Is this the profile of an addicted dog?

Logs, butt kabobs, poopsicles. Whatever you call them they are the disgusting calling card of the Branta Canadensis and my dog, Boofy, just loves to eat them.

Our neighborhood's biggest depositor

Not only have our walks been ruined, but Boofy’s bum nugget addiction has predictably led to criminal behavior. Boofy is no pup. He is somewhere around twelve years old. He is in great shape and full of vim and vigor, but he loves his yard and never once has made a run for it. That is until now.

The other morning as I watched in disbelief, Boofy dashed across the street after nosing open the gate in a desperate quest for a goose poop snack. He is absolutely driven and driving me crazy.

Does your dog crave the Petite Corona of the sidewalk? Click here to find out what the ASPCA says about the consequences of pooches popping poops.

This sun and warmth lead my mind to thoughts of spring, but as I look outside all I see are bare branches and random piles of dirty snow that the sun never got to.

I have a project waiting that I have been putting off for a day just like this one. My friend Bev gave me an herb garden kit for Christmas and today is “the day” for putting it together.

My father was a gardener extraordinaire who would get himself through a Pennsylvania January by studying all of the seed catalogues that came to the house. Planting this herb garden is better than logging seed selections into an order sheet though. I’ve already garnered at least a pound of pleasure through just the anticipation of planting these herbs and my pleasure pulse will only continue to quicken as I check daily for the first sprouting, the healthy growth and the eventual enjoyment of the fresh-cut flavors. I will ride this wave all the way to the budding out of the bushes there outside my sunny window!

Assembled and ready

The seeds included in the kit are; thyme, curled parsley, chives, sweet basil, and cilantro and the pots fit on a rack in a sort-of pyramid arrangement that will be lovely when my babies start to grow. I cut the seed packets at the corner tips, just the way my dad showed me and poured ten tiny seeds into my hand. The hand is a little different now, but the feeling of excitement is just the same as it was back then. I can hear Dad telling me to spread ‘um out a little. “Don’t cover ‘um up too deep.” I know, Dad. You taught me all this stuff.

So, now I have my seeds in their pots with the little labels that my bossy left brain insisted I stick on them. Next, they get soaked with water from a spray bottle so as not to push the seeds around and voila, my little pots of hope are racked and ready. You need the help of your mind’s eye at this point in the process, but it won’t be long.

Here we go now

Thanks Bev. Thanks Dad. I’m glad we could all get together for this little project. I feel sure now that spring is a comin’ and that sunshine pouring through this window will keep me and my herbies happy til it gets here. In the meantime, I’ll keep you posted on our progress.

Do you know anyone who writes about honey in her personal journal? Looking over postings I have entered, I find numerous declarations of my affection for honey. I have been trying different local honey brands lately and have found a brand that has a flavor that I know I could identify in a blind taste test. It is by far the best tasting honey that I have ever eaten and I have only found it in one place. This nectar of the gods is contained in a mason jar with a simple black and white label that reads “Pure Honey Produced by Herman Arvada, Colorado 80002.” I’ve bought it a few times at Edwards Meat Market at 44th and Ward Road in Wheat Ridge.

I was in Edwards, just milling around looking at their specialty foods when my eye fell upon Herman’s honey. I added it to my order and returned home happily anticipating a big spoonful of this “beeliscious” bounty that I had just discovered. Now, after having enjoyed three jars of this honey, I knew I had to meet Herman. I called him up, told him how much I love his honey, he invited me over and we chatted about a subject near and dear to us both.

Herman learned about bees at an early age. Both his father and uncle were beekeepers and in the 1950s in his neighborhood around 1st and Logan, Herman took his first (of many!) swarm, dropped it in a hive and put the hive on the roof of his garage. That was the beginning of the long relationship that Herman maintains with the bees.

I asked him how many times over the years he had been stung and he laughed. He told me, “ I have been stung four and five times in one day, but I have the magic cure for bee stings and I learned it from a beekeeping book printed in German in the 1800s.” That magic cure for bee stings is lamp oil, or kerosene, and Herman has used it many times over the years on himself and other people who have been stung by bees.

Herman once helped a young child who had been stung multiple times. He was driving by in his truck when he saw a disturbance. He jumped out of his truck to help and when he learned what had happened he went with the parents and the screaming youngster into the house and applied kerosene to the child’s stings. The parents couldn’t believe it when their little one stopped crying. When he arrived, the stunned physician said he had never seen anyone stung so many times without pain and swelling.

One day many years ago while shopping for bee supplies, Herman met a man who would become a very important person in his life. The man, Rudolph, a retired state bee inspector from Minnesota, took Herman under his wing, showed him the mistakes he had been making, and taught him everything he knew about bees.

I asked Herman if after 50 years in the bee biz, there was anything that still surprised him. He told me, “I have read, and continue to read about bees and beekeeping every day. But I believe it is important to be a lifelong learner.” He showed me a booklet that he declares the most valuable book that he has ever found on beekeeping. It is unbound and in pieces because so many local libraries and bee enthusiasts want copies of it. This booklet was produced and sold by Montgomery Ward back in 1924.

Herman has a son, Wayne, who kept bees and produced honey and used the money he made to help put him through college. Wayne is now a Senior Entomologist in Washington for the US Department of Agriculture who is studying Colony Collapse Disorder and has been published on the subject. Herman also keeps close ties with apiarists at CSU in Fort Collins studying bees and their decline.

There is a stack of bee industry magazines and catalogues beside Herman’s reading chair in his living room. And as worried as I am about the future of the bees on our planet, it is comforting to know that people like Herman are here raising, studying and looking out for them.

You can buy Herman’s honey at Edwards Meats in Wheat Ridge and at the Golden Grocery in Golden.

Rose hips from my fence

Growing all around your neighborhood on rose bushes that were not trimmed back after the blossoms faded are plump red/orange berries growing from where the spent blossoms grew. These “rose hips” are a very potent source of vitamin C and make a subtle and healthy tea to help you ward off the attack of germs trying to get into your body.

Rich in many nutrients, rose hips are a healthy supplement to help maintain good health and prevent colds, flu and infections. In addition, the various flavonoids in rose hips have potent antioxidant action, helping to protect the body from the effects of stress, aging and the environment. During World War II, the British government used collected rose hips to make rose hip syrup as a source of vitamin C to replace citrus fruits that were impossible to get. Native Americans have been using rosehips as tea for thousands of years, and when the tea is finished, the hips were added to stews or soups. There was just too much nutrition in a rosehip to let it go to waste!

Walking itself is good medicine that is found to give a healthier life, including lowering high blood pressure and reducing the risks of stroke. Walking can also ease the symptoms of depression and “the blues” that some people suffer as we roll into winter. So, get up out of your chair and explore your neighborhood. Ask your neighbors if they have rose hips growing on the rose bushes in their yards.

Collect as many rose hips as you can and cut them in half. Next, scrape out the seeds which you can save and cultivate into more rose bushes

Add two tablespoons of cut rose hips to each two cups of boiling water and allow them to simmer for 10 minutes. I like to cover the tea and let it set overnight.

Pour your tea through a coffee filter and sweeten with stevia or honey.

Make enough to share with friends and family who you will find to be very curious about and excited to try this forgotten tonic.

It’s all good and it’s free; walking, talking, and sharing the healthful benefits of rose hips. Right out there in the hood!

If you want to know about an interesting life , please ignore the stars and non-stars tweeting their lives around the world from Hollywood and concentrate on the stars of Alaska. I refer not to Alaska’s ex-gov, but to the stars of Alaska’s wild frontier who explore the high seas of the Pacific Ocean only to return again from whence he and she have come, to mate and to die. God, that is romantic not to mention flexible. Salmon swim from fresh water to salt water and back again. Crazy. Or crazy good. Tasting.

 Salmon, from our own 49th state, is arguably a contender for the title of “fillet mignon of the sea” with its rich flavor and its tremendous nutritional value as a source of protein, Omega 3 fatty acids, and vitamin D. For all of its value in flavor and potential health benefits, salmon comes with a cost. It’s not cheap so you need to do right by it.

You are probably wondering where salmon, it’s life story and the price you need to pay for it  comes into my usual rant about eating locally, but there is a local connection to this story about salmon and salmon balls in particular.

The connection is Seafood Landing in Highlands Square at the corner of 32nd and Lowell.

I found this place last year when searching the city for dry packed scallops. This guy sells the freshest seafood in town. He, Bruce Johnson, knows everything about seafood, and will special order anything you want. Check out these reviews on Yelp about Seafood Landing. I went in to buy salmon and got the Seafood Landing recipe for salmon balls from Bruce.

Here it is:

Salmon Balls and Vin de Savoie

2 lbs fresh salmon, finely diced
2 T capers, chopped
3 scallions chopped, include both green and white
1 T fresh dill, chopped
juice of 1 lemon
1 egg beaten
1 slice of bread, torn and soaked in 1/4 c milk
1T mayonnaise

Mix all of the above ingredients and roll into balls (@ 2T each). Roll around in breadcrumbs and fry in oil. You may like olive oil and you may like veggie oil. You may like oil with a little butter, but I’ll tell you what I love.

 
After frying the balls – really lightly – if you fry them too hard that’s what they will be, hard. And dry. After you fry them lightly with love, remove from heat onto a paper towel. Put a quarter stick of butter into a clean pan and brown it. Be careful if you have never done this because you don’t want to burn it. Watch the butter melt and start to foam. Shake the pan a little bit and when the foam turns slightly brown, remove it from the heat and you’ve got golden nectar from the gods. Drizzle this brown butter over your balls and enjoy. Your guests won’t know exactly what the flavor is, but you will get rave reviews.

To get the most from your culinary efforts I suggest you visit the Wine Jester at 44th and Tennyson to have your salmon balls paired.                                                                                                                                                                                
I visited there this weekend and asked for a bottle in a dollar range between $10 and $20 and they accommodated me in a pleasant and professional way with a delicious wine that accompanied my salmon perfectly:
Pierre Boniface Apremont, a vin de Savoie from France – The grape is Jacquère, and Vin de Savoie is located in the Foothills of the Alps. It is so fresh tasting! Pale greenish straw and lively around the edges, the aromas are citrusy, maybe a bit herbal, even floral, and reminiscent of a mountain stream. – $18.99

Check out what other people have posted on Yelp about the folks at the Wine Jester.

Seafood Landing and the Wine Jester are great local merchants! I had a wonderful experience this weekend shopping in my neighborhood and cooking for and eating with my friends. Try it. You’ll love it. And always shop locally. Later.

The magazine editors collected health tips from readers and among them are; “Pick your poisons carefully – moderation is key,” and “Eat real food. Remember: It’s OK to be a food snob.” The one that caught my eye though was “Don’t eat anything that comes out of a box.” Well, doesn’t everyone know that???

When asked what kind of food they bought, 13% of readers polled said they try to buy local, 6% said that they try to buy organic, and a whopping 40% said that they try to buy organic, natural, and local! And why not with the ever-increasing opportunities to buy locally grown food in Denver and Boulder.

On Saturday I hit the Heirloom Gardens stand at  Highlands Farmers Market and bought beautiful heirloom tomatoes grown in CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) gardens in my North Denver neighborhood. They are beautiful, delicious and satisfying. They taste amazing tossed with a couple handfuls of fresh and piquant (grown in my neighborhood) arugula in a simple olive oil and lemon vinaigrette.

lemon vinaigrette

1 clove garlic mashed

1/2 lemon + 1T water

2T olive oil

1t Dijon mustard

Here is a link to the Heirloom Gardens blog where you can learn all about growing and raising your own food. There  are instructions for  roasting  winter squash. Delicious!

http://heirloomgardens.blogspot.com/

Enjoy!