Water Drum to Composter

We're getting ready for spring around here and I thought I'd share an idea the hubby came up with a few years back for an easy, clean composter.

First, take an old water drum. This one is 55 gallons and has a screwtop lid.

Drill holes on the bottom (for draining the dirt), then two on the side to put a bar in the middle for rotating the dirt. Attach to a pallet to keep it off the ground and the lid keeps critters out. The drum can be spun to shake and mix the dirt and create some yummy, yummy compost!

Here's a peek inside to see how the spinning mechanics work. We ended up donating this one to our son's school garden because our dirt needs are ever growing, but this would be a great option for the backyard gardener in areas with critters or pets.

What kind of spring and garden prep are you getting ready for right now? Share in the comments!

Saturday Mornings

I'm not usually a morning person, but weekends have me waking up early to feed my neighbor's horses.

What started as a chore has become a peaceful, almost zenlike approach to the day. I appreciate the intention it brings and any moment to connect with animals is a good one in my book.

These are my "neigh"bors Entrigue and Val, so you can catch a glimpse of their cute faces before they get covered in fly masks.

Entrigue doesn't like to come up for air until he's had every morsel of his breakfast.

I then take a moment to admire the vegetable garden. (Not my work of course- my thumb is more gangreen than green.)

The last chore is letting out and feeding the chickens.

And trying to stay out of the rooster's way. I don't know him very well, but he always seems to be in a bad mood.

Not me! I'm looking at the best start to my day.

Tahoe, Days 2 and 3

After a day at Tahoe without much hiking, the next two days needed maximum mountain use. My dad and I went on a beautiful hike up to Dardanelles Lake.

I scrambled down some rocks to the water so I could get my feet wet. With no one around, it was easy to jump in without a swimsuit, even if you're a modest Midwesterner like me.

Then I found a delicious piece of slab not too far off the ground, so I horsed around on that in my clumsy hiking boots.

Here's a closer look.

The cypress trees around are enormous!

 And the meadows are absolutely breathtaking.

Our reward after 7+ miles was a martini by the lake. Or two or three.

We set out early on our last day for a progressive drive home (we had multiple stops scheduled). On a back road off hwy 89, we took in this view.

My dad and I took a picture where we both look great. It's kind of a big deal. (I usually only publish the ones where I look good, so this is a rare one for him.)

We hiked around Echo Lake.

This was my favorite house- I always pick the littlest one.

Will be back, Tahoe!

Birthday Weekend Picnic Baskets

What a weekend! One of my bestie's had a joint birthday/anniversary party, which turned into an impromptu weekend camping trip. Need inspiration for easy entertaining at your next big turnout?

The culinary highlight was individual picnic baskets, to cut down on dishes. (She thinks of everything!)

Also included were (French Laundry) lemon tarts, fresh fruit, asparagus flatbread, and smoked salmon tartar on cucumber.

Each basket contained: an abalone po'boy sandwich, personally foraged by Daisy's husband, Trout; a mason jar filled with potato salad (the classy Alice Waters one, not the mayonnaisy kind); a homemade chocolate chip cookie and wrapped caramel; and my special caesar salad (recipe to be revealed soon).

Now that it's summer, I recommend food that can be served cold. It's way easier to assemble and you have a little more leeway in serving time. Get an assembly line going for something like sandwiches, and the sides should be one-dish wonders like pasta salad, cous cous, or greens. Make it easier on yourself and invite friends to bring something, or at the very least, wine and apps.

What kind of parties will you be throwing this summer?

Scavenger Cooking

Read my first and second post in this foraging frenzy to catch up! It's time we took our bounty back to the kitchen to get some food in our bellies. On the menu- miner's lettuce salad, sauteed fiddlehead ferns, local oyster po' boy bruschetta, and potato nettle soup drizzled with cream.

I jumped right into the prep while I sipped some wine and shmoozed with my classmates. We carefully washed the nettles and lettuce, peeled potatoes and chopped onions and garlic for three large stock pots bubbling away on a portable stove.

Picture perfect salad garnish of nasturtiums and wild radish seed pods.

Don't forget your gloves when handling nettles! They keep stinging long after you pick 'em.

A kind soul from Marin Organic shucked oysters for our po' boys.

My personal handiwork. I never mind the stinky jobs. Just don't look too closely at my lazy knife skills!

The finished thistle, peeled at the root, boiled and chopped. Like a lovely, deeper, more mysterious celery.

The sauteed fiddleheads, as promised.

Divinity.

Our healthy helping of miner's lettuce, which I forgot to mention in the forage! Impressive how a handful from everyone can quickly add up. Also, the spritely weed on the bottom right is chickweed and usually grows alongside it.

Our finished salad. Notice the wine served in mason jars.

With one of our tour guides, Langdon Cook and some of the crew. Go to his post about the day here and look for yours truly modeling onions and garlic. And then check out our other teacher, Kevin's blog! And then buy both their books.

The dramatic baptism of the nettle to the soup pots. This gets added at the end when the potatoes are all cooked through.

The soup gets combined and then blended. Heating or blending takes the sting out of the nettle, so it can also be added to a raw green juice shake at breakfast. Great if you need ways to get extra protein and super vitamins.

The oysters were quicker to cook, just a little breading and fried in oil.

Technically we didn't personally forage these babies, but with aioli and crostini, they were my faaaavorite. I strategically stayed close to the stove.

Before the fiddleheads got sauteed, we cleaned off all those pesky little hairs for a prettier presentation.

But I still kept my eye on the oysters.

Our gorgeous labor of love, drizzled with cream and garnished with a fern.

And our foraged salad with vinaigrette, walnuts and crumbled blue cheese.

A meal and a food adventure I will never forget. Thanks, Kevin and Langdon!