Tomatoes, Anyone?

The tomato harvest is almost done for the year, and despite rampant late blight and near-criminal neglect, they have produced a shitload of fruit. The picture at right is a fraction of the tomatoes we need to dispose of. I canned a bunch, we made salsa, we're going to freeze some, and Fuzzy and I have both been taking bags to work and leaving them on coworkers' desks like abandoned kittens. Funny how much we look forward to the tomatoes coming in, then feel completely overwhelmed when they do.


We went to a big flea market last weekend and I bought these cool old trivets. This first one is from the Ancient Order of Foresters. I'm going to hang it on the wall (because I don't have enough random shit hanging on our walls, I blame my mom for hanging old rusty leg-traps and farm implements on our walls when I was a kid).




This one says, "Good Luck to All Who Use This Stand." Hey, I'll take my good luck where I can find it.








And I had to post this pic of Fuzzy and Allis because it's so fucking adorable. This is really an amazing and tolerant cat. We got her from a friend with two semi-feral children who pretty much terrorized the kittens. So Allis is pretty used to whatever kind of abuse you want to dish out. Good kitty, Allis, good kitty.

2008 Can Kiss My Grits

Sorry for the shameful lack of updating, but these past few months have royally sucked. Just lots of bad shit. Believe me, you don't really want to know. I am ready for this year to be over and hopeful that 2009 will not be quite as vicious.
So for the sake of breathing a little life back into the old blog, here are some pictures of positive things that have been happening:

I made a quilt out of our old work pants (terrible picture, I know, my camera does not enjoy the indoor photography).


I made jam out of plums from a few trees out at PineTop. This was my first foray into jam making and it turned out very well (if I do say so myself, and I do).



And finally, my new quilting project. The pattern is "Depression Block", which seems appropriate. I'm using all purples and grays, and I think it's turning out pretty well. Having a project like this going gives me something to do with myself in the evenings, besides, you know, cleaning house or something dumb like that.

Thanks to anyone who still checks in occasionally, despite my neglectful ways.

Trashy Food I Have Loved: Part I

It was ninety degrees today in northern West Virginia. And humid. Very humid. And it's supposed to be ninety five tomorrow. Melissa, I demand you take back this Louisiana weather. It is highly unnatural here in the hill country. All of the bearded men look extremely uncomfortable and none of the women are prepared for shorts.

But . . . the sultry weather is perfect for the first recipe in our Trashy Recipe series. This recipe is cool, refreshing, and tooth-achingly sweet. Mmmmm. Perfect for unseasonably warm early-June weather.

I copied this recipe onto an index card several years ago, I believe out of Fanny Flagg's Recipes from the Whistlestop Cafe. But I could be wrong. I often am.

So What exactly makes this recipe trashy? Well, the inclusion of a few key ingredients tipped the scales for me: sweetened condensed milk, frozen lemonade concentrate, and Cool Whip. I really don't need any more convincing.

Lemon Ice-Box Pie

-one pre-made graham cracker pie crust
-one 8 oz. box cream cheese (you can go for low fat here if you want to slightly lower the trash level), softened
-one 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
-one 6 oz. can frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed
-one tub of Cool Whip

Beat the crap out your cream cheese till it's fluffy. This make take a few minutes, but patience will make a big difference in the final product. Once your cream cheese is fluffy as a little panda bear, gradually add the milk and lemonade concentrate. Once everything is well combined, fold in half of the tub of Cool Whip, then dump it all into the pie crust. At this point I like to stick it in the freezer for a few minutes to firm up. Relax, drink a beer, bleach your hair, whatever, then spread the remaining Cool Whip on the pie. Stick it in the fridge for a few hours and there you go. Easy, tasty, and above all, trashy.

Once Again, I Suck

I found this little guy crawling on my thumb after harvesting strawberries from the garden. I wonder how many of these I have eaten over time. I would be willing to bet that I have eaten more bugs and slugs, by weight, than red meat in my life. Weird.

So yeah, it's been a few months. What can I say? I promise to expose myself to the ridicule of the internet on a regular basis as penance.

Stay tuned for (not so) shocking announcements, a recipe series, and more news from the Mountain State.

West Virginia New Year

Fuzzy and I spent the last night of 2007 drinking champagne that's been sitting in our fridge for over two years now, watching movies, and eating Aldi pizza in a final fat gram blow-out before the start of our New Year diet. Today it's all black-eyed peas and brown rice. Well, that and the rest of the cheese-ball my fabulous mother-in-law made for us.

On Christmas Eve, Fuzzy and I attended a party thrown by his cousin. After a few crown-and-ginger-ales, this cousin asked Fuzzy if he'd like some fire crackers for New Years. Clearly our mental telepathy failed that night, because though I was beaming Fuzzy thoughts of missing appendages and our porch on fire, he said "Hell yeah!"

So at last night we stepped out into the front yard at 11:59, lit some Black Cats and stepped back. They were intensely loud in the night, but they were soon answered by gunshots throughout our neighborhood and echoing off the hills for miles around. Fuzzy had told me about the traditions of shooting guns into the air at the stroke of midnight, but we had always gone to town for New Year, so I'd never actually witnessed it. I'm not usually one for randomly discharging firearms, but I have to admit, it does feel damn festive.

Davis

On Saturday, Fuzzy and I drove out to Davis (and it's sister "city," Thomas) to visit a friend's new restaurant. We had such a great time! We explored Blackwater Falls, ducking under the "Closed for the Year" barrier blocking the stairs down to the falls themselves. The falls throw a fine mist all around, and the sun catching the droplets was truly amazing.

After our little hike, it was on to Davis. I love this area of the state so much. The mountains are steeper and closer than in our area, and the towns have the windswept aspect of beach villages. On the main street of Davis is Hellbender Burritos, Fuzzy's friend Rob's new venture. And by all accounts, from the food to the atmosphere, it is a huge success! Anyone near Davis, check it out! I heartily recommend the Shovelhead (a burrito stuffed with bbq pork or seitan, spicy coleslaw, cheese, and rice). Congrats to Rob! It's so inspiring to see someone following their dream and making it work. He and his wife are working 13-hour days, but the care they've put into their restaurant really shows. Yay for independent businesses and supporting local economies!

Flood Day!

I went in to work at 10 this morning, swerving around the spots where Scott's Run had crept into the road and slowly wading through the many areas of standing water. When I finally got to the school, I was told that they were sending the kids home due to the fast-rising creek next door. What can I say except for AWESOME. Two snow days last week and a flood day this week. Of course, I don't get paid for those days, but I'm at peace with that.

So I spent the rest of the day cutting up old pants for a Gee's-Bend-style quilt, making origami boxes out of children's book illustrations, and folding laundry. I do love the home life.