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thrawn21 thrawn @lemmy.world

Just a rock-licker who loves all things sci-fi, boardgames, and growing my own food, especially heirloom tomatoes.

Posts 234
Comments 293
A sweat bee enjoying a radicchio bloom
  • Good point, I've edited the description.

  • Untitled by Zdzisław Beksiński
  • I wish his paintings had titles, or at least numbers. So hard to tell people about my favorites of his without already having a link handy.

  • One of the heads of garlic I grew turned out to be just one solid clove
  • It might be! That was one of the varieties I planted this year, though the cloves I put in the ground looked like normal shaped cloves, just scaled up a bit.

  • Week 29 Superfoods: walnut and pistachio baklava
  • Ahahaha, I know right? Baklava normally is an occasional treat enjoyed just a couple pieces at a time, and now I have an ENTIRE tray hanging around. I swear I can physically feel my waistline expanding.

  • 52 Weeks of Baking @lemmy.world thrawn @lemmy.world

    Week 29 Superfoods: walnut and pistachio baklava

    First time making baklava, used up some nuts that needed eating before they turned rancid. I used browned rather than just melted butter, sprinkled some macadamia nuts on top, and used pomegranate molasses in the syrup, which gave it a bit of tang.

    [Image description: an aluminum pan with baklava, the bottom layers of phyllo dough saturated with sticky syrup, followed by a layer of chopped nuts, the upper layers of phyllo dough semi-saturated and flaky, and topped with a few more chopped nuts.]

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    A sweat bee enjoying a radicchio bloom
  • First time ever growing radicchio, but I'm 100% keeping it in my garden from here on out, not for eating (actually was not a fan of the flavor), but because it seems to want to bloom eternally. I swear this one plant has been blooming every morning for months now, and I've never seen sweat bees in such numbers, they seem to especially love these blossoms.

  • A sweat bee enjoying a radicchio bloom

    cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/17825263

    > [Image description: a bright green bee with pollen covered legs on a lilac flower with jagged edged petals.]

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    A sweat bee enjoying a radicchio bloom

    [Image description: a bright green bee with pollen covered legs on a lilac colored flower with jagged edged petals.]

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    CalFire chopper over the Hawarden Fire in Riverside
  • Yeah I spotted that smoke plume too, according to Riverside County Fire the fires were reported within 8 minutes of each other. Kinda suspicious, imo.

    Saw one house start to catch fire before my husband and I decided we didn't want to stay and watch someone's tragedy. Really hoping that no more are lost, and that all the firefighters stay safe.

  • One of the heads of garlic I grew turned out to be just one solid clove
  • That makes sense, he was really undersized compared to the rest.

  • One of the heads of garlic I grew turned out to be just one solid clove

    [Image description: a perfectly round peeled bulb of garlic on a cutting board, with unpeeled normal cloves behind it.]

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    CalFire chopper over the Hawarden Fire in Riverside

    cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/17819303

    > [Image description: a white and red helicopter tilted sideways over large houses on a hilltop covered with brown brush. Multiple plumes of grey smoke are rising from behind the houses, and flames can be seen on the brush on the left side of the photo.]

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    CalFire chopper over the Hawarden Fire in Riverside

    [Image description: a white and red helicopter tilted sideways over large houses on a hilltop covered with brown brush. Multiple plumes of grey smoke are rising from behind the houses, and flames can be seen on the brush on the left side of the photo.]

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    Found this fat fellow having himself a nice nibble
  • Yeah... the thought has crossed my mind, even though tomatoes are my absolute favorite thing to grow. If I knew for sure it'd really reduce the population, I could probably convince myself, but how sad would it be to have a tomatoless year just to have the mites back in full force the next. 😕

  • Found this fat fellow having himself a nice nibble
  • Hard to judge, as not one of my next door neighbors is interested in gardening, despite my efforts at offering seeds/seedlings/help.

    I haven't gotten to really connect with any gardening groups in my area, but the handful of folks I have talked to also have problems with spider mites, though not sure if to quite such a severe degree.

  • Found this fat fellow having himself a nice nibble
  • That's a fair point, didn't consider that my generalists would probably also be happy snacking on my good guys. I released them along with the G. occidentalis back in May when it was much cooler, in the hopes of preempting the spider mite spread.

    The N. californicus I released in mid June, and though I didn't happen to grow any corn in the garden this year, hopefully the volume of spider mites is enough to keep them well fed.

  • Found this fat fellow having himself a nice nibble
  • Yep, I've tried various soaps and all kinds of oils, tried regularly spraying down the leaves to keep them dust free and the humidity up, tried removing plants at the first sign of infestation, all of it seemingly futile under the literal avalanche of mites I get every summer. If I miss a few days of these preventative measures, my poor tomatoes will have leaves gone from a slight sign of damage to a fully webbed death. And it's not like my plants are water starved either, I use drip irrigation under thick mulch, so the soil stays moist even on the hottest days.

    It's been really constraining on my growing season. I'm often able to get plants in the ground around mid-February and get a good harvest in May, but June/July is spent just watching all my plants die a lingering infested death. I'm in 10a, so I should easily be able to get a second summer crop in, but new seedlings planted at the end of spring seem to fare even worse than their established brethren. Hence why I've finally decided to spend the $$$ on predators, really hoping that their population establishes and tames the micro menace.

  • Found this fat fellow having himself a nice nibble
  • Yeah, would be nice if I were in a closed environment and could keep them from running away!

    I've tried neoseiulus californicus and galendromus occidentalis, and also zelus renardii as a generalist predator. I've considered stethorus punctillum, might have to give them a shot too.

  • Found this fat fellow having himself a nice nibble
  • Don't know the range of those wasps, but I'm in inland southern California, and I don't think I've ever spotted a worm with them. Kinda glad of that tbh, the whole idea gives me the heebie geebies.

  • Found this fat fellow having himself a nice nibble
  • I wish that they were the biggest problem bug for my tomatoes, but that title goes to the godforsaken spider mites. They decimate my plants every summer as soon as the weather turns hot, and I've tried so many things to combat them.

    This year I've applied a couple rounds of predator mites, and in addition to some ruthless pruning of affected plants, I feel like I'm actually holding ground in the battle. Though really hoping that the predator mites will establish a population, as they're a pricy solution.

  • Found this fat fellow having himself a nice nibble
  • I usually put them out on my driveway and it doesn't take long before a bird spots my tasty snack offering. Someday I'd love to have chickens to give them to instead.

  • Week 27 (belated): Chocolate work - a brownie cookie cake for my friend's birthday
  • The full cake pre-slicing. Easier to do a "rustic" frosting and say it's a deliberate effect rather than attempt and fail at a smooth finish! 😅

    It was kept in the fridge before serving, does anyone know if a way to keep the ganache from going matte? Or is that just an inevitable consequence of the cold?

    [Image description: the full cake, with textured chocolate frosting, and chocolate ganache on top with "30" stenciled in cocoa powder.]

  • 52 Weeks of Baking @lemmy.world thrawn @lemmy.world

    Week 27 (belated): Chocolate work - a brownie cookie cake for my friend's birthday

    [Image description: a partially eaten slice of cake on a blue plate with a fork. The cake has three layers, the bottom is a brownie, the middle is a chocolate chip cookie, and the top is vanilla cake. There's white chocolate frosting between the layers, chocolate frosting on the outside, and chocolate ganache on top.]

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    Found this fat fellow having himself a nice nibble

    cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/17588319

    > [Image description: a thicc green hornworm hanging onto the stem of a tomato plant. The hornworm is speckled with little white dots, has eyespots and angular white stripes down his side, and the namesake sharp little spike of a horn on its butt.]

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    Found this fat fellow having himself a nice nibble

    [Image description: a thicc green hornworm hanging onto the stem of a tomato plant. The hornworm is speckled with little white dots, has eyespots and angular white stripes down his side, and the namesake sharp little spike of a horn on its butt.]

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    Main road to Grindavík (Iceland) is covered under lava
  • You're right, they're just making a joke, as till also refers to how farmers prepare soil for planting crops.

  • All this smog sucks, but it does make for dramatic sunsets
  • Oooh that makes more sense that this was smoke and not just crazy smog, didn't realize there was a wildfire going in the area.

  • This kale is giving me Sideshow Bob vibes

    [Image description: a curly-leaf kale plant in a raised bed, with voluminous radiating leaves that kinda look like the afro of said Simpson's character.]

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    Love the textures of this kale in my garden

    [Image description: a photo looking down the center of a frilly-leaf kale, the edges of the leaves zigzag wildly, with an almost fractal appearance, and the colors range from dark green on the older outer leaves, to light green on the inner younger ones.]

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    Many berry pie with rosemary lemon ice cream
  • For some reason I can't add this to the main post, but here's the pie and ice cream before serving.

  • Week 24 - Seasonal ingredients: Many berry pie with rosemary lemon ice cream
  • For some reason I can't add this to the main post, but here's the pie and ice cream before serving.

  • Many berry pie with rosemary lemon ice cream

    cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/16622039

    > Week 24 - Seasonal ingredients: Many berry pie with rosemary lemon ice cream > > My dad loves berry pies, so had to make him one for Father's Day. Fresh seasonal items used were blueberries and lemons (picked from my tree). The rosemary was from my yard too, but that thing grows year round 😋 > > Other berries used were the frozen Costco mix of blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, cherries and pomegranate, on a homemade crust. > > The ice cream was a custard base, with rosemary steeped in the milk & cream. I like experimenting with unique flavors of ice cream, and this one was a hit with my family. > > [Image description: a close up of a slice of double crust berry pie with a dollop of melting ice cream on top.]

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    52 Weeks of Baking @lemmy.world thrawn @lemmy.world

    Week 24 - Seasonal ingredients: Many berry pie with rosemary lemon ice cream

    My dad loves berry pies, so had to make him one for Father's Day. Fresh seasonal items used were blueberries and lemons (picked from my tree). The rosemary was from my yard too, but that thing grows year round 😋

    Other berries used were the frozen Costco mix of blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, cherries and pomegranate, on a homemade crust.

    The ice cream was a custard base, with rosemary steeped in the milk & cream. I like experimenting with unique flavors of ice cream, and this one was a hit with my family.

    [Image description: a close up of a slice of double crust berry pie with a dollop of melting ice cream on top.]

    3

    All this smog sucks, but it does make for dramatic sunsets

    [Image description: a deep red colored setting sun caught between two trees, with layers of hazy brown to orange smog in front of and above the sun.]

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    A couple of juvenile house finches enjoying the seeds of my black oil sunflowers

    They look pretty grown but just before I snapped this pic, one of them was begging an adult at my bird feeder, very cute to watch them flitting around.

    [Image description: two small brown and white speckled finches perched on a mature sunflower that is drooping with the weight of its seed head. One of the finches is sitting upright on the neck of the sunflower, while the other is flipped upside down to get at the seeds. The whole image has grid pattern imposed on it, due to being taken through a window with a mesh screen.]

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    Flame Broiler beef and veggie bowl copycat (sort of)

    As is often the case with my meals, this was a "use it up before it turns" meal. Had some beef top round roast, jalapenos, carrots, and cabbage, plus a giant bag of oranges from my parent's tree that need to be eaten, and this is what came out.

    General recipe:

    • Slice beef into strips, marinate for a few hours in orange juice, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, pepper and garlic powder.
    • Stir fry ginger, garlic, and onion, then add julienned carrot, jalapeno, cabbage and roughly chopped mushrooms. Don't over crowd the wok, cook in batches. I added a splash of soy and rice vinegar to the cabbage at the end to steam it at little.
    • Pat the beef strips dry before searing in the wok, again working in batches.
    • Cook down the marinade, add a corn starch slurry, and keep adding a little bit of soy sauce, rice vinegar, and brown sugar until it hits the right Magic Sauce™ blend of overly sweet, tangy, savory.
    • Serve on rice with some green onions.

    Still have more beef and more oranges, going to use the same marinade, but add lime and turn it into some carne asada for tomorrow.

    [Image description: a blue bowl on a speckled white countertop. Inside the bowl is white rice and mixed sauteed vegetables, topped with small cubes of beef with a drizzle of glossy dark brown sauce, and a sprinkle of sliced green onion.]

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    Sometimes she poses just right to show off her peanut whiskers

    Her first time seeing a balloon, was absolutely fascinated.

    [Image description: a brown and white tabby cat sitting in front of a backlit curtain, staring upwards with rapt attention. The end of the balloon ribbon can be seen dangling to one side. The angle of her head emphasizes the roundness of her little cheeks.]

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    Quick batch of chicken stock

    From the bones of a couple Costco rotisserie chickens and veggie scraps saved in the freezer. Only boiled the bones for a couple hours, so didn't get as much gelatin out of them as I'd like, but it was getting late. I also thought I had more pint jars, had to put the last bit of stock into a couple quart jars in the fridge.

    Is it possible to mix jar sizes when canning? Assuming you process them all using timing for the larger jar size?

    [Image description: five pint jars of opaque tan broth, still slightly bubbling as they cool on a towel on a kitchen counter. In the background a stock pot and an All American 910 can be seen.]

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    So I tried out that cabbage tarte tatin that was on the front page of Serious Eats

    Here's the link to their recipe.

    Now normally Serious Eats is pretty bang on with their recipes, but this one has a CRAZY amount of sugar in it. I made it as directed (but using store bought puff pastry) for Mother's Day, and it was tasty but so sweet it could have been served for dessert.

    This is the second time I made it, but with half the sugar. However sweet is still the dominant note, even after adding Worcestershire sauce, tart goat cheese, and more herbs. If you want to make this, seriously try using just a quarter of the sugar they ask for, and you might get something more savory.

    [Image description: a circular tart made of layers of deeply caramelized cabbage in a sticky glaze. A bit of golden crust can be seen on the edges, and the tart is sitting on a wooden cutting board on a stove top.]

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    Arkie Amber red ale overlooking downtown Hot Springs, Arkansas

    [Image description: a dark red beer in a glass sitting on a wooden ledge, unfocused in the background are trees with fresh spring leaves and old brick buildings.]

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