Bits of Brooklyn

Nine Month Update

Neil had his 9 month appointment yesterday and he is just as happy and healthy as can be at 17 lbs 12oz and 26.5". His pediatrician remarked on how close he his to walking (even though he won't crawl a lick!)...and mama thinks she can wait a few more months for that milestone, thank you very much!

Neil has learned to clap his hand recently and is pulling up to standing and even cruising around on the furniture. In the evenings we have been sitting out on the front porch and chatting with passers by. N just loves dogs, so the neighbors' new puppy Boomer is a real hit. Every time he gets close Neil giggles and squeals in utter delight. It really is nice to be able to come home and plop outside on a blanket in the backyard rather than sit in the living room. Other Neil stuff: a touch of shyness around strangers, still waking up at night, eating solids about twice a day (pickles, olives, yogurt, hummus and bread are recent favorites), saying a lot of DA DA, passing off objects and taking them with him when he stands, bouncing (always), rolling around, rapidly outgrowing clothes...

I've been in the garden finally...it seems like this winter has been very long. The snap peas are sown, as are the first succession of lettuce, spinach and radishes. I'm am totally over paying for lettuce, so I'm hoping it does well this year. I also planted a lot of Swiss chard and some nasturtiums and a Clematis vine that I'm hoping will climb up the big telephone pole/clothes line post in the back. My potatoes and onions will arrive in the mail soon!

Today we're heading down to NJ to spend some time with the family before enjoying a much needed date to see a show at Brooklyn Bowl. I'm hoping Neil doesn't put up much of a fuss while we're getting our ya yas out. I'm ready for a little adultishness!!

Transitions

Things have really picked up around here lately. Colin has seen some changes in his work, and April is crazy for environmentalists in general. The weather has been less than awesome save for a few days of warmth. We saw a heavy snow a few weeks back and even yesterday we were faced with freezing rain. It dripped and half solidified on the magnolia branches and I was forced to remember the devastating late frost of last year...the one that killed our magnolia blossoms and most of New York's apple harvest with one swift cold bite. It's been a long winter here and I am welcoming any and all change, slow and sure as it is. The gardens are still mostly water logged, but I do have lettuce and spinach planted, and the catnip and chives are showing up to the game. Colin's grandpa gave me some plants that I hastily threw in the ground late last fall, and they are coming back up as well. The ground is warming, the frogs are peeping, and I can see the light. This morning I took an hour long riding lesson from one of Neil's caregivers. It included grooming and tacking up and a total reacquaintance with the saddle. On top of a very expensive and fancy Dutch warmblood named Ace. We walked and trotted and snuggled and lounged, but mostly we worked on transitions. Planting heels, closing hands, staying grounded and remaining focused to facilitate and absorb change.

It was the perfect metaphor to meet this April's needs.

It's been a while!

We just got back from an afternoon of maple sugaring and small farm fun. And yes I'm sipping syrup out of a mason jar while typing this! March is mud and snow, but it's also tree tapping, sap boiling, sweet, sticky goodness here in upstate NY. Maple Weekend is in full effect up here and the sap is flowing steadily. I really want to get back into maple sugaring after being on hiatus since I've moved to Saratoga. The park has some enormous maples in its southern property that seem like they'd be perfect for tapping. In the meantime, I decided to visit a couple of sugar shacks and check out their operations. Yesterday Neil and I went to Up Yonda Farm in Bolton Landing. Their operation is so cool, because its on this giant steep hill, and the sap just runs down via gravity. Today we visited Sugar Oak farms, run by a man and his 13 year old son. They tap trees
As far away as Hebron and bring the sap back to their suburban homestead in Malta via pick up truck...the Sap Wagon. His set up was so small and cool...the lesson that I took away from the visit was that there are really no good excuses for not doing what it is you wish to do. If you don't have trees to tap, borrow your neighbors' maples. Trade them for your famous syrup. Travel far and wide. Don't give up hope if you don't own your hardwoods. You can run a successful sugarbush right next to a major highway in a development! Happy Maple Weekend! On to St. Pat's!

Potato Plans

The ground is all ice and mud and chicken crap around here.  Last night we got some snow turned rain, and it froze in the early morning hours, making every damn surface slick as shit.  Still, my mind has already made the turn home towards spring.  The days are lengthening as we chase the weekends like dogs do their tails. The goldfinches and cardinals are getting chatty, and the squirrels are stuffing their cheeks with leaves instead of nuts.  My windows are filled with a warm glow in the evening rather than a stark bright white and blue landscape.  Such is February, brutal yet filled with promise.  I'm not yet impatient to work the ground, but excited to start dreaming up garden plans again. It is a quiet time to write down priorities, think up new endeavors, ruminate on last year's failures and decide on the young year's garden projects. New this year: Homegrown potatoes.

In the past I have grown potatoes in a sandy community garden (epic fail) and a garden within a state park (one huge success, one huge bonk).  This year I am looking to grow them within the boundaries of our backyard.  Since I have Neil, it would prove pretty difficult to try to grow anything anywhere other than home.  So I came across the idea of a potato tower on Pinterest, and it excited me that I could try to grow the tasty tubers without compromising prime real estate in my back garden. Check it out:

 

The whole process can be found here...I already have all the supplies necessary lying around in the garage barn.  You take some galvanized wire and secure it in a two-three foot wide circle.  Then you line the inside of the wire with straw (I buy my straw bales at Thorofeed near the track for $4), add a foot of compost and your first layer of potatoes.  Layer it up like a dip and plant whatever you'd like on top.  Perhaps some flowers, nasturtiums? would look nice up there. Or maybe some basil?  The potato leaves will grow through the straw outside the container, kind of like those strawberry planters you see around Father's Day.  The potatoes are ready when their leaves yellow and die in early fall. Then you are free to tip over the whole deal and harvest them. 

 

Sounds like a decent idea to me, and well...if you're going to make a potato tower, why not double the pleasure?  I went a little crazy and decided to order two different kinds of potatoes from the Maine Potato Lady.  We use potatoes a variety of ways at our house...baked, mashed and roasted being the most common.  This year I chose to grow Kennebec (baked/mashed) and Red Maria (roasted, potato salad, etc).

 

  Red Maria is described in the Maine Potato Lady's catalog: Finally, we have a beautiful name for "NY 129", a late-season red potato developed by the cornell breeding program.  I've grown this variety in my trials several times and was always impressed with the yield and uniformity of these large, round tubers.  Bright red skin is lightly textured and holds color well in storage.  Here is a picture from Cornell:

 

 

 

Kennebec: Released by the USDA in 1948, Kennebec is still one of the top ten varieties grown in Maine.  And no wonder!  It's very dependable under most growing condidtions, with high yields of large, white-fleshed tubers.  You can cook Kennebec any way, boil, mash or bake-and enjoy a superb meal every time.  Excellent storage.  Loads of white flowers cover this large plant.

 

courtesy of the Maine Potato Lady

 

So there you have it.  I had the opportunity to choose from early, mid and late season potatoes, so I chose the latter two in case we have a shit spring.  The Kennebec potatoes will mature in 70-90 days, and the Red Marias will take a few weeks longer. I plan on getting them into their towers in early May, as I don't really have to depend on the earth and sun to warm up this soil. Things I still need to consider include how to keep Doug from using them as a marking post...bird netting?, where to put them, and how to secure them from gusty thunderstorms (I'm thinking a tpost here).

 

Oh yeah, and what to do with my cherry on top: 100 sets of Stuttgarter onions.

 

Kid in a candy store I tell ya.

 

 



Not that I ever sleep ever...

Tastes Like Burning

Last night Colin and I planned a cute night in. Seeing as we were in Florida this time last year, we decided to make some Islamorada sandwiches and Key Lime pie. I suppose we were having a little too much fun with our whiskey and wine, because the next thing you know, our oven was on fire, complete with flames coming out of the door. It's safe to say we burnt our buns...I threw the flaming pan outside and covered it with a wet towel (see below).

Well, apparently this looked pretty appetizing to dear old Doug dog. I wasn't aware that he ate the charcoal brick in its entirety until I woke up at 5am...not to baby squalls, but to that panic inducing bleh...bleh...bleh bleh bleh bleh BLAAAAAAAA...

The fact that his puke was black was a dead giveaway.

I love dogs.

Carrot Ginger Soup for Sickies

This past month has seen its fair share of sniffles, coughs and underweatherness in our home.  I'm going to blame the germ fest that is every daycare (I'm assuming) in January, February, March  winter.  Every kid's got some kind of level of sneezles lately.  And then they pass it on to mama and daddy dearest.  I was fortunate to escape most of the maladies so far, but Colin was not as lucky.  One of my go-to sniff-buster recipes is carrot ginger soup from the original Moosewood cookbook.  I add a bunch of cayenne to make our noses run and heat up our bodies, but this is totally optional.   Tastes amazing either way.





Carrot Ginger Soup

2lbs of carrots (they come in 2lb bags!) scrubbed and chopped into 2" pieces
4c of stock (I make my own, and I will tell you how: dump a bunch of shit in a pot and let it go all night)
1 potato peeled and cut into 2" pieces
1 onion chopped
2 cloves garlic minced
1 inch of fresh ginger peeled and grated and/or (I do and) 1 T ground ginger
3/4 c sour cream
as much cayenne as you want and can handle, or none at all!

Put the carrots, potato and stock into a sauce pan.  Bring to a boil and let simmer for about 15-20 minutes, until the vegetables are soft.  Turn off and let it cool.

Sautee the onion, garlic and ginger in a little butter until onions are translucent.  Turn off and let cool.

When everything is room temperature, put it into a blender and puree.  Add the puree back to the sauce pot.  Over low heat add sour cream, ground ginger and cayenne and stir until warmed through.  (You can make the first part ahead and add the sour cream when you are ready to eat if you are so inclined).  Top with a dollop of sour cream and a little fresh parsley and serve with warm bread.

Pair this meal with a cuddle under a soft blanket and you have yourself one comforting evening!

Head tilts

Oh you wanted a recipe?

Salt Dough Ornaments

2c flour
1c warm water
1c salt

Take off your rings and mix this together. Add a little more flour until it doesn't stick to your hands. Roll it out, maybe 1/4" thick. Cut with a cookie cutter. If you are making handprints, squish those baby fingers in there and make a perfect circle with a pint glass.

Bake at 200F for three hours. Flip halfway through.

Paint with acrylic paint. Did I mention that your baby won't die if he ingests acrylic paint? Poison Control told me so back in November.

Twenty Six Valentines

Neil and I...well let's face it....Neil...was invited to a Valentine's Day party this coming Wednesday. Everyone in the group needs a baby cuddle and Neil is their fix. I tried to make sure no one would make Valentines for an infant, but I couldn't guarantee it and didn't want to seem like a schmuck. I didn't want to be the only one coming to the cabin empty handed. So, this afternoon I sat down and made 26 personalized salt dough heart ornaments. And you know what? The kids will probably be pissed that they can't eat them! Whatever. One of my friends stopped over in the middle of all this and I glowered while uttering "Welcome to mother fucking craft day..." She pretty much backed away slowly and ran for the hills. What can I say? I never was one for making Valentines. Just ask my mother.

A short sweet Valentines visit!

Grandma and Grandpa visited baby Neil and we all were just thrilled. We played and played and had dinner at Druthers downtown. The beers and appetizers were a real improvement on this summer's trials. Both the beer/cheese dip and the sauce that went with the fried mozzarella were lovely. We all enjoyed each others company the following morning, lazing around, visiting lamp stores, thrift shops and cuddling. Grandma and Grandpa drove home in the snow this afternoon...hoping to beat the storm named Nemo. I'll let you know how we fared and will share the visit's recipes in the am! For now, a few sweet photos.

Cubby Wisdom

The Bump

Today I got an email from The Bump entitled "13 ways to tell you're ready for another baby"...

Are you ready for another baby? Click here to find out!

Good god Bump. Seven months out and you've already got the Female Parts For Rent sign back up. Sigh.

Apple Experience

...I assure you it's probably not the norm. Neil doesn't get a whole lot of sleep at his little apple bottom peace palace, but just listen. They have a garden and a compost pile. They have a resident bun named Alfie and will be raising chickens in the spring. They visit the state park and the forest on a regular basis. I visit Neil twice a day and when I sniff his baby hair it is all granola and cinnamon and sautéed onions. He smells delicious. Not of bleach. Of love and outdoors and good food. I leave him and he's smiling. Today they made him a gnome hat. We are lucky.