If you are climbing the walls…

Tags

dust, home, home ownership, HVAC, winter chores

vacuum them.

Spending so much time indoors this winter, I began noticing billions of dust particles flying around when I made the bed, dressed, or ran the blow dryer. Streaming morning sunlight highlighted these particles and I thought, if I am seeing all this, what am I breathing? On one particular sunny afternoon, as sunlight washed a wall, I noticed dust clinging to the paint! OMG!

Therefore, I have an new appreciation for dust. Or rather a highly developed loathing of dust.

Yes, I use high-count cotton sheets, but I frequently vacuum the fitted sheet while the bed is airing following a night’s sleep…but not every day. Heavy velvet draperies hang at both windows too, you know the “puddle-type” so popular in the ’90’s? Those I consider “self cleaning” just by drawing them open and closed every day…but where does that dust go? Answer, somewhere else in the room. Ok, I have three wool blankets on the bed too, that I often shake outdoors. But still, dust particles dance like fairies.

Years ago I added a whole-house electronic UV air filter to the HVAC attic air handler. The only time it was chocked full was the year I baked twenty loaves of market bread per week. When that experiment ended, I swore the particles came from R35 cellulose attic insulation. That stuff may be a great insulator, but I cringe every time the AC tech goes up for bi-annual inspections. Could those cellulose particles be trickling down the returns? I considered pricey room air filters, but decided I did not want to own another appliance nor wanted the noise/lights associated with it. So it goes.

Since my current HVAC unit is twelve years old, I bit the bullet and have a SEER 14 unit arriving on March 6th, with all the bells and whistles. Parts of the old attic air handler date back to 1995, so it is time. Pain-in-the-wallet time. But when all is done, will my resident air particles vanish? Will they be sucked into the new electronic air filter? The technician assures me that the updated unit “will make a big difference.” He also plans to address a few other issues created by the original company, like poorly placed flex lines. If I have dust now, how much will I have after having three techs wallowing in my attic’s cellulose for eight hours? Geeze!

Meanwhile, spring is attempting to arrive in Virginia. The ice and snow are nearly melted in the gardens. Temps reached 70F this week for one day. I pulled a few pernicious weeds/grasses yesterday, and discovered what little stamina I have. Is this an age thing, or has the past year subtly taken a toll on my body, mind, spirit?? Gosh, the new Pegan Diet is tempting. Will it fix all my aliments? Will it restore my energy of youth? With every new year, I have plans for the garden…updates, edits, new plantings and all this takes strength, agility, and determination. I have plenty of the latter.

If any of you have thoughts on any of these topics, do share in the comments section. After all, “we are in this life together.”

A question for readers: Do any of you own a robotic lawn mower? The thought of not walking behind my old Toro in summer heat/humidity is really attractive. I looked at what Home Depot is selling, and one can be had for $900. Laying the guideline is the biggest hurdle. Any advice?

Well readers, I am off perhaps to run the vacuum, which by the way has a HEPA filter. 😉

Take care and stay safe. We are not out of the woods yet.

Copyright 2021 by Diane LaSauce All Rights Reserved

why not kale…pesto?

Tags

Charlottesville City Market, chive flowers, easy recipes, farmer's market, fast food, food, Home Depot, kale, pesto, stretch gardening, vegetarian

Readers who follow my blog know I adore kale.

an earlier pasta dish with blanched kale and chive flowers. If you have gone Keto, substitute spiral veggies for pasta.

Truly, I eat kale every day—fall and winter—steamed for four minutes, drizzled with olive oil and often topped with two farm raised eggs, easy over. Adding variety to this super-food, I decided to make one of my favorite dishes—pesto.
Why not kale pesto?
Indeed, this dish will knock your socks off.

Diane’s Recipe for Fresh Kale Pesto

Find a large bunch of fresh curly kale, either from your garden or from a local farmer. Strip the leaves off the vein and tear leaves into pieces. Rinse kale, while bringing a pot of water to a boil. In a large bowl, add cold water and a few scoops of ice cubes. Set this bowl near the pot of boiling water. When water is boiling, add kale in batches and blanch for 30-45 seconds, or until kale is bright green. Using a spider, lift blanched kale out and plunge into the bowl of ice water. Repeat process until all kale is blanched and iced.

fresh from the local grower, Whisper Hill Farm ~ 9 stems

ice bath

blanching kale until bright green ~ 30-45 seconds

ice kale to stop cooking

squeeze water out of kale using hands

almond and pecan stash ~ always store nuts either in the fridge or freezer

Squeeze iced kale with hands and place all kale into the bowl of a food processor. Add 1/4 C sliced almonds, 1/4 C pecans, 1 t. Himalayan salt, black pepper to taste, 1/2 C virgin olive oil, juice from a whole fresh lime (I use a citrus press), and pulse entire contents, scraping sides of bowl a few times during processing. Add additional olive oil until smooth consistency is achieved.

kale pesto fully processed

Meanwhile, boil your favorite pasta or spiral some zucchini, reusing the blanching water. In this instance I used a combination of organic Casarecce and linguine. When pasta is al dente, remove it from the water using the spider. DO NOT RINSE. SAVE hot pasta water.

al dente Casarecce and linguine

Mix pesto into pasta or veggie noodles, adding additional olive oil and a few tablespoons of pasta water to dish until desired consistency is reached. Add a large knob (20g) of room temperature sweet butter and gently toss adding freshly grated Parmesan just before serving.

cooked pasta, knob of butter, kale pesto, toss adding additional pasta water and olive oil as needed. 

I promise this recipe will make a believer out of you. A real tasty dish that will have your friends talking. Serve with your favorite beverage and sexy tomatoes if in season. Serves 6.

If you are processing a lot of kale from your gardens in spring, simply place pesto into 8 oz. containers and freeze. Omit the cheese until consuming.

completed dish doused with fresh Parmesan

PS I adore pesto and make three signature pestos from home-grown herbs: French tarragon with pecans, chive artichoke with walnuts in the early spring, and classic basil with walnuts during the summer months. Those recipes may be found by typing “pesto” into the search bar on this blog.

This new kale pesto rounds out my repertoire and I hope you will enjoy them all. There is more to life than basil pesto!

Bon Appetit!

Copyright © 2013 by Diane LaSauce All Rights Reserved

the thing about renewal

Tags

DIY project, herb bed, Home Depot, home improvment, landscape design, renewal

Tired herb bed June 2011 in central Virginia, zone 7a. This bed began in 2001.

Over a decade ago, this small patch was claimed out of the lawn and provides yummy ingredients for many of my annual pestos, while supplying host food (dill and parsley) for black swallowtail larvae.

Herb bed May 2011. Berms and swales were the first attempt in this herb bed, yet constant surface water from across the turf forced the assorted mulches onto the gravel, making this design a total failure. I originally had parsley, dill, French Tarragon, and chives placed here, just outside the kitchen door.

When I paused at this place early one summer morning, gazing with an objective eye, this workhorse herb bed appeared to scream time for renewal!

At first, I envisioned a bubbly fountain in the center of the bed where perennial chives and French tarragon are primary residents. These two herbal varieties survived a decade of surface water and blazing western sun, yet this year both herbs looked exhausted following their initial spring harvest.

Originally I used berms and swales as a stopgap — successfully for years — yet this year my plants needed intervention. Therefore I began dreaming, drafting, plotting, and Internet research.

I envisioned round shapes within the pie shaped bed to hold the hardy herbs. Over a period of sweltering summer weeks, prices and material availability shaped my decisions. First, I removed the sundial from the center of the bed. Second, a beautiful urn, lost in the lower garden, took center stage as the spilling sedum suggests movement. A real fountain was not in my budget nor did I want the maintenance.

herb bed renewal in progress one hot August

Third, round raised beds were not available, therefore I opted for shaped pavers easily obtained from a local home improvement center. These babies are not for the faint of heart, as each weighs 20# and I needed 48 or 840#!

The patient and helpful guys at the garden center loaded a cart as I hand-picked each paver; since each block would be highly visible, I wanted no chipped blocks. Along with this purchase, I collected bagged topsoil, pea gravel, and heavy-duty landscape cloth. This assortment was transported in three separate trips, so as not to do in moi or my eleven-year-old MPV.

French tarragon bed complete and I like it! Once the ground was level (+OR-), I rolled out the landscape cloth, then placed the pavers. When the pavers were in a happy place, the cloth was cut out of the center of the circle to expose soil. Then amendments began. I transplanted herbs as I went.

Once the pavers were placed and the cloth removed from the inner circle, sod busting came next on the agenda. For this, I used a sturdy pitchfork that dug twelve inches deep — the slender tines eased the heavy clay out of its fist-like grip.

slim tines of the sturdy pitchfork ease clay out of the ground so new topsoil could be added

In order to clean up the outer edges of the main bed, I raked back the wandering gravel and reused the tumbled blue-stone pavers from the first bed then added found river rock to detail the opposite eleven foot side. The pre-existing outer curved rim of the bed is a mini French drain filled with river pebbles.

side view of herb bed in transition…so sad.

The soil was a hodge-podge of tough Virginia clay with years of amendments, yet digging strained every muscle/tendon in my upper body, so I took a few days off to admire my handiwork. Keep in mind this was a one-woman DIY project! Following rest and a few rain showers, I began the task of hauling and placing the pavers. Armed with both a rake, scissors, and one roll of landscape cloth — which helped create a blank canvas — I persevered.

this brand is super!

I liked the first circle, yet added additional pavers to the next two beds to enlarge. Over the course of one week, this bed was heaved and shifted into place, transplanting the herbs as I completed the next circle. Both the landscape cloth and pea gravel gave nice finishing touches, resembling icing on a cake.

project ongoing between rests! Adore that pea gravel! Such a nice finish.

Other than the heavy lifting, this project was highly enjoyable, budget-friendly, and the finished result pleasing to the eye…do you agree? Two years later, the herbs continue to thrive and the paver beds are as tidy as the day they were installed.

completed herb bed renewal August 2011. Pea gravel is nice touch!

The third and final circle (right) will grow annual herbs such as cilantro, dill, and curly parsley. They will look handsome planted in pie-shaped wedges within the circle. Perhaps rosemary will find this new environment habitable and continually remind me that  “Rosemary is for Remembrance”.

Oh how true

the herb bed in June 2015. A real success story. Since then, I removed the outer rock border and stones blend together. 

Here is a personal invitation for you to check out my recipes for chive/artichoke and kale pestos. Simply type the word pesto into the search bar on my blog site.

In closing, I assure you that having a healthy herb bed will provide both you and your family nutritious and simple food choices that are easy and fun to grow, even when space is limited. And if you have help and a F350, this project could be completed over a weekend! Plus, the French tarragon and chives featured here are now fifteen years old — lots of bang for the buck…Bon Appetit!

Copyright © 2011 by Diane LaSauce All Rights Reserved