Plastics ... Again.

Click on the link below to play short video on more news about plastics ...
src="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22425001/vp/26743908#26743908"

I know, we already know this. I don't know why I keep adding. The thing is ... I'm so infuriated with the lobbyists and "big business" that is pushing on the FDA to support their bad products. I'm infuriated that the FDA seems to be spine-less. So, I post.

Sunscreen Stain Update

At long last I finally called Coppertone and inquired about sunblock stains on my clothing. (other company's sunblock has also stained my clothing ... FYI) The Customer Service gal on the line didn't hesitate (like she gets this question all of the time) and explained that the stains are due to avobenzone in the sunblock. As the entry in Wikipedia explained, Avobenzone reacts with minerals to form colored complexes. So if you have hard water (a lot of minerals in your water) commonly caused by having well water, the iron in the water binds to the avobenzone and creates stains in your clothing. Coppertone recommends applying the standard stain removers before washing your clothing, which I have found to be almost completely ineffective. Mainly (as I explained to the woman) because the stains show up after I wash the clothes. Which stands to reason if it's binding to the iron in my water! (Unless of course I'd been mining for iron in my back yard with sunblock on, in which case the stains would show up before I washed them. Eeegads.) To that, the kind Coppertone Woman explained that a lot of people say that the stains show up afterwards (oh boy) and then recommended using Rit Rust Remover or Iron-Out. I looked that stuff up and basically these have strong acids that can irritate the skin if not completely rinsed out of your clothing. One site recommended using detergent with phosphates in it against rust stains! Terrific. How about putting something in our sunblock that doesn't hurt us or our clothing? Afterwards I read that lemon juice can be effective against rust stains in the laundry. Stay Tuned. I'll try it.

Be well.

Teach Your Children Well

I'm working on parenting my children. A change in season or schedule usually creates for me a new perspective and a renewed effort to attack problem areas. By the end of summer we (the kids and I) were on each other's last nerve ... and I wasn't tolerating it very well. Now I'm making a renewed effort to address problem areas. Ripley's new Montessori School has also inspired me to encourage the boy's (Ripley 3 7/8 and Benjamin 9) independence. I'm all for that!

Here are some tools / ideas that I've found work very well (particularly during the school year):

• Set their clothes out the night before when you tuck them in. The rule is: You must come downstairs fully clothed before you get milk and breakfast. (The milk / breakfast part is a big motivator) If your children are 3 1/2 or older and don't dress themselves, start working on it with them. They should be able to do it and WOW what a time saver in the morning. Dirty clothes must go in the hamper. Bed "made".
• Disagreements: At the parent orientation at the Montessori School, Ripley's teachers explained that they have the 3-5 year olds in the class "work out" their disagreements by themselves. The person who feels "wronged" in some way is given a "Peace Rose". They get to explain why they are upset, then the other person gets their turn with the peace rose and can talk about things from their perspective. Then, they come up with a compromise. This seems like it might be asking a lot of a 3 year old, but let me tell you -- the boys have been "taking turns" talking through an issue and it's been working!!! In less then 2 minutes both parties usually have apologized and moved on! Wow. I was getting way too many "MOMMY!!!" screams or "Mmmmmoooommmmmmmmmmmmmiiiiiiiieeeeeeeee" whines -- like lobbyists in Washington begging me to get involved in their cause. I would jump in, my blood pressure would rise, their voices would increase in volume and intensity to try to convince me they were right ..... ugh. Stressful. If you have children who can communicate with each other, give it a try. It works!
• OK this is classic. It works with my very boyish 9 year old. I don't know about you, but my 9 year old loves to go outside, run around, dig in dirt, mess in puddles of water -- like he is 4. Good clean fun. Well, maybe not clean. This boy is not prone to being neat. Without thinking he will not only play in dirt, trees, water, etc., but he will wear the dirt and water like he's 2. My "beef" with that is, I feel like he doesn't consider the people who have to clean up after him ... like he's a billionaire with a full-time maid service. He will stain brand new clothing without a second thought. The discussion I've had with him is: If you were living in the Northwestern mountains of China and only had one pair of pants, you would treat them like gold -- like your most treasured possession. I'm a BIG fan of playing -- but there is nothing wrong with respecting your possessions and most definitely other's possessions. ANYWAY ... if he treats his clothes with disrespect he has to get out laundry soap and scrub by hand the knees (of his pants for example) until the dirt is out. He's starting to think twice before diving up to his neck in mud.
• Another clothing issue, do your kids start playing in a pool or puddle of water -- get wet -- then they want to come inside and put on new clothes? Just what we need, more laundry to clean. (back to that full time maid service remark earlier) The deal I have is: If you want to put on fresh clean clothes, you have to help me with the laundry -- like folding. Sometimes he goes for it, other times he sticks with a little moisture around the wrists, and hopefully he's thinking before he literally puts his whole arm -- sleeve and all -- into the little turtle pool in the back yard.
• Have the kids help out around the house. Both of my kids love to help. Here are some good -- actually helpful -- ideas. Have the kids strip their beds when it's time to wash the sheets. Have the kids ... young and old ... sort socks and fold them together. Have your kids fold towels, wash clothes, rags and cloth napkins - older kids can fold the clothing too. Of course the more obvious like set the table ... 3 year olds can do this easily. Clear the table. For the older ones ... load and unload the dishwasher. A popular one ... wash and vacuum the car. (of course conserve water please) Help weed the garden (my personal favorite).
• If you want to bring that toy into my car you MUST take it with you on the way out. I swear, in no time my car can look like a bad yard sale.

These are the ideas that are in the forefront of my mind. I'll add as I think of more. Do you have any suggestions to add? I'll put them in.

Be well!

Fall Harvest

The apples from my three new semi-dwarf apples trees were ripe enough for picking and I decided to go ahead and harvest them. The main reason being -- the cute little things had gotten this far without being totally destroyed by bugs, mildew, rust, scab, squirrels or deer -- let's hurry up and pick them before their luck runs out. This came to my mind yesterday because I awoke to find one of my three sugar pumpkins that pollinated with chipmunk teeth marks! Grrrrr. No big harm done though thankfully. I just need to make pumpkin something-or-other soon. Needless to say, I picked my three little pumpkins before further damage occurred. Speaking of pollination ... have I mentioned that I'm seriously considering keeping bees? (Another idea my sister-in-law Tanya has been tantalizing me with over the past year ... as in "Have you ever considering keeping beeeeessssss???") I have two friends in town who keep bees that I've started peppering with questions. With fruit trees and a big garden, honey bees with help with pollination and produce more fruits and vegetables. In addition, you can reap a harvest of honey. I'll keep you posted!

Clutter, Disposing of Disposables and Your Wake!

I'm de-cluttering my house! Two years ago I read Simplify Your Life: Get Organized and Stay That Way along with my sister-in-law Tanya -- and spoke about it at a Women's Breakfast at our church. It is a fabulous book, has very practical, realistic tools and is easy to implement. However, habits do have their way of breaking (why is it often the good ones?) and clutter has it's way of accumulating unless you go to battle against it from time to time. Isn't that the truth?! This has come up in my field of view like a banging drum set because Ripley has just started going to a Montessori school ... and if you've ever been inside one (see picture off the web below), you'll know why I've renewed my commitment against clutter. One of the premises is that children "work" best in a simple, tidy, organized environment -- who doesn't? Right? So, yesterday I went to my work against clutter in my home that's built up over the past two years. First: Toys. Broken toys. Toys you just have too many of. Toys that just don't work well. Toys our kids have grown out of. Chuck them. Recycle when possible. Salvation Army or hand down to friends, family or your church nursery those toys your child has grown out of. I literally collected three huge bags of stuff in those three categories. How about you? How is your clutter? Other areas of attack for me: "Junk" drawers / cabinet (I used to have none, now I have about four), Recipes!, Last Years school papers that I'd put aside to save (go through again - eliminate some more - then store neatly in the attic), Craft Room upstairs. My CLOSET!! (Think of the people who could use the clothes hanging unused in your closet. Send it to the Salvation Army. Or a consignment shop. Perfectly good clothing can be used by someone else. Talk about unsustainable, right?) How about you? What areas would you like to attack?

As you are going through your clutter and your home to organize and reconsider how it functions, consider examining your use of disposable anything. One blog I often check out issued a challenge to get rid of disposable items in your house. I love that idea! We can call it:

Disposing of Disposables Challenge!

Not only does doing away with disposables save the environment, it saves money and time at the grocery store! Here are some suggestions, send me your suggestions and I'll add them in! Let me know if you're committed too!

• Swiffers - Use old stained shirts and towels.
• Disposable Household Wipes and Dusters
• Take-Out Coffee Cups -- especially the Styrofoam ones!! Bring your own and have them fill it.
• Plastic Grocery Bags!
• "Disposable" tupperware and sippy cups -- invest in long lasting glass, plus glass won't leech chemicals into your food and drinks.
• Seemingly "disposable" plastic toys that people give as gifts at parties that break in less than 15 minutes. You know the kind, "Buy 100 for $2.00 ... Oooooo what a savings!"
• Bottled Water
• Sponges
• Kleenex -- use old fashioned hankies

Your WAKE. Committing to PEACE.

Another thing that has stuck with me all week is from Sunday Morning at church and a conversation with one of my girlfriends about PEACE in your home. Our Pastor, Dennis, asked the question "What wake do you leave when you go through a room?" Wake -- as in the mark that a boat makes in the water as it pushes through a body of water. What came to my mind immediately is that time zone at the end of your day when you're getting tired, the kids are getting tired and bickering, you're trying to prep dinner, ask your school aged kid(s) how their day was and make sure they are doing their homework, keep the young one out of the hair of the old one and entertained in some way -- and then your husband walks in. Not a wake of peace. Nope. More like the wake of a hurricane or an ocean liner. Committing to a non-disposable lifestyle is a lot easier for me that committing to peace. I like the idea of peace, but it sure it easy to get sucked into the chaos and join in the chorus "AAARRRRrrrrrggggghhhhhh!" Regardless, I'm committing to pursuing peace. This is all interconnected because organizing, simplifying and planning do help to create a peaceful home. Am I the only one? What's you're story?

Miscellaneous ...

Can I just tell you that Ripley started to have, what we call here, a "baby meltdown" when I had to explain to him yesterday morning that we didn't have any of my Homemade Greek Yogurt (I have updated the recipe with pictures) ready to eat. (It was still straining after a night of "brewing".) This is noteworthy because Ripley is such a picky eater, and to see him gobbling down homemade plain yogurt with homemade super healthy granola drizzled with a little local honey every morning brings joy to my heart!

Over the past two days I made mozzarella (which my sister-in-law Tanya can't believe I didn't start months ago after reading Barbara Kingsolver's Animal Vegetable Miracle). My first attempt wasn't a booming success. I did get a large ball of mozzarella which tasted great, but that was with a gallon of milk! This time I had checked out some other instructions online that had other helpful information. I ended up as usual using a blend of the recipes -- the first I'd gotten from www.cheesemaking.com which is the company Barbara Kingsolver had referenced in her book. They tout making mozzarella in 30 minutes -- but having grown up in an entrepreneurial manufacturing family (handbags) I know something about efficiency and LEAN Manufacturing and it don't take no 30 minutes! After making it twice, all of the "wait times" were longer than listed. But, it still is pretty cool and is a big savings -- one large ball I saw at Whole Foods yesterday in the produce department was selling for $7.50! Eegads!

Now (don't roll your eyes at me now) since I was making yogurt and mozzarella in the same 24 hour period I had a lot of left over whey (the liquid that separates from the curd in both of these processes) so if you simply boil the whey again -- let it sit at room temperature overnight (makes it more acidic apparently) -- then strain through your cone coffee filter (not the paper variety) PRESTO! You have Ricotta Cheese!! I guess Ricotta means something like re-cook. You end up with about a cup of fresh homemade Ricotta. I learned about it HERE. Now, I guess over in Portugal -- in the northeastern mountains (see picture ... I know, why did they leave??) where my husband was born and raised for 6 years -- after boiling the whey they throw in a little sugar and drink the whey and ricotta all together -- The ricotta sinks to the bottom and that's the best part at the end.

Finally, here is an okra flower picture untouched by pests!

Star of David Okra

Beautiful, isn't it?

This gorgeous flower blooms large for one day. I think it's lovely. I saw it open earlier today, by the time I got down to photograph it there was a japanese beetle chewing away at it's delicate petals. Shouldn't those awful pests be gone by now? I don't know about you, but for me it's been the year of the pests. I have somehow attracted every possible pest local to this area. Anyway, aren't my okra beautiful?

How to Make Your Own Greek Yogurt at Home

No, I'm not Greek. However, Greek Yogurt is the one plain yogurt that I can totally enjoy like I'm "splurging". And, I figure, if you can make your own Greek Style Yogurt at home, you are really saving money. Not only do you save money, but you also save the environment by eliminating all of the use of plastic -- even if you do recycle it, plastic is rather toxic to recycle (although better than not recycling!). All the better to put your homemade yogurt into glass containers that you have saved ... like nut butter jars! Anyway, here is what I did:
.

First, I got started and inspired by The Real Food Revolution blogger. Check her site out.
Second, my first effort was a failure. Hey, it happens. I've made some bad bread and pie in my day too.
Third, I did some more research to see what I could have possibly done wrong and this is where I landed:
.
How to make your own Greek Style Yogurt
.
You need:

• 1 Gallon Milk
  About 1/2 cup (or less) scoop of plain yogurt for your "starter" (must have "live active cultures")
  1 Large Pan large enough to handle the gallon of milk
  1 Candy Thermometer (or any thermometer that can measure liquids from 100 to 200 degrees F, a candy thermometer is nice b/c it clips to the side of the pan.
• 1-2 heating pads
• 2 bath towels
• 1 large colander
  1 large bowl that the colander can fit into
• 1 large square of muslin, cheese cloth, or in a pinch a thin pillow case
• 2-4 very clean large glass jars with tops. Most people write that they are fine with jars cleaned very well with hot soapy water -- but you could sterilize them in your dishwasher if it has that feature, pour boiling water into them before filling while the yogurt is in the fridge draining, or actually go all the way and sterilize them in a boiling water bath. Your choice.

Directions (this really isn't hard ... at all -- my long winded-ness just makes it seem long and labor-intensive. It isn't!)

• Set 1/2 Cup plain yogurt starter aside at room temperature
• Put the gallon of milk into the pan and heat it to 185 degrees F over medium heat to kill of any "bad" bacteria -- stirring from time to time to prevent the milk from sticking (or worse) burning on the bottom of the pan.

• Remove the pan from heat -- and if you'd like to move quickly -- put the pan into an ice water bath in your sink with the top of the pan on -- thermometer sticking out of the side until the milk is brought down to 105 degrees F. If you use the ice water bath method it's really very fast. Otherwise, stick the pan on the counter and wait.
• Stir 1/2 Cup of the room temperature plain yogurt into the milk - well.
• Turn your heating pad(s) on medium heat and set them on the counter.
• Take your pan of 105 degree F milk with yogurt starter stirred in and put it on top of the heating pad. I put another heating pad (set on medium) on top of the pan (with the top on the pan, obviously), but this might have been overkill.

• Then, cover pan / heating pads with two towels, tucking in the ends to avoid drafts.


• Let sit for 12 hours -- over night is great. (I made mine during Ripley's nap -- set it to brewing at 3pm and woke up after a good nights sleep at 5:30am - perfect!) The longer the yogurt "brews" the better it is for you -- that good bacteria really gets going. As you pass the 12 hour mark the yogurt is supposed to taste tarter (not necessarily a good thing in my book). I "brewed" mine for 13 1/2 hours (because I was sleeping) and it isn't sour or tart at all -- go figure.


• In the morning - line your colander with your clean cheese cloth or muslin and set the colander inside a large bowl to catch dripping liquid -- or Whey.
• When you take the top off your pan and peek in, the yogurt should have formed into something that looks like a custard. There will also be a clear yellowy looking liquid on top and around the sides -- this is your Whey. (as in Little Miss Muffet ... you know) Pour as much Whey off as you can without dumping out your yogurt -- keep the Whey and use as you would buttermilk for baking, or if you're feeling adventurous -- homemade Whey Ricotta.
• Dump the sloppy yogurt into the cheese cloth / muslin that's inside the colander. Pull up the sides of the cloth, twist and tie a knot on the top so that the cloth is tight around the blob of sloppy yogurt.




• Put the Yogurt, cloth, colander, bowl into the fridge for 2 hours. I poured the Whey out of the bowl a couple of times to be sure it was draining well, but that might have been overkill.
  
• Spoon and scrape the yogurt the yogurt off the cloth and into clean jars.



• Chill in the fridge
• Serve with honey and homemade granola.
  
  My sister-in-law Tanya (a Greek Yogurt connoisseur) taste tested and agreed that it was .... YUMOLA!!
  Incidentally; Ripley, Benjamin and I are downing homemade granola and homemade yogurt like mad ... can you believe it?! Ripley, eating super good for you homemade granola? He even asked for it for lunch. I'm going to have to make more next week at this rate -- I'll take pictures and update this post. Good Luck!

Cute-isms

Ripley to Benjamin "Do you want some campelope?"

New Info on Plastics

BPA that chemical that seeps from our plastic into our food is rearing it's ugly head again in the news. Tongith on NBC Brian Williams reported on it. Here is an excerpt of the "pre-release" on the web and the link to the whole article. Bottom line ... use glass, eh?

.

"We are doing a report tonight on the latest results on the possible danger of a chemical that is very common in our environment. Most of the research up to now has been in mice and rats. This latest study was done in monkeys and indicated possible brain damage at low amounts.
.
The chemical is BPA or bisphenol A. It is found in millions of plastic bottles and other containers. It is back in the news and will be for a while. BPA has been known for decades to mimic the female hormone estrogen. It has also been known that tiny amounts of it can leak into the liquids the containers hold. As a result almost all Americans have tiny amounts of BPA in their bodies. Some animal studies, including the one we cover tonight, indicate it could be a hazard But is it really dangerous to human health? There is no definite answer yet.
But this week the National Toxicology Program, an interagency group set up to advise the government on questions about possibly dangerous chemicals in our environment issued a final report on BPA.
That agency concluded there "some concern for effects on the brain, behavior and the prostate gland in fetuses, infants and children at current exposure levels" Is your plastic bottle safe? by Robert Bazell

.

There are many ways ... and very GREEN ways ... to avoid this junk. You could just pretend you are living in the 1930's and you'd pretty much be all set.

But, if you want a list here are a few ideas:

• Buy glass storage containers for your leftovers.
• Use and reuse a metal water container to drink your water -- like SIGG or Kleen Kanteen.
• Get rid of plastic sippy cups.
• If you have access, order you milk locally from the milkman. We get Monroe Dairy here delivered the old fashioned way in glass bottles.
• Buy food stored in glass whenever possible.
• Just look through you life and household for places where your food and drinks run into plastic and ask yourself if you can eliminate it.
• Can or freeze fruits and vegetables - and cook from scratch as much as possible. Unfortunately at some point aluminum cans started being lined with a thin plastic film. The aluminum can lining may actually leech more BPA than a water bottle -- read about it here.
• Make your own yogurt! (more on that later -- easy!)

I've gotta go put dinner on the table, but you get the idea -- right?

First Day of School!

Aren't they cute? Today Benjamin started 4th Grade and Ripley started Preschool. Both were excited to go and enjoyed their day. Ripley only has 1 1/2 hour days this week (???ugh!) so there wasn't much free time for me, but I did put my laundry out on the line in complete peace -- listening to the birds and the goings on in the woods behind our house. I also tried to make my own yogurt for the second time. Stay tuned.

Homemade Foods: Granola, Yogurt, Sundried Tomatoes

Over the past four days I've tried making homemade granola, yogurt and sun dried tomatoes.

.

First, the granola is fabulous!

Considering how expensive healthy granola is to buy - it is well worth it, and even healthier than what you can find at Whole Foods. I got the recipe from a book I purchased at Anthropologie (my favorite store of all time -- weakness, weakness) last year called Super Natural Cooking by Heidi Swanson. She also has a recipe journal at www.101cookbooks.com . She is pretty hardcore -- cooking with flours most of us have never heard of like amaranth flour, barley flour and mesquite flour. A big part of her philosophy is cooking with foods that will give you the most nutrition. In this day and age so many things are hyper processed. We have gotten so far from our food that to transport it long distances and increase the amount of time it can sit and to make things taste "good" on the cheap by adding junk, they (the food manufacturers including unconscious commercial farmers) "sold" us away from simple, quality foods closest to it's original form and nutritional value as possible. Anyway, enough editorializing. Granola is actually very easy to make!

.

Here it is:

Preheat oven to 250 degrees. (changed from 300 for a chewier, stickier consistency)

4 Cups Oats

3/4 C unsalted raw sunflower seeds

1 C nuts of your choice chopped slightly (I used slivered almonds and walnuts)

1 1/2 C unsweetened shredded coconut

I also added about 1/3 C cold milled flax seed (flax seed needs to be broken down slightly to digest it and get any nutrition out of it) because I never seem to get around to eating it like I should.

Grated zest of 2 oranges

3/4 C raw honey

1/4 C coconut oil

.

1 1/2 C assorted unsulfured dried fruit (I used blueberries, cherries and raisins)

.

Put everything but dried fruit, honey and coconut oil into a large bowl and toss. Heat honey and coconut oil over low eat -whisk together, pour over dry ingredients and toss until everything is coated. Spread granola onto two large cookie sheets and put into a 250 degree oven for 1 hour - stirring every 10 minutes - until golden. After taking it out of the oven, toss the dried fruit into the granola. (I found if you cook the fruit in the oven it gets TOOoooo chewy and hard.) Cool completely then put into air tight containers. Store at room temperature. That's it. I even got Ripley to eat it! Wow! Think of all of the vitamins I sneaked into him! To try and encourage you to purchase her fabulous book, let me tantalize you with her Otsu recipe. It's the soba noodle dish with tofu, sesame seeds and ginger-sesame dressing that you often see at the Whole Foods deli. Good for you and incredible. Ripley didn't like the look of it at first, but when "encouraged" with the promise of more tofu (yes, picky eater Ripley LOVES tofu. go figure) he tried a bite of the pasta, then asked for more. Hard head.

.

OK, now the yogurt. I got the instructions off a blog I check out from time to time called The Real Food Revolution. Sounds good doesn't it? She has simple instructions and insists that yogurt is just not that hard to make. Hey! I make bread and a great pie, I can handle this! Well, for some reason my yogurt didn't set. I'm trying again. I've had many a bread failures -- I won't give up on yogurt yet! Check out her blog and How to Make Yogurt.

.

The sun dried tomato project. I don't know, but I think in general it's too humid to sun dry tomatoes here in New England. Granted it's been a cooler week in the high 70's -- maybe next week in the 80's would have been better. I read online that it should take 3 days to dry -- bringing them inside at night. (They are set on drying racks, on screens, covered with cheese cloth to prevent bug visitors.) Anyway, some are looking great -- there are a few that have mold. Anyway, I've ordered a food dehumidifier.

I would be taking pictures of all of this, but I left the bloomin' charger at our little beach bungalow. Apologies. Take my word for it, the granola looks fabulous packed away in several large mason jars, and the tomatoes that have dried properly look tasty. (not so much the moldy ones).

Gardening News

As we speak several jars of pureed tomatoes are boiling away in a pan on the stove. At long last tomatoes are ripening at a fast clip! Last week I canned whole Roma tomatoes. This week I did pureed tomatoes and I'm trying to sun dry tomatoes outside -- the old fashioned way. We will see.

Isn't it funny how everything seems to ripen all at once? This is partly to do with the fact that some of the quick and easy plants to grow I struggled with this year. Like beans, squash and cucumbers. Good grief. Of course the peppers, broccoli and tomatoes that I started from seeds did beautifully. Go figure. Anyway, it wasn't until two weeks ago that I picked my first cucumber! I had to replant them once and the green beans two times. Finally they are churning away and I have to harvest beans every few days.

I have also done some plantings for cold friendly veggies such as certain lettuces, beans, peas, carrots and broccoli. My leeks are still churning away and should be ready next month. The cool thing about leeks is that you can "winter-over" them. Mulch them in straw and pull them out with a pitch fork when you are ready for one. I've also ordered garlic -- which you plant in late September (that's when the come from the seed company) and harvest in the early summer. I like the idea because not only do we use a ton of it, but I'm able to utilize garden space in the winter -- harvest it in the early summer, then plant another crop in the empty space. Cool! So, I thought it might be worth giving a try.

Although our little blueberry bushes have been quite productive considering it's their first year, and my strawberry plants have recovered from the attack of Bambi and produced a bunch of daughter plants for next year ... I have had to "pick your own" strawberries and blueberries this year at local farms. I picked large quantities of both and made strawberry jam (two varieties) and blueberry jam. I'll post the recipes I used later.

OK -- time to go and tend to my boys and some errands. Keep well!

News

Summer is winding down, school is gearing up. I've almost finished cleaning the house here in Rehoboth from "stem to stern". Once the kids get into school, I'll start attacking clutter that's accumulated (even though I'm pretty relentless about getting rid of things we don't need or use) AND hard core things like the bottom of your bathroom drawers or the bottom of the kitchen "junk drawer".

Benjamin will be in 4th grade! He can't wait to go. He told me about a month ago that he missed school -- he missed his friends and "all of the subjects".

Ripley is starting a Montessori school this year -- they generally believe in five days a week, so Ripley will be going to preschool five mornings a week. Although am at the point in the summer where I'm starting to fantasize about time to myself and concentrating on one task without interruption -- I think I'm going to have to battle some sadness about the Montessori schedule. It's pretty hard core. Last year, Ripley went 3 mornings a week. The other two weekdays we went to story hour at the library or to a sport activity like swimming lessons or hockey. Now, we will have to fit these things into the afternoons.

Speaking of activities ... Benjamin is going to being joining the swim team at the Y. Swimming is something that he is really good at -- more so than sports like soccer and basketball. I'd checked last year, but gave up when the receptionist "thought" that you had to be in Junior High to join. This year I spoke with the head of aquatics. The minimum age is 6. All set! He is excited and so am I.

Ripley is going to take swimming class in the afternoon one day a week, and parent / child soccer at the Y on Saturday mornings. Ripley has an October birthday so he has had to be patient waiting to be old enough to participate in sports he's been ready for since he was 2! Needless to say, he can't wait.

Poetry by Benjamin

A sample of poetry from Benjamin's 3rd grade folder:

Thank you

Thank you
for all my hands can hold -
sweatshirts colorful,
blue birds blue,
pages of nice new books!

Thank you
for all my eyes can see -
cool movies that are awesome,
lots of science in the world,
hundreds of rockets in the sky!

Thank you
for all my ears can hear -
electronics very loud
fun is loud fun is fun to hear,
compliments so good to hear!

Thank you
for all my mouth can taste -
cheese and crackers so delicious
milk so yummy in my tummy
H2O so good to sip.

Thank you
for all my nose can smell,
leaves on trees so delicious
snow on the ground so good to smell.

My little helper

Ripley helping to plant green beans.

My Victory Garden

Here are some pictures for your viewing enjoyment.

Yesterday as Benjamin and I were weeding, 3 rabbits marched into our garden like they owned the joint. When I tried to "shoo" them away, they just stared at me. "What's your problem? This is our munching ground!" Suddening visions of Mr. McGreggor's garden came to mind. I understand how those bad little rabbits lost their mittens! "And we shall have no pie. And we shall have no pie." Dern right no pie. I sent our dog "Church" after them. Fixed their pointy little ears.

Last week I replanted bush beans where I had the potatoes (Russian Banana potatoes came out the best -- others were a flop). I also planted some cool weather lettuces and more carrots. A friend of mine gave me her old windows from her antique home. After the kids go back to school, I'm going to strip the windows down and make them into cold frames. I'm hoping to follow Elliot Coleman and grow things in the winter time. We will see!

Way to go Tanya!

On Friday night around 8:30pm "Spencer" was born to Tanya (my Sister-in-Law) and my brother Scott in the Alternative Birthing Center here in Rhode Island. He was born at 7 lbs 13 oz with curly dark hair, alert open eyes and a gift for nursing like a champ within minutes of leaving the womb. (No lactation consultant needed) My guess is the darker hair will give way to lighter hair (as happened with Benjamin) since both Scott and Tanya were blonde headed kids ... but who knows? Maybe he wants to be just like his Auntie?! Pictures will follow ... as I'm still dealing with Victor's photocard-less laptop. I promise.

Thoughts, Happenings and one Recipe

Benjamin has just started sailing lessons. We have just finished with day two, and – he hasn’t even officially sailed a boat yet – but so far, so good. He loves it. He has exhausted me of all of the knots I know, mastering all of them. Sailing School is action packed with a lot of “to do’s” and is out doors – this is why I think he is enjoying it so much. But, like I said, we are only on day two. Personally, I’m green with envy. I taught sailing for three summers while I was in college and loved every minute of it. Being outside all day, on the water, sailing boats teaching kids who are having the time of their lives. Fun stuff.
.
Ripley on the other hand is too young for most camps. At the age of three and a half, with an October birthday, he “feels” old enough, but has to wait. However, as of last night, he has “officially” become a swimmer. When it comes to athletics, Ripley will work at something until he gets it – undaunted by failures and setbacks. I wish he had the same drive when learning his numbers and letters … an acquaintance suggested pairing the numbers and letters with sports. I’ve tried a little of that – but generally Ripley looks at me like “Ma, would you just throw the ball?!” as I try to point out the numbers inside the foursquare game.
.
To get exercise in the summertime while the kids are with me 24/7 I get up a couple times a week at 5:30 am to go running. Victor needs to be at work by 7am, so I have a small window to get my run in. The joy of getting up early to exercise during the summer is that it’s light outside. This morning, just before I got going I was even able to see the remnants of a gorgeous sunrise. The real reason I bring up running is because I get to laughing to myself, wondering where Candid Camera is hiding when I go to take off my jog bra. Does anyone else feel like they are wrestling a straight jacket?! Seriously, I can hardly get the thing off. Of course I’m sweaty from my run and everything is sticking to me – which adds to the problem. Asking Victor for help seems just a little too over the top hilarious – so I stand there struggling to get the bloody thing off. Sometimes I seriously think I’m stuck – either that or my arms are going to rip out of their sockets. Am I the only one??
.
When checking up on my garden the other day, I realized that the embarrassing tangle of wild raspberries in our backyard is actually bearing fruit this year. And, lo-and-behold they are black raspberries. We always assumed they were red, but really never got to see any fruit, so we didn’t know for sure. And, they are really sweet! I picked as many as I could without looking as if I’d just wrested a team of four cats – and put them together with the small pile of blueberries that was ripe. With this small batch of homegrown fruit I decided to make a small tart for dessert. It was so quick to make that I whipped it up while putting dinner together. This is how I did it:

.

Summer Fruit Tart
Rinse fruit – put on towel to dry
Mix in small bowl approximately 3 T sugar and 3 T flour (blueberries need quite a bit of flour b/c they make a pie very runny)
Put the fruit in a bowl. Pour one capful of Cointreau over the berries and toss gently.
Pour the sugar / flour mixture over the berries and mix gently.
Make one oil pie crust
Roll out crust to 1/8” thick (in between wax paper) then flip onto cookie sheet covered with tin foil.
Put fruit and any sugar / flour at the bottom of the bowl into the center of the pie crust.
With a knife, lift up sections (one section at a time) of the crust up and over onto the berries working all the way around the circle --- there should be a 3to 4 inch opening on the top where you can see the berries.
Sprinkle top of tart and fruit showing through the top with a little more sugar.
Bake at 400 degrees for 30-35 minutes.
You can use this recipe for any type of fruit – just test for doneness by poking fruit with a knife to make sure it is tender.
.
Let me tell you, that tart was yumola. And that the fruit came from our yard – even better.Now I need to research growing wild black raspberries. I think if I trim them back a little – to give more energy to each individual plant – I think they may produce more fruit on a regular (annual) basis.

Garden Update

Here is the status of my Victory Garden. Aphids are rampid. Today I sprayed the garden with a soapy water spray. Hopefully this will make a dent in the infestation. The deer haven't destroyed anything recently (I am afraid to be too positive), however Thumper and the E.B. (Easter Bunny) have moved in. Tonight while eating pizza on our front wrap-around porch Victor noticed a RABBIT (I think it was Thumper) hopping along like he owned the place. The nerve. My carrot and beet tops have obviously been someones lunch and dinner in spite of being totally surrounded by marigolds. More pepper spray and grated Ivory Soap I guess.

.

On a more upbeat note ...

My "Nutri-Bud Broccoli" has performed beautifully. I have always thought that broccoli was tough to grow, but this year it was problem free. I cut off the large center crowns when they were ready and then waited for other smaller shoots to sprout up. I need to replant again as broccoli is content in cooler weather.

.

My potatoes are almost ready. My Father-in-law (who is from Portugal and knows a thing or two about gardening and especially about potatoes) told me that potatoes stay in the ground for 3 months, which basically boils down to waiting until the plants are completely done flowering. Then, the plants should be trimmed down --- wait one week --- then dig them out. While I was trimming the tops off I ran into several potatoes here and there, and they looked beautiful! My red potatoes are the most gorgeous red, and the Russian Banana fingerling potatoes look impressive. Of course I will be worried until I pull them all out of the ground that they are half devoured by some pest or other -- but what I saw today looked encouraging. This is the first time I've tried growing potatoes. It seems miraculous to me. Better than unwrapping a gift at Christmastime. Tomatoes, a vegetable I've grown for years, plod along from seedling to plant to flowers to fruit. But, you see the whole thing as it happens. Potatoes do this amazing thing behind closed doors. Wonderful.

.

My Siberian Kale is flourishing. I've been making braised mixed greens. Stealing a few branches off of my turnips and beets -- mixing them with the kale. Cover the bottom of a pan with olive oil. Throw in 1/2 - 1 teaspoon of salt (depending on how many greens you're cooking), plenty of freshly ground pepper and a bunch of shakes of crushed red pepper (I like them spicy), thinly sliced garlic and if you have it- some sliced onions -- cook until translucent and slightly golden over medium heat. Then put the greens in -- they should be slightly damp from being rinsed which will help to steam them. Put the cover on the pan. Toss the greens around from time to time. Take off heat when the greens are done to your likeness. Eat!

.

A few of the beets that took early in the season were ready for eating. I baked them in the oven the good ole Fannie Farmer way with butter, salt and pepper. They were fabulous.

.

My zucchini and yellow squash are only doing OK. Some of the flowers are just falling off (not pollinated?) I should have planted more. That is one thing I've learned. I feared having too many of one thing and therefore planted conservatively with some things. But, invariably some plants get eaten, stomped on, or just don't take. This is true for my zucchini, eggplants and okra plants. Next year.

.

My tomato plants are big and loaded with fruit -- but green fruit. As my father was lamenting the other day ... here in New England tomatoes are for August and September and that's it. But, the are worth the wait and the short season.

.

I planted loads of peppers. Cayenne, Jalapeno, Thai, Sweet Red Peppers, Orange Peppers ... especially red pepper plants. I've been worried about them because I was pushing the planting season a little, then we had a cold couple of weeks. I read that peppers wont produce fruit if they are "put out in the cold". So far I have flowers and I am starting to see baby peppers peek out. Exciting.

.

Alright, I've gone on long enough. More gardening news later ....

Tut Tuttle Trip

For your viewing enjoyment ... We are back in our wooded, inland home ... closer to "civilization" including access to my computer with photo card access and faster than Victor's laptop. So, for your viewing enjoyment here are some pictures of our trip on Tut Tuttle to Cuttyhunk and Nantucket. Enjoy! (PS: Am I the only one who struggles to format these pages? Suggestions anyone?)

Pretty dern cute.

Aren't they cute? During the summers, when my snowbird parents are "up north", we, along with my brother and his family, go to Mom and Dad's little golfing community on Tuesdays for Family Night. There is always some form of entertainment for the kiddos and a buffet dinner that keeps everyone happy (parents and poor eaters like Ripley included). Before summer struck, Mom cleverly shopped for "matching" clothes for the Grandkids. Here they are in their "yellow attire". From left to right: Ripley, Rosalie, Benjamin and Reese. Coming soon ... Scott and Tanya's number three boy! (due July 29th) Thanks for the good times Grandmama and Gramp!

Summer Fun

Yesterday was the Little Compton Road Race and Church Fair. Ripley and Benjamin ran in fun runs for the kids -- their first ever -- and had a great time. I ran the 4.8 mile run along with our friend Vivian. Vivian is hardcore and finished the race in 36 minutes. I on the other hand was thrilled and feeling great after finishing in 46 minutes. The Church Fair is fabulous with all kinds of game activities for the kids from a climbing wall, to your typical moon bounce, to donut on a string eating contests, to bean bag tosses and fishing for things in a kiddie pool. They had a great grill going with reasonably priced fare, and a "yard sale" (I think they called it a White Elephant sale) to die for. By the time we got to that part the paper back books were on sale for "four for a dollar". I purchased: A Map of the World by Jane Hamilton, The Known World by Edward P. Jones, Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov, Four Great Plays by IBSEN including A Doll's House, The Wild Duck, An Enemy of the People and Ghosts, To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf, the play Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller, Martin Dressler by Steven Millhauser, Empire Falls by Richard Russo, and for the kids Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder, and Bread-and-Butter Journey by Anne Colver. Of those, I've only read Little House on the Prairie.

After the Fair, we made our way to the beach with friends and enjoyed fabulous weather, beautiful water temps, and FUN WAVES. All of us had our turn catching waves on the boogie boards. What a blast! Afterwards we made our way back to the house for a BBQ of chicken, burgers, hot dogs, coleslaw, potato salad, tossed salad and Popsicles. I have to wait to share photos with you until I have access to a computer with a photo card access -- I'm still on Victor's laptop. Stay tuned.

Hello from Nantucket Sound!

We have been blessed to be invited aboard my parent's boat "Tut". Currently we are en route to Nantucket. The weather is beautiful. My boys are sitting beside Gramp "helping" him to navigate, Mom aka Grandmama is reading her latest Diana Gabaldon book The Fiery Cross (which I am working on too incidentally after having just finished The Boelyn Inheritance), Victor is outside soaking in the sun. I'd load a picture for you, but Victor's laptop doesn't seem to have a photocard slot. Odd.

This weekend I am running in the Little Compton Road Race - a whopping 4.7 miles, which for me is all of the challenge I need. I've been running a comfortably paced 5 miles every other day so that I won't be in shock when it comes time for the Road Race. Wish me luck!

Happy Fourth of July!

For the 4th, friends of ours came to visit us at our little seaside getaway. The town is by the sea, our little getaway is a 10 minute walk away. Anyway, the weather looked a little less than promising so we decided to attack a new hobby -- fishing. Earlier in the week, we'd been by the little harbor here and saw a man in (I'm guessing) his 60's who said he was Greek, pulling fish out of the water literally every 3-5 minutes. It was unbelievable. The boys sat on the rocks mesmerized. Last summer we meant to get out and try fishing, but for some reason it never happened. Yesterday seemed like the perfect opportunity. I'd already gone out and purchased cheapo poles that came along with a mini tackle box all for $29.99. Our friends, the Trigos, were much more experienced in the fishing department than us -- which actually isn't saying a whole heck of a lot since we've basically never fished -- but their oldest son, Alex is a very experienced fisherman indeed. They bought the bait, and Alex and his dad, Carl helped us to get everything "assembled". We drove down to the little harbor where there is a breakwater and a lot of fishermen. (Fisherpeople??! Come on.) It truly is unfortunate that no one present had a camera or video camera because it surely was a sight to see Victor and I trying to cast. I officially lost four hooks I think and two weights. We practically emptied the harbor of seaweed -- attached to our hooks. Even non-fishers would have been hysterical laughing at the sight of us. But, don't you know at some point -- miraculously -- I caught a fish. A flounder!! I managed to get it half way up the breakwater (a large rocky barrier) and then proceeded to panic like a 1940's young lady screeching at the sight of a mouse. I didn't know what to do with it! We'd forgotten to bring a net of any kind so here was this flapping flounder halfway up the rocks and me -- squealing. Victor came to my rescue (as if he was qualified). By some stroke of luck, the two of us, sorry fishermen that we were, managed to get this poor fish up. I know this is a fish story and all, but you'll have to trust me when I tell you that it was about a foot long. We put that poor thing in a bucket with salt water and took it home. Carl deserves a metal for somehow managing to "prepare" the flounder with the sad knives he had at his disposal. I made a marinade out of olive oil, salt, pepper, and lots of sliced onions. Victor fried it up on the grill (on tin foil) and wow did that fella taste good. My first salt water catch. My second catch ever. (I'll have to tell you how my father let the spoonbill catfish I'd caught go some other time.)

Bambi Strikes

Yes, now it's Bambi. It looks like two deer attacked my strawberry plants -- eating leaves and stems on my new plants. Thankfully they weren't completely destroyed. With a little nurturing (and no more torture from Bambi and his friend) they will be fine. Close call. It's funny because I was going to write telling of my strawberry plants' success. They are now creating "daughter plants" for next year -- the little shoots they send out to create a new plant. This year I am to remove any blossoms to boost the plant's energy, nurture the daughter plants for next year when I will actually be able to pick strawberries!

Now, about Bambi ...

Well, I was just about to leave the house with Ripley when I went out to harvest some lettuce and snap peas for a salad at "Grandmama and Gramp's" and discovered THE DAMAGE. I knew it was deer that devoured my strawberries because I actually saw numerous hoof prints in the mud and straw!! Panicking, I went to the freezer and pulled out cayenne peppers to make a pepper spray -- simmering in water for 15 -30 minutes. Then I decided we would make a human urine barrier -- diluted with water -- around my garden. When I went to collect ... the urine ... somehow I managed to spill the container all over my bathroom floor!! Good grief. Just where is the Candid Camera guy? Undaunted, I used what remained and created a barrier around my garden. Meanwhile, I went to the stove to get the brewing pepper spray. When pouring the liquid through a funnel into a spray bottle I managed to slosh the boiling hot pepper spray spilling all over the floor and splashing onto my face, neck and chest! I ran to the refrigerator and pulled out sour cream and began smearing it all over my face, neck and chest. What a vision. Ripley was dumb-founded. Just WHAT is Mommy up to?! First she asks me to pee into a container which she then spills all over the floor. Then, she splashes boiling hot water all over the kitchen and herself ... then smears herself with sour cream! What is UP!? Stay tuned to see if my organic, low budget way of detering deer is effective.

On a lighter note, I did sneak a few stalks of Rhubarb from my new plants (you are supposed to wait for a year). I made my mother's Rhubarb Dessert -- but used strawberries left over from strawberry picking instead of raspberries. Really, the "dessert" is a crisp. Yumola! Here is a picture.

.

Monday Evening Harvest - Portuguese Recipe

Siberian Kale Mix, May Queen Lettuce, Arugula, Turnip Greens. Wow! I made a big salad with the lettuce and arugula. The kale went in a Portuguese Caldo Verde (green soup).

.

The turnip greens went into a Portuguese dish that is made with mashed potatoes and garlic. Sounds weird, but it's yummy. Here's what I did:

.

Boil 4-5 potatoes (I just plunked mine in the soup that was cooking already and just fished them out when they were done.) Coat bottom of pan with olive oil. Cook 4-5 minced garlic cloves in the olive oil on medium low. Add a teaspoon of salt. I added a few shakes of red pepper flakes -- but that's not authentic. Chop turnip tops or broccoli rabe (a bitter green) into thin strips - vein stem and all. Braise greens in the olive oil until they are no longer crunchy (I don't mind a little firmness - but generally it's well done). Take the potatoes out of the boiling water (save a ladle or two of the starchy liquid) and smash until smooth with a fork on a plate or wide mouthed bowl. Once the braised greens are tender add the smashed potatoes and stir all together mixing the greens and potatoes together. Put a little of the reserved liquid into the mix so that it's not too dry.

You know you've embraced growing your own vegetables when ...

You know you've embraced growing your own vegetables when you have a nightmare involving a borer pest killing your zucchini and yellow squash plants. This actually happened last night. I've lost it. It's official.

Sunblock STAINS!

OK, for awhile, I thought I was the only one experiencing this phenomenon but I finally looked it up online to see if there are other people who get orange blotchy stains on their clothing as a result of using sunblock. Particularly white and light colored cotton clothing. The orange stains show up in areas where you spray the sunblock, and also smears on your clothing like deodorant can when you put on a shirt -- or foundation. I haven't found anything that takes these stains out to the point where you can wear the clothing. How frustrating!! I have ruined two brand new white shirts! AND NO ONE IS REALLY TALKING ABOUT THIS! I have tried some new elemental sunblocks that I purchased for health reasons (no chemicals) that I think will be ok -- but I don't know for absolute sure yet. Has anyone else experienced this ... and is there anything that takes the stains out?! Over the weekend I discovered: Coppertone STAINS and Neutrogena STAINS. Irritating! (Thanks for listening).

Just what is this stuff doing to my SKIN?

Chicken Enchiladas

I made these enchiladas this weekend for a Mexican potluck dinner. An old friend who'd lived in Texas gave me this recipe, I've made a few additions -- and it's yumola! I'm a bit embarrassed because they aren't what I'd call "authentic", but my Mexican American friend loved them -- so they can't be all bad, right?

These are extremely easy. I made the insides and the outsides the night before, then assembled them before putting them into the oven the next day. The recipe calls for 12 tortillas, but I've never found that this recipe makes enough to fill 12 tortillas -- but I buy the 10" flour tortillas, maybe the recipe is meant for the smaller tortillas? Just an FYI.

Ingredients:

Sauce:

16 oz can tomatoes

2 - 2 oz can green chili peppers

1/3 C tomato paste

1 t ground cilantro

1/8 t salt

1/2 t cayenne pepper

.

Filling:

1 T olive oil

2 medium yellow onions - chopped

1/4 t salt

1 t ground cilantro

1 T flour

1 C sour cream

3 C cooked chopped chicken

12 flour tortillas

.

Topping:

2 C Monterrey jack cheese, or Mexican blend shredded cheese

1 C fresh cilantro chopped

1 fresh jalapeno - sliced

.

Sauce: Blend tomatoes, chili peppers, tomato paste, ground cilantro seed, salt, cayenne pepper in a blender until smooth. Set aside.

.

Filling: Cook onions in oil. Add ground cilantro, salt and chicken. Stir flour into sour cream, then mix into onions and chicken.

.

Roll your enchiladas, lining them up into a oiled long casserole. Pour sauce over the top. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Remove foil and sprinkle with cheese, sliced jalapenos and fresh cilantro. Bake for 5 more minutes - or until cheese is melted.

I serve with sour cream mixed with Mexican chili powder.