Tuesday, December 6, 2011

I am terrible. I knew I shouldn't do it. I just couldn't help myself.....

I love avocado.

I would eat avocado with just about anything. I WILL eat avocado with nothing else. Sprinkled with salt or not, I will stand at the cutting board and stuff avocado slices into my mouth with no guilt what-so-ever.

So, when I stumbled upon a recipe for avocado fries..... I almost fainted. Because of course, I also love anything that is breaded and deep fried (who doesn't?!?). So, last night.... after reading many recipes for avocado fries, I did it. Now I am ruined. I can't stop thinking about them.

I will share the recipe with you but I warn you, they are amazing.




Ingredients:

Avocado
Flour
Bread Crumbs (I used plain panko)
Egg (beat and add a bit of water)
Salt
Peanut oil

Heat 1/2 inch oil in cast iron skillet to 375.
I mixed salt with the flour and sprinkled the avocado with salt after slicing.
Dredge avocado slices: flour, egg, panko.
Slide into hot oil and brown. Remove carefully and place on paper towel or brown bag lined plate.
They really don't take long to brown so keep an eye on them!

Oh, I almost forgot..... the sauce! (Which will now be used for many other things becuase it was crazy delicious.)

Mix together 1/2 cup mayo, juice from 1/2 lime and as much sriracha (hot sauce) as you want.



Enjoy. (You have been warned.)


Sunday, December 4, 2011

scarves for squirrels.

behold, a scurry of funmadon squirrels.



foil, newspaper, pancakes, spray paint, yarn and love.





happy fall!

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

This Fall

Fall is by far my favorite time of year. The colors, the smells, the crunch of leaves under your feet. For the past few years, my parents (sometimes accompanied one or both of my siblings) have come to visit me at the beginning of October. It's one of the best times to visit upstate New York as all of the colors are starting to show and the apples are ripe for the picking. 


It was a gorgeous weekend when they were here. We made a picnic lunch so that after apple picking was over we could visit Art OMI and stroll through the fields. Unfortunately the bugs were still hungry and kept us out of the woods. Seeing my parents always lifts my spirits so bugs or no bugs. It was a great day.

Art OMI

The fall is also when my brain has to get going on holiday gifts. I have been knitting for a few years and find that homemade goods often make the best gifts. This year will be no different. I do tend to get a little greedy and knit myself a few things first! I began with some hand warmers and then an infinity scarf. Last night I completed a gift for my mother and already have the yarn and pattern for my sisters gift. Hopefully I will be able to start it before I find something else I want for myself!

Last weekend was my last camping trip of the year. I went to the East Branch Sacandaga River (Siamese Ponds Wilderness) Lean-To. The hike was gorgeous, the sun was breaking through the trees, leaves crunching under my feet and best of all..... no bugs! 


Bridge on the trail to Lean-to


The temp got down to 18 degrees in the nearest town but sitting near (practically inside of) the fire made it tolerable. Also, thanks Kelty for my amazingly warm down sleeping bag.  The morning sun did wonders at melting the ice that had formed on both my sleeping bag and the tent overnight. The hike out was just as amazing as it was the day before. Though, I am seriously convinced that someone slipped in more uphill during the night because no way did I do that much down hill the day before.... Maybe it had something to do with the Multi-Verse everyone kept talking about. 


(Never saw any Doozers.... just proof that they exist)


Monday, October 3, 2011

It's My Birthday!

OK, so today isn't my birthday but..... my birthday is in the month of September. The 15th to be exact. Though, I am still thinking about my birthday and the week of.

IT WAS AWESOME.

Birthday Cup!!! (Filled with bloody mary.)

I went roller skating. Drank a lot of bloody mary's and climbed a couple mountains. Sounds like fun right?!? That's because it was.

super rad roller skates.

The mountains were my first two of the (traditional) 46 high peaks in the Adirondacks. I have a goal of climbing all of them and becoming a 46er.... no big deal. 

Me on the top of Casade.

Casade Mountain and Porter Mountain.


Ice on Porter.

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

a child's garden

I planted my first garden as an adult this year. It made me feel like a child. I was SO excited to choose the types of veggies I would plant. I could hardly wait to plant and weed and water! 
I visited stores and would always browse the seed section. I read about the types of plants that grow well in the area, how far apart to plant everything, when to plant them. It finally came time to dig up the garden. Friends who own a local organic farm came over, friends with shovels came over. It took about a half an hour to dig up our modestly sized patch of dirt. We saved the grass we took up for another section of the yard (which makes me curious about our small sodding project). We measured and built a frame for the garden. (Being at the highest natural part of Albany gives our back yard a very curious slope.) And now…. Time to plant!


Radish! Spinach! Beans! Peas! Onions (from our lovely farmer friends)! Carrots! Summer Squash! Red Peppers! What a salad this would all make!! I could hardly wait.
The garden was watered daily. I would look out from my bedroom window every morning, squinting my eyes for signs of green. Every day after work I would change my shoes and walk out to check. Bending down to examine the dirt for the slightest sign of life. Then finally….. One day after work it was like it all took off! Radish is up! Carrots! The summer squash!
Radishes (which are very popular in a child’s garden… surprise. surprise.) were my pride and joy. They were so quick to grow and pop out of the ground. Daily, I would run out after work and pick what was ready. Green beans were growing and harvested and enjoyed. The banana pepper plant I had retrieved and revived from a co worker gave quite a kick to a salad I had made one afternoon. I was so proud of the garden!


Then one day…. The spinach was not looking good. The peas were tumbling over and brown. The peppers were not growing. Though we watered and cared, it didn’t look like it was enough. The hot summer sun was just too much for them, and for me. Retreating into the air conditioning I felt sad for the veggies I had dreamed of turning into a lush green dinner.  The child in me again, pouted for a bit. More pouting came when the very gorgeous summer squash plants only produced one small zucchini. Which I then left too long, hoping it would grow large, only to have it get smushy.
Finally, I dug up the onions. Picked another few radishes, dug up a few carrots (a bit prematurely). Took another harvest of green beans from the slightly sickly plants. Washed and beamed with pride.
It’s Italian week at my house. All of the onions have been eaten and it’s only Wednesday. A carrot went into sauce. Beans were munched on. Even though only 50% of the seeds planted produced any type of edible food, I would call my first garden a success. I truly enjoyed the excitement and even the disappointments. The food that was harvested was delicious and even  though no money was saved, I feel richer now that it's done.

Next year garden, just you wait.