Gardening News

It seems like a while since the last gardening post, but there is finally news to report. I purchased a compost bin from the Gardener's Supply Company and it finally came in a few days ago. Maw's parents are visiting this week, and his dad put the bin together. I'm pretty excited to have it, because I've been wanting to compost for a long time now. We go through lots of vegetables while we are cooking, and I hate to waste them by throwing them away. I looked around for ways to make your own, but they didn't look very good, so I decided to buy something that was made to do the job. We've broken it in with the leavings from the last few days of cooking.

In other news, Quickbeam is sick with her first cold. She has been congested and coughing, but she doesn't seem to be feeling really bad. She has still been smiley and interactive, she just gets frustrated at times when it's harder for her to breath. She's been getting lots of attention lately with visiting family. I had to learn how to share her, because after being just the two of us with her I am not used to having to give her up. I guess it's good that it happened when it did, because I'm starting back to work next week and have to get used to being seperated from her. Needless to say I'm not looking forward to it.

Work In Progress

So I have been working on my New Year's Challenge for the last week. I have done better in some ways than others. :) I have tried three recipes from my recipe pile, and they were successful. I finished reading one of my books, Acacia by David Anthony Durham. This book was a Christmas present from one of my best friends. I enjoyed it more than I have any fantasy book for a long time. It was pretty dark, but the story was interesting.

Now I'm working my way through Touching Earth by Janet Lembke. It is a series of essays on vegetable gardening, which is really appropriate this time of year. The seed catalogs are pouring in and I'm plotting out what I want to grow this year. I'm going to make a modest start at vegetable gardening this year, a small raised bed with tomatoes and a few other vegetables. I just have to resist the urge to try to start too big. :) I start making large, ambitious lists when I go through the seed catalogs, I'll have to use some self restraint. The flower catalogs are also pouring in, and I have to use even more restraint with them. I am going to get a rose this year and plant it for the baby, who shall henceforth be called Quickbeam, after another name for the tree she is named after. :) This is the rose that I'm favoring at the moment.

I went to the doctor today for my postpartum checkup, and was given a clean bill of health. So now I can start working to get myself back to normal. I need to start exercising and making sure that I eat healthy so that I can take advantage of the calorie burning increase from breastfeeding. I am actually below my pre-pregnancy weight, so I want to keep going with that momentum. I've also been getting tired really easy, so I need to exercise and get back into some stamina. I have to start mentally preparing myself to get back to work, because I'll be starting back in a couple of weeks.

We went by this afternoon and met the pastor at the church we are planning on going to. It was a pretty interesting discussion. He has been the pastor here for almost 40 years and had some interesting stories to tell. His first calling was to Mississippi in the 1960's, during the Civil Rights era, and he was the pastor of a black church. It must have definately been culture shock to say the least. We've been meaning to start going again, but with long work hours, kidney stones and finally being freaking huge and pregnant, we kept putting it off. So now we're going to get started again, and get Quickbeam baptized. Life is getting a little more normal. :)

It Was a Cold and Snowy Night...

After being holed up in the house for so long, I had planned on going shopping today. Just something to get out of the house for a while. Unfortunately I heard on the TV this morning that winter weather was expected tonight, so I wanted to make sure that we had something really warm and hearty to eat for supper. I broke out my Savoring the Seasons of the Northern Heartland cookbook by Beth Dooley and Lucia Watson and found a recipe for Wisconsin Cheddar Cheese and Vegetable Soup. I also had a recipe for Apple Pomegranate Cider from my recipe file to try out. Here is the recipe for the soup, which I made some changes to. So I bundled up the munchkin and we went out for a grocery shopping trip. I carried her around in the Baby Bjorn carrier and she got lots of attention from old ladies. :)

Wisconsin Cheddar Cheese and Vegetable Soup

2 Tbs. canola oil
3 leeks, white parts only, sliced and rinsed
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 c. cauliflower florets
2 large russet potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
1/2 lb. sliced low-fat kielbasa or other smoked sausage
2 c. stock
2 c. milk
Salt and Pepper to taste
8 oz. 1/3 less fat cream cheese
2 c. shredded cheddar cheese
1 Tbs. Dijon mustard
1 Tbs. Worcestershire sauce
Hot sauce to taste

Heat the oil in a soup pot over medium heat. Add all of the ingredients ending with the sausage, and saute over medium heat until vegetables begin to soften. Add the stock, milk and salt and pepper. Simmer until vegetables are soft. Remove pot from heat. Cut the cream cheese into smaller pieces, add to pot and stir until melted. Add cheese and stir until it is melted. Add remaining ingredients and stir to combine. Return the soup to low heat until warmed through.

The apple cider was really good, and hit the spot. This is from the Cooking Light November 2007 issue.

Apple and Pomegranate Cider
6 whole cloves
2 (3-inch) cinnamon sticks
1 (3-inch) strip lemon rind
1 (3-inch) strip orange rind
8 c. unfiltered apple cider
1 c. pomegranate juice
3/4 c. fresh orange juice
1/4 c. sugar
1/4 c. fresh lemon juice

I threw all of the ingredients into a crock pot and turned it on high heat for a while. That way it stayed warm through the night without having to keep the stove on.

The Challenge

To document the extent of my recipe pile, I made a list of recipes from my file. This shows the extent of my problem. http://goblingastronomy.blogspot.com/2008/01/pipeline-list.html I also made a list to show progress as I work my way through it. http://goblingastronomy.blogspot.com/2008/01/tested-list.html Maybe I'll actually make it through. :)

Resolution

Last year was pretty eventful, with the most important being our new baby. She's amazing and I can't get enough of looking at her and being fascinated by her. Over the last year we've gotten settled into our new home and my new job. Life has been very good, and for that we're grateful. Over the next year, my main goal is to get even more at home, explore more of our new hometown, and to be the best mama that I can be to my little girl. In order to gain more appreciation for the things that we have, I'm going on a buying moratorium.

Over the past few years I’ve gotten very bad about buying books and not reading them. I have a shelf full of cookbooks in my kitchen that I have never really even looked through, much less cooked out of. I have books on my shelf that I bought but never read. I have countless recipes from magazines that I have torn out and set aside, but never done anything with. It’s like I’m obsessive/compulsive about wanting to buy these things, but when I get them the itch is scratched and I never do anything with them. So I decided that this year, I’m going to reform my ways. My resolution this year is that I won’t buy any new books or cookbooks until I have actually read those that I have now. I’m going to caveat this, in that the one subject that I will buy books on is childcare/rearing. I even plan on restraining from getting books from the library until I have gone through those that I have already. We’ll see how far I can get with this.

The other part to my resolution is to try to buy only essential items, and only buy things to replace those that get worn out. Again, we'll see how far I can get with this. The main thing that I foresee buying is clothes and other necessities for our baby. We'll see how creative I can get. :)