Friday, April 22, 2016

My Blue Apron contest entry - Roasted Chicken & Mixed Mushrooms



I apologize for the quality of this video.  There seems to be a 100MB limit and my video which was originally shot in HD and was 5GB had to be shrunk to this.  Oh well.  You can see what I'm doing and you can very easily follow along.  We made this video to enter a Blue Apron cooking contest.  It's tricky when you have all the HD/editing capabilities and then you have to end up with something where the quality is from the 40s.  I guess, I could have used my iPhone and that might have been easier but then, what about the editing and putting it all together part.  I guess, I am still technologically challenged when it comes to using iPhone video uploads onto a computer.

Some of you guys are thinking, "what about YouTube?".  You have a point there.  I need to upload to YouTube and all that jazz but for now, this is what we have.

If you guys can get past the quality of the video, you may learn to make one of Blue Apron's dishes.  It's called ROASTED CHICKEN & MIXED MUSHROOMS with Crispy Rosemary-Orange Salad & Chipotle Pan Sauce.  Enjoy.

Yes!  It was very good. :-)

TTR

Sunday, April 17, 2016

Gardening adventures

I've had one goal for my garden - to have some kind of flower from Spring until Fall.  I have fumbled with this since I have owned my home (for over 10 years).  The area near the front  porch started it all.
I started with chrysanthemums (called mums in short) and some grew, and some didn't.  When I thought I had that under control, I tried the tulips.
The tulips were beautiful and so the next year, I bought over a hundred bulbs, hyacinths and aliums and more tulips and I can't remember.
That's when the fight began. I was always dealing with deer but when my tulips didn't return the next year, I was dealing with a new enemy.  Moles!  There were other under ground rodents, I'm sure.  The holes, raised earth and upturned bulbs tore through my heart.  All that effort to plan the bulbs and what came up were a few hyacinths and the aliums.  The mums were fine but a new gardening struggle began.
Finally, I gave in and had my front porch area redone.  I have a workable space now and little at a time, while I fight the elements, I decided this year to document any progress.  My goal now is that every year must get better. If not better, at least give me a new solution.  I'm looking at my garden in a logical way.  What works and where?  I would love to have lilies line my driveway, but we'll get to those.
This picture below is the same as the one above.  It was taken March 18th of this year.  This is my documentation.
You will see the hyacinths in the center and some daffodils.  Three on the left and two on the right.  I will say that a week later (last week of March), there were 2 more daffodils that came up and they stayed on for a while.  Well, they started to wilt last week.  So, that's that.
The above picture is the close up on the hyacinth and the one below is the close up on the 2 daffodils that came up in March.  The first batch.  Please don't laugh.  I know I've only had 7 daffodils in my garden this year, but how can I grow next year, if I don't remember what came when.
The pictures above are from March 18th of 2016.  We are a month away now (April 16th) and let's see what has changed.
What's there today?  Let's take a look.

As you'll see towards the bottom of the picture, there's a single white flower.  I sound like a flower expert, but I've planted so many, being hopeful and some came up and some came up a year or two later and I've lost track.  That white flower?  I don't know what it's called.  I know it's beautiful.  I know there were 2 buds that came up.  Only one bloomed. 

The plant at the corner, in front of the pretty white flower is the iris.  This was not the Iris that bloomed in November.  The buds look like it's going to be a white Iris.  Again, I don't remember what I planted.  I know I planted Irises.  I thought I planted the purple ones but it seems like in my garden I have a lot more white Irises and some combination white/purple.  We'll see as the year progresses.  I think the Irises will bloom in a week or so.  I'll be taking more pictures and do this blog again because it's my documentation.  I'm making notes, so if I plant more, I'll have to look for purple (the ones I don't have) or we'll just see.
The picture here is the one area I'm actually proud of.  I feel like I have a grasp of this area.  It took me a while, but the ground cover is with candy striped phlox.  These are beautiful flowers and I had tried them in my original plan before I re-did my front porch.  These phlox are healthy and doing well.  The tall plants in the middle are Irises.  There are a couple of mums around the phlox and some lilies are growing behind the irises (cannot see in this picture).


The plant on the left of the phlox and irises is one that I planted last year.  I don't remember the name but I remember that it was a flowering plant and it flowered in the summer.  Or so I think.  Last year, it didn't flower at all.  I let it go.  This year, we'll see.  The plant seems to be healthier and maybe it'll flower.  Maybe it won't.  For now, this area is not going to be fiddled with for another couple of years, till my Irises crowd out.

The lilies that line the driveway?  They came up.  Got eaten.  They are still growing a bit.  Who knows?  I don't think they'll make it.  They didn't last year.  But more to come about all that.

That's all for now folks.  This blog is really more for me than for you.  I really want my garden to be special and so little at a time, I'm working on it.