Happy Thanksgiving

It's Not Easy Being Green

Due to a change in the weather, Talley Farms Fresh Harvest gathered some of their field fruit early. This week's CSA produce box included seven green tomatoes: very hard, unripe, green tomatoes. We've been loving their vine-ripened luscious heirloom tomatoes all season and I was a little disappointed.

Three of the tomatoes had a tinge of red on them so I stuck them in the plastic bag that contained the kiwis and added a ripe banana. (The banana gives off ethylene gas and will speedily ripen both fruit.)

Talley Farms Fresh Harvest (ganked photo)

For the clueless uninitiated like me Talley Farms includes a recipe for their more unusual produce. The recipe, Fried Green Tomatoes with Panko and Parmesan, looked easy enough and I had all the ingredients in my pantry.

Oh My Gosh. Oh-So-Delicious! It's difficult to describe the taste. Let's just say I quickly checked the other green tomatoes but, too late, they had already turned to red. Take my word for it and seek out those green gems.


It's Not Easy Being Green

It's not that easy being green
Having to spend each day the color of the leaves
When I think it could be nicer being red, or yellow, or gold
Or something much more colorful like that.

It's not easy being green
It seems you blend in with so many other ordinary things
And people tend to pass you over
'Cause you're not standing out
Like flashy sparkles in the water
Or stars in the sky.

But green's the color of spring
And green can be cool and friendly-like
And green can be big like an ocean
Or important like a mountain
Or tall like a tree.

When green is all there is to be
It could make you wonder why
But why wonder, why wonder
I am green, and it'll do fine
It's beautiful, and I think it's what I want to be.

Kermit, the Frog

Bits and Bobs: Using it All

I've mentioned my yarn stash before.  So now it looks like my stash has a stash ~

• single skeins of yarn (what was I thinking?)
• souvenir yarn ("grab and go")
• small balls of leftover yarn - too little to make anything, too much to throw away.

You get the picture.

And, besides, fiber folk don't won't can't throw anything away.

I thought I would take some of those odds and ends and knit up charity scarves.  I cast on 250 stitches on size US 10 needles that took forever.  It just about put me to sleep.  Then I started knitting long rows of garter stitch.  Again, it just about put me to sleep.  I was shooting for 4" wide by 60" long and ended with 3.75" by 72".  Good enough, I had to stop.

Long Skinny Scrappy Scarf

There had to be another way to use up the scraps.  A quicker less boring way.

I dusted off my 10" Cricket Loom -it's been awhile- and gathered all the bits and bobs of yarn: acrylic, alpaca, cotton, lambs wool, merino wool, mohair (looking at you Souvenir yarn), silk blends, and various other yarn blends.

Scrappy Woven Scarf

Souvenir Yarn Section

I love how the woven scarf turned out and I'm making a wee bit of progress using up the stash, inch by inch.  Good thing too since I just received another box of yarn and I'm embarrassed that it was so heavy and huge.  I mean humongous!  SABLE here I come.

Yikes, more yarn!

Spicy Hot

Last week's CSA box included a nice Napa Cabbage (Won Bok). Coincidentally, Sandee and I had just visited an Asian Market in SLO and I brought home a spice package to make Hawaiian Kim Chee. We haven't tried the finished product yet since it needs to sit awhile to develop it's full spicy-hot flavor. I'm looking forward to making Kim Chee Fried Rice with the eggs we're getting from The Peeps.

Over the last several days our photovoltaic system was installed and right now we're making electricity. Solarize SLO was a group purchasing program offered this summer to go green. We signed up and now that we've solarized our all electric house I'm looking forward to a whole lot of cooking and baking over the long dark days of fall and winter.

Yesterday, our friend Jerry and family were ready to evacuate from a wildfire behind their house. Luckily the conditions were right and the fire burned away from their home. Cal Fire were in "full wildland dispatch" and used ground crews, helicopters, and air tankers to control and contain the Toro Creek Fire. Scary. We haven't had enough rain to quench the dry landscape so we still need to keep up the fire vigil.

Our Bone-Dry Vista

Impeckable Timing

I am happy to report that The Girls are growing some mighty fine looking feathers. Baby (Frankenchicken) is looking sleek and shiny; her new feathers are a deep dark auburn color. Sweetness (aka Countess Dracluckula) still looks a bit scruffy but otherwise healthy.

More good news: The Peeps have started laying eggs. We received our first egg a week ago, three days before their six-months-old birthday. So far we've received five good-sized creamy brown eggs.

Cafe Au Lait eggs

All the eggs were found in the pen: one on the ground and four in the Igloo dog house. I'm not sure what possessed The Man to look in there but I'm glad he did.

I suspect Brandy is the egg layer. For a couple of days she's been doing the Chicken Squat. But on the other hand, both Brandy and Mrs Bond have been loudly singing the Egg Squawking Songs. For all I know they could both be sharing the Igloo.

Buff Orpingtons: Tandy (l) and Brandy (r)

"My name is Bond. Mrs Jane Bond."  (Barred Plymouth Rock)