OHMYGOSH...! Am I Back?

It's been forever since I've been able to blog, but now that I have changed my OS, it looks like it's going to work. If it takes, I will start blogging again. .... Well, apparently it sort of works. It lets me see my post briefly in a flash before the page goes to a 'neoworx blog tools page' . I don't know how to avoid that.... So I guess I am not back after all.

FALAFEL

I was intrigued by Keith Petrus' photos and mention of falafel on his Facebook blog, so yesterday I went shopping for dried garbanzo beans and put them on to soak overnight. Strangely, they started clicking and pinging about 5 hours in. That was pretty amusing.

So today, I drained them, and started combining ingredients. I have no idea how I lost my food processor, but I couldn't find it anywhere. But then maybe it has something to do with moving from a four bedroom house to a tiny, tiny one. I even searched through still packed boxes of kitchen stuff, but couldn't find it anywhere. So I was forced to use the blender to try to process the garbanzos, onion and garlic. That was pretty awkward and messy, but eventually I got it done, more or less. Then I added fresh parsley, baking powder, cumin seeds, coriander, salt and pepper, and put little smushed together globs of it on parchment paper covered cookie sheets and baked them at 375* for 40 minutes.

The problem was that I frankensteined several different falafel recipes together AND tripled or quadrupled the recipe(s)...and I tend to 'eyeball' amounts rather than actually measure. I think I got WAY too much cumin in it. Actually, it probably would have been better with fresh cilantro. But overall, I liked it and I will make it again, with a change or two.

IT'S BEEN A WHILE...

I've been busy with other things, and my computer has been having issues for awhile. I am hoping this will publish today, although I don't see some of the options that are supposed to be on this new blogger site. ...So I switched to the old format, and for now it's working... I hope.

Among other things, I've been keeping Lyric 3-4 days a week. We try to go to the library as often as possible, and she loves doing that. She finished the summer reading program and was thrilled to get each prize. In addition to Toddler Story Time on Fridays, lots of educational toys, and computers with children's activities on them, they have a craft table set up with something new each day. That is her absolute favorite thing - making things at the library. We always get our limit of books and the one she is reading to her doll this morning is one of our favorites - Rosie's Walk written and illustrated by Pat Hutchins. A stealthy fox is stalking Rosie the hen, but she is never aware of it. She leads him into one surprising mishap after another before returning safely home. The story is simple, but very engaging, and the illustrations are WONDERFUL. We have read this one many times, and I am not looking forward to having to return it. We'll probably either have to buy our own copy from Amazon or else recheck it from the library often.

MORE GARDENING...

This morning, Chuck and I took a brief 'garden tour' on our way to and from the Post Office. I was surprised at how many yards had gardens this year. Being a rural type of town, many people do garden, but this year there were very, very many 'first time' gardeners it seems. I guess it is a combination of the economy and the desire for safe, healthy foods. We saw two of the gardeners out in their yards, so stopped and worked out deals to trade fresh eggs for veggies. One man sent us home with onions (white and purple), cucumbers and zucchini right away. The other said he will have yellow squash ready again in a few days.
Back at home for a little show and tell... This area right by the steps needs some decluttering, but I do like the bright colors. You can't see it very well from the 'behind' view, but I recently planted the mosquito plant and the red kolanchoe in two of the pots. The butterfly weed is starting to bloom, too, and might do better in the ground than in the pot it is in. I still need to plant the purple basil and the rest of the pink vincas. I'm not quite sure where, yet. I did finally get the two schefflera plants put in larger pots. Those will go to church eventally. I bought them small, last fall, and they have been growing in their original pots in the house all winter. I put them outside, behind those chairs last evening because the pots were too messy to bring in, then, and I didn't want the sun, beaming from the west, to fry them. That corner of the front flower bed that you can barely see in the photo is in bad need of a re-do. Ugh! I hate dealing with bermuda grass. For some reason the angel trumpets thrive on the other end of that long bed, but avoid this end - even when I have cleand and cleared it, and planted seeds! I guess I will try once more...
It took me several days to decide where to put the two bigger plants I bought recently - an old-fashioned honeysuckle vine and a Brown Turkey fig tree - but I got this fig tree in the ground yesterday, after managing to budge the dog kennel, AKA old chicken pen, a few inches west. I will get it moved away to a better area soon, but it was all I could manage yesterday. That thing is heavier than it looks. I have been pulling those woody weeds little by little for a few days. I need to get the rest pulled and hopefully will this week. I put a few things around the fig to discourage the dogs from digging it up. I should have done that with the honeysuckle too, but thought that the space was too small to interest the dogs.
I planted this small circle flower bed yesterday. The cement borders were to protect the honeysuckle from mowing, but since there was extra room for now, and I had available flowers, I thought I'd plant some of them in the front of the circle. But one of the dogs dug it all up overnight. So I replanted this morning, and then enclosed it in the wire you see laying beside it in the photo. When I first planted them, they were orderly: purple-gold-purple-gold... But now they are just in a disorderly pattern. Sometimes you just have to go with what is quickest and easiest, then move on.
When I finished up encircling the new plants, I saw that Fifi was barking at something on the ground, under the silver maple tree. So I went over to see what it was and it was a fledgling sparrow. Although it had a 'bald' head, it seemed okay.
So I put him under the thick mossy verbena in the bird garden. Hopefully, he'll make his way from there.

DEMON DOGS GO CRUISING

...and Fifi wasn't invited. Click on the photo to get a better look.

SNOWPEAS AND MORE ABOUT THE TUNA PIZZA

Annie and I planted this raised bed with snow peas Sunday afternoon. Stewart had bought these nifty livestock feeders to use as raised bed planters - two of them here, and two at his and Annie's house. He had started snowpeas, melons and three kinds of peppers inside, and the snowpeas were ready to go. As soon as the heavy work bench is moved, the second planter will go in line with this one - with a break for the fire ring - and the cattle panels can be hung up to make trellises for the peas and maybe some pole beans to grow on. This is along the south side of the carport and will provide added shade for the area.

Here are some of the ingredients that Stewart used for the tuna pizza he made last Friday. He spread one large(8 oz.?) block of cream cheese (softened) on the crust, almost to the edges, then topped that with 3 bags of tuna, flaked. Later, I think he said the tuna had garlic and something added to it. I didn't know they had packaged tuna with things already added, so I am not sure about that. I really didn't taste garlic or any herbs/spices in the pizza. So maybe he just meant that they could be added. Anyway, that was topped with thinly sliced purple onion, Roma tomatoes, and then with mozzarella cheese and baked at 425* for about 15 minutes. It was so good that I have been craving it ever since.

TUNA PIZZA?

Even Marlene and Barbara enjoyed the Tuna Pizza Stewart made. Stewart and Annie brought over ingredients to make a tuna pizza Friday night. I had never heard of a Tuna Pizza, but it was absolutely scrumptious!