Easy as Pie

June 25, 2012 at 6:23 PM (Blathering)
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Yesterday, we (Me, Davie, Savanah, and Isaac) went cherry picking. It was a bit of a let down being as the first tree did not have that many cherries on it and the second tree had been chopped down.

I told Davie, “She said she chopped her cherry tree down so we can’t pick cherries.”

Davie replied, “Is she lying?” (Which I thought was classic and I wished I had thought to asked the woman that!!)

We got just enough cherries off the one tree that I was able to make one pie exactly. Well, If you don’t count the necessary sample tastes of the cherry filling as it cooked down to add more sugar and whatnot to make sure that it tasted good. Anyway…

I am not very good at making homemade pie crust. It is one of those things like gravy. Someone can teach you how to  make it but there is a knack and it requires a little bit of luck. You must practice and pray. The more you do it the better you are at it. And then sometimes even the most experienced gravy makers have a batch that turns to crap. No warning.

Gravy I can do. Pie crust I have not practiced as much at. I used to use the Jiffy brand pie crust in a box. But I don’t buy Jiffy any more because they use GMOs in their product. Then I switch to Pillsbury refrigerated pie crust – which is great – but I’m sure not good for you also. I am trying not to use processed foods anymore than …than I’m not sure. But the more you can cut them out the better. Right? So plain old shortening it is. I would rather have lard. Then it would have to be from a hog that was raised without hormones, antibiotics and grass fed. Really there is just no end to it. Unless you grow it or raise it yourself; you are pretty much taking your life into your own hands. Right? Or it is out of your hands. Or something as similarly confusing.

I had planned on doing a lattice topped pie. Traditional cherry pie top. Alas I did not have enough crust to make the lattice. I am sure I did have enough I just did not roll it out properly. So I improvised and went stellar instead.

Ok now onto why I am really typing this blog. It is to bitch about things. I just lured you in with the whole pie bit.

WordPress is pissing me off. Either it is a pain in the ass or I am not smart enough to work it. Probably the latter.

I used to type my blog posts in Word and then cut and paste them to the blog. It was easier to type in Word since WordPress changed my dashboard layout and the typing window is smaller. I can not see enough of what I am typing at once. Any advice on how to enlarge this window?

Now WordPress will not let me cut and paste from Word. Any advice on how to do this too?

Resulting in blogs that I have typed in Word and now can not transfer to the blog. You may never see them because I am not sure that I will ever retype them.

Would any blog guru out there please offer advice to me.

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Lazy Morning

June 22, 2012 at 11:03 AM (A Day in the Life)

My one objective for the day today was to get out in the garden early before it got too hot and plant pumpkins and butternut squash.

At 6AM I rolled out of bed to go and let the chickens out because I couldn’t stand to listen to them complain about being cooped up anymore. It was very cool and overcast so I decided that I would have lots of time to plant today with this bit of cooler weather.

With that thought I went back to bed and dozed for a while longer thinking I could have a lazy morning and just hang out.

At about 9:30AM I realized this is what my lazy morning consists of:

After dozing for a while longer – get up and open blinds.

Lay in bed and stare at my phone checking email, FB, Pinterest and Craigslist ads for a bicycle.

Get up, put cup of hot water in microwave to make cup of tea. While water is heating (2 min) empty dishwasher and make bed. (This, by the way, is a metal race.)

Drop tea bag in hot water cup, think to myself that the inside of microwave is kind of starting to get yucky, which I have been noticing for about a week and have not acted upon this prompting as of yet. So put glass measuring cup in micro to boil water and steam crud.

Start load of laundry. Fluff and fold three loads of laundry that come off the line yesterday. Put clothes away.

Eat leftover scrambled eggs and salsa from yesterday with half of an avocado for breakfast.

Sit at table and sort through seed basket to pick out seeds to plant today.

Put cup of water #2 in micro for second cup of tea. First take out measuring cup of hot water and wipe out microwave.

Brush teeth. Insert contacts. Moisturize face. Realize that it is now raining and I can not go to the garden. *sigh* or hang up wet laundry. *sigh*

Metal note: check weather on phone while laying in bed for those 30min of a lazy morning.

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Purslane

June 6, 2012 at 4:14 PM (Growing Pains)
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I love spinach. I like it sautéed. I like it in salads. I like it in smoothies. The list goes on.

Spinach does not like warm weather. This year I embarked on a quest to find and grow a warm weather loving spinach replacement. I chose two options. New greens in addition to the greens that I am familiar with.

Strawberry spinach and purslane.

Strawberry spinach is something I had never heard of before. It is a warm weather loving semi-vining green that also produces berries. Very interesting. Spinach and fruit! Get out! What could be better? I just sowed the strawberry spinach in the garden about 4 days ago and am patiently waiting its appearance. I’ll keep you updated.

Purslane, on the other hand,  I had heard of. I have never grown it before – kind of, maybe. (I’ll explain.)

What I knew of purslane. It is a wild cultivated green. Similar to dandelion, nettles or poke. It is a southern thing. Supposedly very tasty. Easy to grow. Which is why it grows as a weed in many regions (like dandelion).

I sowed the seed about 10 days ago. A few days ago I thought to myself, “Self, you should really look purslane up on the net and see what it looks like so that you will know when it starts popping up.”

What I now know of purslane. It is actually a succulent with reddish stems. A herb originating from Asia. It is high in omega 3 and vitamin C.

When I saw the picture online, I just about s&!t my pants. Its common name is pigweed!! I have been pulling this crap our of my garden for my entire life! It is growing in my garden everywhere right at this moment! How did I go my whole life and not know this?! Is this some kind of conspiracy that everyone is in on?!?

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