Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Ingredients:

Olive Oil

Salt

Raw Pumpkin Seeds

Directions:

1. Rinse off your pumpkin seeds to get rid of all the goo

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees

3. Evenly coat seeds with about 2 tbsp. Olive Oil and 1 tbsp. salt

4. Spread seeds in a single layer onto a baking sheet

5. Place seeds in the oven for 30 - 60 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes, until seeds are golden brown

6. Remove from oven, allow to cool and enjoy!

Happy Halloween!

The Raven

by Edgar Allan Poe

Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore,
While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,
As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.
"'Tis some visitor," I muttered, "tapping at my chamber door -
Only this, and nothing more."

Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak December,
And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor.
Eagerly I wished the morrow; - vainly I had sought to borrow
From my books surcease of sorrow - sorrow for the lost Lenore -
For the rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore -
Nameless here for evermore.

And the silken sad uncertain rustling of each purple curtain
Thrilled me - filled me with fantastic terrors never felt before;
So that now, to still the beating of my heart, I stood repeating,
"'Tis some visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door -
Some late visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door; -
This it is, and nothing more."

Presently my soul grew stronger; hesitating then no longer,
"Sir," said I, "or Madam, truly your forgiveness I implore;
But the fact is I was napping, and so gently you came rapping,
And so faintly you came tapping, tapping at my chamber door,
That I scarce was sure I heard you"- here I opened wide the door; -
Darkness there, and nothing more.

Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing,
Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortals ever dared to dream before;
But the silence was unbroken, and the stillness gave no token,
And the only word there spoken was the whispered word, "Lenore?"
This I whispered, and an echo murmured back the word, "Lenore!" -
Merely this, and nothing more.

Back into the chamber turning, all my soul within me burning,
Soon again I heard a tapping somewhat louder than before.
"Surely," said I, "surely that is something at my window lattice:
Let me see, then, what thereat is, and this mystery explore -
Let my heart be still a moment and this mystery explore; -
'Tis the wind and nothing more."

Open here I flung the shutter, when, with many a flirt and flutter,
In there stepped a stately raven of the saintly days of yore;
Not the least obeisance made he; not a minute stopped or stayed he;
But, with mien of lord or lady, perched above my chamber door -
Perched upon a bust of Pallas just above my chamber door -
Perched, and sat, and nothing more.

Then this ebony bird beguiling my sad fancy into smiling,
By the grave and stern decorum of the countenance it wore.
"Though thy crest be shorn and shaven, thou," I said, "art sure no craven,
Ghastly grim and ancient raven wandering from the Nightly shore -
Tell me what thy lordly name is on the Night's Plutonian shore!"
Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore."

Much I marvelled this ungainly fowl to hear discourse so plainly,
Though its answer little meaning- little relevancy bore;
For we cannot help agreeing that no living human being
Ever yet was blest with seeing bird above his chamber door -
Bird or beast upon the sculptured bust above his chamber door,
With such name as "Nevermore."

But the raven, sitting lonely on the placid bust, spoke only
That one word, as if his soul in that one word he did outpour.
Nothing further then he uttered- not a feather then he fluttered -
Till I scarcely more than muttered, "other friends have flown before -
On the morrow he will leave me, as my hopes have flown before."
Then the bird said, "Nevermore."

Startled at the stillness broken by reply so aptly spoken,
"Doubtless," said I, "what it utters is its only stock and store,
Caught from some unhappy master whom unmerciful Disaster
Followed fast and followed faster till his songs one burden bore -
Till the dirges of his Hope that melancholy burden bore
Of 'Never - nevermore'."

But the Raven still beguiling all my fancy into smiling,
Straight I wheeled a cushioned seat in front of bird, and bust and door;
Then upon the velvet sinking, I betook myself to linking
Fancy unto fancy, thinking what this ominous bird of yore -
What this grim, ungainly, ghastly, gaunt and ominous bird of yore
Meant in croaking "Nevermore."

This I sat engaged in guessing, but no syllable expressing
To the fowl whose fiery eyes now burned into my bosom's core;
This and more I sat divining, with my head at ease reclining
On the cushion's velvet lining that the lamplight gloated o'er,
But whose velvet violet lining with the lamplight gloating o'er,
She shall press, ah, nevermore!

Then methought the air grew denser, perfumed from an unseen censer
Swung by Seraphim whose footfalls tinkled on the tufted floor.
"Wretch," I cried, "thy God hath lent thee - by these angels he hath sent thee
Respite - respite and nepenthe, from thy memories of Lenore:
Quaff, oh quaff this kind nepenthe and forget this lost Lenore!"
Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore."

"Prophet!" said I, "thing of evil! - prophet still, if bird or devil! -
Whether Tempter sent, or whether tempest tossed thee here ashore,
Desolate yet all undaunted, on this desert land enchanted -
On this home by horror haunted- tell me truly, I implore -
Is there - is there balm in Gilead? - tell me - tell me, I implore!"
Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore."

"Prophet!" said I, "thing of evil - prophet still, if bird or devil!
By that Heaven that bends above us - by that God we both adore -
Tell this soul with sorrow laden if, within the distant Aidenn,
It shall clasp a sainted maiden whom the angels name Lenore -
Clasp a rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore."
Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore."

"Be that word our sign in parting, bird or fiend," I shrieked, upstarting -
"Get thee back into the tempest and the Night's Plutonian shore!
Leave no black plume as a token of that lie thy soul hath spoken!
Leave my loneliness unbroken!- quit the bust above my door!
Take thy beak from out my heart, and take thy form from off my door!"
Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore."

And the Raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting
On the pallid bust of Pallas just above my chamber door;
And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon's that is dreaming,
And the lamplight o'er him streaming throws his shadow on the floor;
And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor
Shall be lifted - nevermore!

Caterpillar Poop

A few weeks ago Sean and I had a great time picking out a few plants at Baker Nursery in Phoenix. We got spinach, lettuce, mint and broccoli and planted them in 5 gallon self watering containers that I made (they work pretty well). Anyways this past week I noticed that something was eating the mint and little black dots were all over the leaves. Everyday I would go out to check on the plants and the mint leave kept disappearing, not dying, but definitely being eaten. I saw no perpetrator and couldn't for the life of me figure out what was eating the plants. It wasn't until last night that I found two caterpillars munching away on the mint. I decided to let them enjoy themselves since they had already eaten most of the mint leaves, BIG MISTAKE. I have no idea how they move from plant to plant so quickly or if they're different caterpillars (I couldn't find the ones that were on the mint), but they've now started munching on the spinach and the basil. So now I'm on a mission and I've removed three so far, hopefully that's it. Anyways, after searching the internet for information on what the black dots were, before I found the caterpillar perps, I came across this blog and wanted to share.

From a Correspondent:

Can you help me identify this stuff on my plants? I have a raised bed and containers full of edibles. The unidentified problem things look like small peppercorns and collect on the leaves of my basil, mint, and arugula plants. It has not (so far) collected on my green beans, tomatoes, peppers, cilantro or thyme. Although they look like peppercorn, they're not hard. I wipe them off with a paper towel and they mush into a dark green slime, and look kind of like rabbit poop. I always notice them in the morning. They collect on the leaves, and especially in the hard to reach nooks of the folded leaf sprouts near the root of the plant. It's often, but not always clustered. So, there might be like two or five on a bigger leaf. They remove very easily, but there are so many that I can not possibly keep up.

Are these larvae of some kind? We have lots of moths, so maybe they're moth larvae? Or, is it the poop of some large bug or caterpillar? It's just now beginning to collect on my treasured wild arugula, so the damage remains to be seen. However, I'm worried, because several months ago, when I started noticing them on my basil and mint, those plants started to deteriorate. The leaves became holey, they stopped growing, or produced much smaller new leaves than previously. These symptoms may not be related...but I suspect they are.

Any thoughts?

Julie

Los Angeles, California

Good morning Julie,

Thanks for providing such a detailed description. Your third guess was a charm: what you're seeing is caterpillar excrement, left behind as the caterpillars eat the leaves of your basil, mint, and arugula, which tend to be great caterpillar favorites. We frequently see caterpillar poop as a hard blackish pellet, but if they're eating lush plants with plenty of moisture, the bug poop will be as you describe.

Caterpillars have extremely simple digestive systems, and what goes in the one end is much the same when it comes out the other end, just ground up a bit; caterpillar-made pesto, as it were. Little-known fact: caterpillar poop from caterpillars eating basil tastes like basil, from those eating mint, like mint, etc. At least that's what I'm told. Check it out for yourself. Go ahead, you first.

There are two effective methods for limiting the damage to your plants. The first is to go out at night, while they're feeding, and use a flashlight to locate them on the leaves and along the stems. Then pick them off and discard them away from the garden; they make great chicken food. This can be somewhat labor intensive, but it also costs nothing.

Because it sounds as if you might have a more extensive problem, your next best method is to spray your plants' leaves with a solution of Bacillus thuringiensis (also called Bt). This is a completely safe and effective biological control that works by giving the caterpillars a terminal stomachache. It works only on caterpillars and has no residual effect on the edibility of the plants. You should be able to find Bt at any nursery or garden center; Dipel and Thuricide are two brands, but there are others as well. As with all pesticides – even organic ones – always read and follow the label exactly.

Because the Bt needs to be ingested to work, don't be surprised if the damage continues for several days.

I hope this helps,

Tyler

The Desert Garden with Tyler Storey

September 19, 2008

Butterfly Exhibit

Here are some photos of the butterfly exhibit at the Desert Botanical Gardens in Phoenix, AZ.

Sean & Brandi

Sean and I at The Spaghetti Factory in Downtown Phoenix celebrating our six year anniversary.

Grandma's Birthday

Aunt Judy, Mom and I celebrated Grandma Sisi's 70th birthday at the House of Tricks in Tempe, AZ.

Aunt Judy, Grandma and Mom outside The House of Tricks

My yummy chicken caesar salad

Mom's salmon and avocado salad

Our lunch time friend

Cupcakes I made for Grandma's birthday

Caramel Dip

As many of you know I love to bake and try out new recipes, I had a craving for caramel dip and apples and decided to give it a try. I did a little searching on the internet and found a great recipe at Taste of Home.

Caramel Dip

Ingredients:

14 ounces wrapped caramels

2 Cups mini marshmallows or 20 large marshmallows

1/2 Cup butter, melted

1/3 Cup heavy whipping cream

Lemon Juice or Fruit Fresh (found in the canning aisle)

Your favorite Apples

Directions:

1. Place caramels in a microwave safe dish and microwave uncovered for 1 minute (20 seconds at a time and stir in between, they'll burn).

2. Add marshmallows and microwave 20 seconds at a time and stir in between until marshmallows are melted.

3. Add melted butter and heavy cream and whisk until combined, set aside.

4. Slice apples and coat in lemon juice or fruit fresh to keep the apples from turning brown.

5. Serve caramel dip warm or cold with sliced apples. Also delicious with ice cream and is perfect for making caramel apple cider.

Yield: 2 1/2 Cups

Note: Store caramel dip in the fridge. To reheat pour caramel in a microwave safe dish and microwave for 20 seconds at a time until it is a smooth consistency.

I really enjoyed this recipe, it's soooo good. It didn't have a lot of ingredients and it was really easy to make. Just be super careful when stirring the caramel and marshmallows together, it gets REALLY hot. Now to figure out how to make this with less sugar, I'll let you know what I find.

Say Goodbye to summer

Summer days have come and gone, I can't believe how quickly 2009 is coming to an end. So to say goodbye to the warm summer days, Sean and I wanted to share some of the highlights.

I kicked off the summer with a trip to La Jolla, CA with Mom and Grandma. We had a great time visiting with Rachelle and Carissa and relaxing at the beach.

Sean and I enjoyed a trip to Sedona, AZ and Slide Rock State Park. The water was freezing and Sean decided he probably should have brought his bathing suit.

Off to the cabin we go. We spent a great 4th of July weekend at our families cabin in Forest Lakes, AZ. We enjoyed the cool weather and rain and a visit to Gary and Linda's cabin in Heber, AZ.

We took a drive to Flagstaff, AZ and rode the Scenic Sky Ride at Snowbowl.

Celebrated my Mom's 50th birthday

Enjoyed Grandma Betty's 85th Birthday with a party and a trip to the cabin with family and friends.

Our summer finally came to an end with a trip to Las Vegas, NV. Sean and I relaxed by the pool at the MGM Grand and took in a couple of shows. We had a great dinner at Fiamma Restaurant and enjoyed a trip to the Secret Garden at the Mirage. We ended our trip with lunch at our favorite restaurant, Taqueria Canonita, and a ride to the top of the Eiffel Tower at the Paris Hotel.

Summer has gone and fall has arrived, we're looking forward to the holidays and spending time with friends and family. So visit us often to see what we've been up to. Love and hugs to all of you and hope you have a great rest of the year.