Talking to Myself Again

Hill Street Farm CSA Week 3

mood: energetic

Andy Heck, Hill Street Farm, originally uploaded by Wally Hartshorn.

We got our the third week's bag from our Hill Street Farm CSA membership. Rather than show you yet another photo of fresh produce, I decided to show you one of the people who is responsible for growing it.

This is Andy Heck of Hill Street Farm. He's at the Old Capitol Farmers' Market every Saturday, distributing CSA shares. So, if you go to the farmers' market and you see him, say "Hi!" He'll be a bit confused, because he won't know who you are, but he's friendly, so I'm sure he'll say "Hi" back. And then try to sell you something good to eat.

As for what was in this week's share, it included Sylvesta lettuce and/or Blushed Butter Cos lettuce (I think we got the latter), one of 3 varieties of radishes (French Breakfast, Cherry Bell, or Easter Egg), Walla Walla Spring onions, and a stir fry mix (featuring chard).

We chose Cherry Belle radishes last week, so this week we chose French Breakfast.

If you want to see pictures, hop on over to the 100-Mile Diet / Locavore set on my Flickr account and take a look.

We'd used up most of the lettuce from last week's CSA, but we hadn't used the chard stir fry mix yet, so we had that for lunch today. Actually, rather than having it as a stir fry, Dawn decided to experiment, boiling it and one of the onions in a vegetable broth, then serving it over shell pasta. It was pretty good! I'm not sure how to describe the taste, other than to say that it reminded me of spinach.

As usual, the CSA pickup was at the weekend Old Capitol Farmer's Market. The only other thing we bought this time was some rhubarb. The rhubarb apple crisp that Dawn made last week was very good, so we're going to have some more!

Oh, and I stopped by the booth that said "Strawberries Soon" last weekend and asked whether they had an update. They did: Strawberries on Wednesday! I can't wait!

Sunset Storm Clouds

Sunset Storm Clouds, originally uploaded by Wally Hartshorn.

After the storm had passed, I noticed that the sky outside had a weird, orangish cast. I stepped outside to take a look and saw that the odd color was caused by the sunset fighting its way through the remnants of the storm clouds.

I grabbed my camera and took several shots. Although none of them really got the color right, this one is my favorite.

You can see more weather photos on my Flickr pages.

We Dodge the Tornado. Again.

mood: worried
music: rain, wind, thunder

A bunch of big thunderstorms are moving through the area at the moment. There was a report of a tornado in Springfield, but it was south of us. It looks like things are mostly over with, so we've dodged another one!

Note to self: You know all of those photos that you still haven't posted online? Off-site backup of the computer! Soon!

The Pizza Machine

Pizza UFO, originally uploaded by Wally Hartshorn.

Dain, the son of our friends Bill and Mary, graduated from the 8th grade, so they had a graduation dinner for him at The Pizza Machine (in Vinegar Hills Mall at 1st and Cook).

The Pizza Machine's claim to fame is that they have very large pizzas. How large? How about 40 inches in diameter and weighing in at 25 pounds? How about large enough that they're delivered to your table by a crane that lowers them from the second floor?

And if 40 inches isn't large enough, they also have a 60 inch pizza.

This photo shows the pizza being lowered to our table. Go to my Flickr account to see more photos from Dain's Graduation Dinner.

In addition to the pizza, The Pizza Machine also features a spiral slide, a bunch of video games, a big screen TV, and a somewhat psychedelic industrial design scheme.

Lando loved it, particularly the slide. He and Sarah spent quite a lot of time running up the stairs to the second floor, then sliding down the slide to the first floor, then running up the stairs again.

Lando was also quite impressed by the pizza crane. While I was talking to Bill, Lando broke into our conversation several times to point out that "the grabber" (as he called it) was still visible, hanging from the ceiling. I'm not sure if he was concerned that it was going to grab something, or if he just felt that it should retreat out of sight after its job was done.

In any case, we all had a good time.

(In case you were wondering about the actual taste of the pizza, I think I would describe it as nothing special. It was okay, but nothing special. But then maybe I'm a bit of a pizza snob.)

CSA Week 2

CSA Week 2, originally uploaded by Wally Hartshorn.

Here's what was in the second week's bag from my CSA membership. Significantly more than last week, although still early in the season.

According to the letter included with it, this week's share included any of 3 varieties of lettuce (Tom Thumb Butterhead, Bronze Mignonette, and Flashy Green Butter Oak), one of 3 varieties of radish (French Breakfast, Cherry Belle, or Easter Egg); a spring mix; and a stir fry mix.

In addition to the Tom Thumb Butterhead, I think that this time we got Flashy Green Butter Oak (the variety that we didn't get last time). Although it doesn't look green, so what do I know. Actually, based on the photos I've found, I've got about 0% confidence in my identification of that lettuce.

Actually, we still have plenty of Bronze Mignonette from last week, because everyone in our household has been sick. As much as we like salad, it isn't what springs to mind when we think "comfort food"!

This week the CSA pickup was at the weekend Old Capitol Farmer's Market. We wandered around looking at stuff, as we always do. (Well, as much as we can with a 3-year-old in tow.) This time, however, there wasn't much need for us to buy anything else. We did pick up a couple of hydroponic tomatoes, but we know they're just not the same. Also, we saw one person with a sign that said "Strawberries Soon", so we're eagerly looking forward to that!

One update on last week's CSA share. While Dawn was preparing the rhubarb apple crisp using the rhubarb in last week's share, I tried raw rhubarb for the very first time. I'd no idea what to expect. I definitely didn't expect it to taste somewhat like a lime! I didn't get to sample much of it though, because the rest of it went into the rhubarb apple crisp, which was very good!

CSA Week 1

mood: energetic
music: silence

CSA Week 1, originally uploaded by Wally Hartshorn.

Here's what was in the first week's bag from my CSA subscription. As I expected, the first week was a bit sparse. This was both because it's still early in the season and because the wet weather meant that some stuff didn't get planted as early as they would have liked.

According to the letter included with it, this week's share includes rhubarb and 3 varieties of lettuce (Tom Thumb Butterhead, Bronze Mignonette, and Flashy Green Butter Oak).

Actually, I don't think that we got any of the Flashy Green Butter Oak. Instead, it looks like we got 2 heads each of the other 2 varieties.

No problem. How much salad can 2 people eat in one week? Anyway, I've no doubt that we'll be getting plenty more in future weeks!

Dawn was quite happy to see the rhubarb. She loves strawberry-rhubarb pie and often ate fresh raw rhubarb when she was growing up in Montana. She's found a recipe for rhubarb apple crisp, so I'll let you know how that tastes!

Which Shakespeare Play Are You?

mood: cheerful
music: silence

Yes, it's time for the results of another pointless and somewhat puzzling quiz!

The Which Shakespeare Play Are You? Test

You scored 28% = Tragic, 52% = Comic, 47% = Romantic, 23% = Historic

You Scored Much Ado About Nothing! First published in 1600, Much Ado About Nothing is one of Shakespeare's most enduring comedies, and probably his most performed to this day. Much Ado About Nothing tells the story of two pairs of would-be lovers and the hysterical events that happen surrounding the wedding. As Claudio and Hero prepare to marry, Don Pedro and his friends, bored with the length of preparation time, take it upon themselves in the meantime to play matchmaker to Benedick and Beatrice, two sharp-tongued would-be lovers whose love for each other is masked by the "merry war of words" in which they are engaged that both of them are too stubborn to lose. Based on your results, we believe you to be a quick-witted, light-hearted romantic who is probably very charming and charismatic. While your stubbornness may sometimes get the better of you, we are confident that you always eventually come to your senses and do what's best. You probably have a lot of friends and we like you too!

Electric Ant Farm

Electric Ant Farm, originally uploaded by Wally Hartshorn.

Look what decided to take up residence in one of our electrical outlets. Nice, huh? I'm reminded of some 1950s horror movie or something. Or maybe just "Arachnophobia".

Every year, when the weather warms up, our house gets invaded by tiny ants. Why? Well, probably the fact that our house has more holes than a cheese grater might have something to do with it. It has mine subsidence damage, so nothing is square and in numerous places little gaps have opened up.

If I were more conscientious, I'd go around with a caulking gun and fill in those gaps, but I don't have time to do that because I'm too busy complaining about them and posting pictures of ants.

Funshop Field Trip to Cozy Creek Farm

mood: tired
music: silence

Last weekend was Funshop's spring field trip to Cozy Creek Farm. Last fall, it was a bit cool and a bit rainy. This spring, it was a bit cool a bit rainy -- and extremely windy! The event normally lasts about 2 hours, ending with a picnic lunch. This year we beat a hasty retreat after just one hour, skipping the picnic lunch.

Here are a few photos from the trip. You can see the rest in my Cozy Creek Farm, Spring 2008 Flickr set. (You'll need to be logged into Flickr as one of my friends or family to see all of the photos. If you don't know how to do this, just ask!) Nothing special in this set of photos; the weather was just too uncooperative to spend much time fiddling with taking lots of pictures!

Lando was very interested in the sheep -- until it actually "baa-ed" at him. Suddenly the sheep seemed much larger!

It took a bit for Lando to work up the courage to reach out and pet the miniature horse. He began by giggling.

In addition to the cows, sheep, pigs, chickens, turkeys, etc, there was a peacock. We don't know why.