Raising Seedlings in the Cold

 My first reaction upon seeing the above sight, was "Joshua Martin Brueggen, What the f&%k am I going to do with all of these tomatoes!?" (The kids were asleep...) They were three and four tomatoes deep near the middle of the table.  Plus this actual picture is missing the tomatoes I used to make 11 pints of the salsa below! I was overwhelmed, not just whelmed. The idea of processing these tomatoes, and in a timely fashion, made my head spin. I may have the patience of a saint (I am a teacher after all), but I have the attention span of a five year old. The twelve pounds I used to make salsa took me up to 8 hours start to finish to process. I cried and swore I would let these tomatoes rot rather than spend hours over the stove and sink peeling each frickin tomato. Oh and that I would never go hungry again, as I took a juicy bite. Damn Good Salsa Damn Good Salsa Add Mrs. Wages Salsa mix and 1/4 cup vinegar to (6lbs tomatoes, 2lbs onions, cilantro and jalepeno to ...

I know this is the type of post one should write around New Years, but right now sounded good to me as well. Josh recently asked for (asking for it/ challenge for me to find flaws in his man skills) a list of all the things that needed to be done and updated around our "urban homestead" as he likes to call it. Well since he "asked for it" I am going to give it to him with no malice attached :-) I think many of the projects we want accomplished are the same many others want accomplished around their homes as well, so I am not only going to post the list, but show how we accomplished each task as we went, and do them ALL in one year! Challenge Accepted! And it is going to be Legen....wait for it...dary! Here is the list: Install crown molding in living room. Finish shelving units in the living room Install new fireplace mantel Paint fireplace Install shelves in our new pantry, and organize food stuffs Install TV above fireplace and hide wires. Display ...

                           Cinnamon Pumpkin Coffee Cake This week marks my first as a stay at home mom. I must say, I have a new found respect for my own mother, and want to know how in the hell she retained her sanity all these years. While the time with TJ and Jack has been precious, when they were asleep (both at the same time) or were enraptured in some new toy or another, I had no idea what to do with myself. So I tried playing along with the new toys (crayons) but I didn't color in the right spot and we had a serious melt down. So I picked up a book, the booked sucked... (need some reading suggestions...) So I picked up my cross stitch I started with my last pregnancy, and realized it was more boring than staring at the wall, which was what I was doing before, which is also better than what was currently on TV (Elmo's world...) So...

 amount  OK, time for an update.  To the left is a photo of the greenhouse currently.  Due to the warm early weather I did a lot of planting of summer crops early in March.  On account of this we are about 45 days into the growing season.  I have begun constructing raised beds according to the grand plan, and filling them with soil removed from an area of my basement.  Below is a string of close up photos of a few of the crop beds; they are looking pretty good considering without a hoophouse most of these crops would barely even be planted yet.  First Planting of sweet corn, green beans, and sweet potatoes.  The green beans are beginning to bloom, and the corn is about waist high. This bed contains the second planting of green beans, sweet corn, and sweet potatoes which have been planted as sister crops.  Visible in this photo are tomatos, and sweet bell peppers.  Note the heavy bloom set on the tomatos. Thi...

Orange Cranberry Oatmeal Muffins 1 2/3 quick cook oats 1 1/4 flour 3/4 cup brown sugar 2 tsp cinnamon 1 tsp ginger 1 tsp baking powder 1 tsp baking soda Put oats in blender and pulse until a coarse meal. Mix in the other ingredients listed. Make a well in the middle of ingredients In a separate bowl, mix 1 cup buttermilk 1/2 cup orange juice Zest of one orange 1/4 cup vegetable oil 2 eggs Whisk these ingredients together. Pour liquid into the well you created. Mix dry and wet ingredients just until combine. It will look a little thin and lumpy. Mix in dried cranberries. About a cup. Bake at 400 for 16-20 minutes.

“ In that world, you'll be able to rise in the morning with the spirit you had known in your childhood: that spirit of eagerness, adventure and certainty which comes from dealing with a rational universe ”- Ayn Rand This week I was fortunate to be dealing with a rational universe. Everything seemed to be going my way, and thus I believe this may explain my unusually adventurous spirit this week. We had many adventures this week as a family that we do not ordinarily experience. Monday- House Guest (Our good friend John, thus a new recipe I will post later:-)) Tuesday- (Big Day, waiting for weeks for this day) We bought a house at an auction for very little and we are planning on fixing it up and making some money. B & N LLC our first financial adventure as a couple.  Then there was TJ. TJ, our almost 2 year old, just has not been talking like he should for his age. Our pediatrician suggested we get his hearing evaluated due to TJ's many ear infections ov...

So this week I have tried the attack phase of the dukan diet. While effective, it really, really, really sucks. I may have lost weight (7lbs) but this is just as unhealthy as being fat. There is no balance in my diet and no motivation to begin healthier eating habits. So bad news? Dukan your dumped. Good news? Diet! Challenge accepted! Good clean healthy living is what I need to not only lose weight but be a better person. I have done it before. I WILL do it again. This week has shown me I do have the will power to change my life. Dukan was right about at least one thing, the attack phase is meant for more motivation than anything else, and it certainly did show me I can and will lose my spare tire. It just won't happen with a fad diet, but with hard work, like everything else I have that is worth anything to me. And I want to thank my adorable husband for encouraging me with the following and I quote," I kind of like the Kelly that gives a shit about her health, even ...