Dehydrating Food in Your Oven

I ventured onto eHow again to see if there was a way to dehydrate food at home without having an actual food dehydrator. I remember when I was a kid my mom had brought home a food dehydrator and we used it to make out own banana and apple chips as well as dehydrate other snacky fruits and vegetables. It was a great way to make healthy snacks and the crunchiness of the pieces of fruits and veggies made for a great replacement of chips. Having read the instructions online I started out with some basic quick veggies: Snow Pea (in pod), Green Beans, and sliced Mushrooms. I placed them on two different cookie sheets- a single layer and no pieces touching. I preheated the oven, like instructed, to 150 degrees and put the cookie sheets in, being sure to leave the oven door propped over a little and have the ceiling fan going to circulate the air. I checked back 2 and a half hours later to a not so finished product. Being the impatient busy body that I am I promptly gave up the process and took the veggies out of the oven and put them into a bowl. They didn't look too beautiful, but they did taste pretty good- still a little moist though. In the end I realized... I need a food dehydrator. The amount of time I would need to keep my oven in use (sometimes 36-48 hours for some fruits) is just to great and I wouldn't be able to leave the house. Plus, I'm too impatient. Lesson learned and duly noted. Birdie is gonna get herself a high capacity food dehydrator. There was also a recipe on there about creating homemade fruit leather... definitely something worth trying as I love me some fruit leather!

Happy dehydrating,

~Birdie

PS- The mushrooms tasted the best.

Drying and Storing Your Herbs

I did a little research, so I can't take credit to this information as my own, and looked up how to dry and store my herbs. When I typed in the search engine "Drying herbs" it lead me to a neat little site. In 5 easy steps they tell you just what you need to know:

1. Harvest your leaves from the plant by snipping off the leaves or stems with scissors.
2. Bind the leaves or stems together with a rubber band or some string.
3. Place upside down in a cool, dry place out of direct sunlight.
4. Check on your herbs daily until the leaves become lightly crisp. (5-8 days)
5. Store your herbs in a zip lock bag or, better yet, a mason jar.

Herbs will last you about a year if stored correctly.
Bountiful Harvest,
~Birdie

Jeffersonian Vegetarian

My Beau and I have always thought ourselves health conscious and physically active people. We eat our fruits and veggies, enjoy our red and white meats, and exercise somewhat often through hiking. Recently, however, we have been noticing a decline in our health and energy levels. As I'm typing right now all I can think about is taking a nap. The fact of the matter is- we haven't been eating well, recently, at all and we go hiking about once a month. With our lifestyles becoming busier and as we start getting older a dietary change (as well as fitness regimen) needs to be put in place. I have started to lean towards and am likely going to pursue a career in holistic medicine which brought me to a book, "The Green Pharmacy Guide to Healing Foods" by James A. Duke, PhD. In this book Dr. Duke sheds light on the vegetarian diet and its great influence on a person's health. He also points out that as a species we are meat eaters too, so to go strictly vegetarian, while ultimately very healthy, could pose a challenge for most and lead to some needed repentance later on. In lue of the vegetarian or vegan diet Dr. Duke recommends doing as President Jefferson did- use meat to flavor the dish or to garnish instead of as the main course. The easiest way to accomplish this is to stick to his 3 S's: Salads, Stews, and Soups. It is easy to make a taco salad with a splash of ground hamburger or make a chicken or beef soup loaded with vegetables.

Having read about this diet (and by diet I don't mean Atkins or south beach styled diets- I mean diet in the sense of food consumption) we both decided it was time to make a lifestyle change. The Jeffersonian Vegetarian diet doesn't seem to hard and you aren't really sacrificing anything because you still get the taste of the meat, but blended with gobs of veggies. I'm sold! For historical purposes I want to note that as of today, 4/20/2010- I weigh 160 pounds and am 5'5". What I hope to gain from this experiment is a healthier lifestyle, regardless of how much I weigh in the end, and a more balanced diet. I am also going to cut as much processed foods out of my diet as possible such as white rice, white noodles, or white bread. Exercise is also going to be important and to start my Beau and I plan on doing crunches and push ups before we go to bed at night as well as pull ups (if we can manage.)

It really is time for a change. If we can get ourselves into a healthy lifestyle now it will be easy to teach our children to do the same which will in turn lead them down the right path to a lifetime of fitness and healthy choices.

Hi, my name is Birdie, and I am a Jeffersonian Vegetarian.

Planting my goodies and then some 4.20.2010

Alert: Although it may look like my garden is growing and staying alive, I must be honest with my readers. Currently, my Marine Heliotrope is battling for her life trying to come back from my apparent neglect of watering her after having her for one day. I will keep you posted on her poor little wilted status.

I stopped by Lowes to get some soil. Soil is what I went to Lowes for. $57 later and wouldn't you know it? I still got the soil, but also increased my garden by three terracotta pots, three herbs, two different types of flowers, and a foxglove plant. Oy! I am beginning to realize that I need a chaperon to walk me into the garden center of that store- and walk me out! And furthermore- I have an entire bag of soil left over that I will be needing to return because I have no room for it anywhere and will have no use for it for a very long while!

It has been some time now that I had been noticing that my Faerie Garden was becoming crowded and was in need of perhaps a second garden to allow for some moving room of my poor cramped Garden Faeries. How else are they going to dance at night if they have no room to move around? I purchased a tall, oval shaped terracotta pot, similar in design to the first Faerie Garden, and looked for some flowers that would suit my purpose and seemed a little extra Faerie-ie. I knew the Plumosa Ferns that were already out on the porch would be perfect, but some color was definitely needed. I grabbed a red leafed Celosia and a mounding annual, Ageratum, to make up the playground for my Faeries. After putting it all together this afternoon I'm pretty excited to see how it grows.


I picked up Cilantro, Sweet Basil, and Parsley to add to my herb collection. I have felt, most recently, that everytime I pick something up for the garden that is aesthetically pleasing I would have to compliment it with a useful plant like a veggie or herb. So far it has been working. I put the herbs in a pot with the tarragon and put it on my dragonfly table. It sits pretty snuggly there. Upon setting the pot of herbs on the table one of my plaques shifted and bumped my glass tea pot off onto the ground, breaking the handle off. It was a sad moment, but I quickly gave it a new life by adding it to the English Ivy. Now some ivy tendrils will be winding through the tea pot while also winding up the divider.


I think the one purchase I was most excited about was the Foxglove. It was inexpensive and it is beautiful. I potted it quickly and set it in the corner. Perfect.


I potted a few of the left over flowers and still found that I had too many flowers and not enough pots. Oh the dilemmas we gardeners have. I will also note one last thing that is turning out to not be the greatest outcome of today- that soil I bought- yeah, I wasn't paying very close attention- but it is fertilized soil... so now the front porch surrounding my house smells like fertilizer and has become a hot spot for flies. Reading is important sometimes, I really need to remember that.
Happy (albeit smelly) gardening,


~ Birdie



Sorrel, Catnip, Lemon Basil. Tarragon, Parsley, Sweet Basil, Cilantro.

English Ivy and Celosia, Plumosa Ferns,Marine Heliotrope. - Right side Garden Corner.

Left side Garden Corner. - English Ivy and Plumosa Fern. (Please note Izzie's face in the window. haha)

Foxglove. Second Faerie Garden.

Broken teapot in the English Ivy. Heliotrope and English Ivy.

Big Owl with Lambs Ear hair. Baby Owl with Bay Leaf hair.

Baker Nursery 4.18.2010

My Beau's mom, Deb, (and fellow garden/homesteader/barnheart sufferer) stopped by on Sunday to take me to a local nursery she had found and fallen in love with- as she had put it "I could just live there." Deb drove me out to Baker Nursery in Phoenix, a little bit North of the 202-W and a bit of a ways down 40th St. During our drive out that way Deb explained to me that she loved the little houses on the way- with their lived in gardens and yards, vibrant brick and stucco structures and ivy growing everywhere. Further down 40th st. we continued and soon, tucked away in an established Phoenix neighborhood, we came across the nursery which waited patiently for us. I was pleased to see a full parking lot and crowded curbside as I am always happy when local business thrive in a community. Deb landed us a sweet little parking spot front and center with the carts and a pathway straight into the nursery and we made our way in.

It always amazes me how I go in with the intention of not buying anything and then I end up being the one running back to the carts so I can help fill it up! I can report, however, that I only filled up one box of goodies and left it at that- although I could have filled many more. Lately I've been on a mission to try to even out my garden as I have oodles of plants on the right side (when facing my front door) and hardly anything on the left side. So with that in mind I started looking for shade hungry plants that would thrive in that corner which only received an hour or so of morning sun and then was cast into the depths of shade for the remainder of the day. I picked up some more English Ivy (two) to help with covering the divider, a beautiful purple heliotrope, some Plumosa Ferns (2), Lambs ear, Lemon Basil, Bay leaf, Catnip (For Ada and my tea), tarragon, and sorrel. I wasn't originally planning on picking up the sorrel, but after tasting the leaf and sending a shock of lemon into my jaw I quickly plopped it into my box.

Deb picked up two boxes of goodies and a pound of plant food. I know that she got some herbs (bay leaf, woolly thyme, etc.) and a watermelon plants, but I can't remember entirely what goodies could be found in her boxes. Unfortunately, Deb's search for her Johnny Jump Ups and dill went unaided. I must remember to tell her Lowes had some dill on sale in their garden center.

Overall, it was a very pleasant experience and a beautiful nursery (plus great company)- if Deb moves in she may need to make room for a roommate. I do plan on returned to the nursery to show to Whitney one of these days.


Lamb's ear and Plumosa Fern. Lemon Basil, catnip, sorrel, tarragon.

Marine Heliotrope. English Ivy.

Bay leaf. Plumosa Fern.

Thanks Deb for the great trip to the nursery,

~ Birdie

You say you got bugs?

I was reading in a book I recently picked up titled "Herbs in Pots" and found a solution to a problem I had been dealing with in my garden. I had bugs. Bugs were all over my beautiful snapdragons- covering their leaves with slime and covering the petals in...well...themselves. Bugs everywhere on my spapdragons. Fortunately they were not interested in my veggies, but still- my poor defenseless snapdragons! I thought about getting lady bugs because I had read that they were an excellent bug fighter and they were pretty too- but when I looked up to buy some I realized that maybe 1,500 lady bugs in my tiny garden was a little much. I mean, I had a bug problem, but not an epidemic! So "Herbs in Pots" gave me a new idea. They said to get a small spray bottle, put a dab of natural handwashing soap in the spray bottle and fill with water. Spray the soapy water on the flowers and it will get rid of the bugs without having to buy nasty pesticides or flood your garden with lady bugs! I was excited to try it and you know what!? It worked! The bugs stopped multiplying and it even killed the nasty little buggers that were making my garden so gross. I have the spray bottle by the watering can and I spray all my flowers now every other day. I suggested it to Whitney, whose snapgradons were suffering from the same affliction, and we are waiting on results. I will keep you posted on any new developments or quick fixes that I come across.

Good Luck Bug Hunters,

~Birdie

Garden Side Chat

Today has been a little off for me. It feels as if today didn't belong to me, but has been interrupted by distractions keeping me from doing what I wanted to do. That's not to say that the distractions were bad in anyway, they just were there. I woke up late in the morning, apparently needing the sleep, and got the day going with the intent to sit down and blog as well as go to Lowes and get some nails and soil (and maybe some flowers if temptation bettered me), but the maintenance man came by to fix some things around the house that needed to get done. By the time I get going I end up making lunch plans with a friend and spend two hours in the afternoon chatting away over good food and catching up. By the time I got home I was ready to sit down in front of my computer and was able to do so outside on the porch in my garden with Izzie at my side and Ada running about. When my Beau came home it was all downhill from there. We ended up meeting the neighbors and chatting with them- great people, really nice...yoga instructor? Yes please! 8 o'clock rolls around and it's time to cook dinner and talk about the day and get to politicking and talking about the future. And now, here it is- 10:00PM and I'm finally able to catch up on my blog. It was a good day, full of laughter, good conversation, food, and friends- but all I wanted to do was sit and write my stinking blog! So I feel the day was wasted because it didn't go the way I wanted it to from the beginning. I know- it's all rather silly, but it was a day off I really didn't get to myself and I truly do appreciate my alone time. Independent spirits are like that I guess. Oh well, the night is not lost fore I am writing now without distraction and will be able to finish this blog without snapping at anyone. Perhaps I'll need to meditate tonight to wash it all out of my system.

I'm noticing huge progress in my garden. I have 8+ tomatoes growing right now! I am so excited!!! I thought that only my cherry tomatoes were coming in, but no! I just found, this afternoon, one of my husky tomatoes are starting to come through. Any day now and I'll be able to make myself a nice little tomato salad! I had to relocate my Garden Angel because the tomato plants were swallowing her up. I place the bird feeder in her placed and moved her over to a new pot where she could be appreciated. My Ivy is starting to put out some new leaves and twine around the divider without aide. Progress! Progress! Progress! My Purple Beauty has gotten huge! I can't wait until the peppers start popping out!

With all the color in the flowers on one side the Basil is helping add a little splash of purple in all the green of the vegetables. And the beans and jalapeno, Serrano, and Golden California Wonder plants are sky rocketing! I also noticed today that my mint kind of just popped up out of nowhere. The leaves are getting bigger and it's starting to trail around the Purple Beauty.


The Lavender and the Celosia- The English Ivy- Note the brighter green leaves (those are new).


Purple Beauty and the Basil.

Mint and the Husky Tomato (follow the stick down and you'll see the little green ball)

The Cherry Tomatoes that are starting to pop out.

My Garden Corner. My surviving arugula... it's having a hard time- hopefully things will get better.

Tomorrow will be better,

~Birdie

Treasure Hunting With Whitney 4/14/2010

On Wednesday I was able to meet up with Whitney to do some adventuring and exploring. Whitney had never been to Ikea before, so naturally that was the first place that we went. I wasn't in the mood to spend any money... that was until we made it downstairs and into the gardening section. I ended up picking up a few beautifully colored pots and a few small pots that I didn't intend to use for flowers, but instead bought oversized tealight candles to put in them. I also found some folding wood chairs for $20 each that would fit perfectly on my small space of a garden (No assembly required- yay!) Whitney bought a picture frame shelf and some decorative accents as well. We are still trying to figure out the best plant to put in her entryway and although Ikea has some houseplants they just didn't have anything that popped out.

After Ikea Whitney introduced me to a wonderful placed called Hobby Lobby. It was perfect timing because guess what was on sale this week? Iron garden decorations- 50% off!!! Items I had been watching on eBay were sitting on shelves just waiting for me to walk by. I was so excited. I ended up getting three different types of iron bird feeders, a bell that I need to install next to my front door, a decorative glass tea pot that I still am not sure what I want to do with, and two fun Owl pots (one large and one small). Whitney bought some colored sheets of glass for a project she has planned. The treasure find of the day goes to Whitney who spotted a broken half moon table sitting on a barren shelf that had been on hold for someone else a month earlier. She asked about it, completely in love with it, and they said it was hers to take if she wanted- at 90% off!!! She scooped it up immediately! $129.99 table for $14!!! Thankfully it fit in my car. The broken bit is an easy fix.... apply a little wood glue and it's as good as new! She also bought a few knobs to dress up the table and her entertainment center back home. Having been down the knob aisle she may have turned me on to something.... except I don't have many knobs in my house. Shoot.

It made for a great day and I was so excited to get home and get my chairs out so I could finally sit and enjoy my garden. I am still on the hunt for a large piece of wall art to put up above my dragonfly table. The search is never ending! Keep an eye out for my Gnome and Mushroom that I picked up from Target for a dollar a piece on Monday. They add a little charm to the place.

Happy endeavors in your treasure hunts,

~ Birdie

Basil

I finally remembered to buy basil while I was at Lowes. I ended up with Thai Basil and it looks beautiful! Blooming wonderfully.



~ Birdie

April 9, 2010- Garden Remodel!

Last Friday I finally had the opportunity to do something that had been racking me with guilt to complete for about a week prior to. I had been worrying and getting anxiety that my poor tomato plants were getting so large that they were starting to crowd each other and, even worse, snuff out my jalapeno and bell peppers! I had the pots at my disposal I just needed to soil and the time to transplant the tomato plants to greener pastures where they could stretch out their stems. Every time I would water them I felt the need to apologize for their cramped quarters and promised I would take care of them if only they could hold on just a while longer until I could fit it into my schedule. Each day hoping I wasn't making a promise I couldn't keep. Friday came along and the stars must have been aligned because not only did I have a day off, but it was also payday- Lowes...here I come!

After completing all my chores and domestic labors I rewarded myself with an hour long affair with Lowes' Gardening Center where I bought 6 bags of potting soil, a window box planter, Gerbera Daisies (four: Hot pink, orange, soft pink, and yellow), Celosia, Madrid Purple Lavender, Salvia Red, English Ivy, a house fern and a house ivy plant (to bring some garden inside). $86 later and I was ready to leave, but then I realized I needed to pick up some items in the lumber area for my garden (still leaving without a chunk of wood to prop up my herbs). I grabbed a few pieces of 38 and 42 in sticks to snap in half and connect my tomato and pea plants to to help them stay upright. The sticks help because they are natural, small and out of the way, and hide away in the plant instead of being the centerpiece of the pot. I prefer using the sticks over the classic tomato cages that are metal because of those reasons.

I stopped by the Dollar Tree to get a few cheapie things and saw that they have a garden area right now with basic pots, hanging pots, pot hangers, garden decor, and wind chimes. I grabbed a little harvest angel out of the bunch and some garden twist-ties to connect my tomatoes vines to the sticks and finally made it home. A day under $100 is a good thing.

I could feel my stress and anxiety relieving already as I lugged the 6 bags of potting soil up the stairs to my second floor apartmen. Finally I could dig in! With Izzie at my side I started the transplant process. Now I'm no surgeon, but I have to admit it did make me sweat a little trying not to destroy too much of the root balls supporting the close-knit tomato and pepper plants. I filled my pots with the base amount of soil and placed each plant in its respective pot, filling dirt in the gaps. I repositioned the pepper plants to give them some breathing room and filled in the missing dirt in the window box. Overall, it was a successful operation- but then again, only time could truly tell if it would stick. I snapped the sticks in half and stuck them in the soil by each plant that was drooping and twisted a tie around the vine to form the union between the stick and plant. Checking the inventory I realized I had already used 3 bags of soil- Oy!

I planted the rest of the flowers and put the daisies in a bucket I had gotten from a garage sale earlier in the month with Whitney. I have to admit, the daisies in the bucket are pretty stinking cute. Very country bumpkin. It's perfect. Everything made it into its respective pot, but I did run out of soil at the last of the flowers so for now the Celosia are hanging out in a shallow terracotta pot until I can make it to Lowes once more to stock up on soil. Below are the pictures of the new and improved garden corner and new flowers. I'm running out of space!


Celosia (2) and Lavender

House Plants: Ivy and Fern

Gerbera Daisy in the bucket.

My Garden harvest Woman and the new garden corner.

Garden corner and the English Ivy growing up into the room divider.

Cherry Tomatoes in their new pots.

Celosia and the flower side of the garden. The empty soil pot is where I transplanted the arugula.

Happy Gardening,

~Birdie