playdate on the farm

playdate on the farm, originally uploaded by poketypatch.

Guess who showed up to play yesterday? 

PLAYTIME!

fun for Daisy (golden retriever) - not fun for Viper (8 foot long black snake)

Eventually Snappy (the schnauzer) got involved too - he took it much more seriously (the ratter in him) than Daisy who thought Viper was just a new toy.

I won't say how this story ended, because it wasn't a happy one for Viper.  You can use your own imagination.

tea time

tea time, originally uploaded by poketypatch.

Harvest chamomile flowers for drying and for fresh use when they are fully open.
To dry, snip the flowers off with scissors, then rinse and pat dry. Place flower heads on a rack or mesh screen and set to dry in a warm location. When flowers are completely dry, store in jars in the dark.
Harvest fresh leaves as needed.
Use fresh or dried chamomile flowers to brew delectable herbal tea. Deciding which chamomile to use is a matter of personal taste. German chamomile is sweeter than Roman chamomile, which has a slightly bitter bite. Whatever your choice, both make excellent tea.
To make chamomile tea, infuse 15 mL (1 tablespoon) of fresh flowers or 10 mL (2 teaspoons) of dried flowers in 250 mL (1 cup) of boiling water. Steep for 5 to 10 minutes. Strew a few Roman chamomile flowers over a tossed green salad, and season cream sauces, butter, and sour cream by adding small sprigs of either type.

my garden's gift to you

my garden's gift to you, originally uploaded by poketypatch.

“To get the full value of a joy you must have somebody to divide it with.” - Mark Twain

Make a Salad!

Make a Salad!, originally uploaded by poketypatch.

Organic Arugula
So easy to grow!
Just fill an old crate (or container) with some bagged garden soil. Plant the seeds. Keep moist. Until the seeds germinate, I just leave the box on my back porch - getting indirect sunlight. Once the seeds pop through, I move to a sunnier location - but not too bright at first. After the plants are established, they can take full sun. I also planted baby leaf spinach the same way.  

Once you have a good crop, just pick the baby leaves and throw in your salad.  Tonight we had Arugula, Romaine Lettuce, Dried Cranberries, Pecans, Asagio Cheese and some Balsimic Dressing.  YUM!

ready-set-go---plant-a-garden

ready-set-go---plant-a-garden, originally uploaded by poketypatch.

guess what I am growing this year!
I have all the tools I need
my mulch carrier aka radio flyer wagon
lots of mulch
a good trowel
a great pair of gardening gloves
lots of seeds
and some organic veggies already started
from a local organic farm!

chocolate lollipop and teapots

chocolate lollipop and teapots, originally uploaded by poketypatch.

I made up these little beauties for a swapbot potholder swap. The inspiration for them came from Pink Penguin.  Ayumills is just so talented that you will want to try out her sewing tutorials.  The teapot tutorial is found here and includes a downloadable pattern.  My advice is to have your computer nearby while you are making the pattern,  because I didn't and the photos would have really helped my attempt turn out a little better.  The brown potholder is made from some chocolate lollipop charms I bought a while back.  Can I just say that I LOVE LOVE LOVE Anna Maria Horner's fabric.  It is awesome.  I am going to try to make one of Ayumills' other tutorial patterns with the rest of the charms - a Reversible Patchwork Bag.  

Gardener's Journal

I have always wanted to keep a garden journal - but never followed through. Maybe if I start making some digital pages - it will inspire me to get on with it.

I need to remember to get the zinnia seeds in the ground - I want lots of these for flower arrangements! if only it would stop raining. 

Sitting on My Front Porch...

Sitting on My Front Porch..., originally uploaded by poketypatch.

No, it's not really me
it was
created for the Textures Only ~ Competition #43
on flickr

I am really starting to get the hang
of photoshop
it only took me
about
one year...

kokeshi dotee love

kokeshi dotee love, originally uploaded by poketypatch.

received in a swapbot swap
I am in love with her
she is simply perfect
thanks to rubberstampcollector
for making her

{Kokeshi Dolls are traditional Japanese dolls.  They were orignally from northern Japan and hadmade of wood.  They have a simple trunk and enlarged head.  The facial definition is made up of a few thin, painted lines.  The body usually has a floral design painted in red, black, and sometimes yellow, and covered with a layer of wax. One characteristic of kokeshi dolls is their lack of arms or legs. The bottom is marked with the signature of the artist.} Wikipedia

zebra-socks

zebra-socks, originally uploaded by poketypatch.

when i picked up my son from school yesterday with them on
the first comment out of his mouth
"zebra socks"
I thought he said
"zebra sucks"
I was confused
then I looked down
and saw my most favorite socks ever

chives in my herb garden

chives in my herb garden, originally uploaded by poketypatch.

What will I do with them? How about some
Creamy Chive Salad Dressing
175 ml (3/4 cup) non-fat buttermilk
50 ml ( 1/4 cup) reduced-fat mayonnaise
75 ml (1/3 cup) finely chopped fresh chives
15 ml (1 tbsp) chopped fresh parsley
15 ml (1 tbsp) lemon juice
15 ml (1 tbsp) Dijon mustard
Salt and ground black pepper, to taste
In a bowl, whisk together buttermilk, mayonnaise, chives, parsley, lemon juice and mustard. Season with salt and pepper.
Full article found here.
How did I process this photo? I used a photoshop cross-processing action found here.

Wordless Wednesday: Poetry of the Earth

Poetry, originally uploaded by poketypatch.

THOUGHTS ON CONSCIOUS EATING and STRAWBERRY MUFFINS

Well, at least one person read the post on my muffins, and busted me on the fact that I posted a link to the recipe I “adapted” but did not post my “adaptations” to the recipe. Unfortunately, for me this is a bit harder than it might be for someone who does a lot of cooking (you know someone who actually plans ahead, does shopping for ingredients, reads the recipe, follows it to the tee, and has yummy food all the time). I am the exact opposite. I don’t cook a lot. When I get the urge to make something from scratch, I usually don't have all of the necessary supplies. So, I have to get creative and compensate. It doesn’t always turn out well. This time I was lucky. But, I must backtrack a little…

I recently checked out a new book, Food Matters: A Guide to Conscious Eating with More Than 75 Recipes, from the local library. Since I was a little late in returning it (and had accumulated a $1.00 fine), I decided to renew the book and actually read it! Boy, am I glad I did. Salon.com reviewed the book as “an unusual blend of manifesto, self-help manual and cookbook designed to convince people that they can drastically improve their diets with relatively little discomfort.” The book contains healthy advice; and, provides lots of recipes for meals and snacks. 

In looking over the recipes, it was the snacks that got me to thinking. I am constantly pestering my kids about eating too much junk food. Mr. Bittman provides recipes for alternative snacks, that are so simple to make, but the kids might actually eat them. So it was this pondering about snack food and what we had in the cupboard, that led me to start thinking about all the good food we throw away unused, which brought me to open up the refrigerator and look inside. Yep, there was a huge container of fresh strawberries that were going to go bad if we didn’t eat them quickly.  

And, them came the AHA moment. I will make strawberry muffins! Those wonderful strawberries wouldn't go rotten after all!

Searching online I found the recipe at Smitten Kitchen. Since I had most of the ingredients, I thought that it would be pretty easy to wing this one. Here is what I did (my changes are in RED):

Whole Wheat  STRAWBERRY Muffins
ADAPTED FROM SMITTEN KITCHEN that was Adapted from King Arthur Flour

These dark, crazy moist muffins will keep well for several days, and the brown sugar on top, should you not skimp on it like I did, adds a crunchy touch, perfect for those of you who know that the lid is the best part.
Yield: They said 12, I got 15
1 cup (4 ounces) whole wheat flour (USED ORGANIC WHOLE WHEAT FLOUR)
1 cup (4 1/4 ounces) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1/2 cup (1 stick, 4 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup (3 1/2 ounces) granulated sugar
1/2 cup DARK BROWN SUGAR plus 1/4 cup for topping
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/3 CUP ORGANIC GREEK YOGURT and ½ CUP 1% MILK

ABOUT 6 BIG RIPE STRAWBERRIES CUT INTO LITTLE PIECES
1/2 cup ORGANIC GRANOLA

Preheat the oven to 450°F. LINE MUFFIN TIN WITH MUFFIN CUPS and set aside.
Mix together the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon, and set aside. In a separate bowl, cream the butter and add the granulated sugar and 1/4 cup of the brown sugar. [AT THIS POINT I WAS NOT FOLLOWING RECIPE WELL AND PUT IN THE WHOLE ½ CUP OF BROWN SUGAR – IT MADE MY MUFFINS EXTRA SWEET THUS THIS WAS A GOOD BLOOPER) Beat until fluffy. Add the egg and mix well; stop once to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl. ADD THE YOGURT AND MILK – BEWARE I DID NOT MEASURE THE MILK BUT I THINK IT WAS ABOUT 1/3 CUP SO THAT THE MIX WAS WET ENOUGH TO STIR BUT STILL THICK.   Stir in the dry ingredients and fold in the STRAWBERRIES and the ORGANIC GRANOLA HERE.

Divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups, sprinkling the remaining 1/4 cup brown sugar on top. Bake for 10 minutes, turn the heat down to 400°F, and bake for an additional 5 to 10 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Cool the muffins for 5 minutes in the tin, then turn them out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

AND THERE YOU HAVE IT.  MY FIRST EVER ADAPTED RECIPE (MY FIRST RECIPE EVER!) ON THIS BLOG.  THANKS to SANDI a::k::a KnitMy Rhino for nudging me along.  If you make these muffins and like them, you should go tell SANDI at CRAFTING WITH RHINOS.

BEWARE...you can't eat just ONE!

strawberry goodness

strawberry goodness, originally uploaded by poketypatch.

There is nothing like fresh strawberries! And, I have a whole bunch in the fridge that need to be eaten.  So, I decided to make some strawberry muffins.  I used as many organic ingredients as I had on hand - organic whole wheat, organic yogurt and granola, as well as some sugar, milk and fresh laid eggs!  I found a great recipe online at the smitten kitchen, which I adapted to what I had in my cupboard.  The results were fabulous!  My 12 yo son even stated that I had "outdone" myself.