BORN STANDING UP BY STEVE MARTIN

AN UNUSUALLY HONEST BOOK!!

 

 

If you are a Steve Martin fan, or actually, even if you’re not, this book is an amazingly honest personal book.  Martin gives the reader the experience from his point of view of being a stand up comedian.  His memoir begins at the beginning, where he is unfailingly truthful about his relationship with his parents and his sister.  It’s not a pretty picture, but it explains much of his life’s work.

The memoir reads so smoothly, that I finished it in one sitting.  I always wondered what it took to be a stand up comedian, and this book actually reinforces my opinion that it is one of the most masochistic things a person can do with his life. 

It also explains why he quit doing it.

 

SZECHWAN EGGPLANT RECIPE

SZECHWAN EGGPLANT STIR-FRY   


INGREDIENTS:
Make white rice First> Toast Sesame Seeds

½ C RICE 1 C. WATER.  Cook covered with carrots first

3 tablespoons olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 – 3 Asian eggplants cut diagonally into ¼ slices.

One inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and minced
Red Onion ¼ (opt)

Chopped Kale

Carrots sliced diagonally

1 red pepper cut in ½ in. squares

Opt.  broccoli, beans, any veg!

Opt.  veggies: broc, carrot, bean, mushroom

SAUCE:

1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 t chili garlic sauce NO MORE THAN 1 LEVEL tsp!!

1 cup chicken broth  or water
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice vinegar or white balsamic
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch

Garnish With any combination of:

2 green onions, white and green parts, sliced on a diagonal
1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds and peanuts
Thai holy basil and fresh cilantro leaves or parsley, for garnish

Directions :

1. Cook sliced carrots in water or make rice with carrots.( 15 m.)

Slice  Asian eggplant on diagonal,. 

In oil, sauté chopped garlic, chopped ginger, (pepper, broccoli), red pepper, and red onion, eggplant.  (Use any veg!  I added carrots, radish,) 

Add rice and carrots after veg are cooked.  Into rice mixture, add ¼ c. water and chopped kale.  Cook until kale just begins to soften.  Mix garlic chili paste (1 level tbls), soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, and cornstarch and water (make about ¾ cup)  until the sugar and cornstarch are dissolved. Pour the soy sauce mixture into the pan and cook another minute, until the sauce has thickened until the sauce is absorbed. Garnish with peanuts, sesame seeds, the green onions, Thai basil, or parsley and cilantro and serve.

Seeds

Get Ready For Spring!

I ordered my seeds a few weeks ago from Harris seed and Gurney’s Seed & Nursery; I should be receiving them within a week, so today I decided to Plan out my two gardens and decide where each crop should be,

I choose the location for each crop depending on how much sun, how much room each needs, and what was planted in that location the year before. I don’t want to plant the same crop over and over in the same location. That only encourages bugs and diseases.

This year I will be planting the following: cukes, peas, tomatoes, black currant, asparagus, peppers, eggplant, basil, parsley, beans, lettuce, bok choy, snapdragons, watermelons, Gladiolas, zinnias, ageratum, garlic, zucchini, Canna, lupine,  and sunflowers.  

Last year in October I planted 30 garlic bulbs in my big garden. They should be ready to harvest in late June or early July this year. Once they are harvested, I will plant something in that spot. Probably zucchini or beans. Yet to be determined.

GARLIC TO PLANT

GARLIC DRYING IN GARAGE

GARLIC DRYING

GARLIC JUST HARVESTED

Watermelon:

I have never planted watermelon before, so I have no idea what to expect. I got some seeds for sugar baby watermelon, which are supposed to have a short Time to harvesting, and are supposed to be smaller than normal watermelons. I always like to try something new each year. So this is the year for watermelons!

 

DIGITALIS FERRUGINEA

RUSTY FOXGLOVE:

I found this growing in my garden last summer. It was extremely weird. I know I have written about it before, but what I did is divided it and planted it in three different locations. It will be very interesting to see what results. I was reading a magazine called gardens illustrated, and found of all things this picture of my weird and strange fox glove, which as you can see is called a digitalis ferruginea, Which I think is derived from the fact that Ferrous means iron, and The flowers are the color of rust.