Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Sniffles
I have a serious case of the sniffles. Despite the fact that the birch tree pollen I found out recently I am allergic to is not supposed to be a problem anymore by June, I have been sneezing all day. I've read a fair few accounts of the flu symptoms though, including people who have had swine flu recently and sniffles isn't anywhere high up on any of the lists so I'm not really worried about that. I do think I've got a cold though as my head is starting to feel stuffed up - happens in summer sometimes and I've been so hot the last few days, every time I move for more than a few minutes I start sweating buckets and then I have to stop and cool down and I think it's just my body adjusting to it. Of course I'm going to knock everything out of whack by going home to Ireland for two weeks at the end of next week. Although they have been having warm weather as well. Not the 30 degrees it is here today (that's 86 fahrenheit I think) but still into the 20s. I have sooo much work to get done before I leave though that I really don't want to be feeling under par for the next few days.n Heading to bed now with a spoonful of Night Nurse which can usually knock me out fairly soundly and hopefully a good sleep with cure more than any medicine could.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Beans and things
Was very brave today and tried cooking with chickpeas for the first time thanks to a recipe I saw on this blog which I had almost everything on hand for. So easy I can't believe how often I have intended to do chickpeas and have chickened out. I can see them playing a much bigger part in my future eating. Especially since the heat here is making me wilt - anything that adds more options to cold eating for me is a good thing. It's not outrageously warm really but compared to how Ireland normally is, it is sweltering and I reckon it'll take a good few years for me to get used to it. Must have been about 30 degrees yesterday and it was due to be 27 today but it is really humid with it. We had massive thunder storms yesterday afternoon and loads of rain but within an hour you could barely tell it had rained.
Today I feel like I have spent most of the day in the kitchen but I'm doing something for half an hour then need to sit down and rest while I cool down before going for it again. Can't believe it's almost nine o'clock. The tomatoes have finally arrived back at the farmers' market and I was going to attempt my first water bath canning and make some ketchup. But I haven't gotten to it so am going to wait till tomorrow after work.
What I have done:
Cooked chickpeas which I had soaked since yesterday, chopped up tomatoes, feta cheese and combined with the dressing of lemon juice, mustard, olive oil, black pepper and garlic.
Cleaned and de-stalked blueberries, redcurrants, blackcurrants and strawberries. Ate a fair few of the strawberries and made the rest into a rough purree to have with yoghurt for breakfast or desserts this week. The blueberries, redcurrants and blackcurrants are in the dehydrator - it will be interesting to see how they turn out.
Did what seemed like neverending amounts of washing up.
Used gooseberries to make pectin stock. I want to try and make more jam next weekend without having to use jam sugar.
Cooked broccoli and cauliflower to make a bake but couldn't face turning the oven on so that will be tomorrow's dinner. Also cooked some turkey pieces to add to it - will have some of those now with bread as my supper and leave the rest to add to the bake tomorrow.
Podded, blanched and froze a kilo of broad beans (350g podded weight).
Drank lots and lots of water. And watered some plants I just haven't bothered to for a couple of weeks.
Hung up the load of washing I did this morning. Naughty me doing washing on a Sunday again but the heat had me so exhausted yesterday I forgot about laundry until it was almost eight o'clock.
In other news I am working my way through visits to doctors. My bloods are all fine, even, surprise, surprise, my cholesterol (my diet isn't as bad here as it was the last few months in Ireland but I haven't exactly been making a big effort to cook and eat healthily). The colonoscopy was clear of any problems and I just have to go back in ten years for another and in the meantime try to get a hold of my mother's medical records so we know once and for all exactly what type of cancer she had. German doctors are very interested in prevention being the best cure. I did find out that I'm allergic to birch tree pollen so that's interesting. Appointment with the orthopaedic doctor tomorrow about my feet and that should be everything.
And finally I am getting places on my patchwork blanket. I knew when knitting it that I should have been taking care of the end bits as I went along but I didn't so now I just have hundreds of squares that need to be finished before being sewn together. I'm not quite halfway through but it is getting there and going fairly quickly now. Finishing things off is probably one of the most important aspects of most crafts and it's the one I'm least proficient at and could do with working on.
Oh, and I did an online IQ test yesterday and apparently have an IQ of 131, which according to one page I found (obviously I am going to take the one with the most favourable explanation :-) ) means that I just make it out of the highly intelligent category and into gifted. Since I got a good result I think I am going to stop being so dismissive of IQ ratings as a method of rating intelligence!
Edited to add: while I was destalking the currants earlier I thought to myself they might not be all that suitable for drying as they are so small and so juicy - what's going to be left. They've been in the dehydrator for six hours now and, given their small size, I would have expected them to be shrivelled up to nothing but they're not. Really not sure they're going to work out but even if they don't it will have been worth the experiment.
Today I feel like I have spent most of the day in the kitchen but I'm doing something for half an hour then need to sit down and rest while I cool down before going for it again. Can't believe it's almost nine o'clock. The tomatoes have finally arrived back at the farmers' market and I was going to attempt my first water bath canning and make some ketchup. But I haven't gotten to it so am going to wait till tomorrow after work.
What I have done:
Cooked chickpeas which I had soaked since yesterday, chopped up tomatoes, feta cheese and combined with the dressing of lemon juice, mustard, olive oil, black pepper and garlic.
Cleaned and de-stalked blueberries, redcurrants, blackcurrants and strawberries. Ate a fair few of the strawberries and made the rest into a rough purree to have with yoghurt for breakfast or desserts this week. The blueberries, redcurrants and blackcurrants are in the dehydrator - it will be interesting to see how they turn out.
Did what seemed like neverending amounts of washing up.
Used gooseberries to make pectin stock. I want to try and make more jam next weekend without having to use jam sugar.
Cooked broccoli and cauliflower to make a bake but couldn't face turning the oven on so that will be tomorrow's dinner. Also cooked some turkey pieces to add to it - will have some of those now with bread as my supper and leave the rest to add to the bake tomorrow.
Podded, blanched and froze a kilo of broad beans (350g podded weight).
Drank lots and lots of water. And watered some plants I just haven't bothered to for a couple of weeks.
Hung up the load of washing I did this morning. Naughty me doing washing on a Sunday again but the heat had me so exhausted yesterday I forgot about laundry until it was almost eight o'clock.
In other news I am working my way through visits to doctors. My bloods are all fine, even, surprise, surprise, my cholesterol (my diet isn't as bad here as it was the last few months in Ireland but I haven't exactly been making a big effort to cook and eat healthily). The colonoscopy was clear of any problems and I just have to go back in ten years for another and in the meantime try to get a hold of my mother's medical records so we know once and for all exactly what type of cancer she had. German doctors are very interested in prevention being the best cure. I did find out that I'm allergic to birch tree pollen so that's interesting. Appointment with the orthopaedic doctor tomorrow about my feet and that should be everything.
And finally I am getting places on my patchwork blanket. I knew when knitting it that I should have been taking care of the end bits as I went along but I didn't so now I just have hundreds of squares that need to be finished before being sewn together. I'm not quite halfway through but it is getting there and going fairly quickly now. Finishing things off is probably one of the most important aspects of most crafts and it's the one I'm least proficient at and could do with working on.
Oh, and I did an online IQ test yesterday and apparently have an IQ of 131, which according to one page I found (obviously I am going to take the one with the most favourable explanation :-) ) means that I just make it out of the highly intelligent category and into gifted. Since I got a good result I think I am going to stop being so dismissive of IQ ratings as a method of rating intelligence!
Edited to add: while I was destalking the currants earlier I thought to myself they might not be all that suitable for drying as they are so small and so juicy - what's going to be left. They've been in the dehydrator for six hours now and, given their small size, I would have expected them to be shrivelled up to nothing but they're not. Really not sure they're going to work out but even if they don't it will have been worth the experiment.
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Monday, May 18, 2009
Mould on soil around tomatoes
Since I potted on the tomatoes there hasn't really been any growth (8 days ago) but I assumed they would just be recovering from the transplant shock and that roots would be growing. I used a mixture of a tomato compost and soil. Today I came home to find a large amount of mould growing on the soil of two of the plants. Any ideas?
Not great pictures but I don't seem to be able to get any decent ones any more.
I didn't have anything to use as proper drainage so I scrunched up some newspaper and put it in the bottom of each pot. If anything I was worried this would mean I'd need to be extra careful to water enough as the paper would draw water out of the soil (which is what drainage is supposed to help with I suppose). Am hoping it might just be these two but if it's some horrible disease then presumably everything else will probably have or get it.
Not great pictures but I don't seem to be able to get any decent ones any more.
I didn't have anything to use as proper drainage so I scrunched up some newspaper and put it in the bottom of each pot. If anything I was worried this would mean I'd need to be extra careful to water enough as the paper would draw water out of the soil (which is what drainage is supposed to help with I suppose). Am hoping it might just be these two but if it's some horrible disease then presumably everything else will probably have or get it.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Ta-da!
There's definitely going to be a learning curve with this whole drying malarkey. Need to cut smaller bits next time (was trying not to cut too small in case the bits shrivelled up to nothing). And should just switch it on a bit later and leave it running overnight rather than getting up in the middle of the night to check it a couple of times. Switched it off around half-five because I really needed a full two hours sleep before getting up for work and didn't thnk it needed that much more time. But it did need a bit more. So, although some bits are a bit squishy rather than dried I'm happy with the results. I didn't actually try any until I got home from work this evening but the strawberry bits taste just like jam. Fabulous.
I just popped the finished product into a couple of glass jars and have them in the fridge. Will need to use them fairly quickly I think as they aren't all fully dried. Mind you, I don't think the strawberries would last long anyway.
650g of strawberries gave me 100g dried
425g onions gave me 50g dried
I just popped the finished product into a couple of glass jars and have them in the fridge. Will need to use them fairly quickly I think as they aren't all fully dried. Mind you, I don't think the strawberries would last long anyway.
650g of strawberries gave me 100g dried
425g onions gave me 50g dried
Monday, May 11, 2009
New adventure
About an hour ago I switched on the dehydrator in my first attempt at drying food. Got a kilo of strawberries at the weekend but somehow only 650g have made it into the dehydrator. That's two trays full.
Since I had another three trays I thought I'd throw in a few onions as well. Not sure if the flavours will mix during the process or not but have put the strawberries on top in case of any dripping (thought strawberry flavoured onions sounded better than onion flavoured strawberries) and as the motor of the dehydrator is also on the top. Then again, heat rises of maybe if heat builds up the flavour from the onions will be wafting upwards. Time will tell. Googling it would probably also tell but where's the fun in that.
Yesterday I finally potted on some tomato seedlings which I really probably should have done about two weeks ago. Still have some left to do but will get to them tomorrow hopefully. The ones I did weren't root bound so I'm hoping my neglect has just slowed growth rather than complete buggering them up. I'm so late with them I even bought one already well progressed tomato plant a couple of weeks ago but then I also left that one sitting in its much too small pot. It was very root bound so we'll see if it recovers. I bought a sage plant at the same time which I also moved into a bigger pot yesterday, discovering along the way that it was actually two plants in one pot. I hate it when supermarkets to that but there's really no reason for a garden centre type place to do so.
Following a tip from Potio Appotment I have planted the seedlings nearly up to the first leaves. It should encourage more lateral root growth contributing to a more sturdy plant.
I have three bay plants growing in one big pot that also need to be potted on. They were from a supermarket plant which I got about four years ago. I painstakingly separated out each of the seven plants which were squished into the teeny tiny pot and planted them out into bigger pots. Then nothing happened. The a whole lot more nothing but they also didn't seem to be dead. Finally, two summers later, just as I was about to dump them onto the compost, one or two of them got a couple of new leaves. So I left them be and last year there were another few new leaves. They survived the move to Germany (well, I brought one pot that had three of them in it) and this year seem to be really loving the sunny windowsill in my kitchen - the biggest one has grown at least three new sets of huge leaves. My brother reports that the others which I left with him are also doing well.
And I've learned that contrary to some people's experiences, it is really, really easy to kile aloe vera plants. The plant I bought last summer seemed to be thriving and was overflowing from the pot it was in so I bought some soil that was supposed to be suitable for cactii and aloe vera and put each part into a different pot (as I had been advised to). Almost all of them are dead or dying less than four weeks later. Will have to learn a bit more about aloe vera before replacing with a new plant I think.
And here's what was for dinner this evening - summer is definitely here foodwise although the organic farmers at the market have yet to show up with any tomatoes.
Salad leaves with some turkey salami, a few bits of bauerkaese (farmers' cheese) and a simple vinaigrette dressing. It looked like so much on the plate but it didn't last long. Who knew when I was growing up that it wasn't actually salad that I hated, just iceberg and butterhead lettuce!
Since I had another three trays I thought I'd throw in a few onions as well. Not sure if the flavours will mix during the process or not but have put the strawberries on top in case of any dripping (thought strawberry flavoured onions sounded better than onion flavoured strawberries) and as the motor of the dehydrator is also on the top. Then again, heat rises of maybe if heat builds up the flavour from the onions will be wafting upwards. Time will tell. Googling it would probably also tell but where's the fun in that.
Yesterday I finally potted on some tomato seedlings which I really probably should have done about two weeks ago. Still have some left to do but will get to them tomorrow hopefully. The ones I did weren't root bound so I'm hoping my neglect has just slowed growth rather than complete buggering them up. I'm so late with them I even bought one already well progressed tomato plant a couple of weeks ago but then I also left that one sitting in its much too small pot. It was very root bound so we'll see if it recovers. I bought a sage plant at the same time which I also moved into a bigger pot yesterday, discovering along the way that it was actually two plants in one pot. I hate it when supermarkets to that but there's really no reason for a garden centre type place to do so.
Following a tip from Potio Appotment I have planted the seedlings nearly up to the first leaves. It should encourage more lateral root growth contributing to a more sturdy plant.
I have three bay plants growing in one big pot that also need to be potted on. They were from a supermarket plant which I got about four years ago. I painstakingly separated out each of the seven plants which were squished into the teeny tiny pot and planted them out into bigger pots. Then nothing happened. The a whole lot more nothing but they also didn't seem to be dead. Finally, two summers later, just as I was about to dump them onto the compost, one or two of them got a couple of new leaves. So I left them be and last year there were another few new leaves. They survived the move to Germany (well, I brought one pot that had three of them in it) and this year seem to be really loving the sunny windowsill in my kitchen - the biggest one has grown at least three new sets of huge leaves. My brother reports that the others which I left with him are also doing well.
And I've learned that contrary to some people's experiences, it is really, really easy to kile aloe vera plants. The plant I bought last summer seemed to be thriving and was overflowing from the pot it was in so I bought some soil that was supposed to be suitable for cactii and aloe vera and put each part into a different pot (as I had been advised to). Almost all of them are dead or dying less than four weeks later. Will have to learn a bit more about aloe vera before replacing with a new plant I think.
And here's what was for dinner this evening - summer is definitely here foodwise although the organic farmers at the market have yet to show up with any tomatoes.
Salad leaves with some turkey salami, a few bits of bauerkaese (farmers' cheese) and a simple vinaigrette dressing. It looked like so much on the plate but it didn't last long. Who knew when I was growing up that it wasn't actually salad that I hated, just iceberg and butterhead lettuce!
Saturday, May 09, 2009
Friendship
From the wonderful Hedgewizard's Diary (don"t know where he got it but it did make me laugh out loud so I thought I'd share)
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