Okay, everybody, get out your calendars and pens, because you'll want to mark down today as the day I had my Best Idea Ever. Would you be surprised to find out that the Best (and messiest, as it turns out) Idea Ever was a sandwich?

So, last night I threw a bunch of things into a glass pot and baked it for a while. Zucchini and peas, diced tomatoes from a tin, onion, garlic, herbs, and tomato paste. I topped it with slices of fresh mozzarella for the last ten minutes of baking and had some of it over pasta for dinner. The veggie mix was fantastic -- much better than I had expected, even. But I don't really like pasta. I always think I do. . . but I usually don't. So I had been scheming about how to use the leftover veggie mixture.

Enter the farmers market this morning and a bag of the freshest, most delicious ciabatta rolls I've ever seen. Suddenly, my Best Idea Ever began to take shape. When I got home, I sliced a roll in half and buttered both sides, placing them on a hot iron pan to warm up. I heated up some of my veggies (with a generous portion of the mozzarella on top) and a couple of Quorn 'chicken' nuggets. Assemble: Bottom of roll, layer of vegan cream cheese, Quorn nuggets (split in half the flat way), veggie mixture with mozzarella on top, fresh (and local!) spinach, top of roll.

I wouldn't usually bother to write a post about a mere sandwich, but this was one of those meals that left me completely satisfied -- full, but not grossly full, totally relaxed, and thinking that life is pretty fine. No medical bills, no ailing computer, no deadlines. Just sunshine and weekends forever.

Time for some garden pictures, I think. It's been pretty grey outside lately -- great, because it brings some rain for the plants, but it does make it difficult to take pictures. Luckily, the sun came out for an hour or two this afternoon, so I took the camera out while I did my weeding.

Perennials blooming! These irises are the first, although I guess the lily of the valley started a while ago too. I've also got something red in the front (I've got a garden in the front now! It looks fantastic! I will take pictures another day.), but I can't remember what it is. I was worried the irises would bloom while I was in Ohio, but they waited for me.

The gardening theme this year is 'things I thought I didn't like.' The most obvious is my new fondness for flowers in general -- I mean, I've always liked them, but last year I couldn't be bothered to tend to anything that wasn't a vegetable. I've also really come to appreciate my hostas:

These are along my backyard (I didn't include them in my map, but they're on the alley side of the fence), and I really took them for granted last year. I was glad to have something that could stand the punishing sun and dry weather, but I sort of saw them as 'common' and let the tall grass invade and basically ignored their existence for the most part.

This year, something in me has changed, and I'm really loving them. They're just so healthy! They were quick to emerge from the ground this spring, and these ones are already so big and hardy. But they're also really delicate in a way, very soft, and the variegation in the different kinds (there are four or five different varieties along this strip) is really pretty. So, there you go. I like hostas now.

And, of course, there's the veggie garden. That's not a new love this year, obviously. The plants are in their infant stage now, I would say. Not quite toddlers, but they can hold their (figurative) heads up. In this photo, you can see the onions front and center (there are carrot seedlings in front of them, but they're not very visible from this distance). The radishes are behind the onions, and the greens (lettuce, kale, and chard) are to the side.

Here's a wider view of the veggie plot. I think the only thing you can't see in there is the pepper patch. My potatoes are up (hooray! They were taking a while.), the bush beans are up, the peas are looking healthy and starting to grab on to their supports. I thought I might have done in my Brandywine plant (hardening off was just so boring), but the new growth seems alright -- the leaves are much darker now and aren't as susceptible to sunburn as before. The other two tomato plants (Mr Stripey and Cherokee Purple) are already blossoming! I haven't been able to get an internet consensus on this -- should I nip these blossoms in the bud? The plants are only about a foot tall, and I don't want early flowers to stunt their growth or affect the overall output of the plants. I don't think this happened last year!

Ah, the worries of a pretend farmer.

Look, look! Baby radishes:

So, I had my first official (mini) harvest today -- something more than just herbs. I cut some lettuce, chard, and -- of course -- pulled a couple of radishes. They were pretty small, but not quite as small as I thought they might be, and the young chard was really nice and tender. It made a good salad, topped with some dill and chives from the garden.

The year is nearing the halfway point, and I have to say that it's been pretty trying so far. There always seem to be great things happening as well, but they're often overshadowed by health or money concerns. It's life, right?

At least now, even though the hurdles keep cropping up, the weather and the prospect of summer ahead are keeping me going.

I know I keep going on about the porch, but it's where I spend a lot of my time these days. Sometimes it seems like a cat takes my spot every time I get up, but at least Beany will let me share the chair with her. She seems pretty happy with the situation, actually.

Would you find it strange if I said that, by the end of our holiday in London (in January), I was completely stressed out, a bit depressed, and desperate to return home -- but that by the end of our holiday in Ohio (this weekend), I was feeling refreshed, a bit excited, and totally disappointed that we had to leave? I guess that just scientifically proves that Ohio is better than London. Surprising!

We were in Ohio for S's reunion in/at Oberlin for the long weekend. I don't have many regrets about my own college experience, but I've kind of got a crush on Oberlin now. Maybe it was just the decadently beautiful spring weather, the awesome people, and the total lack of obligations that made this weekend seem particularly wonderful. Also, there was a huge burrito at one point, and I think I'm still coming down from that high.

We also spent some time with S's family, who moved to Cleveland a few years ago. Sometimes it seems like the strangest, most random things inspire me, and watching his grandpa eat breakfast fell into that category. I came in the room somewhere around the middle of the process, and the table was spread with tasty foodstuffs -- yogurt, grapes, oatmeal cookies, cherries, nuts. While I sat there and tried to wake up (black-out window shades are not my friend), water was boiled, Nesquik mixed, cinnamon raisin bread was toasted and spread with jam. And then we went for a walk around the lake. That's my kind of life!

Anyway, that's why I've got a photo of today's breakfast up there. I love seeing the routines and rituals in other people's eating habits, and I especially enjoy when it seems like people effortlessly make wise food choices, one's that keep them both happy and healthy.

I have to apologize if the photo seems too dark or too bright or the wrong colour entirely. I came back to a desktop which refuses to start up, and trying to correct levels on a laptop feels about as effective as trying to do so with my eyes closed. Or wearing sunglasses, at least.

Anyway, I hope you had a great weekend, and I really hope you weren't caught in any of the bad weather over the past few days. On with spring!

The weather's been fantastic lately, I've been hard at work (both in the money-earning sense and out in the garden), and life is pretty good. Here are a few things keeping me happy this week:

Banana cake. Well, it's actually more like regular banana bread -- it's not fluffy and light enough for me to really consider it cake -- but I did frost it with fake cream cheese icing. (To frost this six inch cake, I mixed four ounces Tofutti 'cream cheese' with two tbsp Earth Balance, both at room temperature, then mixed in about a cup and a quarter powdered sugar.) I've been in more of a fruit-pie-over-cake type of mood for the last few months, but I do like a little sliver of this. Mainly for the frosting.

I had a really tricky time deciding whether to use the above photo or this one. I prefer the look of the frosting in that one, but it doesn't show up in the smaller version as well. I also really like this shot. The quality of the light coming through the window screen almost makes it look like film.

Speaking of window screens, I've been really enjoying my porch:

This is prime porch weather; it doesn't get any better than this time of year. Although! This year I figured out how to open the storm windows. How foolish am I? All last summer, I wondered why I never got any breeze going through the porch, and it was because the storm windows were closed and behind the screens (so it didn't look like they were there at all). So maybe this summer I'll be able to keep it a more reasonable temperature.

I've just cleaned it up for the spring, too. I took everything out and swept and wiped up the floors, I washed out my unused planters and brought them in, and I've been putting various pretty things back out there. My new morning routine includes eating breakfast on the porch and then sitting in the sun with Booty in my lap. Can't go wrong.

Lastly, just because I think she's swell:

I talk to the cats a lot (not in a crazy what's-your-opinion-on-this-skirt kind of way, just in a friendly how's-it-going kind of way), but I've never made an effort to teach Beany any words, the way one might do with a dog. So I sort of figured she didn't really recognize most of what I say. But the other night, while chasing her around the house to get her downstairs (where the cats sleep), I asked if she wanted cat food. And wouldn't you know it, she galloped over to her (empty) dish for some cat food, which I let her have -- downstairs! Ha ha, foiled again. But how about that? It's like she has a tiny cat brain that can work things out on its own.

Now if only she could recognize the inevitability of winding up in the basement at night, and stop putting up such a struggle.

p.s. -- I've been moderating the comments that come through, due to all the spam I've been getting. If you've commented recently, I think a new comment will post right away -- otherwise, I have to approve it, so it might not show up immediately.

Well, the farmers market was in full swing yesterday! There weren't that many more vendors than the last time I went (two weeks ago), but the weather was so amazing that the customers were out in hordes. I came away with a pleasing collection, including the finest asparagus to ever grace my plates.

I haven't been able to eat fresh fruit and veg for a while, but I've been feeling pretty good lately, and this meal definitely helped in that regard. I stirred some chives and dill from my garden into Tofutti 'sour cream', and it was so delicious with those little boiled potatoes and steamed veggies.

This morning, we had more amazing asparagus with local eggs, scrambled with more garden chives and dill. I could get used to this local thing. And since I've signed up for the One Local Summer challenge, I think I'll get my chance.

Oh, thank goodness.

It's time for more garden photos! I stuck my thumb in the air yesterday, put my ear to the ground, and decided it was safe to purchase and plant the more delicate of my veggies. The spring has been so slow to get started around here, everybody's been saying. I think I get that; I keep expecting it to take one last dip below freezing, to snow like it did only a few short weeks ago. And then I remember it's the middle of May already.

I'm very fond of my little baby radishes, although I have to say that I haven't been blown away by their growth. They came up weeks ago, and this is all they've got to show for themselves. But even though our last frost date wasn't late this year (assuming the forecast for the next week isn't utterly wrong), I guess it really was colder in the weeks leading up to it. Anyway, things are getting going now.

So, as I was saying, I went to Malmborg's yesterday to buy my veggies. I think I've got just about everything I need now, save a butternut squash plant and a couple more herbs I want to get at the farmer's market. See the veggie garden here. Everything's so small right now! Last year, I wound up having some really crowded areas and really bare areas. Chard got overshadowed by broccoli, peppers were hidden under sprawling zucchini plants, and the tomatoes threatened to take over the entire plot. Some arms from the tomato plants wound up on the ground and seemed to be trying to take root. Interesting.

I've tried to avoid this problem by giving the peppers their own end of the garden (I planted jalapeño, poblano, some little chili pepper, and a red bell. I might eventually plant another bell pepper, since I've heard the fruit are ridiculously easy to freeze. I also put the zucchini in their own space. The squash will go back in that corner too. I figure having it that close to the door will either A) make it easier for me to shout at and keep it in line or B) protect me from would-be intruders. Thugs held at bay by rampant vine! Story at eleven.

The tiniest kale. Not sure if these will ever grow up, but they weren't happy inside, so out they went. When I was doing my morning inspection of the garden, I realized that the little leaves in front of that kale seedling are from some of the chard seeds I planted weeks ago. I'd given up on it, but it looks like there may be some runaway chard after all, in addition to the older plants I bought.

The back garden had been my favourite non-veggie plot, but I think it might be slipping in status to the new corner/compost garden:

I don't know how it manages to be so charming with a compost bin in the middle of it. I think it's those low-hanging lilac branches. In addition to some verbena and alyssum that I planted yesterday, it's also home to the catnip, cilantro, and a few snapdragons.

I dreamt last night that I walked into my backyard to find that it was snowing, and my veggies were all under a foot of snow. I'm almost certain that won't actually happen, but clearly I've got gardens on the brain. Hope you don't mind.

[Due to excessive spamming, comments have been closed for this entry.]

Hey! I've finally got my act together on the zine front -- or rather, I finally realized I was never going to get my act together on the zine front. I've been wanting to set up an Etsy shop for the zine and a few other things I'd made, but it's not going to happen. Know your limits, I say. Instead, I'm proposing a trade.

I've got four little parcels: each has my zine from last year (full of a bunch of nonsense, really), a pack of a dozen 'Things to Do' cards (handy!), and three bookmarks. The cards and bookmarks were all made from stamps I carved, and the zine is hand written (and then scanned and printed -- I'm not crazy). I'm also tucking in a couple of odds and ends -- other printed goodies I found while rifling through my things (bird prints that didn't quite make the grade and that sort of things).

What do you need to do? E-mail me at anna.torborg[at]gmail.com (replace [at] with @, of course), and I'll let you know if I've still got a pack available. Then think of some really good stuff I'd like, and we'll swap! All the packets have been claimed. Thanks, guys!

I don't have much in the way of cohesion between thoughts and photographs today. I hope you'll forgive me. What I do have are free scones:

I got a bag of day olds for free from French Meadow. They're fantastic (and in my freezer for later!). There's nothing like free food to perk a person up -- as if all the sunshine weren't enough. As the weather turns nicer, there seems to be something new to do in the garden every day. I feel like I'm always out there, even if I'm not doing very much. Although I HAVE done quite a lot already. I left everything until pretty late last year (I didn't keep track, but I think it may have been early June before I bought my veggie plants), but I was itching to get going this time around!

As promised, I made a little map of my back yard. You can see it by clicking here -- it's a PDF. Just so you can keep track of which garden is which (if it even matters to you). I bordered in the corner garden the other day, and it looks so much better. I cleaned out the compost bin, which had never actually composted anything (completely my fault, of course) -- there was a bunch of dried weedy grass on the top, which I cleared out, and all the sod I pulled up last year had died in the bottom of the bin, so I spread that out in the garden itself (it's all dirt and dead roots). What I would give for all that fresh sod now; my lawn is looking very patchy this year.

I'm hoping to do some real composting this year, and have filled the bin about three-quarters of the way with layers of rotting leaves (which had sat in a pile on my 'patio' all winter) and new grass clipping and kitchen scraps. Which leads me on to jam:

Okay, not really. But I did plant two baby grape vines today, along the fence in the back garden. I made the best grape juice ever from my mom's grapes last summer, so I can't wait until these really get going in a few years.

What else? My tomato seedlings are more like tomato toddlers now. I've been setting them outside for a few hours every day (but not today, because it's so windy!), and I'm almost convinced that they'll really turn into big plants and give me tomatoes by July. Or August. No big deal for some, but I've still never successfully grown anything from seed. But I've heard it's possible, so I'm hoping it's true.

Happy Mothers' Day, all you mothering types.

What a week we've had! Actual sunshine and everything. Rain and health issues had kept me from doing several projects in my garden, but things are finally getting in shape now. The back garden needed some leveling out before I could do any planting, so I took care of that and put in a border of pansies and some herbs.

The dill and chives are still in shock after being transplanted this morning; the parsley just lacks the will to stand up straight. Lazy.

One of these days soon, I'm going to measure everything in my backyard and make a little map. I've got several plots now, and it might be helpful to know where things are. The 'back garden' used to be just the corner of perennials that the last owner planted, but I've expanded it and am putting in herbs and a grape vine. And the pansies.

The main garden is, of course, the big(-ish) vegetable garden. I've got it about half-planted at the moment: radishes, onion sets, carrots (take two -- the first lot of seeds never came up; the soil is too dense), snow peas, broccoli, lettuce, chard, kale, brussels sprouts, and Yukon Gold potatoes. The remaining plants will wait a little longer to go in: bush beans, tomatoes, hot and bell peppers, eggplant.

There's also the 'hose garden', which (logically) is situated right by the spigot, and that's where my zucchini and squash will go. I think I'll go with two zucchini plants again (but be MUCH better about grating and freezing the extras this year) and a butternut. Those plants get pretty big, so just the three alone will probably wind up overgrowing the (approximately) 4' x 6' plot.

The last proper garden is the sun garden, which is just the other side of the back door from the hose garden, but which gets a brutal amount of sunlight from about noon to sundown. It's going to be my flower garden: an assortment of annuals and some of the perennials from the back garden which should be divided.

The LAST last garden is the little area around my compost bin. Loads of garden waste got thrown right BY the bin last fall (I have no idea who would do that. . . ), so the grass is dead. I've got to get a few more bricks to border it in, and then I'm going to plant some Irish moss and maybe a few other shady-time goodies. The corner is overhung by lilacs, so it's one of the only areas of shade in the entire yard.

Whew! My brain still isn't convinced that it won't be below freezing in a few days; this winter was a brutal one It's hard to believe it's over a week into May already!