Challenge: Asparagus

Dom has been sick. So basically I have been cooking and cooking and cooking. Not because he will eat anything, but because apparently that is what I do these days. In the name of documentation I figured that I would share with you what I have been doing.

Also I like to have all the good recipes in one place and I have been compiling a family cookbook to have printed, but I am running out of room and the internet is vast and apparently unending, so I think I am going to opt to keep them here.

We don't eat enough vegetables.

I am trying to make more. It helps having the garden, makes it easier to not have spoiling fresh food lying around (even though we usually do anyway).

I read an article about how Asparagus is ridiculously good for us. It can basically cure you of cancer because it cleans out all the bad stuff. Of course all of this has not been studied long enough to be proven, but that is good enough for me. I am sure our livers could use a little extra help and I like Asparagus, it seems exotic somehow.

So I bought a bunch and they just sat around for a while. Finally I was hungry and Dom was sick, so I figured if I was cooking only for myself I could make whatever I wanted. I looked in the fridge and decided for Asparagus since it probably didn't have much time left on this earth whether I ate it or not.

Not sure how to cook it, I turned to the International Cookbook. Dom found it for me at a used bookstore in Riverside, CA and I love it because it was printed in 1929. The recipes are so brief, as though I should know what I am doing. And it brings to mind the thought that our great-grandparents probably cooked that way and made recipes and elaborate meals just like the ones suggested in the book.

But I have only made the Chocolate Sauce recipe and the Hot Cocoa out of it. Awhile ago I had decided that come hell or high water I was going to cook/bake every recipe in that book. With the exception of things that I can't find like "Squab" (WHAT is that?) and things that are too expensive like the 50 or more recipes that include lobster.

So finally, today, I started. I looked up Asparagus in the index and flipped to the

proper page and all that was listed was...

Easy enough. So I grabbed my meager ingredients and got to work.

I got some water boiling...

Then this too easy recipe, got complicated. I didn't get how I was supposed to peel them, so I just skipped it. I was pretty sure that I have eaten them un-peeled before. I just chopped off the ends.

Then popped them in my pot, which was too small.

But I am lazy so I just smushed the lid on and hoped for the best and I set the timer for 20 minutes.

I was surprised by how overdone they already seemed. Maybe my boil was on too high a flame?Oh well, I skipped the hollandaise and just opted for butter.

It was better than I expected and bonus was I got to check off Asparagus in the book. 3 recipes down, only like 500 to go. But I am going to take it easy.

Movie Review: King Corn

As I have stated already. I love Netflix. I was resistant at first. I loved the experience of walking into blockbuster and browsing through the selection. Old and new. I feel that carries the same nostalgia for me as other older folks that talk about the nickel candy shops.

But Netflix has presented a whole new world to me. A world full of documentaries that I never would have thought I would watch. But Netflix instant play brings the world to my fingertips. I can try anything for a few minutes before commiting.

With that in mind, I gave King Corn a chance and I think you should too.

It is a witty documentary about two guys in my generation searching for what really is done with the gigantic corn crop that America produces.

It all begins with a analysis of their hair, revealing that they are made of a huge percentage of corn product. I like this movie because they don't bash anyone, as some documentaries can be quick to do. They are kind to all the people they meet and don't appear to really side with anyone on the matters. But they do present the facts and decide what is best to be done for themselves and I loved it.

They are funny, direct, and these use the Fisher Price Little People farmyard for demonstrations.

If you have Netflix, or even if you don't give this one a chance. My local library carries it, and if you still have an actual video store in your area, they probably will too.

Well even if you don't check their website, kingcorn.net

Rainy Day Delight

I love the rain.

I love the way it quiets the world.

I love the way it cleans the world; it reminds me how Christ cleans me.

I love the way the animals respond to the wetness.

I love the way rain makes me feel as though God sent it just for me.

I love the certainty of the rain, knowing that no matter how long we wait, eventually it will come

I love the calm when it rains.

Commitment of a Procrastinator

Okay. Since Today is October 13, 2010 and my last post was December 22, 2008 I think that it is safe to say that I have failed this whole blogging thing. So I am starting over, clean slate. I am beginning this again as nothing more than a documentation of our lives for us to be able to look back on and remember and also since I am TERRIBLE on the phone, to share our lives with those we love. So Adams Family web journalling is beginning. I may be slow at first. But mark my words. I will get the hang of this.

So what do procrastinators love? Immediate follow through (usually followed by a long and empty pause...but lets ignore that and believe in me anyway)

RIght now more than anything I love my Vegetable Garden. It works harder than I do.

Meet Lavender, she is the most faithful and strongest of the bunch.

Nothing like straight from the vine tomatoes (although I know my husband would beg to differ, but he isn't here)

And I have waited oh so long to see these beautiful babies!

(I gave up on the late natural light and switched to flash)

Then as I was snapping pictures I little friend showed up.

I guess he was hungry.

But not too fond of having his photo taken.

Lastly there is the pumpkin, the crown of the year. He came from France making him that much more exciting. He was an only child, accidentally cut off in his prime. So I cried.

And then I bought a kickin' pair of shoes to ease the pain.

Thank you, Pumpkin