Food Waste Friday

The good: Used up slightly expired eggs, and two oldish russet potatoes for a tortilla (Yum!). Saved Bananas by making freezer banana ice cream ( Yogurt is a big fan) used most of our leftovers, including take out food.

The bad: Plums, pizza stopped liking them, and I got caught with about five on hand, and as I don't like them that much I tossed them. any suggestions for what to do with ripe plums other than eat out of hand? okra from our CSA. I'm the only one who eats the stuff, and I can only stomach so much.

there is also the steak I had to throw out, after accidentally leaving it out, do to the chaos in my kitchen sometimes when I cook. not good, but I won't chance using it.

I noticed last week I was throwing out a lot of half used baby food containers. I took this as a sign the Yogurt may be quickly growing out of eating this stuff. (he is 10 months) The reason for using the baby food was having lots of trouble managing feeding the three of us non babies. I simple didn't have the energy to make my own. but Yogurt is doing great eating door directly off our table. I've kind of decided he will be better served getting our food with its seasonings and salt, then me not feeding him table food because I am not able to prepare him his own thing. Perhpas not the optimal thing, but when is it ever optimal? does that make sense? anyway this has meant much less baby food related waste this week.

Interested

I was able to knit for a full 15 minutes with Yogurt playing at my side. I fill up a bin with his toys and then give it too him. He loves taking things out piece by piece and look at them, then toss them aside.

Then he got interested in what I was doing. A tug of war, albiet a very gentle one, ensued. After wresting the needles away from him, it was agreed that knitting time was over for the day.

The tank is coming along. It appears to fit now, after taking in, a bit aggressively toward the end. I have just divided from the armholes, and am now working back and forth in garter stitch. I'd better figure out what the top is going to look like fast, huh?

In other news, I have an eggplant problem. Pictured is my harvest from last week. Since I'm pretty much the only one who eats eggplant, except maybe Yogurt who will eat it when softened in soup, I decided to make Babe Ganoush (sp?). It is yummy, and insures no eggplant will be left behind. Now what to do with the squash?

Tangled

I am sparing you the gory pics, but I had a problem winding yarn from its skein. I swear there is something wrong with these skeins because I had the same problem when I wound the ball I started my sweater on. It was a mess and instead of taking me an hour or so the wind the ball of yarn (being miserly, I neither own a winder nor a swift, I usually use the back of chair or a square laundry basket), it took days on and off when I could bear giving it a little attention. But it got done, and I knit on. Not sure how this will turn out. Knitting to about 14 inches then switching back to blue, changing to garter stitch and separating back and front for arm holes. It's still a little biggish. This could be a catastrophe in the making.

A Garden Post

Do you remeber when spring was in the air and I had all sorts of crazy ambitions about putting in an in ground vegtable garden?

Well...it kinda didn't happen, yet. It's alot of work having a baby around, and I didn't have the energy. And then there was the trip to Lowes that almost broke my husbands back. And then as the leaves came in on the trees, I realized I didn't have 6 hours of sunlight, but about 5 in the spot I had picked. And I kept looking for the right spot. And well, the box for the raised bed has moved around alot. I think I may have finally settled on a spot. But it being hot, the 7 bags of garden soil are still sitting in the garage, and I think maybe we will do fall garden, or maybe we will set up the soil and let it overwinter and start off fresh next spring?

But I still have the container garden on the balcony to talk about. And it is a jungle up there, right outside my kitchen, where there is plenty of sunshine, and I get to look out on it every day from the kitchen sink.

Let's see. I have two big old tomato plants, loaded with tomatoes. They are just starting to turn, and I am watching them everyday. The tomatoes are big time drinkers. I fill up their resevoir everyday to the brim, and they still sort of wilt midday if it's reall hot. They are completely empty of water every morning.

Then there are the two squash plants. One is a green zuccinni, and one is called golden egg. They are huge and growing out of their container. They got battered pretty good in the storm, but seem to be holding thier own now. I've already harvested off of them, and they seem to be averaging a new good sized fruit per week each. Sometimes its two little ones, but you get the idea.

Also a success are the eggplant, called fairytale hybrid. They have the most delicate little flowers, and they seem to really like the containers. This is a dwarf variety that gives the cutest little tiny purple and white speckled fruit. I 've started harvesting off these too, and they are tasty.

These pictures were taken several weeks ago, and it is amazing to me how quick things change out there when the sun is sunny ( and storms are blowy).

We tried some green beans, but it's awful hard to get a decent harvest in such a small space. I am rethinking this for next year. Same thing for peas. The strawberries and still hanging in there, and I deciding wether to keep them for next year, or plant some herbs in their boxes, or some mixture of both.

The garden is a learning experience. I feel like every year I do this I get a little better at it. It is as with many things important not to take your failures to heart. We will get a small harvest this year, but it will be stuff we like to eat. And next year who knows?

Derecho

We had one crazy weekend. First the inlaws and my niece came for a visit Friday to spend the weekend (this is a rare occurance, they don't travel much). So we had a lovely inside bbq ( way too hot to eat outside, but we did cook outside). Then the storm hit right after everybody went to bed. The power actually went out seconds before the storm hit, but it was one crazy storm ( called a derecho, apparently, happens alot in the midwest). We were lucky. No house damage, but with no power, and not even needing to be told that it was going to take awhile, and the prospect of another day over a hundred degrees, we packed up quickly and got out of dodge.

So instead of spending the weekend with Nana and Pop-pop at our house, we went back to NJ and spent the weekend with them at their house and their communtiy pool, (and don't forget their AC). It was a exhausting weekend for all nonetheless, especially for my husband who logged the driving hours.

I one the otherhand got to log some knitting hours in the car. And this is where I am on my tank:

Not terribly exciting. It is a bit big, but I think it will be alright. It will be low slung, so meant to go over my hips. I am decreasing at "seams" every inch or so. Hopefully the weight of the yarn won't cause it to drap unattractively. And hopefully I have enough yarn for such a big project. We shall see.

Have a Happy Fourth! See you next week, maybe.....