No fixed plans. Not intent upon arriving.
Breakfast was a slice of ham, hash brown potatoes, two cups of coffee, and a glass of orange juice. I weighed 158 pounds.
Lunch was a bowl of multi-bean and ham soup, a glass of Redwood Creek Merlot, and some peanuts… all while sitting on the front porch.
Dinner was a steak salad, and two Sierra Nevada Pale Ales.
Gretchen and I were talking with Verne, her father, and mentioned that the remaining potatoes we have in cold storage were sprouting, since the cold room was warming up with the weather, and we were worried about loosing all of the potatoes we had left. He recalled that one of his most hated chores as a boy was to pick the sprouting potatoes out of the storage bin and break the sprouts off so they would keep longer.
The temperature in our cold room is up to about 55°F and the ideal temperature for storing potatoes is around 40°F with high humidity — around 85%. Well, it turns out that those are just about the same conditions that exist in the vegetable crisper of your refrigerator. So now ours is filled with de-sprouted potatoes… and it seems to work. The potatoes are noticeably firmer.
We planted a new flowering crab apple tree this morning, down along the driveway.
Later in the afternoon, we planted the potatoes.
First I tilled the area we were going to plant. (Look! I’m a Troy-Bilt ad.)
Next, we hooked up a gadget to the tiller that digs a trench for the potatoes.
According to Fortune, this is how to store coffee:
If possible, buy beans within two to three days of roasting, and purchase no more than you can drink within a week. Roasted whole beans remain fresh for up to two weeks, but if exposed to light, heat or humidity, they’ll make a less than stellar brew.
To store, tightly reseal open bags of beans with a clip or rubber band and tuck them into an airtight opaque container. Store beans in a cool spot away from the stove, but not in the refrigerator or the freezer. [Food Network Kitchens]
There is more detail at Food Networks.
Food Network Kitchens. “How to buy and store beans for fresher coffee.” Alameda Times-Star. 28 April 2004. <www.timesstar.com/Stories/0,1413,125~1549~2113210,00.html> (29 April 2004).
Breakfast was two cups of coffee, a glass of orange juice, a bowl of cereal with sliced banana, and a butterscotch square. I weighed 156 pounds.
Lunch was a ham and cheese sandwich, a butterscotch square, and a Saranac Pale Ale.
Dinner was a Smoked Turkey Baked Chimichanga (can you tell we love these things?), two Saranac Pale Ales and the last butterscotch square.
Gretchen went for a walk in the woods this morning. Mending fences.
We came across this garter snake. I figured he would be cold and moving very slowly, but he quickly slithered away once he realized we saw him.
We also noticed that the woods were full of new fiddle head fern shoots.
Gretchen pointed out these anemones to me.
On the way back to the house, we noticed that the storm last night must have knocked this robin’s nest off of its perch. It’s early… They’ll make another.
Back at the house, oscar was sleeping in the sun coming in through the door.
Breakfast was three cups of coffee and a butterscotch square. I weighed 156 pounds. That’s more like it.
Lunch was one and a half quesadillas, a Saranac Pale Ale, and a butterscotch square.
Dinner was grilled swordfish, Indian Harvest sunset blend rice, two glasses of Redwood Creek Merlot, a small salad, and a butterscotch square.
We used the first produce from our 2004 garden — chives. We cut a little up and used it as a garnish.
Breakfast was a sautéed onion omelette, three cups of coffee, and a glass of orange juice. I weighed 158 pounds and I am not to thrilled about the trend here.
Lunch was a quesadilla and a Saranac Pale Ale.
Dinner was two of those small ham sandwiches and another Saranac Pale Ale.
Mr. Mesnier’s immediate post-White House career will be the promotion of his first cookbook, “Dessert University,” based on his White House confections. So far, he has been invited to Bermuda, Alaska and the Dominican Republic to discuss the book, to be published by Simon & Schuster in September. [Burros]
Burros, Marian. “25 Years of White House Spin, All in Sugar.” The New York Times. 28 April 2004. <www.nytimes.com/2004/04/28/dining/28WHIT.html> (27 April 2004).