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Pearl
Originally uploaded by Food Fanatic

Do you ever feel like this?

Drying Stevia

DryingStevia
Originally uploaded by Food Fanatic

YogiLiz picked up two Stevia plants this spring when she was wandering through the garden centers. They are extremely easy to grow and taste wonderful! Just picking off a leaf and chewing on it gives a wonderful blast of pure sweet.

I've used it here and there for garnishes, but this last weekend I cut a big bunch of it to dry. When I'm satisfied that the leaves are sufficiently dry then I'll crumble them up and put them in a couple of empty spice jars. I think they will be excellent added to tea.

Suppertime: Shiitake and Sweet Pea Risotto

Last night Taylor grilled burgers for himself and Nate while Liz and I enjoyed this recipe from Cooking Light. I didn't take my own photo of it this time. Too hungry. And you know? Mine was not quite as appetizing-looking as theirs. Because my risotto was a darker brown color. I think it must have been because of the very rich vegetable stock I used instead of the recipe's chicken stock. But boy! Was it delicious! We accompanied it with roasted and sauteed golden beets. I love to do that: roast the beets in the oven, slip the skin off, slice and then saute in butter.

I visited the chickens again this morning before work. I usually don't do that, but I had some very bland cherry tomatoes that needed to be disposed up. Chickens love juicy, seedy things. So I sliced them in half and took them over to the yogafarm. I was there at 6:15, when the sun was just starting to think about coming up. Obviously the chickens thought I was out of my mind for being up so early. None of them came down from their roosts. They just sat up there an murmured at me. I did feed them this time, since I received instruction from YogiLiz. I'll take some videos of the birds when Bob comes back with the camera.

Giant, Hairless Raccoon

That's what the chickens may think I am.
I went to Liz's and let them out this morning. But I could not figure out where their feeder is, so I didn't feed them (Liz was home, just not up yet). They followed me around, glaring at me and bwaawk bwaawking at me...getting all up in wing at me.
Then I took the one egg they'd laid and left.

Araucana

Here is a link to Willow Hill Araucana Farm in Washington state. My friend the chicken breeder says Amelia is an araucana.

Amelia (Earhart)

Amelia
Originally uploaded by Food Fanatic

Introducing Amelia. She is the first of my 4 chicks to receive a name. That's because she's the first to show us a personality. And that personality is calculating and desiring flight!

She was looking up at me last night when I went to check on them. At least, I thought she was looking at me. But then I realized, as she swiveled her head around, that she was looking at the top edges of the box. Then she just took a little hop, flapped her wings, and flew straight up at me! She came about 4 inches from the top of the box before dropping back down.

I need to ask my friend Rick again what kind she is. We picked out 4 chicks yesterday afternoon. I'll keep them here for about a month and then we'll introduce them to bff's flock. They will live there with her seven.

Our yogafarm is coming along nicely. The beds are all turned and Mensa Boy is finishing framing in the ones that needed it. We'll start planting greens pretty soon, and we'll start the other seeds in pots.

Three more chicks need names.