Day Two - A little exploring in Martinique

5.30.11 : 150/365

On day two of our trip we spent the morning at our little beach down the street from our apartment but then decided to head out and see what the 'nicest beach on the island' was all about. We went driving from our little spot towards the very south of the island and ended up at 'Les Salines' beach near Ste-Anne.

After doing a little swimming in the turbulent but nice Atlantic water (this was on the bottom east corner of the island or the south Atlantic coast), we were hungry. There was a little food 'truck' across the parking lot from the beach and while we were having a bite, this little guy poked the mister in the foot. He looks cooked, right?

After the beach, we took off on an impromptu hike in search of 'La Savane des pétrifications' (the petrified savanna).

All those little things that look like rocks are the edge of the water are tiny crabs

See?!

And again as they were fleeing!

Cabrits Island with the Cabrits 'lighthouse'

'The Devil's Table'

Almost lost my flip flop in that tiny bit of water while crossing the rocks

Across this bridge is where the savanna is said to begin. I've looked and looked for a reasonable explanation of what this place really is, and it's near impossible to find. I must say even while we were visiting it, we still weren't sure just what it was!

Here's what little about it I could find (in french);


Au sud de l'île entre la plage des Salines et l'anse Trabaud, vous trouverez une zone aride, un véritable désert : La savane des Pétrifications. Il y avait avant une forêt qui fut engloutie sous la lave lors d'une éruption volcanique particulièrement violente. Les anciens troncs d'arbres ont peu à peu disparu, mais le spectacle est resté impressionnant. (via)

Essentially, what this is telling us is that once upon a time a volcano engulfed a forest and what we are left with is this;

 

The mister, checking things out

There you have it... day two was great!!

Starting My Garden Early 4

:)) It seems that stabbing your foot with a pitch fork is good for getting caught up on blogs !!  Hahaha Thank fully I just nailed on toe , and not the whole foot. Its amazing how much one toe can hurt though .  So that leads me to this post ,  I'm finally caught up to June, well I will be once this one is done.   Yeah!!

I would like to apologize to everyone for being so far behind on these, it was an odd couple of months for me... but I'm back and the words are coming to me nice and easy .

This post is all about the last 10 days of May ,  which up here in Ontario Canada is our last frost date ...  and the time when most people start gardening ,  I had a great head start and actually planted seeds in March :))

This post should cover that :  http://richfletchersgoodfoodrevolution.blogspot.com/2011/04/starting-my-garden-early.html

Ive never had much luck growing potatoes , so I thought Id try out the bucket method...  ( Ill be doing a blog post on the whole process once Ive harvested )  If you want more details, follow this link to my Facebook page 

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.188441627869894.39828.118986254815432

I decided to try a 3 sisters planting ...  I kind of jumped the gun on this and planted the beans and squash a little to early .  I have two more plots , so I have another chance to get it right .  

:))  This is some ornamental corn I started inside ...    love this shot . 

The trellis for my peas,  I used freshly cut maple sticks ( MISTAKE!! ) hahaha they are trying to regrow.  Ooops , its too late now , but next time I'll use ones that are clearly dead.  

Someone suggested using an old chair to let peas trellis on , found this one .. so far so good.
In the corner is a mini greenhouse I made from a water bottle... the tomatoes needed just a little more warmth to get them growing . I left them on for a week, and it worked like a charm :) 

We had a bit of a colder snap, so the tiny tomatoes got the water bottle greenhouses, and i threw a cold frame over the corn to help them sprout quicker. 

Radishes are a great spring crop , you can be eating fresh in less than 30 days .. from seed! 

The most important tools in your garden, quality seeds and a note pad!!  Ive never been so organized, and my garden has never looked better :))  

Spinach , just breaking the ground  :))  

That's me in the middle ... I was being filmed for a local food documentary on growing your own food :)) How exciting!!  It was a shame the skies opened up half way thru ... still was a lot of fun , and I'm looking forward to their return in July for part 2!  

So there you have it!  That brings us up to June ...  which Ill try and get done shortly ... Things are growing like crazy now , and I'm already eating fresh garden salads :))  If you have any questions , or need something cleared up , don't be shy .. just leave a comment below.

Happy Gardening !

Starting My Garden Early 3

This year I started my Garden a full 6 weeks , maybe 7 before our last frost date ...  some things were kept inside , while others went outside with a few simple cold frames.  

Ill keep this brief , as I'm so far behind now , that most of this is slightly out of date. Well for this year anyways :))

Its always a good idea to harden your plants off for a few days, or even a week after starting them inside.  Gets them used to the outdoors. 

Garlic that was planted last fall ..  coming back strong!!  Can't wait :)) 

This will become my first 3 sisters planting :))   

Gotta watch it when you hardening off plants , Id left these outside and went to work , then we had an unexpected scorcher of a spring day ... All ten cucumber seedlings were burnt to a crisp in one afternoon :(( 

Oregano and thyme really appreciated the cold frame... they cam thru stronger than ever  :)) 

Onions I left in from last year , and a few that had sprouted in my pantry .
If they wont grow onions , I'm going to try and save the seeds this year . 

My Garden in mid - May , still 10 days before the last frost , but I thought Id risk a few things.  

Most everything in my garden is recycled .. including the plant markers, I got these strips from the scrap bin at a local lumber yard . Free!!  

Cold frames are gone , and tomatoes and pepper plants are in ... still one week of possible frost , but I was feeling lucky :)) 

Decided to try adding some straw to the garlic .. see if it would help with the weeds...  It did a little , but also makes it harder to use a hoe between the rows .. Hmmmm 

Well , I'm getting there !! This brings us up to the 3rd week in May :) Almost there....
As always , questions or comments are most welcome.
Happy Gardening !!

Spicy Meatball Pasta Bake - Good Food Cheap

Lets try this again !  I typed this post up a week ago , only to have the whole thing disappear on me just as I was finished up . For someone that has a hard time writing , that was a major bummer....  so I took a week , and figured I would try it again . This time Ill be typing it up on Word , and will copy and paste to blogger.   I just love this series , Good Food Cheap !  What could be better ? Besides free! Hahaha that and its a one pan dinner... which is great as there is not as much clean up .   So ... here we go , first recipe post in 7 weeks for me ... where does the time go ??

You will need :

Meatballs :

3 Cloves of Garlic
2 Small Red Onions
1/2 a Large Red Bell Pepper
2 dried chili's
1lb of  ground beef
1 egg and ...
a touch too much bread crumbs ( kinda knocked the jar over .. ooops :)
To Taste : 
My chili powder
Basil
Smoked paprika
Sea salt
Black pepper,
L&P

Note : Normally I would have added mushrooms too .

Pasta Bake :

1 Pint Jar of Tomatoes, juice and all
1lb of cheese tortellini
2/3 cup of beef stock
1 1/2 cups chopped broccoli
90Gm of Mozzarella

Total Cost :    Just under $10 for dinner for four!

  Start by chopping the veggies for the meatballs :)

Add the veggies to the  beef and the spices , Mix well with your hands , and let rest for at least 30 minutes for flavour developing time :)

Roll them into balls, I decided to go with small ones this time . This made about 36 little ones.

I pan fried them in a spoonful of sunflower oil , for about 5 minutes each ( in two batches ) just long enough to get some colour on the outside of them. Preheat your oven right about now to 350F

Meatballs are browned up and, ready for the oven

 Now its oven time, the tomatoes were added juice and all , the pound of cheese tortellini and the beef stock . set the timer for 15 minutes at 350F 

 At the 15 minute mark , give it all a good stir , and set it for 15 more. Add the chopped broccoli & mozzarella at the 30 minutes in mark , and leave it for 10 more minutes.

 Total oven time 40 minutes :)) Mmm smells good!!

 My finished plate :)) Spicy Red Pepper/Onion Meatballs, with garlic tomatoes, cheese tortellini , broccoli and mozzarella . 

Well there you have one of my favourite one pot cooking meals !  Simple, easy and cheap!  Hahaha what could be better ??   Besides having someone make it for you ?  

This is the first Good Food Cheap post where I didnt break all the costs down ?  Does this work for you ? Or would you prefer a more itemized price list like i have done in the past ?

I hope you have enjoyed my Spicy Meatball Pasta Bake :)) Happy Cooking

In the diary...New York City Skirt Ride!