Catching Up

School is back in session which is sadly leaving limited time for things like blogging. I really like my new students and enjoy being with those who have returned. Middle school has brought me more joy than I had ever imagined. Something about my own junior high experience had me thinking that teaching middle school would be miserable. It's not without it's quirks and irritations, but it is really joyous too.

At the lean-to I'm getting ready to plant the cool season crops. The garden beds have been cleaned and this weekend will be a compost/double dig kind of time. It's this time of year that I can enjoy being out in the garden as the days are getting cooler. I haven't planned exactly what I'll plant but I know we'll have plenty of greens and root vegetables. This summer the winter squash went gangbusters and we should have enough to last us for a time. Tomatoes are still producing too which is such a pleasure. There is nothing like a tomato straight from the vine.

I've been juicing tomatoes in my daily gazpacho juice which has been delicious! My students think I'm a little kooky, especially when the color of the juice is not particularly appealing and they've taken to asking me daily what's in it. I appreciate their inquiry and they seem genuinely interested, if not baffled and intrigued.

I've been cooking a lot from scratch lately--breads, beans, pizza, whole grains-- and it feels good to be back in the cooking saddle. When it's so hot outside the desire to cook gets sapped out of me and even using the outdoor grill hasn't helped much. Last week a neighbor gave me a huge bag of apples from a friend's tree which I processed into apple jelly. I'm looking forward to cracking one of those open soon and processing more fruits as they come into season.

The shade structure is still lacking shade, but it will be finished in due time. The sunflowers are blooming like crazy which makes the goldfinches and sparrows incredibly happy, not to mention the hummingbirds and bees. Things here at the lean-to are fabulous and perhaps once I get into the school routine, I can get back to blogging more often.

Yard Pics

This morning there was a roadrunner on our gate. Although they are somewhat ubiquitous in Albuquerque, I never tire of seeing them. And to have one in our yard--fantastic! I had to take the picture through the screen door so as not to alarm it which is why it is especially lousy. As soon as I quietly opened the door, it hopped off and ran away.

Yesterday and this morning I worked on our shade structure/bike storage project. We were given some redwood stain and, although initially worried we'd have that 70's redwood deck vibe, I'm pleased with the results. I just need to use a brush to fill in some of the gaps and then we're ready for the roof.

The semi dwarf peach is totally taking over!

I've also been harvesting a few tomatoes from the garden and a winter squash every now and again. I had high hopes to plant beans, cucumbers, peppers and eggplant, but the no-maintenance volunteer squash and tomatoes helped my lazy side to put those off until next summer. Here is what appears to be a sugar pie pumpkin (also a volunteer).

Things are looking good in the yard and we had a neighbor say that our place has never looked this good in the 15 years he's been in the neighborhood. The yard is wild, but green and he could tell that we care about such things. I'm hoping for a more orderly look next year, but I'm glad we're not the scourge of the neighborhood.

Blooms and Tomatoes

Today we ate the first tomato out of the garden. I think it's a yellow taxi which I tried to grow last summer and is a volunteer this time around. We shared it with some neighborhood kids who came over for help with bike maintenance. They were all surprised at how much they loved it.  They also took home some winter squash, about which they were giddy.

The yard is overflowing with sunflowers large and small. It seems to me that they may be blooming earlier than last year. Some of the wildflowers are also blooming. See...

These tall, single bloomed sunflowers are my favorites. A honeybee is coming in for a landing!

We finished securing the 2x4s for the shade structure and are ready for the roof. We're on New Mexico time so we'll see if it's complete by the time school starts in early August.

Veggie Juicin'

I packed all of these veggies and fruits into 2 glasses of juice!
(Thanks, Chile, for the inspiration & recipe.)

1/4 large cabbage, cored
1 cucumber, peeled
1 lime, peeled
1 large handful cilantro
2 large tomatoes
4 stalks celery
Handful of baby spinach
1 large red pepper, seeds removed

A very refreshing, tasty lunch.

Thunderstorms and Fractures

The last few days have been fairly packed. Thursday Lane & I hiked the La Luz trail here in Albuquerque. I left the camera in the glove box, so there are sadly no pictures to: a) verify that we actually hiked and b) demonstrate the splendor of the views on the trail. Next time. I'm pretty sure there will be a next time even though we definitely over exerted ourselves. 4 miles in seemed breezy, but the 4 miles back out, at a steady pace to outrun an incoming thunderstorm was anything but breezy. It was stressful and a cadence that we would not usually have gone. By the time we got to the car, the storm was practically on us. We were soaked, lightning weary and I for one was so, so glad to see the parking lot.

This activity left me very sore on Friday, where I had to sit in a room for nearly 6 hours typing away at a computer to complete my written comprehensive exam for my Master's degree. I am very glad that is over, too. Later that day Lane had an accident, the details of which I will not disclose here. You'll have to ask him yourself ;) His arm is now in a splint and we will be paying a visit to an orthopedic doctor early next week for a more solid cast. He doesn't need surgery this time around, so that is good news!

Yesterday we went with friends to a local skate park to watch their son ride bmx and check out a bmx competition. Before the competition even started a young man was sent off with the medics after landing on his face, losing some teeth and spending some time unconscious. We watched the 14 and under division and those kids were pretty amazing. The heat was getting to us, though, and we returned home to the swamp cooler and some juice (apple, pear, carrot)

We've been having at least one glass of juice per day along with whole foods. I'm finding that I'm craving juice rather than cooked foods more often, which makes the juice I do have just that much more satisfying. Having said that, the planned menu today is vegetarian maki rolls with brown rice for lunch and pesto pasta with roasted cherry tomatoes and homemade bread for dinner. I'm planning for a veggie juice snack this afternoon as well. The tomatoes in the garden should be ready in a week or two and I can't wait to eat/juice those, too! With the exception of Lane's wrist, things are going well here at the Lean-to.

Morning Juice

This morning I juiced:

• 1/2 cantaloupe, seeded and cut into chunks
• 1 carrot
• 1 pear, peeled and cored
• 1 inch peeled ginger

So, so good. 

Then this afternoon I looked at what we had lying around and juiced:

• 1/2 cantaloupe, seeded and cut into chunks
• 5 pluots
• 1 inch peeled ginger
• 1 cup grapes

So, so good.

The melons will keep coming for a while and peach season is right around the corner. I'm also looking forward to tomatoes. I imagine juicing fresh tomatoes will be of such superior flavor.  I'm not having these juices as meals, but more like snacks or meal enhancers. We've really upped our fruit and veg intake with juicing and juices make for a much better snack than some things I've indulged in before.

I think the Breville and I are going to be good friends.

The 5-speed Breville....Thus Far

So far I am very satisfied with my 5-speed Breville centrifugal juicer. I just finished a giant glass of carrot-cantaloupe-apricot which was delicious (recipe below). Here are the things I like about this juicer:

• It has 5 speeds which you can adjust based on the hardness of the fruit and veg. I think it helps get the most juice out; Not every fruit and veg is in the enclosed speed suggestion guide so I'm working out which speeds are best for which foods
• Clean up has been pretty easy overall;the included brush is perfect for cleaning the basket
• The design is great--I especially love that the pitcher fits snugly under the spout. and that the pitcher has a lid which prevents spattering
• It's fast
• The chute is wide--you can fit 3-4 whole carrots and 1/2 an apple quite easily; this cuts down on prep time
• Most of the pulp ends up in the pulp catchment area, which also helps with clean up
• The pulp is fairly dry, so I feel like much of the juice is being extracted
• The chicken loves the pulp so nothing is wasted!

Some of the things I wish were different:

•  I wish greens were included in the speed selection guide (like spinach, parsley and the like)
• Clean up seems to require quite a bit of water. We hand wash all of our dishes and recycle the greywater into a bucket below the sink. It's painfully clear that this uses a lot of water to clean up. At least the water is full of food nutrients and it goes into the garden!

The pluses definitely outweigh  the deltas in this one. One thing I somehow hadn't realized was just how much produce goes into a juice. I made a two-glass batch of gazpacho yesterday that used: 4 tomatoes, 4 stalks of celery, 2 limes, 2 cucumbers, 1/2 an onion and a whole red pepper. If I had made gazpacho to eat, that wouldn't seem so shocking, but to drink it struck me as a lot of produce. I'm adjusting our CSA requests and co-op shopping accordingly and now the fridge has a lot more produce. I think juicing will significantly increase our intake of fruits and vegetables, which is definitely a good thing.

With all of the appliance purchases over the last 6 months, the counter is definitely getting crowded and all of them get used on a fairly regular basis (toaster oven, juicer, food processor, immersion blender and soy milk maker). I'm going to need a storage plan soon! If anyone has a favorite juice recipe, please add it/them to the comments.


Recipe: Beta Blast from The Juicing Bible

1 glass

3 carrots
1/4 cantaloupe-seeded and rind removed
2 apricots-pit removed

juice, whisk together and enjoy!