A Mini Greenhouse

My mother-in-law recently shared her latest issue of Organic Gardening magazine where I found plans for growing microgreens indoors.  I had all the supplies on hand so I decided to give it a shot and encourage some green things to grow inside well before we'll see the ground outdoors again.  

(Instructions adapted from Organic Gardening magazine)
1.  Select a shallow plastic container with drainage holes (I used a "clamshell" container from some locally grown winter salad mix I'd purchased.)  You don't need a lid on the container, but when closed it sort of creates a mini greenhouse,  giving the seeds a warming temperature in which in germinate.

2.  Fill the container with 1 1/2 to 2 inches of moistened organic potting mix (I used my soilless potting mix.)  Cut a piece of cardboard to fit inside the container.  Gently press the cardboard onto the soil for a flat, even surface.

3.  Mesclun mixes are good, single crop microgreens also work.  Scatter the seeds over the soil surface, then place the cardboard over the seeds and lightly press them into the soil.

4.  Sprinkle about 1/8-inch layer of dry potting mix over the seeds.  Set the container on a drip tray (I used an aluminum pie pan.) and carefully water the seeds in a gently shower (I like to use a squirt bottle.)  Place the tray on a sunny south-facing windowsill or under grow lights.  Expect germination in 3-7 days.

5.  Keep the soil consistently moist.  Prevent sogginess by pouring off excess water that collects in the drip tray after watering.  To harvest, snip the microgreens right above the soil line when their first true leaves unfurl (about 7-14 days after germination).  The microgreens are nutrient dense and make a healthy addition to salads and sandwiches.  

The Party Starts Now

Today is the day we start celebrating St. Patty's Day.  Sort of.  I'm not the least bit Irish, although Ben is probably almost half, but I've always enjoyed the festivities of St. Patty's Day (one year I even bar-hopped donning a homemade shamrock studded crown that said "Kiss Me, I'm Polish!") I've also always wanted to make my own corned beef brisket.  In past years I either couldn't get the brisket (wanted a local source), didn't plan ahead (it takes a good three weeks to brine), or didn't have the ingredients (saltpeter is hard to come by these days so I finally ordered online.)  Today is three weeks out from St. Patrick's Day.  We'll call the celebration "The Brining of the Brisket."  Haven't decided if we'll make Reubens or just slice it and serve with cabbage and potatoes, but hopefully it will be delicious.  So to all you leprechauns or wannabes out there, I say "Erin Go Bragh!"  Here's to kicking off the party!

Homemade Corned Beef Brisket
1 beef brisket
1/4 t. food grade saltpeter (gives it it's pink color)
1/4 c. warm water
2 T. granulated sugar
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 t. paprika
1 T. mixed pickling spices
3/4 c. salt
2 qts. water

Place meat in a large crock.  Dissolve saltpeter in warm water.  Add next 4 ingredients.  Dissolve salt in 2 qts. water.  Mix everything together and pour over meat.  Be sure meat is submerged.  Refrigerate for 3 weeks, turning once a week.  Prepare according to your favorite recipe.

More snow yesterday and possibly more this week.  Just when I thought it was going to thaw for the season.  Yeah right.  We still have many cold and snowy days ahead, but I have hope.  I seeded some annuals last week, Goldstick flowers.  I usually don't plant many annuals, but I couldn't resist the look of them.  Hopefully they will brighten our home in a cut flower arrangement this summer.

I received some hopeful news this morning that pertains to one of my urban homestead dreams.  Apparently Ben's got the inside on the Milwaukee Food Policy Council goings-on so he quickly forwarded me the e-mail about an upcoming Backyard Chickens class that the UW-Extension is offering.  I signed up without hesitation; I'm so excited.  First step is to learn about it, next step...we'll find out.  I'm already eyeing which section of the backyard garden I can sacrifice for a coop and chicken run.  And don't think I'm not picking out names for these ladies already.

Last night I made one of Ben's favorite meals--Smoked Trout Quiche.  This dish has a history with us.  I like to tell people that this is what I served Ben to win him over and make him fall in love.  In exchange for some Radiohead concert tickets in the late summer on 2003 I agreed to make breakfast for all of the concert-goers crashing at our friends' East Troy homestead after the show (an amazing show at that!)  I bought some locally smoked trout from a nearby trout farm, local eggs and cream cheese, added some tarragon and prepared a homemade crust.  After using a heckuva lotta elbow grease half the morning juicing multi-colored local carrots to mix with orange juice then speeding down the street from where I roomed to the site of the hangover breakfast before the carrot juice oxidized and lost all the desired effects, it was the moment of truth.  Everyone, especially Ben, truly savored the al fresco locally sourced breakfast.  It was worth the trouble.  The rest is history.

Smoked Trout Quiche

Serves 6-8

9-inch pie crust (preferably homemade)

1 smoked trout fillet, flaked

4 oz. cream cheese in small pieces

4 eggs, lightly beaten

1 T. lemon juice

1/2 c. heavy cream

2 t. fresh tarragon, chopped (or 1 t. dried tarragon)

9-inch pie plate, greased

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  On a floured surface roll out the crust to about 1/8-inch thickness.  Invert the pie plate on top of the crust and cut with a rotary cutter about 1-inch beyond he edges of the plate.  Remove plate.  Fold the crusts gently into four quarters to more easily transfer it into the pie plate.  Gently tuck it down into the pan, do not press.  Create a decorative edge if you wish.  Dock the bottom of the crust with a fork and bake for about 10 min. or until just lightly golden.  While crust is pre-baking mix the eggs, lemon juice, cream, and herbs.  Remove from oven.  Put flaked trout and cream cheese chunks into the bottom of the pan.  Pour in egg mixture and return to oven.  Bake 20-30 or until set.  Enjoy warm or cold with a small salad, roasted potatoes, or a side of fresh fruit.

Vera has been given many beautiful handmade toys from creative people we know--a taggie and cloth stacking toy from Grammy, hand cut and sanded classic blocks from our friend Dan, a teddy bear sewn by my first cousin once removed, and "Herb Hoppe" the green bunny knit by mommy when Vera was in utero just to name a few.  As I've mentioned, I get excited about upcycling and breathing new life into old materials.  I was beginning to get backlogged on the Euro cloths we use in the kitchen.  Once they've been sanitized and sterilized I didn't see why I couldn't use them as fabric.  Vera caught one out of the laundry basket the other day and loved the texture of it.  So this week I made onto into a soft block using wool as stuffing.  It might be a bit radical for homemade toys, but it was fun to create and find a way to finally use those cloths.

A Relaxing Evening

Tonight Ben is attending the annual fundraiser at the Milwaukee Public Museum "Food and Froth"-- more appropriately named "Froth" or at least "Froth and Food."  My point is there's far more beer than fingerfoods at this shindig, therefore he and his buddies headed out to dinner beforehand.  So I am left to fend for myself dinnerwise.  The many years that I lived alone I enjoyed preparing meals for myself, but since co-habitating began I have not looked forward to cooking for one.  When Ben's away for dinner and I don't have any leftovers to warm up, I always joke "I'm just going to eat a handful of flour and a stick of butter and maybe have a couple raisins for dessert."  I do often end up eating something random, although it's not usually as odd as baking ingredients (still, I won't deny sneaking the occasional handful of chocolate chips in the evening).  Tonight I had a better idea.  To backup a little, I was moved to clean out the fridge this afternoon, a task that I honestly love.  I find it tremendously therapeutic.  It involves removing, wiping down, reorganizing, and composting.  We throw out very little food in the this house.  Regular cleaning of the fridge definitely helps because I have a good idea at any minute what's on hand.  The only things lingering in the depths of our Frigidaire are some rendered pork fat (lard) and a container of hog casings (yes, swine intestines) that I use for sausagemaking.  In a brine, these will get used before they go bad.  Anyway, noting the leftover rice from Wednesday's Samosas, a bag of local carrots, green onions, and those mushrooms we're still working on, I came up with fried rice.  This dish always reminds me of my short-run cooking at a Japanese restaurant when Kiyoko-san, who barely reached my armpit wearing 2-inch platform sneakers, would step up to the stove and prepare it for staff meal.  I can't say my version is as authentic as hers, but it's an easy meal that can be made with various fridge staples.

Annie's Fried Rice
Serves 2

2 T. grapeseed or coconut oil
1/4 c. diced carrots
1/4 c. sliced mushrooms
1/4 c. sliced scallions
1/4 c. frozen thawed green peas
1-2 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 c. leftover rice (I like to use brown rice, but any kind will do)
ground pepper, to taste
soy sauce, to taste

Heat the oil in a large saute pan.  When hot, add the carrots and mushrooms and saute 1-2 min.  Add the scallions and peas and saute another minute.  Move the vegetables to one side of the pan and add the egg.  Scramble until done then mix with vegetables.  Add the rice and toss to combine.  Season with pepper and soy sauce as desired.

Note:  Preparing it all in one pan makes for easy cleanup so you can enjoy the rest of your evening.

Mommy is now the only one in the house without any Facebook friends.  Believe it or not, I've resisted.  Today I made Vera's Facebook--a binder of magazine-clipped kid and baby faces on photo pages.  She appears to enjoy her books that have pictures of real humans so I thought she'd have fun with this.  So far I don't know what she enjoys more, flipping the pages or staring at what's on the pages.    At any rate, its cheap entertainment.