May 2010 Archives

I am once again going to attempt to grow a vegetable garden (click the links at the end of the post to see my attempt from last year).  A couple of adjectives I might use to describe it are experimental and modest.  I have been in my house 2.5 years and am still trying to figure out what works and what doesn't.  There are lots and lots (and lots) of trees in my back yard which is pretty awesome overall, but not so much when you want to do vegetable gardening.  This year I am going to try a small spot on the south side of the house.

I took the day off of work on Friday and the plan was to do lots of yard work.  That yard work included starting the vegetable garden.  I headed over to home depot and bought:

• 3 bags of Scott's potting soil
• a large container "Patio" tomato planto
• a topsy turvy
• a small "Mountain Pride" tomato plant
• 2 "Big Boy" tomato plants
• a red pepper plant
• a green pepper plant
• a cucumber plant
• a yellow squash plant
• a zucchini plant

Hmmm... listing it out like that makes it seem a lot less modest than it looks in the ground/yard.  Anyway...   

Friday evening I set up the topsy turvy with the small tomato plant and some of the new soil, and then called it quits. 

Saturday we were blessed with even more gorgeous weather so I spent the day getting everything all set up.

And so the experimental garden of 2010 begins.  It's almost all set, except I am waiting on the return of my boyfriend to help me erect some sort of fence.  I will be curious how the topsy turvy works out.  I decided to try it because last year, even with a 4 ft. fence, the deer got a lot of my tomatoes.  I was hoping I would be able to outsmart them this eyar hang it where they couldn't reach.  I may end up having to figure out how to fashion and hook somewhere else and moving it though because I'm not sure it's high enough or gets enough sun.  I am also curious to see if there's enough sun where I planted the 6 plants.  In addition to the plants youc an see, I also planted some green bean and carrot seeds that I got last year.  No clue if they'll sprout or not since they've been sitting around for last year.  Another fun mystery/surprise!

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Related Posts:

2009 Vegetable Garden: The Plan

2009 Vegetable Garden:  All Set Up

2009 Vegetable Garden: Lessons Learned and First Food From the Garden 

My boyfriend and I went out to eat tonight and I was really astounded by something.  I was reviewing the options to find something that wouldn't be too horrible for me that also sounded half way decent.

I hadn't looked at the options before we left and there were a lot of things on the menu that sounded good so I asked my boyfriend to whip out his phone and see if he could find the nutrition info. for me to help in my decision.

Option 1: GRILLED BUFFALO CHICKEN

I was very surprised to see the grilled version had more calories, more fat, and more sodium.  I was also very surprised that a simple grilled buffalo chicken sandwich had nearly 1,000 carlories and 50g of fat.  This is a prime example of why I firmly believe all restaurants should print nutrition information right on the menu.  Sometimes it really is hard to tell which option would be better.  I personally tend to live by the rule grilled is better than fried, but apparently I was wrong, at least in this instance.

I also think it's completely ridiculous that restaurants serve such humongous portions that are filled with so much fat.  Maybe it's just me since I am a smaller woman and don't require a lot of calories in a day, but to have a burger on a menu that contains 1249 calories and 86 grams of fat is kind of wrong.  That is fairly close to the number of calories and significantly more fat than I am supposed to consume in an entire day.

In case anyone is curious, I ended up ordering (and enjoying)...

So what do you think?  Were you surprised by the above nurtrition information?  Do you think restaurants should put nutrition information on the menu itself?   

I made the first rhubarb crisp of the season this past Sunday evening.  I went out to my backyard the other day and noticed the rhubarb had started growing like crazy.  There was a ton ready to pick (I inherited 10-12 rhubarb plants with my house), so I figured I'd better get started on using it up.  A friend of mine gave me a super-easy rhubarb crisp recipe last year that has been a big hit when I bring it to work or other spring/summer get-togethers.  It really doesn't get much better than this in terms of bang for your buck.  It's so easy and taste so good.

Microwave Rhubarb Crisp Recipe

Ingredients:

4-5 cups sliced rhubarb

2/3 c. sugar

1/2 c. flour

1/2 c. rolled oats

2/3 c brown sugar

3/4 tsp. nutmeg

1/3 c. soft butter or margarine

Instructions:

1.  Combine rhubarb and sugar in 8 inch baking dish. 

 2.  In mixing bowl, blend remaining ingredients until crumbly.  

3.  Sprinkle over rhubarb. 

4.  Microwave uncovered on high for 12 minutes or until rhubarb is tender, rotating dish once or twice. Topping becomes more crisp as it cooks. For crisper topping, broil a few minutes. 

5.  Serve with a heaping scoop of vanilla ice cream and enjoy!  Also, I highly recommend heating up when

I've got a lot of rhubarb so please, share with me your favorite rhubarb recipe so I can try it out next! 

I always find it difficult to wait until after Memorial Day to plant my annuals and vegetables.  In terms of this year, for the most part I was able to resist until today, May 16th, which isn't too bad.  My boyfriend and I were out mulching in the morning and then he left to go help his dad with something.  I decided this would be a good time for me to run down the street to the local farmer's market and buy some flowers.  I told him I was just going to get some white wave petunias for one of the beds.  And I came back with this:

Oops. 

I also texted him while I was there because I couldn't decide and wanted his opinion.  He didn't reply, so it's partly his fault too, right?  :)  I did get the white petunias, but I also got pink ones, purple/pink ones, white geraniums, yellow marigolds, and some mix snapdragons (yellow and pink/purple).  I am very excited.  Now if I can only figure out how to best arrange them and manage to keep them alive all summer. 

I think when you are younger you don't really appreciate your mother.  You don't realize how difficult a job it is and all the sacrifices that are made.  Now that I'm older, and a lot of my friends are mothers, I have have a much better appreciation and understanding. 

I took some pictures of the flowers in my yard this past Monday and chose my favorite and turned it into a little e-card for my grandmother.  I sent her a card in the snail mail as well, but she loves this kind of stuff so I decided to do both.

 Happy Mother's Day, moms.  Maybe I will join your ranks one day.  Maybe.

 Special shout-out to Candice who is expecting her first little one on Monday! 

This past weekend I finished My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult.  I really, really enjoyed it.  I put the movie in my Netflix queue weeks ago but wanted to read the book first.  Now I'm really looking forward to seeing the movie, too.

The book started a little bit slow, but soon enough I was looking forward to reading a little bit before going to bed.  I had to force myself to put it down so I could get enough sleep before work.  I thought it was quite suspenseful throughout the second half.  And then the ending.  Wow.  Of course I'm not going to give the ending away in case you haven't read/seen it yet, but it was a surpise I totally didn't see coming.  It was fantastic.

I loved how each chapter was told from the perspective of a different character.  I liked how it kept the book fresh by switching up the perspective. I liked how it gave each of the characters more depth. Each chapter is in the first person, and each character has their own voice. 

The book made me laugh, it made me cry, and it made me think.  All things, in my mind, that make a book a wonderful read.

If you've read the book or seen the movie, what did you think?  If you haven't, do it now!  What are you waiting for?!  :)  Anyone have any suggestions for the next Jodi Picoult book I should read? 

November 1, 2009:

May 1, 2010

Oh so close.  The initial goal was 119 and I had hoped to accomplish it by now.  The first few and the last few have definitely been the toughest.  Hopefully now that it's sprintime I'll be able to kick it up a notch.  New goal = 115.