It's Alive!

Autumn is by far my favorite season. No matter where I have lived it's always been so and that holds true for my new home in Daly City. It seems that fall is the clearest season for us and right now we are still enjoying a beautiful Indian Summer. When the weather cools down a bit it will be time for baking. I have absolutely no baking skills, that's Joey's department, but I do love making bread...in my bread machine.

Yes, I have a bread machine and I love it. One of my favorite recipes is an easy sour dough recipe. It produces a crispy crust and chewy inside. Just like it should be. You can find the recipe here. It's very easy, but there is one ingredient you need to plan ahead for - the sour dough starter. You can't wing it on this one. It's a must that you take your starter out at least 24 hours ahead of time and feed it. If not, then you aren't going to be making sour dough that day.

I bought my starter from King Arthur's Flour about two years ago. I tried to make my own, but that was a huge failure. It was much easier to get theirs and start feeding it. Having a starter is kind of like having a pet. You need to take care of it. You need to feed it. I was pretty good the first year about feeding my starter every one to two weeks then I moved here and the starter went to the back of the refrigerator not to be rediscovered until about a week ago. After a year on not feeding it, I was pretty sure that my started was dead. I hadn't touched it in over a year. It was this grayish mass. I was about to throw it out, but something told me to just try feeding it and see what happened. It couldn't hurt and all it would cost me is a cup of flour. I added my flour and warm water and let it sit on the stove.

The next day I looked at the starter and there were about three little bubbles in it. The bubbles indicate that it's alive. Three was not many, but it was encouraging. Maybe I could bring this back to life! I stirred in a little more flour and warm water and put it back on the stove.

I went back a day after that and there were still only a few little bubbles. Maybe it was wishful thinking that it was going to come back to life. Oh well, no worries. I will just throw this out and order some more. I put it back on the stove because starter and very sticky and messy and I wasn't in the mood to deal with it at that moment.

I was really procrastinating on throwing this away so I just left it on the stove for a couple more days. Finally, I decided it was time to say good-bye. When I opened the lid to scoop out the starter, to my surprise, it was bubbling! It's alive!!! I brought my little starter back to life.

So, I guess you can revive an old starter. I think the key is to feed it then just leave it be for a few days. That's what I did and guess what Joey and I are having this week?

Our Pigeons Are So Gay

Our pigeons are so gay. I mean that literally. We have gay pigeons. Your first thought might be, "Wait. You have pigeons?" To which I say, doesn't every gay couple in the Hillside area of Daly City have pigeons? To that, I can answer a resounding yes, since I am pretty sure Joey and I are the only gay couple living in the Hillside area of Daly City. But that is not the point. We are talking gay pigeons. To be exact our gay pigeons.

Ellen

Let me give you some background. This all started when a homing pigeon named Ellen (she told me), showed up in our backyard and decided that home is where the heart is. Her heart apparently is right on Price in the Hillside area of Daly City. This is usually what happens to a neighborhood. First the gays move in, then the next thing you know the pigeons come. Ellen seduced us with her charms and before we knew it we were building her a pigeon loft. Well, Joey did most of the work. I just assisted. He built quite the pigeon palace. However, in this case the whole "if you build it, they will come" thing did not happen. Why isn't life like the movies? Ellen is a smart girl. Why would she want to live in a loft, no matter how stylish, when she could come and go as she pleases knowing she can always come home to a delicious meal? Ellen is a modern girl and will not be caged. That's fine by us. We applaud Ellen on her individuality and free spirit. But what do we do with the loft? Get pigeons, that's what.

Joey's Pigeon Loft

There is a pigeon rescue in San Francisco called, Mickacoo. They are a the sister organization of Mickaboo the bird rescue I volunteer for. They were having an event in Tiburon and Joey and I decided to go. That where we saw them. Lola and Luigi. Lola is a very large king pigeon and Luigi is a beautiful fantail. We were in love. We asked about adopting them and after filling out the proper paperwork and interviews they were ours. Turns out Lola is really a male. That's just his drag name. His new name is Lorenzo and Luigi is his partner.



So what's so gay about them? Well, besides the obvious, right now they are taking turns trying to hatch the fake eggs we put in their nest. Seems that our little gay pigeon couple is feeling clucky. They are the new normal of Price Street. I guess we all are.

Mojoe

Last night as Joey and I were in bed watching TV with Mojoe I was admiring the little guy (Mojoe, not Joey) and remarking how much he must trust me to sleep so soundly in my hand. What a life he has!

We started this routine when we got Mojoe at five weeks old. We needed to quarantine him from our other birds for a month so we had him in the bedroom. In order to spend time with him, we took him out and watched TV on my laptop in bed.  He always fell asleep in my hand. After the month ended we continued the routine and have since graduated to a bigger house and a bigger TV in the bedroom. I think we all look forward to this time together and Mojoe gets quite mad if we are even late for TV time.

Mojoe as hand-fed and since we got him at such an early age he is completely tame. That doesn't mean he's behaved, he's just tame. Mojoe knows no fear which gets him into trouble. Why would he know fear, though? He really knows nothing besides life with us, which means a loving and safe home, an endless supply of food; and of course, TV time. I never want him to know hardship.

A lot of birds aren't as lucky as Mojoe. In fact, there are so many abused and abandoned pet birds it breaks my heart. What if this had happened to Mojoe? I hate to even think about it.  That's why I volunteer for and support Mickaboo.  Mickaboo is a bird rescue group in the Bay Area that helps companion birds who have been neglected, abused, injured or surrendered. This all volunteer group does amazing work helping hundreds of birds. This isn't cheap.  Last month alone, Mickaboo's vet bills were over $20,000!!!  Can you believe that?  Well, actually I can. Mojoe got in a little scuffle last month and his bill alone cost me $800, so it comes to reason Mickaboo would have huge bills. But, how do they afford it? Well, through donations, fund raisers and events like Chase Community Giving.  In fact, you can vote right now for Mickaboo!  Just go to the Chase Community Giving page on Facebook or go to their website to vote.  By just doing that one simple task you can help Mickaboo win $10,000!  Imagine how much that would help!  Let's give all birds the chance to have a life like Mojoe.

Please vote!

My First Morning Glory

Well, not really my first, but we'll get to that.

This afternoon I went downstairs to water my apple tree and there it was, my first morning glory! A couple of months ago I planted some seeds near my rose bush. Slowly but surely a few vines sprouted up and starting making their way up the trellis and today I had my first flower. This is not only exciting, but very meaningful for me.

You see, when I was five years old we planted morning glory seeds in little pots. When they sprouted up we got to take them home. I gave mine to my Great Grandmother who planted it in her garden. Every time I went to visit her we would go out together and look at my handy work. I was always so excited when she showed me each new blossom.  I always think of that when I think of my Great Grandmother and today that same excitement came flooding back.

Boy, do I love my garden!

Got Fog?

I had some great plans for this Labor Day weekend. All centered around the garden.  As you can see from the picture, this doesn't seem to be the day for that. Daly City is known for it's foggy days, but in the almost year that I have been here, today has to be the foggiest yet. 

Everyone told me it would be foggy here, but since I moved here it's not been so bad. Joey and I live way up on the edge of Daly City right near San Francisco.  We get much more sun than our neighbors by the sea. Today isn't one of those days. I'm not complaining, though. Soon we will have our Indian Summer and that makes this fog worth it.  Happy Labor Day!

The Battle Continues

Powdery Mildew

August is a very foggy month here in Daly City. In fact, I don't think I have seen the sun here in weeks. While the rest of the country is suffering under a heat wave, it's a chilly 55 degrees.  Now, I am not complaining. I will take a cold, foggy day to heat any day. My garden, however, is another story. Plants need sun and my plants have been suffering.  What's worse is that these are ideal conditions for that demon powdery mildew.

More powdery mildew

I first encountered powdery milder on my rose bushes in the front yard and I cured them with some diligence and milky water. It really did the trick.  A 3 to 1 ration of water to milk sprayed on the rose bushes weekly not only killed the mildew and prevented it's spread. This time, though, the mildew was on my apple tree and my climbing rose bush.  How the heck was I going to get up there? I tried to ignore it, but it spread quickly.  Really quickly. As August progressed the fog got thicker, it got wetter and the mildew was thriving.

August 2012 Mid-Day Daly City

As you know, I do not want to use pesticides in my garden. This is especially true in the backyard where sparrows play in the trees all day. But, how was I going to tackle this problem when I couldn't even reach it? With a bit if determination, that's how!

First, I got an extended clipper and pruner and clipped off all the mildew I could find on the apple tree.  Luckily, there wasn't a lot and I could get most of it clipped off. Next I tackled the rose bush. It was horrible. I did this on a ladder and ended up clipping about half of the bush off. Still, there are places I couldn't reach.

Now that I had clipped off the nasty mildew, I needed to spray the tree and bush with milk. For that I bought the Gilmour Pre-Mix Sprayer. I love this thing! I fill the bottle with milk, connect it to my hose and it does the mixing for me while it sprays.  A spray it does. I would say I can spray about 30 feet. Perfect for both the apple tree and the rose bush.

So, how's it working? I am happy to say there are no more signs of powdery mildew on the apple tree and I am getting the rose bush under control. There is light at the end of the tunnel. Or should I say sunshine? Today I woke up to a clear sunny day. It looks like our Indian Summer has come a little early. What more could I ask for?

August 28, 2012 - Daly City Sunshine!

Tomato Pie

One of my favorite websites is Kevin Lee Jacobs' A Garden for the House. I discovered this site only a few months ago when searching for gardening sites. It is indeed a great site for gardening tips, but so much more. It has amazing recipes! In the past couple of months, I have made three of Kevin's recipes with great success: Lettuce Soup, Blue Cheese Dressing and, most recently, Tomato Pie.

I had never heard of tomato pie before. I had heard of The Tomato Tart, but I just thought that was my friend Sabrina and her site. About a week ago a recipe for tomato pie appeared on Kevin's site and I just had to try it! All I could think of for a week was how much I wanted to try this tomato pie! Well, I did last Saturday and I wasn't disappointed. It was delicious! Not only that, it was beautiful. Look at that picture! It has to be one of the most beautiful things I have ever made.

I made a few modifications to my version of the recipe based on a few others I researched online, but this recipe is all Kevin. My changes are minimal. I used two cheeses, added a shallot and drained the tomatoes a bit. Most recipes call for a pie shell rather than biscuits, but I loved the biscuits. I think they make the dish. Try to get the freshest tomatoes you can find, but I will be honest and say I only had time to go to the supermarket and this pie still was delicious.

Ingredients

• 10 refrigerated biscuits from package (I used Pillsbury Grands Jr.) 
• 2 large tomatoes, thinly sliced 
• 1 shallot, minced
• 1/3 cup Fresh basil, sliced thinly (about 10 leaves) 
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1 cup extra-sharp cheddar cheese, grated 
• 1 cup gruyere cheese, grated 
• Salt and pepper

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375. 
2. Slice the tomatoes into 1/4 inch thick slices and place in a colander. Sprinkle with salt and allow to drain for 10 minutes. 
3. Spray a 9-inch pie plate with non-stick spray. 
4. Press the biscuits against the sides and bottom of the plate and form a crust. 
5. Layer the tomato slices on the dough and give them a couple grinds of pepper. 
6. Sprinkle the shallot on top of the tomatoes evenly. 
7. Sprinkle on the basil. 
8. Combine the grated cheese and mayonnaise together. 
9. Spread the mixture on top of the tomatoes. 
10. Bake for 30 minutes until lightly browned. 
11. Let stand for 30 minutes before serving.

Makes 6 servings