It must be spring!

Spring has got to be close at hand, cuz we're getting antsy.

I've got my seed catalogs in hand. And, although I haven't committed to exactly what's going to take up space in our two little raised beds, I'm eager to begin getting my hands dirty. Paul is also dusting off his "honorary farmer" clothes in preparation for the work that lies ahead. He pointed out to me that we can "almost see dirt" underneath all that snow. So, summer is due anytime now.

Secondly, we've started to think about a CSA membership. We belonged to TIPI last year (we split a share with our friends Steph & Nate). This year, we're not only contemplating switching farms, but we're also thinking about whether or not we can tackle a share on our own.

It's always a tough decision. After all, we LOVE spending time at the farmer's markets in town. And we love having our own (albeit small) urban vegetable garden. And a full share (meant to feed two voracious veg-heads, or an average family of 4) might just give us enough food so that we wouldn't have much need for those backyard tomatoes or an extra trip to the market. THEN AGAIN, we also love the idea of storing up extra veggies for the long Wisconsin winter. And a full share would give us a chance to do a bit more of that. So, we're going to give the idea a fair shot.
Right now, here's a sampling of the farms in the running:

• Jen Ehr Farm (Sun Prairie, WI) http://www.wisconsingrown.com/
• Pinehold Gardens (Oak Creek, WI) -- OK, I just found out this morning that they're "full up" for 2008... guess that's one less we have to consider.
• Rare Earth Farm http://www.rareearthfarm.com/
• Springdale Farm (Plymouth, WI) http://userfs.cec.wustl.edu/~sb2/SpringdaleFarm
• Afterglow Farm (Port Washington, WI) -- we're in love with the owners of this farm, and wish that their drop off sites were just a WEE bit closer! We may bite anyhow.
• LotFotL Community Farm (East Troy, WI) www.myspace.com/lotfotl-- These guys would be an interesting bet, as they're really new to the CSA game.

Something I Read Today: Article about Anthropologie

I found this article while surfing around today for something else. And I found it pretty interesting.

I don't think we have an Anthropologie yet in Milwaukee (though things seem to be cropping up here every day). But, I've been meandered in the store in Seattle, and I believe there was also one in Iowa City (or another place where I lived once... apparently age has destroyed a few of my brain cells that control vivid memory).

I totally agree that Anthropologie is an experience more than anything. And it's one of the few places that seems to do a pretty fine job of marketing itself to me (despite the fact that I'm probably on the lowest end of their income scale). So very UNlike the Abercrombie & Fitches of the the world, which actually SCARE me more than anything.

If you ask me, more businesses really need to start taking cues from the likes of them (and Starbucks, for that matter). This is the sort of creative energy that I see taking retail into the future.

Found Grocery List #2

A few of you have pointed out that we're not the first to be interested in found grocery lists. In fact, if you're interested in the concept, this site is pretty amazing. And there's a BOOK out there as well.

But, that isn't stopping us.
We're pleased to present the second in our "Found Grocery List" series.

Found Grocery List #2 (front and back)_
Found at: Outpost Natural Foods, abandoned in a stray shopping cart

Points of interest (or "What we DO know about this list):

• We happen to know that Juusto is a type of cheese, and it is very delicious
• Kefir is also quite good, and it's filled with beneficial pro-biotics.

Some questions this particular piece raises:

1. What in the world is #5 from the top?
2. What about the last item on the list?
3. What type of assertions can we make about someone who writes his/her grocery list on the back of a technical spec sheet?

What do you think?

Something I Read Today: Forbidden Fruits

I ran across this article from the NY Times yesterday, and took it home to read last night.

I was attracted to it, in part, because it's written by a farmer -- and I was interested in his point of view.

I'm now wondering if this is one of the reasons why our friends, living in Fargo, can't find a decent farmer's market in their area. Maybe the farmers can't afford to grow (and sell) local fruits and veggies in the first place...

*growl*

Peef and Lo Love Cake!

One thing we learned this weekend is that we REALLY love cake. We love baking cakes. We love decorating cakes. And we especially love eating cake.

Late on Friday, we decided to make a cake for Brandon's birthday party on Saturday.
It started off innocently enough.

1. First we mixed up the basics.
2. Then we added chocolate.
3. Finally, we poured the cake into our prepared pan.

Then, we decided to make it a three-layer chocolate butter cake with mint cookies & cream filling & buttercream frosting (made with Italian meringue).

And that's when the fun began.

This is how much butter it took to make the fabulous, fluffy buttercream frosting (eep!):











When the cake was assembled and filled, we decorated it using little candy diamonds from the cake decorating store.

















Paul even separated them by color to make the process easier.












The cake was so very delicious with a scoop of homemade vanilla bean icecream:

















YUM! CAKE!

And the Winner IS...

Behold! The February Soup Night Champion:

(sorry to those of you who were waiting with baited breath... We promised to post on Friday, but completely forgot!)

Speaking of Laundry

...turns out our Maytag (which is just under five years old) is dying.

The first indication of trouble was the horrendous sound the machine started to make while entering the spin cycle. If you can imagine the sound of a jet engine taking off in the basement, you've pretty much got the idea. Despite the fact that the machine still effectively cleaned our skivvies, it was becoming increasingly difficult to squeeze a nap in during our Saturday afternoon laundry sessions. So, we decided to take action. After some solemn consideration of the matter, and an overly optimistic inspection of the inner workings of the machine, we felt it might be prudent to get a professional opinion.

Turns out, we have a failed "triple lip" seal. Since warm, soapy water can now get to the "milkstool" and bearing, the mechanism is rusting. The rusting is causing the loud, aeroplane-like screaching sound. According to the repairman that we called to take a look, this is an all-too-common scenerio. The seal itself is (apparently) a serious pain to fix. A professional will charge about $200 (labor alone) for the job, and from the reading I've done, it's a pretty nasty do-it-yourself project. So, I think it's worth our time and energy to consider a replacement.

I've been doing a bit of reading, and apparently our repairman wasn't feeding us a line. Some people have reported their washing machines dying a similar death in 3 years or less! I guess this should make me feel better. But, the reality is, it makes me angry. Washing machines used to be made to last. And now, it seems, they're disposable items, made to self-destruct. Like so many other things.

We're contemplating the new front-loaders; but, overall efficiency aside, I'm not sure if I'm ready to shell out the cash. I am giving some serious consideration to utilizing our local laundromat. After all, I could do five loads at once there (saving precious time), and I'm nearly positive it would cost me less than $100/year (which, at this rate, is what it costs me for the convenience of simply owning a machine -- the cost of the energy to run it not included).

But, we're up for suggestions/opinions, if you happen to have any.