Swamp Iris

Blue flag iris (Iris versicolor) is a beautiful semi-aquatic plant. Deep green foliage and striking blue-violet flowers appear on 2- to 3-foot stalks in late spring to early summer. Leaves are narrow and sword-shaped. There are many species of blue flag iris and native plants are found along the edges of swamps, wet meadows, stream banks or in forested wetlands.
Yellow flag iris (Iris pseudacorusis) a wetland plant that is especially showy during its short blooming period. This good-looking plant has been transplanted into well-watered gardens all over the world and has widely escaped and is considered and invasive species even tho it is used in sewage treatment, and is known to be able to remove metals from waste waters.

Vegetable Lasagna

1 container ricotta cheese
1 bunch chard (finely chopped)
1 yellow, 1 green, 1 baby eggplant shredded (with box grater)
1 tsp. garlic
mushrooms, sliced (I used two 8 oz packages)
salt, pepper, garlic powder
2 jars spaghetti sauce
1 bag of shredded cheese
1 box lasagna noodles

Preheat oven 350*. Boil your lasagna noodles. Combine ricotta, vegetables, garlic, and salt and pepper (if needed), in a bowl. This will be for your cheese layers. Saute mushrooms with butter in a nonstick skillet. When you are happy with doneness and flavor, add 1 jar of sauce. This is your sauce layer. Using more mushrooms would make it a thicker sauce. Pour half a jar of sauce on the bottom of your 9x13 pan. Arrange a layer of noodles on the sauce on the bottom, this should not stick after baking. Assemble lasagna layering cheese, noodles, sauce, noodles. The top layer should be noodles. Pour the last half jar of sauce on top allowing it to creep down side edges of pan. (Cooked tomato is easier to clean up than cooked cheese). Pour the shredded cheese on top of lasagna and bake for 1 hour or until the middle is warmed. To prevent cheese burning, use tinfoil if necessary.

More Basil Pasta

1 bunch basil
1/2 C. milk
1/4 cup peeled, sliced almonds
3 Tb. Parmesan, freshly grated
Pinch of salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
3 Tb. ricotta cheese
2 Tb. butter, melted
1 lb pasta
2 cloves garlic

In a blender, combine the basil, Parmesan, milk, garlic, and almonds, salt, and pepper and blend until well-combined.  In a separate bowl, stir together the ricotta and melted butter. Add the basil mixture to the bowl and gently fold the sauce together.   Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add your pasta and cook until al dente.   Drain the pasta and mix it with the basil sauce while the pasta is still warm. Top with grated Parmesan, if you'd like, and serve warm.  Recipe

Borax Slime

Elmers (white school) Glue is a polyvinyl acetate (C₄H₆O₂)_n. The glue is sensitive to base hydrolysis (the cleavage of chemical bonds by the addition of water) and will slowly convert PVAc into polyvinyl alcohol (the gluey part) and acetic acid (vinegar).  The glue reacts with water to some extent to replace some of the acetate groups with OH (alcohol) groups.Under alkaline conditions, boron compounds such as boric acid or borax cause the polymer to cross-link, forming tackifying precipitates or toys such as Slime and Flubber.  The B-OH groups on the borax molecules react with the acetate groups on the glue molecules (relatively long polymer chains) to eliminate acetic acid and form new bonds between the borax and two glue molecules. The linking of two glue molecules via one borax molecule is called polymer cross-linking and it makes a bigger polymer molecule, which is now less liquid-like and more solid.  If you don’t add enough borax  there may not be enough borax present to fully polymerize the glue molecules. This will lead to a very gooey, slime-like product. The thickening observed is a result of hydrogen bonding between the molecules



Borax                                    +            Glue                              =            Polymer Slime

Greek Chicken Barley Salad

2 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1/8 teaspoon seasoning salt
1 teaspoon olive oil
4 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth, divided
1 cup uncooked pearl barley
2 cups cubed seeded cucumber
1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
1/3 cup reduced-fat feta cheese
1/4 cup chopped pitted kalamata olives

Dressing:
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon minced fresh basil
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
3 garlic cloves, minced (1/2 tsp. of stuff from jar)

To prepare salad, sprinkle chicken with 1/8 teaspoon seasoning salt. Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook 2 minutes on each side or until browned. Add 1 cup broth; cover, reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes or until done. Cool; shred chicken. Discard broth. Bring 3 cups broth to a boil in a large saucepan; add barley. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 35 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Fluff with a fork. Cool. Combine chicken, barley, cucumber, and next 4 ingredients (through olives) in a large bowl. To prepare dressing, combine 3 tablespoons oil, rind, and remaining ingredients; stir well. Add to barley mixture; toss well. Cover and chill.

Basil Bechemel

4 cups low fat milk
2 cloves of garlic
4 tbsp butter
4 tbsp flour
1/4 cup parmesan, grated
2 tsp lemon zest
juice of one lemon
1/2 cup packed fresh basil
salt and pepper

In a blender, add milk, basil, and garlic. Meanwhile, in another medium sauce pan, melt butter then stir in the flour to create a roux. Cook on medium for a few minutes to remove the raw flour taste. Slowly pour milk mixture into the roux, whisking constantly to remove lumps. Cook for 5-10 minutes to thicken. Remove from heat. Add parmesan, lemon zest, lemon juice, and salt and pepper to taste.

Belgian Waffles

Belgian waffles have large squares and a light crunchy texture and American waffles are more like an Eggo.

Tick Repellant

Repellent for your pets:

For pets, add 1 cup of water to a spray bottle, followed by 2 cups of distilled white vinegar. Ticks hate the smell and taste of vinegar, and will be easily be repelled by this ingredient alone. Then, add two spoonfuls of vegetable or almond oil, which both contain sulfur (another natural tick repellent).

To make a repellent that will also deter fleas, mix in a few spoonfuls of lemon juice, citrus oil, or peppermint oil, any of which will repel ticks and fleas while also creating a nicely scented repellent. Spray onto the pet's dry coat, staying away from sensitive areas including eyes, nose, mouth, and genitals. When outdoors for an extended period, spray this solution on two to three times per day.

For you and your family:

In a spray bottle, mix 2 cups of distilled white vinegar and 1 cup of water. To make a scented solution so you do not smell like bitter vinegar all day, add 20 drops of your favorite essential oil.

Eucalyptus oil is a calm, soothing scent that also works as a tick repellent, while peppermint and citrus oils give off a strong crisp scent that also repel ticks.

After mixing the solution, spray onto clothing, skin, and hair before going outdoors. Reapply every four hours to keep ticks at bay, and examine your skin and hair when back inside to make sure no ticks are on the body.

Of course if you want to be 100% sure that the ticks leave you alone, use permetherin.

That's not my name

Are you calling me darling? That's not my name.

Pork udon

Basic miso soup
8 cups water
1 1/2 teaspoons instant dashi granules (or sometimes chicken stock)
1/4 cup miso paste

I added a package of cooked udon noodles, 1/2 C. frozen spinach, 1 cooked sweet potato, peeled and sliced, leftover pork tenderloin brushed with BBQ sauce.

Spanakopita

2 small Yukon gold potatoes (about 8 ounces); boiled and peeled
Kosher salt
1 bunch spinach (about 12 ounces), tough stems removed
1 bunch Swiss chard (about 1 pound), stems and leaves separated in two bowls, stems chopped
1/4 tsp. Hungarian paprika
Freshly ground pepper
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup grated kefalotyri cheese (about 4 ounces) I used dry ricotta cheese
1 cup crumbled feta cheese (about 4 ounces)
1 large egg
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
8 sheets frozen phyllo dough, thawed

Recipe

Enchanted walk

I took this photo at the Rocky Reservation Park. It is the closest place near us that you can watch birds. The weather has been wonderful, but the only exotic thing we've seen lately are goose nests. Maybe in another week or two! The most notable thing about this park was the discovery of a dunkleosteus fossil found in the lime stone cliff face of the Rocky River.