CONGRATS MR. AND MRS. STRYKER!

Congratulations Emily and Dan! I remember when you guys were just chatting back on Eurotrip! Crazy times then! Whoddathunk that you'd be getting married?! (Well, ok, lots of us could sort of see it but you know...)
Congrats mis internet amigos!

Bone Marrow! (The kind you eat) and Birds! More coming when I get to it!

Greenhouse Heater Part II

So the heater for the greenhouse. A huge, actual heater made for greenhouses. We bought it from Amador Farms, a local hydroponic lettuce grower. The couple who owns it is at the local farmer’s market every week and deliver lettuce and other greens to the restaurant every week. One day, the boy got to talking with them about his greenhouse and they mentioned that they had a heater that they weren’t using, in fact had yet to be used, and would we like to buy it? It was a great deal. We went out to their place one night and toured their set-up and came home with a heater. Their set-up is really neat and we got a lot of ideas from them. They didn’t need an extra heater because lettuce grows better in the cold. They had got the heater because they were initially doing other vegetables before focusing on their cash crop of Bibb lettuce.

So, instead of going to the WEDDING, I got a heater. It’ll be worth it in the long run and it was a deal we couldn’t refuse. Plus we made some really great contacts and I now talk to them every Saturday at the market. (I also get a special friends discount on their product, which is really yummy.)

Insomnia rules the day as usual. I just can’t sleep past 3:30 am or so anymore. Going to bed earlier doesn’t work because I wouldn’t be able to do anything after work. Melatonin isn’t working. I can’t drink anything before going to bed because I’ll have to get up to pee, and getting up just ensures that I won’t go back to sleep. It’s fun. I seem to have the same problem that Cil mentioned, but mine lasts all year. I think I may have to try an actual sleeping pill soon. Fun times. But until I figure this out, I’m exhausted when I get home from work.

Of course Alex does not help things out. He loves to put his wet nose in my face and paw at me when he feels that I’m awake, or I should be awake. I got paw-punched the other morning. Another morning he decided to start whining, though that did end up being a good thing. I had forgotten to set my alarm and his whining woke up me up at the right time. Good thing.

The cats continue to do their fight/play thing. Alex loves to play with Pumpkin, so much that he whines when she’s not around. That does get annoying but it’s cute in a way. He is a bit of a whiner. But then he snuggles up next to you and purrs and you just have to forgive that cute little thing. Pumpkin is just a little tempermental bitch most of the time, especially when I try to get her inside when I come home. She never comes when I call her but all the boy has to do is whistle and yell her name once and she comes running. Sigh.

Alex Tree Rescues: 6 Ladders Needed: 3 Tall Boys Used: 2 Step-Stools: 1

In terms of cooking, I’ve been making my own mayo a lot with the fresh eggs from the farmer’s market. It’s really easy.

2 egg yolks

Juice of 1 lemon

Salt, pepper, paprika

1-2 cloves of garlic, minces, more to make aioli

other seasonings

1 c of oil, olive, vegetable, whichever you like but try not to use Extra Virgin, unless you want the mayo to taste like the oil

Beat the egg yolks with all the ingredients except the oil. Slowly, and I mean slowly, whisk in the oil, whisking until all the oil is blended in. Stop every few seconds to completely blend in the oil if needed. This is called emulsification. Mayo will keep for a week or so.

You can use this mayo to make a simple dressing. Just add equal amounts of mayo and buttermilk. Add in other flavorings such as dill, other herbs, and my favorite, blue cheese. It’s that simple. This goes great over Bibb lettuce and some shallots.

This is a greenhouse heater

I have more in a longer post about it. But it's a nice, fancy, powerful heater that comfortable heats up a 20'x60' greenhouse and then some. And we got it from the lovely people of Amador Farm. I wish I had a link as they are just awesome people who run a hydroponic lettuce farm.