CSA Today! 5-29-14

 Another CSA delivery today!  I'm still happy with each box, but this week has been distracting. I've been very busy prepping for a trip.

In the box this week:
From the farm - Asparagus (YEAH FINALLY!), TONS of KALE - 3 whole bunches.  And fresh strawberries!!!!!!

From wholesale- apples, pears, strawberries, bell peppers, bananas, tomato.

I am really at a loss as to what to do with all these bell peppers!!!!!  I really need to make a relish tray  or something.

Holy Kale Batman!  I still have kale leftover from last week!  And with me going out of town for the weekend, I won't get to start eating it until Sunday.

Nanananana Nanananana Batman!

The picture to the left is the new kale.  Its in my largest measuring cup with water.

Tip: in case you didn't know. Store kale (and asparagus) in water in the fridge!  That way it lasts longer (as long as the water doesn't dry up!)

There's so much kale in there you can't see my 2 bunches of asparagus.  It looked so wonderful, my son even ate some asparagus raw.

I think I'll need to make some green soup soon!

Mad River Kayaking Review

One of my Memorial Day Weekend activities was kayaking.

I usually go down to Morgan's Canoe in Oregonia (Ft. Ancient).  So as usual, I packed up the car and put my boat on top.  I like to arrive early to miss the large and loud groups.  Alas, when I got there, they were closed.  Or rather the river was closed. Caesar Creek Dam had released some water for safety reasons.  So the river was flooded. :(  I was severely disappointed.

So I headed in the opposite direction up to Springfield.  After some mobile research I found Mad River Adventures.  By sheer luck, a large group was leaving the same time I was. The River Rats, a meetup group, were also doing the 11 mile trip that I signed up for. :)

So not only did I meet a bunch of new, wonderful people (who warmly accepted me as an honorary member of the group that day), but had a blast going down the river!

Mad River Adventures was a nice facility.  It looked like they had plenty of kayaks and canoes.  The river was wonderful.  They are in their 2nd season, so they have plenty of room to grow.  My only criticism, is that it would have been nice of their staff to help us get the boats off the water.  When you have a group of 20 showing up at an embankment to get out of the water, the faster you get your boat out of the way the easier it is for everyone else to get out. There were also other boats left there from previous trips, thus blocking spots where we could pull in our kayaks.

I'm sure as the seasons go on, they'll get more staff and be able accommodate more customer's needs.

Here are some further pics....

 

The Ohio River Rats, having a food break :)

 At one point I broke from the group to go up a tributary.  It was a fun upstream paddle for about 1/4 of a mile....

Along the way I saw some baby ducks, and this lovely bird. Great Blue Heron.

I might add that these pictures were taken with a non-waterproof camera!  It was a difficult task taking pictures while floating down a river.
Especially when the targets were moving too....

Most of the river was a gentle float.  A nice pace where I didn't have to work too hard to get where I was going.  But there were a couple small rapids that were fun.  Nothing large, easy for a newbie to negotiate.

I was surprised to find the river was quite deep in some areas.  Usually when I float down the Little Miami, the average depth was around 3-4 feet.  A few times I put my paddle down and it totally disappeared underneath the river.

 Very skittish turtles.  So obviously they don't see too many people.

Memorial Day Hike: John Bryan State Park

Hope everyone had a safe and fun Memorial Day weekend!

It was quite busy here in the Beaver household.  Cub scout activities all around.  Unfortunately, I didn't get to go camping like I wanted to.  But I spent the time kayaking and hiking.

Of course it was a beautiful day for a hike.  It was made even more beautiful walking along a stream with my trusty dog Magi in tow.

She was loving the river and the hike.

Every time she got dry, she jumped back into the river.

Yup, that's my dog, the smellier the water the better!



John Bryan is a wonderful park..... easy to follow trail, moderate hike.

I say moderate due to the tree roots and rocks to trip over.

It wasn't too overly steep.  We were out there for about 3 hours, did about 4 miles or so. Moderate pace, but with lots of stops for photos and a half hour spent meditating at what is now my new favorite spot.   A quiet spot just off the trail along a little trickling waterfall that settles into a pool.

I was spell bound the moment I saw it.  If I didn't have my dog with me, I could have easily sat there for hours.  She had other ideas, she was on the move and kept getting caught on roots and rocks.

another beautiful spot

         

And of course some of the wildlife along the way.......

Next time I'll try to go earlier (without my dog) to try to catch some other wildlife along the way.

A beautiful day for a swim.  Of course some areas were a little deeper than others. 

At one point Magi went to jump into the river, but misjudged the depth.  She usually stays about chest deep.  This was much deeper and under she went. She quickly came up and swam to the shore and got out.  But that was one soaked puppy.

CSA Today! 5-22-14

Well, another CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) delivery today.  As usual so many vegetables!

From the farm:  Kale, spinach  (still no asparagus yet but I'm hoping soon!)

From wholesale:  Lemons, Bananas, Mango, Apples, Bell Peppers, Sweet potatoes, Carrots, cucumbers.

I'm practically swimming in bell peppers (green and red) I had to give 5 to my mom today, along with a lot of spinach.  I hate giving that gorgeous spinach away, but I still haven't finished using up my bag from last week.
Not to mention I still have 1/2 a bag of red potatoes and several other potatoes left.
I'm going to have to look up new recipes to use it all. Especially the peppers.  I can only make fajitas or stuffed peppers so many times.  Cucumbers will be easier, I have grand plans of pickles.

In the mean time I did some gardening as well, and planted some new gerber daisies. :D

Sometimes you just need a nap.

one tired mama

Naps... the scourge of every child... the blessed quiet to every parent.   We outgrow taking them on a routine basis, but sometimes you need to just go for it and take one!

Why?

Well, for one there are health benefits:
*  If you are fighting off some disease like a cold, it can help fight it off.
*  If you have a task at hand, a nap can give you a fresh perspective, and a clear head for moving forward.
*  Naps relax you and reduce fatigue.  Everyone needs stress relief in their life!

The downside is sometimes you wake up groggy, or you can't sleep later that night.  So a shorter nap is better than the longer ones.

So if you feel like a nap, go for it..... but try to keep it under a half an hour (if you can)  if you have more time.. .go for it.

We get so busy in our lives, sometimes we need to slow down and just rest.

It can only help you (as long as you're not sleeping at work ;)  )

some can nap anywhere!

What a beautiful day to garden!

After some frigid temps, the spring weather has returned!

My garden, that I worked on last week, before the cold temperatures came in, is starting to show its colors.  So here's the first peek at my garden.

Some simple phlox, lemon balm, rosemary, and some more flowers.

Here's the larger part, tomatoes, peppers, daisies, broccoli, strawberries and marigolds.

My son's radishes and carrots.  He's so proud.

My favorite addition, not yet finished.  This corner of my garden, gets very little direct sunshine, lots of shade.  I also have 2 gutters directly overhead, so when they overflow this area gets lots of flooding.  Nothing really flourished here.  So I removed the soil and added the stone patio myself.  I'm going to expand it further. Not pictured is a little bit of mint next to the air conditioner unit.  An ideal spot, so if the mint takes off, it doesn't have too far to go.

More pictures as this gets built up!

Foodie Friday: Fresh Bread

I love fresh bread.  Who doesn't?  The smell permeating through out the house, the warmth of the oven on a chilly day.  The only problem with making bread is usually the recipes call for making large amounts.  When its just me and my son, I don't need so much.  So here is a recipe I call....

Bread for One ( or 2  )  its really just enough bread for one or two people to eat with dinner.

*  1 packet yeast
*  1 cup warm water ( you will divide this in half)
*  1 Tablespoon Oil ( I prefer olive oil)
*  1 Tablespoon sugar
*  1 1/4 teaspoon salt
*  2 cups flour (plus extra for dusting)

Dissolve the 1 packet of yeast into 1/2 cup of warm water, and let it sit for 10 minutes.  While that sits, go ahead and mix together the sugar, salt, flour, oil and the other 1/2 cup of warm water in a large bowl.  Add the yeast mixture into the bowl and mix well until a sticky dough forms.

Place the dough onto a lightly floured surface.  TIP:  use a soft cotton towel to put the flour on.  It creates a no stick surface that is easier to work with. 

Knead the dough until the dough is no longer sticky, and its well formed. (firmer and more elastic).

Then place the dough into a greased loaf pan and let it rise for about 30 minutes.   TIP: Line the loaf pan with aluminum foil for easy removal of the bread. 

Then bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes. I started checking it at around 30 minutes and kept checking until it reached a shade of toasty brown that I wanted.
TIP: To help out the browning process I added a touch of butter to the top... just a gentle coating.

Another tip is use your nose!  You can smell the bread as it bakes, if it starts to smell like bread then start checking it before it burns!

And VOILA!  Toasty yummy bread with dinner tonight! It really isn't that hard and doesn't take that long ( I was able to fold some laundry and watch some TV while it was rising).

Just melt a little butter and add some honey, stir well and let re-set and wonderful honey-butter to serve on the bread. :)  A favorite of my son!

CSA Today! 5-15-14

Ahhh another wonderful CSA delivery!

Unfortunately it came a little late today, so I wasn't able to use the extra fresh veggies for dinner. But I'm looking forward to using them tomorrow!

As you can see - some wonderful veggies.

Fresh from the Farm: Tons of delicious spinach, beautiful kale, and amazing radishes.  And more chives.  I like chives... but I just can't use them all.  Ha ha... guess I can use the extra chives on all of those potatoes they've sent me. 

From Wholesale: (at least until the growing season is in full swing): Cucumbers, green peppers, beautiful, large strawberries, carrots, an onion, and a tomato.  

Hmmmm I foresee a spinach and kale salad with goat cheese and strawberries on top!  Maybe I'll even candy some walnuts, if I get the time, to toss on top.

Life is an adventure!

Happy Wednesday!

Adventure: An exciting or unusual experience. A bold, usually risky undertaking, with an uncertain outcome.

Adventures are what every person at some point has yearned for, in one form or another.   Sometimes grand, sometimes quiet.  For proof of this, look to the movie industry, or books.  We crave the excitement, the drama, the uncertainty- yet from a safe distance. 

Well, you can turn any moment into an adventure.  Tonight we had various (and wonderful) thunderstorms with torrential downpours.  On our way to one of our busy Wednesday night activities (cub scouts)  my son and I got caught in a downpour.  We were safely in the car, but needed to get into the nearby building.  No umbrella, with a second row parking spot, so a fair distance to sprint.

Needless to say we looked like half - drowned rats by the time we got in the door.   But it was an exciting sprint, a bold dash from the car through the chilly spring Ohio rain.  Not to mention FUN!

So my challenge to everyone, is turn something, just one thing every day, into a tiny adventure.  Get that heart rate up.  Get the positive energy flowing and feel the excitement. But don't just do it, feel it.

This is a new challenge I'm presenting to myself.  I LOVE quotes.  So today I opened a quote book, selected one at random, and am writing to fit the quote. And yes, I took the picture and edited the quote in myself.  If anyone has a quote they'd like to share, please leave a comment.  :)

Utter Yardwork!

"The glory of gardening: hands in the dirt, head in the sun, heart with nature. 
 To nurture a garden is to feed not just on the body, but the soul." - Alfred Austin.

There is nothing quite like the exhilaration of pure exhaustion after working in the yard all day.
That bone-tired feeling yet the mind is awake.  I have spent LITERALLY all day outside, working mostly in the yard.
This morning I dug a bush up for my parents, then transplanted said bush.  Then lugged 200 lbs of dirt to their bag yard and distributed the dirt. All of this before breakfast, but not before coffee.... I'm not that crazy.

Then onward to my house to clear out a not so useful garden spot (too much shade and water) and then off to Lowe's, for a second time, and once again loading down my car.

Fast forward to 630 pm.  Garden is finally 90% complete. Paving stones down, fountain built and running, flowers and veggies planted (with the exception of loofah, watermelon, cucumber or zucchini).

Son is thoroughly exercised with helping me garden, and not to mention dirty.  So the best thing in the world?  Turn on the sprinkler and let him run through in his underwear.  Although, he did ask if he could take those off.... but we live on a corner lot, with quite a bit of traffic, so I said no to nudity.

Ahh... the pleasure of running through an icy cold sprinkler on a 85 degree day.  Usually you have to wait until June or July for such a thing, but not this year.... Early May.

Who needs a gym when you can get a work out at home doing gardening chores?  I must have moved over 600 lbs of various items today. Between the dirt, paving stones, and a porch fountain.

I'll post pictures tomorrow as I'm too exhausted to work with them now.

Needless to say, I have a very relaxing back yard right now. :)

"If you want to find yourself, go outside and look in nature." - Jenny Beaver :)

Spring Cleaning Step 1 Done!

Whoo hoo!  It took my best friend coming to visit to motivate me into finishing off the lower level of my house. But its GORGEOUS (at least to me :) )

It feels so good to have a clean house - now let's just hope it stays that way!

             

Of course my little helper was awesome!

He's a natural at vacuuming - he did the whole room on his own.

The next step is to work on cabinets and closets on the lower level  - cleaning them out, getting rid of unnecessary items.  All while maintaining the level of clean that I have accomplished!

I think the hardest will be the play room.  But that is to be expected.

Then I'll tackle upstairs.  The reward?  A better house, a yard sale (whoo hoo money!) and feeling better all around.  

Goal:  Get downstairs totally done by end of May - so closets and cabinets.  This includes my huge closet which is almost a room on its own.  ALL while still attending soccer games, swim lessons, cubscout activities, etc. I think I can I think I can I think I can. :)

I stopped going to the gym, partially because I needed the time to clean, and partially for cost.  But I've been getting my work out at home...don't believe me?

You try going up and down stairs 20 times a day carrying loads of stuff. And bending over and squatting to pick up things.  Its an "at home work out"!

One great perk of spring cleaning... is sprucing the place up with fresh flowers from the yard.

CSA Today! 5-8-14

Happy Thursday Everyone!  The weekend is almost here.

As usual I got my CSA delivery today!

In the box:
Lettuce, kale, spinach :D, cucumbers, onion, tomato, oranges, chives and potatoes.

I'm a tiny bit disappointed today though.  The newsletter included in my box indicated I should have asparagus in my box.  This was not the case. I was really looking forward to asparagus. Especially as its on my menu for tomorrow's dinner guest!

Now don't get me wrong, I'm very happy with my selection of veggies, and I have some freshly picked asparagus from my aunt's garden.... but you can never have too much asparagus! Yummy!

Of course the kale and spinach are loved.  So many potatoes..... I'm not a huge fan of potatoes to begin with.  I don't use them much.

Now the oranges will get used.  I have snack duty for soccer this week, nothing better than orange slices!!!!
(Yeah I'm that crazy soccer mom who gets healthy stuff for the kids instead of bagged chips or cookies.)

It's been a bit like summer this week.  It got up to 85 degreees today. It's only May 8th!   This will probably be a doozie of a summer.  Usually now is when my electric bills go down due to wonderful days and nights to leave the windows open.

"Quick! Company's coming, hide it in the closet!"

I'm the queen of procrastination.  Here I am, slowly spring cleaning, distractedly going from one room to another. When I need to really focus on my living room, kitchen and dining room.  Why? Because company is coming!  My best friend and his family are coming into town, and are going to have dinner with me.  And my place is still not worthy of company, let alone a 2 yr old.  I need to clean and child-proof.  My deadline is Friday, so now I'm finally kicking it into high-gear.(And here it is Wednesday)

One of my allies in this mad dash to clean is a BISSELL Spotbot that I borrowed.  You set it on a stain, push a button and walk away for 5 mins. Presumably to do other cleaning (or blog writing).

I love this little machine.

 The next few pics are not for the faint of heart.... or weak of stomach.

 Doggy diarrhea is very difficult to get out of light carpet.

    

1st and 2nd pass at the stain

And here is the finally pass.  Not only did it clean the stain, but pulled up some latent pet hair from the carpet......

All the while I'm busy cleaning other areas of my house. :)  Win-Win!

And by cleaning I mean shoving stuff in the closet. ;)