Another Local Summer

This week I saw the blog post I'd been waiting for: One Local Summer is back! After a really successful OLS last year, Farm to Philly is hosting this event again and I'm all signed up. I really enjoyed the challenge of trying to build at least one completely local meal a week all summer long.

In fact, while the challenge hasn't even started, I spent the morning walking around the farmer's market looking for local meal inspiration. There's not a whole lot to be had this early in the season, but there were plenty of herbs, greens, lettuces and two of my favorites: rhubarb and asparagus.

Unfortunately, I didn't go with much money, so I ended up spending what I had on seedlings for my containers--three different varieties of basil, some dill and a lettuce garden. I'll be doing some planting this week to get my container garden going. I need some soil and a couple more containers to make room for my lettuce varieties. I'll also be cleaning out my refrigerator and freezer of any perishables to make room for what I bring home next week. I won't be caught short on cash again!

Part of my excitement about the CSA, farmer's market and my own little garden comes from the fact that I haven't felt very good about my diet lately. For several months now I've been eating crap, moving very little and paying the price. My mood has been "blah", my energy has been low, and my body...well, my body isn't happy. With the return of spring and the promise of fresh fruits and vegetables, I'm getting motivated to be more creative in the kitchen and start enjoying my food again.

Here's to a long growing season and healthy, local food! If you're interested in joining in, the One Local Summer Challenge starts on June 1st, so go sign up now.

OLS Week 11 & The Pseudo-Foodie Experiments Pt. 2

My One Local Summer meal for Week 11 was inspired by a tomato sauce recipe in How to Cook Everything Vegetarian. I made an all-local pasta sauce of tomatoes, sautéed garlic, zucchini, and red peppers, basil and hot Italian sausage and served it over couscous. (Not the best picture, but take my word that it was really good.)

For a side dish (and as part of my pseudo-foodie experiments) I ate sliced heirloom tomatoes, sprinkled with purple basil from my garden and drizzled with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. I got two quarts of the tomatoes at the farmers' market on Sunday, each quart a mixture of interesting colors, shapes and sizes. I know none of their names, but they tasted oh-so-good. These pictures capture just a few of the varieties pre- and post-preparation. So far, some have been sweet, some tangy, some sweet and tangy. It's like a grab-bag of flavors (or a box of chocolates)--I never know what I'm going to get.

(Non-local ingredients: couscous, olive oil, vinegar)

Weekend Stuff

Yesterday was the Maryland Writers' Association Writers' Conference. I spent the day networking, learning how to market my books once I write them, getting motivated, learning new strategies for improving my plotting techniques and eating great food. It was a day well-spent.

This morning I got up early and planted some more flowers in my garden, which you can see at my picture-a-day blog. I also took a 3 hour nap. I'm not sure what's going on with that, but I'm exhausted today. Maybe all that social interaction yesterday drained me, or maybe I'm fighting off some illness, but man am I tired. I could honestly have slept all afternoon, but I knew I had freelancing to do and stuff to get done around the house. Plus, I had to prepare for the start of my donation challenge. Don't forget to stop by every day this week and help me raise money for a maternal health cause. And don't forget to vote for your favorite cause, too.

Hope you all had a good weekend!

Small Efforts, Large Results?

I tend to be the all-or-nothing type. If I can't finish something, I don't like to start it. And if it I make a mistake or get derailed, I have this tendency to just give up. Thus, my new mantra:

Small efforts bring large results when repeated often enough. - Ralph Marston

It seems simple enough, and yet I'm having difficulty getting it through my thick skull. I've been getting a bit frustrated with my inability to get large chunks of any of the following completed in a timely manner:

• That novel I started
• A book proposal I'm working on
• Landscaping of my back yard
• Landscaping of my front yard
• Saving 6 months income for that day when I finally decide to kick Corporate America to the curb and go full-time freelance
  
• Reaching my goal weight
• Developing a consistent yoga practice
  
• Getting my articles published
• Reading a book each month
  
• Renovation of my home (this, of course, is also hindered by the money factor)
  

Considering the fact that I work a full-time job, am technically single and have to take care of all household chores by myself, I suppose it's not surprising that many of these things have been on my to-do (or to-finish) list for quite a while. While I'm slowly working toward completion, for this all-or-nothing, perfectionist type who hears stories about busy people like me who get it all done despite the challenges, it's tough to still see these tasks lingering. That's why I've taken on this new mantra.

Today, instead of focusing on what I haven't completed, what I can't get done in the small amount of time I have, I'm going to focus on what I have completed and what I can get done. With each small effort, I'll be that much closer to checking these items off my to-do list.

What small efforts are you making to get closer to your goals? Suggestions for being more productive are always welcome.

Pictures for the Weekend

First, the garden. Now, when I planted these things, I definitely felt like it looked amazing. The tall stuff is irises. The floppy stuff in front is lamb's ear. And the cluster to the left in the back are daisies. I forgot to take a photo of the day lilies, which are further down in a different weeded patch.

This picture doesn't really do it justice, but you get the idea. When they flower, they'll be wonderful. Now, they're just a tiny patch of non-weeds among a much longer patch of weeds. I'll take more pictures as I make more progress and as they start to bloom.

Tada! The haircut! I finally decided to suck it up and post a picture of myself. I wasn't going to, but I just had to show off this great cut. I might even post a pic of it styled flipped under one of these days. It's very versatile and so easy to style.

Fresh Dirt and a New Project

I've mentioned in the past that I'm not much of a gardener. If you could see my yard (front and back) you'd agree whole-heartedly. There's stuff there, among the overgrown grass, clover covered ground and dandelions, but it's not exactly well-maintained. I get overwhelmed with the idea of gardening. I tend to kill things, and I don't like to put much time into maintaining them. If it's easy, like the azalea bushes I inherited (just watch them grow and trim them once a year) then I'm fine. But if it's high-maintenance like the weeds taking over my back yard, I'm not thrilled.

Until tonight. I spent three hours in my back yard weeding up a storm thanks to the encouragement of my boss's wife. She cleaned out her own huge garden last week and had to divide up some of the plants that had spread a bit too much, and she asked if I'd be interested. When I hesitated, knowing I wouldn't know the first thing to do with lamb's ear and day lilies, she offered to come home with me and help me figure it out. Now I'm hooked.

She showed me what to keep (the tiny little rose bush just getting started, the daffodils, the curious "grasses") and what to get rid of (even some of the pretty stuff). And then we started weeding. Weeding is like a meditation. It doesn't take a lot of thought, but it takes just enough concentration to push out all the other stuff. We spend a good hour digging dandelions and clover out at the roots in a tiny little section of my yard's border, but it didn't seem that long. I can definitely see myself getting addicted. At least until it's 90 degrees outside.

I'm exhausted, my back and legs are going to be a bit sore, but the fresh air and company did me so much good. And now I'm not afraid to dig and plant and water. I've got wonderful ideas (thanks to the woman who gifted me with her time, knowledge and castaways), but I'm starting small. For now it's weeding the rest of the boarder and starting a little herb garden. After that, we'll see.

(I'm sure you're going to want to see pictures, and don't worry, I wouldn't miss documenting my first in-the-ground gardening project for the world. It was just too dark to take the pictures by the time I got everything cleaned up. I'll post pictures soon, I promise.)