Homecooked Henpecking ala The Biscuit Queen

Long time no see

2010-01-31T10:19:00.001-08:00

I have been perusing Ree Drummond's blog The Pioneer Woman www.thepioneerwoman.com. She has inspired me to rouse this abandoned blog and start chronicaling my own crazy critter and food-filled life. Sure, instead of the Marlboro Man I married Dilbert, and rather than living in gorgeous vast plains with herds of mustangs and beef cattle we live on 5 acres with two rescue throroughbreds, a few pygmy goats and chickens but hey, it is a good life and just as fun. I also have been learning to use our camera, a Canon PowerShot Pro 1 (whatever that means,) so I wanted to have somewhere to post my fledgling attempts at using the thing. I also have been playing with fiber, so maybe having someplace to post my projects would help give me some gumption.

Grilled PB&J

2007-08-28T23:57:00.000-07:00

Make a peanut butter and jelly sandwhich. Spread butter on the top and bottom, and grill like grilled cheese. Pour a tall glass of milk to go with it and apple slices. My favorite combo is natural peanut butter, homemade grape jelly, and whole wheat bread, grilled on the Forman Grill. It makes the sandwhich corrogated, which for some odd reason I like.

It is 3 am....again. This is the third night in a row I have awoken at 3am with panicky dreams about being late. This time I was in a train station trying to get two children, my son Nick and his old friend Cassie, at age three, to get all their things together to catch the train. They dawdle while I am frantically picking up the clothes and shoes. We get everything except a lone white sock with black stripes which I glimpse draped over a chair as we run out of the station with armfuls of belongings. We run along the platform as the train sets with doors open. I see a little boy toddling too close to the train so stop and guide him away. His grandparents want to stop and chat, I am trying not to be rude but still move towards the open doors. As we finally get next to an open door, I see the driver look right at me and start up the train . For a moment I think I can still jump on, but then realize I can never get the two kids on as well. I stand and watch the train leave the station without me, the open door banging painfully into my shoulder as it goes past.

I started my second semester of college on Monday, which always sends me into these nightly panics. I guess failing out of college twice as well as a years of public education (as well as a long life) spent always forgetting and being late mean this will never leave me. Sometimes I dream I have forgotten to go to classes for weeks. Sometimes I am at class so long I come home and my pet rats are just bones. Usually I am trying to leave to get somewhere and I have so many things to do, and each thing is so hard and takes so long that I just never leave.

My closest friend finds me a calming influence, and this always mildly suprises me, because in my head I am anything but serene. I feel like there is the outside of me, calm for the most part, then the inside of my head, a little me, holding my head and screaming, running about trying to get nowhere and everywhere at once. I have felt this way my whole life, spent a few years of respite, then it started up again when I began school. My in-laws call it going a little frainy. I am learning to call it normal.

So the question remains, do I need to adjust to this pressure of being out in the world; going to college then afterwards getting a job outside the home, both of which excite and scare me? Or is there an alternative?

Acorn Squash

2007-08-28T10:00:00.000-07:00

Take two acorn squash, cut in half, and scoop out the seeds. Give the 'guts' to the chickens.

Take thin slices of butter and place around the lip of each half, and some in the hollow. Sprinke with brown sugar (1-2 TBS per half), and salt lightly. Place in a 9x13 pan in the oven for about an hour at 350 degrees. A fork should slip easily into the flesh when ready.

Serves 4 to 8, depending on how much else you have at dinner.

I have been reading homesteading blogs, and what a real eye opener. Some of the concepts are so simple yet so profound I am left wondering how I never saw these things before. My favorite thus far is from the Dry Creek Chronicals:

Whenever we are pondering something we do, or something we may start doing, we try to ask ourselves three questions: Will it help us to raise our family? Will it help us to live in community? Will it help us to worship God?

http://cumberlandbooks.com/blog/?p=909

I realized through these simple questions that I have spent the last 5 years being closer to people I have never met than to my own next door neighbors. I have spent years discussing topics of what I once thought of as worldly and important on-line while letting my kids sit in the other room and play computer games. When you really start to look at your life in these terms, you start to realize that priorities in this society are so backwards that it is no wonder we have such social crisis on our hands.

I can take all the things I am juggling right now, and start assessing them according to these three questions. The most obvious thing which takes up the most time for me is internet use. Outside of maybe 15-30 minutes a day tops to blog and check mail, there is no reason for me to be on-line. I use it as an escape which just makes me need it that much more the next time I start to feel stressed or bored. I am beginning to think of it as an addiction of sorts. I read about people who simply get rid of their electronics like it is an old shoe and I cannot imagine what I would do with all that time. It is daunting to say the least. The TV was cake to give up, but the internet....that is another whole ball of wax. TV is an idiot box, but the internet, now, that is cutting edge news and technology. That is information, educational, interactive.........yeah right. It is no different.

We all have to work on one thing at a time. Mine will be to get off this computer. It will be interesting to see how little time I can spend on here.

We are off to Roseland Water Park in an hour. Tom loves the place, and it is relatively inexpensive if you go after 3pm (1/2 off the ticket price). I have a good hearty bread in the oven and leftover turkey and gravy for dinner, so Dave won't miss us a bit.

Chicken Burgers

2007-08-25T10:54:00.000-07:00

What to do with an old, crotchety rooster? Sick of stewed chicken? Try this one-it is a beaut and even my 'have to have grain fed beef' husband liked it.

Take one crotchety old rooster, chop off his head and feet, take off most of the feathers, gut and skin him. Then take off all the meat you can with a short, sharp knife and place in a bowl. You can cook the bones and leftover meat & giblets with veggies in water for some nice stock; just remember to take out the oil gland first.

Take one pound of the meat and grind it up in a meat grinder.

Add
3 banty hen eggs
1 small onion (chopped)
3 cloves garlic (crushed)
1 tsp poultry seasoning
salt and pepper

Mix well with your hands, divide into 4 parts and make 4 patties. I fried these up on our Forman Grill and they cooked fast and did not fall apart. Probably would do well on cast iron, but an outdoor grill they may fall apart so use foil.

I made mine with pickles, cheese, and spicy brown mustard, Dave had his with BBQ sauce and they both were great.

******************
I ended up canning a dozen pints of diced tomatoes and made 4 meals worth of marinara sauce for 6 bucks. Not bad, I thought. ( compared with many home canners it is a pittance, but you have to start where you are, right?)

Did three more chickens yesterday, got REALLY sick of the plucking which seems to take me forever, especially with dark feathered birds, so went on-line to check out chicken pluckers. Found the Deliberate Agrarian, http://thedeliberateagrarian.blogspot.com/and spend hours researching the blogosphere and bought plans to make my own Whiz Bang chicken plucker. Dave thought the design sounded like absolute bunk (he has never seen a plucker before) so I found this great video ... http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2011520544379610860

And we had a convert.

Now I had no idea the community which is on-line of folks who are homesteading. The really nice thing is that they are all works in progress, they all started out where I am now, and they are all are just down to earth, conservative folks. I think I will be spending more time there than the forums I had been on, which quite frankly are upsetting and unhealthy for me. I wish we could go with a full committment to this lifestyle, but when you are married to an engineer that is not going to happen. I can do my best, however, with what we have.

We also went with Steve (BIL) and tried to play tennis in town, but it was too hot and muggy so we gave up, and went to Penn Yan swimming with the dogs. Tom loves to swim, and after a while we got Nick to go out as well. Tallulah the Bull Terrier had her life vest on and she swam and swam with Jack the mutt chasing balls. She was so happy to be in the cool water, she is not built for heat. I mainly stayed with the dogs to make sure Tallulah did not see the little girl with the big pink ball down the beach. She has a thing for big balls, and would have run over and stolen it, not endearing us to the parents any.

Today The boys and I went picking blueberries at the U-pick down the road. Got 7 lbs, put up 9 pints of jam and have some left over for muffins and general eating. I would like to pick more to freeze. It was $1.25 per pound, so about 9 bucks for the lot. More than I would have liked to pay, I seriously am thinking to just buy bushes this fall. We also stopped at the cheese shop in town, we have been here 3 years and this is the first time we stopped. I talked to the owner for a few minutes, got some samples...yummy..... and bought cheese curds and smoked Havarti (our favorite of the samples.) I wouldn't say how much it cost, it is embarrassing, but we are supporting the local economy and it was so goooood!

So I need to finish cleaning up, and find something to do this afternoon. It is looking hazy, hot and humid with maybe approaching thunderstorms so I might just stick around and work on sewing those curtains I have been working on.

Rosanne's Pesto

2007-08-23T06:07:00.000-07:00

Blend in a food processor:
¼ c pine nuts (or walnuts or pistaccios)
3 cloves garlic (more if you like)

Add:
¾ cup shredded fresh parmesan
½ c olive oil

Add:
2 c. leaves firmly packed basil

Salt to taste, best over angel hair pasta with fresh parm. Keeps a week in the fridge.

This is my friend Rosanne's recipe, which was passed around so much no one knows where it first came from. I am hoping she is having a good time at her first full week in nursing school.

Well, I butchered 4 of the chickens, had one stewed that same day. He was a bit tough (being 2 months overdue for butchering) but the flavor was phenominal. Also, he was way more filling than store bought chicken. I had one leg/thigh piece, and was full until the next morning. I am thinking of trying to make the next one into ground chicken; I think there is enough texture to it. Ground turkey is really good, and this chicken was very similar in flavor and texture to turkey (it could be because it was a Turken.)

We moved the 4 chicks we were raising in the house up to the barn. Tom (youngest son) was very upset about it, even though they are just a few hundred feet away. That child, I know it will make him a great person as an adult that he cares so much about things, but sometimes it is tough to deal with. I just kept telling him it is a good thing to bring them all out there, and he can go visit them and get them out whenever he likes. They are back with their moms, which is good. The problem was the front room smelled like chickens, and when his dad gets back from NC he will be hit with chicken smell which is no pleasant welcome. Now I just need to really clean that room.

I bought a 1/2 bushel of peppers at the farmers market yesterday for $5, and when I cut them up and scalded them for freezing I ended up with 7.5 pounds. Not a bad deal at all, I would say. I also bought a 1/2 bushel of Roma tomatoes for $6 as well, I need to do those today. I thought I might can some as diced tomatoes, and make a large batch of sauce to freeze in quart bags. I start school next week so need as much already done as possible. I was hoping to get around to picking blueberries and raspberries for jam, but I am not sure how much time I will have. Maybe later this morning I can go pick berries; I was going to butcher the rest of the chickens today, but the boys went up to the barn to get some wood and let them all out.

The baby finches are out of the nest, I am hoping that is the last of the babies for a while. I need to start pulling eggs so they don't keep breeding. I have a home for one, and we just gave a pair to Tom's friend Chris and his mom (his dad wasn't really keen on the idea, but gave the green light). I don't want to keep breeding until we have to rely on strangers to take them. It is difficult to stop them though-they will use their food dish if you take out the nest. They are very determined.

Well, I suppose I should get to those tomatoes.

Fresh Sweet Corn

2007-08-11T15:56:00.000-07:00

Upstate NY has the best sweet corn as far as I am concerned.

Fill a large kettle with shucked corn on the cob and fill with cold water. Put on the stove on high, and when the water comes to a boil shut it off and let it sit for 5-10 minutes. Drain, then lightly spread with butter and salt.

I have not experimented with this because quite frankly it is perfect the way it is. What I have done is always buy a dozen ears at a time, which is twice what we eat. I cook it up, then after supper cut off the kernels of the leftover cobs with a sharp knife and freeze the corn. Usually 6 ears will fill a quart bag most of the way. After a summer of eating corn, and with minimal effort and no extra time or energy spent blanching (it was done while cooking the eating corn) I can have enough corn to last the winter. While it may not be any cheaper you cannot beat the flavor. I end up paying about a dollar a quart bag, which is not bad. I remember as a kid my mother getting bags of corn and doing it all in one day-this is much easier!

I have had a perfectly boring and very satisfying day. Dave took the boys to the steam tractor engine show in Rochester, with Steve, Greg, Bill and Andrew (BIL and cousins). I cleaned my poor house from top to bottom, finished the laundry, hung out with the chickens, played with the dogs, and spent several hours weeding and sweeping the flower gardens and driveway. I have not been home for more than 4 days in a row in the last two months. My vegetable garden is a wreck, the peppers and tomatoes can be found among the towering weeds, and it looks like the zucchini may yet produce but the potatoes and garlic has all but disappeared. I probably will get potatoes though, I planted all blues and they are pretty hardy. The Moons and Stars watermelon isn't fairing too well, and niether are the Boothsby Blond cukes-I did get three but I think that may be it.

I was pleasantly suprised at how the flower gardens are doing. I really do not buy many plants, I either split what I have or trade people for new plants. I have been collecting sedums for the front birdfeeder garden, because the bed is in full sun and I do not want to have to water it. They have spread wonderfully, all different types. The nice thing about sedums is you can just pinch a bit of someone's and in a years time you have a really nice ground cover. The Echinacia is just gorgeous, and and the phlox is stunning. The Shasta daisies were really nice a few weeks ago, but are now fading, so I deadheaded them all-who knows, they may reflower. My hostas are doing well except in one side garden, where the chickens have shredded them. I got two wheelbarrows of weeds taken out, what a difference. I really like the sunflowers which the birds plant-Dave hates them but I defend their right to reside there with the excuse "but they're free!" Plus they feed the sparrows and chickadees in the winter and are quite pretty in their own way.

My chickens are so mean. They have been hanging out right next to the screen door, huge birds of all colors, baiting the poor Bull Terrier. They seem to think the dogs are friendly, which Jack is, but Tallulah....She leaves them alone because she is well trained, but they are not helping. Right now they are honking at her, as she sits crouched in the doorway with a ball between her feet. Yes, my turkens honk, it sounds like a kid on a kazoo. Turkens are the ugliest chickens, they have bald necks and you can see their ear holes, and they make noises which sound half turkey, half chicken. The only thing I can think they were bred for is it will be easier to cut off their heads without all those feathers. Speaking of which, I really need to do. Stupid me got fond of them, and trained them, and now I am having a really hard time thinking of killing them. I wish I wasn't so soft sometimes.

I have been perusing Stand Your Ground and MensNewsDaily, and I swear people are going nuts. They are arguing about everything, and doing nothing. They ask who are leaders and several claim they are and quite frankly if you spend most of your activist time online on message boards, you are no leader. Leaders are people who are doing great things and leading by example, people who you look up to. Glenn Sacks, Tom Golden, Matt O'Conner, Steven Baskerville, these to me are great leaders. It struck me when I had a few drinks at the hotel with Jolly how different he was from all the MRAs I talk to everyday. He didn't sit online, he probably doesn't spend much time at all at the computer. He is out doing things. I admire him for that. I have been trying to do the same, but old habits die hard. I have signed up for several activist action alert groups in the hope that even just on-line I can focus my time constructively. RADAR is one that I signed up for today. I had some ideas for local action, but I know once I start school I will not have much time for anything.

And of course Dave just bought me a laptop for school (crazy man) and now I feel like I am on-line even more. BUT-I started my dogtraining book, worked on my blog, and signed up for action alerts, so I guess it is not so bleak as all that.

Tom's Camping Blueberry Crumble

2007-08-10T10:52:00.001-07:00

4-5 Strawberry Newtons for each person
A handful of fresh berries (blueberries is what we used)

Crumble up the newtons in a plastic bag or bowl, add berries and mix. Eat for dessert after a long paddle or hike.

We left a plastic baggie of newtons in the bottom of my pack when we were kayaking, and by the end of the day they were quite squashed. However my 11 year old is a culinary wonder and came up with this-it was really good.

Last week Tom and I went on a 4 day, 56 mile kayaking trip on the Seneca River and Erie Canal. The idea was to kayak to our friends house in Syracuse, for Cullen's birthday party (Tom's friend.)We decided to kayak half of the journey, as we did not have time to do the whole way. Dave dropped us off (about halfway along) and we put in at a marina on the northeast edge of Seneca Lake, which is right by the entrance to the Seneca River. I have a fishing kayak (Ocean Kayak Prowler 13 Angler-bought as a previous year model for a steal!), and was able to load up all our camping gear and clothing in my dry hatch, and two small coolers and a backpack on the back of my boat. Tom stored stools, cooking equiptment, and a camp pad in his hatch, which is not water tight. We took all our food for 4 days, planning to stop and refill our water bottles at campsites. We went way too slow the first half of the day, but enjoyed the paddle and saw many Great Blue Herons, swallows, and many boats and little vacation homes.

We had a double scare at lunch, first we were floating and earsplitting screams rent the air-two teenage girls leaped out of a tree into the water about 10 feet from us! We had no idea they were even there! Heart attack! We decided to go on shore across the stream for lunch, and as we were unpacking the cooler Tom, who was in the water, started screaming TURTLE! and clutching his ankle. I pulled him out of the water, thinking if we could drag the turtle out of the water I could get it to let go, bet when he get his foot out there was nothing there (we have snapping turtles here which when full grown can take off a toe in a second). No blood, just a little redness, and the water was too cloudy to see what had grabbed him. After lunch I went back over, and in the now clear water was a muskrat trap, one of those snap traps made of heavy steel and chained down in the water. No signs, no flags to mark there was trapping there. I thought Tom was pretty lucky that he was able to get his toe out so easy. That could have been ugly.

We ended up going through two locks that day, which was a new expirience. Locks are huge watertight boxes on the river which allows a boat to go up or down in water level without going over waterfalls. You paddle in, they shut the door, raise or lower the water level, then open the opposite doors and you paddle out. They were meant to allow huge barges to travel across the state without unloading. The walls were all slimy and many had zebra mussels (which are an invasive foriegn species) that would spit water at you as the water level lowered and they became exposed to air.
We also saw the Seneca Falls Sculture Park, where we took a break. Some really neat statues along a scenic path on the river. We also started playing with the GPS Dave had me take along, and was that ever cool! It told you how long you had moved, how long you stopped, how many miles you traveled, rate of speed, average moving rate of speed and overall average rate of speed including breaks. It also had a compass (although I had a more accurate one on my boat) and a map.

We ended up paddling 19.5 miles the first day, and camped at the Oak Orchard Campsite. We were exhausted and when we pulled up there is Dave, Nick (our oldest) Steve (brother in law) and Greg (cousin in law). They were worried about us and decided to make sure we got in alright. I told them I would call when I got in but they expected us to call several times during the day. Seemed a little weird to paddle so far and have them just show up. Sort of like when Dave climbed Whiteface Mountain with a full pack and at the top there were dozens of Japanese tourists out of a bus taking pictures.

The second night after 14 miles we stayed at River Forest campgrounds, which was mainly an RV park for summer residents. The campsites were a riot to look at, lots of NASCAR logos, cheap and numerous garden statues, old ladies in sparkly cloths and golf carts everywhere. We did get the most remote site and it was nice and quiet. The third night we camped out on Maloney Island, west of Balwinsville. It is just a small uninhabited island, and we pulled the boats up into the woods so no one would know we were there. There were many speed boats at that point, and we didn't want to have any trouble. It was another 95 degree day and it didn't cool down until after midnight-sleeping was rather uncomfortable. We could try to cool down the tent by letting in mosquitoes-not a good choice to have to make. It was really wild to camp out on the island, roughing it. We cooked dinner in the back of my boat so as not to start a fire in the woods, and read storied by head lamps for a few hours.

Our birding list included Great Blue Herons, Green Herons, Two Bald Eagles (one immature, one adult), a Perigrin Falcon, Swallows, a Yellow Warbler, Cormerants, several types of Gulls, a Tern, Kingfishers, and a Harris Hawk. We found a swallow at Lock 24 which had been tangled in fishing line and was hanging upsidedown on the concrete wall in the channel. We found a place to shore and climbed around to get it. We could not get the line of his leg without hurting him, so we cut it as close as we could to his leg in the hopes that he could pick it off eventually. At least it would not get caught on anything. He just laid in my hand as we worked at it, and he had a flat, wedge shaped little head. He seemed very happy to fly away at any rate. We saw a muscrat too, and about a million water chestnuts, which are another invasive species, a floating water plant which drops spiky nuts which float down river. We need to come up with some way of harvesting them or the whole canal will be impassable in a few years.

We saw two trains go over a bridge right over our heads, and an abandoned stone railroad bridge that was just beautiful-it must have been something when the huge steam engines were going over it. We stopped at Cross Lake to swim on an island, it was just perfect-it had to be 95 degrees out and the water was clean and cool with a beach made of tiny seashells, millions of them. We spent an hour just farting around in the water, it was a much needed break.

We got in at noon Friday in Liverpool at Onondaga State Park. My friend Rosanne came to pick us up, and we made it in time for Cullen's birthday party the next day. We were not as sore as I thought we would be, and I was ready to go back out again the next day. We are definately doing this again next year.

Nick's chili pepper popcorn

2007-07-22T19:01:00.000-07:00

Put some olive or peanut oil (1/2 a cup or so) in the bottom of a medium pot with several dried red chilies, a tsp garlic powder, half a tsp chili powder and a dash of cayanne pepper. Heat the oil on med high for a minute or two then add popcorn. If you tip the pan diagonal you should add just enough popcorn to be even with the amount of oil in the corner of the pot. Put the lid on and shake every so often. When it starts to pop make sure you keep shaking the pan every 15 seconds or so to prevent scorching. When there is a 2 second or so gap between the pops, take it off the burner and pour the popcorn into a bowl. Add salt (popcorn salt is best-it is powdered salt and sticks to the kernels best) and serve with an ice cold beer and a good movie.

Ok, I am lazy tonight and stole my son's popcorn recipe; my 16 year old made this up through trial and error, and it is awesome.

Thought I would take a break from the serious stuff and update the critter situation. Right now Bilbo and Gaffer, our pet rats, are running around the computer table as I blog. They are tan hooded rats and are around 6 months old; I got them from a girl I go to college with, who is in the vet tech program. They are so much nicer than the girls we had a few years ago-they do not bite, and they are much more gregarious. The poor boys have been stuck in their cage for 3 weeks as the kids and I have been gone and Dave does not get them out.

I ordered 25 heavy male chickens in May and we are down to 18 due to predators, and half of them are hens. They are getting big (compared to the banties) at 11 weeks old, but since they spend all their time down at the house foraging they do not eat their feed much and are growing slower than they should. I was supposed to butcher them weeks ago but they only weighed 3 pounds. I have such a hard time balancing between our need to have meat and their need to live a full life. They are getting the better end of the deal, I have to say, at this point. They are really healthy looking, very active, and thier combs are so bright red they look painted. They are handsome birds; we have Barred Rocks, Turkens, and Rhode Island Reds among others, and look just beautiful scattered about the yard-brown, white, black, speckled. I will have to start butchering soon, as they will get too tough to eat, but they are not that heavy yet. Maybe I will do a few of the larger ones and wait a bit on the rest. I think if I crock pot them they will be tender and the meat should be so much healthier than at the store.

The egg banties are setting, two of them are sharing a nest in the loft. I wonder how they will tell whose chicks are whose, or if they will communally raise them as they have shared setting duties. I have 5 left, 3 hens and 2 roosters. I kept hoping the little reddish hen and the reddish rooster would breed, but of course it is the plain brown hens and the white rooster who have nested. Ah well, can't have it all.

We are down to two dogs, Tallulah the Bull Terrier and Jack the Dal/Whippet cross. They have done nothing all summer, no shows other than one flyball/disc demo, but seem not to mind. Jack gets out a few times a week to play frisbee, but he is getting old and cannot run for more than a few minutes before he starts getting gimpy. Tallulah has been asked to do therapy at my sister in law's work, with the mentally handicapped. She loves visiting people, and so hopefully we will go in a few weeks. Unfortunatly the next two Saturdays are full, so it will have to wait.

We have finches, Dave's idea. We have two pairs who refuse to get along even in a huge cage, so they are separated for now. One of the pairs just hatched out a baby a few weeks ago. He was so quiet that I didn't even know he was there-I picked up the nest to see if there was any eggs in it and out flew a baby! He must have been in there 2 weeks or more and since he was alone was quiet.

Still have the same two cats, Poe the siamese and Dusty the ice cream store cat. Poe was not doing so well, losing weight, sleeping all the time. We had his teeth cleaned and he is a whole new cat! He follows us all over the house, hollaring, and even lets Tallulah sniff him a little. He apparently was in a lot of pain, poor old fart. At 14 I suppose things like teeth start to go a little. Dusty is fat as a house and ornery as usual.

We still have the frog and Zen the painted turtle. I am raising meal worms for them, it is so easy! Just throw them (worms) in a little bin with some oatmeal, pine shavings and a few apple or potato slices every few days, and they just keep multiplying. The cool thing is to see them go through all their stages, from egg to larvae to pupa to adult beetles. Sure beats driving an hour and paying 4 bucks for a plastic container of them. The frog will eat the meal worms right out of my hand-that is pretty cool, if I say so myself.

I also have a 55 gallon tropical fish tank; some of the fish I got in 1997! I have four bronze catfish left (that I hatched from parents in 1998); I had no idea they lived so long. There is a weather loach, a 'shark' (really a catfish that looks like a shark) and other hand me down fish, some of who are original to the tank back in '97.

That is about it. Our crazy house of critters. I keep saying no more because traveling is so hard, but it will be tough to hold myself to that. I have been getting the dog jones for months now-I am overdue for a new one; however with being in school full time (Alfred State College-agricultural science major) I just do not have time for any more. Dave says when I graduate I can have a large animal-I was thinking a donkey and a cow to keep it company-but I wonder how that will work with our inevitable travel schedule. I have a year to think on it.

Many Grained Bread

2007-07-21T18:43:00.000-07:00

Many Grained Bread

OK, this is a "Jen doesn't bother to measure anything" recipe I made up today.

I did not measure the grains, but if I had to guess it was about a cup each of:

wheat berries
steel cut oats
millet
quinoa
amaranth

Put them all in a saucepan and cover about 2 inches over the grains with water. Bring to a boil then lower heat and simmer for 45 min to an hour until the wheat berries are chewy rather than crunchy. Let cool a bit.

Take out about half and put in the fridge to eat later for lunch with salt, pepper and olive oil, or sweet for breakfast with brown sugar and maybe raisins.

Mix about two cups whole wheat flour, a TBS yeast, and a TBS sugar or honey into a large mixing bowl. Add 2 cups almost hot water and mix until smooth. Let it sit for 15-20 minutes until bubbles appear. Add the rest of the cooked grains and mix until smooth.You can wait for another 1/2 hour if you want; it helps but is not necessary. Add 3/4 cup ground flax seed, 1 TBS salt, 1/2 cup honey, and 1/4 cup oil. Mix it all together and start adding flour by the cup, alternating between white and whole wheat flour. Mix well between adding, and when the dough is too sticky to stir start kneading it by hand. You want the dough to be slightly sticky, but able to hold a nice form-it should feel like your earlobe, but wash your hands before you feel your ear or it will be messy!

Let the dough sit under a clean towel for an hour to rise. Punch the dough down, and form it into loaves-I ended up with three loaves in large stoneware pans-if you have those small glass loaf pans make it four loaves. Oil the pans well, and place a loaf into each pan, turning it once to coat the top of the loaf with oil. Let set for another 1/2 hour to an hour (until the dough is just to the top of the pans, then place in oven and turn oven on to 375 degrees F. Bake for at least 30 minutes. Tap the top of the loaf to check for done-ness-it should sound hollow. If you are worried, use a bamboo skewer stick to poke through the top center of a loaf-if the skewer comes out pretty clean, the loaf is baked-if it comes out gooey put the loaf back in the oven for another 10 minutes or so.

It was a dense and heavy bread, perfect for toasting with lots of homemade strawberry jam on it. We had it for dinner tonight with BBQ shredded beef on rice, doctored up baked beans, and a green salad.

I have been watching Marc Rudov on FOX debate Lis Weihl-here is this week's video link:

http://www.foxnews.com/video2/player06.html?072007/072007_cav_liswiehl&Your_World&Proof%20feminism%20is%20dead%3F%20&acc&amp;amp;Your%20World&-1&Business&236&amp;amp;&&new

Marc has landed a sweet position. He gets to work as a commentator bringing up men's issues on a weekly basis to millions of viewers. Also, viewers get to vote for who they feel won the debate by going to the fox website. He debates a feminist on issues of the day, most of them involving gender relations. Marc is able to talk on national television about issues such as the wage gap myth, negative generalizations of men in the media, and the necessity of feminism in today's culture. Not many MRAs have this opportunity reach so many people, and he is to be commended for taking the bull by the horns here. He is also a very calm, controlled person so is perfect for this position.

Here is what I am seeing though, and it has nothing to do with Marc's abilities. It was brought up on Mensnewsdaily.com however I have thought about this often in the past. It hit home this last debate because the topic was one with a wider scope, "Is feminism necessary?" Lis kept using phrases such as "73 cents on the dollar" and "women's rights" and "the glass ceiling", and these phrases represent larger ideas ingrained in the psyche of Americans. Where Marc has to explain the concept of the hatred, bias and fear of men (misandry,) Lis can simply say 'misogyny' and viewers understand her larger idea. While Marc has to explain the 93% male workplace death rate, the longer hours, and nasty jobs at which men demean themselves for money (the glass cellar), Lis can simply use the term "the glass ceiling" to convey all it entails.

Feminism controls language, and it was one of the movement's most brilliant acts. Ironically, many political movements including socialism and Nazi Germany used the same technique to create underwritten assumptions in the public. "1 in 4" is known to all Americans as the number of women raped in the US. Of course the fact that this number is greatly exaggerated and is based on faulty and misleading research means nothing-repeat a lie long and often enough and it becomes a fact. The '73 cents on the dollar' wage gap myth is another such 'fact', never mind that if one thinks for 5 seconds he would realize if this were true who would ever be stupid enough to hire men at such a higher cost for the same work?

I do not think we should demand to control language to such an extent as feminism-the men's movement is about equality, not power. I do think we need to create counter vocabulary, definitions, sound bites if you will. If feminism were truly about equality, we would be in complete agreement. The fact that feminism rejects 50/50 shared custody of children in divorce tells me they are not interested in equality but in privilege. Until we have equality of opportunity for men, we need to treat this like the war it is, and one weapon is language.

Asparagus, Red Pepper, & Potato Salad

2007-07-20T19:11:00.000-07:00

Asparagus, Red Pepper, & Potato Salad

The Veggies:

1 pound new red potatoes
1 pound aparagus or green beans
1/2 large red pepper
1/2 cup slivered red onion

Scrub and boil potatoes in salted water until tender. Drain and cool. Snap off ends of asparagus or beans and steam in salted water until tender crisp. Drain and shock in cold water. Quarter potatoes and cut asparagus or beans into 1-2 inch pieces. Cut pepper into sticks the same length. Put all veggies in bowl.

The Dressing:

5 TBS Creole mustard (or spicy brown mustard)
6 TBS balsamic vinegar
1 1/2 TBSbrown sugar
3/4 tsp kosher salt (or 1/2 tsp reg salt)
1/4 tsp black pepper
2-3 cloves garlic, pressed
6 TBS olive oil
Tabasco or Red Hot sauce

Mix all ingredients into a jar, put on lid, shake until creamy. Pour onto veggies. Serve.

Nice thing about this is it can be made ahead if you use the green beans, it is easily doubled, it can sit out all day at a picnic (no dairy products) and the dressing is really good on a tossed green salad.

I had not blogged for a long time, but this was linked to a group of people I care about, so I thought I should start her up again.

Last weekend I attended the True Equality Conference in Washington DC, about The Boy Crisis. What a blast! The lineup of speakers was outstanding, starting off with Glenn Sacks, Warren Farrell, and Christina Hoff Summers (OMG! I was so excited to meet her! I was tongue tied-and that takes alot!). Paul Nathenson and his writing partner Catherine Young were there, authors of "Spreading Misandry". Katherine was very sweet, but when she started talking about men she became very focused-she spoke about how she came to start studying men and the backlash she encountered-it became very obvious how bright she was. Paul was so intense-he came up to me and started grilling me about how I came to care about these issues, and went on to really make me think about media influence and society. He made one of the most quotable statements at the conference-when called out by Warren Farrell about not belonging to the norm (for being gay) he responded "Just because I don't fit the norm doesn't mean there shouldn't be a norm." Yes! Well said!

Dave and the boys came Saturday, and I think the boys really enjoyed it. Nick actually pointed out today a double standard he saw on the TV (at a friends house), which he normally would not do. I think if nothing else, they can see that there are people out there working to make things better for them. Tom wanted to talk to people about issues, but is so shy he was too afraid to do so. Hopefully he will start to get over that. We will be networking more so he should get to practice on smaller groups of people.

I met several people from the Men's Health Network, they are really doing a lot of practical good by getting men to think about the various issues of health including prostate cancer and nutrition. I spoke at length with one man from Nigeria ( I would not even know how to start spelling his name) who was concerned about inner city minority men and women and the lack of options for healthy foods. I was personally interested in that topic, and will be contacting them to see if I can help out in any way.

I got to see the three Thomas'-Walsh, Ellis and Golden! Oh did I miss those three! What awesome men. Tom Golden's talk about men's ways of healing was so informative yet so touching. I about bawled when he spoke about him and his son wrestling, the boy stopping to say how he missed his grandpa, then jumping on his dad's head... Wow. Tom is a gifted speaker and a brillient student of male behavior. Tom Ellis made me (as usual) uncomfortable by pushing my understanding of men and women to new areas when he talked about things I need to teach my older son about dating, and approaching girls. That is why I love the man-he challenges me to be a better wife, mother, person. I do not like to think about these things, I need someone to kick me out of my comfort zone.

I have thought about writing op-ed pieces and had much encouragement from a really nice man from West Virgina, Steve Collins. He gave me some on-line resources and suggested I start by wanting to make some money at it! I would like to start by writing an article to Bristish newspapers about Fathers4Justice.

Speaking of which , what a privilage I had meeting these guys! Matt O'Conner, Ray Barry, and Jolly Stanesby came all the way from the UK to regale us with tales and give us a much needed kick in the ass. Matt was so funny! I am not sure what it is about a Brit swearing, but every time he did (and it was often) I just laughed. He told us all about some of the early protests and everything that could and did go wrong. His description of trying to find a condom which would actually break so they could pelt Tony Blair with purple powder was hilarious-I think they need to make a condom commercial! Next Ray Barry spoke about the church protest and the lotto hiest; he is such a proper Brit that it seemed really strange that he would do these things-which made it all the more impressive. He was in such contrast to Matt that he really made it that much more real, seeing how the only commonality between the two was losing their kids and fighting back. Matt came back and spoke about the societal affects of fatherlessness, including reading a list of the names of all the boys murdered by gangs this year in the UK. It was powerful stuff. Not a dry eye in the place. Last but certainly not least was Jolly, who did not actually get up and speak. I got stuck at the hotel (the parking garaged closed with my car inside!) after I went with Steven Saboda and Jolly to see Harry Potter, so Jolly was kind enough to keep me company over a few beers until 3am. What a beautiful man. I have not often met a man so capable of forgiveness yet so determined to do what was right no matter the cost to himself. Everything he does is for his daughter, because he truly believes it is right for her. Not many people are so selfless. We talked about many things, for hours, both important issues and silly stories, and he now has a special place in my heart. He said he would like to come visit us, and I really hope he was serious. If he reads this... I saw the purple sheep!

Monday after the conference I took my mother to a chemo treatment. Watching her hair fall out while hooked up to the IV was heartbreaking. She has always been such a proud woman, and looking good has always been so important to her. We have had our issues in the past, but now I just pray she can make it through this.

Tuesday Thomas Walsh and I met in Washington DC to visit Barack Obama's office. I had prepared a packet of info and a letter to him about father's issues . He is the only canidate actively talking about fatherhood, and I believe him to be one of the few upstanding and honest canidates. I hope he responds, as it would be a pleasant change to vote for someone, rather than against the other. His staff was very nice, but we did not think to make an appointment, next time we will do so. I am a registered Republican, but I would back Obama if he shows any sign of taking us seriously.

Stupid me, I bought my 'once every 3 years' pair of dress shoes ($10 at 80% off!) and they gave me blisters the size of Rhode Island! Tom and I took a cab back to the car they were so bad! Why does being girly have to hurt so much? No wonder I wear barn boots half the year! I am so much happier being a tom boy!

Thomas and I then went kayaking on the Potomic by Georgetown. What a gorgeous place. Oh, and I have created another kayak convert! So relaxing, just floating around, Thomas was hooked after 30 seconds. We saw a Great Blue Heron, and even though I see them often up north, there was something about seeing it on a river amidst the city that made it special. We also got about 10 feet from a sleeping duck on shore before it woke up and grumpily waddled off.

I am finally home tonight, we were at a friends all week so Tom could go to a day camp for kids-I am not leaving for at least a week (its been three weeks we have been gone!) My poor garden is full of weeds, I missed the peas entirely, and my bees need a new queen. Seems like everything here falls apart when I leave!

Hummus

2006-01-31T05:36:00.000-08:00

2 cans chick peas
4 large cloves garlic
1 tsp salt
juice from one large lemon
3/4 cup tahini
dash of cayanne
lots of black pepper
1/4 cup minced scallions (optional)

Add all ingredients together and either mash with a fork or use a blender. I use my hand-held Braun "wand", it has a blade at the end which you can use in a glass or a bowl. You can put this in a sandwhich, dip bread or veggies in it, and it carries and keeps well, so it is good to take to parties, especially if you are trying to eat right and your family and friends eat junk food!

Tom is finally at school again. He was out for a whole week with a horrible cough. He is still coughing, but he really needs to get back. He just sat around for a week, I tried to play some games and such with him but I didn't want to make it too fun, and we couldn't go outside or anything. I, of course, started a little cough this morning, so I am really worried I will get it. Unfortunately, I will be the old lady who gets pnuemonia all the time-I get a cough and it always goes deep in my lungs and lasts a full month. Yuck.

I was given a hiking book for the Finger Lakes area this weekend. I really would like to start hiking this spring in earnest, so I need to be in shape. There are lots of short, relatively easy hikes in the book, 4 of them within a 20 minute drive. I can take a dog and go while the boys are in school. Last year I sprained my ankle so bad in April that it took until August before I could really walk any distance. We hiked one Adirondack high peak in October. So all I have of the high peaks are Cascade and Porter. (I am trying to climb all 46) Hopefully this year I will get some more. I think Dave will get his long before I will finish mine, he already has over 20 of them. However, I could try to finish the Fingerlakes trail, which is easier on me since it is flatter, and is closer so I can do a lot while the kids are at school.

Tom wants to also do the Fingerlakes trail, which is more doable than the peaks for him. If I can scout out a few trails for him we can start getting him in shape. I really would like him to be excited by more active things.

My friend lent me her backpack, never used ;-) I thought I would start walking with the pack to get used to carrying a load. I can start at home with a bit of weight in it, and also use it on my day hikes. We have free weights I can use, or maybe a bag of cat litter or something (unused).

Yesterday I took Harriet out for a while. She walked around with me, and followed me across the yard, then we scratched for worms for a while. She is much better at it than me, but of course if I were digging for chocolate maybe I would be better;-) . Maybe I should train her to be a hiking chicken! She is pretty lonely, so I am trying to spend time with her until I decide what to do-if I should leave her inside with us until spring and get chicks or what.

Tom just came home from school, he couldn't stop coughing. We have a doc appt at 1:45, the nurse thought he may have a touch of bronchitis. I do not usually take the kids to the doc for colds and flu's, there is nothing he can do anyway, but Tom is getting worse not better. So, we will see. Well, nothing else going on, at least not in my little world.

In memory

2006-01-29T05:51:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I went out to the barn to find Harriet, my banty hen, all alone amid a sea of feathers. Apparently, a weasel got into the barn and killed the other 6 chickens. I am really too depressed to write a recipe, so I am pasting something I wrote elsewhere a few weeks ago.

*******
'The girls', Don King and Einstien. They are white crested black polish , so they have funny white crowns of feathers on their heads but are otherwise black. They are very independant, and will go after the dogs if they need to. They don't put up with crap from outsiders. Beene is also a polish, she is very responsive to me, and likes to run up to new people and check them out, where the girls don't bother with people unless they get too close.

Harriet is a little black banty, she is very bold, and puts up with no crap from anyone, even though she is the smallest. She comes running as fast as she can, or flies, when you call, where as the others come more slowely. She is really the boss of the flock. Gonzo, a little banty rooster is very affectionate. He loves to jump on my arm and dance his little rooster dance. He will clean his beak on me, and crow sometimes on command.

Florish is a banty cochin, she is a black ball of feathers. She is very passive, you can pick her right up. She is broody, so her instinct to nest is strong. She is not so interactive as the other birds, but I got her later as an adult. Blotts is her mate. He looks similar, and before a few weeks ago was not really personable. But the roosters got in a fight, (little tiny Gonzo kicked poor Blotts ass). Blotts was torn up, so I had to bring him in the house and spend an hour cleaning his comb, beak and feathers. After that, he is very attached to me. He will come running when I visit, and then follows me around. He will let me pick him up with no fuss, and now does the rooster dance too.

******

I will miss them dearly, especially my boys, Gonzo and Blotts. Gonzo was the most attached from the beginning, he always loved to jump on my arm and visit, even if it was just for a minute. And I will miss Blotts waddling towards me as fast as he could, just just so he could stand next to me and puff up all handsome. The other day I left out some melon guts for them, and Blotts just stood over them and cried "Look!Look!" for a full minute until Flo came over, then he dived in as soon as her beak hit the pile. He wouldn't eat until she did. It will be very difficult to get a new rooster.

Moors and Christians

2006-01-25T07:53:00.000-08:00

Start one cup brown rice cooking according to pkg instruction. Meanwhile, in a skillet, saute 4 cloves crushed garlic, one small chopped onion, a pinch of crushed red pepper, a dash or two of cayanne pepper until the onions are soft. Add one cup peas or chopped green pepper, 2 medium chopped tomatoes, and one can (2 cups) cooked black beans. Add to the rice and cook together until rice is done and liquid is absorbed. Salt and pepper to taste and serve with biscuits and a green salad.

To be totally un PC, we joked at dinner that this should be called Moors, Christians, Indians and Aliens! (think the colors in the dish)
**************

I started thinking of the boy's article I posted yesterday. I think boys are like an indicator species. The canary in the coal mine, or the liverwort plant in the woods, are the first in the environment to succumb to toxins, or changes in pH or temperature. Since boys are falling behind in school, I think we need to start looking at the environment for answers. Some people think that making the schoolroom more boy friendly is the answer. It may help, certainly, but I think it is a band-aid. Many schools 100 years ago used the sit down and be quiet model and boys excelled. So what has changed? I think we need to look at the greater world.

In this age of "Girl power," where we (quite rightly) encourage girls to be whatever they wish, what have we told boys? Do we encourage boys to be whatever they want? Nurses, teachers, fathers? No, we still encourage them to be traditional males, no pink, no soft careers, no thinking of their own happiness before their careers. Traditional males. A traditional male once was a leader, strong, protective, independant with integrity and character.

But how do we now view traditional males? When you look at the messages boys are getting, it is quit obvious that we do not think very highly of them. Just spend a few minutes watching commercials, or movie titles, or sitcoms. It is obvious that men are feckless dolts who are barely tolerated by their scowling, imperious wives. Or they are evil perpetrators of crimes. Obviously there are exceptions, but by and large if you count the images of men, the negative far out numbers the good.

We criminalize manhood by domestic violence and sexual assault campaigns targetting at boys and men when most studies done by independant agencies show both to be perpetrated by men AND women. A recent survey came out that showed more high school boys have been victims of dating violence than girls. Yet the educational material is still using the male/bad, female/victim model. Boys are told they are a threat no matter what they do or don't do. They are inherantly bad based on their gender.

Marriage is a huge gamble for men. Is it any wonder why men are avoiding it? Who wants to take the 50/50 chance that you will divorce-of that an 80% chance it will be your wife leaving you and keeping the kids. Who wants to take the chance that you will be relegated to a visitor in your child's life?

Also look at the workplace, which has become increasingly hostile to men. Sexual harrassment claims, once needed to protect women, are now used to ruin people's careers with little or no proof. It is no longer about common courtesy, but about absolute control of the work place by a few easily offended individuals.

Add all this and more, and what motivates a young boy to excel? Not competition in the classroom, not goals of working, not goals of marraige and children, not goals of being respected in society. Is it any wonder that boys are retreating into the video world? Their environment has become hostile, and like any indicator species, they are exibiting the signs of reation to that poisonous environment. Until we address the underlying motivators and conditions which are causing the problems, band-aiding them in schools is not going to help.

Homemade flour tortillas

2006-01-24T05:54:00.000-08:00

In a bowl, mix 1 pkt or 1 TBS yeast, 1 cup whole wheat flour, 2 cups warm water and 1/4 cup olive or veg oil. Let sit for 10 minutes. Then add another cup of whole wheat flour and 1 tsp salt and stir vigorously. Continue to stir and add unbleached white flour half a cup at a time until it is too stiff to stir easily and the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Pull the spoon out and scrape off the dough. Use your hands to keep mixing the dough, adding half a cup of flour each time the dough gets sticky, until you have a soft dough which feels like your earlobe (feel your earlobe before you start or it will get all floury!) Keep kneading the dough by flattening it, folding it in half, flattening it, etc. You can do this on a floured counter, or right in the bowl. I knead mine for just a minute or two. Let the dough rest on the counter while you prepare the veggies and such for whatever meal you are making, about 15 minutes.

*letting the dough rest makes rolling it our much easier. Dough gets stressed out with over handling, and just like us it clenches up and becomes stiff. We all need our rest, and dough is no exception ;-)*

When you are ready, get a dry skillet, or better yet I use an electric griddle with a no-stick surface. I do not put oil on it. Take a blob of dough the size of a lime and put it on a floured surface. Flatten it with your hand, then with a rolling pin roll it out into a large flat circle. You will need to sprinkle flour to the board and the top of each one to keep it from sticking. Do not be afraid of the flour! The tortilla should not stick to anything, you should be able to pick it up with your hands and move it around without it sticking.

It will probably not be a perfect circle, and that is just fine. I like mine thicker, but play with it and see how thick you like it. Between an 1/8 and a 1/4 inch, depending on what you like. If you want larger tortillas, use more dough, smaller use less. It is certainly not a science. Roll out one or two at a time, depending on how much room on the skillet you have. Place the tortilla on the skillet, which has been heated to medium, or 300 degrees on the electric skillet. Roll out the next one when the first is cooking. When the top starts to look puffy, lift the edge of the tortilla with your hand or tongs to check. It should look cooked, and start to slightly brown a golden color in spots. The longer you cook it, the less soft it will be. If you are making these for dipping cook them longer than if you want to use them as wraps. Flip it when it is done to your satisfaction, then place on a plate and put the next one on. Repeat until they are all done. You can place them in the oven on low if you like, I put the plate underneath the electric griddle (which is on little legs) and it keeps them warm.

I use these with refried beans, veggies and salsa, breakfast burritos, felafel, humus wraps, and dipping in humus. I warn you, once you make these, you will be spoiled and not want to lower yourself to store bought wraps any more. Your husband or wife will probably come by and snitch one to nibble on, so make a couple more than you think you will need. You can always put them in a plastic bag and have a wrap for lunch the next day if you have them leftover. They keep for 3-4 days in plastic. I have not tried freezing them.

***************
The trouble with Boys

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10965522/site/newsweek/?GT1=7538

This was an excellent article about boys in school. While I feel it left out many causes, it hit on some of the big ones, including fatherless homes, female-centric school methods, and lack of male teachers in elementary education. I am fully supportive of same sex education, that is separating boys and girls for classes. Dispite what some may thing, boys are just different than girls. Not better or worse, just different. I do not think boys should be punished for not being girls, anymore than girls should be punished for not being boys.

I have two boys. While I felt homeschooling had its drawbacks for us, I still seriously wonder if it is a better choice. My older son is still having problems in school with homework and lack of interest. My younger one is still on honor roll, but is really unmotivated by the coursework. At what point do I start to wonder if it is the environment? Fortunately, we have a very traditional school which in large part does respect boys. We picked this home in part because we liked the school system. But even this system must hold up to state standards, which are very female centric. He must take a foreign language for 4 years, but only gets to take autocad as a senior. Nick would much rather take computer classes then language. He got a 98 in autocad during he 6 week into last year, and he would use autocad far more in real life than spanish. His teacher is always assigning love poems and such, and the boys think the whole class is a joke. Spanish is heavily on language skills, which boys struggle with more than girls. To also have the curriculum biased to girls as well makes spanish a real difficulty for the boys.

I have thought about starting a study group for boys here at the house. We have a huge bar with darts and pool table, after studying they could hang out for a while. That way I can help the boys without trying to fight with the school.

I just really worry about what life will bring my boys.

Spicy Tempeh & Broccoli

2006-01-22T18:41:00.000-08:00

Cut one pkg Tempeh into strips 1/2 inch wide and and 1-2 inches long. Place in a bowl with 1 cup broth (any kind), 4-6 cloves crushed garlic, 2 TBS Miso, a pinch of crushed red pepper, a dash or two of cayanne pepper and lots of black pepper. Put in fridge and marinade for an hour, stir, then marinade another hour. If you don't have Miso then add some salt and a few drops of soy sauce instead.

Meanwhile grate a large carrot, cut 2 crowns of broccoli into bite sized pieces, and take out a cup of frozen corn. Also cook either brown or white rice, or barley, lightly salted and peppered.

When the Tempeh is done marinating, heat a large skillet to medium with a couple of TBS of olive oil and if desired a couple more cloves crushed garlic, and pour in the tempeh, marinade and all. Fry up a couple of minutes, then add on top the veggies and cover. Check every 4-5 minutes, stirring a bit each time, adding broth or water if needed. When the broccoli is done, mix the whole thing well, to coat all the veggies. Serve over the rice or barley, with chunks of fresh bread or corn bread.
******
I made this up because my husband could not stand the plain Tempeh, he ate around it like the kids then fed it to the dogs! This recipe was a hit, even with the kids. Tempeh is very good for you, it has tons of soy protein and fiber, and seems to suck up marinade pretty quickly. I think I might try adding sun dried tomato strips next time.

My husband has been fighting with his cholesterol, as I wrote earlier. He has listened to everything I said about his diet, he is an amazing man. He has self control that is unbelievable. He indeed is eating almost vegan, and it paid off, when he went to the doctor last week. Mind you this is the second time he has been on Lipitor and Zetia together, and it did little but make him exhausted. We go to the doctor, and his numbers are awesome. The LDLs are low, and the HDLs are very good! Total is 163! Yeah!

I went with him to his appointment because the doctor was discounting his exhaustion from the Lipitor. I got pissed, because he truly is tired, and to me what is the point of taking a medication to live longer if you are too tired to enjoy it? Also, I am big on listening to your body, and I worry that his body is telling him that this drug is not safe for him.

So he gets the numbers down, and the doctor tells him it was not his eating right, it was the drugs. Remember that he was on this same combination before and it didn't work. I told the doctor exactly how we were eating, and he took it more seriously, but still wanted to give credit to the drugs. So Dave said he will try one month of taking the Lipitor at night rather than morning, to see if it helps. If not, he is going off the Lipitor and staying on the diet to see if we can maintian the numbers naturally.

The doctor kept telling Dave he was fat. I wanted to dump the canister of cotton balls on his head. I piped up and told him that Dave looks great, that if the doctor wants him to lose weight, take him off the Lipitor, and he will start working out again. I also told him that the only reason he quit working out 5 days a week was the Lipitor, and that he stayed the same size because he stopped eating badly. This same doctor told my son he was fat, in a very crude way. The doctor is an osteopath, which means he is supposed to be as concerned with wellness as with drugs and technology. I think he is forgetting that.

We still have Tess, if anyone is looking for a slightly schizo, very sweet pit bull who can play a mean game of frisbee.

Lentil soup

2005-11-01T07:20:00.000-08:00

Place one package dried lentils in crockpot, cover in plenty of water or soup stock, add a few dried red chilis, and turn on low. If you want meat in it, add a ham bone or ham hocks.

When you get back from work before 4 or so, or when the lentils are soft a few hours later, finely chop an onion, a cup each of carrots and celery, 1 cup finely chopped spinach, and 2-6 cloves garlic. Saute in olive oil until soft. Add to lentils, and keep simmering on low. For meat eaters, add 1-2 cups chopped ham and remove soup bone.

****If you have to leave the house until 5 or 6, throw all the veggies and meat in with the lentils and simmer all day, don't bother sauting them. Just add more water or stock for the veggies to soak up. *****

About 1/2 hour before you eat, add several chopped tomatoes, 3 TBS dry red wine, 3 TBS lemon juice and 1 TBS molassas and1 tsp basil. Also add lots of black pepper and salt to taste-probably 1-2 tsps or so, depending on stock, ham, etc.

Let finish simmering, and serve with whole wheat bread and a salad, or a grilled cheese sandwhich with tomato, lettuce and avacado.

*****************
I am home today since my younger son Tom is 'sick'. He went trick or treating last night, and didn't have a very good time, since he didn't ask any friends to go and so had to go alone (with me). We came home with him grouching that it should not be on a week day when he can't go to his friend's in another town, and he drowned his sorrows in sugar. We did play a game together, and he was feeling better when he went to bed. But alas, overnight all the crap went through his system and he is paying for it today. Luckily he made the connection and said that was the last time he would hide his feelings in food.

SO I miss class (a quiz day) and had to move two appointments back to tomorrow. I hate doing that, but thus is the job of mom. Not like I would trade it or anything!

I am trying to get organized for Christmas. I am attempting to follow the flylady- www.flylady.com- but am having a hard time this year because of my schedule. I am out two days a week for school, and usually out another day with clients, then weekends were busy. The other two days I was trying to stop zoning out and get cleaning and catching up. Schedules are a lot easier to follow when your days are more consistant.

Schedules are very hard for me to keep up. Flylady has said again and again that it takes 27 days to start a new habit, good or bad. Why is it so hard to start and maintain a good habit, but so easy to start and maintain bad ones?

(Just got a call, and had to go pick up Nick from school, he was feeling sick as well. I suppose it was a good think I stayed home today after all. Maybe it wasn't the candy monster. )

I am always stalled at this point-Sitting in my home, trying to make a list for one thing -Christmas- then all the other things I have to do get in the way. I have a huge paper due in a month, two classes to study for, a presentation, trying to spend time with the kids, cleaning the house, spending time training the dogs (all 4 of them) clients, wintering the bees and chicken coop, (could I put the bee hive IN the chicken coop? :-O ) . Of, and I also agreed to write the newsletter for the NCFM-GNY (National Coalition of Free Men Greater NY) chapter. What was that sound daffy duck made when he would go bouncing off the walls? Silly me, what was I thinking.

Actually the news letter is the one thing I am really excited about. It is only once everyother month, and shouldn't take horribly long to put together. One article is already published for me to include, so I need to dig up a couple of other items and add some local interest things. I also will write a commentary as well. I was thinking of interviewing an author to add in. We will see. I think a week worth of nights after the kids go to bed would be plenty of time to get it done. It is, however due out in December, which is my really busy month, so I might need to schedule it in in bits of time.

SO, as you can see I get easily sidetracked. ;-)

Christmas. Today I will make my budget (HA me budget? Stranger things have happened!)I can't make a gift list until I know how much money I have to spend. That is my one chore today for Christmas.

Oh, and my new habit this year is not to call Christmas ~x-mas.

TBQ~

Irish Oatmeal

2005-10-30T06:07:00.000-08:00

Irish Oatmeal

One and a half cups steal cut oats, or Irish oats if you can find them. I get them at Wegmans in the granola health food section.

Add lots of water and bring to a boil. When boiling, lower temp to simmer and cook for 45 minutes or so, keeping an eye on water level.

When the oats are chewy, add 1/2 cup of raisins, 1/4 cup sunflower seeds, 1 cup chopped or diced apples, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 cup maple syrup, and 1/4 tsp salt

Add a little more water if needed, and cook another 5 minutes.

Scoop into bowls, add milk or soy milk if you like, and more maple syrup to taste. Reheats really well. It is very good for those trying to lower their cholesterol.

I have to apologize to anyone reading this. My husband came home from school, we had a summer from heck, we got a new rescue dog, and now I am in school part time as well.

AHHH!

Seriously, I am juggling it all well so far. Tess is our new rescue. She is a 1 year old pit bull, who looks like she may have a little lab or boxer in her. She is the sweetest thing, a real snuggler, who learned to catch a 40 yard frisbee throw in 4 days. She has some stranger issues, due to being tied out in the yard for 6 months on a choke chain, next to the pizzaria, grocery store and bank. She had no hair on her neck, and a deep infection which took a 3 week course of antibiotics to clear. She wasn't house broken, so that has been a battle. We did take her to the Adirondacks last weekend, and she climbed her first high peak, Cascade. She did awesome, a couple of barking jags at people who suprised her, but nothing I couldn't get under control immediately-most people she just ignored. And, she did NOT pull me up and down the mountain. She was a real lady.

If anyone knows someone looking for a dog let me know! I am looking for a sports home for her, frisbee, maybe flyball or agility. SHe would make a great obedience dog, her heelwork is gorgeous.

Lets see, the bees are doing well, it is actually warming up today for th efirst time in weeks, so I may get to work them one more time before winter. I am a little worried because it was not a good goldenrod year apparently, and my bees are very new to their hive. If they do not get enough honey stored they will not survive. I am planning on insulating the hive with blue board insulation, so hopefully that will help.

The chickens are really good. I got two new ones this fall, Florish and Blotts. They are black banty cochins. They basically look like feather balls with heads, since their feet are feathered. The cool thing is that we went to the county fair to see the chickens, and my cochins would have cleaned house. So next year I may enter them in the fair. Flo and Blotts do not come when called since I got them as adults, but you can walk right over and pick them up-they are extremely tame. They stopped laying eggs after the daylight shortened up to under 12 hours. I really should have put in lights, but I don't really mind them not laying. Gonzo is still the little Napolean, taking after the 7 foot giant he is named after and taking no crap from anyone!

My husband has been warned by his doctor that he needs to get his cholesterol down more-he got it down from over 350 to below 200, but apparently his bad cholesterol is still too high. So, we sat down and talked about what needed to be done. I have tried to cook healthy for him, but then he goes out to lunch, supersizes everything, or goes to his families and eats porkrinds and curly fries out of the deepfryer, and gorges on too much meat and BBQed chicken, undoing all the healthy cooking. Or he downs an entire bag of chips or can of peanuts-he cannot eat small portions.

So I actually told him (I am not one for 'telling' him things, nor him for listening!) that if he wanted to get it down he had to listen to what I told him to eat. All the time, both in and out of the house. SO I researched cholesterol foods, and spent hours going through my vegitarian cookbooks to make a list of meals he could eat. Soy, flax, seeds, almonds, fish, whole grains, veggies, legumes, but no dairy, fatty meat, white flour, etc. Most of the recipes in my vegitarian cookbooks use lots of cheese and eggs.

I am trying to get to the big store more often so I can get the harder to find ingredients, like soy products. I am trying to plan my meals every week and stick to them, which is better for our budget as well. So this reallyis a good thing.

I just feel bad because I make the dog food now from scratch, and they get beef stew! My poor husband, jealous of the dog's food!

Anyways, I am also in school part time. I am taking psychology and honors forum. With the honors class i will be able to graduate with honors. I am doing my project on treating dog aggression with positive reinforcement training. I am using a client's German Shepherd as a case study. This dog scared the crap out of me at first, but after a few months I really like him. He and I now trust each other, and he is doing really well. The cool thing is that the owner is an old school method person, and did not believe any of this would work. She is noticing the dog's improvement, not only with me but with everyone. He is learning a new way of handling the world, and the weight is off his shoulders. I really enjoy working with him.

The kids, last but certainly not least, are great. Tom and I are taking Karate lessons, and having a fun time. We are both yellow tip white belts (that means we are very new at it) but are improving every class. I actually am getting definition in my abs, from doing so many sit ups- (yeah!) I can do 40 now. Tom is slimming up a bit as well, and seems to have more endurance, and energy. He rushes everything, but I think is starting to see that it is not a contest. He can do more push ups than I can the little bugger! He got high honors at school, 100 in science, lots of 90's and high 80s. We are very proud of him.

Nick is moving along at Nick pace. ;-) He passed everything, which we were happy with. His hair is really long, he is one of those kids who is naturally 'cool'-he just is, and the girls all watch him go by, and he ignores them completely. I am really lucky he is so shy-we would all be in trouble otherwise! Or maybe we are in worse trouble, since only the most aggressive girls will even talk to him. His drumming is coming along, he practices in fits -two hours one night, then three nights no practice, but again, that is Nick pace. He has been doing his model cars and all the same building stuff. He is 15 now-15! Boy do I feel old! He still is a nice kid too, he gets surly in the morning, ( of course so do we all) but I have not hearn him say he hates me yet. Of course he is supposed to, so maybe that isn't a good thing? That child will worry me until I die I think.

So, that is the latest. I will try to keep adding new stuff, sorry about the hiatus.

Sweet potato/ green bean pasties

2005-07-06T07:29:00.000-07:00

Pie crust
1 cups flour (half white and half whole wheat works)
1/4 tsp salt
cut in 1/3 cup plus 1 TBS lard, shortening or margarine
add in ice cold water a TBS at a time until dough forms a ball but is not hard.

Filling
1/2 onion, minced
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 TBS olive oil
1/2 tsp fresh ginger or 1/4 tsp dried
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/4 tumeric
1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp coriander
1/4 tsp mustard powder
2 TBS water or stock
One large sweet potato cooked and mashed
1/2 cup cut green beans

Fry onion and garlic in oil, add in rest of ingredients, and cook 4-5 minutes on medium. Roll out 4 circles from pastry, and divide the filling among them. Use water on your finger to wet the edge of half of each circle, then fold dough over filling (the water will seal the dough together) and press the edge of the half circle with a fork all the way around. It will look like a big pierogi. Place on a baking tray, poke once with a fork, and glaze with milk or egg if you wish. Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

I always double this recipe, for it seems to not be enough for my family. I also have made these small, cutting the pie crust with a biscuit cutter and taken them to parties as a finger food and they are a huge hit, especially with some chutney to dip them in.

******

I have been thinking a lot about post marital sex. I swear it just kept coming up all weekend, how women just don't want sex after marriage, and men still do. Quite frankly it was pissing me off. It is a real problem, yet everyone seems to joke about it. Men tend to be flippant and dismissive about it, probably as a knee jerk reaction to the rejection they must feel. At the same time, women feel guilty and sad for the loss of something they once thought of as thrilling and special, and grumpy at the thought of being pressured.

It is a viscious cycle. The more we are pressured through jokes and guilt trips the less we feel like having sex, the more work is needed to get in the mood. The less we feel like having sex the more men feel rejected and the more flippant and blaming they get, and the less they try to get sex.

What is it that changed?

I do know that for many women the thing they like about the sexual expirience is the process. I used to tell my husband that the best forplay is a man doing the dishes. Women need to connect on an emotional level before they feel like having sex. They like the dance, the looks, the brief touches, the doing things for one another before they are in the mood. Men are the opposite. They use sex to feel close. Have sex with a man and you will find the man you are emotionally attracted to. When men have regular sex they feel connected and show it.

The disconnect comes when the sex slows for any reason, usually a baby. For a while the woman is fat, uncomfortable, and obsessed with motherhood. After the baby is born, the woman is no longer a woman, she is a mom. I cannot stress the change which occurs with this. It is vital it occurs to some extent for the child's sake, yet it is also vital the woman can go back to being a woman for the marriage's sake.

SO the disconnect happens. This is what happened in all the marriages I have seen. Husband gets home from work. The first thing he says is business like, "someone left something in the driveway" because if he doesn't say it then he will forget. She is now in defensive mode, the interaction has been set. Dinner is served, husband needs to go unwind, wife needs to get away from children, more disconnect. Kids go to bed.

Man may now be ready for sex. But the woman is in mom mode, and has not connected with the husband all day. She has no interest in sex.

I guess the ideal solution would be to just do it. Once started the problem takes care of itself. Unfortunately the men very often stop even trying at this point. Rejection is not easy to take, especially sexual rejection from your partner.

So she is not in the mood, he cannot take the extra step to start the process, both are tired, so they go to sleep.

Days go by. Weeks, months. That is life. We don't even see them slide by until we try to think when the last time we actually fooled around was.

It is heartbreaking. The most special thing two people can share, sitting right there for the taking, and we cannot reach out.

Add in the media constantly trying to fear monger and make us resentful of men, and you get a recipe for divorce.

We fear and covet sex. We label it evil and worship it at the same time. The dicotomy is such that a sexual woman and a married woman are incompatible. How many women cut their hair shortly after marriage? My friend just got married and chopped off her hair on the honeymoon. I guaruntee that she has no idea why she did it. But we are taught that once married, women must grow out of that dating sexual phase. Long hair is sexually attractive, and one of the easiest ways to visably change is to cut your hair.

I have other ideas on this, but they will have to wait for another day.

Tabouleh (or bowl o' fiber)

2005-07-02T17:48:00.000-07:00

2 cups bulgar wheat
2 cups hot water
2 cups minced fresh parsley (3Tbs dried)
1/4 cup minced fresh mint (1 Tbs dried)
3 scallions minced
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tps cumin
2 chopped tomatoes
1 chopped cucumber
3 Tbs lemon juice
3 Tbs olive oil

****
romaine or other lettuce
****
In a bowl combine bulgar wheat and hot water. Let sit for 30 minutes. Add everything else but oil and mix well. Chill 1-2 hours, add oil, and serve on bed of lettuce as a salad, or plain as a side dish.Makes for a filling and really healthy lunch the next day.

My younger son Tom calls this bowl o' fiber, but he always has at least one big serving so I guess it is a compliment.

It has been a very busy couple of weeks. I went to camp two weeks ago, for the whole week. It was a dog camp at a farm dedicated to Border Collie rescue. Of course fuzzy butts aren't my thing, I like the short coated bull breeds myself, but the camp includes all kinds of dogs. I was teaching flyball, and had a very good week. I was busy, active, and had a schedule which meant I was very happy. I got a phenominal tan too! A week out of the house was great, I rebonded with the dogs which was really needed, and made some new friends and gt to spend time with some old ones.

It has been hard coming home, as the lack of schedule and adult company gets tough. I love my kids, but just as I cannot replace friends for them they cannot replace adult conversation.

However, I tried my best to stay busy this week. Tom started swim lessions, where in one clas he tripled his swim speed! Finally someone could explain the over arm stroke to him. My husband taught him the breast stroke, which is his favorite, but Tom is too young to do it well, so he just swam like a frog who ate too many lead pellets (Twain anyone?) We picked strawberries and I make over a dozen jars of jelly and have plently left over for other use. I have some frozen rhubarb, maybe I will try a strawberyy rhubarb crumble. I also found a recipe for s/r jam which looks good.

I have been working the bees too. I went to Jessies where my hive was on Thurs morning. He says *oh, your hive is so small we don't need a veil* so we open up my hive, check everything over. I have brood!!! Which proves there is a queen! You could look into the cells and see the little eggs, and on another frame the little larvae. Very exciting. My bees were of course very good natured.

We then open one of his hives to do some work. He has a colony he just split, which means he forced by crowding the laying of a second queen, then split the hive into two, one queen each. We located the new queen in the second hive, clipped her wing and painted her back blue for quick identification. So far so good. Until we got into original hive. the first frame we took out had the queen on it, and they were pissed. I walked away but several guard bees followed me and I got stung above the eyebrow.

All was ok, I calmed down, and I put the new frame of brood from his hive into my hive without gloves.
Well, that night I started swelling. By morning I couldn't open my eye at all! It looked like someone had clocked me! The funny thing is that not one person said a word to me all day. I got funny looks but no one asked. Dave says if he starts getting funny looks we will know what they were thinking.

Last night I brought my hive home, and set it up behind my garden. It looks very small, sitting under a tree in the tall grass, but I can kind of hide in the weeds and watch them go about their business. It was cool today but is supposed to get warmer, so i should see some good activity tomorrow.

I picked all the spinach, it was starting to bolt, and it amounted to one bag of frozen! Note to self~plant much more in the fall!

The peas are ripe..how I love fresh peas. I picked and froze two quarts, well, Tallulah the bull terrier and I ate as much as we froze! She loves her peas. Nick also ate probably another quart in the car on the way home.

We hit a barn sale and boy did I hit the jackpot! I found a huge old trunk in awesome condition, with leather good wood and velvet, all intact, and the names of to and from shipping on the top and sides. Can you believe only $25! I told her I was expecting her to say $200, and she looked disappointed. Of course I wouldn't have bought it either. Anyways, I also found 3 really unique insulators from power lines, 5 old cigar boxes for my collection, and a stack of schoolbooks from the late 1800's early 1900s. $45 bucks for everything. Oh, and a cute little milking stool and a pair of cow horns. I love barn sales.

My dining room looks awesome. It is pumpkin orange, with a back area rug filled with brightly colored designs of grape vines, birds, flowers. On the window ledges and sills I put all the stuff we find on hikes and walks~ rocks, feathers, snake skins, leaves, pine cones, bird eggshells, snail shells, plus old bottles and a couple of small wooded boxes shaped like birds. I have some photos i took of our last hike in the Adirondacks, all mushrooms, close up. They look like little scenes. I think I will frame them in black. The fish tank does not clash like I thought it might. The room went a different direction than I thought, but it is a good one.

I have been thinking a lot about what makes people happy. Are the things that you do out of habit making you happy, or are they filling a void, or putting off dealing with feared knowns. As I surround myself with things that make me happy, I still cling to old habits which do not.

It is easier to live in the internet than to interact with my neighbors. If I stayed off-line I could walk next door and invite one of the neighbors over for tea. I met a new neighbor who invited me to stop by, and I haven't. Why the heck not? She seemed very nice, and right up my alley (she said ~give me a mud hole and I am happy).

I really think that the internet is a double edged sword. I am lonely during the day, but pacifying myself with cyber conversation makes me reclusive. Maybe if I tried harder to make good conversation with Nick he would learn to converse more as opposed to talking at me about cars and stuff. And if I get off-line more I could take longer walks with Tom, which we both enjoy.

So I guess the lesson is too much of anything is bad, moderation is good. Gee, and less fat and more whole grains and veggies is good for you too, right? Why does it take so long for the simplest messages to sink in?

BQ's raspberry/honey scones

2005-06-19T20:12:00.000-07:00

BQ's raspberry honey scones

2 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup butter
1 cup frozen rasberries
1 cup milk
1/4 cup honey
extra flour

Stir together dry ingredients, cut in butter, throw in rasberries and cut up with a pastry cutter (or chop before you throw them in). Stir together milk and honey, then add to dry ingredients, stir until blended, and add enough flour so it is not real sticky. Roll into a 7 inch circle, place on greased baking pan, and cut into 6 or 8 slices. Pull the slices away from each other a little, and bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. Check, you may need to bake another 5 or 10 minutes, depending on how thick you rolled the dough.

Eat them hot, with honey poured over the tops, although they do taste good later too. I have a lot of honey right now.

I have been painting my dining room. I hung the color up for a month, decided it was time, and started ripping wallpaper(well, I started a month ago, but time gets away.) Now I have half of it done. It is ORANGE! Well, actually a harvest russet, more brown than reddish tones, but it is bright. Dave likes it, and it makes me happy looking at it. I really like bright colors. The only problem is that our kitchen is painted a dark green, so if you stand looking through to the kitchen it is pretty hidious! Darn, I guess that means i am painting the kitchen next! I have a great yellow already picked out, and it looks really good with the orange.

My dad is coming tomorrow to watch the kids for the week while I am at camp. I am so not ready! Well, I am ready for camp, I am not ready for my dad to visit! I know what I am doing tomorrow, uber clean/finish painting.

I had intents of posting some thoughts, but I think i am heading to bed. I will try again tomorrow night.

A cold can of beer

2005-06-15T20:10:00.000-07:00

Take one can Milwalkees Best out of fridge.

Open can.

Sit down and put your feet up.

Drink.

Repeat until unable to get to the fridge.

It has been a very long three days. Monday Uncle Bill and his friend Art came over to get the bees out of the wall. For those who don't know, we had an active hive living in the wall of our house. We chose to let them winter over, and get them out in the spring. So anyways. Uncle Bill and Art get the frames ready, set up the scaffolding over the staircase where they are, we suit up, and start taking down wall.

It is smoky, due to smoking the bees to keep them calm. They take out about a three foot long and one stud width wide section of wall, and find bees and comb. So we take out all the comb, set it into frames, and place the frames in the hive body. There was tons of honey, no brood at all (babies), which meant no queen. So we take the hive body outside, place a queen cell (a piece of comb containing a new queen, which looks like a peanut) into the hive and close it up. There are some bees upstairs, but they tell me to get a paper bag after dark and sweep them all into it, then pour them in the hive body.

Mind you it is about 90 degrees and they drank probably a twelve pack while doing the job.

So off they go.

Forward to 10 o'clock that night. I get the paper bag, I suit up, and head up to the hole in the wall. The bees are clumped together, about a softball sized clump, I think Oh good, this should be fine. I get the bag up there, put the brush above the clump and sweep down. OH MY GOD! They start just this high pitched humming and start flying out at me. They DO NOT just fall in the bag. They ARE NOT happy at all. Then I get stung on the leg. The guy at the store says I would be safe in jeans. My heart is in my throat, my adrenaline is pumping, and I just want to run. I carefully close the bag, step off the scaffolding, and walk down the stairs, bees screaming in my ears(luckily the jacket/veil worked!) I dump the bees into the hive, and walk away. I just want to run shrieking but I know I cant. I wait until all the bees leave me and go in the house.

I couldn't go back for 3 hours. I was so scared! Finally at 1 am, after watching a movie with my brother in law, I thought I have to go back. If I don't I will never do it. So I made a batch of sugar water, which I saw in a video is supposed to calm the bees, suit up with snow pants and the jacket/veil, and go back. I took an old window screen, covered up the opening and sprayed them through the screen. Then I took the bag and tried again. they fell right in, no problems. A few were flying around, but they were much better. So I went outside, emptied the bees into the hive, and went to bed, feeling very proud of myself.

The next morning they are all back! I got out my vacuum and sucked up enough so I could see what was happening. There were half inch grooves along the back to the wall, and they were waking into the next stud section. I pounded on the wall and put my ear up, and sure enough I could hear them. Over the next two days i tore out 3 more sections, two with full comb and one with just bees. I finally today got all the comb cleared out, and there was a huge wad of bees up in the joist. Since today we borrowed a veil for Steve, we went up with a paper back and a scraper. We soaked the daylights out of the bees, put the paper bag up, and Steve scraped while I held the bag. We got about 2 pounds of bees out. We closed it up, poured it into the hive, and sealed the hive up. We packed it up and took it 5 miles down the road to a bee keeper, who will let them stay for 2 weeks. If they live we will bring them back here.

I had to kill the rest of the bees tonight ;-( They would have died anyways, and I can't find and plug up the hole until I cleared them out. I really hated doing that. If I ever need to do this again I am buying a bee vacuum so I can get them all alive.

I have strained 3 pints of honey from the first day, and there is about 30 more pounds to process.

I only got stung 3 times, once a day. One in the leg, through the jeans, one crawled up my pantleg, and one got me on the finger through the glove.

I am not afraid of bees anymore.

I also went to the local bee keeping association meeting monday night. What a riot they all are. All have at leat 20 years on me, and they were picking on each other the whole time. The President says "Any old bills?" And they all point to a guy named Bill. Every time they would have a vote they would say "All in favor -aye" then one guy would point to me and say "Jen says no." I really liked everyone, and they had lots of advice for me. They seem like a very knowledgeable but accessable bunch.

Next week is a dog camp, I teach flyball for 4 days. My dad is coming to watch the kids. Dave is coming home Friday. My house is torn apart, the hallway is a wreck, the dining room is still in the process of getting the wallpaper out and painted. The whole house really needs a cleaning since I have been a little preoccupied.

AHHH!

So of course I start cleaning the garage tonight (?) Yeah, I know, Makes no sense. But that is me.

So, deep thoughts. A well? The Grand Canyon? The ocean?

That's about as deep as I am getting tonight.

Gazpacho

2005-06-07T18:47:00.000-07:00

In a big jug throw in

4 cups tomato juice or V8
1 diced onion
1 diced green pepper
1 diced cucumber
3 diced tomatoes
5 or more cloves crushed garlic
a tablespoon terragon
a tablespoon basil
1/4 -1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
3 tablespoons lime juice
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon honey
salt and pepper

Stir and chill a few hours.

We had it tonight with BLTs, very good. If the avocados hadn't gone bad we would have had chips and guac too.

My garden is so much work! Wow. I was out there half the day. I rototilled a section which had tried to go back to grass, and started double digging it, and sifting the top layer. The soil is just marvelous afterwards, but it is slow, back breaking work. I also hilled the blue potatoes with sifted compost from the old manure pile from the former owner's horses. The grass to the pile was waist high, so i had to try and carve a path for the wheel barrow. Of course when I started digging up the compost I disturbed not one but two ant nests, so I had to keep brushing off ants from my hands as i was pushing the dirt through the screen. My legs are all scratched now from the bedstraw and saw grass, in fact there is actually the imprint of a leaf on one leg in red dots! Took tow full loads for the potatoes, but I am hoping it is worth it. The soil is rich and loose, so the spuds should be big and easy to harvest.

We had fresh spinach last night! Yum.

My chickens are getting huge. They should start laying any time now. The banty rooster is the tamest, the three large hens are just pissers, they were going after Jack, my dal mix today. He just ran away and tried to circle back behind me! Poor guy.

I got my bee keeping equiptment. I wimped out, and decided instead of the chinzy little veil that came with the kit to buy a good study jacket with zippered hood. I do not want to get stung! I got gloves, a smoker, a hive tool and a hive body with frames and plasticell. I have to build the hive body, as it comes unassembled, then we will be ready to pull the bees out of the wall. I am very excited and a little afraid.

Last Friday I went to an elemetary school and made four 'speeches' about being a dog trainer. I brought Jack and Llyan, and they were great. I told the kids what I did for a job, then showed them with Llyan what I teach the dogs. Then I got Jack and talked about sports, and we did a little frisbee, in a 3X 6 foot space! Then we spoke about how to approach a dog, using Tom as my assistant. He decided to rebel, so when I asked him if his dogs were nice, he said "No, their viscious." in a dead pan voice. I said "may I pet your dogs?" He said, "No, their viscious." Well. So I tried again. "What are their names?" " Rip and Fang" he says! Oh the little bugger! Well, he finally gave up being the smart alek, and decided to cooperate. The kid laughed about it, as did I. Other than that little bump it went awesome. Tom was a big help, the dogs were very well behaved, and the kids were great, which means I hit the right combination of info and fun. We had exactly the right amount of time for each speech. I love it when things go that good!

I am hoping I can get more gigs doing this. The SPCA has been putting it out there as an outreach program. I really enjoy it, and I think it does good. It is much better than going to the spca, where I am always wanting to take home another dog (NOT something I need!)

Saturday Jack and I and Tom went to a frisbee tourney about an hour away. My throws sucked, so we only came in third, but we had a god time. Poor Tom was bored, so we spent the rest of the day doing fun stuff.

I wrote about Greg, Andrew and Steve coming over. Steve stayed another day, we went to the lake with the kids. I took Tallulah the Bull Terrier, and she tried on her new life vest (she cannot swim). She wouldn't go in at first past her armpits. She did, however, love chasing the waves from the boats., I finally let her off leash and she ripped up and down the shore, trying to bit the white waves. After an hour, with a 20 minute break in her crate, she actually started to swim on her own. She would take a big lunge, and squit up her face and start swimming! I was very proud, as she has sunk to the bottom before and it must have been very scary.

When Lou was in her crate I hung out with the boys and skipped rocks and swam. Tom got cut on the zebra mussels but was pretty calm about it. I had stuff in the car, so we band-aided it. Nick found lots of snail eggs and mussels to bring home and add to his 2 gallon lake tank. Last year when he started it he ended up with fish eggs and now has two fish in there. We stopped for ice cream-aww man did that hit the spot, the first cone of the season!

Sunday night Tom had absolute meltdown, missing dad, bawling his eyes out. I called Dave and told him, figuring I would find out the day he was coming back and it would make Tom feel better. Well, sure enough the next morning in pulls Dave, who got up early and drove 5 hours back for Tom! Tom was so excited he didn't know what to do. I had to tell him to go hug his dad, because he just stood there and stared at him, not believing he came home early. Dave actually played Clue with us tonight, (he hates board games with a passion) - Tom has been milking this for all it is worth.

Well, there is nothing deep tonight. I am sore and exhausted and am going to bed. G-night!

Breakfast Burritos

2005-06-05T08:09:00.000-07:00

Either buy or make flour tortillas, and warm them if you like-I make mine because I like thick flour wraps. There are flavored tortillas which work really well for this, especially the spicy ones. Figure two for each person if they are really hungry.
The most basic form is scrambled eggs, cheddar cheese, and salsa. Wrap in tortilla.

To wrap a tortilla, place enough filling that it take up the space of a dollar bill on a salad plate, the long side of the filling facing you, the short ends to either side. It won't look like enough filling, but you need the extra tortilla space to wrap it. You are going to make an envelope shape. Fold the short side ends inwards. Holding the short ends down with your index fingers palms down, use your thumbs to fold one long end up over the top of the filling, so it looks like an envelope with filling in it. Holding that down, close down the flap of the envelope.

Serve with good coffee or tea, V8 or OJ.

The possibilities for fillings:
Guacamole (tons of it, mmmm!)
Sour cream
diced red and or green peppers
diced tomatoes
diced avocados
lettuce
bacon
sausage
diced black olives
diced green chilis

This makes a great 'day after the big party' breakfast. You can chop all the veggies and grate the cheese the day before, put them out in bowls or a big platter. Figure two eggs and two slices bacon per person, and a two spoonfuls of each topping for two burritos per person. Make each to order, or what we do is use our large japanese grill top and fry up a pound of bacon and a dozen eggs all at once and everyone builds their own. You could also fry up everything in batches and keep in the oven on low to keep it warm until everything is ready.

Last night Dave's cousins Greg and Andrew and his brother Steve came by. It was really cool because Dave is still gone to school, I miss him and we were all bored. We were planning to just have another night with the three of us, but the boys are getting on each others nerves lately. We watched Timeline first, Tom really like that movie, it is a more little violent than I like, but I really like the emphasis on history and archeology, which I think he would do well in.

We then sent poor Tom to be and watch Reign of Fire. What a crappy movie. I want two things from this movie. One, to see more dragons, and two, to see Vin instead of Matt McCaunaghy. Matt just didn't cut it for the bald, wise crackin' kick butt American. He looked ripped, but even with muscles he lacked the breadth of shoulder and natural grace of Vin, and his nasally voice just didn't work. The dragons were so cool, but you hardly saw them. They probably ran out of money, spending it all on propane to get the fire effects. If there had been more Dragons, I would have really liked the movie, even if the premise was lame and the acting mediocre.

Well after Nick went to bed we all started talking about Nick and how he is growing up, and how terrified I am that he will end up getting into trouble. It was interesting, because Andrew is in college, and felt his parents were extremely over protective. But he is a great kid and never got into the kind of trouble I did, and that I fear Nick will face. So which is the way to go-protect your child but have them resent you, or let them go and risk them getting into trouble? Andrew, being the intelligent one, says that there has to be some middle ground. I agreed, and told him so. He thinks that you teach the basics, and trust the kid, but I think that you need to also monitor things.

But what if you don't trust your ability to teach the basics? It isn't that I don't trust Nick, he has been very trustworthy, and certainly is far more self assured than I was. I don't trust my parenting. It took me a lot of years to get to where I feel I am a good parent, but all those mistakes were made on Nick. Is admitting I made the mistakes and trying to be better enough? Is there anything more I could do even if I wanted?

I also really want to screen him from a lot of this stuff for a few more years. I can't help but feel like if I can give him another 2 years to mature before he has to face these choices, that he will be better prepared to make good choices.

The other thing is that I do not trust other kids. Some of the things his friends tell me they have watched just makes me very uncomfortable. The Blade movies, Matrix 2 and 3, Resident Evil, etc. I think if the parents or grandparents don't monitor the things their kids watch, what else are they not monitoring? I just keep telling Nick to come here with his friends, and that way someone is around. I know they will get away with some things, but if I can keep them from having the space or time to have sex or do drugs, hen I am ahead of the game.

We have to have the sex talk with Nick. I gave him a book so he knows the basics, but we need to actually discuss the realities of sex-pregnancy, stds, false allegations, etc, plus reasons to wait. Dave says he will do it, but he is procrastinating as much as I am. We have spoken about drug use a lot, so I think he understands the realities of that whole thing. I will keep talking about it though.

Anyone have any sex talk stories?

My mom gave me a pamphlet on periods and said if I ever wanted to talk....Yeah right. She never explained sex, never talked about waiting, birth control, how to say no, nothing. I don't think she was abnormal for that generation, but it would have been nice to have some extra information to go on.

Curried spinach and tomatoes

2005-06-01T19:19:00.000-07:00

Wash and chop a large bag of fresh spinach, or use a normal sized package of frozen spinach. Put a tablespoon of olive oil in a pan, and cook the spinach on meduim with a lid until it is wilted and dark green. Place in a bowl and set aside. Put another 2 tablespoons olive oil in the pan and add 2-6 cloves garlic, 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper and 2 teaspoons curry powder. ***Note, curry powder you buy in stores has no curry leaves in it. This recipe used store bought curry powder which is really cumin, tumeric, cloves, etc. I have yet to find curry leaves in this area****
When garlic starts to brown add the spinach and 2 med/large chopped tomatoes. Add salt and pepper. Cook until heated through and tomatoes soften, serve with Indian Potatoes and pita and hummus.

To add protien you can cook separately 1/2 cup chana dal or yellow split peas according to package directions, (40 minutes closed lid in lots of water), and add in last step. If you like you can add some of the cooking water to the mix and make more of a soup, adding in more salt and pepper and maybe a chicken bullion cube.

I am having a bit of a conundrum. Another board I am on has someone who keeps airing a particular opinion which not only I strongly disagree with but find quite frankly somewhat offensive. The offensive bit is MY problem, not hers. Here is the thing. I have made it clear that I disagree with her, and why. She chooses to continue to keep repeating herself, simply using more words each time but no better arguement and it is clear she is not only not going to change her mind but is not going to drop it.

I chose today to drop it, and she still went on to post a huge page restating what I had just argued. I did not answer.

It seems like no matter what I talk about, she finds a way to manipulate the converstaion into this area, where she again repeats her theories.

Do I simply walk away? Not go to that board anymore?

Do I ignore posts she makes with these theories in it?

Do I start saying Banana after every post she responds to me where this is started again? (It is working with the kids)

I worry because this board is important to me, and the things she is saying do find their way out to cause us all to be judged by her words.

I personally think she has just been trying to annoy me, and it was working. Not any more.

I think NYMOM, that while your reasons are different from mine, you may be right. Maybe it is time for me to leave there.

I also will say that any discussion of that topic itself is banned from here, because it is my blog and I am sick of hearing about it. That is the cool thing about having your own blog!

(I will never ban someone who disagrees with something I post here. Since I will never post that theory here, I will never have to argue it. I choose not to even bother wasting my time arguing it if it is presented by someone else here. No one but this woman would even think of such an out-there theory, so I am pretty safe!)

And no names please for those of you who know who I am talking about.

My husband thinks I should just leave. He is usually right about these things.

Indian potatoes

2005-05-31T19:03:00.000-07:00

Cube 4 very large, or six medium or eight small potatoes in to half inch cubes. In a huge frying pan heat six tablespoons olive oil to meduim, start to fry 4 dried chilis and a tablespoon black mustard seeds (yellow will do in a pinch). When the seeds start to darken, add 2-6 cloves crushed garlic, a tablespoon chana dal and a tablespoon urad dal (dals are indian for split peas, if you cannot find these use just a tbsp of dried yellow split peas.) Keep frying until the dals are golden. Add all the potatoes, salt and pepper to taste, and scraping up all the goodies on the bottom of the pan keep mixing until the potatoes are coated with oil and seasoning. Cover and let cook, using a metal flipper to scrape the potoatoes off the bottom and mix them about every 5-8 minutes. It should only take 20 minutes or so for the potatoes to be cooked, they should get soft and browned on the outside. Taste one to see if it is ready. Serve with a green salad and curried spinach and tomatoes, which I will post tomorrrow.

Today we went for two long walks up in the hills behind out property. We found trails, and walked probably 2 miles each walk. I made sure to stretch my ankle each time, and it felt fine, although it got very tired after the second walk. Tom loved it, he took his sword and hacked any undergrowth which got in our way. It was really cute, he got on his blog and wrote about protecting the biscuit queen! It was a beautiful day, just the right temp, and not too many bugs out yet. We saw several rabbits, startled a herd of deer (they are noisy and huge up close with no windshield to separate you!) and found beautiful flowers ~mallows, ranunculous, hawthorn,
and apple.

Tom has a grand plan to walk to my friend's home in a city 90 miles away. He thinks if we walk 10 hours a day, and camp at night, we can make it in 3 days. I thought a trip to the hardware store first would be in order, 4 miles away. He has big dreams, that one.

Nick had a dentist appointment and I had a half an hour wait. They had Cosmopolitan on the table, so being curious and cynical after the last two movie expiriences I had I started reading it. Now this is a family dentist's office, where many times moms make appointments with their kids. How many times have I been in the chair when my kids were out in the waiting room reading?

There was 10 secrets how to wow him in bed, how to give a good tongue bath, a story, with illustrations, on how the vagina worked and how it could expand to accomodate any size penis, vaginal farts, is spit a good lubricant? and there were several explicit erotic stories, plus the usual array of half dressed models, rape scare articles (if you storm off mad it could be the last thing you do), and consumerism.

Now if grown women want to buy this drivel then go right ahead, but in the dentists office? And since many of these topics are sexual, shouldn't this be in a brown wrapper on the top shelf? They might as well put Playboy out, because there was no content difference.

I have an appointment next week and I think I am going to bring the issue up front with one of the inappropriate articles out. I am betting that a single woman brought that in, and no one else has read it.

Or maybe no one cares?

Has anyone read Dr James Dobsen's Raising Boys? He talks about the pressures facing boys today, including the rampant sexual culture and relative morality. I sit here terrified because I have already seen everything he spoke about. I have been writing about it and doing things about it (like killing the tv), but to see it all laid out in one book like that just makes the task of raising my boys seem so difficult. He does give great pointers on how to handle things though.

I have decided to start saying grace at meals (part of the solution). Tonight I ate after the boys because I had clients over. So I say down by myself and started to say grace. Tom asked me what I was doing and I told him. He actually asked me what is he supposed to believe, since there is death, disease, sickness and pain. Why is God so great if all those exist? ! Wow. I told him I asked those same questions at his age, and my parents said "because I said so" and "You do too believe in God". Oh, THAT changed things-not!

I talked a little about how bad things must exist or we wouldn't appreciate the good. I also mentioned how free will means there will be bad things. But I just didn't know how to answer well. He asked how I knew those things and i said i read a lot and observed what went on around me. I told him we will have to go ask the priest, that is what he is there for. I will be interested to see what he says. Tom was very mature about it, I was impressed.

What do you think about faith? Are anyone of you guys religious? I used to think that religious was brain washing, I was a complete athiest in the college years, but the older I get the more I believe. Is raising healthy, responsible children who feel they have a meaningful life possible without faith in a higher being?

How do you start talking about faith, even within your own family, without embarrassment? My family went to church every Sunday, said Grace at every dinner, and said the children's prayer every night, but we lived without faith. These were rote mechinations which labeled us good Catholics, but we never talked about God. To this day I am embarrassed to bring up God because i feel I am shoving my faith down other people's throats. Even now I wonder if the few who come here will run since I brought up God.

It is sad that we can feel comfortable with the kind of message that Cosmopolitan delivers, yet to speak of saying grace is an embarrassment.

biscuits n honey

2005-05-30T19:28:00.000-07:00

Sift together two cups unbleached white flour, 1 tablespooon baking powder, a pinch of baking soda, and half a teaspoon salt in a bowl. Cut in 1/4 cup cold butter, margarine or bacon fat. Add one cup milk, and mix thoroughly. Add in enough flour, a handful at a time, until you can knead the dough without it sticking too bad to your fingers. Roll out the dough to about 1/2 to 3/4 inch thickness, and using a biscuit cutter, a glass, or a jelly jar lid cut into rounds and place touching in a buttered pan. You should get between 9 and 12 biscuits, depending on how thick the dough and how big the circle. Bake at 375 for 20 minutes, and check. You may need to bake longer, until the top is golden. Cut in half and spread fresh honey on each half.

You can substitute whole wheat for up to half the flour, although I would make it white first then add a bit more wheat next time. You can also add in a tsp of herbs like rosemary or thyme.

I have a little rant tonight, about last night's movie, and the one I watched tonight. I din't want to go to bed angry, so I waited until tonight, when Dave was gone.

In the theater last night, there were 10-I counted out loud-10 commercials. Cars, shoes, soda, and one decent one about family. However, I cut out TV in this house precisely because I did not want the influence of commercialism in our home. I did NOT appreciate paying over 40 dollars for a movie only to have to watch commercials. And of course several of them were making the man look like an idiot.

Next came the previews. First let me say that Narnia looks AWESOME! I cried watching the preview! OMG! I cannot wait until December-I am so excited. Oh, and the fantastic four? So cool!

Anyways, I am there with my children, ages 9 and 14 to see Star Wars, a pg 13 film. While the rating was pg 13, the movie is advertized for kids, at fast food restaurants, toys stores, and on TV. So imagine my disgust when the preview for Mr and Mrs Smith comes on. A story about two secret agents who are married but are unaware that the other is an agent, who are each paid to kill the other. So amid snitches of bullet riddle rooms, explosions and action there are steamy bedroom shots. NOT what I really want my kids to see.

But wait, it gets better. The last movie is the Wedding Crashers. Guess what that movie is about? Two guys who crash weddings so they can con women into sleeping with them. Not only do they show the guys using lines like "I will play mr balloon animal and you dance with the flower girl" but they then show each woman first smiling at the guy, then falling down on a bed in panties and a bra. One girl even said it was her first time, and that she loved the guy.

Now most likely the guys will have a change of heart, admit they were wrong and settle down, but quite frankly I don't care. What were they thinking? I wanted to hold my kid ears and tell them to shut their eyes. They did not need to see that stuff. Why the heck do people wonder at the sexual activity of teens when we have shoved sex down their throats since they were little. I am reading Raising Boys by Dr Dobsen, and he sites that the average kid will be exposed to over 800,000 sexual images per year!

I am afraid to take my kid anywhere!

But then it gets worse. I am home tonight, and the kids want to watch Sky Captain. I hadn't seen it yet. We sit down, and we cannot fast forward through the previews. So we watch them. Now Sky Captain is only PG. Yet the preview for Without a Paddle, rated PG -13 for drug content, sexual material, language, crude humor and some violence. Which they showed something of each on the preview, including three almost naked men trying to keep warm but playing suggestive music to make it look like they were gay.

What is wrong with people? Am I the only one who thinks that if the movie is PG, then only PG previews should be shown? And since when is a woman falling into a con mans bed almost naked, or a wife trying to shoot her husband in the head appropriate for all audiences? These people are not stupid. They know that kids will be at these movies. They suck us in with an appropriate movie then while they have us stuck subject our kids to material which clearly should not have been approved for all audiences.

I refuse to go to that theatre again. I will be writing the company and telling then why, for all the good it will do me. I also will not let my kids watch the previews at home until I have seen them. Is money so important that they are willing to risk our kids? And i do believe that every image makes an impression. I personally think that we have become so immune to the onslaught of television, with the sex, violence and the hard sell that most people cannot see it. But turn off your tv for a year. It is like taking off the blinders. I am so shocked at the audacity of the media now that i am not numbed by it. I am embarrassed that nothing is sacred anymore.

Fried egg sandwiches and Star Wars spoilers.

2005-05-29T21:07:00.000-07:00

In butter or oil fry one egg for each sandwich, breaking the yolk and frying until the yolk is solid. Place on white or sour dough bread, add ketchup or Red Hot, and have at it with a glass of V8 or orange juice. Makes a great breakfast. You could add bacon, salsa, guacamole, cheese, ring balony or sausage if you wanted. I just like them plain myself.

We just went to see the third Star Wars. This will be full of spoilers, so if you don't want the movie to be spoiled, step away from the keyboard. I wasn't going to see it but my husband wanted to see it for the third time. It was WAY better than I thought it would be. Anakin/ - and not to spoil it or anything-/Darth Vader, was as always a horrendous actor. The kid just needs to find a new career or something. He is no Vin Deisal, where his outstanding physical presence makes up for his lack of brilliance in other areas. Of course Dave tells me that Luke was just as bad in the first three, which I of course denied adamently. The first three were untouchable. (I say this as I am plugging my ears and yelling LALALA!)

Of course LucASSs horrible writing did not help. But this time you felt is was meshing the two series together, it was really cool to hear the old Vader music creep in, and see the storm troopers looking very, well, storm trooperish, and watch Padme start to look more like Liea. I still miss muppet Yoda, CG Yoda just isn't the same. The transformation that Anikin makes is very believable, even though you just wack your forehead at his gullibility. The whole laying on the lava beach burnt to a crisp was...yuck! I kept waiting for him to say "It's just a flesh wound...come over here and I'll bite your leg off!"

The only real complaint? What is up with the NOOOOOO! at the end? CHEESE! Sometimes you wonder if the editors ever really watch the movie.

The critter that Obi Wan rides on one world looks like an iguana with a bird head, and it can MOVE! Way cool. Chewy was really neat to see too. And General Grievious? All I can say is wow! Four light sabers! He was so COOL! By far the best bad guy they have come up with in the second three.

Well, the hubby came home this weekend, and is probably getting impatient that I am up writing instead of going to bed.

So g-night.

Quick and Sleazy Italian

2005-05-28T20:15:00.000-07:00

This one is a made up dish that is never the same twice in a row. All measurements are approximate, as I don't really measure all the time!

Put a large pot of water to boil. Take about a third of a cup of good olive oil in a skillet, and add 2-6 cloves crushed garlic, 1/2 tsp basil, 1/4 tsp oregano, salt and pepper. Saute on medium until garlic is starting to brown, and remove from heat. When water is boiling, add 4 servings worth of pasta, and cook to package directions. When done, drain (don't shake every ounce of water off the pasta, just let it fall off) and put in a big bowl. Pour the oil over the top, smother in parmasan, and serve.

If you want to get creative, you can add in some or all of the following to the oil after the garlic:
Dried whole chilis
black olives
sun dried tomatoes
capers
artichoke hearts, canned or cooked
garbanzo beans
shrimp
scallops
good hot italian sausage
veggies like fresh green beans, broccoli florets, red peppers

Just saute all the other ingredients with the garlic & oil until everything is cooked the way you like it. If you have any other ideas, please post them.

Last night I went to a bachelorette party for a new friend of mine. My old friend (who is in the party) and I went into Spencers gifts, the novelty shop, for some stuff to dress up the bride to be in. Oh my! Some of the stuff in there was just too much! There was a pinata shaped like, well, a guy part, and the clerk had a mechanical chihuaha humping his leg when he asked us if we needed help! I had no idea they could sell that stuff at the mall.

Everyone met and we went to a Thai place, which was awesome, if you have never had a Thai iced tea you are missing out. Spicy black tea with heavy cream, yum! I had squid in coconut milk, lemon grass and red curry, very good.

We then went to an adult bookstore next which made Spencers look like church. We each bought the bride to be several small novelty gifts and wandered around learning just how many ways there is to duplicate the female anatomy, and how many things I have never tried in my life! I think my favorite was the swing, which looked like an adult sized velvet Johnny jumper! I found a blow-up sheep with the same name as the bride, and she blew it up in the parking lot and carried it for the rest of the night.

We then went out dancing, which was stupid of me to do because of my ankle. I was doing fine until 'Irene' came on, you know that 80's song, where the video had everyone in a irish village dancing around? Then of course I had to dance, and I just love to dance, so....I am icing it tonight. I played pool, danced my head off, drank too much, got home around 1, to bed by 2.

Today we went to see a play with the kids "Wayside School" based on the books. What riot! They were a young group and had to use several people for more than one character, but it was extremely well done. The kids loved it, except for when the Tango teacher walked up into the audience and wrapped her boa around my 14 year old, insanely shy son's neck! I thought he was going to melt into the floor!

Anyways, I had all these thoughts on what to write tonight, but I suddenly changed my mind. Impromptue, just like my cooking!

One of the women who came to the bachelorette party is someone I disliked. She and her husband rub me the wrong way (he gives me the creeps too). I was dreading the whole thing, but know we needed to do this, and since I really like the bride( and my best friend is in the party) I wanted to go. Well, this woman was fine all night. I really enjoyed her company, even though she is the same one who is toxic to all who know her. She was on good behavior, and in doing so was bright, funny, and had good ideas.

My husband at the same time went hiking with her husband, and everyone else who was going was nervous that the husband was out of shape and couldn't do it, but insisted on coming anyways. And while he did not manage the whole day, he did do one peak with little complaining, and well enough that my husband was impressed at his tenacity.

Now I have learned to push away toxic people in my life. If people cause me stress, I cannot trust them, or they lead me towards bad places, I tend to cut them out of my life. I had to do this. But now I am at a point where I don't allow people like that to effect me so deeply. I can take what there is positive from these people and hold the rest at arm's length.

My question is, are these people put there for a reason, and is cutting them out completely going agianst the geater plan? Can you learn from people and enjoy their company while holding them at arms length so as not to get burned? Or is it not worth it? Is life to short to waste it on people who always end up hurting you or those you love.
***
I went to a dog camp a few years ago, where I was teaching frisbee. The dance instructor within 10 minutes of meeting me said something so insulting that the only thing I could think to say was "ouch". I didn't say another word to her for the rest of the night. The next morning she apologized to me (because of how I handled the night before), and even though she was horrible to others, she was great to me, and I learned so much from her. Is this someone I want to hold close to me? No way. Is this someone who had a lot to teach me? Yes.
***
So, how do you accept people as they are without letting their bad traits effect you? Are you using people by sharing their company for your own pleasure or education? Or if you treat it like a normal friendship with caution, are you giving back enough to make it equal?

My greatest failing is that I am critical. I try so hard not to be, but I am. So is this an issue of me being too critical, or is this a self protection issue, or what?

I swear, life is just so complicated sometimes.

Popcorn in bacon fat and an ice cold Yuengling

2005-05-26T19:07:00.000-07:00

Put the beer in the freezer. Take 2-3 TBS of bacon fat, melt in a big pot. Tip the pot so that the fat runs in the corner, and add enough popcorn that the fat comes to the top of the popcorn pile. Cook on med, shaking occasionally, until the popping slows to once every 2 seconds. Add salt, pour into bowl, add more salt, take beer out of freezer, and enjoy!

I have been gardening all day. Tom worked like a little beaver, driving the tractor around, filling it up. I got pole beans with teepees made of fallen branches, cocoa rubeckio beans, and three kinds of lettuce planted, after I redug the area since the sod is desparately trying to return to it's former condition. I also started hoeing out the 50 yard bed along the streambed, which has been choked with leaves, sticks and last years weed stalks, and the lawn was strewn with pine cones and sticks. My hands are dry, rough and sore, and I am aching from all the work. But I got a bowl of popcorn and my second beer, so all is well. I have gotten several compliments from my students about how nice the property looks now that I have been weeding, edging and mulching.

I guess that leads me into tonight's musings. I have been criticized for my role as a stay at home mother from both sides. Mainly that I am not supporting my family, that I am selling out, that I am making my husband do all the work, and I just glide through life, or at least that I have more control of my time.

It is very important to my husband that the house looks good, and to me now too. We spent 10 years in a house that looked like a trailor, and we finally have a stunning 100 year old home on 5 acres, and both he and I are proud of it. When I do these things like take care of the landscaping, it makes him happy that our home looks so nice. I in effect thank him by taking good care of the things he has provided. It in turn takes care of him by giving him a warm, relaxing and beautiful place to be when he is done working. I am growing a large garden, will have fresh eggs in a month or so, and as soon as we move them from the wall of our house I will be a bee keeper. These things interest me, and provide fresh food for my family.

This leads me to my point. What makes one's life meaningful? Can anyone else define your life for you? I spent my childhood being raised that being a wife and mother were not enough. One had to be an individual, had to get out and make something of one's self. I spent the first half of my marraige trying to escape it, wanting 'me time,' wanting 'a life,' wanting 'more'. What I started seeing, either because of the men's movement or coincidentally, that being a wife and mother are an integral part of who I am. There is no separate me, I am not compartmentalized. I am a mixure of everything, and to try and separate out the me is to miss the point.

So what has happened since I stopped trying to cut myself into slices? I am content with what I am doing, at the time I am doing it. If I am gaming with the kids, I enjoy it, if I am gardening, I enjoy it, if I am ironing...oh wait, I don't do that...if I am cleaning, I may not enjoy it but I am not resenting it. I do not wait to be myself until I am alone. I am myself every minute. With my husband, with my kids, with the dogs, whenever. The funny thing is, since I stopped trying to find my identity, stopped trying to make time for myself, I have discovered that I really like who I am, that I have moments every day in which to have time. I feel fulfilled creating a home for my husband and children and finding things which make me happy. Funny how that works.

This is my biggest gripe with feminism. The original feminists wanted equality. The right to vote, the right to own land, the right to protect yourself from divorce. While they may not have been saints, what they were fighting for was more or less legit.

Gender feminism, or the 60's variety, has destroyed women's identity in an attempt for ... i don't know... power, victimhood, sorority? I recommend Spin Sisters and Who Stole Feminism for an in depth look at the legacy of gender feminism. We are told we must have this, that and the other thing, we must have freedom and choices and respect and jobs and in the attempt to gain these things we must hate men and not trust the patriarchy, we must trust them, the gender feminists, we must have solidarity, every man may be a rapist, we are victims, we make less money, are abused more, at risk more, we lose ourselves when we marry or have kids, marraige is a trap, a prison..AHHH ( think High Anxiety spiral and intense music.)

Well, guess what. Marraige is what you make if it. Life is what you make of it. I for one am not about to let anyone tell me how to live my life. If people would just use their brains. This isn't a gender issue. It is a human issue. THINK!

Gender feminism to me it the end of demanding that people use their minds. Feminism, like any social fabrication, depends on people accepting the status quo and not challanging it. That is why it cannot stand up to debate. It must make up reasons to discreadit the debate process (logic is a male construct) because under debate it collapses.

So the moral of the story? Put two beers in the freezer.

Rhubarb Crumble

2005-05-25T19:52:00.000-07:00

Screw the entre, lets move straight to dessert!What happened today? Got all the mulch spread, started to weed out veggie garden, planted paste tomatoes and 8 ball zukes, mulched peas and potatoes. Tom was a huge help, and Nick chipped in when he got home from school. Other than the bickering, all went pretty good. Oh, but Nick was driving Tom in the wagon on the back of the tractor, and he pulled the pin holding the wagon flat and dumped Tom on the ground. Poor little guy had a bruised bum from that, and Nick almost did too! Unfortunately, smacking bums is not something I have ever done and I don't plan to start now. SO we made rhubarb crumble for dessert and Tom felt much better. He loves his food, that one.

I have been thinking about cycles. Not motercycles, but those cycles you get into with people you are around for a long time. You feed off each other, one thing starts it, then the chain of behavior just plays out, the same each time. It is like a dance, as my friend R says. How do you break it? Does it matter who starts it? I have certain cycles with my mother, and I try very hard to break them. I try to come up with responses which break the cycle, make her think and invite dialog, or at least get her to stop!

SO with my own son, am I the one holding the cycles? I feel like if he would just stop harping on his brother the cycle could be broken, I wouldn't have to step in, but he is 14. Is there something I can do to stop it even though I am not the one starting it? Or am I starting it by stepping in, and if I could ignore it that alone would break the cycle.Will it hurt the younger one for me to stay out of it and not defend him?

Why is it that kids make you choose? Why can't you just love both of them and have them happy with that? Why is it the one who is the most insecure pushes you away the most?

Where is my manual!?

Green Salad with the extras

2005-05-24T18:34:00.000-07:00

Ok, I guess this is what the blog is for, to just write what is going on. I just had several clients leave, a golden and yellow lab puppies, and a Brittany. Typical me, the golden puppy is the perfect dog, obeys, is calm, gentle, and restrained, but boring. I love the lab, a little pistol! I tried to talk her into flyball, but I don't think the owners are sports people. And the Brittany is coming out of her shell, she is starting to offer behaviors which two weeks ago she was scared to try. It is very rewarding seeing the dogs blossom.

Dave is off at school, so I am bored! I suppose I should train my dogs, the little rips, but I am tired now and just want to veg.

I started rereading Who Stole Feminism by Christina Hoff-Sommers. She questions the idea of a patriarchy, that men are out there just to hold women down. She notes that the women who claim to be as oppressed as slaves, as bound as arab women, and as abused by the system as rape victims, are all white, upper class, college educated, tenured professors at prominant universities. Pretty much the safest, most pampered, successful women in the country. Yet they are sent into waves of panic by a whistle on the street. I would have to ask, as a woman who has every choice, every option I wish to take, what am I supposed to be afraid of? Who is oppressing me? And I also have to ask, if I as a masculist feel safe and secure, happy, proud of who I am and what I stand for, and undeterred by criticism, but as a feminist I would feel oppressed, scared and victimized, why on earth would I pick the latter? I think it is all a matter of how you veiw life. If women today choose to see the world through feminist eyes, they will remain scared victims. If they choose to look at reality, they will see that they have life however they choose to have it.

The reason many do choose to be feminist is that there is a lot of power to be had in victimhood. Sisterhood, solidarity, political or emotional pep rallies are all social benifits. Guilting the men and society in general into getting more and more perks are another benefit. When is the last time you saw a pep rally for men to thump their chests and yell "three cheers for the patriarchy! Hip Hip Horray!" Yet every day there are take back the night rallies, or patriarchy slams, or monologues, or public forums, or women's studies classes. Everyday women are banding together getting emotional highs from being victims. As much as feminists claim there is a patriarchy, I have yet to hear of a meeting. More and more any chance of men meeting alone is even more improbable, as women seem highly offended at the thought of men having men only space.

As much power as victimhood brings, I cannot do what is wrong just to get perks. I do not believe in relative morality. We are not more special, or more natural, or better than men. It is time we stop trying to be, and just start being women, the opposite sex of men, no better or worse.

The Appetizer

2005-05-24T12:39:00.000-07:00

Well, here it is, the Biscuit Blog. Any bloggers who complain I have invaded your space with my debating, (overopinionated.com, Trish Wilson, etc) please feel free to come here and invade mine. The rules are basic for debate-no personal attacks, stay on topic, and keep the swearing down to a dull roar. Other than that, I love good debate.

I am Jen, aka The Biscuit Queen. I have an awesome husband, Dave, an electrical engineer, and two really great kids. Tom, 9 is into into pre-gunpowder battles, Greek and Roman history, weapons, etc and Nick 14, is into machines, cars, trucks, slamming, rims, you get the drift . I stay home with Tom homeschooling, and also run a dog training business. Usually I compete in agility, but due to a bad sprain on my way to dog camp I am out of commission this season. I have 3 dogs (a dal/whippet, beagle/lab, and a bull terrier), 2 cats (siamese and barn cat), two fish tanks, a 125 gal terrarium (2 frogs, 2 newts, fish, a turtle and a foot long millipede) and 5 chickens (3 polish and two banties.) We have killed out tv for one year mothers day, the best decision we ever made!

Things of interest to me in no particular order-dogs (training, sports, BSL), chickens, gaming (Ars Magica and Shadowrun) Half Life 2, cooking, gardening, kids, music, bird watching, insects, hiking with hubby, mushrooms (the non-psychidellic varieties,) 1st gen muscle cars(69 Camaro is my next car) and I am sure I will come up with more. I am an insatiably curious person.

My favorite topic of debate, which I separate from above because it is more than a hobby or interest to me is men's activism. Topics like family court, education, the wage gap myth, and others are interesting to debate. I will probably post a couple of starter threads in the next few days.I have never run a blog before. I guess it is sort of like a linked daily journal? I don't know. If you have a blog I might be interested in or you would like to link to please post it. I will figure out how to get it.

A big howdy to anyone from Stand your Ground who stops on by.