Returning

We feed birds, among other things...Each Spring for about the past 5 years we have been visited by "Black Headed Grossbeaks". Really pretty birds, I had never seen them before in all my years, but they found the feeders and their family has really grown. You can see the male at the feeder!

SMILE!

Stack 'em high!

You can see that I have added to the colonies! Adding these boxes is called "supering". The lower boxes ( hive bodies ) are the brood boxes, where queenie lays her eggs. Bees store honey up top in the "superior", hence "supers"...

I am preparing for honey harvest within the next few days!

Vegan Delights

One of my signature "go to " vegan desserts. Sinfully delicious, a mixture of tofu and semi-sweet chocolate sits atop a crust of raw cashews and coconut oil. The maple sugared sliced almonds adorn the top, and a slurry of raspberries makes for gorgeous plating, mmmmmm! I love baking this killer dessert!

Spring has really sprung, and my blogging is suffering?

Right, well, the weather here has been absolutely nothing short of miraculously beautiful in every way! I have sorted all the dahlia tubers, set out tubers for cuttings, potted cuttings, and planned the patch!

Here are some photos of other activities I am working with.


You will see photos of my famous black bean soup with homemade honey wheat bread, the watercolor I purchased at the estate sale ( which I had framed ). The Kombucha that is growing in my pantry ( starting the SCOBY - symbiotic colony of yeasts and bacterias )...Have fun!

Just Do It Yourself Already!

Ok, so the frustration hit me. I was reading about various "small" organic companies that are actually owned by BIG corporations and quite possibly are using GMO products not to mention who knows what. So can you guess my latest mission?

Yup, I am going to attempt to make as MUCH food & drink from scratch as I possibly can!

First step: Soy Milk maker. Saw it this am on the web, and stumbled upon it at a locally owned cookware store in Aptos Village "LeChef"...by the way the owners are the kindest!

Second step: Make my OWN Kombucha tea. Also bought a nice Italian made glass vessel to let the Kombucha grow in. It has a spigot at the bottom and a stand to make pouring easy ( pictures soon )

Estate Sale Treasures

Someone put a sign on a telephone pole at the lower end of the property yesterday advertising an estate sale. It was up the road a bit and I thought I would check it out. I am so happy I did.

The home was on Brooktree Ranch Rd and was built in the early 70's. The style was very eclectic and reminded me a lot of organic looking homes in Big Sur. The house was sadly in a bad state, with water damage, termite damage and earthquake damage from the 1989 7.1 we experienced out here.

Still the house had a lot of creative energy still left. The woman who lived there, Virginia Hughins, passed away 4 years ago, her husband of over 60 years passed this February.

Virginia was quite the artist and was very prolific. If I had more walls I would have purchased more paintings. The lesson here was to choose the works that called to me and to not be greedy. I came home with 3 acrylics and 1 water color. I will post a picture of the water color after I have it framed.

I also purchased her older "Made in Japan" gold leaf plates...so pretty. Thank you Virginia for your beautiful art...

Thank you Uncle Paquito ( Frankie )

My beloved Uncle Frank taught me everything I know about gardening. I hung out with both he and Aunt Augie every day. Aunt Augie taught me cooking and baking. They were and still are a huge influence in my life. My parents were kind enough to share me...

Uncle Frank gave me some cymbidium orchids which he divided from his plants a good 32 years ago. I have made division from those original plants over the years, and the plants are all about the yard. This year has been a great year for blooms! I will share with you some near my front entry. So pretty eh??

And what do we need with soup?

Honey Wheat Bread

Why buy bread? So easy, I make it in the K5 Mixer! My house smells divine~*~*~*~

What to do on a rainy day?

Wow, I actually have one day where I do not have to do one darn thing! Bees are set, birds are fed, I don't have to take my senior citizen dog Buddy to the vet today ( we've had to go a lot lately, tomorrow too, but that is another story ). It is raining, and so here is what the rain inspired me to do thus far:

Why buy it in the can? Red lentil soup. Veggie broth, onions, garlic, tumeric, sweet tater, potato,,crushed tomatoes, salt & pepper. Spinach goes in at the very end.

Plated!

Vegan Enchiladas

Here is a great recipe for vegan enchiladas. You can find it in the book "Skinny Bitch in the Kitch". Of course I highly recommend the book, "Skinny Bitch".
Enjoy the photos of the ingredients up until the final result, dinner. I served the enchiladas on a bed of broccoli slaw, and set out some guacamole, and homemade salsa.

Shelly's DNA

I wasn't to impressed with the results of Shelly's DNA testing, here it is.


There are 5 levels.

Level 1 Over 75% of the DNA is found in your dog from the breed listed.
Level 2 37-74%
Level 3 20-36%
Level 4 10-19%
Level 5 less than 10%

Shelly is:

Level 3 Poodle
Level 3 Shih Tzu
Level 4 Brittany
Level 4 Great Pyrenees
Level 4 Maltese
Level 4 Parson Jack Russel Terrier

AKA...MUTT!

P.S. I was suprised there was no "Great White Shark" dog in there, hahaha

Protein Bliss Bars Vegan

Why buy Lara Bars, when we can bake our own vegan protein bars at home! Made these today, used oats, brown rice flour, sesame seeds, chia seed, sunflower seeds, coconut, dried cranberries, pine nuts, cinnamon, nutmeg, a bit of maple syrup, unsweetened soy milk, and a bit of turbinado sugar. I keep them in the refrigerator, they are really yum!

Great Deal or Bad Purchase?

A friend of mine alerted me to this honey extractor he saw on craigslist.com. I contacted the seller right away and today we drove to San Mateo and picked it up. It has been used, but works. The basket looks nasty with rust. Sure hope there is a way to clean it up! If everything continues as it has been with the bees, there is a chance I could end up with a lot of surplus honey.
Having the extractor will be very helpful. I am keeping my fingers crossed, because that works like magic!