Marc & Ash

Who doesn't like a good fair?  Ash and I have attended the Fairfax Fair at the Government Center for 3 years running now, and it's always an enjoyable affair.  A fair?  Ha.  Live Music, crazy rides, and beer are always a fantastic combination for the young and old alike.  Ok-Go! was the main attraction on Friday with Joan Jett on Saturday.  As always here's some photos, I'm absolutely drained and can barely muster up any more sentences as I fear they won't make much sense past this.

   

(edit: Monday Morning) - I have slept.  But, in case you're wondering, the thing on a stick is a deep fried Twinkie.  Absolutely awesome.  Next to that is Deep fried Oreoes.  Next to that, is a deep fried Marc.  With powdered sugar on his face.

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We received the first batch from our CSA yesterday in a little Rubbermaid tub.  It arrived in the morning around 10 or so, and if it continues on that schedule that should be perfect because I can bring it inside at lunch so it doesn't cook in the sweltering heat.  The front of our house is shaded, but the humidity around here is disgusting.  Anyway, here's the photos:

From left to right; The Spring Onions and Basil photo shoot, Basil solo photoshoot, Kale in a tub photoshoot, Spring Onions - Strawberries - Asparagus - Basil - and Kale photoshoot, spring onion, asparagus, and basil photo shoot. 

Right after I took the last picture I grabbed the Asparagus and knocked the Basil off the table.  As you can tell it was already hanging off the edge.  It landed on it's head and isn't happy with me.  I'm not sure what my problem is lately, I've been a bit of a klutz.

I'm quite impressed with our first batch.  The amount of Kale was ridiculous and the asparagus were nice and plump.  There could have been more strawberries, but all in all, it was a nice shipment.  We can go out to the farm and pick strawberries this weekend - which we might do on Sunday. 

Here's my cupcake adventure.  "Boy cupcakes."  They turned out delicious and I've been eating them whenver I'm around them.  In the middle photo you can see the cupcake in the back that had too much batter in it.  Instead of filling the baslet 2/3 of the way, I filled them 3/4.  Me and fractions never got along.  And I don't think the batter was thinned out enough as some of the cupcakes had pocket in them.  Next time.

 

Notice the sport influenced liners!  "Boy Cupcakes" can't just be plain or I'd be a silly tart!  This recipe was given to me by Chantal which she got from Vegan Cupcakes take over the world.  They are unbelievably moist, delicious, and awesome. 

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Somehow we've managed to blog on consecutive days - the first two days of June, no less - so I figured we'd have a blog-a-thon and blog all of June away.  We're going to blog like it's 1999.  I know, this is way too exciting, but stay calm.  Not sure how this is going to work, but we'll do our best(Ashley doesn't know she's part of this yet, so shhhh).

So what would a post be without the progress of our beloved Tomatoes?  They are adapting nicely after their shocking transplant to the outside world and as the soil warms we should hopefully be in business very soon.  This is my first attempt at growing Tomatoes from seed, so hopefully they don't sprout dirty socks or something.

And while we're at it, here's our basil pot equipped with dill sprouting out of the top thus far. It's not the most exciting thing yet, but once again, with the humidity and heat just around the corner, I expect these guys to explode with happiness in no time at all.

dictionary.com says:

Gouge [gouj] noun, verb

example: 9.to extort from, swindle, or overcharge.

Check out the receipt to the right.  I hadn't filled up my Jeep in ages.  So, when I purchased 16.527 Gallons of Regular unleaded gas at $3.99, it left me at $66 and change.  How can this continue?  10 years ago, it was 99 cents at Shell on 236.  That would have been $16 to fill up my tank.  As recently as a couple of years ago, I think it was around $2.25, and that was reasonable enough at $35 or somehing.  But $4?  This is outrageous. 

But this isn't half as bad the rest of the world, literally.  The Netherlands currently sits atop this list at nearly $10 a gallon.  The Uk isn't far behind at $9 a gallon.  Truckers - aka, Lorry drivers -  recently threatened to block off all routes into London in protest to the prices that apparently have no ceiling.

I'll be at the Gnats(I'm an O's fan) game on Thursday, and as regular readers know - all 3 of you - our CSA begins on Thursday.  Our box is going to include Asparagus, Strawberries, Kale, Spring Onions, Genovese Basil.  Super!

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So last weekend we celebrated Lola's 4th birthday on Memorial day.  Hard to believe it, but we've had her for four years now.  We picked her up some gourmet treats in Middleburg at some really cool dog bakery.  The treats were iced with a yogurt of some type, so she didn't have any issues with her tummy afterwards.  Here's a few of the photos:

 

And here's breakfast this morning.  We still had a few Polyface eggs left that Chantal was kind enough to bring to us a couple of weeks ago, so I cooked them over easy, and dumped them on an english muffin with veggie sausages.  The color of these eggs - and taste - is way awesome. 

 

Our CSA starts this week and we're both very excited for the first delivery.  I will make sure to post all about it on Thursday evening.  And my Tomatoes are doing pretty good so far.  I transplanted them out back, and the only mistake a made when growing them was transplanting them to a pot that was a little too big, which meant they got a bit "leggy."  That means that their root system can't hold their weight just yet.  In a couple of weeks, they'll be set. 

And how's this for starting a day?  Friday morning for me:

7:20 - Go downstairs to find a pile of poop from Lola.  She'd stolen sweetpeas food twice on Thursday night, causing her tummy to erupt in the middle of the night.

7:21 - Walk into kitchen, realize coffee wasn't set up the night before.  Begin making coffee.

7:21:10 - Realize sink is full of dishes, make room to discard coffee from yesterday.  Turn around, sweetpea wants to be fed.  "Meow" 

7:21:30 - Shit.  Forgot to defrost dog food.  Run downstairs, pull food from freezer and begin defrosting.  Run past sweetpea again.  "Meow"

7:22 - Clean up poop.

7:27 - Take dogs out. 

7:30 - Pick up Sam's crap with a bag, the bag has a hole in it.  My finger grabs poop.  

7:35 - Come inside.  Wash hand.  Feed dogs.  "Meow." 

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Kale has quickly become one of my favorites vegetables in recent memory.  Throwing together a Kale stew is quick, easy, and perfect for those cold wintry days.  It's a form of cabbage and considered to be one of the most highly nutritious vegetables, with powerful antioxidant properties.  It's an anti-inflammatory as well.

Yesterday I dumped half a sweet onion, shallots, and some garlic(1) and let them sweat a bit while I cut up the Kale(2).  I actually think the stems are quite good, but remove any the size of your finger(3) and cut up the Kale just enough so it's not awkward to eat.

Dump the Kale in the pot and add broth(4), here's what I used.  Now you've got your base, have it on medium heat and add celery(5,6). 

Add some carrots(7,8) and, of course, mushrooms.  I used a Shiitake, Crimini, and Oyster(9) mix.

Mix it up a bit(10) and then add some lentils(11).  Oh, and don't forget the Potatoes(12)!!!! 

And that's it.  Kale soup.  I let mine simmer for a good portion of our lazy Sunday, but you can throw it together and have it ready in 90 minutes.  As usual, it's up to your time constraints. 

Add salt & pepper to taste but you can also mix and match a few other spices.  I added a tiny bit of cumin yesterday and Herbes de Provence.  I know, an odd mix. 

 

 

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Ash & I had good fun last night.  First, I got home and made homemade Potato chips for Ash(Thoughts from whoever is reading this: "What the F#$! was he thinking?").  Just trying to find ways to the pregnant womans heart!

Second, I couldn't find a damn vase for her roses, so I hung them upside down on the Chandelier. Quite artsy fartsy huh?  And finally I ordered Thai from our favorite joint and downloaded some Van Morrison tunes to our Ipod.  Our first married Valentine's together and our very last by ourselves.  Weird.

 

The past couple of days have been cold, so here's some photos from my morning walk on Wednesday with the dogs.  As you can see, our maniac Lola on most mornings - regardless of the weather - fancies a swim.  She then parades around on the rest of her walk with ice clinging to her frizzy hair.

 

I never realized how pointy my nose looked.  To the weekend! 

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