Please Do Not Adjust Your Screen

As you can see, I've adjusted to my new glasses perfectly already. In fact, there really was almost no adjustment required. I felt a little let down, actually. Cheated. All that hype for nothing. Why can't I be sick and dizzy and falling-down and seeing crazy flying bookcases like everybody elllllllllse? 

My guess is I was "in training" for the new stomach-turning, fuzzy, blurring, dizziness-inducing glasses by the system I was, with not so much success, using for the last half year or so out of sheer cheapitude. The drugstore reading glasses on top of the contacts was not the best solution, but even worse was the drugstore reading glasses over the regular badly outdated prescription glasses. Things had gotten pretty bad. It was that last step of putting the sunglasses over the reading glasses, OVER the regular glasses that made...me... finally....realize...it...was....TIME...already. And then I'd have the reading glasses on and actually forget they were on. I'd get up from my knitting chair and walk halfway down the stairs, wondering why in the world I could see ABSOLUTELY NOTHING and was going to trip and fall and possibly kill myself (or yes, break a hip, Greta dearest!), then remember I had on the reading glasses. Yep, that's me: the absent-minded professor. So there I am with my new reddish-colored frames. I kinda like them, as much as I can like any glasses. I'm not a great lover of glasses on me. I'll still wear my contacts for most forays outside the house, but it's nice to have good glasses to put on when I need them. So no rose-colored glasses for me, but rose-colored frames are fair game.

Speaking of adjustments, I feel like a fraud for even saying I'm going to take part in this:

This will require almost no change for me, at least for a large part of the year and for the majority of items. Not much of a challenge, really. Challenges are supposed to be hard.

I already eat mostly Vermont-grown......well, EVERYTHING. Much of it comes from my own backyard. The goat's cheese I buy is from a farm about six miles from me. I don't consume much dairy other than that.  Some occasional yogurt from, you guessed it, Vermont. (and yes, the once- or twice-a-year Ben & Jerry's ice cream, produced right in my town) The eggs I get from a local farm (I love opening a carton of eggs and having each one a different size and color -- coolest thing ever). The meat I eat (including farmed venison, chicken, turkey, beef and buffalo) -- is at least 90% from Vermont and organic, the garlic from a farm about three miles from me. The only challenge comes with grains. There really aren't any grains grown here. We don't eat wheat anymore, but do eat a limited amount of spelt, and that is not available locally. However, I buy spelt bread baked at a Vermont bakery, which sort of makes me feel better. 

Same goes for rice - it's not available here. But I'm not going to get all guilted out about that.  And I've tried growing watermelons...not so successful in Vermont. Muskmelons (like cantaloupe) are good here, though. But I don't have the space to really grow many of them, so I gave up and buy them at the farm stand two miles away. So I eat whatever local fruits and berries I can, but I also indulge in fruits from the market.

I can my own tomatoes and beets. I dry hot red and green peppers to use in my cooking later in the year. I freeze sweet green peppers and shredded zucchini and summer squash. I store winter squash. I freeze broccoli and dandelion greens and herbs. I store onions and potatoes that I grow myself. I should say I did store potatoes. I'm not eating them anymore, except on very rare occasions, and therefore I'm not growing them this year. I do have to buy fresh salad greens from the market in the dead of winter. Fruit, as well.

I have the luxury of living in a state that makes it easy to get food grown locally. I also have the luxury of owning a little piece of land (only 1/2 an acre, though, and only about 30 feet by 40 feet of vegetable garden) on which to grow things. But we have an awfully short growing season, so it's tough to live a modern life, complete with full-time job, and do all that's required to store enough food for a whole winter. Therefore, I'm realistic about it. There are a few hydroponic greenhouses locally and just across the border in Canada from which we can buy tomatoes and cucumbers pretty much all year long.

And lest you think I'm a slave to the garden, I'm not really. I've learned a lot of lazy ways - ways to conserve water and control weeds, ways to enhance production, all of which I've talked about in the blog before. I'm pretty casual about going out and picking stuff on a daily basis, creating the menu out of what's ready on any particular day. I take a lot of this for granted as just the normal way of life. It's really not "normal" for most people, I guess. I realized that this weekend when my guests were watching me with some sort of question marks over their heads as I slapped marinated chicken breasts on the grill, then walked up to the garden.  ("up to" because our vegetable garden plot is up a steep hill from our back deck)

I think they might have thought I was being antisocial at first. I started picking summer squash, scallions, Swiss chard and dandelion greens, and my brother-in-law shouted up, "What are you picking, Norma?" I held up some things, but I don't think they knew that's what was for dinner. I came back and washed the Swiss chard in a sinkful of salt water. This kills the bugs and slugs if there are any on the greens, and they go down the drain.  Then I rinsed it in fresh water, shook the excess water off, shredded it crosswise in half-inch(ish) strips.

For preparing the Swiss chard:

I heat high-quality olive oil up in a large frying pan, add some chopped garlic to the oil. Saute it lightly for a minute or so (don't saute garlic at high heat or for too long - it becomes bitter if you do that -- just medium heat, gently sauteed to release the fragrance and flavor), then add the shredded swished. (I include the stems)  Saute for a short time, just until the greens are evenly wilted and the stems are tender, but not overcooked.  Add some sea salt and some freshly ground pepper, and you're done.  DON'T OVERCOOK. This is more "wilted" than cooked.

Meanwhile, I had sliced lengthwise the baby (four-inch-long, approx.) summer squash, zucchini and scallions. I coated them in olive oil and put them on the grill with the chicken.

I included these "recipes" because of the reactions my guests had to this meal. They had never tried Swiss chard before. They thought it would be bitter. (I didn't tell them they also ate dandelions, hee. Although they willingly ate dandelion omelets later in the weekend.) They had never eaten baby summer squash and zucchini and scallions on the grill. So perhaps you haven't, either? You ought to try it. Seriously.

So, some pics fresh from the garden, since some people asked and since there's precious little else around here to show you.

Grape cluster tomatoes

Hunky Man (or whatever the heck they called it) tomatoes.  That's my first almost-ripe one down there on the bottom, and I actually ate it last night.

A new word for the Mensa invitational. Tomatorgasm (tm): The feeling you get when you eat a warm, ripe, organic tomato straight off the vine.

Oh, and Rule No. 1 about tomatoes?  DON'T PUT THEM IN THE REFRIGERATOR. Geesh, it's like an act against God or something. I could die when I see someone do that. I could kill when someone in my own house, trying to be helpful, puts them in MY OWN REFRIGERATOR! They need to be at room temperature. Please. I beg you.

Yellow summer squash, the plant (I've forgotten the variety, but it's a straight-neck, not crookneck variety), flanked by blue Bachelor's Buttons. Bachelor's buttons provide a great hangout for beneficial insects. These are the insects that prey on the insects that would otherwise have their way with the veggie plants and veggies.

..the fruit

Green bush bean blossom. (also forgotten the variety)

Swiss chard (this is what's called rhubarb chard....there is also a plain green variety) already grown back from being cut to the ground on Friday evening. Notice the peanut shells (unsalted) being used as mulch. My husband likes his peanuts, and in order to slow himself down from eating them by the bushel, he makes himself get them still in the shells, so at least he has to shell each one before he pops it in his mouth. All winter we save the shells and put them in the composter, but they decompose more slowly than a lot of other things. When I emptied the composters about a month ago, I put the not-fully-decomposed compost around the plants. I have found that to be highly beneficial. It appears that the bad insects, nematodes, etc., get distracted by munching on the compost (because it is often teeming with insects and movement) and leave the plants alone. The plants positively thrive.

And a couple of sunflowers to make you me you smile.

 

 

Knitting and fibery pursuits will return one of these days, I sort of promise.

Comments

[Aarlene]

MMMmmm MMMmmmm but your chocolate microwave cake is still my first love!

--down in 'My Gawd, why the HELL did people settle down here in Sauna from Hell Louisiana...it's too fucking hot to live

[Kristen]

OH MY! Goat cheese and Swiss chard in the same post! I'm salivating!

Love the new specs.

[Donna]

Nice glasses, nice growing things.. and I like that in the background of the pic of you, we can just see your ball winder :)

[Laurie]

LOVE the garden pix. Of course.

I've only heard of one person who gave up on the progressives. Haven't heard of much nausea, just stairs that looked like they were waving around. Brief. Then norma(l) life.

[mamacate]

Wow. That's all. :)

[naomi]

30'x40' garden? Wow. No wonder you have so much great produce!

[Kay]

OK, I feel your pain about the glasses. I HAVE the euphemistic 'progressive' lenses, but obviously need to re-up my RX, 'cause Stephanie was gaping at me knitting while looking over the tops of my glasses with my neck all squinched. And you know, she's a nice person and doesn't mock people unless she just can't help it. I'll make that appointment real soon, promise.

Well aren't you just Miss Alice Waters of the East! I'm envious of the dinner guests. xoxo Kay

[Cassie]

Damn. No flying bookcases?

The Eat Local challenge is ...... challenging me. I'm not even sure that my local farmer's market is all local enough to qualify.

[margene]

Well...I'll be GDGTH, Norma! You one lucky grrl...you da bomb! I'm moving to VT!

[liz]

Try adding some toasted pine nuts and a swqueeze of fresh lemon juice at the end when you make chard. I bought red chard last night and it's brilliant that way.

[Annie]

You are my role model for the Eat Local challenge. I thought I was doing great buying a local farmer's tomatoes!

[adelaide]

Knitting lace will be easier now that you can see. I speak from personal experience. You make me feel guilty that I'm growing tomatoes but relying on the local farm for the other stuff. Oh, well, the deer would just eat everything anyway.

[Kim]

If Margene is moving to VT, I want Margene's house! :)

Norma dear, I've heard that too much homeopathy results in goofy face-freeze....be careful!

[Julie]

Great post. Now, do tell...what do you do in your spare time?

[Lee Ann]

Didn't your mother tell you your face is going to stay like that if you keep it up?

Nice frames...and I'm a frameless-glasses girl myself because the frames drive me nuts. But those are quite pretty, actually.

And can you come up here and inform my husband that putting tomatoes in the fridge is an act against the science of proper vegetable storage? (atheists don't really give a crap about the act against god argument...). He's been known to sneak bananas and potatoes in the fridge, too. I blame my mother-in-law, and I blame the French, who have a thing for letting fruit get rotten, and besides, it's just fun to say "I blame the French" and see what kind of reaction I get ;-)

[jpt]

Good on you for promoting the Eat Local challenge! I can't wait to learn more about this--thanks so much for the link.

[Kathleen]

So multi-talented Norma!!

[stephanie]

I love your new glasses!
I'm not going to eat local though. Scurvy. I'd totally get scurvy.

[sandy]

That picture of you is a SCREAM! I laughed out loud. Fig gave me a dirty look!
:)
The story of glasses over glasses makes me feel better. I am only in first level denial. Yours was multilevel!
:)
xoxo

[JoVE]

We decide what's for dinner the same way in the summer. You get to eat a lot of zucchini though. But is is SOOOO nice fresh from the garden. Yesterday Mat found fresh local corn at the market so we had that.

I'm not so good with the canning and preserving thing. And our tomatoes are nearly ripe yet.

[Erin]

There's a great article in last month's (I think) Gourmet about a guy (also in VT) who eats local only for a winter. Really cool article.

[Lene]

That picture of you is... er... um... I really like the glasses. ;)

I so need a garden.

[Cathy]

If you suddenly whiz thru lace knitting I want your prescription, if you don't mind. Love the rose frames. Love the commenter with sharp eyes (what's HER script?) who spotted the reel behind you. Don't you usually wear that expression? What does Vincent think about your new glasses? Agree about eating locally. Etc. Etc.

[Jan]

If I ate only local, I'd be up to my ears in corncobs.
Now that you can see, will we be treated to more posts of this length?

[Leslie]

Man, I thought I was a frickin' hero for making my own soap.

[jackie]

Totally jealous of the garden and all those local farms. I have the greenmarket here but I would love to grow all my own stuff.

[Carole]

The glasses look terrific. And the garden - oh man, am I jealous! You have time to work? And knit?

[Sandy]

Thanks for the yard porn!

[Dawn]

Norma, your gardening impresses the heck out of me. It's exactly what I would love to do if I had the land and the time. I don't even like tomatoes that much (well, not the supermarket kind), and the thought of munching them off the vine has me drooling... not to mention all your other growing edibles.

[Elizabeth]

Total garden envy. It looks like my (sad, lone) tomato plant is at the same stage. And I... think... the glasses look good, except there is a crazy person wearing them! Tell Stephanie, you didn't mean THAT local, like downtown; she can go to Kensington market. Sheesh.

[Kathy]

That picture is hysterical! Thinking there needs to be a brand new banner ;-)

I'm taking part in the eat local challenge, too. A bit harder for me, though a lot of what we eat *is* local, just not all of it. I'm going to have to do some research on grains in particular since I don't know what is produced near me. But produce and dairy are pretty much covered, and I can get local meat without too much trouble as well. Here's where I wish I had a garden so I could pick beautiful chard and cook it up on the fly.

BTW, that's my favorite way of preparing greens of all sorts, with perhaps a sprinkle of soy sauce at the end to gild the lily. And grilled vegetables are soooo good! Zucchini is my favorite, but thick onion slices and red bell peppers come in a pretty close second. Yum.

[Bridget]

I am so jealous that you didn't get sick from your snazzy new glasses. I get sick from new glasses that AREN'T bifocals/progressives. But then, I get car sick, boat sick, ride sick, etc, and I think it's all related. Good thing I didn't want to be an astronaut.

PS - The garden is impressive too!

[Celia]

Oh, Norma. Now I have to be jealous of your GD garden. We have a plethora of "local" goat cheese here, but haven't had time for a garden ince I started graduate school 10 years ago. Now the yard is a wasteland, literally, frequented almost exclusively by the dogs. But we have plans, and a willing gardener in training (the boyo's back) so maybe next year...

[freecia]

Glasses look good on you! Garden envy, but bigger, Ben & Jerry's is your hometown? GAHHHHH! ENVY. Your cave would need to be a local cave.

Thanks for the reminder to eat local grown. Being California, an agri. state believe it or not, we suburb yuppies seem to have a lot of imported goods. Or being within 2 hours of Napa, overpay. I'll be on the lookout for local foods, though I don't know if I can let go of Wild Salmon.

[claudia]

Can I move in with you? I'm small, I don't eat much.....

[Kathy]

Your glasses look tres cute. The Green Mountain State just rocks. We have become chard addicts (not Koigu, but chard) this summer -- we joined a CSA and have been picked TONS each week. My husband has been affectionately re-named the Forrest Gump of Chard.

[Jenny]

Norma's ready for her close-up now, Mr. DeMille.....I love all the photos of your terrific garden. Hmmmmm, I think there is the potential for a gardening calendar there. Or maybe a book......Garden with Norma for Huge Vegetables That You Can See Without Your Glasses!!

[Andrea]

I bow to your garden. And I envy your ability to eat so many wonderful organic foods locally. We do have a lot here in the summer, but Utah is not Vermont, in case you hadn't figured that out yet... ;)

[Rachel H]

Sigh... If I followed you home, would you keep me? I'm quiet, and basically harmless, and I promise not to interfere with your garden (if I showed you mine, you'd realize that isn't actually a problem for me. I haven't 'interfered' with it for a very long time), or swipe from the stash.

[greta]

sigh. Please let me know if any of the houses in YOUR neck of the woods are up for sale. I'm SO jealous that you can TRULY eat locally.
Besides, it is 117 with the heat index here today.
That would be degrees F.
in.the.shade.
NORma!

[Donna]

You should write an article for Mother Earth News! My DD just came home from a summer stint in Germany and has demanded that the family start practicing eating locally and organic to boot! I remember trying to get her to eat this way several yrs ago and she won't...it took a trip to Germany to convince her. Geesh!! BTW, the glasses look fab - even if they do make your stomach queasy.

[Kim]

Norma.....I would love to see a full picture of your garden. I am really interested in the types of companion gardening you are doing to keep the bugs behaving. Next year I am hoping to get back to some serious gardening.

Now on to your next post......it looks VERY intersting :-), but I will have to save it for later today. Busy, busy, busy

[Rachel]

Norma, thanks for making me feel totally inadequate. Now I feel the need to babystep my way to self-sustainability.

[gaile]

love the new specs. Love the garden! ever read Eliot Colemans year round gardening? brilliant, although perhaps time consuming! again v v sad that I don't live across the street from you! :-)