Growing like a weed

S: You could say we have green thumbs. We're very good at growing weeds.

S: Winter left us with a pretty sad lawn, but magically, at the first sign of warm weather, a blanket of weeds sprung up. I'm just grateful that the worst of the weeds are confined to the backyard, leaving our frontyard looking somewhat respectable.

At 43 inches, I think this may just hold the record for tallest residential weed...

Z: We have to give weeds some credit as masters of stealth. Similar to the rabbit, or more aptly, the roach, the weed simply takes to the tactic of living to germinate, you know, weed sex. One weed in your yard recieves pollen from another and the lovemaking weeds soon spread their progeny all over God's green earth making it more, uh, green. And ugly. Below, you can see a dramatic interpretation of the weeds desire to rule the planet.

Z: Since weeds only care about sex and reproduction they are luckily shallow, in their root system of course. They are also shallow morally, but I won't proselytize you weed lovers out there. After a few hours of pulling, tugging, and some minor digging, I had uprooted the majority of the weeds.

S: Now if we could just keep them from coming back...
Z: That's easy Sarah! We can teach the weeds about birth control and monogamy. Or we can spread atrazine everywhere and destroy them. Seeing that weeds can't hear and are also pagans, we'll go with the weed and feed and burn them out

Happy Monday!

Gluten Free Fig Cookies

I came up with a gluten free version of my great grandmother Sarah's fig cookie recipe. My dad has a serious sweet tooth, but has Celiac disease and can't eat gluten, so I made these as a special treat for his birthday.

Filling ingredients:
1 pkg dried figs (I used Calimyrna figs)
Raisins
1 navel orange
Spices (optional)

Dough ingredients:
1 1/2 cups rice flour
2 tsp guar gum
1 stick butter
1 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup honey
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
Ground nutmeg (optional)

Cut the stems from the dried figs and soak in warm water for a few minutes. Drain well. Grind in food processor along with a handful of raisins and some orange zest. Set aside.

Combine dough ingredients in food processor until it forms into a ball. If you're lucky, you may be able to roll the dough out. I had to press it in to place to keep it from crumbling/sticking to the countertop.

Place a line of fig filling at the edge of the dough. Roll dough over filling and cut off excess dough. You should have a long roll of dough filled with fig. Cut the roll into 2 inch segments and place on a cookie sheet.

Bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes.

The fig came out tasty but the rice flour makes for a pretty powdery cookie. So I think I will keep experimenting for a better alternative, maybe tapioca flour. My dad also suggested a gluten free pizza dough mix he likes, which might work with a little sugar added. I'll let you know how my next batch turns out!

Green Felted Spider

I had a custom order last week for a green spider. smart customer. everything is better in green :)

Confessions of a beautiful blogger

My lovely friend Allison at the blogivers shared the Beautiful Blogger Award with me. According to the rules I'm supposed to list seven things about myself and then pass the award on. Here are seven things you probably didn't know about me...unless your name is Zach.

-For the longest time I thought Field of Dreams was about aliens...if you build it they will come.

-Allison admitted to a spring break belly button piercing...which I can unfortunately trump with an eyebrow piercing in high school and nose piercing in college. (the eyebrow piercing was gone long before my nose was pierced.)

-I have never had a cup of coffee or a coffee-containing beverage.

-I think socks make your feet look stupid. (this opinion may not be new to all my readers)

-Every night when going to bed, Zach and I play a little game where we have to be looking at each other before we can turn the bedside lamp off.

- My toenails are always painted, even in the winter. I never paint my fingernails.

-I'm half Sicilian but don't like olives or red wine.

That's enough about me. Now I'm passing the award on to these beautiful bloggers:

Bethany at The Laughing Songbird
Jenn at Married to a BMW
Katie at Grains of Rice
Denise at Adventures at la Casa de Mayen

Monogram Pillow Tutorial

Visit The Laughing Songbird to view my tutorial for a button monogram pillow!

Published

I'm officially published! My first research article, A Focus on Asthma and Individual Health Plans: A Survey of Texas Schools, came out this month in the Journal of Asthma and Allergy Educators. Be warned, you may fall asleep reading it.