inside.

we have a very mixed collection of art and objects on our walls. (i'm feeling a curatorial itch to rearrange.)

what do you surround yourself with?

thinking about sewing.

but showing pictures about food.





i am so pleased with our csa venture. while our garden is still producing - it is a treat to receive crops we don't (can't) grow in our backyard. kohlrabi. avocado. three different kinds of carrots. turnips. (what do you do with turnips???)

our adventure in eating less meat - and less wheat - has been greatly aided by the bounty we are receiving each week. and by the wonderful eggs we collect every morning. so very good.

but what i am really thinking about is sewing. and this challenge. of which i had tossed my name in. i am trying not to put too much pressure on myself. to be reasonable. i will be very proud if i pull off two pairs of summer pjs for the girls.

ahhhh summer pjs.

glow

good night.

Sauteed Chard

It never seems to fail - if I sautee leafy greens, then drizzle some balsalmic vinegar over them, Emily devours them! Mmmmmmm!

Beet Rosti

I made this Mark Bittman recipe the other night. (Here.) I didn't use enough beets, so it wasn't that big. But it was a hit. I'll try it again.

(Thought I'd try it with turnips too - but it didn't work at all! I'm looking for a good turnip recipe as well!)

friday rush-hour

time is moving much too quickly. we are over-scheduled again this week. as i feel out my new school garden responsibilities my days fill up too fast.

i am ready for july. the island. and a slower pace.

until then we are trying to spend as much time outside as possible. with the rains of the winter came a flourishing spring garden.



the longer days are coming. i can feel the stretch as we play with friends on our front steps.



my "to do" list is growing.

breath. happy weekend.

matilija

is it wrong for a plant to bring me so much joy? every morning this week there has been a newly opened saucer sized poppy greeting me.

::week.end::

tried to spend more time in our garden today. in and out between birthday parties, gardening classes, soccer games, grocery shopping and a trip to menchies.

we joined the farm

and have our first amazing CSA bounty. we have been talking about doing this for years. surprisingly, it took some time to find a local, organic CSA that was within a reasonable distance of us. the farm is about 37 miles from our home - with a drop off about 15 miles away. we are working on having enough subscribers in our 'hood to bring drop-off to our school. we are very excited about eating seasonally (which really is so easy in socal), expanding our palatte - and learning to cook a few new things.

the CSA is "Join the Farm", in Oxnard. With their Abundant Table project, they are part of the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles. every Sunday evening they host worship and a pot-luck dinner at the farm house. with strong ties to social justice and food access (their chaplain comes from south central farm), I feel a connection to our school gardens project, and hope to develop a closer relationship. we are looking forward to a visit.



this week: artichoke, turnips, ruby lettuce, lacinato kale, chard, onion, chantenay carrots, beets, white carrots, leeks, haas avocados, cilantro, spinach, celery, arugula and broccoli. yum.

still working on a post about the school gardening...

right now

it is the kind of weekend that is starting to blur at the edges. there is a lot to say - i want to talk about school gardens and all the amazing connections i am making. the things i am learning. "food access". "capacity building". "implementation strategies". i am fascinated and excited by it all.

but it will have to wait. right now, i want to just listen to my kids' giggles. and get ready for bed.

happy weekend!

dig in!

if you are in the LA area and are in any way connected to a school garden (or a community garden) - come by! it will be worth your while!

growing local

i seem to have a lot of friends named john. lucky i suppose.

i visited with one today. to talk about school gardens - and how we were going to reinvent the idea at my girls' school. he is one of those people that i liked instantly. (we met when i took this class from him.) and although i haven't known him for that long, i feel like i have known him forever. we share the same politics. the same ex-pat status (though he is irish to my canadian). a softspot for chickens. and the same love of gardens. his is more hardcore. but he is winning me over.

here is the city sidewalk in front of his home.



his front garden is amazing. poppies, western redbud, irises, fuchsia, sages - the usual california dry garden suspects - but also tomatoes, roses, sunflowers, fava beans, nasturtiums and the sweetest smelling sweatpeas ever.





the back garden has chickens, two hives and the makings of a small orchard. by the time i got back there my arms were full of honeycomb, oranges, and fava beans - so no pictures. i will have to go back.

all this less than a mile from me. in beautiful winnetka (a suburb of los angeles).



oh, and he has an organic gardening company called "the woven garden". check it out!

seemingly random thoughts and images

which really represent the highlights of our spring break...


beach day with the freighbours.


pesach with d's family


a night out with e. screening of a fabulous movie at a favourite museum.


d taking a day off.


a trip to the aquarium with dear friends to meet dear friends.


sunshine. and even a little rain.


neighourhood easter brunch.

things i didn't get a photo of:

my acceptance of a small position in support of greening LAUSD schoolyards. whoo hoo. i am sure i probably shouldn't have. but am excited i did.

staying up a little bit late every night. and sleeping in a little bit late every morning.

no making school lunches!

my new habit.

getting to know this amazing woman better. lucky me.

a meringue and a cinnamon bun.

::bloom::

Hope you have a wonderful day tomorrow!

aquarium of the pacific

spring break has passed much.too.quickly.

a new habit

i am very excited to be participating in this space for the month of april. it is one of my favourites in the big old internet. come visit.

habit

really counting.

our trip to the beach should have been reminder enough.

like we needed any more reasons.

and then i looked at the bounty on our table. between our garden and csa box, we are very lucky!




and parrots. i have yet to capture a photo. but they fly over our house every morning and every evening. i still smile every time.

::

i didn't mean to be away so long. a lot has been going on. we planted 200 more shrubs and trees at the girls school. we've added soccer and tennis to violin and all of a sudden our fairly unscheduled family finds itself running on a fairly tight schedule. life is full. but no complaints.

and now spring break. and a long deep breath. and the first real trip to the beach of the season.

i will add a trip to the beach with a group of people i love. my friends and neighbours and people who sometimes i forget how lucky i am to have. i complain a lot about living here*. too much. i forget the good and get bogged down in the bad. i have been thinking about it a lot lately. sometimes it takes the eyes of someone new to a place to remind you of what you have. this lady has me thinking about my first days here. how magical i found it. and how much time i spent at the beach. how lucky we are to live in such a glorious place. i'm thinking about my place here now. about the amazing group of people who look after me and my family on a daily basis. who live around me and with me. who really, i can't imagine life without. how lucky i am to live in such a glorious place.






happy spring!. good pesach! happy easter!
i am counting my many blessings.


*please forgive me next time i complain. i know i will. these halcyon days of 80 degree weather are turning me into a summer lover. i must remember it is only spring!

longer days.

while i miss dawn's arrival before the girls awake, i must admit i do like the lingering days and the long shadows they bring.


read this in the dark this morning: the femivore's dilemma
terrible term - but interesting read.

we ate pancakes.

oh this time change is kicking my ass.

feels like spring around here

it is cool. and breezy. but sunny. and all seem to be happy about it. (including me.)

all three hens are laying again. and my greens are happy and seemingly oblivious to the triple digit temps that will be their demise in another couple of months.

until then...

a problem in the house

our cookie jar. is empty.

and i keep eating my slice of banana bread before the tea is ready.



while our dietary changes slowed down our cookie consumption, the reintroduction of wheat - seemingly without consequence - has returned us to a favourite from this book. mmmmm.

as soon as the loaf is gone. (and that will likely be today.) we are back on the slow road to cookies.

our kitchen

veni

vedi

vici

we purchased our home from its original owner. they had completed a redo sometime in the early 80s - but the kitchen had remained fairly original. complete with slide-out stove-top - which we perhaps foolhardily kicked to the curb. (it no longer worked.) the narrow kitchen upper cabinets had sliding pegboard doors. cool. but filthy. we replaced them with plexi. the counter top was a fab green and pink boomerang. very cool, but again had aged poorly and was replaced with baltic birch and white laminate counter tops. d rebuilt all the wooden cabinet doors and upper cabinetry, replicating them in the dining room. the carpet (!) and original lino underneath were replaced with cork. the 80s light fixtures were replaced with simple globes. the only real footprint change was moving the washing machine out to a newly created laundry room and building a breakfast nook where the dryer, and another door once stood. (details to follow.)

here we grow again

half started in the house in origami pots - half directly sown.

direct
Kale Squire
Baby Mesclun Lettuces "Cut and Come Again"
Japanese Spinach "Oriental Giant"
Nasturtium "Fiesta Blend"
Dill "Bouquet"
Swiss Chard "Red and White Mix"

potted
Pea "Sugar Snap"
Flowering Vine "Purple Hyacinth Bean" (this is actually to cover a trellis by the shed)
Butterfly Snapdragons "Chantilly"
Climbing Nasturtiums "Spitfire"
Container Tomato "Super Bush"
Cantaloupe "Hearts of Gold"

Still looking for a pole bean - and some artichoke plants. (the chooks destroyed our huge one. so sad!) D has also build a larger bed that I plan on using as a cut-flower garden - as dictated by the girls who have a habit of picking every flower they can for the dinner table. I am also going to try more lettuces in an old wine crate as microgreens. (I have been sprouting in a jar but thought I'd try in dirt as I read it is safer.)

I am even more unsure what I am doing this time. I have had no luck with greens in our summer garden. This was to be our winter garden - but I got delayed building a fence to keep the chooks out. We will see what happens. The mesclun is coming in nicely - I just hope it lasts a while.

I am trying to stick to the notion of only growing what we will eat. I find it tricky. All those seed packets thrill me!

How does your garden grow?