Pot Luck

CSA (4.00 / 1)

This week we got a wonderful cantalope, which I think is a Hale's Best or Hale's Best Jumbo. Also, the best-tasting "seedless" watermelon I have ever had. I usually think seedless watermelons have an off taste that I do not like at all, and I shun them, but this is delicious (and huge). Also received shallots, which I have never used. Joy of Cooking says they are more closely related to garlic than to onions, and they surely do look like garlic with red-brown skins.

Keith is in Scotland, so I gave his half-share to Jean. She made ratatouille, and she observed that the veggies from the CSA were excellent, but she had to buy some other veggies from the supermarket and they were not good.

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by: count @ Fri Aug 27, 2010 at 02:18:54 AM UTC

Shallots... (4.00 / 2)

A lifesaver when they're on sale for .99 a pound at the co-op!

"The essence of the independent mind lies not in what it thinks, but in how it thinks." - Christopher Hitchens

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by: JayinPortland @ Fri Aug 27, 2010 at 02:43:30 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

I just harvested a bunch of shallots (4.00 / 4)

they are curing a bit before I store them. I'm more than a tad bit pleased :)

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by: nycstray @ Fri Aug 27, 2010 at 03:54:07 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Are you planting garlic this fall? (4.00 / 3)

I've not ever tried to grow garlic, but given how much I go through, I am giving it thought.

You seem to have settled in here on the left coast. Do you miss the big city? I know you are close to SanFran, but it is different than living in the city, no?

Have you switched your football allegiance to the 49ers?  

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by: caseyOR @ Fri Aug 27, 2010 at 03:57:58 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

yes yes yes! (4.00 / 2)

i'll be planting garlic! did it last year, really late in the year, and it went well. very easy crop.  

"I can understand someone from Iowa promoting corn and soy, but we are not feeding the world, we are feeding animals and soft drink companies." - Jim Goodman

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by: Jill Richardson @ Fri Aug 27, 2010 at 04:12:12 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

I planted late also (4.00 / 2)

Was very easy to grow. And the weather here was not ideal at all. But the garlic just grew . . .

I plan on doing it "right" next time around :)

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by: nycstray @ Fri Aug 27, 2010 at 05:50:26 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Thanks for the reminder!! (4.00 / 2)

I need to put in an order for seed garlic {marks calender}:) Yes, I do plan on planting some this fall. I stuck some in the ground when I first got here and just used it as spring/green garlic. My garden this year is my experimental/educational experience. I got a book on year round gardening specifically about the climate in the bay area and growing year round, and I think I'll be up to speed for the winter planting and able to properly prepare (start seeds etc) for early spring :) And I understand my yard a bit more now!

Miss the city a bit. Seeing certain things on the TV/in the news makes me miss it. BUT, the weather here has rocked so far. I don't have AC and don't need it. Humidity, what's that?! lol!~ And I certainly won't miss those effin' wind chills. I LOVE that my pets can go in and out. No more late night dog walks etc. No stairs (YES!!!) I love working in the yard and having my cats/dog be themselves by lazing around, playing with the bushes, chasing bugs, etc. And did I mention the weather is great?! A friend from NY calls and asks my how the weather is when it totally sucks there cause she knows I'm happy (and it was a priority when I chose where to live) with mine.

J.E.T.S. Jets, Jets, JETS!!! Still a Yankees fan also. Gonna take awhile before I totally go over to the SF 9ers and Giants. But, I've done it before . . . .  It's a little harder this time though because my Dad passed on in July and I was really hoping to transition with him :( He would have watched both coasts with me and I know he would appreciate the revamped Jets . . .  

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by: nycstray @ Fri Aug 27, 2010 at 05:48:00 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Sorry to hear about your Dad. (4.00 / 2)

It's never easy when a parent dies, no matter what our age. How is your Mom doing?  

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by: caseyOR @ Fri Aug 27, 2010 at 06:04:25 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

how do you cure them? (4.00 / 2)

and store them? I just left ours in the ground and harvested as we ate them. Didn't know what else to do.

"I can understand someone from Iowa promoting corn and soy, but we are not feeding the world, we are feeding animals and soft drink companies." - Jim Goodman

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by: Jill Richardson @ Fri Aug 27, 2010 at 04:10:21 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

still learning :) (4.00 / 2)

they were popping out of the ground, so I looked it up. Said to lay out in a warmish dry place. I used those plastic trays with the cross-netting pattern bottoms that you get from nurseries and laid newspaper down and spread the shallots out on them. I pulled them up because of the dog (she likes to harvest ::rolls eyes:: ) and the fact that I wanted to use the space for some later planting. I put them out in my workshop and we ended up having a nice dry heatwave, lol!~ I think I was supposed to trim the tops, but life supplied lots of drama and I forgot to follow up on checking if I should.

For storage, I'm planning on using my workshop for root veggies. It should be cold enough through the winter to help keep them. I plan on getting wooden crates and acting like I have a root cellar. In NY, I used the vintage enamel covered refrigerator bins and put them in the cool spots in my apt. (under free standing cabinets etc) worked great (I turned off the heat in the kitchen). For things like garlic and onions, I hung them in cool spots in burlap/canvas rice bags. Also worked great. My Mom uses her garage to store potatoes etc in the winter. She'll be a bit colder than me in Danville, Ca.

I do plan on keeping some of my later plantings in the ground for winter. I think the ground is great. I've planted carrots, parsley root, parsnips, bunching and reg onions and turnips late to leave some in the ground. I'll do another round of carrots. With the weird summer and getting used to my new yard/climate (and growing again) I'm all about experiments, lol!~ so far, I've surprised myself . . .   :D

I should add, I have a couple of those old tin (?) lined drawers in my kitchen. I'm using one for onions and the other for potatoes. I had a stand alone antique kitchen cabinet (with a metal top) in NY that also had one of those drawers. If you're out looking/junking, keep your eyes peeled :)

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by: nycstray @ Fri Aug 27, 2010 at 05:30:44 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

topless (4.00 / 1)

The shallots we received are topless.

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by: count @ Fri Aug 27, 2010 at 07:23:53 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

The tops would be great in stock (4.00 / 2)

but when one dries onions, garlic, whatever, I think ultimately one winds up with just the bulbs?

"If God were to appear to starving people, he would not dare to appear in any other form than food." - Mahatma Gandhi

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by: Miep @ Fri Aug 27, 2010 at 08:37:31 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

I keep forgetting (4.00 / 2)

why I keep forgetting to grow shallots.

"If God were to appear to starving people, he would not dare to appear in any other form than food." - Mahatma Gandhi

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by: Miep @ Fri Aug 27, 2010 at 07:22:27 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Mouse in my house... (4.00 / 2)

Or to be more precise, a large rat living under our building.

As I came back home earlier, I noticed the bush in front of my window shaking.  Figured there was a cat or birds or something in there.  Upon closer inspection, turns out it was a giant rat (pretty sure that's what it was), but I only saw it for about half a second before it darted out and into the large crevice under my stoop.  That thing was fast!

"The essence of the independent mind lies not in what it thinks, but in how it thinks." - Christopher Hitchens

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by: JayinPortland @ Fri Aug 27, 2010 at 02:48:15 AM UTC

Ratfishing (4.00 / 1)

Time to prevail upon the tavern across the street to sponsor a ratfishing tournament. Publicity, prizes for largest rat caught, most rats caught in 60 minutes, most innovative technique excluding darts, most delicious casserole recipe, etc. Judges to be buxom lasses with cleavage worthy of appearing in the august pages of HuffPo. Free ale for the winners.

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by: count @ Fri Aug 27, 2010 at 02:59:34 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Could be a nutria, (4.00 / 2)

not that a nutria is any kind of improvement. They are a non-native invasive species, native to the swamps of the southern USA, brought here by idiots who thought they would be nice pets. And, as so often happens, when they turned out to not be nice pets, they were released into the world, where they propagate like crazy.

They look like huge, huge rats. And they are rodents. And they are gross.

Talk with your landlord. He/she needs to deal with this problem. Those suckers are big breeders.

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by: caseyOR @ Fri Aug 27, 2010 at 03:34:52 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

According to USDA (4.00 / 3)

nutria were introduced for fur production. From what I've also heard from different sources, people also used them for food.

USDA nutria info

A few years ago over in Vancouver, WA there was a nutrea problem at an appartment complex that had a stream running near it. People were wondering what to do about the critters. I wondered why no one offered to trap them. They're supposed to be good eating. I thought about offering to do it myself. Then I got to thinking that I'd probably have to get an out of state hunting and trapping license. $$$$$ Not worth it.

In Oregon -

Landowners must obtain either a furtaker's license, a hunting license for furbearers, or a free license to take furbearers on land they own and on which they reside. To receive the free license, the landowner must obtain from ODFW Salem Headquarters a receipt of registration for the location of such land prior to hunting or trapping furbearing mammals on that land.

And -

By action of the 1985 Oregon Legislature, all trappers born after June 30, 1968, and all first-time Oregon trappers are required to complete an approved trapper education course.

The course is not required of persons trapping on land owned or leased by that person, the person's immediate family, or a person's agent who is controlling damage to livestock or agricultural crops.

ODFW furberer hunting/trapping info

At least I don't have to take a course or buy a license to shoot skunks on our own land.....

Normal people scare me.... But not as much as I scare them.

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by: JoanneRigutto @ Fri Aug 27, 2010 at 04:18:30 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

I had no idea we had nutria in the USA (4.00 / 3)

I bet they are good eating. And one wouldn't have to deal with the stigma rats have here (they are eaten in other countries, considered delicacies in some places, IIRC).

"If God were to appear to starving people, he would not dare to appear in any other form than food." - Mahatma Gandhi

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by: Miep @ Fri Aug 27, 2010 at 07:30:48 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Large nutria populations (4.00 / 2)

in the marshes and wetlands around the Chesapeake Bay, and people do eat them. I never have, though.

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by: count @ Fri Aug 27, 2010 at 16:08:03 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

There's the meal plan for next week! (4.00 / 2)

;)

"The essence of the independent mind lies not in what it thinks, but in how it thinks." - Christopher Hitchens

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by: JayinPortland @ Fri Aug 27, 2010 at 20:49:49 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Better get yer trapper's license! ;-) nt (4.00 / 3)

Normal people scare me.... But not as much as I scare them.

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by: JoanneRigutto @ Fri Aug 27, 2010 at 22:45:26 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Just say you thought it was a rat (4.00 / 2)

"If God were to appear to starving people, he would not dare to appear in any other form than food." - Mahatma Gandhi

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by: Miep @ Sat Aug 28, 2010 at 06:26:01 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

you need a cat (4.00 / 2)

although i think 2 of my 3 little girls wouldn't have the first clue how to catch a rat.

"I can understand someone from Iowa promoting corn and soy, but we are not feeding the world, we are feeding animals and soft drink companies." - Jim Goodman

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by: Jill Richardson @ Fri Aug 27, 2010 at 04:10:51 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

whasamatta? (4.00 / 1)

You no like my tournament idea? I thought it was nicely fiendish.

    -----Dr. Evil

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by: count @ Fri Aug 27, 2010 at 04:34:00 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

I've trapped rats successfully (4.00 / 2)

Any rat beyond a pretty young one can handle a glue trap and get away with it. (besides, I hate glue traps).

I use the big snap traps. Bait: peanut butter is pretty good. Or if you want to use something like cheese; tying it onto the tab with thread will help keep the rat from getting it off the trap without setting it off.

Vanilla extract is a good attractant. It may also help to mask the human smell.

If you set the traps outside, put them under something like a milk crate that the rat can get into, but not cats or birds. Put a rock on top of it.

Good luck.

Miep

"If God were to appear to starving people, he would not dare to appear in any other form than food." - Mahatma Gandhi

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by: Miep @ Fri Aug 27, 2010 at 07:25:41 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

USA Today (4.00 / 2)

USA Today Shaking Up Staff In "Radical" Overhaul

by MICHAEL LIEDTKE, AP Business Writer

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - USA Today, the nation's second largest newspaper, is making the most dramatic overhaul of its newsroom staff in its almost 30-year history in an effort deliver stories more quickly to mobile devices and produce more coverage likely to sell advertising.

Get real. This is about a dramatic reduction in staff, not an overhaul, which means they will publish less news, not more. Specifically, this is an announcement that they will scrupulously avoid publishing anything that might offend a current or potential advertiser.

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by: count @ Fri Aug 27, 2010 at 02:51:15 AM UTC

so true (4.00 / 2)

But I never have read USA today, so in a way I really don't care.

"If God were to appear to starving people, he would not dare to appear in any other form than food." - Mahatma Gandhi

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by: Miep @ Fri Aug 27, 2010 at 07:28:38 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

I read one once... (4.00 / 2)

Got a free copy once while staying at the downtown Detroit Marriott in the (hideous) RenCen.  Nice view of Canada from the 60-something-th floor, although I was hoping for a downtown Detroit view.  Gha, I have to get back there somehow and bring my camera before they knock down any more of those beautiful old early 20th-century skyscrapers...

I remember USA Today's sports pages used to be the fantasy / gamblers' bible in the days before the internet came along.

"The essence of the independent mind lies not in what it thinks, but in how it thinks." - Christopher Hitchens

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by: JayinPortland @ Fri Aug 27, 2010 at 12:47:56 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Carrots from my garden. (4.00 / 3)

This is the first year that I have planted carrots in my garden. Today, for the first time ever, I ate a carrot that was planted and grown by me.

It was the best carrot I have ever eaten.

I found the first teeny tiny beginning cucumber on the vines today. The tomato plants are filled with green tomatoes just aching to ripen. And I have many peppers, grand marconi and italian sweet and baby chocolate bells, all green right now. Please let there be sufficient sun and heat over the next month to let the cukes grow and the peppers and tomatoes ripen. Is that really asking for too much?

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by: caseyOR @ Fri Aug 27, 2010 at 04:46:45 AM UTC

I had success with carrots also :) (4.00 / 3)

Reminded me of when my mom grew them. Rinse off the dirt and eat! YUM!

I hope this coast gets it's Sept/Oct warming. I have a sh*tload of green tomatoes. My dream is to can up some tomato sauce that I grew . . . .I did see a news piece a month or more ago that said that the usual tomato festival was going to be a month late due to the weather. I think this was just after all the freakin' late rain we had . . . . Festival planned for Sept vs Aug. {crosses fingers on weather}

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by: nycstray @ Fri Aug 27, 2010 at 05:56:13 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

nope (4.00 / 2)

that's asking for just enough.

Congrats and good luck. I have carrot seed on order; down in the south I have planted them in the fall and had carrots in the spring. But one has to hit the timing right or it takes forever.

However, beets and spinach will overwinter much more heartily; also all of the cole crops. I plan some of all those too.

"If God were to appear to starving people, he would not dare to appear in any other form than food." - Mahatma Gandhi

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by: Miep @ Fri Aug 27, 2010 at 07:27:25 AM UTC

[ Parent ]