Giftwrapped

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It has come to my attention that the blog has been low on kitty lately, so here is what Morrin did today. I must clarify that no kitties were suffocated in making of this picture; she had thoroughly ventillated the bag with her claws before diving into it.

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Tomato and Tomatoer

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The windowsill tomatoes are all doing wonderfully. I planted them out into their own pots a few days ago, and they're starting to put out their third set of leaves. There is no way I'll be able to look after ten indeterminate heirloom tomato plants in my little flat. Anyone want to adopt a few?

The chard in the background has been looking a little weak, but it's making good progress. I'm going to wait until their stems are a bit sturdier, then try them in the new trough outside.

This weekend we made a Homebase trip for more compost for the potatoes. They are growing like crazy! I'm going to need more wood slats for the sides soon. We also picked up the aforementioned trough, half of which now contains lettuce from the Farmers' Market, and some large pots for the tomatoes. When I was downstairs just now harvesting parsley and oregano for a batch of beetroot salsa, I noticed that my planted-on-a-whim mustard greens are getting huge. They might go well with the pheasant tonight; I will have to look up how to cook them.

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Tidy

On Sunday, 29 April, the village turned out in force for the annual Water of Leith Cleanup.  Most of the effort was expended on the unphotogenic task of fishing rubbish out of the water and untangling plastic bags from the banks, but then the grappling hook was brought out to tackle the big eyesores.  Much to the delight of passing tourists, we managed to haul a shopping trolley and a buggy from the river.  Thanks to everyone who participated! 

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The Usual Suspects

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I have three kinds of lovelies in my bathroom window this Spring.

1. Serrano peppers, from seeds saved from last year's crop. These
were very late in sprouting, and are still very small. I will have to
watch them very carefully.

2. Heirloom tomatoes (Brandywine) from free-with-purchase trial seeds.
There were ten seeds in the packet. They all sprouted. I have
learned from internet research that Brandywines are an indeterminate
potato-leafed variety. Indeterminate means they will grow taller and
taller forever, unless I snap off the secondary stems. Potato-leafed,
sadly, does not mean that their leaves are shaped like potatoes, but
like the leaves of potatoes, which is less interesting.

3. Ruby chard. By far my favourite vegetable (and so versatile!),
they were quick to sprout, but have since been overtaken by the
tomatoes. I am starting to see secondary leaves, though, so now the
only challenge is refraining from eating them until they're big enough
to tolerate losing a few leaves at a time.

I love growing things. It's like making food out of dirt and code.

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Guest Post: No-Knee Gardening ~or~ Everything’s Coming up Sprouts

I sprained my knee.  OUCH!  It looks like the big garden will fall by the wayside for now, so... SPROUTS!

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Fenugreek seeds, lentils & mung beans soaked on day one.  (No fancy equipment.  I used mason jars with the mesh from packaged grocery store onions as the strainer top.) 
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Rinsed and drained every 8-12 hours. 

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2 days later, they’re done! 
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I couldn’t resist a yummy snack.  I have a very fond memory ofmy college cafeteria serving bagels with cream cheese, tomato, and alfalfa sprouts.  This is a “lighter” version. 

I like to host a dinner each week with friends and we all bring something to the table.  This week, a friend is bringing a marinated london broil for grilling.  I will be making a Korean sprout salad to accompany the grilled meat. 

...

This guest post brought to you by Jeri Crystal, my mother and Queen of Frugality.  Do you like my crown?

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Greener Granola

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About once a week we have homemade pizza for dinner. I use Billy Reisinger's recipe for the dough, which yields enough for two pizzas; half goes in the freezer for the next week. This week our pizza was topped with pesto, purple sprouting broccoli, spring onions, sun dried tomatoes, and leftover venison sausage.

As part of my ongoing struggle against the delicious tyranny of breakfast cereal, I have learned to make my own granola, but I have resolved never to turn on the oven expressly to bake it. Since pizza is one of the few recipes for which it it vital to fully pre-heat the oven, I made a pan of granola with the extra heat. Low-carbon granola! Ta-da!

 

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I saw a swan

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Here's a video I took of a swan preening its feathers on the Water of
Leith, near St. Bernard's Well. This swan's mate was a few yards down
the river, paddling about in the sun. The rocks here seem to be
popular, because a few days later, we saw children sunning themselves
in the same spot.

I'm a bit late in posting this, since we saw the swan last month when
the weather was still nice. It was the day we tried to walk to Pizza
Express to use our voucher, but it was full and we went to a little
Italian bistro instead. When this dreary weather clears up, we'll try
again. Meanwhile, homemade pizza for dinner tonight; stewed rhubarb
and custard for dessert.

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Potato update

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This weekend I did a bit more potato work. The plants are growing like crazy, so I topped up the compost again, which necessitated another layer of wooden slats. I've also been noticing telltale signs of digging, so I installed a layer of chicken wire (reclaimed from an unsightly bit of the fence last month) and put up a helpful sign. This means you, Charlie.

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Abundance

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I will never lack for sage.

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Coming along

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The windowsill plants are coming along nicely. It's just about time to plant out the celery and chamomile. I was delighted to find out that the mixed salad seeds included some basil, which I've never had success growing in Scotland. They are thriving, though. When the lettuce is spent I'll turn the pots over to basil production. Could be some nice pizza in our future.

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