What’s for Dinner?

August 12, 2013August 20, 2013 / still a dreamer / 6 Comments

A friend of mine mentioned the other day that every time she saw vegan food, it always seemed weird and like most people wouldn’t want to eat it. I think there are some older, outdated ideas like that but it doesn’t have to be that way. In fact, many health-conscious people are already eating almost vegan and haven’t even thought about it. Like pasta? salads? Chili over rice?

Anyway, one of the things I came to realize was that if I’m going this way, I am going to have to cook more. So I chose one of the recipes in Main Street Vegan, (possibly one of the best books about food I’ve ever read), and here’s how it went. It’s called a Lentil-Spud Burger, but I’d say “burger” quite loosely.

First, gather the ingredients … hard to find some of these organic, but I got what I could. The recipe called for whole wheat panko crumbs which I couldn’t find, so I used a mixture of plain panko crumbs and whole wheat bread crumbs.

I chose redskin potatoes because they have more flavor, and as always, steam rather than boil them.

I sautéed 2 cloves of garlic in just a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil. Meanwhile, I whisked up a little vegetable broth using an organic vegetarian base that I was happy to discover on my supermarket shelf so I wouldn’t have to waste a can or box of broth for such a small amount.

I mashed the steamed potatoes, and was, of course, happy that there was a bunch left over for some other purpose, then mixed in the lentils, bread crumbs, broth, garlic and herbs. This was a very nice selection with there being twice as much chives as oregano, parsley and basil. I mashed all the ingredients together with a fork and made 4 patties. It held together quite nicely. The mixture did need a bit of salt, but not too much.

I cooked one of the patties in a little oil along with some grilled asparagus and served with fresh-from-the-farm Jersey tomatoes and voilà!

It was quite delicious and not like something my friend described at all. (And I still have more I can cook up!)

How Does Your Garden Grow?

August 11, 2013 / still a dreamer / 4 Comments

This year? Not all that well, I’m afraid. I don’t, in fact, actually have a garden … I have a variety of flowering plants in pots and containers that enliven my nice, deep, wrap-around porches . But this year, it hardly felt that it was worth the time potting them. Even the Impatiens – which rarely fail to shine – did poorly.

This is the one plant, above, that did the best. I bought this solid pink Impatiens plus a new variegated one, magenta and white with a darker leaf, that did even worse. Although this one looks pretty good, it was potted at least 3 months ago, and normally an Impatiens in this spot would have been covered with flowers. I did read an article that spoke to there being some kind of bug or blight or whatever with Impatiens this year. A small comfort. Those below, with both types in the container and in a favorite spot for Impatiens, also show a scarcity of blooms.

I believe it was our crazy weather. We had 9 or 10 days of scorching sunshine, temps in the mid to upper 90’s. Before or after that we had nearly 10 days straight of rain with not a drop of sun. I’m not posting photos of all the plants that barely survived. A Lobelia I got in May … I missed one day of watering and half of it died. I bought Lantana for the first time and had them in spots for sun-lovers, they were scorched before I even knew to move them. Violas, Alyssum and some others just barely grew at all. Quite disappointing.

And the Hydrangeas in the yard? This particular plant which last year had blossoms in a rich blue, (see photos here), this year saw flowers in pale to medium lavender with only half the amount of petals per flower. Weather sure can make a difference! (How do farmers sleep at night?)

Thankfully, the weather has stayed in the 80’s with nice cool evenings for awhile and seems to be continuing. Ever the optimist, I bought two small-ish mums at Home Depot and replaced the pair of sad Lantanas. It’s a new season coming soon, so perhaps it’s a good idea to slowly replace some of the plants in the sunny spots and see what happens.

I would not describe myself as a person with a green thumb, but even I couldn’t have managed such poor results on my own!

Here’s to Fall and some gardening success.

The Magic of the World Underwater

August 6, 2013 / still a dreamer / 2 Comments

Have 4 minutes 50 seconds? Then watch this absolutely beautiful video of the underwater world of Fiji and Tonga.

One of the true joys of the internet is that our friends and family send us links to videos such as these where we can be magically transported to a world we would otherwise never see. The photography is beyond spectacular, the accompanying music perfection. If you click on the “cc” button, you will be shown the species and location of the fish and other creatures you see.

What impressed me so is the clear intelligence in the eyes of the fish as they watch the diver filming them. This is a real treat.

Look Who’s in My Neighborhood

August 2, 2013August 2, 2013 / still a dreamer / 6 Comments

Although I am surrounded by country, I do live “in-town,” as they say. But perhaps it is exactly because open space surrounds us that there is no shortage of wildlife so close to our homes.

Working at my computer just this past June, I looked out front and saw a doe nonchalantly strolling down the street. She did not observe the Stop sign, but continued walking, looking for the tastiest greens she could find. Unfortunately, this is at a particular neighbor’s home who happens to be the most ardent gardener for a few blocks around. Of course! She has the delicacies!

But Ms. Doe wasn’t stopping and no sooner was she out of sight, than she came through the hedges bordering my property and casually walked down my driveway at an angle. This made me believe this may be is who is responsible for the deer tracks I see in the snow in roughly the same places – she must have a route.

Today I looked up and saw … the same doe? a different doe? and her still-spotted fawn. Mama could easily scale that white picket fence for the best nibbles while baby clearly hasn’t yet mastered leaping hurdles. I was able to go outside and get a few shots before the more worried fawn walked further down the road.

While I enjoy watching animals of all kinds, having deer so at-home in our neighborhood isn’t good. They have become accustomed to our smells and sounds and are no longer frightened. The offspring they produce will become even more acclimated to being around people. It is certainly wreaking havoc on our properties as the deer now consume shrubbery and flowers year-round even though there is plenty of browse in the nearby woods and fields.

Sadly, it just creates more enmity towards these beautiful creatures, even referred to by some as “vermin.” It’s a problem for farmers as well as residents and a complex one, yet it is we who have taken more and more of their land through endless development. It’s not a problem with an easy solution.

Meanwhile, I truly do enjoy seeing them even though they have “deer-scaped” the plantings around my home as well.

The Walking Reward

July 29, 2013 / still a dreamer / 4 Comments

I am not ashamed to admit it. I do not like to exercise. (Although I do love to dance. That’s exercise, right?)

Over the course of my life I have at times been a jogger and a regular walker. Once I got out there, it was okay, but I could think of soooooo many things I’d rather be doing. The time has come that I need and want, (very abstractly), to get out there once again. My incentive? I’d bring my camera and hope that might help.