SUPER BOWL

At Acme Bowl J and I met some of her co-workers for a fine afternoon of bowling. Mary and her children, Michael, Ashley, and Robert, and Lisa and Jen and J all bowled as I cheered words of encouragement. These days the computer keeps score for you and guardrails pop up for select players upon request. Below are a few choice shots of these pro bowlers in action.




This was Mary's first time bowling. But you probably knew that.



Michael was quickly downing the pins.




Robert has the cool confidence of a pro.




Ashley took no prisoners!


Jen's gecko tattoo gave her super-human bowling powers.



Jen and Michael in the dance competition.

Elvis in his pinball machine.

HAIL THE COMING OF SPRING

Friday night nail
Originally uploaded by sissalice.

Friday night hail. The skies to the east were blackening while the skies to the west were sunny. There were rainbows. And the desck was covered in hail. BUT, the British Wonder Peas and the Thomas Laxton Peas have sprouted. No beans yet. Not a one.

START SHAKING OUT THE BED SHEETS

We usually don't see these things until the ends of summer. This is the earliest I've ever spotted a wolf spider. I was minding my own business, blogging the photo of the cat, when this specimen scampered out from under the couch where I am sitting. Yikes. We don't squash bugs here, we collect them and deposit them outside. In the case of big, hairy spiders, this is as much a practicality as it is an ethical move. Smashing a bug this big is simply a mess. You can't even tell how big this spider is because it's scrunched up in defense. And this is hardly the biggest one who has visited. But it's the first one of the year, the earliest one on record in our house, and marks the beginning of the season of shaking out the bedding, the shoes, looking twice in the corners, etc.

CAT IN THE BOX

She looks a little snarly and I don't understand how it can be at all comfortable - but she likes it. Loves that cardboard box and doesn't mind her face being smashed on it.

WHAT'S THAT I'M HERON? IS IT SPRING?

What a beautiful day. Temps in the low 50's and nothing but sunny skies for miles. we hit the road early and headed to Vancouver, WA to check out the Vancouver Farmer's Market. vancouver sits on the northern side of the Columbia River. Portland sits on the sourthern side. We missed our exit for the market and were immediately ushered across the bridge into Portland where we turn right around and got back on the highway for less than five minutes so we could get to the market.

The 2006 season for the outdoor market just opened on Saturday. I'm not sure how big the market is during the season's peak but it was understandably tiny on Saturday. It sits just outside of the Indoor Market @ The Commons. It's a market with a small food court housed under a condo/apt complex. After the three hour drive we were hungry. Mel Brook's Fish and Chips rustles up a fabulous egg sandwich. Expensive but good. That was the day's splurge (aside from filling the gas tank).



After the grub we headed back north about 14 miles through some beautiful backroads. J is an excellent navigator. Our destination - Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge. It's actually a complex of wildlife refuges. We explored the Ridgefield refuge first. There is a 2 mile trail that winds through several types of wetlands and vegetation. Waterfowl abounds. Great Blue Herons are sometimes the stars of the refuge but red-tailed hawks are major players too. Both species live in the refuge year-round.

The first thing you see when you begin the trail is a full-scale replica of a Cathalpotle (Cath-la-poo-tuhl or Cath-la-poe-tuhl) plankhouse. Lewis & Clark met the Cathalpotle tribe on their way to the Pacific Ocean on November 5, 1805. From the Cathalpotle Plankhouse Project website: "They counted 14 cedar plankhouses belonging to the people of the "Quathlapotle nation" and estimated some 900 inhabitants. From the shore, seven canoes of Indians from the village paddled out to inspect the strangers and trade with them. Returning in March 1806, Lewis and Clark stopped again at Cathlapotle for several hours." The cedar logs used to construct this house are gigantic and the smell is fantastic. Inside are replicas of tools used by the Cathlapotle, some carvings and some animal skins. Take a look.







The weather was great, if a little chilly. We surprised a few snakes who were trying to get warm in the sun. We heard more birds than we could distinguish. Crickets and frogs too. And along the way we spotted interesting plants. Even a nest that was no longer occupied.






One of the best scenes we spied was while taking the 4 mile driving tour of the refuge. You are not allowed outof your car in this part of the rfuge. it's like a waterfowl safari. You drive very slowly and spy all sorts of critters. While J was looking one way, I glanced up before accelerating again and there, in the middle of the road, about 25 yards ahead, was a giant great blue heron with a long garder snake in its bill. The heron would toss the snake, whip it around, drop it then pick it up again. Finally, it swallowed it up and it took a while for it to go down to the heron's liking. A small traffic jam had formed behind me so I inched the car forward at a snail's pace until the bird took off, it's huge wingspan lifting it slowly off the ground and over the water. I snapped what photos I could with my digital and without getting out of the car in order to let the bird enjoy its snack.




The ride home was long because of traffic but we're glad we spent a good portion of the day outside and seeinf things we just can't see in the city.

HEY, WAIT FOR ME...

It seems that no one wants to be left behind. By the time I got home from work today (and I even left way early) at least one pot from each tomato variety had a sign of life. There was a bit of reaching going on so I quickly got the pots directly under the grow lights. Can't have them reaching for the light.

This weekend I will sow more chard, beets, carrots, and some herbs.

AND SO IT BEGINS...

When I came home from work yesterday, I noticed the first signs of life in the tomato starts. The very beginnings of a Yellow Pear Tomato, a variety I received free with my Heirloom Seeds order.

Once I got home I turned on the grow light over the starts and clicked on the heat in the bathroom. By the time I went to bed the sprout had grown.

And when I woke this morning the plant had been joined by a couple of friends. Things are moving along.

COOKING AHEAD TO THE FUTURE

Another one of our cooking extravaganzas this Sunday. Saturday night we opened the cupboards and emptied all of the grains, rices, pastas, and other dried goods. Man, what a stash! We are not allowed to buy any more of any of it until it has been used up. So we opened a bottled of wine and opened up the cookbooks and started scheming.

1. Red Lentil Loaf from Cooking The Whole Foods Way by Christina Pirello is a dish we have made in the past and really enjoyed. We suped up the ingredients, especially the vinegars and threw in some wheat germ and a roasted ancho chili (seeded) for good measure. The recipe includes red lentils, a piece of wakame (we used kombu), olive oil, shallots, carrot, celery, soy sauce, dried basil, rolled oats, umeboshi vinegar (we used rice vinegar), and balsamic vinegar.


Ingredients for Red Lentil Loaf. Kombu (not pictured) is a sea vegetable packaged in wide, dark, dehydrated strips that will double in size upon soaking and cooking. A great source of glutamic acid, a natural flavor enhancer. It is also generally believed that kombu improves the digestibility of grains and beans when added to these foods in small amounts.

2. Tuna Noodle Caserole. Now, we did our best to make a healthy version of this comfort food dish. I think we fared pretty well, though we disagreed on whether or not to use a cream of something canned soup. I said no way. I can make a healthy version of something gloppy and "creamy" if that's what we need. I lost that debate. As a compromise we used a "98% Fat Free" version of a popular brand of canned soup. I think compromise is the key word here - like compromise health and nutrition but what do I know? I dislike canned soups, especially creamed versions. There is just not much nutrition going on in these products. But, like I said, this is a comfort food dish even though we were trying to make a healthier version. Tuna, egg noodles, cream of something soup, peas, carrots, and homemade, whole wheat bread crumbs and organic rolled oats as the crunchy topping. Some green tobasco for bite. I think it's pretty good, as far as taste is concerned. J, however, isn't impressed. I feel bad. She was looking forward to it. I think it can be doctored and she will come to dig it.

3. Turkey Lasagna from the American Heart Association Cookbook (5th Edition). This is a dish we have made before and really enjoyed. This was an opportunity to use Nana B's sauce that I schlepped home onthe airplane. We didn't have ground turkey so we used meatless meatballs. Lots and lots of delicious veggies went into this. Spinach, shrooms, carrots, onions, garlic, and eggplant. Plus low fat, low sodium cottage cheese. We tried the no-bake lasagna noodles. Not bad. Overall the dish is pretty good. Next time I'd prefer no meat at all. Again, a healthier version of a comfort food dish. All those noodles are hard to health-a-fy.

Saute all the veggies until they release their mositure and then dry out.


Construct your layers.


Finish it off.


Here is the result of our labor. It really wasn't that much work with two people working.

Roasted Parsnip-Carrot Soup

Well, the parsnips might have loved residing in their underground niche, but as soon as they were removed they began to lose their charm. Monday night as soon I as arrived home from work I quickly set to work cleaning, peeling and chopping. Not all of every parsnip was desirable but most of the lot was roasted along with three big carrots, garlic, ginger, and onion. I seasoned it as desired. Again, I like an Indian taste to my roasted veggie soups these days. But this might change at any moment. Cardamom, sambar, corriander, curry, etc. was added to the mix and a dash of sea salt. Once roasted, the whole mess was processed until smooth. I had to split the batch in order to add all the liquid. One liter of low fat, plain soy milk and the rest water. Re-salted to taste and wah-la, baby! It's pretty tasty. It served as part of dinner last night, lunch today for me and S, and lunch for me again tomorrow.

Use what you have. Home cooked is always better!

GARDENING BEFORE MORE RAIN

Yesterday we got into the yard, if only for a few hours. It was lookin' a little backwoods around here. A winter of rain makes everything look, well, washed out, drenched, even if the day is dry and sunny. You have to get your hands on things and spruce them up. There was a tremendous amount of weeding. J hit all the pots and I hit the garden beds. I discovered that I have very healthy lettuce and mizuna growing happily under row cover.

Much to my surprise, the parsnip were thriving. Nothing bothers these things. I wonder if there is an untapped parsnip market out there. No pests every bothered the greens and they kept growing even after I would cut them back because they were shading young carrots that needed sun. And they made it through the winter with no protection. I had to dig deep and pull hard. A couple of these things were like caveman clubs! Now, I don't know from parsnips so I'm not sure how they will taste. I do know that the greens were very fragrant. But I've got these slated for roasting and then for soup, probably mixed with either sweet potatoes or carrots. And some will go to Sally.

And there are a few head of cabbage that I planted last fall as small starts. They, too, survived the winter and the rain and the few days of frost. Now we are four heads ahead, so to speak.

I also turned the straw bale bed with a pitchfork. I was ecstatic to see lots of red wigglers haveing a feast. I feel much better about this bed now that I see stuff is happening inside. It will be easier to shell out the dough for some dirt/compost for the tomato plants that will reside in this bed. I buried some veggie garbage deep within it too. I pulled out old arugula and stuff and just dropped it in while I was turning the bed with the pitchfork.

The weather guessers say it will rain for the next 6 days but I'm hoping to get some beans and peas and carrots and beets going. Oh, beets, I do still have several starts still alive and well from end of last season. I hope that means I have a head start on those too. And I can also start all my other seeds indoors. Will try to get to that today. But man, that yard looks five times better. Did lots of pruning too. And the tarragon plant survived outside all winter. I had it under our glass table so it w ouldn't drown but I was sure the temperature would eat it. Nope. There is bright green new growth all over it. We could start harvesting it right now if we wanted. A dressing of fresh compost wouldn't hurt but there plant is thriving and I am pleased.

We have a very busy day ahead. We have both been up since before 6 and we have people coming for dinner. Much to do between now and then. Pay bills, clean house, grocery shop, maybe get to the Y?

ISN'T IT IRONIC?

So today we walked over to a workshop offered by the Squire Park Community. A spokesperson from City Repair, Jan Semenza, gave an enthusiastic presentation regarding taking back the streets for pedestrians. He really loves his job, that's evident. His neighborhood in southeast Portland, more specifically, his immediate intersection, was transformed from dangerous autostrada to the Sunnyside Piazza. Intersection repair is just one of many projects taken on by this grassroots organization. The workshop ran for four hours and breakfast goodies and lunch were provided. Alas, we could only stay for half the show. Our own garden really needed our help. So we missed the pizza.

Ironically, later this afternoon, J's company car, parked at our own intersection, was hit head on. Our neighbor, A, (in addition to me and J) heard the smash, looked up from her gardening and took the plate number. The police came to take some info from her and J. The officer was very distracted and only spoke to us for a minute before something urgent came over his radio and he took off like a shot, jumped into his cruiser and sped off, sirens wailing. We discover later that the call he received was regarding the same car involved in J's incident. It was stolen, full of 13 year olds and hit a police car! Smart enough to steal a car but still 13 - plenty dumb enough to hit a cop car.

Our intersection sucks. The traffic circle installed a couple of years ago is worthless. In fact, it is right now sporting nice deep tire grooves. Why drive around it when you can drive over it? Why slow down at all? People usually don't. They might slow down to navigate the circle but they immediately accelerate as they head north down the street. All day we hear engines rev and tired screech and motors roar. Dumb asses. Our street bottlenecks about 30 yards after the circle. Two cars can't pass each other. Not to mention the side streets coming down from the main drag and up from the next side street. Terrible visibility from each direction. There have been plenty of accidents at out circle. We've seen and heard them and even called some of them in to the police. How do you get people to care enough to drive safely? I refuse to believe that they don't know they should drive safely. I hate excuses. How do you get people to care? Traffic circles don't work, that's for damn sure. And now that we have the damn thing there, how can we create what was created at the Sunnyside Piazza? We'll have to get creative.

THIRD DAY THIRD THOUGHTS

Having third thoughts about the garden. We will be in this house another summer (probably longer). The full garden will be planted. This means I have to move quickly. I'm far behind. Tomorrow after we return from errands and a community gathering, I will hit the yard hard. Sunday I will start plenty of seeds indoors. Exciting and frustrating at the same times. I wasn't terribly pleased with the garden last year. We just don't get enough sun for some of the plants. Obe of the main reason I want to leave this house. Lack of sun overall reduces the potential for rotating crops. In turn, I think this has resulted in some pest and disease problems. But, hell, I simply can't put the tomato plants in most areas of the yard. More than any other veggie I grow, the tomatoes need the sun.

So tomorrow it begins. With mostly heirlooms. A bit nervous about that too. Will keep you posted. And will be taking better notes on the garden this year. A new goal of mine.

SECOND THOUGHTS AND MUFFINS

Presidents Day. No big whup to me. I don't have to go to work so you can call the day whatever you like. To me it means running errands nice and early before anyone hits the road to go to the sales. Another excuse to buy crap you don't need and spend money you don't have.

Once back from my errands I set to work whipping up a pan of roasted sweet potato, a little bit of carrot, some onion and some garlice for another batch of Accidental Roasted Sweet Potato Soup. This batch is far better than the original. That little bit of carrot added a wonderful, natural sweetness. Less garlic, and less onion (this time it was white onion). Also, only organic veggie broth was used. I didn't add any other kind of soup just to use it up. I pulled out a frozen, roasted ancho chil and diced it. Man oh man - way too hot to add more than a couple small pieces. Whew! How we are ever going to use up all of those in our freezer, I don't know. The soup went into the freezer to take it home with me to C-town. I leave in the morning.

I'm also in the process of baking a batch of Apple Cinnamon Sweet Potato (Banana) Muffins to take home. Using up a couple mushy bananas that way. Plus, the two egg yolks remaining from the recipe get mixed with some egg beaters to form a fine breakfast sandwich. Plop the eggs between two slices of toasted Honey Whole Wheat from Old Mill Bread Co. and it's delish. This is a local bakery whose bread we really enjoy, especially because it is made from just a few simple ingredients: Freshly milled whole wheat flour, water, honey, salt, yeast, and soy lecithin. No white sugar, no white flour, no words we can't spell or pronounce. Each slice has 3 g of fiber and 5 g of protein. No cholesterol and no saturated fats. Along side goes the remaining apple from the muffin recipe and you are all set with a tasty meal.

Having second thoughts about the garden. I think I can still get away with planting some things before we move. Moving might be farther off than we planned assuming the place isn't sold by the property owner. All the greens and some peas, beans, zucchini can be planted and probably enjoyed.

The search for a house, though only days old, is already tedious and discouraging. A road trip down to Olympia didn't make us feel much better, though the homes are affordable. Back to baking and soup making, packing, dishes, laundry, etc.

TO SOW OR NOT TO SOW (and I don't mean wax museums)

At at time when we have just vowed to live like paupers for the next 2-3 months in order to boost our house down payment, we also have decided to forego planting the garden. The garden aids in reducing our produce costs. We buy lots of produce! But, things are changing. A couple of reasons for not planting: We want to move in the near future (meaning end of Summer, beginning of Fall. We are mentally prepared and physically up for the challenge of packing up the junk and searching for a house. Renting has been a very affordable option. We are fortunate enough to pay a very reasonable rate for a house, deck and a yard. However, we can’t modify this house any further. We have done a lot of work on it but we want to do more. But we can’t justify the labor or expense when the place simply isn’t our own. We have lots of ideas we want to implement and philosophies we want to practice. We need a place of our own!

Secondly, we were recently informed that the wife of the owner of the house died a few months ago. The lawyers are assessing taxes and such. So appraisers will be coming round soon to size up our place and neighbor G’s place (also owned by said property man). While this doesn’t necessarily mean that our place will be sold, we aren’t taking any chances. We’re taking it as a sign that we should stay right on track with our plan to move. Frankly, we don’t understand why the guy has held on to these two lots as long as he has. Property is at a premium around here and a condo developer could squeeze in several urban units in this space. For all we know, the joint’s already gone. Either way, I hope we are given ample time to get out.

Alas, this brings me to the subject of this post. It makes me very sad. All winter I look forward to spring. When should I start my plants? Which plants will I grow? Where will I put them this year? Any gardener knows what I mean. But now there is no need to do any of it. And after I spent all that $$ on an entire new garden’s worth of heirloom seed. So I took it as another sign when I spotted Winter Gardening In The Maritime Northwest by Binda Colebrook while poking around in Twice Sold Takes. It’s an easy read and very informative.
Since winter gardeing might be my only gardening this year, I felt the $5 price tage was quite reasonable. This gives me something botanical to look forward to. Regardless of how insane the process of searching for, buying, and moving to a new place might be, I’ll be damned if I’m not going to sow some seeds as soon as I get there. I don’t care in what I sow, the ground, a pot, an old bathtub, but I will sow seeds and I will have a winter garden.

So we will be content with the local co-op and the farmer’s markets. We love those options and use them often. Still, it’s so nice to pick fresh lettuce and pull a carrot or beet minutes before cooking. And we will be doing more freezing and canning this year anyway. So what if the stuff isn’t from our garden? I still haven't purchased the pressure canner that was my Christmas present from my mom. Another thing to look forward to. And we are going to do more U-pick visits this year since there are some things that simply haven’t grown well in my past gardens here. Like peppers. Not to mention things we just don’t grow like fruit and berries (at least not yet).

Go with the flow even if you don’t sow.

SAVING WATER

Keeping with our daily goal to save more water, J ran out and purchased an Anystream showerhead, a "low-flow" showerhead. Well worth the money and easy to install, this shower head will limit the flow of water to 2.5 gallons per minute, half the normal showerhead rate. We were already using some homemade techniques in the shower to limit the flow - mainly, just turn the water on only half way and get your butt in and out right quick. A great Christmas present from me to J was The Consumer's Guide to Effective Environmental Choices compiled by the The Union of Concerned Scientists. According to the UCS, the most significant, individual choice a person make can to conserve the environment and its resources is to ditch your car. Second to this is installing a low-flow showerhead. People talk about peak oil but I can walk to the store - I do now. But there is no substitution for water. Start saving it today!

If you are motivated by money, know that saving water saves energy and that saves money. If you need some ideas on how to save water, check out this info from the Union of Concerned Scientists website.

CUT DOWN ON WASTE

*Don't use your toilet as a wastepaper basket. Throw tissues in the garbage.
*Don't run water unnecessarily. Turn water off while shaving, brushing teeth and scrubbing dishes.
*Keep drinking water in the refrigerator, rather than letting the tap run till the water gets cool.
*Instead of using water to thaw frozen food, defrost it in the refrigerator overnight.
*Scrape dishes, instead of rinsing them, before loading the dishwasher.
*Take showers instead of baths, and make them short. When you do take a bath, close the drain first, then turn on the water. Don't fill the tub more than halfway.
*Use your machines efficiently.
*Wait for a full load to run the dishwasher.
*Use the shortest wash cycle your dishwasher allows, unless dishes are very dirty.
*Select the appropriate water level or load size on your washing machine.
*Use a broom or rake instead of a hose to clear debris from driveways and other paved areas outside.

REDUCE LOSS THROUGH EVAPORATION

*Water your lawn and plants in the early morning or late evening when the temperature is lower.
*Put a layer of organic mulch around your plants.
*Keep a pool cover on the pool when it's not in use.

RECYCLE

*Put a small basin in your sink to collect water. Reuse the water for plants and cleaning.
*Take your car to a commercial car wash that recycles water.

IMPROVE YOUR EQUIPMENT

*Replace conventional toilets with ultra-low flow toilets, and save an average of 4 gallons per flush. Alternatively, put plastic containers filled with water in your toilet tanks. This saves less, but still helps. (Just keep the containers away from the flush mechanism.)
*Install low-flow aerators and showerheads to save 2-3 gallons on average per minute.
*Get a horizontal-axis washing machine. They're more expensive, but they reduce water usage by about 50%. Contrary to popular belief, top-loading models are available.
*Control water flow in hoses with automatic shut-off nozzles.
*Repair all leaks, which can cost tens of thousands of gallons a year. A leaky toilet alone can waste 200 gallons per day—and the leak is often invisible. To see if you have one, add food coloring to the tank water. You know there's a leak if colored water appears in the bowl.

CATS 'A BLOGGIN'

Cats like laundry, folded and warm right from the dryer. Idgie prefers to crawl under things, including the clean laundry. This action I observed earlier. So I sacrificed a pair of pajama pants to her efforts. I tossed the pants over her and she was happy. She is still sitting under them, 20 minutes later, and she will stay there for probably a few hours. Why move? She got what she wanted.

SOUP IS GOOD FOOD

Wasn't planning on making soup, it just happened. Had planned on roasting sweet potatoes for tomorrow's lunch but it turned into soup. Into the oven went two sweet potatoes, a red onion, several heads of garlic, a little olive oil, and salt, curry powder, garlic powder, cardamom, cumin, ground corriander, and homemade sambar powder. This I roasted until tender. The whole house smelled wonderful. It was at this point that, instead of packaging up a portion for lunch, I dumped the whole thing in the food processor and ran it with some veggie broth, water, and a splash of store-bought butternut squash soup. A dash more salt and I had roasted sweet potato soup. It's simply delicious and healthful.



The ingredients before my spark of genius (and before I cooked anything).

SUN SUN SUN SUN SUN SUN SUN SUN

For lunch Stephanie and I had delicious sandwiches from Chaco Canyon Cafe in the U District. I chose the Hot Rueben: Local Field Roast, sauerkraut, vegan cheddar, marinated onions, Dijon mustard, sprouts, and tomato on Essential Bakery Rye bread. Stephanie opted for the Barbecued Seitan: Marinated housemade seitan and barbecue sauce grilled with onions and vegan mozzarella and served with tomatoes and sprouts. We chose as our sides the terra chips and slaw. Slaw was more like salad and very tasty. Not a heavy cream-mayo thing. I would eat there again, any time. Thumbs up.

And the sky is blue and the mountains are out and the rain is not raining.

Stephanie had much more to say about the lunch. Here is the complete review of lunch. The opinions expressed here are not necessarily those of bodanzarama cuz none of what bugged her bugged me with the exception of the loud convo about connecting flights.

Chaco Canyon not all it's chalked up to be
By Stephanie Germani
Staff writer

I've eaten at holes in the wall that are better than Chaco Canyon Cafe (Hole in the Wall, Second Avenue, Binghamton, N.Y., vegan).

Right off the bat the cafe lacks presentation. If I wasn't dining with a friend I wouldn't have known where the restaurant was. And when we did find the door, I lost my appetite for a healthy vegan lunch because the cafe is located next to the Flying Apron Bakery whose scrumptous-looking baked goods are displayed next to Chaco Canyon's door.

But my appetite quickly came back when I had to listen to these two granola girls gab about their connecting flights between Brussels and Beirut. After 10 minutes I just wanted to get my grilled BBQ Seiten sandwich and split.

While I was waiting there there were other people to annoy me. There was the nerdy-looking bald guy who asked for another shot of wheatgrass. There was the hippie chick who worked there, read there and ate there - I guess a good sign. Then there was the chef, who ate chips while preparing my food and didn't wash his hands.

When my order finally came up it was delivered in a cute, eco-friendly looking box. The terra chips that came with my sandwich weren't what I expected. They were more like wholesome tortilla chips than the Terra brand chips sold in stores. Also, the coleslaw -- which wasn't your mayo drenched usual -- wasn't contained in the box. I would have like a little separation between the chips and slaw. My sandwich was good. The rye bread from Essential Baking Co. was awesome. The sprouts fresh. The barbecued seitan yummy. But the vegan mozzarella cheese was unnecessary. I got through half the sandwich before I figured out that was the cheese.

So go to the Chaco Canyon Cafe, order a sandwich or one of the raw entrees they serve, run next door to the Flying Apron Bakery and get a scone, get your sandwich 10 minutes later and split.

Stephanie Germani is a staff writer for Bodanzarama.blogspot.com. She can be reached at imnotgivingyoumye-mail.com.

CHOPPIN' BROCCOLI

This beautiful broccoli was part of my dinner last night. It was tasty and tender and added a good crunch to the cabbage stir fry. In with that I chopped carrots, onions, celery and lots of garlic.

POOPER BOWL LOWLIGHTS

Wow, I'm glad I didn't waste my time watching the Pooper Bowl. It sounds like even hardcore sports fan were disappointed. I'm glad I don't like sports.

NEW BIRD IN TOWN

A few days ago, while climbing the stairs to my door, I stopped, head tilting to the side, to listen to a bird call I'd not heard before. I recognized the call as being new to the yard but, of course, I couldn't identify the bird. And I couldn't spot the bird. But I'm hearing it now as I sit in the living room.

I miss being in the yard. The weather is particularly dreary this winter. I'm afraid to see what's going on in the yard anyway. Overgrown this and that and overwatered everything. Damage assessment will have to come soon. And soon it will be time to prepare the seeds and get some soiless mix and clean out the seedling trays and fire up the grow lights. Scary and exciting at the same time.

TO KNIT, PERCHANCE TO DREAM...

Well, I've purchased the yarn for my sweater and a new pair of size 11 needles, long ones and really nice wood. But I'm afraid to begin. First of all, last Monday's kntting class was cancelled and in that class we were to learn a few of the stitches I will need to make this sweater. Secondly, I'm plain scared. So to satisfy my knitting itch, I started another scarf. Planend on using the white, sparkly yarn for my sister's scarf but i really don't like the thin yarn and the thin needles. So I decided to use two strands together. But I was only about 10 rows into the thing when I realized I wouldn't have enough yarn for this method. For 30 minutes I painstakingly unravelled and picked apart the yarn and rewound the skeins. So, Steph's scarf will not be white and sparkly, at least not yet. In the meantime, I took the initial yarn I received from Iva as the birthday gift that started it all and paired this with the white yarn. And I've been wanting to try knitting two yarns together for a while. It's really no different from one yarn at a time. And the result is a nice dense feel which is what I wanted but couldn't have accomplished with the thin yarn alone. Here is the result so far. If someone likes the colors, they are welcomed to the scarf though the finish date is far off - the sweater will very soon be the priority.

WINDY DAY GOOD FOR BAKING MUFFINS

The wind is crazy today. Wind and storm warnings all over Puget Sound. Sometimes the walls shake and the windows rattle and the noise sounds spooky. The cats hate it. I was at the Y when they opened at 7. That's the only way to guarnatee you get a good machine. Even the short ride from here to there rocked my car left and right. When I got home and got out of the car, a gust hit me and had to bend into the wind to make it to the house.

But I've been going ever since I got up at 6. Once home I whipped up a natch of healthy muffins to take to a card party later. This is a recipe I found on a sweet potato website. Last week I made the sweet potato version. Very good. Today I had to use up ripe bananas and again, very delicious. No white sugar, oat bran, whole wheat flour, no oil, fat free plain yogurt, etc. Good for you and tasty. Here is the recipe. Replace banana with fresh, mashed sweet potato for a delicious alternative. Sweet potatoes are very good for you and I love them. I've retained the original recipe and in parenthesis included my alterations.



Apple Cinnamon Sweet Potato (Banana) Muffins

3/4 cup oat bran
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
2/3 cup sugar (I used almost 1 C brown rice syrup and 1/2 C honey)
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon (I added 1 tsp. nutmeg, 1 tsp. cardamom)
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/8 tsp. salt
1/2 cup apples, skinless, finely chopped
1 cup mashed fresh sweet potato (banana)
1 large egg
2 large egg whites
3 tbsp. vegetable oil (I used 1/2 C unsweetened applesauce)
2/3 cup plain yogurt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl, combine bran, flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and apples. Add banana, egg, egg whites, oil, and yogurt. Stir all ingredients thoroughly. Spray muffin tins with vegetable cooking spray and spoon 1/4 cup of batter per muffin. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until done. Makes approximately 20 muffins.

I made one dozen bigger muffins the first time I tried this using sweet potatoes and today I made mini muffins and tried to mini loaf pans. This is a wet batter and the muffins are very moist but not heavy. I think muffins work better than the mini loaves. I suppse a bit more flour could be added if you need a loaf or perhaps replace one of the liquid sweeteners with a granular version (non white preferably). Experiment.

LOOKING TOWARD SPRING

I decided that this year's garden would be full of as many heirloom varieties as possible. I feel that heirloom varieties are essential to a sustainable life. Heirlooms are open-pollinated varieties. This means that if the seeds produced from the plant are properly saved, they will produce the same variety year after year. This cannot be done with hybrids, which are a cross between two separate varieties, as the seed produced from those plants will either be sterile, or start to revert back to the parent plants. I think it's important to preserve the plants'diveristy. Heirlooms usually taste better too. Hybrids often have the flavor bred out of them in the name of productivity and disease resistence. I also like the idea that heirlooms have been grown for generations. I like the idea that I am growing the same variety as someone's grandmother did in the old country (or in America during the Civil War!). This year will be an experiment. Frankly, it might be our last year in this house so I'd like to try out these seeds now and determine what works and what doesn't. I've got books coming to my library on growing heirlooms. Because they don't have the same resistence to pests as hybrids, I'm sure there are some additional measures I should take to have a successful heirloom garden. But obviously it can be done.

I suppose it was a bit of an expense for all these seeds at one time. Especially when I consider that I needed no new seed for this year. Then again, I would have purchased some plant starts anyway. This year I'd like to go back to starting all my own plants, including tomatoes. We will also be growing chard and kale for the first time. Not worried about those. Greens and the like always do well here. And when organic was offered in the variety I wanted, I chose it. That's important too. In case you are wondering what I will be tending this year, here is the order that I placed tonight. Exciting and scary at the same time. I completely forgot broccoli and cabbage so I will have to make due with hybrids again this year.

BLUE LAKE POLE BEAN
OLD HOMESTEAD POLE BEAN - CERTIFIED ORGANIC
ROMANO POLE BEAN
SCARLET RUNNER BEAN
CHINESE CABBAGE - PAK CHOI
BOOTHBY`S BLONDE CUCUMBER - CERTIFIED ORGANIC,
LEMON CUCUMBER - CERTIFIED ORGANIC
BASIL, GENOVESE
BASIL, LEMON
BASIL, SWEET
MARJORAM, SWEET
PARSLEY, DARK GREEN ITALIAN
THYME, ENGLISH
BABY OAKLEAF LETTUCE
BUTTERCRUNCH LETTUCE - CERTIFIED ORGANIC
FLAME LETTUCE
KAGRANER SUMMER LETTUCE
SALAD BOWL LETTUCE
TENNIS BALL LETTUCE
BRITISH WONDER PEA - CERTIFIED ORGANIC
THOMAS LAXTON PEA
BULL`S BLOOD BEET - CERTIFIED ORGANIC
CHOGGIA BEET - CERTIFIED ORGANIC
DETROIT DARK RED BEET - CERTIFIED ORGANIC
AMSTERDAM MINICOR CARROT
CHANTENAY ROYAL CARROT
OXHEART CARROT
WINTER RED KALE - CERTIFIED ORGANIC
DWARF BLUE CURLED KALE
BLACK ZUCCHINI
EARLY PROLIFIC STRAIGHTNECK SQUASH
ROUND ZUCCHINI
SWEET POTATO SQUASH
BUTTERNUT SQUASH - CERTIFIED ORGANIC
RAINBOW SWISS CHARD - CERTIFIED ORGANIC
BANANA LEGS TOMATO
BLACK KRIM TOMATO
BLOODY BUTCHER TOMATO
FIRST PICK TOMATO