The Hops Have Arrived

I like beer and I like plants, so it just seems natural to try to grow some hops, right? Although we haven't tried to brew our own beer, we have friends that do, and at the very least the vines make pretty dried decoration. My grandfather, knows his stuff, and assured me that growing hops is very easy, and that the vine will grow as tall as you let it in the summer. So we've decided to to give it a try and see what happens!

We pre-ordered our rhizomes from Keystone Home Brewing. Rhizomes are the little root bit of the plant that you bury. We were recommended to buy two plants of the same variety. So we got three varieties, two each: Cascade, Columbus, and Mt. Hood.

They look sort of sad. The Columbus had a bit of mold on it, but from what I gather it'll grow just fine in properly drained soil.

The Columbus hops are a good dual purpose hop for both bitterness and strong aroma, perfect for pale ales and IPAs. Named after the Cascade mountains in Northwest US, these hops are the most widely used variety by craft breweries in the States. They have a medium strength aroma, spicy and citrusy.

The Mt. Hood's low acidity makes it primarily used for aroma. It's a descendant of the German Hallertau.

We'd love to build a trellis behind the raised beds, but for now they're just going in the ground. We dug holes for each rhizome, laid them in and covered them with some potting soil. We arranged them in three pairs, 4 foot apart, alphabetically, so I'd remember what's what.

Once they start growing we can stake them and maybe think about building a trellis. I'll let you know when we see something! So, I just found this photo on Monday Night Brewing. This is exactly what we had in mind, the fence even looks the same...

UPDATE: As of 6/13/13 still no signs of emerging hops. I'm not sure if we did something wrong or if I'm not being patient enough...

Thanks, Mom!

During a conversation about Mother's Day plans my mom said something to the effect of, "Don't get me anything! Mothers going un-celebrated is part of the job..." Typical mom. Well, too bad, I'm celebrating you anyway!

Teenage Joanne (1970's)

At my baptism (1984)

At the shore (1987)

You wouldn't believe her when she says that she used to be an introvert and "uncool" growing up. You might not even believe her when she tells you her age. My mother is the friendliest, most vivacious and active person I know. She is constantly doing something. Cooking, gardening, entertaining, singing, volunteering. She's the person who stands in the grocery line and makes two new friends. Mary Poppins and Martha Stewart in one, she has finger puppets in her bag, "in case she comes across antsy children" and dog treats "for making doggie friends!".

Growing up I had amazing handmade costumes, not only for Halloween, but just for fun. My favorite "everyday" costume was a jaguar jumpsuit that had a hood with ears. As a stay at home mom, she completely spoiled me, although I might not have realized it at the time. Breakfast was hot, and my lunches were usually Tupperwared leftovers. And as a kid I longed for Lunchables, Dunkaroos, and Capri Suns. Or even a crustless whitebread PB&J. Instead I got Beef Stroganoff or Chicken Pot Pie. Or sandwiches that you needed to strategize how to eat, they were so large. For better or worse, my mom let me dress myself and "do" my own hair from age 5 on. During elementary school she must have cringed every morning I stepped out the door with my dandelion mop and crazy ensembles, oh fashions of the early 90's.

She never pressured me in school, but somehow instilled a need to succeed within myself. As a little one I made drawings all. the. time. So my mom had to be selective on the fridge. It would make me try to create something better with each drawing so that it could replace an older one. I still carry that competitive nature against myself today. She also let me learn tough lessons on my own. She was smart enough to know early on that no matter what she warned or advised, I had to try it out for myself. There were a few times as a teenager, and my adult life too, that she really worried about some of my decisions, but instead of telling me so, let me figure it out on my own. Well, she must have done something right, because I'm a pretty normal adult, and now, I consider her one of my best friends. Our newest tradition is to take a mini weekend getaway together in the fall. It's fun to be together just the two of us and I feel like I get to know her even more, I mean I didn't know her for 29 years of her life...

So thanks, mom. I have always felt loved and supported throughout my life, and I have nothing but heartfelt gratitude and admiration for you today, and everyday!

At my wedding (2011)

Thrifted Friday: Vintage Coffee Carafe

I am fully aware that the Picasso print in the background is the wrong way!

I've been partial to silver from a young age because I loved helping my mom polish all of hers. I would go and collect all the little artifacts (there were a lot) around the house and line them up to transform them with the magic pink paste. My mom loved it because cleaning silver is probably what turns most people off it. I still find it so satisfying to renew a piece of silver to it's shiny glory.

This has been my favorite recent thrift store find. I've never seen anything like it, and at first, didn't fully realize what's it's purpose was. As I put it into my cart, an older woman kept saying how beautiful it was, and that she didn't see it on the shelf... I only felt a little guilty that I nabbed it first. So, what is it? Initially I thought it was just a fancy carafe, but Emily pointed out it's probably for tea or coffee because of the little stand bit underneath for a tea light. After polishing (for a solid hour) I uncovered the maker, "Sheridan Silver-plated". I think it can be dated to around the 1950's. It would make a fun addition to a brunch buffet. Now, it just needs a nice little tea light underneath!

Recommended Viewing: Five Foodie Films

I've compiled five of my favorite movies about food, and the passion of creating good food. And they all happen to be available to stream on Netflix! If you haven't seen these I strongly suggest that you to be a couch potato and watch them all. Each are uplifting and inspirational in their own way. And I can assure you they will make you crave whatever they are eating!

What you'll be craving: All things Italian

 What you'll be craving: A bottle of wine (and Chris Pine!)

 What you'll be craving: Fresh ramen roodles

 What you'll be craving: Chocolate

What you'll be craving: A fiery Indian curry

More Wrapped Jewelry

So easy I felt the photos explain all you need to know!

Two Weeks With Chickens: What I've Learned About Our Flock

It's been two weeks since we've built our coop and let our chickens free to roam the 60 sqft run outside. Because neither of us have had chickens before we've been learning a lot of new things...

1. They really are easy to take care of. I let them out in the morning after my walk with Dante before work. Chris puts them to bed when he takes Dante out for his last pee of the day. So they've folded into our schedule nicely. I'd say they require no more than 2 hours of hands on time a week.

2. They're truly are little garbage disposals. We've given them radish tops, zucchini ends, mustard greens, and papaya rinds. The papaya rinds were the favorite by far. One would steal it and play keep away until another snatched it away.

3. They are pretty quiet. I was worried that we may annoy the neighbors, but they don't make any more noise than the other birds in the neighborhood. We do have three roosters but they haven't started to crow yet...

4. I'm not sad about the idea of giving them away. I thought I might become really attached to them, but the thought of giving the roosters away doesn't bother me. Or the thought of taking them to the butcher to "prepare" doesn't make me flinch either. Maybe I will make a good suburban farmer! We'll be taking them to a small animal auction this weekend in hopes to trade for some more hens.

5. Monica is the friendliest. She's our only Speckled Sussex hen, and she is definitively the most calm and easy to handle.

6. They can fly better than I expected. I was under the assumption that chickens can't fly other than a small hopping flutter, but sometimes when they exit the coop they bypass the ramp altogether and float down to the run. I've also seen Phoebe jump/fly at the run door. Real life Chicken Run.

7. They drink a lot of water. They go through the 2 gallon water feeder much faster than the food. They also go to the water first thing in the morning when I let them out. I think I'll add another water feeder in the summer.

8. They don't put themselves to bed yet. We were told that the chickens will learn to go into their coop at night, but they haven't figured out that one yet. Chris herds them up the ramp into the coop every night. He tries different methods: putting the roosters in and seeing if the hens will follow, putting them on the ramp to see if they'll march in. Eventually when the nights are warm enough, we'll just leave the door open to make them learn to go in by themselves.

9. They like to sun themselves. Their coop is completely covered with metal roofing, but the sun can still peep through in spots. Sometimes we'll find them literally stretched out on their sides sunning themselves.

10. They act like a pack of Velociraptors. Chris mentioned it and now I can't stop seeing them this way. It is said that chickens are the closet living relative to Velociraptors. If you watch how they move and interact together, and how their little heads turn to look at you, it's like you're watching Jurassic Park.

Hey There, Jicama!

If you asked me what jicama is about a year ago I'd probably say it's some sort of illness. Quite the opposite! Jicama (pronounced hecama), mexican turnip, or yam bean is a tuber root of a plant in the bean family. It's crunchy and watery, kinda like a radish but a little sweeter like an apple. Have I confused you yet?

This is what it looks like whole. You may have already overlooked these bad boys because they look so... boring?

But I can assure you they are not! They are a super healthy snack, packed with vitamin C and B and tons of dietary fiber. It's used in soups, stews and salads, but my favorite way to eat it, so far, is as plain as it gets. Cut it up like you would a butternut squash or a potato, slicing edges of the tough skin off until you have nothing left but the white fleshy center. Cut that up into long french fry-like strips.

Liberally apply fresh lime juice and sea salt. This time I got fancier and added chopped cilantro and chili powder (but I think we prefer just the lime and salt). They are quite refreshing served cold. That's all there is to it!

Salsa Roja

Here's another salsa I prepped for this weekend. This a simple standard salsa made of pureed red tomatoes. You can use any sort of pepper you'd like for heat, but I prefer the smoky flavor of chipotle here. But the real secret to this, I think, is in the preparation of the tomatoes...

Start off with about a pound of Roma tomatoes, or another "sauce" variety. These will be a little sweeter and meatier than a big slicing tomato. We want to blanch them and remove their skins. Halve them, and notch out the rough stem part. In a large pan, put about an inch of water, and place the halved tomatoes skin side down. Start to boil the water. It doesn't take long, and you'll see the skin start to separate from the tomatoes. Turn off the heat and use a slotted spoon or tongs to remove them from the water.

The skins will easily peel off. But be careful, they're hot! I always burn myself on stuff, I chalk it up to impatience. As a little one, my Italian grandfather would always put up a hand tell me, "Aspetta!", which means "wait" or "hold on". Funnily enough, I didn't know that until my adult life. Anyways, don't burn yourself!

Add the peeled tomatoes to a blender along with one to two chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, add a little sauce too. Also add about a cupful of cilantro, and a heap of cumin. Blend it up!

Dice up a small sweet onion and two garlic bulbs. Get some oil hot in a pan and add the onions and garlic, but only saute for a minute. Then toss them into the blender with everything else. Pour the pureed goodness into a large pan and simmer on low heat for about 40 minutes. Give it a stir every so often. The salsa will reduce and the flavors will strengthen. Add a little salt and pepper to taste. This will yield about a mason jar's worth and then some. That means a bowl for now, and a jar for the fridge.

It is a bit of work, but I assure you it's definitely worth it! Now you can confidently pass by the bland Old El Paso jars in the supermarket.

May Playlist

Salsa Verde

After I learned to make these salsas I made them all the time in the summer. But since we've been getting our veggies from a CSA in the autumn and winter, we've only been eating seasonal and local, which is good, but I haven't purchased a tomato or a tomatillo in months. Tragic. I missed fresh salsa. Thank goodness for Cinco de Mayo! For our party I've made two salsas ahead of time, simple verde and roja. Here is a recipe for the "green" salsa.

Tomatillos might be hard to come by in the supermarket depending on where you are. But this is what they look like, little green papery lanterns.

The first step is to peel off the sticky leaves and twist off the stem that may be attached. Give them a rinse if some dirt is left behind. Discard the leaves or make something out of them, they sort of look like flowers!

Place the tomatillos in a pot of water, enough that they float. Don't crowd them, they need their space. Let the water start to boil. They should become a slightly darker green color and their skins should just start to split. Drain them in a colander and put them back into the pan.

While you wait for the tomatillos to boil. Roughly chop a small sweet onion, a large handful of cilantro and a deseeded jalapeño. I like things spicy, but to me, salsa verde should be more mild and tangy than leaving you with a spicy burn. So one jalapeño is perfect for me. Add everything into one pot, or a blender, and blend away! Get it to a smooth consistency. When it's blended taste it before adding the finishing ingredients. I use one lime, and about 2 teaspoons each of sugar and salt. Wait for it to cool a bit before you dig in, it will get slightly thicker as it cools.

Enjoy with chips or over tacos, enchiladas, burritos, anything!

Party Planning: A Weekend in Food & Drink

I'm a planner by nature. And as much as I'd love to throw a party and not think about it too far in advance, I can't. Next weekend we're having a Cinco de Mayo/ Dante's birthday party (an excuse for a fiesta). So this past weekend was spent prepping outside, shopping and making some food in advance. Norristown has a lot of Mexican shops and produce stores where you can get things that aren't available in the supermarket regularly, or at all. We had fun picking out some special things like piñata candy, and fresh poblanos for the party.

For me, prepping food a week before is a time and stress saver. I've started with salsa verde and roja, mini cornbread, and Cilantro syrup for drinks. I also tested a jicama seasoning and the "new to us" gas grill we found on Craigslist. As the week progresses I'll be posting some recipes!

Salsa Verde and sliced jicama

Cilantro Limeade

Chris supplies music while I do the grilling. Brought to you by Sly Fox Beer.

The grill works! Kielbasa, onions and homemade spicy whiskey mustard.

Piñata Candy

UPDATE 05/07/2013: Emily took some awesome photos at the party, take a look here!

Recommended Listening: Bombino

This guy. Bombino is a Taureg nomad who has just released an album produced by Dan Auerbach. (Mr. Auerbach is a music producing powerhouse. He's probably produced a few that you didn't even know he anything to do with. Some of my past favorites have been with Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, Jessica Lee Mayfield, Dr. John, Michael Kiwanuka and Blakroc. I think his talent lies in preserving the individual sound, but there's a touch of Dan in everything he does.)

So back to this nomad fella'. Omara “Bombino” Moctar made his Nonesuch record debut with this album, Nomad. A born and raised Nigerian, Bombino is a member of the Tuareg Ifoghas tribe, nomadic desert folk.  As a self taught guitarist, Bombino was heavily influenced by Jimi Hendrix and Mark Knopfler, which is wholly evident in his style. This official video, gives a great look into his music.

If you like this guy you'd probably enjoy Afro Celt Soundsystem or Amadou and Miriam, or even a little Matisyahu.