Starring in Tonight's Salad We Have...

chive blossoms, lovage leaves, nasturtium blossoms, Chinese rose radish, breakfast radish, garlic chives, red oak leaf lettuce, lolla rossa lettuce and key lime lettuce.

Cowboy Fence?

For those of you wondering what my neanderthal neighbor was referring to when he said cowboy fence. Here for your viewing enjoyment is a picture of my neighbor and what he described as a "cowboy" fence:

Ass Smacking Intervention Part I

So last night we sat down as a family and held an intervention for Jason. Jason has many issues. Most are just par for the course and others are not. The issue we felt compelled to intervene on was Jason's incessant ass smacking. We became fed up to our eyeballs with Jason smacking us in the ass and apparently, to our mortification, we learned that he's been smacking girls in the ass at school as well... This simply pushed us over the edge. In an effort to connect the dots we reflected on our own actions. In reflecting we realized that Mauricio smacks me in the ass a good deal, but that's o.k., it's different... but how do you explain how it's different to a 5 year old on a ass smacking rampage? Anyhow, we did out best and I think it went pretty well. We all told Jason that our respective butts' were sore and fed up and he got a good cry out of all the pressure and attention that was so intently focused on him. We hugged him and told him we love him and daddy promised that he wasn't going to smack my butt (in front of him) ;) again. So why does my title say Part 1 you may ask? Because. I've got a little knuckle head for a son and even though I sensed sincerity in his words last night, I know he'll be back... which is why I'm already in the process of titling the next post on this subject.

Lawn Obliteration Day!

We have made an appointment with our garden Man, Abel, to remove our lawn promptly and to replace it with raised beds and xerescape. This will be taking place within the next two weeks. We've also drawn up plans for the raised beds and drip irrigation system that will be installed. There is however one major sticking point in our plans... well, actually two. First off we have three gorgeous birch trees which form an off-center birch circle in our front yard. The tree's well being is of the utmost priority to me so they will not be adversely affected by our plans. The problem is that they create a shady spot from sunrise until around 10:30 a.m. on a portion of the lawn where we intend to build our raised beds. This still gives this area a good 6 hours of solid sun but it needs to be taken in to account, nonetheless. Secondly, we intend to fence the area tastefully to achieve some amount of privacy but also to use the fence in a practical manner to support vines which will bare edibles such as grapes or kiwis. Unfortunately, our gun toting, SUV driving next door neighbor is an ass. He says on the portion of yard that borders his, he wants us to build a "cowboy fence". WTF!? A cowboy fence. He then proceeds to apologize that he has no money to contribute to building said "cowboy fence". He boldly states that any sort of "picket style" fence is out of the question. This lack of class and etiquette takes a serious set of cow balls,. Anyhow, these issues will be surmounted one way or another and soon we will have over 700 sq. ft. of new garden space devoted solely to growing our own organic, sustainable food.

Dessert Du Jour

Tonight I decided to make use of a bunch of bananas that up and went spotty on me. I wanted to do something a little different so I modified my favorite banana bread recipe by doubling it, adding a fudge swirl and baking it in an Italian pound cake pan. We all had a slice along with a glass of milk while it was still warm.
And there's ma' Butcher Man licking batter straight from the bowl! He's my biggest fan, what can I say?

Sorry... More Garden Pics.

Can you tell that I like my garden? It has really taken off. The sprouts in the wine barrel are my potatoes. As the leaves sprout through the soil, they are buried with more soil so that only a few leaves are peeking through. When all is said and done, this barrel will be filled to the top with soil. The actual potatoes will grow off the portions of the stem that are buried. I planted five potatoes slips here which should yield around 25 pounds of red and white potatoes. The last picture below is of my Lovage. Lovage is a cousin of celery and one of my favorite herbs to grow. It's a hardy perennial with lovely flowers and leaves that taste like celery. Beyond that, it's a very healthy addition to the diet. I use lovage leaves minced and added anywhere celery flavor is desired, especially in soups, stews and salads. As a fringe benefit, lovage contains Quercetin which is a powerful anti-oxidant.

Bits-N-Pieces

My latest and greatest accomplishment has been losing a total of 16 pounds and dropping two sizes in the process, YAY! I've been steadily working on getting back to my pre-pregnancy weight and although I recognize that I'll never be a size 5 again, I'll happily settle for something in between then and now. I've also adopted a fitness schedule that my family and I can live with which has proven to be very effective. One thing is for sure, you'll never find me on a diet. My experiences in this department have proven that I can simply work out furiously and still enjoy the pleasure of eating a little sinfully now and then.

In the mean time, I hope to lose another 20-30 pounds which should put me at a good weight for my height and hopefully allow me to don... *gulp*... a swimsuit for the first time since giving birth to Michael over 7 years ago. This will all be a pipe dream of course, if it turns out that I'm pregnant *bites finger nails nervously*. I missed my last period and that hasn't happened since, well, since my last pregnancy. And yes, I am taking a pill although I just switched to a "mini pill" which means that it's a very low dosage. I haven't had time to get to a pharmacy or make an appointment to see my doc. yet. If it were the case, it wouldn't be the end of the world as Mauricio and I have always dreamed about having a little girl... although *really bites fingernails* we'd probably end up having another boy *faints*.

Cream Stuffed Devil's Food Cake Cupcakes with Chocolate Ganache Frosting

Phew! What a mouthful, literally. I made these for dessert tonight. First I started off with a decadent devil's food cake recipe. I gave these cupcakes a twist once they were cooled by pipping cream in to the center and topping them with a chocolate ganache. I love my cupcake tower - it just seems to add something to the presentation. Anyhow, they were yummy and not unlike a Hostess Cupcake just infinitely better. Recipe to follow...