Wisdom for the New Year

A piece of advice is listed below from a patient of mine; she is a beautiful woman who speaks 5 languages fluently, survived the concentration camps, worked as an architect, musician, and mother. She is wise and lovely and I always learn something from my visits with her. This is a little excerpt from a recent visit I had with her.

• Her: Do you know what the two saddest words in any language are?
• Me: Nope...what?
• Her: "word 1 - word 2" (first in Romanian, then in German, then in French, then in Hebrew)
• Her: (finally in English) Too late.
• Me: Hmmm. That is both beautiful and sad. Thank you for sharing with me.

So, the moral seems to be, don't let your life pass you by.

Don't let something be "too late."

Live fully. Live beautifully. Live.

Happy New Year.

Split Pea Soup

I can't believe I am publishing a post on split pea soup. For years I have lumped this soup into the same category as brussel sprouts, stewed cabbage, liver & onions, anything with cauliflower - basically all my undesirable foods. But, lo-and-behold... I found a split pea soup recipe, did a slight bit of tinkering and voila - this might be one of my new all-time favorite soups!

It's hearty. It's tasty. It's vegan. It's easy to make. And in a time when we are all strapped for cash, it's pretty darn inexpensive!

Happy soup eating! Mmmmmm.

Split pea soup:

Ingredients

• 3 cups dry split peas
• 8 cups of water
• 3 bay leaves
• 2 tsp salt
• 3 cups yellow onion - chopped
  
• 6 cloves of garlic - finely chopped
  
• 3 stalks of celery - chopped
• 2 carrots - peeled and chopped
• 1 large (or 2 small) baking potatoes - thinly sliced
• fresh ground pepper

Directions:

1. Put split peas, water, bay leaves and salt into a large kettle - bring to a boil - reduce heat and simmer for 20 min (partially covered)
2. Add the onion, garlic, celery, carrots and potato to the mix - let everything simmer for 40 more minutes
3. Add pepper to taste (and additional salt if needed) - serve and eat!

This recipe was adapted from The New Moosewood Cookbook by Mollie Katzen.

Another one bites the dust!

Setting the scene: Came home from work Friday afternoon, opened the door to find.... another dead houseplant!
(Duh-duh-duh-duuuuuuuh - think creepy sound effects)






Thought process:

• Damn-it I killed another one!
• When did I last water it?
• Have I fertilized recently?
  
• Maybe the dirt is bad?
• Is there such a thing as bad dirt?
• It looked so healthy....
  
• Why do these plants keep dying on me?
• I think I watered everything Sunday...
• Why is my mom so good with plants and I am sooo bad - this is obviously not a genetic issue.
  
• Damn-it I can't blame this on my parents,
  
• How am I ever going to take over the Martha Stewart empire if I keep killing houseplants?
• Should I get rid of it before Will gets home?
• What should I get to replace it?
  

Resolution:

• Hmmmm.... maybe I should stick to cooking... I haven't killed anyone or anything with that yet!

I love squash!

So, you probably guessed from the title that this post is going to be about squash! I love the stuff - acorn, spaghetti, butternut... I love stuffing it, baking it, topping it... and of course, eating it! My husband may not be enjoying my new love affair as much as I am, but he is tolerating it so far and we have not had to order in take-out due to any squash disasters. (Thanks Will!)

Anyways, I wanted to spread the love and share one of my favorite recipes with you all. I borrowed it from the New Moosewood Cookbook, and then made a few adaptations of my own. The ingredient list is long and the recipe may seem daunting, but it is really easy (I swear). While the squash are first baking you can prep the stuffing, the as soon as they are finished flip them over, stuff them and leave them to bake another 30 minutes. For dishes you're basically looking at a baking tray, pan, and large bowl, plus some chopping stuff - not too bad!

Acorn stuffed squash

Ingredients:

• 2 medium-sized acorn squash
• 2 Tbs olive oil
• 2 cups chopped yellow onion
• 1/2 lb. minced white mushrooms
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 celery stalks, chopped
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp sage
• 1/2 tsp thyme
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 2 Tbs lemon juice
• 2 tsp grated lemon zest
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
• 1/4 cup raw sunflower seeds
• 1/8 cup raisins
• 1/8 cup dried cranberries
• 2 cups of bread crumbs or chopped, toasted bread pieces
• 6 chopped dried apricots
• 1 cup grated cheddar cheese (optional)

Directions:

1. Pre-bake the squash - cut in half, scoop out the insides, place face down on an oiled tray, bake at 350 deg for approx 30 min - check to make sure they are soft when finished
2. While the squash are cooking - heat the olive oil in a large pan - Add onion and garlic - saute until the onion is soft and slightly browned
3. Add the mushrooms, celery, and seasonings - saute for 10 to 15 min until everything is tender.
   
4. In another bowl mix the lemon juice, walnuts, sunflower seeds, raisins, cranberries, bread crumbs (or little bread pieces), apricots and cheese.
   
5. Add the onion/mushroom mix to the bowl - blend everything together well.
   
6. Once the squash are baked - turn them so that the opening is facing up - fill to overflowing with the stuffing mix
7. Bake the stuffed squash at 350 deg for 30 minutes - if they start to burn on top cover with a piece of foil

That's it! Now eat and enjoy!!

Oh yeah, if you leave out the cheese this is totally vegan - if you add the cheese it is still vegetarian - and if you use rice bread for the bread part it is gluten free. :)

P.S. sorry for the looooooong time between posts - I'm back now though!

C.A.L.W.....continued

The CALW continues (that would be Carrot And Lettuce Watch for those who weren't plugged in last week)!

Right now the count (if we were keeping count) would be 1 to 1. Meaning one pot is doing something (like growing delicious little veggies I will later consume with great gusto)... and one pot is doing nothing (like NOT growing anything at all to speak of).

I have attached pictures of both so that you may compare and contrast the party that is occurring in pot#1 to the party that is NOT occurring in pot #2. For those who are concerned about my level of commitment, I have most definitely not given up on pot #2, I'm just not as enamored with it right now, because frankly it's not doing anything to be enamored with!

Happy planting! Happy growing! I just got the new Sunset magazine and there's a great article about cool weather crops, so this may just continue year round! I know you're excited!!

C.A.L.W.

What is C.A.L.W. you might be asking? Well, it is the new abbreviation for Carrot And Lettuce Watch, catchy eh?

So how are the new batches of carrots and lettuce doing?!?!

Well, I currently have two beautiful pots full of very beautiful and healthy looking dirt!! I know it's exciting isn't it?!?!

C.A.L.W. will continue next week (or earlier if something really exciting happens, like little green shoots popping up through the dirt!)

Happy gardening!

These might replace M&Ms for me...

So this week I want to throw out a super simple, super tasty recipe for a snack that really might replace M&Ms for me! (Okay, probably not, but they are delicious.)

Candied Nuts

• 1 1/2 cups of chopped walnuts or pecans (or any other raw nut of your choice)
• 2 Tbs of pure maple syrup
• sea salt to taste (optional)

1. Use a small bowl to mix the nuts, syrup, and salt
   
2. Heat the oven to 300 deg F.
3. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes - rotate every 10 min. or so to ensure even baking (I like to use parchment paper on the pan to prevent the nuts from sticking and it makes for really easy clean up)
4. After baking let the nuts cool - then enjoy!

I have tried these as a snack, on salads, with yogurt, on cereal... I also expect they would be tasty on ice cream and frozen yogurt.

I usually store these in a tupperware container in the refrigerator - they are quite tasty and refreshing when they are cold.

Happy eating!

Monet

I know, another impressionist artist - I just love that phase of art, so here are a few highlights from one of my favorites.

• Claude Monet, born in 1840, died in 1926.
• Applied to art school multiple times in his early life, but was denied. Eventually served in the military and was honorably discharged.
• Started seriously painting in 1862 (at the age of 22) - almost no paintings exist from this period in his life.
• Participated in his first independent artist's exhibit in 1874 - continued to participate in exhibits for the rest of his life
• Throughout his career Monet worked with only 6 colors on his palette - lead white, cadmium yellow, vermilion, deep red, cobalt blue, and emerald green
• In 1883 (at the age of 43) Monet started painting on multiple canvasses at one time. He would pick a site, set up multiple canvasses and work on each one in succession as the light changed. He could have up to 12 canvasses going at one time in one site.
• In 1887, at the age of 47, Monet achieved his first year of financial stability as an artist.

• 1888 was Monet's first year of painting wheat stacks
• 1892 was the first year Monet painted the Rouen cathedral
• The water pond was first drafted by Monet in 1893 - it was eventually built on his property at Giverny. Over the years the pond evolved and grew to involve an island, 4 bridges and multiple installments of plants

• Monet first started painting the water lilies there in 1903. He continued to paint water lilies until his death in 1926.
  
• Throughout the years Monet was seized by bouts of melancholy - it is estimated that he may have destroyed as many canvasses as are still in existence today during those low times.
• In 1908 Monet started going blind - but he continued to paint until 1926, when he died.
• Look at the cathedral paintings - can you tell which was painted at what time of day? Can you feel the differences in the colors?
  
• The same with the japanese bridge in his garden - can you feel what time of day Monet might have been painting based on the colors?
  

Is it time for a comeback???

It has been a little while since my last garden update... so here it is. The lettuce has done great - it is all eaten and Lettuce Watch - part deux is beginning. A new crop was planted today!!

The tomatoes seem to be recovering - I trimmed all the really diseased looking branches. Hunted down and destroyed all worms, bugs and moths that were free-loading on my lovely plants. Took some advice (thanks Dad) and sprayed the leaves with a mix of water and dish soap - apparently it makes the plants slippery and bugs can't hang on. It seems to be working! Check out the photo of the current tomato plants.



Finally, the mint, chives and basil are all doing fine - the basil took a hit along with the tomatoes, but it seems to be turning the corner and making a comeback! The marigolds I put in near the tomatoes are also flourishing so I have thrown in a picture of them too. Enjoy! And thanks for those who sent gardening advice.

Oh! I almost forgot, in addition to a new crop of lettuce I also planted late summer carrots today too - so it is now Lettuce and Carrot Watch!!

Is it Art?

I think this is a fascinating interactive website that could be art... or it could be an interesting way to quantify feelings... or it could just be pretty... or it could be a complete waste of time (but I don't think so) or... you be the judge and check it out for yourself!!!

www.wefeelfine.org

So these 2 guys (Jonathan Harris and Sep Kamvar) decided to "harvest" human feelings from blogs all over the world. They took the feelings and gave them colors and shapes depending on whether the feelings were happy or sad and how strong they were. The shapes bounce all over the screen (Madness) and you can click on them to see what they mean - the blog that matches that feeling (sometimes it has a picture linked to it) will post at the top of the screen. These guys have created a database of millions of feelings - and made the database pretty! What a cool way to share information!!

In addition to displaying feelings in Madness (random bouncing shapes with colors), they have also created visual displays of their database that include montages of pictures, quivering mounds of feelings and metrics (numbers) linked with colors. All of this is interactive.

I know this is not what you think of as typical artwork, but it's a pretty interesting and a fresh way to show a database of information. I find myself mesmerized by the Madness display and the crazy spinning scene of colors.

Couldn't the mass of human feelings consolidated into one interactive display be considered artwork?
Enjoy the Madness!!

Delicious dinner (great leftovers!)

This is one of my favorite easy meals during the week to make for dinner. I actually like it even better as leftovers and love taking this for lunch. It basically requires a pot, a 9x13 baking pan, and a big mixing bowl - the clean up is easy! The recipe has been adapted from the Moosewood Cookbook by Mollie Katzen.



Spinach Rice Casserole

Ingredients:

• 2 cups uncooked brown rice
• 2 Tbs olive oil
• 3 cups minced yellow onion
• 2-3 pounds of fresh spinach leaves - torn into pieces
• 1 tsp salt
• 5-6 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 - 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (depends on how much you like spice)
• 1/4 - 1/2 tsp black pepper (also depends on how much you like spice)
• 2 tsp prepared mustard (yellow is spicier, dijon makes it sweeter - have fun experimenting)
• 1/2 cup sunflower seeds, shelled - divide into two 1/4 cups
• 2 eggs, beaten (optional)
• 1 cup milk (optional)
• 1/2 cup grated cheese (optional)
• sprinkling of paprika

Directions:

1. Cook the rice - if you already have cooked rice in the frig I recommend heating it up before mixing it in later, the casserole cooks better when the rice is warm to start
2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees - grease a 9x13 baking pan (I use cooking spray)
   
3. In a sauce pot heat the oil - add onion and saute until soft approx 5-7 min, add garlic and saute another 2-3 min - stir frequently
4. Add salt, stir into the onions and garlic (approx 1 min)
   
5. Add the torn spinach leaves a couple handfuls at a time - cover the pot to cook down - stir frequently and continue to add until all the spinach has been cooked in
6. In a large mixing bowl start with the optional items - eggs, milk, cheese - I like using 2 egg whites and soy milk - the consistency of the casserole is a little richer, but it is still tasty if you choose to not use the eggs, milk, and/or cheese. For the cheese I have used soy cheese which cooks well, and goat cheese which adds an interesting flavor to the casserole.
7. After mixing (or not) the eggs, milk, and cheese add the rice, spinach mix, nutmeg, peppers, mustard and 1/4 cup sunflower seeds to the bowl - mix well.
8. Pour the mixture into a 9x13 baking pan - sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup of sunflower seeds over the surface of the casserole, along with paprika.
9. Bake for 35-40 min until lightly browned on top.

Other options -

• Mushrooms - I have also added mushrooms to this casserole in the spinach mix; I added them after the garlic and with the salt - cooking for approx 5 min to let them brown.
• Green Onions - I have chopped and added these into the mixing bowl - not cooking them ahead of time - they add a nice flavor and slight crunch to the final casserole.

Happy Cooking!!

Cool stuff to do with fruit (really cool)

Since this is my blog I have decided I am going to talk about the totally awesome fruit bouquet I got from the people I used to work with. It is AWESOME.

I knew these things existed, but what a totally cool thing to do with fruit and what a great gift too! It's beautiful. It tastes good. You get more than your 4 servings of recommended fruit - strawberries (some dipped in white chocolate), pineapple, cantaloupe, honeydew, grapes!

The fruit bouquet was so big it didn't fit in the refrigerator - I had to take it apart. I totally recommend this as a crazy gift idea for people you know who like healthy food. The site is www.ediblearrangements.com.

Thank you cath lab (Lori, Beth, Deb, Rich, Renee, Ruth, G, Damiso, Tom, Zach).

Lettuce watch the fifth week

So... I got a little behind on posting - here's a great picture from last week of the tomato and lettuce harvest I turned into dinner. Yum!

By the way, thanks for the advice on how to rid my garden of pesky pests. I have not showered the neighbors recently (they are appreciative) and seem to be getting a handle on the bugs. A few people suggested using dish soap and water and spraying it on the plant and leaves. I am trying that and we'll see what happens.

Happy gardening!

EAT AT JOE'S (flash flash in neon)

Something has gone terribly wrong in my garden. The leaves have all fallen off my pepper plant - there is now a lone stalk, about 6 inches tall with a small pepper blooming out of it. No leaves. It makes me think of an anorexic super model, pointy curves along the stem where there used to be leaves, big bobble head at the top.

My tomatoes are doing no better. The leaves on my tomatoes are turning yellow and crinkling at the edges. The ones that aren't yellow and wilting are being eaten by something. Whatever is eating them is very indiscriminate - there's a hole here. Another hole there. A little from this leaf, a little more from that one. What happened? There are also little black specks on my tomato leaves and around the base of the plant - what are these?!? They look like little black microscopic turds. Is something snacking on my tomato leaves, then leaving me little black buggy turds? Grrr.

When I watered the plants tonight I almost wet myself (as in peed my pants, nearly) when a giant brown and gold bug with wings jumped out of my tomatoes. I blasted it with water - forgetting that I am on the top floor and there are people below me across the alley... oops, the neighbors were none too happy with my squealing and water destruction routine. Apparently the bug was not afraid of the high-pressure stream of water, it just kept settling in different places. I kept blasting. It kept moving. My neighbors finally started hollering. I stopped blasting. Brilliant!

In the process of blasting the icky brown bug all over the place I managed to blast my tomatoes here and there... a couple green squiggly worms were unleashed into the dirt below. Yuck. Where did these come from? I live on the fourth floor of an apartment in the middle of LA? Did the worms claw their way up the walls? Is there a sign on my garden that says "Eat at Joe's" and is flashing in some neon color only bugs can see?

I disposed of the worms - at least those I had blasted off. I am on my way back upstairs shortly to do further battle with the bugs. Oh yeah, my basil is also turning yellow and wilting and something is eating at that too - but of course only a little from this leaf and a little from that. I just want a couple nice green basil leaves to pair with a delicious tomato and some fresh mozzarella, drizzled in olive oil, sprinkled with salt and pepper.... I digress.

Time to do battle - shut the neon sign down. Lights out Bugs! I'm coming for you!!

By the way... if anyone has any advice I would love to hear it.

Help support state parks

So this post is a little off topic from what I usually talk about but I think this is really important. There are a lot of public programs that are suffering right now because of the economy - state parks are one such program.

To this end, a number of public programs are having to look for private funding to help make ends meet. Cascadian Farm (a yummy food company) has agreed to donate up $25,000 to NY state parks for trail maintenance and development. That's $25,000!!!

In order to get the $25,000 though people need to participate.

Here's how (it's really easy):

1. Go to this website: www.parkvisitor.com/cascadianfarm
2. Type in something about why you like state parks (it doesn't even have to be about NY)
3. Type in your email address
4. If you want notices and stuff from Cascadian Farm click the little box below - if you do NOT want notices, just leave it blank
5. Submit! That's it!!

For your time Cascadian Farm will give you a $1 coupon and donate $1 to NY state parks for each person that goes to the website and does this.

So... please, please, please help out! Take a minute to write what you like about parks and please pass this message along to others.

Thanks!

First Harvest

So here's the first harvest, Check out these beautiful little tomatoes. They are scrumptious too - little flavor bombs!

It really is possible to have a garden in LA. Updates of the lettuce will soon follow - it is growing beautifully too.

The first blush

I went out this evening to water the tomatoes and there it was... the first blush! Will (my lovely husband) watered the tomatoes this morning since I had been called into work and didn't get a chance to do it - he called to let me know one was turning orange. How exciting!

But when I got home tonight the first little tomato had passed the "orange" stage and moved right into a blushing reddish-gold. Soon it will be time to eat and enjoy!

Lettuce watch - week 3

So there it is! The little green specks have become leaves - delicious ones if I do say so myself. I had to do a little thinning, so I figured I would "taste test" while I was picking through my lettuce crop. MMMmmmm. Who knew something so small and simple could be so tasty?!?! It's awful pretty too - so many shades of green and red and brown. :)

Kandinsky

Vassily Kandinsky is another favorite artist of mine. He was born in 1866 in Moscow and died in 1944. He traveled extensively throughout Europe and Asia, lived in Moscow, Munich, Berlin, and Paris, and was married twice. For many he is known as "the father of abstract painting" - though not because he was the first abstract painter, but instead because of the depth and breadth of his work from 1900 to 1944.

Kandinsky was a prolific painter, producing a great variety of work, which I will discuss next. He was also an influential writer and professor of the arts, detailing his thoughts on color, composition, and culture. Kandinsky believed a true work of art should involve music, color and movement. Over his years as an artist he was active in many organizations that furthered the theory and study of art.

For those who study art history Kandinsky's works can broken down roughly into three separate phases. First, he spent much time studying color and seems to have derived inspiration from the impressionist movement and the use of dots and dashes of color. This phase of his art work lasted from 1900 to approximately 1914, and was also known as his "heroic" years; he spent most of this time period in Munich.

In 1914, when WWI started, Kandinsky left Munich for Switzerland and eventually ended up back in Moscow where he seemed to produce very little art work from 1917 to 1921. In 1922 Kandinsky returned to Germany and landed in Munich at a German art school, called Bauhaus. During these years he entered his next phase of painting and seemed to take a distinct interest in the importance of structure and geometry in painting. His paintings were still rich with color and contrast, but the subjects became far more geometric and abstract.

In 1933 Kandinsky made his final move, coming to Paris where he continued to paint. His paintings entered their third phase during this time becoming more organic. In the world of art history, one would say his paintings became biomorphic (to me this means if I were to look at a slide on a microscope of a bunch of cells the stuff I saw on the slide would be similar to the stuff in Kandinsky's paintings). His paintings during this period were described as pulsating with life and living substance.

I have attached three paintings from throughout his lifetime. Can you tell which painting came from which period in his life?

Here's a hint - the first is called Blue Rider (painted in 1903), the second is called Study of Squares (painted in 1913), and third is called Dominant Curve (painted in 1936).

Lettuce watch - week 2 (part 2)

I know most of you may not be as excited about lettuce as I am... but I had to post another picture. This literally has happened overnight and I really just wanted to share this little miracle of life with you all. It is so amazing what a few seeds, some dirt, water and sun will do!

(Yes, I know we all grew the little bean sprouts in kindergarten, and it was amazing and we all learned about the miracle of life, but it is so damn cool when it's growing on my deck, that I can't help but share it with you all over again... and I'm looking forward to eating it in a few weeks.)

Lettuce watch - week 2

It's coming!!! I promise there are little green buds in there - go lettuce go!

Yummy fresh summer food

Summer risotto - this recipes makes me so excited to walk to the farmer's market and buy fresh produce - sweet corn, tomatoes (my current favorite are Pink Lady heirlooms), and leeks. All of which are in season right now in California. It is also entirely vegan if you don't use the Parmesan cheese at the end. I love risotto because it tastes SO creamy and rich, but there is no cream or butter in it! It's like magic!!

Ingredients:

• 5 cups of stock (bring 6 cups of water to boil, then simmer, put leek tops, really well rinsed, and corn cobs in for flavoring, let simmer while prepping the rest of the ingredients)
• 2 Tbs olive oil
• 2 cups thinly sliced leeks (white and tender green parts)
• 1 cup arborio rice
• 1/4 cup dry white wine (pick a tasty one because after you add the 1/4 cup the recipe you can enjoy the rest with your dinner!)
• 2 cups of kernels scraped from sweet corn (approx 2 ears)
• 1-2 pounds of ripe, juicy tomatoes, seeded & diced (peeling optional)
• 2 tsps minced garlic
• 1/2 tsp fresh thyme leaves
• 1 cup torn basil leaves
• grated Parmesan cheese (optional)
• milled sea salt & pepper to taste

How to make the deliciousness:

1. Make the stock - bring 6 cups water to boil, add leek tops and corn cobs, let simmer while you prep the rest of the risotto
2. In a heavy sauce pan heat the olive oil (med heat). Saute the leeks for 2-3 min (until soft). Stir in the rice, saute for 2-3 min (until translucent). Add the wine - let simmer until absorbed.
3. Add the corn, tomatoes, garlic and thyme - stir.
4. Add the stock 1/2 cup at at a time - stir until absorbed - heat may need to be adjusted to increase absorption - if you increase the heat make sure to keep stirring or the risotto will stick to the pot (that's bad). Adding all the stock takes about 20-30 min.
5. Add basil at the end.
6. Serve in bowls, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese (optional).

Enjoy!!!

This recipe was adopted from The Modern Vegetarian Kitchen by Peter Berley.

Update on the tomatoes!

There are 30 gorgeous, green, globes hanging off the tomato plants already. I am SO excited! Check out the really cute, really tiny one on the far right of the bunch.

Lettuce Watch - The first week!

Check it out! This is the beginning of "Lettuce Watch" 2009. (I know it looks like a pot of dirt right now... but just wait!)

Catalina

This last weekend I visited Catalina, an island located approximately 20 miles off the coast of southern California. It is a rugged island, the majority of which is a natural preserve. There are two small townships located on the island, Avalon and Two Harbors. After a sixty minute ferry ride from Long Beach (not recommended those who get seasick unless you've taken your Dramamine) my husband and I embarked on our Catalina weekend adventure. (He was a little bit steadier on his feet then I was as we got off the boat.)

Since I have dedicated this blog to all things food, art or plant related I am going to focus on the plants on Catalina. Particularly the Botanical garden plants. At the farthest outskirt of Avalon (1.75 miles, the locals were very excited to tell us it was the longest walk in Avalon we could go on) there is a botanical garden and memorial to William Wrigley, Jr.

The Wrigley's used to live on Catalina. The Cubs (yes, the baseball team) used to have their spring training on Catalina. And the garden was created by Ava Wrigley (with the help of horticulturalist, Albert Conrad) to preserve the local plant species and showcase others that would thrive in the island's environment. (For more on the history of the island check out this website: http://www.catalina.com/memorial.html)

The botanical gardens are a combination of endemic plants and a variety succulents and cacti. While the endemics were beautiful, and it was great to see the local species, I was particularly fascinated by the succulents. They're so alien and impressive and diverse. I wanted to share a few pictures we snapped while we were poking around.

The picture directly to the left is called an Elephant's Foot. I thought this one actually kind of looked like an elephant's foot at the base so I snapped a picture of it. There were also older and larger varieties of the same plant that looked less like feet and more like "elephant piles."

The next picture down is a shot of a bunch of cacti that are all one plant (I don't remember what they were called) that was probably 8 x 6 feet wide and averaged 3 ft tall. We thought this would be a great plant to grow below your windows if you were worried about burglars - the needles on the cacti were 1 to 2 inches long, sharp and hard (we tested them).

The bottom picture is of the prickly pears. They were in bloom with beautiful yellow flowers all over them. I didn't get a great picture of the bees, but they were cruising around the flowers and laying on the cacti, drunk on nectar. Apparently they were "on holiday" too.

Catalina was a great little vacation, especially if you're already in southern California and you just want to escape LA for a little while. And I would absolutely recommend a stop by the Botanical Gardens to check out the crazy plant life. Happy planting to all!

All about dip

I love a really tasty dip - this one is super easy (especially with a food processor) and is a nice change from hummus (which is my go-to). It's quite tasty in the summer and has worked well for me as an appetizer, a party dip, or sometimes as dinner served with veggies for dipping and a side salad.

The recipe is adapted from The Modern Vegetarian Kitchen, by Peter Berley. I love this cookbook!

White Bean Dip with Dill, Lemon & Garlic

Ingredients:

• 2 cans of organic great northern beans (drain and rinse)
• 4 Tbs fresh-squeezed lemon juice (do not substitute pre-squeezed from a bottle - go fresh)
• 3 Tbs plus 1 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 Tbs chopped fresh dill
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 tsp lemon zest
• sea salt & pepper (to taste)
• paprika (for garnish)

If you have a food processor the easiest thing to do is throw everything in there, except the 1 tsp of olive oil and paprika. Blend all the ingredients until well mixed. Spoon into a bowl - top with the remaining 1 tsp of olive oil and sprinkle with paprika. Serve chilled.

If you don't have a food processor I would recommend a mixing bowl and a hand blender to get everything mashed together. Elbow grease alone will probably work, but the dip will be a lot lumpier.

I especially like this dip with rice crackers - they seem to complement the flavors of the dip.

Happy eating!!

Vincent

One of my all-time favorite artists is Vincent Van Gogh. Today I wanted to share a little bit about his life and a cool place in LA where you can see one of my favorite paintings of his.

Vincent was born in the Netherlands on March 30th, 1853. His father was a reverend; he had 2 brothers and 3 sisters. In his early years Vincent followed in his father's footsteps, working as a preacher at a parish and doing missionary work. In 1880 he abandoned this path and began drawing. Finding his calling in art he experimented with pen-and-ink, lithography, and oils, especially blazing trails in the use of complementary colors in his paintings.

Throughout his life Vincent was unlucky "in love", first falling in love with a girl who was already engaged. Next his affections landed on a widow who rejected him. He spent time with a prostitute who gave him venereal disease (for which he needed treatment), had an affair with an older woman who tried to commit suicide on him, and cut off his own ear following a quarrel with another painter and presented it to a woman.

In the last years of his life Vincent spent much of his time being hospitalized or in an asylum, though he was still able to paint and some of his most magnificent works (I think) came from these last years of his life. On July 29th, 1890, Vincent died after shooting himself 2 days earlier. His brother was by his side.

Somewhere in the midst of the hospitalizations, the year after he cut off his ear (1888), Vincent painted my favorite piece, Irises. I love the colors, the broad brush strokes, the lone white iris amongst the purple. I also love the fact that he actually signed this painting. Throughout his career Vincent did not often sign his work. He felt it was arrogant to sign his paintings and when he did he would only sign as "vincent" and often it was to add a certain color to an area. For some reason he chose to sign Irises and that makes it even more interesting to me.

Irises is currently on display at the Getty museum, in Los Angeles. Check out the website below for information on hours and visiting - the thing I love about this museum is it's free! When you pull into the parking lot you pay $10 to park, then ride a tram up to the museum. The exhibits, gardens, sculptures are all free for you to view at your leisure! If you are ever in LA it is worth the trip, at the very least to check out the VanGogh paintings (although I will admit the rest of the artwork is not too shabby either).
http://www.getty.edu/

Home-made Granola

I would like to share the recipe for my new favorite breakfast cereal - home-made granola. It takes about an hour to make - this includes baking time. It is delicious - at least I think so.

About 3 months ago when I found out wheat was on my endangered-foods list I had to come up with something to eat for breakfast. If you look at most conventional cereals that are sold in stores you will find that a vast majority contain some sort of wheat flour, whole wheat or wheat germ. I started buying my granola, but one box would last a couple days and the costs started to add up... so I decided to make my own.

After 10 weeks of experimenting here is my latest favorite recipe:

• 6 cups rolled oats (Bob's red mill makes a gluten free variety)
• 1/2 cup ground flax seed
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• 1/2 cup sunflower seeds
• 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
• 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil (canola oil works equally well, I tried coconut oil and the granola came out quite chewy)
• 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
• 1/2 cup agave nectar (Trader Joe's has a good variety, Whole Foods also carries this)
  
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries

Heat oven to 325 (I have tried 300 and found the granola was chewier and at 350 the flax seed burned a little and the granola tasted burnt). Mix all the dry ingredients in a large bowl (oats through nutmeg). Then add the wet ingredients (oil through nectar). Mix well and spread on a jelly roll pan or cookie pan (I use a large cookie pan and cover it with foil to make clean up easier). Bake for approx 35 min at 325 - flip the granola approx every 12 min to ensure even baking throughout. After 35 min remove from oven and spread raisins and cranberries over the top. Let granola cool. Store in an airtight container. Eat and enjoy!

I love eating this granola with organic soy milk and fresh cut strawberries. It is also quite tasty with frozen blueberries.

Growing tomatoes in LA

I started a vegetable garden in the middle of LA. I live in a 3-story town home apartment in the LA jungle with my husband. We have no dirt, no land, nothing I can grow plants in to call my own. But we do have a rooftop deck.

Inspired by all the fresh vegetables I see at the farmer's market I decided it was time to try my hand at growing my own vegetables. I procured a variety of pots from discount shops, thrift stores and craft stores along with a mix of ceramic and iron stands to set them on. One trip to the garden store and I found a 30 pound bag of potting soil, a couple of healthy-looking starter plants, a hose, a shovel, and a few packages of seeds. After lugging everything up 3 flights of stairs I was ready to get my hands dirty and start planting.

I had done minimal research and figured I would start with plants that like sun. The deck gets close to 8 hours of direct sunlight everyday so I knew I needed plants that liked sun and plants that were fairly hardy, even drought-resistant. The deck also gets minimal shade; where we live in LA there are not a lot of trees and even fewer that are 3-stories tall. I had settled on bringing home tomatoes, sweet peppers, chives, mint, geraniums, daisies, cut-and-come-again lettuce, and 2 really cool looking succulents called, Space rocks (adromischus maculatus) and aeonium zwartzkop. The succulents are both drought resistant and are fascinating to watch grow. (I will attach pictures of these in a future post.)

I am now 1 week into my grand experiment: Can I actually grow a garden on my rooftop deck in the middle of LA?

The verdict so far is: it is working! I have attached a picture of one of the tomato plants - it looks like I am going to need to get tomato cages or bamboo spirals pretty soon because these little guys are actually growing! I am so excited to see the little green tomatoes that are already poking out. According to the planting instructions that came with the tomato starters I should have ripe and ready-to-eat tomatoes in 60-70 days!