Point Reyes National Seashore

We leave Mississippi for California in 2 1/2 weeks! I'll be on vacation soon!

I want to visit Point Reyes National Seashore while we are in the area. We want to do a dayhike to the coast. I've been looking on the nps.gov website and on the backpacker.com forums for good dayhikes, and I've decided on the Woodward Valley Loop, the same hike this guy took.

From nps.gov:
WOODWARD VALLEY LOOP (approx. 21 km / 13 mi.) This trail includes beautiful forest and spectacular coastal hiking. Begin at the Bear Valley Trailhead, climbing either Mt. Wittenberg or Meadow Trail to Sky Trail. Continue to Woodward Valley, one of the lushest, greenest trails in the park. Follow this all the way down to Coast Trail where you'll enjoy open ocean views as you head south to Arch Rock. Beach access is marked along your way at Sculptured Beach, a beautiful and remote beach. From Arch Rock, follow Bear Valley Trail, a gentle grade through beautiful buckeyes, oaks, and Douglas firs, back to the Bear Valley Visitor Center.

I'm really looking forward to this part of our trip!

Chip has been working on the list of vineyards we'll visit and winery tours we'll take. Of course, my only request was that we visit some with great gardens. Here is the list so far:

Oakville
Far Niente (gardens!)
Nickel & Nickel

Rutherford
Grgich Hills
Mumm Napa
St. Supery

Saint Helena
Flora Springs

Yountville
Domaine Chandon

Carneros
Cline (gardens!)
Domaine Carneros (gardens!)

We may add more, or we may not even be able to make to all of those. I think its going to be awesome!

How I Cook Leeks

One of my favorite things to do with leftovers is make a big pot of soup. We eat a lot of brown rice, and it seems like I always have leftovers. When I roast chicken I try to make extra because I can use it for dinner all week. My go-to chicken soup is made with leftover brown rice and chicken with veggies and seasonings that I have around the house. If you don't have any cooked rice on hand, orzo pasta is a good substitute because it cooks so quickly.

Chicken and Rice Soup

2 Tbs olive oil
2 medium leeks, white and light green parts finely chopped
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 carrots, peeled and diced
5 cups chicken broth (or 3 cups broth and 2 cups water)
1 bay leaf
2 roasted chicken breasts, boned and chopped into bite-size pieces
2 cups cooked brown rice

Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add leeks, onion, and carrots and season with salt and pepper. Cover and cook 5 to 7 minutes, or until vegetables are softened, stirring often. Stir in broth (and water if using) and add bay leaf and roasted chicken. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer 20 minutes. Stir in cooked rice and cook until rice is heated through. Ladel into bowls and serve with warm, crusty bread.


I made one of my favorite fennel dishes tonight. I can't remember where I got this recipe from originally (maybe Food + Wine?), but since then I've given it my own twist. Tonight I served the fennel with a yummy pan-seared and baked salmon. Casey and Leah, y'all will get a kick out of this: I sprinkled my salmon with The Melting Pot's Garlic and Wine Seasoning! It was pretty good!

Roasted Fennel and Carrots with Parmesan

4 fennel bulbs, cored, quartered, and cut into 1/3-inch slices
4 carrots, peeled and cut diagonally into 1/3-inch slices
2/3 tsp dried thyme
2 Tbs olive oil
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan

Preheat oven to 375°F. Layer sliced fennel and carrots in a 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper. Add the thyme, drizzle with oil, and toss to coat. Top with grated cheese. Bake until vegetables are tender and top is golden brown, about 1 1/4 hours.

Happy Days

I've got flowers blooming all over my garden. And that makes me a happy lady! And, I've got fennel, radishes, carrots, lettuce, Swiss chard, and leeks growing in my veggie garden - more veggies than ever. If I could just keep the squirrels out of my radish and carrot patch, then everything would be rolling along beautifully. Swiss chard, leeks, and lettuce.

Saturday morning I finally loaded up the Envirocycle with almost-finished compost. It took me about two hours to unload the wire bin, dig some of the good stuff from the bottom of the bin, load the tumbler, then reload all the compost back into the wire bin.
I moved all this stuff out of the compost bin with my pitchfork.

And then found some good-looking stuff at the bottom of the pile.

And this big worm, too!

I added approximately 1/4 cup of the Organic Traditions Bio-Excelerator to the compost in the tumbler. So far I've been rotating it about 4 or 5 turns every day. I'm almost certain I won't be able to keep that up. I know I'm going to slip up a few days and forget to do it. I'll keep you posted on how long it takes to get usable compost from it. Hopefully I'll have some in a few weeks because tomato season is just around the corner.



A few tulips popped open this week in my semi-circle bed. These are some freebie Rembrandt tulips I got last year with an online order. I've never been much of a tulip lover, but the colors in my semi-circle bed this year just might change my mind. Wouldn't it be gorgeous if I had about 10 more red tulips blooming? Maybe next year!

Sharing a Video

I found a link to this video on another blog. Such an original idea. Watch it.


lost in a moment from dennis wheatley on Vimeo.

Please follow the link to lost in a moment to read all about how/when/where this video was recorded.

Spring is Coming!

Yes, Spring is coming. And I plan to be ready! I've made two big purchases for my garden in the past week, and I can't wait to put them to use.

Back in August, I revealed my plan to convert more of my lawn for garden. I've been putting that plan into action for the past six months or so. In September, I started bugging Chip to bring home cardboard boxes from work. I worked on edging the area, then putting down layers of the cardboard to kill the grass. Right now, this area is a real eye sore. But I'm about to change all of that soon when my raised beds come in. I've got an area about 7 ' wide x 8' long, but part of "long" area gets shaded by the fence in the afternoon. This week I purchased two 3 x 3 Grow Beds from Gardeners Supply Company for $49.95 each. I plan to put these side by side in the wide part of the bed that gets lots of sun. Truthfully, I thought these were overpriced. I mean, its four 3' pieces of recycled black plastic with some connectors. For 50 bones, that seems kinda like a rip off. But, they were as good or better than anything else I could find, and I liked the fact they were made out of recycled material. Call me a sucker, but I gave in a bought 'em.

My other purchase was something I've been debating for a while whether I needed or not. I have a compost bin that we use to corral all the kitchen and yard materials we gather day-to-day. However, when it comes to "finishing" the compost - really getting it to heat up and turn into that black gold - it doesn't really do the trick. That's where I thought a compost tumbler would be great. Yesterday, I purchased an Envirocycle Compost Tumbler from Clean Air Gardening. It was on sale for $149.99, down from $169.99. I've read great things about this model. It even makes "compost tea" in the bottom compartment. My grandma uses one of those big, above-ground, crank models to finish her compost, and she loves it. Since my garden is a fraction of the size of hers, I thought this one would be perfect. I can't wait to throw in some of my almost done compost and give it a whirl.

While researching all of this, of course I found something else I wanted... grrrr. An electric chipper/shredder would be really neat to have. We have tons of leaves from the oak and gum trees in our backyard, and I would love to chop these up to use as mulch. I really doubt I'll get one of these, but they are pretty darn cool.

Sleeping Bulls at Two Stick tonight!

If you are in Oxford tonight, Chip is playing drums with Sleeping Bulls at Two Stick. 9 PM. Come!