Around Town + Object Love = Succulents

Hmm…I think this post combines two topics, Around Town which I've shared and Object Love which is new. Object Love is like show and tell. It's intended to share objects that I find interesting. Perhaps you will too!

Topic #4…Object Love.

Succulents

Over the holiday weekend, my lovely mother and her wonderful boyfriend hauled a pick-up truck full of succulents, soil, pots and tools to our place for planting [or is it potting?] on our barren deck. The survival rate on our deck for the last 10 years has been grim. It never occurred to me that succulents could be the answer until I was admiring them in my mom's garden. And by all accounts, they don't need much, so they should be well matched with my minimal TLC.

I love these plants. They come in so many textures, shades and shapes. I like how they can be randomly combined or just use one type in different sizes for critical mass.

Coincidentally, I've been wanting to visit Flora Grubb Gardens, the namesake of the owner. What a name! Talk about your name reflecting your vocation. Anyhow, I've read articles on the new location and heard great reviews from friends.

So, before we got to planting, we headed over to Flora Grubb's. The design of the gardens and site were amazing. It's an oasis in an industrial part of town. It's modern and simple. The site is propped with an old pick-up truck and car surrounded by plants, great retail strategy. Unfortunately, we didn't get to try the coffee as it was not staffed while we were there.

What I didn't realize was the breadth of succulents and cacti I would find. BEAUTIFUL! They even had bug eating plants…very cool.

I would say it's definitely worth the trip to Flora Grubb, even if you don't intend to buy anything. Get a cup of coffee, wander through the gardens and enjoy touching the plants. Be careful of the cacti though! I got a good piercing that still hurts when I think about it.

Enjoy,

F&N

Good to Know…Emergency Preparedness

OK, we have some momentum behind us now with this blog. Thanks to all for your positive and encouraging feedback via email. In my announcement, I mentioned there will be useful and helpful information to most of you on this blog.

Introducing topic #3…Good to Know.

Emergency Preparedness

I have lived in the Bay Area my whole life and felt many earthquakes. I was at the 1989 World Series at Candlestick Park when the Loma Prieta earthquake hit. I still remember the sound of the ground rumbling, the way the upper-deck undulated like a wave, and the silence when everything went still. I remember the tortuous and scary drive home on 280 that took 5 hours instead of the usual hour. In spite of the danger and damage, we did not educate ourselves on "preparedness".

The attacks of 9/11/2001 and the fear afterwards, only prompted me to buy a cell phone so that I could be in constant contact with my new husband should any disaster strike. We had a camping box with a propane stove, canned foods, flashlight, etc. that we felt was sufficient should an emergency arise.

A few years later, we had a baby. It was then, that I really started to think about being prepared and what that means. What are we preparing for? What do we need? Where should we go? Although it was on my mind, I did nothing to answer my questions or ready my family. Then I noticed these billboards around town.

These were provocative. They made me imagine being separated from my child during an emergency. It scared me into action. I visited ready.gov, a site and service provided by the U.S. Government. You will find checklists for supplies and kits, a Family Emergency Plan, and a Pet Preparedness Toolkit.

I also went to 72hours.org , a San Francisco/Bay Area initiative for emergency preparedness. I actually prefer this site to ready.gov because it's better designed and extremely informative. Here is a pdf of the entire site. Print it. Read it. Use it.

Please, please take the time to navigate these links and prepare your family! The supply list seems long. You'll think you will never have the time to put a home survival kit or a go-bag together, but you can. Getreadygear.com is almost a one stop shopping solution. I'm sure there are hardware stores or sporting good stores that sell assembled survival kits if you don't want to pay for shipping.

Once you get the basic go-bag and survival kit together, go through it to familiarize yourself with the contents. Add any additional items necessary for your family. I kitted out our to go bag with headlamps, work gloves and these packets, which include a whistle, family pictures, and a print out of our emergency plan, for each family member. The "dog tags" might be over the top I realize, but it was fun to do.

Don't forget to photocopy those important documents; passports, birth & marriage certificates, medical records, eye glass prescription, etc. Consider a portable hard drive to back up your photos, music, and any important information. Also, don't overlook disaster and emergency kits in your car and office.

Role play with your child about what to do if there is an emergency…try not to freak them out though. Teach them how to use 911. Make sure they know their parents' names, their home address and phone numbers.

You might think I'm overzealous, but I know from experience, when you are evacuating your house at 4am because of a fire, it's worth having a plan and a go-bag ready and accessible.

I would love to hear any ideas or tips you have about emergency preparedness. Please feel free to post here!

Hope this was helpful and Good to Know.

Get to it!

F&N

Tasty Things…Potato Salad Salad

One of the reasons I enjoy trolling other blogs is discovering new recipes or an author's interpretation of a recipe. [You'll notice in the sidebar a couple blogs that are solely devoted to food.] It's a sneak peak of the finished dish with commentary and tips!

I also love photographs of food, taking photographs of food and making tasty dishes both sweet and savory. So, like many other people, I now have a forum to bring all these together, this blog! It's also practical to have a topic devoted to food and recipes as it's much easier to post once instead of frantically scribbling and including your own notes or trying to recall from memory.

Welcome to topic #2…Tasty Things.

Potato Salad for a Picnic

Actually, you can use this recipe anytime. I like using it for picnics or big parties because there is no mayo or other perishable ingredients. Plus, the potatoes are roasted so they hold up nicely and it's unexpected. This is the original recipe from foodnetwork.com

Here is our variation. The quantities listed below are for larger gatherings, say 15-20 people.

Ingredients:

• 5 pounds red potatoes, quartered
• 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 9 roma tomatoes, halved horizontally, seeded, and cut into wedges [you can use as much or as little as you like]
• 1 cup finely grated Pamigiano-Reggiano
• Dressing:
• 1 cup olive oil
• 2-3 shallots finely chopped [feel free to substitute 1 small red onion]
• 6 tablespoons Sherry vinegar or red-wine vinegar
• 6 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 2 teaspoons salt [you may want to add more, i'm being conservative]
• 5 oz. mixed greens [you can add more or less greens depending on how "salad" like you want the dish to be]

Directions:

1. Par boil potatoes until slightly soft [strange "slightly soft" i know, stay with me]

The original recipe does not require this step, but we've found that by par boiling the potatoes prior to roasting results in a soft interior and a nice roasted exterior.

2. Drain potatoes and arrange on a baking sheet lined with foil [foil optional, but always provides consistent results for us] and drizzle with olive oil and chopped garlic. Roast at 450º F until brown, turning as necessary to prevent burning.

Perhaps this is helpful

3. Make dressing:

Whisk shallot, vinegar, mustard, salt and pepper to taste. Add remaining oil in a slow stream, whisking until emulsified.

4. Toss greens, potatoes, tomatoes, 3/4 cup of Pamigiano-Reggiano, and dressing. Sprinkle remaining Pamigiano-Reggiano over salad.

Notes:

For the greens you can use a variety or a single type, like just spinach or frisee. We have used mixed baby greens, mesculun, frisee and spinach. I've found that the frisee holds up well and doesn't get soggy. For the dressing, you can moderate the quantity to taste. I generally have a heavier hand than my husband does, i.e., i use all the dressing; he uses a third. This recipe is easy and tasty. Feel free to experiment with quantity, it's pretty fool proof.

Enjoy,

F&N

Around Town…Presidio Social Club

One of the hang-ups that has prevented me from blogging sooner is the absence of a theme or the lack of a singular topic like books, sake, fly fishing or cupcakes. Unfortunately, I don't have the attention span [or time] to solely devote an entire blog to a single subject, and, as odd as it sounds, I need SOME structure or parameters for any creative endeavor, personal or professional. So the initial thinking for Fiddlesticks & Nonsense is to create 4-5 topics that will enable any or all family members to participate and contribute [with the understanding, of course, I get to art direct].

Here is our inaugural entry for topic #1 Around Town…enjoy!

Sunday dinner at the Presidio Social Club.

Ironically, I just recently learned about this local restaurant while traveling this summer! I was also surprised to discover that they have been open for almost 2 years [note to self: leave the `hood and explore more of the city!]. The article was complimentary of the food and the photos were great, so we gave it a try.

The building located in the Presidio has an interesting history as the enlisted men's barracks. The exterior gives no clues that the interior is a restaurant, but that's the most interesting element about PSC.

Exterior

The bar, cocktails, menu, interior and location were excellent.

They even had "entertainment" for little people! How awesome is this?

But despite all the promise, the food was OK as was the service. Would we go there again? Yes, but I would order the really traditional items like mac `n cheese or fish and chips. I would also insist on sitting in the main room as opposed to the back room, where as we discovered is where families are seated. If any of you go, let us know your thoughts and experiences.

Best,

F&N

crafty things…Kindergarten and kindercones

Do you remember your first day of kindergarten? I do. It was horrible…standing at the bus stop crying with my grandma standing nearby. I wish I could say the tears were for fear of going off to school by myself, on a bus on which I did not know anyone. Instead, I was crying because I had watched Winnie the Pooh before leaving the house, and poor, poor Eyore was being ostracized. This is the only thing I remember about kindergaten!

Naturally, I wanted D's first day [and year!] to be sweeter and filled with loving and tasty memories. So I made this… Schulte.

Actually, I made three. The picture below is from my friend who was smart enough to take pictures BEFORE giving it. Pretty nice goodies inside…postcards, stickers, stamps, markers, and a great alarm clock [to which I will give its own post].

I got the idea to make these while browsing through this catalog. Of course, I HAD to make my own, because it would be more special‚ right? Not really. It's just my freaky "control freak" personality getting the best of me. Plus, I just needed to sew SOMETHING!

This cutie pie got the third schultute. You can get an idea of the size and shape.

By all accounts, all three kindercones were well received. I'm not sure if the tradition is giving the cones just for kindergarten or for the beginning of every new school year, but I made them out of fabric so they can be used for the next 12 years…I hope!

F&N