Ms. Green Jeans presents

This year we had grand plans for a veggie garden in our small patch of dirt in our small backyard. Sometimes grand plans have to be put on hold, especially when a long, short dog named Tank, needs emergency spinal surgery. If we can't buy tools and yards of lumber, then it is to the pots we go! On Wednesday morning, I stopped by the garden center and picked up a couple of pots and plants! First I spotted the perfect strawberry pot, which I was going to use as an herb garden. Then I found another pot, perfect for a tomato plant.

Yesterday morning, I got outside and potted. I love playing in the dirt. I love the mineral rich smell of the soil. The herbs smell so good and the tomato plants smell like tomato. The sun is shining, the roots are unwinding into new territory, everything is sparkly with water droplets...life is so amazing. From this puttering and potting around, we will have fresh bright edibles to enjoy in our meals and on our table.

Here's the run down of plants.

Herbs: basil, thyme, oregano, chives (onion and garlic), sage, trailing rosemary, and parsley

Veggies: Roma tomato, Golden Pear tomato, jalapeno pepper, banana pepper, and fennel



The jalapeno is already bearing fruit!




The herb pot turned out perfect, except I bought way too many herbs and now I need another herb pot. You really cannot have too many fresh herbs. Plus I ran out of potting soil, so another trip to the garden center has to be made to finish planting.



It's looking mighty green out back.



Fresh tomatoes...Oh I cannot wait. But it will be mid-summer before I get any tomatoes.


Here are my extra herbs & pear tomato plant. I have a pot for the tomatoes. Today I will pick up another pot for the herbs and more potting soil.



After giving everything a good drink of water, this fellow crawls out from under the deck. He sure surprised me. Gorgeous creature.


Maybe a month or more ago my mom gave me a whole bunch of cuttings from her succulents. Last year I had picked up a large bowl with succulents in mind. From her cuttings and a couple of extra plants I picked up I filled the entire bowl.








On the same day as the bowl, I planted a lemon tree. We are going to have so many lemons! Look at the baby lemon. So cute. I talk to the lemon tree most mornings while I stick my big snoot in to smell the blossoms. Yes, it is still blossoming. I better get my lemonade stand ready for business.



This little treasure was found in my Grandma's garage. Not too long ago it was filled with mosquito larvae from the collected rain water. Now it is filled with the leftover succulents from my mom.


An aloe vera breathing new life after being pot bound in a little pot. It has now been divided into two plants. The other two plants, well, I have no idea what they are, but if given the chance they will turn into tree size succulent plants. My neighbor has both on her hillside and they are huge!

Taking my cue from Ellen.

What's happening in your yard?

She's Flies through the Air

With not so much ease.






















Last night my friend, Darcy, and I went to join the circus. Really, we took and aerial fitness and conditioning class at the new Cirque School. We were raring to go. After a warm up of rolling around on one of those giant balls we did a circuit of silks, trapeze, ropes and floor exercises. Boy howdy...this was more of a workout than I anticipated.

It is core intense




















Super core intense...core whore intense (as Darcy called it). You have got to work all those muscles to keep your balance.

It is also Lat- tastic.

















I couldn't resist this image. It's so super hero cartoonish.
The lats are the muscles that pull you up on ropes and the trapeze and they are especially important in keeping your shoulder blades from ripping out of your body.

As Darcy and I were hanging side by side, by our knees, on the trapeze, the instructor asked us if we had done this before. We both exclaimed, not since monkeybars on the playground. Let me tell you, hanging as a full fledged adult rather than a 60-pound ten year old is a helluva lot of more pressure on the backs of the knees. I've got the bruises to prove it. It was much easier as a kid, but we did all right and even got to do a trick on the trapeze, which did not feel graceful nor did it probably look very graceful. Also, following directions with your ass over your head while hanging from a bar is more difficult than you would think.

The silks were fun and intimidating. Darcy was really able to pull herself up. It's all in the legs. We even did some kind of fetal wrap and hung parallel to the floor until gravity gently lowered us down.

In the end, we were sweating, our hands red and sore, a little ache in the wrists, muscles exhausted all over the body, and the backs of our knees bright pink. So what did we do...we signed up for more. It was so much fun.

Afterward, with hearty appetites, we chowed down Thai food and talked about how sore we would be tomorrow. But today, I am not as sore as I thought I would be. Lots of muscle fatigue but not too sore. I'll let you know how it goes next week and maybe try and get a picture or two.

My Giant Dusty Muffin

Well, I hope everyone got a chance to see Betty White host SNL this past weekend because she was a HOOT!

This of course brings me to a new recipe I tried this past week. Last week I attended my first meeting of the Los Angeles Modern Quilt Guild. For the meeting I baked up Apple Zucchini Muffins. These muffins are on the healthy side, with no butter or oil used in the recipe. They get their moistness from the yogurt, apple, and zucchini.

Apple Zucchini Muffin
from Moosewood Restaurant New Classics

yields 12 muffins
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Baking Time: 25 to 30 minutes

1 1/2 cups unbleached white flour
1/2 cup oat bran (substituted regular oatmeal for my muffins)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
3/4 cup plain nonfat yogurt
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup grated zucchini
1 cup peeled, cored, and chopped apples

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place a paper liner in each cup of muffin tin.

In a bowl, whisk together flour, oat bran, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Stir to mix evenly.

In a separate bowl, beat the eggs until pale yellow. Add the yogurt, brown sugar, and vanilla and beat until thoroughly mixed. With a spatula, fold in the zucchini and apples. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until just blended.

Spoon about 1/3 cup of batter into each muffin cup. Bake for 15 minutes, rotate the muffin tin in the oven to ensure even baking, and continue to bake for another 10 to 15 minutes. When a paring knife inserted into a muffin comes out clean, the muffins are done.

Remove the muffins from the tin and place on a wire rack. Serve hot, warm, or at room temperature. Cool completely before storing in a sealed container.


Here's a sweet muffin shot

Take a Picture

This past week, I had the good fortune to take a Photography Workshop with Gale Zucker. Gale is a super fab photographer who shot the photos in Shear Spirit. Shear Spirit is a great book that makes you want to chuck it all in and have an alpaca farm in some deeply green and hilly place and dye your handspun fibers in an antique bathtub, but I digress. Ellen, Ana, and I drove up to Santa Barbara for the day to the Loop & Leaf for the workshop on how to better photograph our fiber and knitwear.

This is my Crochet Scarf made from I Love This Wool yarn from the Hobby Lobby courtesy Miss Carla and the pattern is pure Ellen Bloom based on the building block of fashion...the granny square. Carla made the same scarf in a different colorway and I just had to do one too.



























































































The workshop was amazing. Gale is just as fantastic a teacher as she is a photographer and gave us great information, tips, and tricks. Everyone seemed to be having a blast taking photos. I know I enjoyed every moment of the day.

The photos following are
Clapotis on a tree
Madeline Tosh yarn tone on tone
Loop and Leaf...a beautiful yarn store filled with lusciousness and friendly people.

Pringle of Scotland Animation by David Shrigley - Life Behind The Scenes

This morning I was checking out a (new to me) knitter's blog, Eskimimi Knits and found this delightful animated short on Pringle of Scotland.


Pringle of Scotland Animation by David Shrigley - Life Behind The Scenes



Funny, right?

One of the reasons I found it interesting is that we are going to Scotland in July for the British Open, which it is only called outside of the US. There it is known as The Open. I'll be attending one day of The Open because I am a good wifey. The rest of the time I will be exploring the Kingdom of Fife in search of all things woolly while the hubby plays golf and drinks Scotch. I wonder how much yarn can fit in his golf bag to bring home? Hmmmm, some testing may be in order. With the extra padding for the clubs I am sure he won't mind one bit if they are encased in skeins of wool. Yes, the wheels are churning and I am dreaming of chasing down sheep through the heather.

Spot of Sunshine

Here is Tank enjoying some morning sunshine. She is doing very well. Slippery surfaces are a challenge, like linoleum and wooden floors. When she drinks from the water bowl (which is on linoleum) she moon walks backward to the safety of the carpet. It's really damned cute. Right now she is barking at me because the sun has moved on and she knocked her pal Ducky off her snoozer lounger. Both were gifts that really helped with her recovery. She is loved.

I hope you all find a moment today to soak up a little sunshine.


-- Post From My iPhone

Strawberries

The beginning of strawberry season is here in California. Last night we had a friend over for dinner. For dessert I wanted to make something with strawberries. Something kind of light and bright after having a ricotta & Swiss chard tart, grilled rib eye and asparagus on arugula with shaved Parmesan.

Now what should I call this...Strawberry Shortcake with Brown Sugar Biscuits and Lemon Curd.
So I whipped up some Brown Sugar Biscuits that I found on Epicurious. The original recipe made 8 servings but I cut it in half. Even after cutting the recipe in half I got 6 biscuits.

Brown Sugar Biscuits

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/3 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch cubes, chilled
1/2 cup whipping cream, plus additional for brushing biscuits
1 tablespoon turbinado sugar

Combine flour, brown sugar, baking powder, and salt in large bowl; whisk to blend. Add butter. Using fingertips, rub in until coarse meal forms. Gradually add 1/2 cup cream, tossing until moist clumps form. Gather dough into ball; shape into 4 1/2-inch round on parchment or foil. Chill 15 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Cut dough into four 3-inch rounds, gathering scraps and reshaping as needed. Place rounds on prepared sheet, spacing 2 inches apart. Brush tops with cream and sprinkle with raw sugar. Bake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Cool completely. (Can be made 2 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature. If desired, rewarm in 350°F oven 5 minutes before using.)

Strawberries

1 container of strawberries, hulled and quartered
a sprinkle of sugar
lemon zest of whole or half a lemon
The juice of half a lemon

Mix all in a bowl and wait for biscuits.

Lemon Curd
Bought it. I would love to tell you that I made my own lemon curd, but I did not. Fresh lemon curd is a lovely thing indeed. I have made it in the past, but it was not in the cards yesterday. The other thing that made this dessert come together was Creme Fraiche.

Assembly of dessert
Cut a biscuit in half and spread a dollop of lemon curd onto bottom half of biscuit. Spoon strawberries on top. Add a dollop of creme fraiche and crown all this goodness with the top half of the biscuit. Serve extra strawberries on the side. Just in case everyone needs more and they will.

The biscuits are buttery and slightly sweet from the brown sugar. The lemon curd adds sweetness and a burst of flavor. The fresh strawberries love them some lemon curd and they both play nicely together. The creme fraiche adds a tang that counter balances the sweetness of the whole dessert. This dessert was a success in my mind. I love the biscuit as opposed to short cake or angel food cake. The biscuit is not as sweet and lets the fruit bring the sweetness. Serve this at a brunch because this would be fabulous with a mimosa.

I know, I know...no pictures. All I can offer is that my computer is media challenged at this time. There is no joy in my technology. The Mac, Ipod, and Iphone are not speaking to each other right now. This means I have to make an appointment with the MacIdiots at the Apple store. Have you ever dealt with these so called geniuses? Phooey...I haven't met a genius yet and after every visit the problem gets worse. The frustration is too much, but I am going to have to make an appointment. Pure dread, but it has to be done. This poor blog has been languishing the past few months because of it. Of course there is part of me that believes that Apple just wants you to buy a bigger, stronger, faster computer when your hard drive fills up. It's an evil plot I say! That's my rant for the day. Now I am going to enjoy a little reprise of last night's dessert. That will make the day right for sure. Now if I only had Orange Juice I would make me a mimosa too. Yeah Monday morning take that!

Two Rascals

These two scamps got their picture taken in the post office before being put in a box bound for my two favorite babies in Texas.














Yes, the Easter basket is arriving a little bit late. Luckily, Cookie and Kiss don't really know Easter from any other day of the week and I am taking advantage of that fact. They are growing up so fast, it won't be long before I have to get my act together and mail in a timely fashion. The word on the street is they are still coming off a major sugar high incurred last Sunday when they gorged on all the yumyums found in the Easter egg hunt.



















These two are super sweet and without the sugar crash. I hope they like them.

You can find the pattern for these cuties here and here (on Rav). They are called Bunny Nuggets. Adorable!

Happy Easter

I know it is soooo wrong.

Here is something a little more tasteful.






















What am I saying....it's all tasty.

Enjoy the day!

How to boil an egg

The Easter Egg is a symbol of spring's renewal and the resurrection, if you lean that way. Tomorrow is Easter and therefore eggs have been boiled and dyed in preparation for the hunt. Charissa called me this week to ask me how I boil my eggs.

This is how I boil my eggs (this information was given to me by my Aunt Mary Lynne who makes a mean deviled egg).

Boiled eggs
Put eggs in cold water.
Bring to boil.
Boil for 6 minutes.
Turn off heat and let sit in water for six minutes.

According to Cook's Illustrated for Fool Proof Boiled Eggs
Makes 6 eggs. Published March 1, 1999.

You may double or triple this recipe as long as you use a pot large enough to hold the eggs in a single layer, covered by an inch of water.

Ingredients

6	large eggs

Instructions

1. Place eggs in medium saucepan, cover with 1 inch of water, and bring to boil over high heat. Remove pan from heat, cover, and let sit for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, fill a medium bowl with 1 quart water and 1 tray of ice cubes (or equivalent). Transfer eggs to ice water bath with slotted spoon; let sit 5 minutes. Peel and use as desired.

Of course, I have to ask - How do you boil your eggs and who taught you to boil an egg?

Beware of cats!

Never leave your knitting unattended.









It's the perfect place for a cat nap. But if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. Heehee.

-- Post From My iPhone

2 + 2 = FUN

Today is Cookie & Kiss' Birthday and they have come to town to celebrate! The request for dinner was Uncle Joe's pizza. Pizza is Kiss' favorite food and Uncle Joe was happy to oblige the birthday girl.



















She is all smiles while eating her pizza. Lovin' it!








































For dessert, chocolate cup cakes with marshmallow icing






































Cookie wasn't so sure about the marshmallow icing, but loved the cake. Kiss was another story. She loved everything about these cupcakes, especially the icing.
























































Best cupcakes ever!



















The Chocolate Cupcake recipe comes from A Homemade Life by Molly Wizenberg. The cake was moist, tender, and delicious. Molly makes a chocolate glaze for her cupcakes, but I wanted to please a younger palate. Recently, I was cleaning out the cookbook shelf and came across a recipe I had clipped from Food & Wine, September 2003 for Marshmallow Icing. As soon as I saw it I knew this was the topping for the babies' birthday cake.


Chocolate Cupcakes
makes 12 cupcakes

1 ounce semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
1/2 cup hot brewed coffee
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 cup well stirred plain whole-milk yogurt (not low fat or nonfat)
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Line the wells of a standard-sized muffin tin with paper liners.

Put the semisweet chocolate in a medium bowl with the hot coffee. Let stand, stirring occasionally, until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth and opaque.

In another medium bowl, whisk together the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

In the bowl of a stand mixer beat the egg on medium speed until it is pale yellow, about 1 minute. Add the oil, yogurt, and vanilla, beating well. Gradually pour in the melted chocolate mixture, and beat to thoroughly combine. Add the dry ingredients all at once, and beat on low speed until the batter is just combined. With spatula, scrape down the sides of the bowl and briefly stir to make sure that all the dry ingredients are absorbed.

Spoon the batter into the wells of the muffin tin, making sure that it is evenly distributed. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of one of the cupcakes comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a wire rack, and cool for 20 minutes. And then very carefully remove the cupcakes and allow to cool completely before icing.


Marshmallow Icing

5 large egg whites
1 2/3 cups sugar
2 tablespoons cold water
1 1/2 cup light corn syrup
Pinch of cream tartar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Bring 1-inch of water to boil in a wide saucepan. In a large stainless steel bowl, whisk the egg whites with the sugar, water, and corn syrup until blended. Set the bowl over the saucepan and whisk the whites until the sugar is completely melted, 4 to 5 minutes. Rub some of the mixture between your fingers to be sure it's not gritty.

Remove the bowl from the saucepan and add the cream of tartar to the whites. Using a stand mixer, beat the egg whites at medium speed for 1 minute to break them up. Gradually increase the speed to high and beat until until the icing is fluffy, firm, and no longer warm to the touch, about 1 minutes. Beat in the vanilla. Use right away.

Makes 6 1/2 cups of icing.

This last little note about the amount. Guess what? I didn't really see it until I was typing up the recipe. Of course, an abundance of icing was made. Way too much icing for a 12 cupcakes. I could have iced at least 3 dozen cupcakes, maybe 4. The icing is deliciously sweet. Cookie didn't really like the stickiness, but I got a big ole seal of approval from Kiss, as the pictures attest. Totally worth every sticky, sweet moment of pleasure. BTW, there were no complaints from the adults either. A crowd pleaser all the way around.

Soul Consoling Tower

Monument in Manzanar Cemetary.

On the road home from Mammoth we stopped at Manzanar. We thought it important to share with our nephew, as it is part of our family history. My father was born in an interment camp in Arizona and visiting Manzanar touches a place deep in my soul that aches at the injustice perpetuated on the Japanese and my family.

From an editorial in the LA Times, July 10, 1998

"The nation has recognized that the forced relocation of the internees was a colossal blunder, the result of panic, fear and blantant prejudice. It's too easy to say, as many do, 'It can't happen again.' Manzanar should stand as a solemn reminder that liberty always is a precious and vulnerable thing."
- Keeping Manzanar's Message

At dinner my nephew asked why they don't teach important stuff like this in history class. We really didn't have a good answer to this question. All I can say now, is if you are on the road it is worth the stop to learn about and embrace a moment in our own country's history and the treatment of it's own citizens. It is worth it even though it makes me weep every time.


-- Post From My iPh

Keep your tips up

The family is hanging out in Mammoth. Just Stopped for lunch after a morning of skiing. We have worked up a powerful hunger. It's snowing and the wind is blowing on the top of the mtn. Awesome.

Tank is doing well. She is trying to walk. It's scary & exhilarating at the same time. Kind of like skiing.








-- Post From My iPhone

Good Wishes

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOM!














This picture is of my Mom and my Aunt.
















I absolutely love this picture. My mom has such a playful and joyous spirit. These are two of her best qualities. She's always a HOOT!

I love you, Mom!
Enjoy your weekend celebrations.

Life has gone to the dogs

Did anyone notice the full moon this past weekend? We did at our house. We called it bad moon arisin'.

Let me tell you why...

The short story...the hubby punched a pit bull & saved a woman.

The long story...We went to LACMA to kill some time and on the way back to our parked car we heard screaming. From across the street we could see legs and a dog in the bushes across the street. Both Joe and I ran across the street. I started calling 911, while the hubby grabbed the pit bull off of the woman. When the pit bull came back for more, he kicked it. That got the pit bull's attention and it came for him and he punched it in the face and got bit in the process. After that, the owner of the pit bull was able to take hold of her dog.

What happened was that the pit bull attacked the other woman's dog. That woman protected her dog and got attacked in the process. The woman had bites to both forearms and if the hub's hadn't pulled the dog off her it probably would have been worse because she was on the ground. The owner had part of her finger bit off in the fray. It was a messy, bloody, and scary scene.

The fire department and police showed up and started patching up Joe and the woman that was attacked. She was taken away in an ambulance. During that time, the owner and the pit bull were given a wide berth while everyone was patched up. After everyone was taken care of, the firemen threw the owner a lasso to put on her dog, which had gotten out of collar and leash during the fracas. Then a policeman aimed a shotgun at the dog while the owner let it go and they got the dog into the back of the squad car. The EMT's were then able to take care of the owner.

This was the point that we left for the doctor's office. Luckily, our physician was in his office and gave the hubby a tetanus shot, antibiotics, a better patch up, and a referral to the plastic surgeon for stitches. Joe got a couple of stitches in two places and is going to live to punch another dog.

And when the full moon came out later that night...he did not transform.

I am really proud of him for helping a stranger, especially when such a formidable animal was involved. He's my very own Hasselhoff.




































Nice picture...right?! Needs a bikini wax from where I'm standing.

More about dogs...

On Sunday, Tank went to get a recheck and got her stitches out. She is definitely doing better. The bowels are finally moving. No need for more details about that, but all you mama's know what I am talking about. Poop becomes way too interesting. She is trying to stand, but her front left leg is very limp and so she falls over. That leg is going to be the slowest to recover. Hopefully the right front leg will become strong enough and she can start walking on three legs. We went to the doctor's today because her appetite and thirst were really low. Now she is eating some anorexic dog food. Seriously, dog food for dogs with eating disorders. She loves it. I am glad she is eating something. When you can't even entice a dog to eat a hot dog or Pirate's booty you know you got some trouble.

This has been an really exhausting period of recovery. Not much sleep at night. Loads of worry. Constant monitoring. Big LOVE to all the mama's out there. Really... BIG love to you!