Planting Onions

The 2011 garden season has officially started here at the Coleman household. Before I get into the garden itself, I'd like to say a little bit about one of my favorite resources. It's this book:

Following the guidelines in this book, I've learned to steer clear of the traditional method of gardening, the one that my grandparents used: row, path, row, path, row, path. The traditional method dedicated 50% of the space to walking, and that walking in between the rows of vegetables compacts the soil around the roots. A better way is to plant the vegetables in wide rows (beds) that you can reach into from at least one side so that you never have to step into it, compacting the soil. Even better: last year David worked very hard helping me to build raised beds throughout the garden. This provides better drainage and also saves stress and strain on my back.

Now on to what I did this week:
These are onion starts that I purchased from Dixondale Farms. I purchased a sample set of "intermediate day" onions. (According to their website I could grow either intermediate day or short day onions, but it looks like we are more in the intermediate day area.) The sample set consists of a white onion ("Super Star"), a yellow onion ("Candy") , and a red onion ("Red Candy Apple"). I planted 20 of each variety and passed on the extras to my neighbor for her garden. I followed the planting instructions provided by Dixondale. One thing that I didn't notice while I was preparing the soil 2 days ago but certainly did notice while I was planting the seedlings is that the ones near the edge of the bed went into damp, cool soil. That first 3-4 inches of soil doesn't get any sun yet and was noticeably cooler than the rest of the soil in the bed. The seedlings that were planted on the other side of the trench went into soil that was much warmer and drier. The tops of all of the onions are in the sun but it'll be interesting to see if there are any growing differences since the roots of half of them are in much cooler soil.

I set the onions off to one side because I plan to plant some carrots along beside them. They will develop a very nice relationship side-by-side.

This is what my garlic bed looks like today.

These are cabbage plants getting along nicely with cilantro. Sorry about the lighting. The fence casts a mean shadow.



These peas I planted last fall, in September. I've been harvesting peas from them all winter. Come spring, these will still be popping out peas left and right. What a nice head start!



This is a little artichoke starting to form on one of our artichoke plants. Peek-a-boo!

Beautiful Words

My PET scan report came to me in the mail this weekend. These are always fun to read. With that in mind, I thought I'd post the report here. These are posted as two images. If you click on each one it should bring it up to full screen so that you can read it more easily.

There are some very beautiful words in this report.

PET Scan Report from 1/19/2011

I just got a call from the (new) oncologist's office to let me know that my PET scan from 2 days ago came back all clear. Whew! I can't help but worry after one of these scans is done. And it's hard not knowing the result for days, knowing that the result is known by someone. So I am grateful that I got a call ahead of my appointment next week. So far, so good with this new oncologist.

I actually meet with him next week and will have some blood work done. The next scan should be in three months, so I can rest easy until then. Let's hope that I can have an unblemished spring and summer this year. The next couple of scans will be key. It's been 6 months since my surgery... getting through a year will be crucial and I am halfway through it. Everyone keep your fingers crossed for the next 6 months for me, please!

My Red Streaks

A couple of weeks ago while I was at the hair stylist getting my...ahem... distinguishing roots covered up I was flipping through one of those magazines in the rack. I saw a photo of Katy Perry's hair similar to this one:


I showed the photo to the stylist and commented that I thought the colors were very pretty. He told me that those were simply extensions. He said it's better to go with extensions if you want to do something like that because they are completely removable and they don't damage your hair the way a chemical process would. I kept thinking about the streaks and he said we can talk about doing something with my hair that's similar. After learning that I would have to buy a packet of hair for each color if I wanted multiple colors (and exactly how rock-star do I want to look anyway?) I decided to keep it simple and choose one color that would look good with my hair color. We narrowed it down to pink or red. When his wife held up the colors to my hair I immediately went for the red.

Here I am two weeks later:


And here:



And here:

In this photo you can see the streaks and the contrast much more when I lift up the top layers of my hair:


I will have to get used to these, and right now my scalp hurts a bit from the "beads" that are used to attach them to my own hair. But I think they really brighten my look! They will also give my hair a bit more fullness and also help absorb some of the copious oil that my head produces. If I get tired of them or decide I don't like them the extension pieces can actually be dyed my hair color and can be used just to give my hair more volume, if I choose.

My Chariot

This past week we went to Asilomar for a couple of days with some family and their friends. Asilomar is a bit spread out and you basically park and then walk everywhere. I remembered this from a previous stay there. Plus, there is a nice boardwalk along the beach as well. So, we decided to rent me a little scooter for the week. It comes apart in pieces for easier loading/unloading from the car. The heaviest piece probably weighs about 40 pounds. David developed a system and had it put together for me in no time.



It was a great decision to get it. Our room was very far from the dining hall, and uphill from it too. The walks back & forth from our room to the dining hall would have been very slow & uncomfortable without it. David took advantage of the motorized wheels too - he hopped on for a ride when he could! The scooter was very useful when we went to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. It was a bit tight and crowded there but if I was patient and assertive then I was able to eventually see the displays that interested me. One thing that I learned is that people really don't see you when you are riding a scooter. Many folks walked right in front of me when I was moving forward, and the scooter stops pretty fast but it takes a few inches. Sometimes I didn't even have that much to spare. One woman actually ran right into the back of the scooter once when I was sitting still.



The scooter gets picked up tomorrow, but it's been fun to ride.

Knitting Scarves

It took me a couple of months but I finally finished David's "Sharks Scarf". This was knitted using a "shadow knitting" technique. When you look at it head-on it looks like it's striped, like this:




When you look at it from one of the ends then the sharks come out to play. Like this:


Here's David modeling his new scarf:






This is a scarf I knitted just before the Sharks scarf. It was made with a lovely mohair blend yarn that our friend Patrice gave to me:

It is very soft!!

Christmasing Our House

We started decorating our house the weekend after Thanksgiving. That weekend we got all of the lights on the eaves and the windows. In the following weeks we added the lights on the rails, the inflated puppy, and the lights on the paths.

Here is the whole thing.

This is a close-up view of the front of the house .

Say hello to the cute puppy!!

We added these lights along the paths earlier today.

Merry Christmas everyone!!!

In the Garden, 12/21/2010

Since I have a (temporarily) gimp foot and since it's been pouring rain here for a few days, it's been a while since I was in the garden. Today there's been a break in the weather and I thought it was time for me to go out and pick peas. 3 1/2 hours later I finally came back inside.

Here's how things like a little "pea-picking" task can go here:

1. I head out to the garden to see how the peas are doing. Upon entering, I see that the giant pecan tree has been prolifically dropping leaves all over the place. I walk along the raised beds pulling leaves out. I make a mental note that I also need to clear the blanket of leaves that are on the ground in the garden.

2. I move on to the peas (at this point I'm still on target). I start clearing out pecan tree leaves from around and in the pea tee-pee and discover that the pea vines have been growing very vigorously. The "outer layers" didn't find anything to grip onto before they got too long and were lying flat. One by one I lifted them up and wound them into the trellis. For one side I had to add a supportive piece of wire fencing since there was nothing left of the tee-pee to support the vines. I then commenced picking the mature (and some overly mature) peas.

3. Setting the baskets aside, I decide to move the two cabbage plants that were in the shade to sunny spots in the other beds.

4. I feed everything in the garden a healthy dose of fish emulsion for nitrogen.

5. Then I decide that there's no time like the present to do something about the leaves so I haul out the leaf vacuum and suck up all the leaves, collecting two 30-gallon cans full of shredded leaves. These will become the bulk of my compost for next year along with the grass clippings (when the lawn starts growing again in the spring) and some alfalfa hay that I've got hanging around here.

6. Finally, 3 1/2 hours later I pick up my baskets of peas and head inside for lunch.


Here's how the garden looks now that the leaves have been cleaned up. There will be more. That pecan tree isn't finished de-leafing.



This is my 3rd year attempting Brussels sprouts. Go, Brussels sprouts, go!



That middle bed contains the overly crowded pea tee-pee, a couple of cabbage plants (that are doing very well), some cilantro, and another set of peas. All together there are three varieties of peas growing.



This Navel orange tree is loaded with soon-to-be ripe oranges. The oranges from this tree will keep us in freshly squeezed orange juice for a while and when they run out...



The oranges on this Valencia orange tree will become ripe. These two trees ensure that we very rarely have to buy orange juice. We did have to invest in a sturdy citrus juicer though.

December 6, 2010 Garden Pics

I was out in the garden for a short time today, looking things over. Here are a few photos that I took:

This is the "overview" shot. The hoops are for frost protection. I have a bunch of old sheets that I drape over the wire supports when I think it's going to drop too cold at night.



This bed is fairly busy. I'm getting peas off the pea trellises. The cabbages look great, as well as the cilantro. I also have some carrots growing in this bed near and amongst the pea tee-pee.



This is my garlic bed. There are 6 varieties in this bed. The lettuce is a welcome companion. That's a cilantro plant tucked in the corner.



This is why I can't spend much time in the garden these days. I had foot surgery last Tuesday. Nothing major... it's the same surgery I had on my right foot last year. It'll heal and be good as new (better!) in no time.

Photos from Thanksgiving 2010

The previous post details our Thanksgiving menu but I forgot that my husband, David, snapped a few photos of the process along the way. Here's what he captured...

This is the pecan pie that I made the night before. I actually took this photo... it's the only one I thought to snap. I also made a pumpkin pie but we didn't get a photo of it. I thought the pecan pie tasted better anyway!



The turkey spent the first 45 minuted of its cooking time on its side with the back towards the fire and the feet towards the back of the oven. It was later turned breast-side up. There's compound butter under the skin on the breasts as you can clearly see.



The big bird is on the oven.



I think this is the same shot with no flash. Enjoy the one you like the best. :-)



Here I am taking the temperature of the thigh. The bird was checked every 30 minutes and the less-done side was positioned towards the fire every time.



Here's the turkey mid-roast.



These drippings were used to make some very rich, dark gravy.



The centerpiece is done!



David did a nice job of setting the table.



Here we are filling up our plates. That's Jerry (David's dad) on the left. Neil is on the right with the gravy boat. Mary's hand is holding the roasted Brussels sprouts.



I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving, and that you enjoyed these photos!

The Pizza Oven Thanksgiving

We've had our pizza oven for nearly 3 years now and were told that you can even cook a turkey in it. So, we decided to try it this year. A couple of weeks before Thanksgiving I got a small (10-pound) Butterball turkey for a test run and invited a few guinea pigs...er... friends over for the test run. I thought that it would also be a good time to try out some of the side dish recipes that were created for the pizza oven by Andrea Mugnaini, the importer of our pizza oven. The test run worked out fabulously... the turkey was amazingly moist and delicious. The side dishes were fabulous. I also got a sense of the time line and felt confident that I could add in the mashed potatoes (I cheated and used a make-ahead recipe) and dressing (though that was never in doubt) and also a pecan pie to the menu.

For the "real" Thanksgiving dinner I ordered a small heritage turkey from Whole Foods. I've been curious about the heritage turkeys for a while and wanted to try one to see if the price tag could be justified. Since we only had 6 folks in attendance for the real Thanksgiving dinner, I only needed a small turkey and when trying a pricey heritage turkey, small is good. Well... the verdict is thus: As it turns out, heritage turkeys are leaner and therefore don't cook up as moist. While it tasted good, it was dryer than the Butterball. So, lesson learned: I'll stick to regular turkeys from now on. It may not necessarily be a Butterball... it may be a "natural, fresh" turkey but it won't be the expensive heritage.

This was our menu:

Thanksgiving Dinner Menu

Oven Roasted Turkey

Rich Dark Gravy

Roasted Cranberries

Cornbread & Sage Dressing

Roasted Yams

Brussels Sprouts with Garlic and Pancetta

Mashed Potatoes

Pumpkin Pie & Brandy Whipped Cream

Pecan Pie & Whiskey Maple Cream Sauce

Every item on the menu spent some time in one way or another in the pizza oven, except for the mashed potatoes and the desserts. The gravy stock was made from turkey necks and backs that roasted in the oven, then simmered in a stock pot with the usual assortment of herbs and vegetables. Plus, the gravy was finished off with drippings from the roasted turkey. The yams and Brussels sprouts were easy to do in the oven, as well as the cranberry sauce and the dressing. My mother-in-law (Mary) brought over some nice cranberry dinner rolls that she baked up for the meal. Everyone should have brought another person because we were overrun with food (so what's new?) and we had enough for a dozen people.

Overall it was a lovely Thanksgiving with some very wonderful people. It was an honor and a pleasure to host it this year.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wow... I have really had nothing to post have I? Things here have been pretty routine. My health has been holding up and I have my full strength and energy back. I really hope it stays this way for a while.

Tomorrow's Thanksgiving and I am hosting a small dinner here at our house. My parents-in-law (Mary and Jerry) are coming as well as Mary's cousin and a friend of ours, Neil. Our plan is to make as much of the meal in the pizza oven as possible. The turkey (naturally) will be cooked in there as well as the cranberry sauce, the yams, the dressing, and the Brussels sprouts. I am doing the pies (yes... call me crazy... 2 pies for 6 people) in the regular oven since that kind of baking can be tricky. We did a test run of the turkey and a couple of the sides a couple of weeks ago and it all came out much better than we dared to dream. Today I have spent most of the day prepping so that tomorrow I can sit around a drink wine while the turkey cooks. Then the last 30 minutes will be a mad dash to finish the side dishes and make the gravy.

My garden is doing great. Almost all of the garlic has come up. I have some lettuce out there, some peas, cabbage, some greens, and cilantro. Also Brussels sprouts... we'll see if I get any this year.

Now I have to get back to the kitchen... a pecan pie is waiting to be made.

Happy Thanksgiving!

MRI Result Today

Last week I had an MRI of my abdomen. This has a limited view of the lungs (just the very bottom of the lungs) and also does not read the intestines very well. For a good image everything has to hold very still and intestines are actually always moving. But, for what it could see, everything is all clear at this time.

The oncologist up at Stanford will run a CT scan in January.

Of course I am thankful for the clear scan and for the times that I'm feeling great, like now. But I want to pass along to you that I've been told (by a couple of oncologists) that the chances for a cure for me right now is 10-12%. Which means that there's a 88-90% chance of it coming back somewhere. Of course, I'd like to beat those odds but it's just something that I have to face. I will cherish the times that I feel great and feel like my old self. That's all I have to say about that at this time.This may not sound positive to you, but I am actually being positive. There's no need to view all of this in a negative light. It's not helpful.

The Fall Garden Continues

The Fall/Winter garden is coming along nicely. Here in the SF Bay Area we can grow something year-round. We might get a frost day or two but no real freezes. I took these photos just a couple of days ago.

This shot is my usual overview of the garden from the front.

This bed contains a couple of large parsley plants. I just put in some kale, collard greens, mustard greens, celery, and cilantro. That tomato plant is an "Autumn" tomato plant. We'll see...



Hopefully this U-shaped bed will contain a nice variety of garlic later today. Lettuce and garlic get along well so I have some young lettuce plants already in the bed.



This bed holds some very nice lettuce, some peas, cilantro, cabbage, more peas, and some carrots. Very busy bed! The one behind it contains more cabbage and a tomato plant that's still producing, though probably not for much longer.



This shot is from the back of the garden. As you can see, the tomato plants are still going. That bed to the right there will be planted with asparagus this Spring.



These are my baby Brussels sprouts. Some gardening guy here said that you have to start then in September, so I did. It's my 3rd year trying Brussels sprouts and I have yet to have any success with them.



My herb bed is one of my most cherished beds. It is so nice to have such a collection of fresh herbs to pick from. This bed has basil, rosemary, parsley, thyme, oregano, sage, and tarragon. Pretty soon I should harvest some of this and dry it for the winter. I'll also cut back the thyme and rosemary. They will persist through the winter and I'll cut them back to reduce the woody stems inside and allow for some fresh growth next year. Everything in this bed is perennial (except for the basil) and will return next year. The only thing I'm missing here that I'd like to have is chives. I put some in this year but they were an aphid magnet. Next year I'll put some in a separate pot.