Tail of a Whale

When I took this picture, all I saw was the steam.  Only after loading my photos onto the laptap and blowing them up did I see the whale underneath.  Of course we knew s/he was there, as this is how a whale gets water out of its lungs prior to breathing in some air:

Boat ride

The boat rides go all the way around Manhattan, but the helicopter does not do that any more.  However, I appreciated getting to fly over the Cloisters just above the George Washington Bridge. 

Chicory

This is the first flower from my Italian Dandelion experiment.  I have raved about the chicory plant before, as I love harvesting the tender young leaves as salad greens or to spice up vegetable tea or float in a broth. 

But until now I had not had a chance to let the plants mature and bloom.   My goal here, aside from getting to see the pretty flowers, is to grow my own seed to plant and start the cycle again.  

The flower stems on this small plant are amazing, because the stalk is easily a foot taller than the foliage.  Seeing this, the common name of Blue Sailors begins to make sense, although it is more often known as cornflower or coffeeweed. The botanical name is Cichorium intybus.

In addition to making an interesting coffee substitute, chicory roots contain inulin and are sometimes added to yogurt as a prebiotic.  Prebiotics are non-digestible parts of food which stimulate beneficial bacterial activity in the digestive system.

Taken for a Ride

Aside from having to sit next to some bratty kids for part of the ride, I really enjoyed the circle tour.

If the tour guide had ever shut up, I would have enjoyed it a lot more, though.  He seemed like a nice enough guy, except that he was such a motor-mouth.

I think the tour line could save a lot of money by just printing some information about the landmarks on a one-page flyer. 

I Love Swiss Chard

A short time ago I figured out that it is possible to cut off big leaves of Swiss Chard from my garden and keep them indoors in a glass of water.  Not only do they look pretty sitting in the kitchen, but they serve as a reminder to eat dark green leafy vegetables.

The tomatoes have been bearing heavily for about a month now and have new flowers, so they should continue to provide me with tasty snacks.

In future I intend to only grow yellow tomatoes, as the birds do not think they are ripe when they are ready to eat, for one thing.  The other reason is that it is very hard to distinguish between the unripe red cherry tomatoes and the ripe Sun Golds.  Also, the Sun Golds are sweeter.  Maybe I will try some currant tomatoes alongside them, though, as they are interesting, tasty, and small enough not to be confusing.

Conservatory of Flowers

Two kinds of attractions that I most like to visit anywhere I go are Natural History Museums and Botanical Gardens. 

Interesting Stays

The most interesting Boutique Hotels I ever stayed at was the Dream Hotel in mid-town Manhattan.  Compared to other hotels at that location it was affordable, and for me the ambiance was just stellar.  Their regular rooms are pretty small, but the corner suites have spacious bay windows that afford spectacular views of Columbus Circle on one side and a glimpse of the Hudson River with glorious sunsets over it on the other.  The high-tech blue lights under the bed theme with glass desktops in every room and charging stations for cell phones, laptops, etc., in every room also appealed to me. 

The most different Bed and Breakfast I have yet to see is in Ventura, California, however, and it is a 110 year old church.

Exotic Bed and Breakfasts

The most interesting Boutique Hotels I ever stayed at was the Dream Hotel in mid-town Manhattan.  Compared to other hotels at that location it was affordable, and for me the ambiance was just stellar.  Their regular rooms are pretty small, but the corner suites have spacious bay windows that afford spectacular views of Columbus Circle on one side and a glimpse of the Hudson River with glorious sunsets over it on the other.  The high-tech blue lights under the bed theme with glass desktops in every room and charging stations for cell phones, laptops, etc., in every room also appealed to me. 

The most different Bed and Breakfast I have yet to see is in Ventura, California, however, and it is a 110 year old church, newly remodeled with five magnificent guest rooms that encircle a room they call the Sanctuary where they serve breakfast on a table decorated with fine china, crystal, and fresh flower.  It is called Victorian Rose, which is the same name as a B&B operated at the same location a few years back which got mixed reviews, but the new owner has done something quite different with the interior.

Stone Maze Park

Unknown to many people in the small town of Hemet, CA, there is a treasure in the foothills just out of town.  Preserved by the Riverside County Wildlife Conservation, a plot of about five acres of land houses a prehistoric artifact called a stone maze.

Farming Indoors

From left to right, these are winter wheat, kamut, rye, buckwheat lettuce, and spelt. 

Benitoite

Despite having lived in California for many years, I did not know until recently that the state gemstone is benitoite.  Here is a photo of some benitoite when it was featured at the gem exhibit in Balboa Park in San Diego. 

A Little Hike

Since the weather report said rain, but it was sunny and bright, I stopped at a few places on the way down to Ventura from Pismo Beach.   This vista point along highway 54 featured a bit of a climb to get to see anything:



It was worth the little hike, though. In addition to wonderful clouds and rolling hills, the edge of many fingered and deceptively large Lake Cachuma was visible. 

When I started up the hill, I was the only one parked in the lot below, but coming back there were nine carloads of people getting ready to enjoy the scenery.

Brush-on Gel Tps

Since I have been spending all day every day in the garden I don’t make my nails nice any more.

Volunteer Snapdragon

Thanks to the Picture This app on my Android phone I know this is a snapdragon seedling. Who knows how it got in the pot with my Agapanthus, but it is welcome there in Mid-September.

Pie Time

This is ready to bake.  I'm making some notes here for myself so that next year I won't have to search for recipes. 

A small "pie pumpkin" made exactly enough filling for 2 pies after I added 1 can of evaporated milk, about 1/2 cup sugar, vanilla, spices, and 4 eggs.  

The pies were done in 20 to 25 minutes on the bottom rack of my NuWave countertop oven.

Oat Bread Ovals

Who doesn't love fresh bread hot from the oven?  One of my favorite yeast breads is nothing more than oatmeal ground into flour in a blender and mixed with a teaspoon of yeast and enough water to make it kneadable.  

Oat Bread Quickies

Who doesn't love fresh bread hot from the oven?  One of my favorite yeast breads is nothing more than oatmeal ground into flour in a blender and mixed with a teaspoon of yeast and enough water to make it kneadable.  

Merry Christmas 2016

To celebrate I wanted to make something really different for breakfast here at our winter vacation cottage.    I had some pork on hand, super greens (baby kale, chard, and spinach seasoned with carrot shreds, thank you, Sam's Club), and a hard boiled egg. 

I start envisioning a nice steaming bowl of Asian Noodles floating in a rich broth with strips of pork. So rolled out some DIY sprouted rye noodles.

Another Bread Recipe

NOTE TO MYSELF (because this was a delicious loaf of no-recipe bread and I will never remember what went into it if I don't write it down now):

Dry ingredients:  (Can mix ahead)
1/2 cup Pioneer Baking Mix
1/4 cup sprouted rye flour
1/4 cup sprouted spelt (and/or quinoa) flour
1 tsp baking soda
A pinch of sea salt
A pinch of brown sugar

Liquid ingredients:
Splash of Braggs Amino Acids
Honey
Buttermilk (or kefir/buttermilk hybrid)
Liquid cornstarch

Coat with avocado oil and knead lightly. This dough should be almost runny,  just firm enough to hold its shape.

Baked at 428F for 15 minutes in preheated Gourmia 10 in 1 standard GRILL setting next to bowl of water (in rack or turn halfway to avoid burned bottom... or cook longer on lower heat
Total time: 20 minutes

UPDATE:  I made up a few jars filled with the dry ingredients in proportions listed above.   On 2/8/17 I  mixed the contents of one of these with whey and kneaded lightly with oil before baking on Grill at 365 for about 1/2 hr.   The mix made 3 perfect mini loaves which I placed on an upsidedown silicon muffin tray as a rack.   They were delicious.

Turmeric Sodabread

This was a sodabread experiment that I fully expected to hate. Wrong!

Here is the recipe:

Part 1:  Dry mix (I premix this and store it in mason jars)

3/4 cup sprouted wheat flour 

1/4 cup Pioneer Buttermilk Baking Mix

1/2 tsp each baking powder and baking soda

1 T turmeric powder

A pinch of black pepper ( to potentiate the turmeric)

A pinch of salt and a few teaspoons of brown sugar

Part 2: Wet ingredients

1/4 cup cultured buttermilk

1 T apple cider vinegar

Enough milk to make the dough almost runny.

  It wants to hold together just enough to pick it up, but not so stiff that it forms a ball.  I pour avocado oil into a shallow silicon baking pan, then drop the dough in and very lightly knead it with oil covered hands before pressing it back into the pan.

Important:  In the Gourmia, the bottom gets hot fast, so to bake bread it is usually necessary to use a rack.  I just invert a silicon muffin pan beneath the bread pan.

Baking time was 30 to 40 minutes at 350°f until the sides sort of pull away from the pan and the whole thing looses its glossiness and looks golden and delicious.