Tandem Joins the Fam

Two weeks ago we drove past a tandem bike for sale in someone's yard. Last Saturday Alex and I went on a long bike ride together and after that I was sure I had to have that tandem.

After a few phone calls, trip to the bank for cash, plea to Dad to pick up and drop off the bike with his big car, a little tuning and this morning we took our first rides on a tandem!

The bike is a Trek T100 1994 model.  It is in near mint condition and I think we got it for a steal of a price.  We will need new brake pads, pedals and bar tape, but it is ride-able as is.

I can't wait to get it out on a flat somewhere and see how fast we can go!

*This brings the bike count to seven: my commuter, Alex's commuter, Alex's mountain bike, Alex's road bike, tandem, Lil's 12 inch, Lil's 16 inch.  Garage also currently houses the bike trailer, tag-a-long, my sister's cross bike, a parted out old single speed of Alex's, a bike stand, and huge selection of tools.  Oh, and one Honda Fit car.

Plants grow UP

No matter which way you plant them, seeds grow with leaves up and roots underground.  Climbers like ivy, always reach for the top of a tree. Green beans always climb up their support, never down.  This one in my garden was heading down a support but changed direction and is now growing right back up on top of itself.

It's an effect called gravitropism, or tropism.

The plant hormone auxin causes plants to repspond to gravity by always sending roots in the direction of gravitational pull and stems against the direction of gravitational pull.

Try this to observe gravitropism with your kids:

1) Prepare three growing environments by inserting a folded paper towel in a ziploc bag.

2) Put a bean seed in the middle of the paper towel and wet it. Partially seal the bag.

3) Tape them to a sunny window.

4) After the bean has sprouted (note the sprout going UP), turn two of the bags a quarter turn. Leave the third one in place as a constant.

5) Keep the paper towel moist but not soaked.

6) Let the plants grow another inch or so and turn again.

What happens?  Do the plants get confused?

PS.  I am on vacation and the house we're at has a  slow internet connection.  I am reducing pictures because they take too long to load.  Sorry!

Flip Video Camera is here!

As Finalists in the Intuit Small Business Grant Competition , we were given a Flip digital camera.  (I won't repeat all the competition news here, but you can follow on our contest page if you wish.) We are having fun taking videos with this tiny camera.  I thought it appropriate to share this one with you, a little garden tour with doggies:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUJOf0kXu1g]

Join Me on a Family Friendly Bike Ride

I am hosting a bike ride next Monday May 11 for bike to work week. Bring the kids & meet near the wading pond at Whetstone Park to ride a short 2.5 miles along the Olentangy Bike Path to Tuttle Park. Play for approximately one hour, then head back. Campfire Columbus will provide some snacks at Tuttle.

This will be a very family-friendly ride, short and leisurely.  I hope to see you there!

Playhouse in the Garden

Our yard is tiny but we have long wanted a playspace for Lil.  A few weeks ago we started seeing playhouses available for sale.  We knew better than to look at swing sets - they would shade our garden. We researched options online and found a cedar playhouse that fit our size specifications at Sam's Club for $300.  A friend picked one up for us.

We finally had a good weather day with plenty of free time, so we put the house together.

The house assembled in about 5 hours with two adults, two neighborhood preteen girls, and Lil. Lil and the girls mostly played, but they worked too.

Note the mailbox and curtains created by the neighborhood girls.

The house is adorably cute.  The materials and design are solid.  Plus it is Forest Stewardship Council certified to ensure the materials are sustainably harvested.  We purchased 100% recycled rubber mulch as flooring which we will install tomorrow.  I hope that with the quality of materials and our craftsmanship Lil can enjoy this house for many years to come.

Vegetarian Picks for Columbus Restaurant Week

I am really excited about Columbus Restaurant Week.  I am telling everyone I know.  I even gave my brother in law some Dine Originals gift certificates for watching our dogs in the hopes that he will go support restaurants next week. There's only one problem.  I don't eat meat.  Fixed price meals usually don't work out so well for me.  I rarely ask for exceptions for prix fixe menus because the whole idea is to serve a standardized meal.

However, among the 42 restaurants participating in restaurant week there are some excellent meat-free choices.  Here's my guide for vegetarian* choices:

The Best - three vegetarian courses:

Barcelona - 7 course tapas meal, vegetarian option

Betty's - all choices appear to be meatless

Black Creek Bistro - four courses including mushroom stew I've been wanting to try

Bodega - Bruschetta, veggie pizza and panini, beer

Cafe Corner - choose two items plus dessert, many breakfasts are meatless and a few sandwiches too

Elevator - salad, vegetable strudel entree, dessert

Handkes - vegetarian option available

Inn & Spa at Cedar Falls - appetizer basket, salad, roasted red pepper linguini, dessert (four courses for $30 sounds like a great deal)

Katzingers - 2 small Vegetarian sandwiches, two sides, dessert

LaScala - salad, eggplant parm, and tiramisu (two diners for $30!)

Maca Cafe - Two veggie courses and wine

Pistachia Vera - mmmmm....tastes of 7 meat free sweets...

Press Grill - Salad, pizza, and dessert, two people for just $15

Rigsby's - skip pancetta on salad or hope for meat-free soup du jour, veggie pasta entree, dessert

Surly Girl - all choices appear meatless

Tasi - Breakfast or Lunch dish + drinks, $15 for two

Tip Top - salad, veggie roast entree, dessert

Tratorria Roma - manicotti, fresh greens, glass of wine

Tutto Vino - 3 veggie pizza choices plus salad and cheese course

Worthington Inn -  salad, garden vegetable plate, dessert

Z Cucina - salad, pasta with pomodoro sauce or eggplant parm, tiramisu

Good Possibility -

Alanas - meatless salad, risotto du jour could be meatless

*My definition of vegetarian is no red meat, white meat, or fish.  Eggs and dairy OK.

I still can't decide where we'll go.  I'm thinking Trattoria Roma for lunch one day and something else for dinner another day.   Maybe I'll even arrange a girl's night out at Surly Girl or Tip Top.

Have you decided where you're going yet?

Showcase of Citrus

The most fulfilling destination of our Orlando trip was the Showcase of Citrus pick your own farm.  Located about a 45 minutes drive west of our hotel at the Orlando convention center, the farm was nearly empty on Tuesday afternoon when we visited. You can buy bags of already picked fruit, but we chose to pick in the field.  Showcase of Citrus provides wagons and bags.  The fields are divided by a canal used for irrigation.  A nice play area is setup for kids to amuse themselves while adults shop.

Lillian loved running through the fields and climbing in the trees.  (Citrus trees do have more branches than apple trees which makes climbing them more difficult.)  The farm boasts that they use no chemicals, so I was comfortable letting her explore whereever she wanted.

In season when we went (late February) were Honey Tangelos, Orlando Tangelos (labeled as an heirloom variety), Pink Tangerines, Kumquats and Grapefruits.  We picked some of each.  Picking oranges is a bit more complicated than apples because oranges require tugging and are harder to tell when they are perfectly ripe.  But in less than an hour we had easily picked two 1/4 bushel bags.

Florida recently experienced a few cold days, so some of the rinds were frost damaged, but the interior fruit was still tasty.  Really tasty.  Everything was amazingly sweet.  The pink tangerines are especially delicious with a more delicate flavor than the tangelos.

We paid just $20 for the fun farm experience and a half bushel of fruit.  We put it in our checked baggage and the citrus was just fine when we arrived home.  Showcase of Citrus also offers shipping services at the farm and online ordering of gift boxes (November - April only).

Sugar Season coming soon, Maple Sugar that is.

A long time ago, my high school boyfriend did a winter maple sugar study.  He tracked data on trees in the forest behind our school, tapped them, and made maple syrup.  It required hours of work boiling off the sap from late January through March, and since I wanted to be with him, I helped with the sugaring. Since then, I've had a soft spot for sugaring.  As it turns out Alex (my husband) tapped a few trees in his backyard as a kid.

If you don't know the maple sugar process, here's a quick rundown.

1. Identify sugar maple tree or trees.  Red and black maple do have some sugar content in their sap but it is so low that it is almost not worth collecting.

2. Insert metal or plastic 'taps' into trees.  You just hammer these an inch or so beyond the bark

3. Hang a bucket or old milk jug off the tap.

4. Collect sap.  Sap runs when the nights are below freezing but the days are above freezing temperatures.  Usually sugar farmers in Ohio expect a steady harvest around February 14th.

5. Skim off any frozen water.  Sap will keep refridgerated for a few days.  Leave it out in the snow overnight (if there is snow) and skim the frozen water in the morning.   You'll be left with higher sugar content sap.

6. Boil sap in a large outdoor boiler or indoors in large pots.  Could probably be done in roasting pans in the oven too.  Keep in mind that sap contains between 3 - 4% sugar, and syrup is much more concentrated, so you want big vessels for this.

7. When you've reached syrup consistency, strain through felt to rid syrup of impurities.  (You can use a hyrometer and/or thermometer to measure, or just go by feel.)

8. Enjoy!  Or boil further to make sugar.

Much more detailed instructions are on the Ohio State University Extension fact sheet.

I'll warn you - sugaring is a lot of effort for a little precious syrup.  It is deeply satisfying to follow through the process, but shouldn't be taken on by those short on time.

If you want to simply observe the process, some farms offer great outings.  We visit Malabar Farm in north central Ohio for their annual Maple Syrup Festival.  They have real life reinactments of historic ways of sugaring up through a working modern production.  This year's festival will be held March 7, 8, 14 and 15.