Long overdue UPDATE...

Since my last post, a lot of time has past. And a lot of fun stuff has happened.  I completed Kitchen Confidential, Anthony Bourdain's breakout book.  Since then, I have read his follow up books, A Cook's Tour, The Nasty Bits and his most recent addition to the library, Medium Raw.  I'm not much of a reader, but I have to say that reading these books was time well spent. If you are a foodie, you MUST read all of these in sequential order. Make time!

Another fine book I read was one called Life on the Line, which is an amazing story about a young chef earning his keep in the restaurant business, and ultimately battling a dangerous cancer that almost took away his sense of taste.  The story about chef Grant Achatz is another good read.  Put it on your list!

My son is now 18-months old and I have one due in July. My wife is totally ready for this one to come, but I'm not sure I'll ever be ready for this much responsibility.  The best part about having kids is that once you have a due date, you have no choice but to suck it up and be a good parent!

The 2011 garden was a bust. I'd say lots of it was due to the extreme heat we had in Kansas, but I can't put the blame on something else. I was just too busy and didn't take care of it.  We lost the greenhouse in July 2011 to a massive wind front that blew it to pieces. Boo! 

But 2012 will be better.  I reconfigured the garden to be more efficient with our space.  My mother-in-law moved closer to us, and has been helping us with our planting. I have 12 tomato plants in the ground, of all varieties.  8 pepper plants, cauliflower and broccoli, brussel sprouts, eggplant, beets and two types of lettuce.  We herbs and asparagus coming back up.  We have more to come, too. Squash and beans are next.

My last bit of update has to do with a new foodie group I have been invited to participate in.  Denise Neil, food writer and restaurant reviewer for The Wichita Eagle, has created a panel of local foodie bloggers and followers to help write restaurant reviews for restaurants in Wichita and the surrounding area.  Our main focus will be older restaurants, or restaurants that may have been missed or overlooked by the Wichita Eagle staff and have been open at least 6 months or longer. We will take turns each week reviewing these gems, and hopefully give the readers a different perspective of food in Wichita.  Watch out restaurants...we've released about a dozen critics on you!  But no worries; we're out to show Wichita where the good stuff is!

Happy eating!
Andy

More progress...

So, winter in Kansas is so unpredictable. I have spent most of my time indoors. But alas, this weekend was awesome.  It began with Thursday in the upper 50's, Friday in the upper 60's, Saturday in the 50's and a pretty good Sunday, topping the 40's.  It was my calling to get some stuff done in the outdoors.

As previously mentioned, I built my greenhouse a few weeks ago. I have a goal to re-do the fence bordering my garden to make it more viewable from the house, but also to provide a little more light to the veggies I place near the fence.  I also need tables for the green house, so I had my work cut out for me.  I have a tendency to take on more than I can chew up, and with my help a little short due to a needy child, I was on my own for most of my projects. That is, until Superman (Zach) showed up to offer his assistance. I tell you, I can't get much done with out his help. BIG THANKS to Mr. Zach for his brute and strength. I am grateful.

I tackled the fence right away, and got 2/3 of it updated to the new picket style. I'll post pics as soon as I can.  Zach and I built the frames to my new 10 foot long tables.  I just need to add a bit more leg support, and top them.  So, things are getting closer to being ready to grow. We just have to get this weather a bit more steady.  Forecast is for temps in the teens, with ice and snow in the near future.  So, more indoor projects are in my future!