable plants need some warm nights so they can start growing in earnest.

Wonder Melon toes!

A high of 80 degrees was predicted for Race Day, May 25. So I painted my toenails their summer color. I think it's called Wonder Melon. It's a good summer color! We didn't hit 80, but my feet didn't get cold in sandals. So I'm ready to give up socks for the season.

I've been busy working on my gardens all week. I've installed weed cloth, held down by strips of carpet. It's a weird look, but it works. I'll be re-carpeting the pool site as soon as I finish my planting. I've had an 8' pool for the last few years. Last fall I found a deal on a 10' pool, so I upgraded. I need a bigger chunk of carpet.

Having a pool makes my gardening life easier. I take breaks during the heat of summer days to float on my raft and read paperback novels. I only read outdoors. So the stack of books I'm dying to read is getting pretty tall. I read my first two in the lounge chair. I just finished Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. I loved it! I'm also hooked on the Stephanie Plum series from Janet Evanovich. I found Plum Lovin' and read it in one afternoon.

I baked a ham this week. I decided to try a ham and cheese sandwich. I've had exactly two sandwiches in 2008. Both were disappointing. I was encouraged to see a new soft sandwich bread recipe from Carrie at Ginger Lemon Girl. I hope to try it on my next baking day. So I settled for my improving porridge bread.

I seem to react to every (EVERY!) pre-made mayonnaise. I'm okay with that. I warmed my sandwich, so the cheese was a little melty. It was a good little half a sandwich, but something was missing. Pickles!

I seem to react to everything that comes in a jar, box or can. So I made some easy, quick pickles with entirely safe ingredients. The next day I had another half a ham & cheese with pickles. Perfect! I've planted about 20 cucumber plants so far. I'll be happy when they start producing. I'm going to make lots of these pickles. They are crisp and delightful.


Kay's Crispy Pickles

2 C water
1 C cider vinegar
2 T sea salt (not iodized)
1 big dill head for each jar or a small bunch of tarragon

Boil water, vinegar and salt 5 minutes. Put a dill head int he bottom of each jar, then fill up with clean cucumbers, whole or sliced. Pour boiling brine into jars of cucumber and let sit 10 minutes. Pour the brine back into the kettle and boil again for 10 minutes. Pour the brine back over the cucumbers, clean the threads of the jars, and seal with lids.

While the brine is boiling the second time, bring a kettle half-filled with plain water to a boil. After sealing the jars, place them in the boiling water. Turn off the heat. Do not process the pickles. Water need not cover the jars. About a third of the jar should be above the water line. Allow the jars to cool completely in this pan of water. I went to bed, and they were perfect in the morning.

I used small jars, that added up to about a quart. My dill is tiny just now, so I used a small bunch of fresh tarragon in each jar. I used to make tarragon cornichons for my special remoulade sauce, so I knew I would like the tarragon. I'll use dill when mine grows up.

I also pickled some asparagus, using the same recipe. I use the litte ones in place of artichokes in my Greek salad. The long spears look pretty on an antipasto tray.

Daddy cat and the lettuce patch.

No, it's not a poppy, it's a peony!

My favorite show has been on tv all night - weather radar! We're having our first severe storm of the year. Sounds really severe just north of my house. Power is out, a roof blew off, roads are flooded, and trees are down. I think it would be a good time to unplug my computer.

Rain, rain, go away

I've been working between the raindrops to get my gardens planted. Not much actual planting, so far. I'm creating new beds. So mostly I've been moving plants and digging up weeds in anticipation of tilling. It's slow work. It's hard work. Gardening is the reason I don't belong to a gym. I'm not looking for recreational exercise. I get a lot of exercise just keeping my yard in shape. When I get a break, I'm looking for recreational recreation.

Speaking of recreation, I gave Daddy Cat one leaf of fresh catnip. I grow it in hanging pots, so the cats don't "over-imbibe." But some seed from last year's nip fell to the ground below. It's growing like crazy!

Mmmmmmm, nip!

No, I wasn't drooling!

I'm several years behind on my weeding. I have half an acre of gardens, and the woods tries to take them over every year. Undiagnosed celiac left me puffy and bent and sickly for the last five summers. I was a little better last summer, and started my "catch up" plan.

My body was puffed up, about 25 lbs heavier than it had ever been. My joints ached. I was told my backache was sciatica, and my foot pain was plantar's fasciitis. And my joint pain was arthritis. I marveled at my Santa-like belly. It felt so foreign, it might as well have been a third foot sticking out of my stomach. I couldn't lose weight, no matter how little I ate. My eyes were constantly puffy, and my vision was frequently blurred. My hair fell out in patches. Doctors gave me first prednisone pills, then steroid injections to make it grow back. The hair that fell out was curly brown hair. The hair that grew back was straight, stark while. I'd already discovered that I was allergic to permanent hair colors. So I was dismayed at my strange appearance. I felt like I had the flu, every day. It was a struggle to make it to work, let alone work in my yard.

So that's why I got behind on weeding . Five years behind.

In March, 2007, I had two encouraging breakthroughs where my health is concerned. A doctor decided to (finally!) test me for food allergies. Wheat allergies did not show up, but broccoli, cabbage, bananas and pineapple did. I'd been eating a lot of these foods, for my health. (Ha!)

So I eliminated these foods and began to see some improvement in my general health. Not recovery, but improvement.

Then a friend of mine gave me a bottle of Mona Vie acai juice to try. I'd tried a lot of snake oil over my five years of mysterious illness. So I was skeptical. I was pleasantly surprised to find it did me some good! I wasn't quite so puffy, and some weight just fell off me. After drinking 2 ounces a day for about two weeks, my hair started growing back! It had never grown back without those awful steroids! So I knew all those antioxidants were helping.

I had more energy than I'd in four years. I could, occasionally, put in a full day of yard work. I made a plan to "save" my gardens, and got a good start on it.

I still drink Mona Vie every day. It offers the highest concentration of acai juice available. Acai is a magic berry from the rainforest. It naturally reduces inflamation. I had a lot of inflamation! Everywhere! And reducing it a little let me see how different foods impacted my symptoms. A year later, I figured out wheat was the biggest culprit. I'll settle for my self diagnosis of celiac disease. The doctors have been wrong so many times that I've taken charge of my own health. It just took me a long time to get to the starting point. And all those misdiagnoses cost me a bundle. I could have a new car with all the money I've paid doctors to be wrong.

I finally feel like I'm in the "rebuilding" stage of my life, instead of the "circling the drain" stage.

So, back to the gardens! Spring is starting slowly here in the midwest. That's okay. I've needed the extra prep time.

Last summer, I decided to consolidate some of my flower beds. I inherited 128 varieties of day lilies when I bought this house. I love them all and wanted to keep one of each. So I moved some of the plants from the back gardens to up around the pond. I installed weedcloth and mulch between the plants. I even went to southern Indiana and collected a lot of limestone. Now the plants are closely spaced, with mulch and limestone pathways in between. And I get to mow the back gardens instead of fretting about all the weeds.

This week I've spent three long days moving plants out of the garden by the front door. I disposed of five trash bags of weeds, roots and all. That bed is well-drained and gets hot afternoon sun. So I'm turning it into the okra and onion bed. They like those particular conditions. And okra is a really pretty plant. Its blooms look like hibiscus blooms, and bugs don't eat my okra leaves. I've found a compact variety of okra called "Baby Bubba." I hope it's as pretty as the taller varieties I've tried in the past.

I've worked in the dirt for ten to twelve hours for three days in a row. That's my little miracle!

For encouragement, I walk around the yard and see how my early vegetables are doing. And I visit my tiny peaches. They're smaller than my cherries this time of year. They are so cute and fuzzy!

Here's what's growing at Kay's Leaning Tree Farm:

Snow peas

Asparagus. It grows in the myrtle.
The myrtle is high enough to block the sun, so some of the spears are white.

Lettuce. This is the mixed row.

My sage is ready to bloom.

Rhubarb!

I did all my cooking for the week last Sunday. I made a pizza, baked bread, baked a chicken, and tried two new recipes. Melanie over at The Gluti Girls fixed a great potato salad for Mother's Day. It uses a vinaigrette dressing and it's quite tasty! I added some baby spinach. Carrie at Ginger Lemon Girl entered an oatmeal recipe in a contest on Gluten Free Goodness. It's in the comments section. I baked some of her fantastic apple oatmeal bars. I added a little rhubarb.

So that's why I haven't posted any new recipes of my own. I was living off other people's great ideas last week. I hope to spend lots of time in the garden again this week, and keep kitchen time to a minimum. I plan to make time to enter my oatmeal recipe in the contest. I need to convert an old favorite to gluten free. I'll get around to that when it rains, or after dark.