Monkey on My Back

Hey, where the heck did June go? Last time I was here, I was just settling in from a wonderful vacay and now it's 6 weeks later! Let's me summarize the past 6 weeks:

• Barry is a Barbara and laid eggs!
• I worked something like 5 weeks in a row without a day off
• My sweet, dear MIL passed away - We miss you Jean!
• Hubs and I rebuilt all the shelving in our office closet - Thank You Sir, May I Have Another?
• Our house is worth less than we paid for it 5 years ago before the economy went into the crapper
• Raw milk has saved me

A couple of months ago Jojo at Goodness Gracious Acres posted a wonderful article/link about the benefits and legality of raw milk. I've been a supporter of the raw milk moo-vement (sorry...couldn't help it) because I believe that it is OUR right to decide what kind of food we want available to us, not the government's decision. If I want to eat or drink unpasteurized milk or cheese, that should be my choice and not the law. Unfortunately, it is considered illegal to sell raw milk in many states, including Florida, which forces many people to seek out underground "mooshine" dealers for their fix.

However, some have found a loophole in Florida's law and it is legal to sell raw milk if it is labeled for "pet consumption only". Anyone who is keen on what is going on knows what this is really about and will gladly nod their head, buy their milk, and feel like they just won the lottery.

I am one of those people. About 6 weeks ago (coincidence?) I started having terrible, unrelenting heartbearn. On some days, nothing would wipe it out and it didn't matter what I ate or didn't eat. I figured, oh I'm just getting old...work is a bitch...stress, stress, stress...blah, blah, blah. But then I had remembered something about raw milk healing people with digestive issues. I did some research, found a "dealer" in the Winter Park Dairy Company, and I HAVE NOT HAD A HEARTBURN INCIDENT SINCE!

Also, hubs has issues with IBS and he is getting better every day from drinking raw milk. And let me tell you, it tastes just like regular ol' milk you buy in the store...only A GAZILLION TIMES BETTER! It's not cheap though. It's $15 dollars for a gallon! So now I have a $60 a month milk habit.

There could be worse things to be addicted to.

Memorial Day

Last night, hubs and I watched a commentary by Andy Rooney on his thoughts regarding Memorial Day. Like him, I feel that Memorial Day has become, for the most part, just another day on the calendar, or just another day off. It is a day that we have traditionally set aside to remember the young men and women who "gave their lives" for freedom and honor of our country.

But like Andy, I believe the purpose of remembering isn't really for the dead, but for the living. Rememberance does the dead no good. I feel that instead, we should be honoring those young men and women who are GOING to die for our country, and that maybe we can find a better way to resolve our problems and differences than through war.

Riesling Bound

Where have I been lately?

Well, dear friends, hubs and I just got back from a badly needed vacation up to the Niagra/Finger Lakes area, and I couldn’t very well have posted HEY, THERE’S NO ONE AT OUR HOUSE RIGHT NOW! I suppose I could have posted some sort of silliness in the past week or so, but we completely unplugged.

No computers, no phones, no internets. Sweeeeeeet!

I have lots of pics…some awesome, but a lot that really sucked. Insert sad clown face here. I thought I would be better with my camera by now, but I obviously need a lot of work. If it’s any consolation, I made up for it in sheer number. Folks, I’m talking many, many gigs of memory!

Let me just say this: we have to be the only dorks from Florida who go to Canada when it is cold AND GET SUNBURNED!

An ohhhh, the wine! Did you know that Wayne Gretzky had a winery? Neither did we. So does Dan Akroyd. We had raw milk cheese, Cuban cigars, and even a touch of poison ivy. Awesome! We saw signs for Fries Poutine, more water falls that we could shake a stick at, and THE FLOWERS! Oh, the flowers!

Le sigh.

I’ll follow-up in the next couple of posts with pics and lots of adventurous stories.

Barry's Back and A Humble Harvest

Remember Barry the Box Turtle? Well last year, I saw him scurrying around the yard, I got a rare photo of him, then he disappeared. I figured my handling him the one or two times for photo-ops made him say "Screw this...I'm outta' here!" And then he was gone.

Well last weekend he showed back up! My local earthworm population must be shivering in their...um...slime? Poop? Dirt? Hopefully, he'll keep the local Cuban treefrogs in check too.

On other good things from the garden, we were able to harvest a small handful of yummy produce! I LOVE homegrown tomatoes, so hopefully, this is a sign of things to come. Small, I know, but here's hoping.

Everything is in full bloom and taking advantage of the small window between "Warm" and "Hot-As-Balls". That's an official temperature in Florida, dontcha' know!

Dried Herbed Tomatoes

Ah, so you’ve planted a ton of tomatoes this spring and now you wait. Well, if you happen to have too many tomatoes and you don’t know what to do with them, here’s a great idea: dry them! Dried tomatoes are so versatile that you can literally add them to hundreds of recipes. From pizza, to pasta sauces, dried tomatoes add a concentrated touch of tomatoey goodness that instantly perks up any dish.

And have you seen the prices for commercially dried tomatoes in the store?! The best thing about this recipe is you don’t need any fancy schmancy dehydrating equipment, just an oven and patience will do. Once dried, you can store these delicious little morsels in a ziplock bag in the freezer for 6-9 months. That is if you don’t eat them all first! They're won-der-ful!

Dried Herbed Tomatoes

In large bowl combine:
1 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/4 cup Balsamic Vinegar
1 Tsp. Lemon juice
1/4 cup fresh chopped (or dried) Parsley
1 Tbl. chopped Rosemary
Dried Pepper flakes to your taste
Salt and Pepper to taste
Amount of tomatoes is up to you (Note: I use Roma tomatoes, as there is less liquid - I use enough tomatoes to cover 3 full cookie sheets...about 3 lbs. worth)

Leave skin on and cut tomatoes into thin slices. Place tomatoes in the oil mixture and refridgerate for at least 2 hours to overnite. Set oven on 200 degrees. Take tomatoes out of mixture and spread on cookie sheet. It's OK if they touch. They will need to oven dry for about 14 to 16 hours (depending on amount of tomaotes). Size of pieces will determine time. For example, put them in the oven about 7pm and get them out the next morning around 10:30am.

The tomatoes are done when they have a leathery feel to them. There usually is some oil left in the cookie sheet, which I blot off with a paper towel. Cool and lay dried tomatoes on paper towels to absorb any remaining oil. Store in ziplock baggie in the freezer for 6-9 months.

On The Hoof

What do they say about the best laid plans?

This past Sunday, hubs and I went to visit my good friend Mary that lives in Deland. Her and her husband own a cattle farm with lots of animals, beautiful landscape, and lovely gardens.

I had some ideas for a few good pictures I needed for my photography class, but mix 4 rambunctious farm dogs with a couple of sticks of cheese, some used red high heel shoes, fishing string, a big red ball, and well...let's just say the cows were more cooperative!

Still it was all good fun. Thanks Mary!

Pickled Asparagus: Tis' the Season!

I wait all year for this to happen, and then I move in for the kill. I’m talking about asparagus season! For Florida, fresh asparagus is obscenely expensive most of the year. It usually runs close to $4 a pound! But for a brief window of time, it’s in season and affordable. I buy as much as I can, gorge, and then make pickled asparagus.

I make this every year and I’m very protective of every little jar. Pickled asparagus is wonderful with any antipasta tray, chopped up in salads, served as a condiment, or my favorite, inside a sandwich wrap. Basically, anything you can do with a pickle, you can do with pickled asparagus. I also like that the spears never lose their crunch, and afterwards, the leftover brine makes a fan-friggin-tastic dirty martini!

Pickled Asparagus
Recipe source: The Joy of Pickling
Makes 5, 12 oz. jars

3 lbs of fresh asparagus (sometimes I need more or less, depending on spear thickness)
5 garlic cloves, peeled
15 allspice berries
50 black peppercorn berries
20 coriander seeds
Red pepper flakes
Nutmeg
2 ½ cups white wine vinegar
2 ½ cups water
2 ½ tsp canning salt
2 T sugar

Trim asparagus to fit inside canning jars, giving ½ inch of space from the tip of the spears to the top of the jar. Prepare jars for hot water bath canning. In a saucepot, mix vinegar, water, salt, and sugar; bring to a boil. When brine has boiled, fill each hot jar with 1 garlic clove, 3 allspice berries, 10 black peppercorns, 4 coriander seeds, a dash or two of the red pepper flakes, and a pinch of nutmeg. Fill jars with asparagus spears, tips up, till comfortably full without packing. Ladle brine into jars, giving ½ inch headspace; top jars with prepared lids, then process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes. Wait 4-6 weeks before eating.

**Note: If you don't want to process for canning, just pour the hot brine over the asparagus and keep in the refridgerator.