earthly delights: csa bounty week 3

►scroll down to find my salad dressing recipe◄


here is our 
csa share for this week:     

red oak leaf lettuce

mizuna

red giant mustard greens

lacinato "dino" kale

collard greens

spring onion

green garlic

sugar snap peas

pac choi

french breakfast radishes

chamomile

do you want to know more about our csa farm, earthly delights?
click here
do you want to know more about csa's in general?
click here

and to go with our lovely local greens,
here is our
very favorite salad dressing: 

it also makes a great marinade

and dressing for pasta salad.

                               

                                the base:

                                2 cups canola oil

                                1 cup balsamic vinegar

                                1 cup soy sauce (i use low-sodium tamari)

                                add, more or less, to taste:

                                minced garlic (about 4 cloves)

                                dry mustard (about 1 Tablespoon)

                                salt & pepper (about 1/2 teaspoon each)

♥


this recipe was given to me YEARS ago.

it is from our friend dean.

he is an organic farmer.

he is also missy's husband.

i have often imagined him bottling & selling this dressing.

yes, it's that good.
♥

gardening: raised beds

finally!

ned has built some raised beds for me.

he filled them with soil and baby plants.

these 2 are on the patio, just outside the kitchen.

one is full of herbs & one is full of sugar snap peas.

they are the only ones built for sitting on concrete.

there are several more around our yard

that sit on top of the existing soil,

true "raised beds" that have the benefit of much deeper soil.

{guess the home depot kids workshops are paying off!}

♥

i dig it: sappo hill old-fashioned oatmeal soap

have you ever tried this soap?

i used to buy it at our co-op,

but now i can buy it at the grocery store (winco).

why i dig it:
    

1. it has no packaging

2. it is all natural

(and vegetarian, and cruelty-free)

3. it costs less than $1.50

4. it smells like an oatmeal cookie

click here to visit the sappo hill website.

you can see all their different scents

and find a retailer near you.
maybe you'll dig it, too!

♥

neighborhood wonders... plus, egg update!

each and every day,
i am amazed.

just a few steps from my front door,

the wonders never cease.

~ unfurl ~

do you know what this loon-like bird is?

sometimes we see only one,

other times, two or three.

it dives underwater for about 30 seconds.

(it almost fits the description of a "scoter")

ned is always thrilled to feed the ducklings.

these almost hopped up into his lap.

can you see the size of this great blue heron??

yikes!

~ egg update ~

yes, there are two eggs.

we found egg #1 on may 10.

we found egg #2 on may 25.

after 20 days of incubation (may 30),

egg #1 showed no sign of development

(a "yolker" - an infertile egg)

and was removed from the incubator.

we found egg #3 on june 2.

egg #2 shows definitive signs of development

(i.e. very clear veining when candled).

it's too soon to tell with egg #3.

and, in case you are wondering,

i am not an egg thief.  really, truly.

each egg we have found

has been obviously abandoned -

in the regularly-mowed grass,

no nest, no other eggs, no mama.

♥

marian mabel

this

is now this

i have been digging through marian's baby photos

for the 5th grade "farewell" slideshow at school.

she has only a handful of elementary school days left.

i had to take her picture today

because i could tell that she had changed overnight.

do you ever notice this about your kids?

all of a sudden, something is forever different.

{love you, mims}

♥

there's a hole in the bottom of the sea

i cannot fathom that crude oil

continues to pump into the gulf of mexico.

it scares me

to imagine the ripple effect

this will have around the globe for years to come.

so, you can believe me

when i say

i do not mean to belittle this catastrophe in any way.

but

when i read this headline today:

AP - As the crude crept closer to Florida, the risky effort to contain the nation's worst oil spill hit a snag Wednesday when a diamond-edged saw became stuck in a thick pipe on a blown-out well at the bottom of the Gulf.

i couldn't help but think:

♫ there's a diamond ♫

  
on the edge

    
of the saw

    
in the pipe

    
on the blown-out well

    
in the bottom of the gulf.

      
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
    

and although diamonds are involved,

it doesn't count as a silver lining.

as president obama said last week,

"plug the damn hole."

    
♥

kids workshop at home depot

last month, my dad told me about something

he thought ned would love:

a free

kids workshop

at home depot

we went, and yep, ned loved it.

so did i.

(thanks, dad!)

ned built this:

look how proud he is!
♥
they gave him his own orange apron - so cool!

the project came in a package

with all the pre-cut wood pieces & nails,

and step-by-step directions.

there were tables with tools:

safety goggles, sandpaper, hammers, & wood glue.

he did most of it by himself (with just a little help).

when he was finished,

he received a pin for the project to put on his apron.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

they have a new project on the first saturday of every month.

mark your calendar!!

it's happening

☼ this saturday, june 5, ☼

9:00 am - 12 noon.

maybe we'll see you there!

click here for more info.

♥