A Walk in the Garden

Cabbage - I think. I found it in the compost pile. I planted seeds last year and they never came up until now.

Wee lettuce

New growth on the mint

Uhh.... Hydrangea? We've planted so many bulbs I'm not sure which is which.

Blueberry, with new buds and leaves.

The seed leaves of the collard greens.

Spinach

Just a little bit of what's been coming up around here. 

We finally have sunshine again after the storm at the beginning of the week. It is supposed to warm up again and get into the 70's next week. I'm very excited for that. I'm really tired of being cold.

The garden, while things are growing, is quite pitiful. All but one of my radish sprouts have been munched by slugs/snails, and most of the spinach has too. The peas are pathetic, the leeks are puny, and the carrots haven't gotten any bigger around than a pencil. I'm sure part of the problem is because I planted the leeks, carrots and peas last fall and they had to overwinter. I think I might just rip out everything in the beds, prepare everything with the GROW BIOINTENSIVE methods, and try again. I can't tell if it's our abysmal dirt, or just the weather. Since these are all cool weather crops, I'm thinking it's the dirt that needs some TLC. Let the experiments begin!

Happy Friday!
Meg

Knitting and Reading

I'm still working on the shawl, ever so slowly, but the progress has hardly changed at all so I didn't want to bore you.

Plus, it's time to start a new knit! And I'm going to be doing it out of this yarn (or something similar). It's spring, and my chronic Startitis is acting up.

As far as reading, I think a better question would be what am I not reading? I've had an addiction to the library lately and my pile of books to read is literally over a foot high. It's exciting and daunting at the same time.

My most current of the current books is How to Grow More Vegetables* by John Jeavons. He is the creator/founder of Ecology Action, the group that came up with the GROW BIOINTENSIVE method of gardening, and they also run the Bountiful Gardens seed/garden supply company. This book explains their methods. I am about half way through and it has been a wonderful book so far. I think I will be adding this one to my personal library as it has opened my eyes to a lot of gardening information and would be a good book to read every year as a refresher. For a gardening newbie like me, it's been a great "this is how you get started" book and explains a lot of why you should do it, which I like. I'll be using a lot of the principles this year as I try to get my garden in working order... again... for the third time... I really hope it works this year!

Linking up with Ginny's Yarn Along!

What are you reading and/or knitting?
Meg

Don't Buy It: Croutons!

Now that the whole blog renaming fiasco is over with... Gosh what a mess. I really hope it updated everyone's feed and didn't get lost. How about a recipe?

I have a unnatural completely normal love of croutons. I love them on salads, like them in soups, and have been known to snack on half a bag before dinner...

I've tried making my own before, but they always wound up being burned to a non-tasty crisp whether I tired making them under the broiler or frying them in a pan or any other method.

Then Ben got me Jaques Pepin's Essential Pepin for Christmas. We watch his show on PBS and he's so charming and wonderful and he makes me want to make everything he cooks, even if we really would never eat it (like liver pate wrapped in cucumber and topped with roe.) I wish he was my grandpa!

Anyway, he has a few different soup recipes that use these croutons and they have been the easiest, quickest, and most delicious things I have ever tasted. I've made them three times already and they've turned out perfectly every time. I've been adding a bit of salt, garlic powder and onion powder for extra flavor, but they are really good with just the olive oil. My favorite part is that this is just one more skill/recipe I can tuck into my pocket and I never have to buy these again! Plus they are a great use for leftover bread that needs to be used up.

Homemade Croutons
3-4 slices stale bread of just about any type
1-2 Tbs olive oil
My Optional addition: Salt & seasonings

Preheat oven to 400*.
Cube bread into bite sized (around 1 inch) pieces.
Pour olive oil into the middle of a rimmed baking sheet. Sprinkle on some salt and seasonings if you like. Add bread on top of oil, then toss with fingers to coat evenly.
 Bake 8-10 minutes, tossing half way through to brown evenly. 

Happy Eating!
Meg

New Blog Name! And Why

Our oh-so-slow growing peas.

I've been thinking about renaming the blog for awhile. I am a creature of change, always evolving and growing, at least I think of myself that way. I love to learn and try new things as often as I can. My life has taken many different turns in the last few years, and my focus has changed. I felt it was time for something that reflected where I am in my life now, and while Little Bit of Life did encompass that, it felt like it didn't quite... fit. So, I've decided to rename the blog to

Little Homestead

with the new blog address being www.our-littlehomestead.blogspot.com. I think it should auto update all your feeds, but if not be sure to make the change!The www.bitoflife.com will bring you here as well.

 Now, I'm not sure if I should technically call our little patch of earth a homestead considering we don't have animals, and probably won't while we are here. But I believe homesteading includes all manner of subjects, from growing your own food, making your own clothes, preserving said food, living debt free and frugally, and being as self-sufficient and sustainable as possible. Knowing the skills of life, should the zombie apocalypse arrive and you need them..

Plus I just like to consider myself a Homesteader. ;) As Mary Jane Butters puts it, "Farm girl is a state of mind." Well, so is homesteading!

As a lot of you know our ultimate goal is to buy a fairly good sized chunk of dirt, grow and raise most of our food, and see just how self sufficient we can be. Why?

Well, why not, for one! It sounds like fun (albeit a lot of work, but I'm not scared of work). Second, we strongly feel it is better for our health as GMOs and chemically enhanced/farmed foods become more prevalent in the market. And in addition to that, I think it's very wise to be as independent as possible. I don't consider myself a "prepper" or "survivalist", but I do think you can't really go wrong with relying on one's own abilities and resources more than relying on others.

That being said, we're still far off from that point of buying land and I have been getting the message lately to "Bloom where you are planted." Why should I wait until I have ample space to do the things I believe in? In fact, it's better to learn on a small scale and fail miserably with a smaller investment. I can still do a lot of things here, in my growing space of 260 square feet and my little home that I love.

Thus, the Little Homestead.

Knitting & Reading

There has been more reading than knitting lately, but I've picked up the needles again and have put on a few more rows.

The knitting is the shawl I am designing and creating for the charity auction. I'm liking it so far, and I especially love the color of the yarn.

The reading is Seeds of Deception by Jeffrey M. Smith. It is about, well, the deception of big corporations and government in hiding the dangers and effects of genetically modified (GM) foods (with their own political and financial interests in mind, of course). I knew a lot of the points that have been made already from other sources I've read and watched, but it is still nice to get another viewpoint on the subject. I am only a chapter and a half in, and I am already feeling the renewed desired to get our produce exclusively from our backyard, farmer's market, or other organic and natural sources. This stuff really gets me going!

Linking up to Ginny's Yarn Along today.

What are you reading? And, since I'm curious, what are your thoughts on GMO foods?
Meg