Nothing to do?

What fun to be alerted by Google Calendar that I had No Events Scheduled Today.  Nothing.  How great is that? 

Empty calendars, it seems, create space for terrific things to happen.  Like an early morning walk in the hills with Susan and our three dogs.  A Super Civilized Walk with a Starbucks stop half way through.  The best. 

And then a spontaneous visit from my Favorite City Family to collect eggs, apples and garden vegetables.  And, of course, flowers. 

  

  

   

Yesterday?  A similarly superb sequence of surprises.  Nothing Scheduled.  But a day full of fun, friends and family.  I was/and still am/loving this sort of spontaneous entertaining.  Which feels nothing like Real Entertaining. 

We began in the garden, food evolved, the party grew and moved inside.  Life unfolded. 

Let's toast that!  And do much more of this refreshing/revitalizing kind of entertaining with a small "e."

Grow Your Own Mushrooms!

Back of the box says it all!  

"Recycling trash isn't just the right thing to do/it's the only thing we can do.  We like to think we've mastered the art of waste reduction by transforming used coffee grounds into the substrate for this mushroom kit.  After the mushrooms have been harvested, the leftover roots enrich the coffee grounds, turning them into premium compost for your plants and thus closing the loop on your BTTR Gourmet Garden."

Oyster mushrooms have been revered for thousands of years in mid-European and Asian cultures and now you can grow them right in your own kitchen!  

• Low in calories
• High in protein and fiber
• Full of iron, vitamin B-complex, glucosamine and calcium
• great source of anti-oxidants

Just place box in an indoor area that has access to fresh air and avoids direct sunlight.  Spray with BTTR mister 2-3 prays of tap water twice a day.  In 7-10 days, you will see small, grayish-blue "pinheads" appear.  These are baby mushrooms beginning to grow.  Harvest in 3-5 days by twisting off the caps when they are 1-2 inches in diameter.

Repeat process for 2nd crop using the back of the box!!!

So incredibly interesting!  Great fun to photograph.  Thanks, Don and Nacole!  What a terrific gift!

Is there anything that Amazon doesn't carry?

BTTR Gourmet Garden: Grow-it-at-home Mushroom Kit

Quite a day

Quite a wonderful day. 

And I think we’re on to something.  After Judi, Jan and Susan left, I began experimenting with leftovers from our time together.  Spreadable goat cheese, purple basil, miscellaneous edible flowers.  

Then, for some reason, all my pictures disappeared.  Last time that I "delete originals" after importing them.  Not good.

It was a spontaneous “Come at 4:30 to brainstorm ideas for Father’s Day and beyond.”

We began picking and eating fresh things from the boxes and mixing them with what little I had on hand (Bolani, goat cheese, a few ready-made sauces). 

Judi rolled a piece of arugula around the goat cheese.  And it went from there. 

Not only were the ideas that were generated ones that I definitely/ultimately want to implement (go horizontal with fabric to define an intimate eating space) but sharing time together laughing in the newly formed, not quite completed, garden, was simply terrific.   Thank you, good friends.

Let’s do that again.  And again.  Soon, OK? 

Next time, I’ll give advance warning so that perhaps you, too, will join us! 

And, Anne, I loved our time together both walking this morning and tonight after your Big Tournament. 

Much love and safe travels to you, wonderful person/mom/soon-to-be grandmother.

WIA garden update

OK, I know some of you were a little skeptical about my wheel-it-anywhere, moveable feast.  But take a look now.  Little yellow squashes almost ready to harvest/much farther along than those planted earlier in our beds.  Bees buzzing around the licorice basil.  Nasturtiums nodding in the wind.  Exceedingly happy marigolds/a fun addition to salads or beverages/see below.

It's not too late to enjoy this edible/educational/green and growing concept.  And, more importantly, to share it with your child and/or grandchild.  Or simply with yourself.

Just pick up a bag or two of potting soil.  Position plants into holes that you've poked in the plastic.  Plant strawberries down one side.  Herbs down the other.  A tomato on top and a squash of some sort.  Basil to compliment the tomatoes.  Nasturtiums to accent the dish. 

Here's to you, amazing miniature garden on a wagon. 

Trust me, this little garden is well worth the small amount of effort it takes to construct it. 

You'll be delighted you did.

Update on Tuesday, June 15, 2010 at 7:16AM by Lois

BEFORE.  Just a few weeks ago! 

Eating on the edge

As the weather warmed, our arugula began to bolt.  Rather than tossing it in the trash/adding it to the compost/chucking it in the chicken coop, I stripped off all the incredibly minuscule leaves.  Why I chose to tackle that tedious task remains a mystery.  But my work was later rewarded when everyone inhaled the exceptional, flavor-filled salad. 

The flowered stalks still seemed happy so I placed a bunch in my favorite vase where they stayed fresh for a several more days. 

Don’t you love it when life takes these surprising and tasty turns?

The same was true of edible pansies/violas/johnny jump ups that we planted in the vegetable garden for use in salads.  Rather than compost what had begun to mildew, I recycled a bunch in a bowl filled with water.  

Hmmmmm.  I'm beginning to wonder what else might be rescued from Death's Doorstep.

Off to forage.

What matters most to you

That's essentially what we communicate to our children and our children's children, don't you think?  

Recently I've written about the important people in my life and their love of being in and around the garden. 

Simultaneously, I've been sifting through thousands of pictures taken since our first child was born. 

One early theme was consistently reflected in my photos:  Get out into the garden.  Dig in the dirt.  Which we did together.

And, from what my kids tell me, being in the garden was an important part of growing up.  As a mom of two Unbelievably High Energy Boys, getting outside helped channel some of their intensity.  We all slept much better after a day digging in the dirt.

Here's a vintage look back at one of many "get out into the garden" experiences:  A barrel full of food and fun for little fingers.  

  

I have the barrels tracked down, need to rent a truck or bring many bungee cords for the wine barrel transfer.  Also have a few new ideas about recreating what I constructed many, many years ago.

Wheel it anywhere

Looking for a short/fun summer project for the little one/s in your life?  

Get them outside and into your garden.  Yon say you don't have one?  Or that it's completely planted?  Not a problem.  Create the following portable project that you can wheel anywhere.

What you need:

• A wagon.  I searched everywhere for a sturdy version with good drainage. Finally found one on, you guessed it, Amazon.  Garden Bronco Metal Wagon
• 1-2 large bags of potting soil
• Assorted herbs, lettuce, tomato and strawberry plants. Cucumber, zucchini, perhaps. Nasturtium seeds.

 Here’s how to do it:

• Stabilize bag/s.  We thought that two propped together might work well.  Both sagged a bit but they're definitely not falling off the wagon. 
• Open bag top to plant tomato, zucchini and/or a cucumber plants.
• Poke holes down the front/carefully insert strawberries.
• Do the same on the bag back to accommodate little lettuce plants. 
• Add herbs down both sides.
• Poke nasturtium seeds in soil for edible color/perhaps a few marigolds as well. 
• Wheel to sunny locations or hey, take it for a walk.
• Water as necessary.

OK, I agree that initially your portable garden's not the prettiest thing in the world.  But give it time. And water. Take it for periodic walks so that it has plenty of sunshine.   

You might notice that we didn't follow any of the instructions I just gave you.  I found my notes after planting had begun.  The point is to have some fun/be creative/think outside the box.

And, together, watch your garden grow.