The birds are gone...

Earlier in the week, one of the birds (assuming it was one of the parents) was chirping away in the house while the other parent flew in with food. This went on for about three or four days and nights. Yesterday was the first day I didn't hear or see them at all. I was hoping to get a peek of one of the babies, but that never happened. I just hope that one of the neighborhood cats didn't get them, as I have caught them in our yard near the birdhouse on a few occasions. And yesterday I did find a litte fluffy feather (from a baby??) on the ground.

Hopefully they'll be back again next year.

The best screen door ever....

We have never had good luck with screen doors. They get off track, get bent, or get stuck. We've never had a screen door that simply glides open. Right now, we have two broken screen doors in our garage, ready to go in the trash.

For awhile we were just leaving the back sliding door open, but two many flies, bees, and bugs found their way in.

A couple weeks ago Brian brought this home! It's a screen that attaches to your door frame with a tension rod, and some super sticky tape. You simply walk right through the two panels. It closes by itself with the help of a couple strong magnets. Smart. Very smart! And not too pricey either. Brian picked it up at Lowe's for about $40.

I LOVE it! The dog can now let himself in and out (no, we don't have a doggy door). The kids never forget to close the door. It's great for parties, when people are going in and out.

It's called the BugOff Screen. You can find out more here.

The first sunflowers...

They're here! The sunflowers are starting to bloom! They are so cheery and bright. I just love having them in the yard. I can't believe that last year was the first year I planted them in the garden.

This year I bought several packs...all different varieties. I planted them at the back of the vegetable bed, all along the northern perimeter of the front yard, and in the north-western corner of the backyard where the evergreens are still so small that a lot of sun reaches that spot. Even so, only a small percentage have survived.

In the backyard corner, I must've planted 30-40. Only about 5 are still going. In the front yard, the same thing happened. Along the vegetable bed, however, there are plenty growing. The flower above is from that bed.

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.

Above you can see the good little spider that eats mites and other creepy critters. Unfortunately it's no match for the bad (also ugly) slugs that devour the pretty plants, making them ugly.

Yes, we live in fertile nursery land where amazing plants grow. However, the weeds can be equally prolific if not controlled frequently (I weed daily). Also in abundance are the slugs. Oh, the slugs LOVE Oregon. They can destroy a plant overnight. I've tried slug bait, beer bait, salt, slicing and dicing, and more. In the end I've pretty much given up. They are here to stay. I figure the only way to beat them at their game is to put in more plants. I figure the more plants there are, the more spread out their damage will be. Will this work?? Who knows.

For the love of fuschias...

Fuschias seem to do very well here...at least when I see them in other people's yards. Each year the nurseries offer these gorgeous 15" hanging baskets of fuschias. There are so many varieties it's hard to select just one. Fuschias need a lot of shade, which is one thing our yard doesn't have much of.

Each year I purchase one and tuck it in the far south-western corner of the yard where it is totally protected by the fence from the south-western sun. I water them at least once a day, but have never had one last more than a couple weeks. Others in town are prospering. I suppose I just need to just accept that I have a black thumb when it comes to fuschias. Here's a picture of this year's fuschia, which will be going out in tomorrow's trash:

In addition the the pre-made basket, I also purchased some small fushia plants: trailing and upright. I tucked three plants into these little baskets that hang on the side of our shed. Well, wouldn't you know it...they are flourishing! It's now mid-July, and we've had weather over 100 degrees. They're still going... So, maybe next year I will completely give up on trying to make one of the pre-made baskets survive, and just stick to the little nursery plants. They seem to like it here!

Potstickers

Last summer we had a 14 year old Chinese exchange student (Ying Hong) staying with our family for a few weeks. One night we made a Chinese dinner together. She made most of the dishes, and they were delicious...nothing like you'd order from an American Chinese restaurant. We also invited two Chinese college students to the dinner. MY contribution to the dinner was Potstickers, which were just as popular as the dishes Ying Hong made.

When I make these, I usually make a couple recipes and freeze them. If you flash freeze them they won't stick together when you take them out of the freezer. It makes it really easy to cook up a small amount, saving the rest for later. To flash freeze, place a single layer of uncooked dumplings (potstickers) on a jelly roll pan. Freeze them until hard, and then transfer to a freezer bag.

Chinese Potstickers
(San Francisco A La Carte)

2 packages (100 total) round potsticker wrappers

Core and chop finely:
1 pound Chinese cabbage*

Sprinkle over cabbage:
2 t salt (Let this sit out for one hour, then press through a strainer to drain any extra water.)

Let the cabbage sit for one hour. Place it in a strainer, and press out the water. (Hands work best for this.)

Mix together and set aside:
1 ½ pounds ground pork
3/8 C soy sauce
6 green onions, minced
1 TB sesame oil
2 TB peanut oil
½ tsp fresh grated ginger
1 egg
2 cloves garlic, minced

When the cabbage is ready, add it to the mixture above.

To assemble: Fill a small bowl with water. Place a potsticker wrapper on your work surface. Place about 1 tsp of the filling in the center of the wrapper. Dip your (clean!) finger in the water, and run it along the edges of the wrapper. Fold in half, and pinch it closed. Make sure you don't leave any little spaces for the filling to escape. Keep going until all of the meat mixture has been used. (You can freeze any left-over wrappers.)

Heat in a skillet:
2 TB peanut oil**

Line up the potstickers around the edge of the pan, with the seam side up. Saute them for about 2-3 minutes (medium heat), keeping them from burning.***

Add to the pan:
1/2 C water

Cover the pan, and let them steam for about 20 minutes.

Serve hot with Potsticker Sauce.

*I've used "regular" cabbage in a pinch, when I couldn't find Chinese cabbage. It works just fine!

**I do recommend using peanut oil instead of canola (which I usually use for things like this) as it has a much higher burning point....meaning you can cook with it at higher temperatures than other oils. Our sautee pan was splattering because it was so hot! I wanted to turn it down, but Ying Hong said that's how it was supposed to be done.

***Instead of sauteeing/steaming them like the recipe called for, Ying Hong told me to steam them first (she boiled them until they were firm, but done) and then sautee them. She said you could eat them steamed or sauteed. Just don't steam them so long that they break apart and lose the filling.

Now for the sauce. My favorite potsticker sauce came from a Chinese restaurant in Bloomington, Indiana. Since then, I haven't found anything close that I like. Until, I combined a couple recipes to come up with this unique recipe:

Potsticker Sauce

In a small bowl, microwave for 30 seconds:
1/4 C jalapeno jelly (Safeway sells this in a gourmet jelly display)

Add:
2 TB soy sauce
2 TB water
½ tsp rice vinegar
1 ½ tsp minced garlic
1 tsp minced fresh ginger

This recipe is a sweet Asian dipping sauce with a spicy kick!

10 things I love about our backyard...

1. There's not a lot of grass. Just enough to add some green expanse to the yard. Just enough for a Slip 'n Slide.
2. The 2 plum trees. They were there when we moved in, and are the only things we kept from the original owners' partial landscaping. The trees are decorative flowering plums which are gorgeous in the springtime. Bright pink blossoms all over. Though they are ornamental, every couple of years we seem to get a great crop of plums from them. This is one of those years. Tiny little plums are plentiful, and should be ready sometime in August. They're not the big juicy ones (like my favorite black plums) but have great flavor. The trees are big and full, providing part of our yard from some much needed shade. I only wish they were planted in the southwestern corner (rather than the northwestern corner) so we could get even more relief from the hot southwestern sun that beats down into our yard in the late afternoon.
3. The yellow butterfly-bush. I just think it's cool. Most are purple or white. Mine's a beautiful shade of yellow.
4. The herb garden: lavender, sage, oregano, chives, basil, thyme,curry, parsley, rosemary, dill, cilantro, lemon balm, and much, much more! I love looking out of our family room windows into the herb garden. And, I love walking through it on the stepping stones that Katie and I made.
5. Our "wildlife". I am so not a bird person. However I must admit I get so excited every spring when our tree swallows find their way back to one of the birdhouses that is on our fence. I bet you're wondering why I have birdhouses if I'm not really a bird person. A local woman sells these adorable hand-painted bird houses at our farmers' market every summer. I just loved them, and put them up for decoration, never thinking that anything would make its home in one of them. Well, sure enough....the little swallows call it home. Usually there are three of them that fly around the yard, perching nearby, going in and out for months making a nest. This year we definitely have babies in the house. If you get close enough you can hear the little chirps. They must be tiny, as the eggs are as small as a Jelly Belly. In addition to the birds, we also have a few garter snakes. At first they kind of freaked me out. After living peacefully with them for a few years, I actively look for them when I'm working in the yard. They keep their distance and slink away when they see us. This picture shows one of them under our patio table last week.
6. Our hammock. Unfortunately it is in need of some repairs so is out of commission this summer. But it is so peaceful to lay in the hammock, listening to some music on a warm breezy day. It helps that the hammock is surrounded by colorful, fragrant flowers.
7. "Sultry" roses. Kind of a peachy yellow blossom that I just "had to have". I love the color against the blue house. Though I love the roses, I could do without the blackspot and aphids...
8. Flowers in canning jars. The garden flowers are so plentiful that I can create several bouquets each week. Sometimes I use an actual vase. More and more I find myself simply putting them in a canning jar. I LOVE that when I need a quick gift, I can grab acanning jar and fill it with flowers.
9. Seats. Lots of seats. Two tables with umbrellas for dining out and entertaining. These get used a lot. About 20 more stackable green plastic chairs for larger parties. And a simple three person canopied swing that sits between the plum trees. A GREAT place to read a book!
10. HUGE Alaska Shasta Daisies. They must love the spot they're in, as they get about 5 feet high, and 3-4 feet wide. I have to stake them and keep them tied loosely together, otherwise they flop over onto the lawn.