What a frantic fantastic day!

I never got near the kitchen last night but I did manage to make it to the store. Here's an exclusive Billy Stewart tip; there is no good produce left out at 11:20PM. I don't know what I was thinking and Jewel sells one single vanilla bean for $14.00, CRAZY! I probably could have gotten something done last night but really couldn't make myself and why worry with the whole day to bake and frost and decorate? I should have set an alarm because I woke up at 12:07 this afternoon. After running from store to store to get the rest of my needed ingredients, I started making lemon curd at 3PM. In the future I will have to manage my time better! I ended up getting everything made and assembling them at my parent's house while listening in on everyone's conversations. My piping was sloppy, I didn't grab the right size tips and the butter cream was just a little too stiff and I had no patience. Not the end of the world (they still tasted great) it just wasn't up to my standards. Oh well, I have another dozen naked cupcakes and a second bag of butter cream, without the time crunch and anxiety of performing in front of a crowd, I will pipe a few perfect cupcakes for a photo shoot and get a picture up tomorrow so you can see what these Meyer Lemon Raspberry Cupcakes should look like. The recipe came from Vanilla Bake Shop of Santa Monica, CA c/o The Martha Stewart Show. This is my go to recipe for cupcakes because they are so moist and tender. This was my first time using their lemon curd recipe. It was a much milder flavor than mine which is more tart but still really nice. Anyhow, I had a wonderful night my parents and the Webers. We had a huge dinner (I still can barely move) and boisterous conversations. Anytime with the Webers is always a lot of fun. Now I have to go tackle those dishes... or maybe that's a job better left for the morning.

What is wrong with me today?

My timing is all off. Instead of being productive during the day, I sat on the computer and shopped for a rock tumbler and learned all about the minerals found in Oneida Co. Wisconsin. Now that we are fast approaching midnight, I am realizing that I have just a cup of AP flour, only 3 sticks of butter and no eggs and I have to bake "something" for dessert tomorrow. Why didn't I just do this earlier and surf the net now. Stupid me! I'm gonna head straight for the fruit and see what looks best and just wing the grocery list. This might go terribly wrong. I'll let you know tomorrow if we had desserts or disaster... get it? Like the rap song... no?

Head Out to the Farm!

One of my favorite activities, any time of year, is heading out to my favorite local farms. Most of you are familiar with blueberry picking in Michigan during the early Summer months and apple picking in the fall but did you know that many farms offer a "pick your own" option on almost anything you could want? Fruits, vegetables, eggs, gourds, berries, flowers, etc... I'm not saying that anytime you need green beans or lettuce to head there but for a fun outing with friends or family or even for a lovely day by yourself, the farm is a great option. You might be wondering where you can find pick-your-own farms and of course I have the answer. At www.pickyourown.org you can find a farm for just about anything. The site is organized by state which is then broken down by region and county. There is also an option to search by product, meaning if you want to head out to a beautiful dahlia farm for an afternoon date, you simply search "Dahlia." It's that easy. Users of the site will post updates, informing other's of specials, farms that have closed and changes to any information posted. I do encourage you to call before going to see how the crops are doing, if they are open the day you plan on going and any other information you may need (is it muddy? are children allowed/encouraged to come? what are the prices? etc...) I tend to go overboard, which to me is the best way to go. Less is never more. The produce is at the freshest and usually best you can find so in that mentality I pick more than I can eat and preserve the rest for use in the winter. If this sounds like something you'd like to do, the website also offers plenty of canning recipes and tips. Make sure to follow proper canning techniques so your work, time and money are not wasted. There is nothing more saddening than opening a can of blackberry jam in December to discover a moldy top. A pressure canner is the best way to go but there are many recipes that can be properly sterilized and sealed in a water bath. So explore www.pickyourown.org for local farms near you for an incomparable summer activity.

Pickles, Pickles, Pickles (can't think of anything more creative.)

With a light breeze running through the house and the plants soaking up the sun I knew it was the perfect day to start preparing summer pickles. I have had the urge all week but felt that standing over a hot stove, boiling vinegar wasn't going to be fun in 90 degree weather. So I dragged Chris to the grocery store this morning to pick up some new pickling salt and spice and cucumbers and carrots. Once I got home and pulled out my recipes, I realized I had forgotten mustard seeds but decided to just fiddle around with ingredients and pray for the best (I'm not even a big fan of mustard so this could all be for the best and I know the pickles will be great no matter what.) Starting with the carrots, I peeled and sliced them on a bias making 1/4" chips, chopping about 6 cups total. With the carrots cut and placed in a large jar I crushed 5 cloves of garlic and dropped them on top. Then I boiled for 4 minutes a combination of 1 1/2 cups water and 1 1/2 cups white vinegar with 1 cup sugar, 1 1/2 teaspoon pickling salt, 1 tablespoon pickling spice, 1 1/2 tablespoon crushed red pepper and 1 tablespoon dehydrated onion. After carefully pouring the hot brine over the carrots I left them open and on the counter to rest until reaching room temperature. Then I capped the jar and put them in the fridge. Next I moved onto the cucumbers, slicing two large ones into 1/4" chips. The process was basically the same and the brine was 1 1/2 cups water + 1 1/2 cups white vinegar +1 1/2 tablespoons pickling spice + 3/4 cup sugar + 2 teaspoons oregano + 1 tablespoon dehydrated onion + 6 cloves of garlic, crushed. Boil for 4 minutes but instead of pouring over the cucumbers let this rest until it comes to room temperature. I hate nothing more than soggy/soft pickles, I like a crunch and cooling the brine first will keep the crisp in the cucumber. Of course you will have to wait a few days before eating these but to me the wait is worth it. I'm anxious to pop the tops and snack on some fiery carrot chips and some cool, fresh pickle slices but until then I will just have to find a new project.

How-To: Building a Woodland Terrarium

Building your own terrarium from moss and plants you have harvested yourself can not only be lot's of fun but also very rewarding. It will keep you looking for different varieties and will get you to see things you may not have noticed on an afternoon hike. I have found interesting bugs, eggs, mushrooms and animals, just to name a few. The terrariums I made yesterday were entirely constructed from wild moss I picked up that morning. With the wet conditions, the moss had flourished and was easy to harvest. Whenever you pick anything for transplant it is better to do so when well watered. If the roots are dry they may not take to the new potting medium. Moss is quite possibly one of the easiest to gather, gently work your finger tips between the moss and the object it is growing on (stone, tree, earth, etc...) and pull it up in a sheet or clump. Place the moss in a Ziploc bag (fold root side in if needed) and seal. Toss in your bag and keep looking for other items you might like (small stones, pieces of driftwood, bones, etc...) After you have found what you like and will need, head home to start on the terrarium. To prepare the moss you will want shake the sheet out into a garbage bag or bin or bathtub. Leaves, bugs and other debris should fall out. Don't worry about getting all of it out, you can get it at the end.

You'll need a clean, large glass container with a loose fitting lid. Cookie and apothecary jars work and look best. Look at rummage sales, thrift stores and if all else fails Wal-Mart carries pretty inexpensive jars like the ones shown in this How-To. I bought these years ago and believe they were about $12 or so. Really not a bad deal. You might want to have a few handy because once you get going it's hard to stop yourself. Chris is worried and he should be! I have completely mentally redecorated the apartment to incorporate as many terrariums and plant life that I can but that's for another time. SO with your jar spotless and rinsed thoroughly place about an inch of cleaned gravel in the bottom. I buy the $2 bags of river pea gravel from Home Depot and that looks just fine for me. If you want color you can use aquarium gravels, glass blobs or rubies and sapphires if that's what you want, you just need a 1" layer of pebble-ish stuff at the bottom for drainage.

Next we need earth! I use a regular high quality potting soil but you can also use specialty mixes like those for African Violets or Orchids. In a large bowl place the estimated amount of soil needed (there should be at least 1 1/2"-2 1/2" of soil and you will need more if you plan on making hills.) Next add in aquarium or gardening charcoal, about a 1:5 charcoal to soil mix is sufficient. The charcoal will purify the terrarium over time, keeping it fresh and healthy. Add in enough water to completely wet the soil. You don't want mud! Just enough where you can make a mud ball and it doesn't fall apart. Place into the container on top of the gravel (don't mix the two.) Be as neat as possible trying to mind the walls of the container. I like to make mounds of dirt to create hills and valleys to add visual appeal. After you have the base to your liking, take a fork and rough up the surface so the roots will take. Using a spray bottle filled with water and set on "Stream" spray down the sides of the container making sure to get all the dirt down to the bottom.

Now the fun starts. I pull several different varieties of moss that I collected trying to change up the color, texture and size. I love how fern moss looks like a forest from far away and clump moss takes on the appearance of a meadow. You can gently ease pieces off your main sheet of moss or puzzle together small sections you have. Press the moss firmly into the prepared soil. If you are using a longer moss like fern moss, lay it on last so the bottom leaves can hang over and not become smothered by other mosses. If you are planting ferns or other plants, make sure to dig a little hole for them first. It is better to put the plants in first and lay the moss around them. After all the living objects are in place you can add anything decorative you found or like (skulls, driftwood, jade statues, rocks, etc...) To finish up mist down entirely, spraying off any debris on the walls of the container. Don't go overboard with the water, if you see it pooling in the gravel stop. You don't want it to be too wet. Look through and pick out any debris or bugs hiding in the plants. Now place the top on and set in a low light area of your house to enjoy.

For the next week or so after you'll need to monitor the moisture levels. If there was originally water pooling in the gravel, leave the top off overnight. Then put it back on the next morning. If condensation starts to appear on the walls, take the top off again. If the soil looks dry, lightly mist down the plants. It will take some time but once the humidity is up without the glass fogging up, you can leave the top on and pretty much forget about it. Occasionally you will need to mist and prune but that is almost bi-annual. Really easy right? Make several, start big, it's just easier.

Terrariums are the coolest!

I know I have disappeared yet again but I promise I didn't forget about y'all. A lot has been going on this past week and I haven't been in a very productive mood. Of course the rain didn't help either. I was happy to see it though, I love thunderstorms and rain means growth and rejuvenation. So I am getting very excited about upcoming hikes and forays. I was supposed to take a friend out today to collect moss and small plants that we would then use to assemble terrariums. We decided to postpone due to the abundance of rain. It's a good thing we did because everything is flooded. I went out for a quick trip through one of my favorite forests this morning. Salt Creek has spilled over into the forest and it's all mud out there. I did happen to collect some moss and assembled two terrariums this afternoon. I needed something to take my mind off of life and it did the trick. Tomorrow I will post a how-to on building a terrarium. Today though mucky, excited me for next weeks adventures with Cece. We have been looking forward to an outing together and this should just be wonderful. I'm already thinking of what to collect and planning many different terrariums in my head. Can't wait!

OH YEAH! The pictures I've taken don't do them justice! I am working on editing or using a different filter or something to show the variation in the mosses' color and texture. They look like small forests. I think I should head to Chinatown and pick up some jade Buddhas for them. I need more of the "middle path" in my life.

pictures

The new African Violet. Just stunning in person.









And the turtles wanted to say "Hello!" They are loving being out of the bedroom and amongst the creativity.

Mother's Day Madness!!!!

Wow so much is going on in the apartment right now and it making me just a little overwhelmed. I headed out to Home Depot today to pick up pots, soil, plants, plant food and some orchid moss. I decided to cut back on my original plan for Mom's gift this year. I ditched the tomatoes because it's just a lot of work to give as a gift. Instead I am making her an herb garden in a large blue pot. I picked out some of her favorites and other basic herbs that can be used throughout the summer and dried for use in the winter. Sage, a few types of basil, oregeno, dill and rosemary, a perfect mix if you ask me. While at HD I picked grabbed new orchid pots and moss and a new african violet. I have spent the night repotting the houseplants that I just hadn't gotten to yet and now I am all caught up. The new violet is just amazing; a fantastic magenta/pink flower that just shimmers in the evening light. All of the violets looked pretty sad but now that this guy has been transplanted and watered, he's perked up quite a bit. I might just have to pick up a few more. I am waiting to assemble Mom's garden till I am at her house, it would just be too heavy to transport. I did water all the herbs to ensure a healthy transission in the morning. Besides the repotting, I have also been drying out the last of my morels for winter soups and stews and trying to be clean about everything. As I told Andrea, one of my favorite friends, "I am practicing to be Martha Stewart... and it's slow and frustrating. I miss making messes." AND I DO! Of course I am not neat and tidy all the time or even when I am trying to be but trying to be neat and tidy is so time consuming. I literally takes me about 2 minutes to get one scoop of soil into a pot and after each one I am up sweeping and dusting. Oh well, a little mess isn't bad and maybe one day I'll have my own staff that cleans up after me. We can dream can't we? I am really looking forward to hanging out with Mom tomorrow and I think it might just be the two of us...? We'll see but it should be fun either way. I am also really excited for next weekend. Cece and I are heading out for a hike and foray. We'll be collecting mosses, ferns, stones and other little things from the forest floor. After a nice little hike we're going to head back to the craftroom and make terrariums (an easier project to keep neat.) I can't wait and I can't decide what trail to take her on! There are so many wonderful forests and so many are my favorite but I have narrowed it down and I'm thinking a section near my folks' place that is fairly untraveled and near Salt Creek. We'll see, I'll change my mind 20 times by the 15th. Well, I am off to clean up a little, walk the dogs and shower before Chris gets home.

Craftroom Chaos

We moved the big pieces of furniture(bed, dressers, craft table, desk and computer) and have the rooms pretty much switched. The only problem I'm facing now is all that random crap that I can't seem to find a home for just yet... oh and the dirty clothes. There are so many dirty clothes! Literally a mountain has formed in our kitchen and because they're there, I haven't cleaned in there and the clutter is getting insane. Chocolate molds and cookie sheets litter the range and I can no longer see the counter beneath the baskets, recipe cards and drying Morels. Even as I'm writing this I know Chris is going to sigh and give me that look the moment he walks in. It's the look he gives me every time I should have cleaned and didn't. I know I know, I should have just gotten everything under control but I just couldn't resist an afternoon hike, especially with the mood I was in. I'm easily annoyed for some reason today. I don't know why and I hate that I am but well I just am. Oh well. The worst part is, the hike didn't really help because as wonderful as it was, getting stuck in traffic was not. It took me 1 1/2 hours to get home! Bah, tomorrow I will clean and bag all the clothes that need to be dry cleaned and start washing the others. After that's done the only thing left really are the closets. I have to redesign the craft closet which will most likely involve the construction of some super craft center thingy. It's in my head but basically would be a shelving unit with built in ribbon and paper dispensers. First I have to sit down and consider my wants and needs and then go to the drawing board... and then to the container store! Oh I am just over the top about the Container Store. I've been on their website multiple times a day dreaming about splurging there. I know once the time comes to construct I will need to make multiple trips for bins and drawers and containers. All in good time. Ok folks. Pictures to come! I'm off to be sweet and wonderful to distract from the mess. Hope it works.

Insanity!

Super quick folks: I hit the mother load today walking out with 59 Morels. I had literally given up and was heading back to the car and decided to stop at just one more spot. Luckily for me this detour was well worth it. I was ecstatic and crazy and frantic. Nothing compares to searching and searching and only finding a handful and then finding 59 in 1 spot, well it's just nuts. So I washed and bagged them and now I just have to figure out what to make and who to give them to. I was thinking about dropping them off for the sexy chef extraordinaire Rick Bayless but who knows if he'd actually use them. I made myself a delicious Morel Bruschetta. Ok I need to get the dehydrator out and get back to Six Feet Under. I'm obsessed! Tomorrow I start the big clean and might bake something... we'll see. Goodnight y'all.