Raphael

At our neighborhood garden swap a couple weeks ago, Raphael made an appearance. Well, not the man, but his Chile.  On Friday the 13th, several neighbors converged upon Sandy & Ed’s glorious French Chateaux (the house my house wants to be when it grows up).  Don’t let the date scare you… despite entering under a ladder, crossing the path of a black cat, and opening several umbrellas in the house there was no bad luck on this night. Continue reading

How does your garden grow?

Mine? Right now?  Not at all.  Well, except for herbs.  Despite the planting of chard, peppers, and brussel sprouts late in 2016, my garden has only managed to produce 1 little pepper.  Which is a problem when you have an upcoming garden swap.  Hmm… what to swap…? Continue reading

Deutschland

I’m part German, or at least I’ve been told that.  The ancestry.com results aren’t back yet and German culture wasn’t part of my upbringing.  I suppose the fact that I had a great uncle named “Herman the German” is a pretty good indicator that my ancestry, or part of it, lies in Deutschland.  A couple months ago, a (German) neighbor invited us to the Phoenix Club (a distinctly German experience) for Karneval.  Continue reading

The Solution

When asked to join some friends for dinner, I offered to bring an appetizer.  They were making curry, so I wanted some flavors that would blend with curry.  Cumin is a central curry flavor, so I hoped that baba ganoush would be a nice match.  I love baba ganoush, the Mediterranean roasted eggplant dish that is garlicy and citrusy.  The problem is that Alex is allergic to eggplants, which puts my baba ganoush consumption well below the desired level.

So, what’s a girl to do?  Continue reading