Sunday Randomness #275: Bringing puzzles back into our lives Early June sees puzzles 13, 14, and 15

A 300 piece Dowdle puzzle, "Pet shop"
 

A 300 piece TrendZ puzzle, Organic Farmer's Market

A 550 piece Ceaco puzzle, "Selfies"

The ongoing saga of B-B and B Part 23: Toy Stealing to Mutual Carrot Chomping

These contrasting videos were shot on the same day, less than a 1/2 hour apart.  Are these two behaving like siblings, or what? In the first one, at around 7:50 p.m., B decides that B-B cannot have his blue rubber and rope tug toy and makes some interesting vocalizations to determine toy ownership.

In the second video around 8:15  p.m. I had given them several full size carrots cut in half so that they would each get a few pieces.  Surprisingly, they still share common chunks of carrot. (Not shown in the video but they did share and took bites from some of the same carrot halves with their heads right next to each other.)  I would have thought they'd be more inclined to fight over the food.  When we first got B-B a year ago there would be some sharp reactive growls and behaviors from B over food and food bowls but now they take turns licking out each others food bowls and will even take turns with some foods.  B-B tends to wolf things down as quickly as he can but B takes her time.  However, sometimes she surprises us and eats more quickly.  She'll move over to B-B's portion and they communally eat from the same bowl with no signs of aggression or territorial/reactive behavior.  We have worked to make sure they both ate separately until they both seemed satisfied and used a spray bottle with water when one went to steal a treat from the other one.  We also put them on leashes when they get a long lasting treat like a cow ear so they have separation from each other to just keep one (mostly-I mean entirely-B-who would happily keep many treats to herself even if just to hoard them away from B-B who barks in frustration when she hogs some of the toys).  Maybe carrots are just the magical sharing treat since they've done this before: https://cookingandorscience.blogspot.com/2022/05/the-ongoing-saga-of-b-b-and-b-part-9.html

 

Sunday Randomness #432 : Changing the way we buy beans...

How we use to buy beans on the left.  How we buy beans now on the right.  The two furry fuzzy mouths that we feed like rice and oats and veggies with their kibble.  They like Purina Pro Plan Beef and Science Diet.  I found that B-B has more solid stools and fewer of them if we supplement their diet with some healthy human grade foods that are safe for dogs. https://www.richellusa.com/50-fruits-and-vegetables-dogs-can-and-cant-eat/You can find a number of lists online for what dogs can and cannot eat and be aware of the salt content.  We drain and rinse the canned green beans to get rid of a little bit of the salt.   Not a lot of any one thing and we switch out the veggies.  B really likes raw full size carrots but B-B prefers his carrots cooked.  Neither of them like the "baby carrots" so I usually buy the big bag of full size carrots from Costco.  They both like melon including watermelon but B-B definitely prefers the sweeter things like apple and banana.  B would rather play than get food for a treat.  She's hard to bribe with food-she's not even a big fan of peanut butter!  We have to hide her medicine in vanilla ice cream.  She effectively spits out the pill in anything else-including things like hot dogs or the aforementioned peanut butter.  It's just more economical to buy the large items when we can feed the product to both the humans and the dogs.
 

The ongoing saga of B-B and B Part 9 Sharing a carrot

 Back in January of 2022 B and B-B shared a carrot. 

Sunday Randomness #204 : CSA shares from Borski Farms Part 5 (Last shares)

Popcorn, leeks, dried salsa mix, dried peppers, squash, apples, potatoes, tomatoes, onions, and a pie pumpkin! First share was July 1st, last share was 15 weeks later on October 7th.

We missed a share due to surgery and we ended up donating the items to my co-workers.  It contained: 

Red and Gold potatoes

Red onions

Bartlett pears

Winter squash

 

http://www.borskifarms.org/markets.html

Sunday Randomness #204 : CSA shares from Borski Farms Part 4

Over halfway through the season with weeks ten through twelve with carrots, apples, squash, corn, tomatoes, onions, peppers, purple potatoes, pears, cucumber, and acorn squash.

 http://www.borskifarms.org/

Sunday Randomness #204 : CSA shares from Borski Farms Part 3

More hot peppers, onions, peaches, tomatoes, eggplant, cucumbers, yellow watermelon, swiss chard, beans, melon, potatoes, and greens came our way for weeks seven through nine.

 http://www.borskifarms.org/

Sunday Randomness #204 : CSA shares from Borski Farms Part 2

Weeks four through six saw green beans, heirloom beets, cucumbers, peppers, blackberries, more garlic and corn, potatoes, apricots, shitake mushrooms, cantaloupe, and more.

http://www.borskifarms.org/
 

Sunday Randomness #204 : CSA shares from Borski Farms Part 1

We participated in a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) with some co-workers this growing season.  Fifteen shares-starting July 1, 2020 and ending with the last share on Oct, 7, 2020. 

We received things such as micro greens, anasazi beans, garlic, rainbow carrots, apricots, cherries, kale, corn, local cheese, peppers, squash, beets, and salad greens in the first three weeks.  

http://www.borskifarms.org/
 

Author #125: Daughter Leanne Campbell writes China Study Cookbook

The daughter of Dr. T. Colin Campbell (coauthor of The China Study) has written a cookbook titled (aptly) The China Study Cookbook.

We recently tried the Aztec Soup with onions, cayenne pepper, black beans, corn and lime juice in the base and topped with an avocado, tomato and cilantro salsa.  It was very filling and good at the same time.  It was better after a couple of days when the flavors had mellowed and blended more.  I think we may double the salsa next time since the avocado really added a mild creaminess to the soup which was of a spicy/sour blend with the cayenne and lime.

Oven Roasted Vegetables

Oven Roasted Vegetables P.39 VV5th RS cookbook

1 med. zucchini
1 med. summer squash
1 med. red bell pepper
1 med. yellow bell pepper
1 lb. fresh asparagus
1 red onion
3 T. extra-virgin olive oil
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper

Heat the oven to 450 degrees.  Cut all the vegetables into bite-size pieces.  Place them in a  large roasting pan.  Toss with the olive oil, salt and pepper.  Mix to coat.  Spread in a single layer in the pan.  Roast for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally until the vegetables are lightly browned and tender.  (May take longer depending on how soft you like your vegetables.)

Cook's note:  We did not have the red onion which I think would have been a great addition but we did double up on the squash and we only used a few shakes of salt so you could definitely do salt and pepper to taste.  This was a really good easy recipe and we just mixed everything in a bowl and then roasted the veggies on a rimmed cookie sheet.

February Bountiful Baskets 2013

 For fifteen dollars we received 2 yellow carrots, 3 purple carrots, 2 small eggplants, 3 grapefruit, 7 bananas, 6 Fuji apples, 8 oranges, 1 pineapple, 1 bag small golden potatoes plus two small loose golden potatoes, a bunch of broccoli, a red leaf lettuce, and a bunch of leeks.  (one of the purple carrots was an extra for volunteering)

We also bought a tropical pack for $10.50 with 3 Mexican limes, 1 Mexican pineapple, 2 USA lemons, a bunch of USA mint, a chunk of ginger from Thailand, 2 Peruvian mangos, 1 USA coconut, 2 USA kiwi, and 2 vanilla beans from Madagascar.

Bountiful Baskets January 2013

 Bountiful Baskets $15 for 8 oranges, 4 bananas, 1 asian pear, 1 avocado, 6 fuji apples, 4 multicolored carrots (one was rotten), 5 orblanco (one was an extra for Mica for volunteering with me), 1 box grape tomatoes (some not quite ripe), 1 box strawberries, a bag of Brussels sprouts (which we roasted with olive oil, salt and pepper-mmmmm.......), 2 bunches of celery (one was an extra for me for volunteering) and a whole bunch of mild small peppers.

 Lunch box pack for $10.50 with 3 asian pears, 3 granny smith apples, 5 fuji apples, 7 oranges, 2 pomegranates, and 5 red sensation pears.

12 pounds of raw, unpasteurized honey from Utah (and Idaho?) for $34 in a beautiful glass jar. That works out to about $2.83 a pound.  (One bottle was bought by friends-I just picked it up for them.)  We looked up the latest price on honey from the national honey board at: http://www.honey.com/honey-industry/honey-industry-statistics/unit-honey-prices-by-month-retail and the current national price per pound for pasteurized honey is $5.67 for January 2013.  Raw honey is usually more expensive than pasteurized honey and even a quick search shows that other Utah honeys are selling for about 4.45 a pound up to $8.00 and more a pound.  I'll have to post again when we try the honey.

Bountiful Baskets December 2012

Total of $15 and we received multicolored carrots, Fuji apples, a personal watermelon, a cantaloupe, bananas, Roma tomatoes, a papaya, broccoli, romaine lettuce, mushrooms and very, very ripe persimmons.

Bountiful Baskets September

Bountiful baskets share for $15: 4 corn, 2 heads green leaf lettuce, 5 lb. bag red potatoes, 4 tomatoes, 7 peppers, 3 grapefruit, 7 plums, 5 pears, 1 bag black seedless grapes, 2 avocados, 6 limes and we got an extra bag of potatoes for volunteering.

Fajita pack for $5: 3 green peppers, 3 red peppers, 2 yellow onions, 1 head garlic, about 1/2 dozen assorted dried hot peppers.    Tortilla pack for $10.50: 3 dozen large flour tortillas, 2 dozen small flour tortillas and 2 dozen small corn tortillas.

Orders are taken starting Monday at 10:00 a.m.  Go to www.bountifulbaskets.org for more information.

Bountiful Baskets July

 Plum variety pack-this was one box worth of plums for $13.50

 Rainier Cherries 18 lb box for $22.50!  (Just saw Rainier cherries at a grocery store for $6.99 a lb.)

Share for $15 with two summer squash, 6 plums, 1 box raspberries (I got an extra box for volunteering), 1 box strawberries, 2 pkg. carrots, 1 cucumber, 1 bag green grapes, 1 large bunch broccoli, 4 red corn, 1 cantaloupe, and 1 head of living butter lettuce

Order every Monday, pick up on Saturday.  www.bountifulbaskets.org

May Bountiful Basket

May Bountiful Basket $15 got us onions, cucumbers, corn, honeydew, cauliflower, carrots, apricots, green peppers, tomatoes, pears, lemons, bananas and blackberries.

Bountiful Baskets again in March

(This is a late post-we got this order over a month ago-I just haven't posted in awhile except for posts that were already scheduled.)  Bountiful Baskets $15 share with pears, asparagus, beans, tomatoes, cauliflower, green onions, Granny Smith apples, pineapple, bananas, romaine lettuce and a melon.

 Mexican pack $8.50 contained tomatillos, key limes, many peppers, onions, garlic, avocados, onions and cliantro.  (Made homemade guacamole with a recipe Hedgehog got from a school activity.)

Tortilla pack  $10.50 had 3 dozen of the 12-inch flour tortillas, 2 dozen of the 6-inch flour tortillas and 2 dozen of the 6-inch corn tortillas.  These were fantastic!  We went through the 2 dozen corn tortillas in a couple of days.  I did freeze some of the flour tortillas for future use.  They are cooked but only lightly so they warm up quickly-kind of like brown and serve rolls only with tortillas.

Bountiful Baskets March 2012

We participated in Bountiful Baskets yesterday and for $15 dollars received the above batch containing: 2 pineapples (one was an extra for being a volunteer), 1 bunch asparagus,1 2 lb. bag carrots, 9 chili peppers, 7 apples, 1 bunch green onion, 1 bunch kale, 1 bunch Romaine, 20 little sweet peppers, 1 container blueberries, 8 oranges, 8 bananas, and 2 cucumbers.

For $8.50 we included the Asian themed pack with 1 bunch bok choy, 1 head napa cabbage, 1 bunch green onion, 1 bunch celery, 1 bunch fresh Basil, 2 yellow onions, 1 head of garlic, 1 pkg fresh snow peas, 1 small piece ginger root, and 10 fresh water chestnuts.

Finally, especially for Hedgehog, we bought the fruit pack with a citrus theme for $14 and received 2 grapefruit, 23 oranges (regular and caracara), 6 minneola tangelos, 16 small lemons and 25 clementines. The lemons are small but much more flavorful and juicy than the larger grocery store counterparts.

Bountiful Baskets in December of 2011

For $15 we received 2 heads of butter lettuce, 2 orange carrots, 3 yellow carrots, 3 oroblanco grapefruit hybrids, 1 personal size watermelon, 6 corn, 1 bag red seedless grapes, 1 5-lb. bag butter gold potatoes, 1 bunch celery, 3 avocados, 5 small pears, and 6 bananas. We got an extra carrot and an extra lettuce (included in the picture and the count) for being volunteers and helping to unload the truck and sort the food into baskets.
We also bought the hostess pack for an additional $15 which contained 1 10-lb bag russet potatoes, 3 lemons, 1 bunch rosemary, 1 bunch cilantro, 2 parsnips, some chestnuts, 1 bunch romaine lettuce, 1 small pineapple, 2 yellow onions, 11 tangelos, 6 small sweet potatoes, and 1 bunch sage. In addition, we also paid $10 for a winter squash pack (not pictured) with 3 butternut, a turban, 2 acorn and 1 spaghetti squash.

Once every month or two seems to be good spacing between orders and gives us adequate time to consume most of the items we've received in our basket. I have to say, I was quite pleased and surprised with the variety in the hostess pack-that's one we'll look for in the future.