A Touch of Whimsy in the Garden

The birds have graciously planted many sunflowers for me

I have spring fever, y'all!  Spring was never my favorite season - until I became a gardener.  Now I have to stop myself from going out there every hour to see what has changed and if anything has noticeably grown, because at this time of year the plants and flowers are just exploding.  It's all I can do to concentrate on anything other than plants and planting, to the extent that Adam actually had to ask me to other night if I could please talk about something other than gardening...and it effectively shut me up.  Every time I had a thought or something to share, it was inevitably about how big the corn is getting, how many snow peas we might harvest for dinner tomorrow, or wondering how tall the hollyhocks are going to get and whether they will need staking.  Now he knows what to say to get some peace and quiet.

Now that the garden is in full spring swing, I thought it would be fun to add a little whimsy here and there.  I've always got ideas percolating about how I can turn some junk I found at a garage sale or on the side of the road into some little treasure for my front yard garden.  With all this gardening enthusiasm I've had of late, I've put that energy to good use by finally getting to many of these little projects.  I'm pretty pleased with how they've all turned out so far.

Chandelier Bird Feeder

I saw others like this on Pinterest, so when I happened across a dirt-encrusted chandelier at a garage sale for $20 (it still had the antique store price tag on it, where it was listed for $395!) I knew it needed to be the new upscale restaurant in the yard for my bird friends.  A little cleaning and spray paint was in order, and I made the feed cups from some Trader Joes chicken breast cans which I attached with a little epoxy.  I think it adds just the touch of whimsy I was hoping for, and the birds definitely seem to like it (especially the house finches you see here).

Black tie optional

 Gnome Home

Another Pinterest creation, I've been thinking about adding a little "gnome home" to the tree in the front yard since last summer.  I finally dug up the soil around the tree and purchased the miniature door on Amazon.  It's about the most adorable thing out there.  I planted some alyssum and some dead nettle, and decided to keep the oxalis weeds growing there, too, since they are awfully pretty.

Please wipe your feet before entering

Oh the Places We've Been

Another project I've been daydreaming about since last year was adding a signpost to the front yard with signs pointing to some of the places we've visited over the years.  The most challenging part of the project was choosing which places to include.  I learned a neat trick from another blog about how to add the lettering, and Adam borrowed a post-hole digger from the neighbor to install it for me.  Of course, no signpost is complete without a birdhouse on top (which I snatched for $1 from a garage sale in Indiana while I was home visiting the folks).  Now when I look out the kitchen window I'm reminded of some of our adventures, and the birds have yet another place to perch.

Where have you been?

I hope this inspires you to create some whimsy of your own!  If you need me, I'll be in the garden.

Go Happy, Dear Friends-
Amy

I'm Your Venus...

I've really been wanting a cat.

Mars - the best kitty blanket.

You see, my little stinker, Mars, passed away almost exactly one year ago.  He was both cute and a terror.  He was my first cat.  He was with me for 14 years.  He taught me alot about cats.  He saw me through grad school, a divorce, a move to Jersey City, several boyfriends, a move to Los Angeles , and basically was there while I turned into a human adult.  He rolled with the punches.  He was really good at just being a cat.

saying goodbye to Mars...

Mars got really sick at the end, and the last few months with him were wonderful...bittersweet, but wonderful.  He had to be put to sleep on the closing night of a show I was in - The Vagina Monologues.  It was a pretty terrible day saying goodbye to this cat, this creature that had become my friend and seen me through a multitude of major life changes, and leave all of that behind to go onstage.  But, the show must go on.  And go on it does.





Fast forward one year.

I'm in The Vagina Monologues again.  I'm experiencing major deja-vu.  And I'm feeling this extraordinary need to have something in my life to love. Frankly, 2012 has not been such a great year so far and I need a little sunshine. I'm thinking it's about time to have a cat in my life again.  Adam - who can best be described as "cat tolerant" - has finally acquiesced on the notion of getting a new feline friend.  So I immediately go on the hunt.  "This time", I think, "this time I will do it right".  I will take my time.  I'll define what I'm looking for.  I'll find the cat that will fit best into my family life.  And, most of all, I'll trust my gut. I go to many adoption days.  I meet lots of cats. I pet them.  I hold them.  I talk to them.  I look online.  I read about different breeds.  There are so many lovely cats - but none that call out to me.  I start to worry that I'm making a big mistake, I'm moving too fast, I'm jumping into something that I don't really have time for, have room for in my life.  I'm starting to obsess that I'm obsessing about cats!  I don't want to be the cat lady!  I'm going to be 37 in a month, it's a quick and slippery slope...

I wait until The Vagina Monologues closes.  I decide to go to the Super Pet Adoption event at the La Brea Tar Pits.  I know I want a rescue cat.  And I figure, this event will decide for me.  There will be so many cats there, if I don't find the right one there then I won't find it anywhere.  I go by myself, on the last day, during the last hour of the event.  I walk into the cat adoption tent.  People are everywhere, there are stacks and stacks of cages with dozens of cats from dozens of shelters and rescue groups and it is overwhelming.  My nose starts to run uncontrollably.  I start to worry I've developed an allergy and it would be wrong to bring a cat home.  I walk up to the first row of cages and am immediately met by a very helpful albeit aggressive woman who wants to know exactly what I'm looking for in a cat and which cats in her group will be a fit for me.  She volunteers at the Downey shelter.  I meet several really great, sweet cats.  I learn that all the cats from Downey are scheduled to be euthanized the next day. I didn't know I was going to get the hard sell here, that my heart would be tugged at with such force.  But I go with my original plan - I'm going to look at all the cats, and see if there is one that seems like the right one to bring home.  I walk around some more.  Some cats are from shelters, some are from rescues and live with a foster family.  All the cats need a new home, some more desperately than others.  So many cats! 

I walk by a row of cats from the Castaic shelter.  And I'm stopped in my tracks by this face:

I'm struck by how much this cat reminds me of Mars.  This cat has all the things I loved about the way he looked - black and white, long hair, pretty face - and a black nose to boot!  So I walk over to get a closer look.  This is Bubbles (ugh, awful name) and a girl kitty (was really hoping for a boy).  But I just stand there for a few moments and look at her.  A very nice volunteer named Bridget comes over to give me the low-down on Bubbles and answer my questions:  a climber?  don't know, talkative? not really, good with other cats/dogs? not sure.  Bubbles has been in the shelter for a month as an owner surrender, and as they could remember it was because the owner had passed away.  She had come in with another cat who was adopted right away.  Bubbles was not particularly responsive to me, but something kept me standing there.  I pet her, and she didn't bite or hiss.  I brushed her with the same result, didn't seem to bother her.  Taking her to the meet & greet was out of the question as she did not do well in a carrier on the car ride there.  So no holding her.  Bubbles kind of gave me the cold shoulder.  Bridget said she thought Bubbles was depressed.  She said "Bubbles, perk up!  You're blowing it!".  But by that time I had made up my mind.  This was my cat.  I couldn't explain it rationally, but my gut said this was my cat.  I was nervous, scared I was making a terrible, rash decision, but before my head knew what had happened my mouth had said "I'll take her".  Some paperwork was filled out, some cash exchanged, and I was on my way with a box that had a cat inside.

Holy crap, I have a cat!

The car ride home was an unhappy one for the now-unnamed cat (Bubbles had to go) and poop was involved (hers, not mine).  But we made it home, and I brought the cat into the bathroom to slowly introduce her to the house.  That lasted about 2.5 seconds.  She wanted out, so I let her.  She walked around the whole house, checking it all out.  She didn't hide.  She even played with the feather toys that Mars had always loved.  Adam came home, and met the new addition.  She didn't run away, she didn't hiss...  All seemed good.  That night she decided she wanted to sleep under the bed, which given the circumstances seemed like a perfectly good idea.

At 5:30 the next morning I woke up to the sounds of the cat emerging from under the bed.  She stretched, shook off her sleepiness and immediately jumped into bed with us.  She turned on the purr machine, and pranced around the bed in a sort of blissed-out, kitty-paws, trance.  She snuggled up between Adam and I, and I thought before Adam kicks us out I'm going to take our new friend into the living room to get to know her.  I'd been thinking about names, taking suggestions from friends, and decided to try them out on her to see what she thought.  I sat on the couch and called "Venus!" and she stopped in her tracks, looked sharply at me and literally ran and jumped into my lap.  "Well, I guess we know what your name is".

watching the birds...

 It's been a week now, and Venus has claimed us.  She is appropriately named.  Whereas Mars was a fighter, she is a lover.  She is incredibly affectionate, and has even won Adam over.  She's got her spots in the house she likes, typically in the windows peering out at the birds. She has behaved perfectly, and has found her voice - she makes these cute, funny little squirrel sounds.  And she purrs constantly.

on my desk, helping me work

She matches my boots (box).

I really don't want to be the cat lady, but I think it's a role I'm meant to play.  I'm completely smitten with this cat.  I don't think I could have chosen a better match.  She seems really happy to be here, and I am absolutely delighted to have her.  Even Adam has taken a shine to her.  I keep catching him petting her and talking to her...so unlike he was with Mars!

This cat has my heart in her paw, and I'm so glad to have been able to give her a new, loving home!

Go Happy!
Amy

It's Vag-tastic!

For the second year, I participated in the V-Day Downtown LA 2012 production of Eve Ensler's The Vagina Monologues.  What an amazing event!  V-Day is a global movement inspired by the play that works to help women and girls who are victims of violence.  Over 6000 productions a year are produced around the world with all proceeds benefiting V-Day and the local charity of your choice.  Our production helped A Window Between Worlds, a wonderful non-profit in Venice, CA, that uses art to help women and children in abusive relationships.

With this being an evening designed to raise money and awareness, we decided to hop on the cupcake trend and sell vagina cupcakes (or "pussycakes")....

can you find yours???

The cupcakes were a huge hit, and elicited all kinds of interesting responses.  Some people couldn't wait to get their mouths on one.  Others were a bit more hesitant.  Some were mildly grossed out.  Nonetheless, it certainly shines a spotlight on the vagina, which is of course the whole point of the show, so I'd say overall they were a success!

I baked both vanilla and chocolate cupcakes.  The vaginas are made out of homemade fondant .  And did you know that if you Google "how to make vagina cupcakes" you are led directly to this amazing video from Chaos Bakery?  Oh, the wonders of the internet.  Thank you, Chef Bev!

In Vag We Trust!

Go Happy!
Amy

It's the Great Pumpkin

It's the Great (stuffed, baked) Pumpkin, Charlie Brown

I made something new that is, really, just divine.  Especially on a cold winter's night (hey, it gets cold in Los Angeles...relatively....)

I put a pumpkin patch in my front yard this summer.  I planted it around the end of June, hoping for pumpkins for Halloween.  At the very least by Thanksgiving.  Well, I just harvested them last week.  In January.  All the vines had died, and still the 7 pumpkins in my patch were just barely ripe.  My deaf, Korean, non-english speaking gardener pointed at my pathetic patch, telling me "March" as in "Hey, you idiot, if you want your pumpkins to ripen at the appropriate time plant them in March".  Noted.  This year they shall be planted at the right time.

Nevertheless, I did get 7 glorious pumpkins.  I've twice made Weight Watchers pumpkin soup, and was searching online for something else to do with pumpkin.  I had seen a baked pumpkin in Martha Stewart before, and thought a variation of that would be fun to make.  We're trying to go low-carb here on Lull Street, after a carb-laden holiday, so I thought quinoa would be a nice, healthy option instead of bread.  I found quite a few lovely recipes online, and decided on a "little bit of this, little bit of that".  Here's what I came up with.  I enjoyed it, and I think you will, too.  This recipe is easily adapted to what you have on hand.  You'll notice there aren't specific measurements.  I'm more of a "dash of this, dash of that, season to taste" kind of gal.  This gives you more opportunities for tasting as you go.  :-)

INGREDIENTS:

one large pumpkin

2 cups uncooked quinoa

4 cups chicken or vegetable broth (or water)

one onion, diced

one apple, peeled, cored and sliced

half cup golden raisins

half cup toasted walnuts

juice and zest of 2 tangerines

2 tbsp maple syrup (the real stuff!)

cinnamon

nutmeg

ground ginger

salt & pepper

olive oil

handful shredded cheddar

shredded parmesan

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Cut hole in top of pumpkin and scoop out stringy flesh and seeds (I saved the seeds to plant...yes, in March Mr. Kang, I understand now).  Score inside of pumpkin, brush inside and outside with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Bake upside down about one hour.

Meanwhile, prepare quinoa per package instructions.  I substituted chicken broth for water for a bit more flavor.  Heat olive oil in pan and saute onions.  Add onions, apple, raisins, tangerine juice and zest, walnuts, maple syrup, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, salt and pepper to quinoa and stir well.   Transfer quinoa mixture to pumpkin and continue baking for another 30 minutes.  Last 10 minutes add shredded cheese to top of mixture.

Serve, scooping out pumpkin as you go, and enjoy!

Go Happy!

Amy

Best. Halloween. Ever.

To say that I was excited about Halloween this year would be an understatement. 

You see, for the past dozen or so years I've lived in an apartment.  Which means no front yard to decorate, and no trick or treaters. I have been utterly deprived of partaking in the type of Halloween shenanigans that I love.  No jack o' lanterns.  No bowls of Snickers.  No gushing over the adorable cuteness of two-year-olds dressed up as ladybugs brought to my door by encouraging parents.  No scaring the crap out of teenagers dressed as, well, teenagers, who are too old to trick or treat but who come to my door nonetheless.  DEPRIVED. 

But this year was different.  This year I live in a HOUSE.  With a FRONT YARD.   I promised Adam that I wouldn't decorate until October.  In my mind, that meant October 1st.  He thought that was excessive. I thought it was being appopriately conservative.  Who wants to see ghosts and goblins in September?  Well...I do, but I tried very hard to contain my enthusiasm.  Adam thought I was crazy.

Until about a week before Halloween.  Adam started questioning me about how I was planning to make the front yard scary.  I thought it was scary already - four gravestones, two ghosts, a severed hand, a giant black widow spider crawling up the side of the house, the front porch encased in spiderwebs.   Isn't that scary?  I didn't even know if we were going to get any trick or treaters.  The only neighbor I talked to about it is never home that night.  I was hesitant to spend too many hours on what would amount to four kids.  I'd already spent an entire Saturday tarting up the yard.

"But we need a fresh grave," Adam said.  "I could be digging a grave in the yard, and when kids come up to the house I could tell them it's for them." 

What?  Since when did the Halloween Scrooge become Dr. Death himself?  I latched onto this idea real quick, and told him that under no circumstances was he allowed to back out now that he made the offer.  And since our landlord is in the process of tearing up our front yard, digging a big hole wasn't as reckless as it sounds.

"And I could make us up like zombies!" I suggested.  "And I could make some dead bodies so the kids won't know which of us is real and which is fake!  And I'll get a fog machine!  And a strobe light! And play scary music!"  I was gushing.  This was too exciting.

The big night came.  It may as well have been prom, what with my ridiculous gangbusters attitude and my decision to devote the entire day to getting ready.  We rigged up all the special lighting.  I got the music going.  We decked ourselves in full zombie attire complete with dripping, gooey (and chocolaty-tasting!) blood.  We lit torches.  Adam got out the shovel and started digging.

And we waited.  And waited.  And waited.  5:30 - no early birds.  Okay, no problem, I thought, it's a school night.  6pm.  No kids.  6:30pm.  No kids.  Adam and I started to realize this may be a colossal let down and waste of time.  But hey - we were entertaining each other, walking around the yard in our zombie walk as people driving by gave us weird and slightly concerned looks.

And then, finally, we got a couple kids.    And a couple more.  Then 20 showed up at once and we started to get a pretty steady stream.  And then I realized that over half the houses on our street had their lights off.  There was a serious case of non-participation going on in our neighborhood.  These poor kids sometimes walked by 3, 4, even 5 houses before they came to one that was giving out candy.  How lame is that?

And then I started to notice that every kid that I gave candy to - every single one - said thank you.  Even the high school kids.  And we got alot of high school kids.  We live in what some consider a rough neighborhood, and the high school down the street - Reseda High School - has had shootings and gang activity.  Our mailbox was tagged when we moved in.  Many of the kids had on Reseda High School shirts, and if I saw them walking down my street on a normal night they'd be on my radar.  But all of them were so polite and seemed genuinely appreciative - not only for the candy, but for the house, for really doing it up, for the effort.  For caring.  For caring enough to try to scare the crap out of them.  And we did.  There were 5 kids who wouldn't even come into the yard.  Quite a few I made scream (much to their parents' delight).  And I can't tell you how many times we could hear people talking to each other on their way out of the yard, saying "that was the best house I ever went to!".  I started to realize that by making such a big deal out of doing up our yard, that we were in our own small way, participating in the community.  We were saying that, hey, we're part of this neighborhood too, let's have some fun!  Instead of turning off the lights and pretending we weren't home.  I think our neighborhood could use some more of that kind of attitude.  And I'm glad we did it.  I think I would have been glad even if we only got 4 kids.  4 kids are worth it, too.

At the end of the night, after giving candy and screams to about 75 kids, Adam says to me "That was really fun. I'm glad we did it.  Now lets go to the market across the street before they close and walk in as zombies and ask if the butcher if he has brains".  He even looked up how to say "brains" in Spanish.

So we dragged ourselves to the market, and asked for "cereeeeeeebrooooos".  But we ended up getting chocolate ice cream instead.  And a sprinkle cookie.

Best.  Halloween.  Ever.

Go Happy!
Amy

I've Got the Fever!

Having an eleven year old in your life can really get the creative juices flowing.  It seems there is always some event or project coming up that requires hot glue, duct tape, spray paint, and - if you're lucky - dry ice.  I got my dry ice fix when hosting Willow's (my boyfriend's daughter's) eleventh birthday party this year. 

I've never hosted a kid's birthday party before, and I wanted to pull out all the stops.  We opted for a pool party at our house, so naturally a luau theme was quickly adopted.  Last year, my duty for the bday beach party was the cake, and Adam and I, along with his friend Barbara, made the most amazing cupcakes, each of which was decorated like a mini-beach with graham cracker sand, creamy blue water and candy flip flops.  I had to one up myself this year.  So I decided on a volcano cake.

After much internet research, I came up with a plan.  I made two bundt cakes -one chocolate and one vanilla tinted with orange coloring.  Then I stacked them and shaped them into something vaguely resembling a volcano.

I then frosted it with chocolate frosting, leaving the shaved off parts of the cake crumbled up at the base to look like rocks.  I used some orange glaze drizzled on top for lava, and fitted the hole inside the cakes with a small metal glass filled with dry ice so it looked like it was smoking.  Topped it all off with some candles and tiki heads, and voila!  Volcano cake perfect for any respectable luau.  The eleven year olds loved it.  I even overheard one of her friends remark "What a cool cake, Willow is such a lucky butt!"  Fine praise indeed.

Riding on the heels of this success, I was asked by Willow if I could make her Halloween costume this year.  She has decided to go retro and dress up as Ms. Pac Man.  How could I possibly say no?  I was definitely up for the challenge.

Again, after much internet research, I decided my best bet was to use a couple of leftover moving boxes, a roll of duct tape, some staples, a little garden shade cloth and a whole lotta spray paint.  I started by cutting out my pac man shape:

I really didn't have any clever ideas about how to engineer this, and knowing that it only needed to survive a couple of wearings, the whole thing is pretty much held together with duct tape.  A LOT of duct tape.    I cut some armholes and covered the mouth area with shade cloth so she could see out without anyone seeing in.  Then we got some tights, a shirt and a skirt at the thrift store (I love any excuse to go to the thrift store) and again - voila! - we had our Ms. Pac Man.

Willow and I are so happy with how it turned out I'm scoping out all the local Halloween parties so we can pimp this costume out and win some contests!  Might as well capitalize on my creation, no?

Go Happy!
Amy

Even Billboard Queens Like Arts & Crafts

I had my weirdest "celebrity" sighting in LA today.  Okay, I didn't even know this person was famous until I came home and told Adam the story, but she certainly caught my attention, so it's not too surprising that people know who she is.  As soon as I began to describe her, Adam shouted, "Oh my god, that was Angelyne!"

My response, of course, was "who the fuck is Angelyne?"  Well, this is Angelyne:

I guess I'm too new to Los Angeles to have seen her billboards, but Angelyne became famous in the 1980s for a series of billboards throughout LA funded by "investors" (when talking about Angelyne, alot of things need to be in quotes, like she's "blonde" or "pretty" or has "good taste").

All I know is that I went to the Michaels in Encino this afternoon to buy Martha Stewart labels for my fig jam, and happened to notice two firemen in uniform in line talking to this bleach blond hottie with neon pink fabric in her hair wearing a tight pink mini-skirt, pink pattern jacket and pink wedges (remember, this is a Michaels craft store).  As I approached this funky trio in line, I could only see the woman from behind, and I took her to be about oh, twenty three.  She was a piece of work, I'll grant you, but she had nice legs - no cellulite, no varicose veins.  But then she turned around.  She may have had Tina Turner - like gams and a set of the biggest tits I've ever seen, but her face was  like post-plastic surgery Barry Manilow with a bad blonde wig.  She looked at least 70 from the front.  I nearly gasped out loud and dropped my jam labels.  It was one of those things where I didn't want to stare but I couldn't not look at her, she was a walking contradiction.  And a total freak show.

As we made our way up the line I tried to keep my eyes averted by watching the Paula Deen look-alike on the TV at the check out giving instructions in how to paint on a t-shirt with a stencil.  Riveting stuff, let me tell you.  It was finally my turn, and I made my way up to the cashier right next to the Pink Nightmare.  I could hear Pink and the cashier having a "disagreement" of some sort, and as I casually tried to "not listen" I came to understand that Pink thought the cashier didn't understand store policies and that the cashier thought that after working there for five years that she, in fact, did.

"I hope I never see you again" Pink replied as she took her leave.

"Feeling's mutual" retorted the cashier.

As the doors swooshed shut behind the Nightmare, my cashier, who was casually "not listening" like me, could barely contain her amusement. 

"What was that about?" she asked he co-worker.

"She tried to tell me that she didn't use this" she said as she showed us a half-used bottle of Mod Podge.  "Gimme a break.  You think I'm gonna trust a porn star?"

With that I took my change and exited Michaels just in time to see Pink pulling out of the parking lot in her pink Corvette.  Of course she has a pink corvette, I thought.  Then I put it all out of my mind until later this evening when I thought to tell Adam the story and learned that Pink was the notorious Angelyne and that I was probably the only person in the store who didn't know who she was.



"I thought I'd make a decoupaged picture frame of my pink pooch, Buddha,
to give to my manager for Christmas this year"

Which just goes to show you, even billboard queens like arts & crafts.  And firemen too, apparently.  And that everyone is pinching pennies these days, even going so far as to return used glue.  And that you can't go anywhere in this town without the threat of running into people like this.

Go Happy!
Amy

From Garden to Plate

After waiting patiently all spring and summer, I'm happy to say it's finally time to harvest the corn!  As a first time gardener, you just can't go wrong with corn.  It definitely gives the biggest bang for the buck.  It's pretty easy to grow and it grows fast plus it's magnificiently tall and creates a wonderful green border in front of my ugly wooden fence.  And in my particular case it was almost entirely free since I got the seeds gratis from the Sowing Millions Project.  The only real expense was time spent, which was pretty pleasant all around.

However, I really didn't pay too close attention to exactly what kind of corn seeds I was sent, so color me surprised when I discovered that I had purple corn.

Turns out I have Inca corn, with is a South American strain of corn.  Ever had it?  If you've ever eaten Peruvian food you probably have.  The first time I ate at  Peruvian restaurant here in LA I was taken aback by how BIG the corn was - and chewy.  The first couple of ears we pulled off we prepared on the cob - you know, like they do with sweet corn in Indiana where I'm from.  That's pretty much the only way to eat corn there.  Well, that is not an appetizing way to eat this kind of corn.  It's dry and chewy and most of it ends up coating your teeth like paste.  We decided that since we're about to have about, oh, 50 ears of corn ready to eat we best come up with some new recipes for this corn.

I found this wonderful recipe online for South American tamales, or humitas.  I found it on this wonderful blog called Laylita's Recipes.  It's the same place where I found the recipe for Dulce de Higos after we came back from Ecuador.  Laylita's blog is a treasure trove of South American recipes, complete with stories from growing up and preparing these dishes with her family.  Love it!  Here's the recipe I used, with a few tweaks:

Ingredients:

6-7 fresh ears of corn, with husks

3 cups grated or crumbled cheese, mozzarella or a fresh farmers cheese (I used a mix of both)

1 cup diced white onions, about ½ large onion

1 tsp ground coriander

2 garlic cloves, crushed

About 1 cup corn meal

¼ cup of heavy cream (I used half and half)

2 eggs

1 tsp salt

Sides – Aji de tomate de arbol or tree tomato hot sauce (I couldn't find tamarillos at either the Mexican market across the street or at the Mexican chain grocer Vallarta, so I made a roasted tomatillo salsa)

Preparation:

1. Remove the husks from the corn; try to keep each husk intact, the large ones will be used as wrappers for the humitas and the smaller ones will be broken into long strips to tie around the humitas. (I found it helpful to cut off the bottom of the corn so that the wide husks wouldn't tear down the middle when you peel the corn)
2. To help make the corn husks more pliable place them in a pot of boiling water for a couple of minutes, then drain the water and save the husks until ready to use.
3. Remove the silky hairs from the corn and use a knife to cut the corn kernels from the cob, if you don’t have a steamer save the cobs to use as a steamer.
4. Place the corn kernels, 1 cup of cheese, diced onions, crushed garlic, ground coriander, corn meal, cream, eggs, and salt in the food processor, mix until the corn is pureed.
5. In large deep pot place about 2 ½ cups of water and a steamer, the water should be just below the steamer, if you don’t have a steamer arrange the cobs on the bottom of the pan instead and cover them with some of the leftover husks.
6. To fill each humita use 2 of the large corn husks per humita, place them on top of each other, fold the left side of the husks, then fold the top half over the bottom half, this creates a semi-pocket, fill it with a spoonful of the mixture (how much mixture will depend on the size of the husks, the larger the husks the more filling you can add) and stuff some of the remaining cheese in the middle, now fold over the right side of the husk and tighten it up a little bit, use the thin strips to tie around the wrapper and keep it closed. (okay, this was really, really hard for me, and I cheated a bit and tied them with kitchen string because the husks were just too delicate for my large, clumsy hands)
7. Place the humitas in the pot on top of the steamer, I like to keep them slightly inclined with the open end on top. Place any leftover husks on top and cover well.
8. Place the pot on the stove over high heat until you hear the water boiling, reduce to a simmer and cook for about 35-40 minutes, the cooked humitas will be slightly firm to firm when they are done.
9. Serve warm with aji de tomate de arbol or tree tomato hot sauce. (I used roasted tomatillo salsa and a I also made a yummy Peruvian green sauce which I found a recipe for here)

Adam and I decided these were super yummy and perhaps I'll make them again so I can practice my tamale-rolling skills.  So there you have it - from garden to plate!

Go Happy!
Amy

I Don't Give a Flying Fig...I Just Make Them

The quest for fig recipes continues, and tonight I think we found a winner. 

Adam is the chef of the family, and I'm the mixologist, so when I happened upon a recipe online for a Flying Fig cocktail, I knew I had to try it.  Original recipe is found here, I made just a couple of slight variations based on the ingredients I had on hand:

3 fresh organic figs

1/2 ounce St-Germain elderflower liqueur

2 ounces lemon-flavored vodka

juice of half a lemon 

2 ounces simple syrup, or 2 tbsp sugar (to taste)

Fresh mint sprig

Muddle diced fig in the elderflower liqueur (reserve one slice for garnish). Add cracked ice, vodka, lemon juice, and simple syrup. Shake vigorously. Rim chilled martini glass with one mint leaf dropped in.  Garnish with reserved fig slice. Strain cocktail into glass.

Can you say yum?  The muddled fig gives it a most lovely pink color, like a Cosmo.  This will go excellently with the Hawaiian burgers with caramelized pineapple and bacon that Adam is making tonight, recipe courtesy of Bitchin' Kitchen.

Go Happy (and slightly Tipsy)!
Amy

In a Jam and Gardenly Pursuits

Well, the figging continues.  Figs, figs, figs, figsfigsfigsfigs everywhere!  Another round of figs has ripened on the tree and we took in a harvest of I would guess about 10 pounds.  Yikes.  What to do with that many figs?

Well, first I made my dulce de higos, or sweet Ecuadorian figs (recipe found here).  I hope y'all are coming over to eat them because we'll never, ever eat all of them.

Second, I made wine soaked figs, recipe found here.  We had had a little party last weekend, and I had some half-empty bottles of red wine so, well, necessity was the mother of invention here. 

Third, I made my first foray into the world of jam-making and canning.  I'll admit I was scared, but now that I made it through relatively unscathed (there was a bit of scalding-hot splatter, so not entirely unscathed) I am anxious to get to the next batch.  This time I made two:  a quick, microwave type of jam you can make in single can sizes.  It's spicy orange fig jam and it is utterly delicious!  The second I made the old fashioned way which produced about a dozen cans.  Aptly, it is old-fashioned fig preserves.  I thought I'd start with that as the base and try different types of jam for the next batches.

The moral of the story here is that if you like fig jam, you best let me know and I'll be sending you some.


Aren't they lovely?

 In other news, the corn I've planted is going gangbusters and will be ready to harvest anytime now.  This is the first time I've grown any kind of vegetable and I'm ecstatic by how well it's doing!  I feel like I'm at home in Indiana.

I'm also hard at work trying to make the front yard look nice.  We rent, so we don't want to spend a ton of money on plants and things, so my thrifty self is hard at work on this project.  I just made two small beds by the front gate with plants salvaged from a restaurant in Long Beach (they were pulling them out of their planters and putting them in bags as I was walking by they gladly let me take them) and the bricks are salvaged from our backyard.  Just the beginning.

Before



After

Go Happy, Dear Blog Friends!
Amy

Here figgy figgy!

We have an embarrassment of figs here at my house.

I don't think I ever even ate a fig until I moved to LA.  Figs were something that made brief appearances in songs around Christmastime, not something I'm accustomed to having on my plate in the summer. 

But now we have an enormous fig tree in our yard, with my hammock from El Salvador hanging underneath - I'm so excited to finally be using it!

view of the tree from the hammock

About two weeks ago we started getting our first ripe ones.  From what I can tell, it seems we'll have fresh figs from now until mid-fall.  At least 100 pounds of them.  Question is - what the hell do you do with all those figs?  I certainly don't want them to go to waste.

When Adam and I went to Ecuador last November, we stopped for some street food at an outdoor market in Otavalo.  A black, bubbling concoction served with cheese on a roll.

Turns out they were figs, and they were beyond delicious.  As soon as we got home I tried to find the recipe, which I finally did online at http://laylita.com/recipes/2008/09/23/dulce-de-higos-or-figs-in-syrup/ and is reprinted below.  At the time it was hard to find figs, but now that I'm pulling about 20 a day from our tree, I've made it twice in the last two weeks.  It takes three days to prepare, but it is worth it!

some lovelies from our tree

Ingredients:

20 fresh ripe but firm figs, washed

Pinch of baking soda

1 ¾ lb brown sugar

Cinnamon sticks, cloves and other spices – optional

Water

Sides – Slices of cheese, bread (we found Hawaiian bread particularly tasty with this)

Preparation:

1. Make a crosswise cut on the thin side of each fig.
2. Place the figs in a bowl, cover them with water and let them soak for 24 hours.
3. Rinse the figs, place them in a saucepan, and cover them with water, about 8 cups.
4. Add the baking soda and bring the water to a boil over medium heat, cook for about 15-20 minutes or until soft.
5. Remove from the heat and let the figs soak in the water they cooked in for another 24 hours.
6. Drain all the water from figs and gently squeeze each fig to remove as much water as possible.
7. Place the brown sugar and the spices in a large saucepan, cover with about 6 cups of water and cook on low heat until it is completely dissolved.
8. Add the figs and simmer until the syrup begins to thicken, at least a couple of hours, stir occasionally.
9. Serve either warm or cold with a slice of quesillo, fresh mozzarella, queso fresco, farmer’s cheese or the cheese of your preference.

the finished product - so tasty!

Go Happy!
Amy

Guerilla Gardening

Seems my love of finding new uses for old items has extended to the garden.  Or at least my love of all things free.

Recently Adam and I were watching the Today show, and chef Rick Bayless was a guest.  He was talking about the Sowing Millions Project that he's involved in with the company Seeds of Change.  They committed to giving away 100 million seeds (you just pay the shipping).  Give away?  Free, you say?  Well, gee, I'll try anything if it's free.  So I went to the website, signed up for my free seeds, and promptly forgot all about it.  About six weeks later, after we moved into our new place, a big, unmarked manila envelope addressed to me showed up on my doorstep.  I love getting packages in the mail, and the best part is when I don't expect them, so the giddy anticipation of finding out what was inside was delicious.  I carefully opened the package to find...dozens of packets of seeds, of course!

There were sunflowers and corn (LOTS of corn) and eggplant and different kinds of radishes and lots of different kinds of lettuce and beets and on and on and on.  I have little (okay, no) experience with vegetable gardening, and my backyard is mostly cement, but I'm proud to say I've done quite a bit of container gardening in the last few days and I also dug up the soil next to our fence and planted two rows of corn and two rows of sunflowers.  The daily excitement of watering them and seeing how much they've grown since the day before makes me feel like a little kid.  I can't wait til they're all growed up!  Pictures to come when there's something a little more exciting to show you than just soil.

Speaking of gardening and free stuff, I've become addicted to trolling the free section on CraigsList looking for plants and pots and just about anything for the garden.  Having lived in an apartment for over a decade, I have no outdoor accoutrements.  But one man's trash is often my treasure, especially if it's going to live outside.  A little scrub, a little paint, and a little love is usually all it takes to make something usable and nice again.  And I can't believe the stuff people give away for free.  A couple of nights ago I happened to see a posting for some free palm trees and aloe vera plants that someone had dug out of their yard and were sitting by the curb.  My conversation with Adam went something along the lines of:

Me:  You wanna get some free palm trees and free aloe vera plants?

Adam:  Sure.

Pause.

Adam:  Oh, you mean now?

Me:  Duh.

So at 10pm we hopped in the car, basically in our pajamas (amateurs!) and drove to this house which wasn't too far from ours.  However, the street had no lights, and my flashlight didn't work, nor did we bring gloves or wear appropriae shoes (I had on flip flops - amateur!).  So hoisting a 5 foot tall, 100 pound palm tree covered in sharp spikes into the trunk of my car was amusing to say the least.  We made so much noise the owners came outside, although they were cool and informed us that one of the palm trees in their yard was in the movie The Ten Commandments.  Even trees in Hollywood get their 15 minutes, I guess.  They watched as we struggled with the palm.  Okay, we watched as Adam struggled with the palm, and I nonchalantly picked which of the 30 or so aloe cuttings I wanted.  Adam finallygot the palm in the trunk - incidentally, most of it sticking out the back end, and we gingerly and laughingly made our way home.  Okay, maybe I was the only one laughing.

Our plan is to plant the palm in a big pot, so we can take it with us wen we eventually leave, but Adam thought we needed to plant it somewhere right away so it didn't die.  So at 11pm we were in our front yard digging a big hole to put the body, I mean plam tree, in.  It'll be a little embarrasing when the gardener comes by (again, amateurs!), but so far it's hanging in there. 

Don't let the picket fence fool you, I'm mean!



Some of the aloe have made it into planters, but many are hanging out in a pot full of water at the moment.

Of course, the pots either came from garage sales ($2) or from the neighbor's trash (free!). 

Did I mention I love free stuff?

Go Happy!
Amy