Friday, March 20, 2009

Let the Games Begin.

I just like that post title. I intend to use it multiple times.

I have been kept really too busy for blogging as of late. . . even if I do have spare time, when I come home from work, generally the last thing I want to do is park it in front of the computer and type. .

I've had a lot on my brain and have had a difficult time sleeping this week. I think that a couple of nights of decent rest can really help, and I plan to walk Lucie for a long time this evening so that she is tuckered out, too. (and that will result in better sleep for all of us.)

I had such an enjoyable Saturday morning last weekend, I have decided that I should share. With others, I worked for five hours on a farm - called Johnson's Backyard Garden, http://www.johnsonsbackyardgarden.com/ , a 20 acre organic farm just minutes from downtown Austin. The farm is actually a co-op, where members pay a certain dollar amount for a box of vegetables each week.

It was damp and cold and we arrived around 8 am. Our first project was digging up and bundling green garlic. I was hungry by 8:20 because the garlic smelled so amazing. That was a very muddy way to start the day. We moved on to picking broccoli, and later picked collard greens. We picked and bundled spinach and then had to push the farm truck that was stuck in the mud. Once we were too cold to really do any good in the field, we went into the shed where we washed and bagged arugula and mixed salad greens. Finally, we got in an assembly line and put together boxes for that day's delivery. Each box contained about the same things: oranges and grapefruit from an exchange farm, broccoli, garlic, mint, flat-leaf parsley, kale, swiss chard, mustard greens, collard greens, spinach, arugula, salad greens, and beets. There were cats underfoot and roosters crowing. Everyone was so friendly and I felt very invigorated when I left. We have enjoyed new recipes all this week as a result of the assortment of early spring/late winter green leafies that I brought home.

Friday, March 6, 2009

mmmm. cupcakes.


As the legislative session blazes on and my ability to hang out in the kitchen decreases, I begin to look back on recent accomplishments with fond memories and I really look forward to summer again..

My most recent and favorite kitchen experience was the day House committee assignments came out. In a suite of three Republican offices, three members lost out big time. I went home and made this recipe. You can find a much better link on smitten kitchen, http://smittenkitchen.com/2009/01/car-bomb-cupcakes/ and the cupcake recipe was posted there. They were officially called Whiskey, chocolate, and beer cupcakes and playfully referred to as "irish car bomb" cupcakes. I called them what they were in our office: Bitter cupcakes filled with sad disappointment.

I have to say that disappointment has never tasted so good. I will definitely make these again.