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An Orange for All Seasons

Normally, I don’t mind cold, rainy weather.  I think it’s wearing on me a bit now, seeing as it is June.  Mother Nature did cooperate a bit over the long Memorial Day weekend, and we took the opportunity to do something in the yard besides keep the weeds at bay.  We planted a couple of citrus trees in the back yard.

Our property is sort of on a hillside, so on the west side of the yard, there is a retaining wall and a little hillside.  There are also a few semicircular planters.  When we moved in, they were filled with geraniums.  I don’t have a problem with the way geraniums look, but I cannot stand the way they smell.  I hated trimming them because of the smell, so they got really out of control.  Needless to say, we wanted to remove them.

So we did remove them.  And those planters have been sitting empty since last summer.

We always intended to put a few citrus trees in, but based on our research, the best time to plant citrus is April.  Well, April came and went, and May almost did too.  Thankfully, local garden centers seemed to have plenty of healthy-looking citrus trees the size we were looking for, so we figured we probably weren’t too late to give it a shot.

Before we started any digging or planting, we made a couple of watering stakes.  We wanted to use watering stakes to encourage the roots to grow down, rather than out.  But for a piece of plastic with holes in it, we figured we could make it ourselves for less than buying a ready-made one (note: the one in the link was actually more expensive at the brick-and-mortar Home Depot).  So we bought a 10-foot piece of 1.5″ PVC and cut it into three pieces.  So each finished stake would be just a bit longer than a yard.

Next we drilled staggered holes on 3-inch intervals with a 3/8″ drill bit.  On the bottom third of each stake, we used a smaller bit, probably about 3/16″, to drill additional holes at regular intervals between the large holes.  We finished it off by gluing a cap to the bottom and adding a removable cap to the top (it will keep out dirt and debris, but we can remove it to water).  We made three stakes for roughly the price of one at the store.

Once the stakes were ready, it was time to start digging.  We dug holes about twice the size of the container, and also used a post hole digger to add a deep, narrow hole for the watering stake.  I don’t have pictures of this because I was busy, and my hands were muddy.  But if you’ve seen one hole, you’ve seen them all, right?

We mixed the soil we removed from each hole with some amended garden soil in a proportion of 50-50.  We also mixed in some controlled release fertilizer (we used Vigoro Citrus and Avocado Plant Food, following the package directions to determine the proper amount).  We placed the watering stake and the root ball in their respective holes, and filled in the cavity with our soil mix.  Finally, we watered, created a watering trough ring around each tree, and covered the area around the base with bark mulch.

Both the trees we planted were oranges, but we chose two different varieties so that (once the trees mature enough to start producing) we would have fresh oranges for a longer period of time.  One tree is a Washington Navel, which ripens from winter through early spring, and the other is a late harvest Valencia, which ripens in early spring to summer.  Assuming these trees do well, we should have fresh oranges from our own trees for more than half the year.

© 2011 The Beehive All Rights Reserved

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Photoshop Fun

As my friend Ginger once wrote, “I have really let my blog go!”  I guess it just hasn’t been at the top of my priority list lately, and I apologize profusely to the two of you.

Anyway, I have been taking a design class that includes some basic Photoshop skills as part of it, and I thought my final project was fun enough to share.  In a nutshell, the assignment was to use the skills we had learned to create an homage to an artist.  There were some detailed requirements relating to number of images used, different techniques we were required to employ in some fashion or another, and so forth, but that’s all quite boring, so here is the final product.

The subject of the first montage I did was impressionist Edgar Degas.

The second montage was a tribute to Sergio Leone, which I mostly chose because I thought Steve would enjoy it.  Turns out I thought it was pretty fun as well.


And now, a quick word on copyright:  Obviously, any copyright on any of the images I used in the Degas montage has expired.  There may, however, be copyrighted material in the Leone piece because those movies are newer.  I do not intend to infringe on anyone’s copyright; I made this for educational purposes (i.e. learning Photoshop) and I think it’s Fair Use.  If you are the copyright holder of any of the images I used and you disagree, please let me know.

© 2011 The Beehive All Rights Reserved.

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Oh Poop!

Steve and I don’t have any pets.  I can’t speak for Steve, but for me personally, reason numero uno why I don’t really even want a pet is poop.  I have zero interest in picking up poop.  You can ask my parents.  They will tell you, when I was younger and we had a dog, I don’t think I ever performed “poop patrol” in the backyard.

The weather was nice out this weekend, so I spent a fair amount of time working in the yard, and let me tell you, I ended up picking up more than my fair share of poop!  In the backyard, I believe I found cat poop in seven different locations.  And this was not like the cat dug a hole, pooped, and tried to bury it; this poop was just sitting there.  Like, right on the cement patio outside the garage door.  And on the retaining wall.  And on top of the lava rock ground cover.

Wanting to minimize future incidents of pet poop in our yard, I used the google to see if anyone out there on the interwebs had any suggestions.  I did find one site that had a multitude of them.  My favorite suggestion was placing “pot plants” in the area where the kitty is pooping.  I’m pretty sure the author meant potted plants.  We do not have any pot plants.  None.  If we did, we certainly would not be placing them around the backyard where they might be visible to law enforcement from outside of our property.  Or to our friend the FBI agent when he comes over to visit.  But like I said, no pot plants here.

Other than that, there seem to be a number of viable options.  The only problem is, these poops were not isolated to specific places, they were just randomly all over the yard.  So placing things like cinnamon or citrus peel or commercial cat repellent in the area where the cat is pooping pretty much means putting it all over the yard.  I’m thinking of maybe putting different repellents in different areas of the yard to test which are most effective.  Does anyone have experience with this?  What works and what doesn’t?

© 2011 The Beehive All Rights Reserved

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Top Ten List of 12 Things I Will Not Miss About the Gym

I just canceled my gym membership.  It’s not because I am planning on being lazy and out of shape (although I might be both of those things).  Steve and I bought a treadmill this weekend, reasoning that it was more cost effective than maintaining my gym membership, since he can use it too.

I must admit, though, that I’m a little sad about canceling.  I feel like I’ve had that membership forever.  I remember when I used to go early in the morning every day without fail, seeing the same friendly – but nameless –faces.  And I remember some great workouts.  It hasn’t been that way for a while, though.  The club that is closest to where we live now is kind of a trek, and I just don’t like it as much as some of the other ones I used to frequent.  Canceling is the right choice.

So, in celebration of my last few days as a gym-goer, here is my Top Ten List of 12 Things I Will Not Miss About Going to the Gym:

12)  People Who Only go to the Gym in January:  I have a friend who teaches group exercise classes and calls these people “Resolutioners.”  For the month of January, and maybe February too, the gym is always more crowded than usual.  I always found this annoying because it sometimes made it difficult to get a workout done in a timely fashion.  By March, everyone has given up on those resolutions and things get back to normal.

11)  People Who Don’t Wipe Down the Machines:  There is nothing grosser than approaching a piece of equipment and noticing that it is covered in someone elses sweat.  My particular gym required members to bring towels.  In fact, if you forgot, you had to buy one from them at a cost of $3.75 (happened to me once).  You’ve got a towel, use it!  There’s even paper towels and disinfectant spray located conveniently around the room if you want to be especially conscientious!  Seriously, no one wants to clean up your bodily secretions for you.  Really.

10)  People Who are Overly Cautious About Wiping Down the Machines:  I once lived in an apartment building in San Francisco with a small gym in the basement.  I was usually the first one there in the morning, early bird that I was at the time.  There was another woman who came in shortly thereafter several times a week.  She would go directly to the paper towel dispenser for two towels, one of which she soaked thoroughly in the drinking fountain.  She then proceeded to wipe down a treadmill, including the entire surface of the display console and the handrails, with the wet towel, and then dry it with the other.  And then she would begin her run.

I understand the need to wipe a machine off if somebody has left pools of sweat all over it, but when you’re the first user of the day, do you really need to wash the thing down?  What are you planning to do, lick it?  Or do you not wash your hands or, I don’t know, shower, when you are done?  We live in a world where we are sometimes compelled to touch things that others have previously touched.  Get over it.

9)  People Who Smell:  Admittedly, we need to be a little lenient about smells at the gym because people are working hard and sweating and there is going to be a little bit of body odor.  It’s simply unavoidable.  There is, however, a fine line between acceptable body odor and truly offensive body odor.  If you get on a machine and the people surrounding you move, this applies to you.  Please, consider a swipe or two of deodorant before you work out and by all means wear clean clothes.  Other gym patrons will thank you for it.

8)  People Who Listen to Music so Loud You Can Hear the Words:  If your music is so loud other people can recognize the song, it’s too loud.  You’re going to rupture your eardrums!  Oh, and singing along is also not okay.  If you were any good, you’d be on MTV.  Save it for the shower.

7)  People Who Talk on the Phone:  This one is on par with listening to music too loud in terms of competing with my own music and/or thoughts.  Plus, I don’t really need to know how poorly your Uncle Bud’s parole hearing went, or how that terrible rash you have just isn’t clearing up.  I’m all for multitasking when it makes sense, but how can you really get a good workout when you’re talking on the phone?

6)  People Who Don’t Respect Cardio Time Limits:  Most gyms that I have been to limit cardio machines to 30 minutes when people are waiting.  I know, 30 minutes does not seem like a lot of time to get the heart pumping, especially when you factor in warm up and cool down time.  That’s why I try to go at times of day when the gym isn’t crowded, so I know I can exceed the limit because there is no one waiting.  If there is a line, I’m off when I reach the limit.  It’s just common courtesy.  I once waited more than 30 minutes to get on a treadmill.  That means that every single person on those treadmills exceeded the time limit.  How would you feel if you were waiting that long and some people had been on for over an hour?  That’s what I thought.

5)  People Who Come in Business Casual Dress:  Dress shirts, Dockers, and loafers are not appropriate gym attire.  If you are too lazy to change into gym clothes, go back to your cube and eat your lunch at your desk.

Note:  Black socks with athletic shoes are also a no-no.

4)  People Who Use the Machine Right Next to You When Every Other Machine is Vacant:  There’s this concept called “personal space” that seems to be going by the wayside.  I mostly notice this in line at the grocery store, where there is always a cart poking me in the butt, but it applies at the gym too.  If there are 12 treadmills and only one is in use, don’t use one next to that person.  It’s creepy.  Take advantage of the luxury of space and choose a machine one or two down.

3)  People Who Use the Equipment Without Really Using the Equipment:  These people sit on the machines, precluding your use, doing something other than lifting weights or cycling, or whatever.  Usually it’s reading.  I get that you need to rest between sets on the weight machines, but do you really have to read a chapter in your book after every three reps?  If you wanted to read your book, you could have stayed home and out of my way.  If it’s not reading, it’s sitting on the equipment and talking, which is often worse because it may involve the talkers monopolizing not one but two pieces of equipment.

2)  People Who are not Really There to Work Out:  You know who I’m talking about.  It’s the 18-year-old girls in the Juicy track suits or some other ridiculous get-up with writing across the butt, brand-spankin’ new designer sneakers, long flowing tresses unhindered by a ponytail elastic or headband, impeccable make-up, and carrying Starbucks.  No water bottle, no towel, and, most importantly, not a drop of sweat.  That would clearly interfere with primary purpose of the trip to the gym, which is to meet hot, muscular guys.  Funny, I always assumed any interesting guys at the gym might find sweat a little bit sexy.  I mean, my sister, who wears a ponytail and sensible clothes and actually exercises, met her husband at the gym, and I met my husband on my way home from the gym, sweaty from spin class.  But what do I know?

1)  Hot Pants Lady:  This particular hot pants lady may be specific to my old gym, but I’m sure there are others like her.  She’s a woman, probably in her mid- to late-60s, who is at the gym every day.  She is clearly active and likes to stay fit, which is great.  But she wears hot pants.  Really, really short hot pants.  I don’t care how active and fit you are, by the time you are in your 60s, you are going to have some cottage cheese going on.  And she does have some cottage cheese going on.  Don’t get me wrong, I hope that I look as good as she does when I’m in my 60s, but if I do, I still don’t think I will wear hot pants.  On top of that, when she sits down on a machine, I can’t help but wonder what she is sitting on.  Is there really enough – or any – fabric between her naughty bits and the seat?

Actually, I think I will kind of miss Hot Pants Lady.  Her pants may be too short, but at least she’s an interesting character.  That’s probably what I will miss most about going to the gym, watching all the different characters that come in and out.  Not many people to watch from this new treadmill at home, but this time convenience wins.

© 2011 The Beehive All Rights Reserved

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Why don’t we just blow them to smithereens?

Last night on my way home, I was listening to John Rothman on KGO.  His topic was the recent U.N. speech by the President Ahmandinejad of Iran, which prompted 33 delegations to walk out.  In case you hadn’t heard, he asserted that the 9/11 attacks were actually orchestrated by the U.S. in order to bolster its economy and ensure the survival of the Zionist state, a.k.a. Israel.  Clearly the economic agenda didn’t work, and I’m not really sure how destroying the twin towers could really help Israel out, but this guy thinks the Holocaust didn’t happen, so maybe this really works out in his head.

Anyway, John Rothman’s big thing was, reports indicate that Iran has the ability and materials to produce three nuclear weapons, and this guy is a nut job, so what are we going to do about it.  Here’s what we should do about it: nothing.  And here’s why.

Admittedly, I have not done serious research on this guy and really just know what I know based on snippets from news radio and occasional online news tidbits and newspaper headlines.  It appears to me, though, that this guy has quite an ego on him, and he just wants to play with the big boys.  I think he’s being inflammatory to get attention because when it comes down to it, he’s really a big nobody and no one of consequence would pay any attention to him otherwise.  When we get all up in arms about his offensive comments, he gets exactly what he wants: news coverage.  So let’s just stop.  Let’s just say to ourselves, “Selves, this guy is just trying to get a rise out of us, so let’s not fall for it.  If he wants to join us back in the real world, maybe we can talk, but until then, he’s not worth our time and effort.”  End of story.  When people stop paying attention and he’s not in the news, I think he shapes up pretty quick.  Kind of a like a toddler having a tantrum over a toy.  When he realizes no amount of screaming and crying is going to make mommy buy him the toy, the kid will stop.  Yes, I just compared the President of Iran to a screaming toddler.

Rothman would no doubt reject this course of action out of hand because he’s afraid Iran is going to nuke somebody.  I’m really not.  See, a few decades back, there was this thing called the Cold War.  There were two giant superpowers that each had thousands of nuclear weapons pointed at each other, and they were poised to plunge the entire planet into a nuclear winter.  But they never did because of this concept called mutual assured destruction; the second one of them fired, the other would retaliate and both countries would be wiped out.  Similarly here, the second Iran fires a nuke at Israel, or anybody else for that matter, it’s going to get wiped off the map.  The only difference here is, Iran will have so few nuclear weapons that it wouldn’t be mutual assured destruction, it would really just be Iran’s assured destruction.

Now, one might argue that Ahmandinejad and the other people in charge of Iran might be the type of Islamic fundamentalists that would be okay with getting wiped out because they would become martyrs and go to heaven and get their 72 virgins and all that jazz.  I don’t think so, particularly with respect to Ahmandinejad.  Like I said, the guy’s got an ego, and I think he sees himself as too important here in this life to be moving on just yet.  I mean, he had photos of his White House visit doctored so it appeared he was leading President Obama around the premises.  (I know that when I have an important guest visit my home or office, I always have them give me the tour.)  I just don’t see him giving up this fantasy he’s living for any amount of virgins.  Even if he personally survived any retaliatory attack, he would be presiding over a destroyed country, and that’s the best case scenario.  I think he’d more likely have to go into hiding, and then he really wouldn’t be making the news.

Finally, I’m sure some people have concern for any innocent lives that might be lost in a nuclear attack and counter attack.  Of course, any such loss would be tragic, but like I said, I don’t think it will happen.  I think we also have to consider this a situation where the U.S. policy of not negotiating with terrorists has to come into play.  It has been a long-standing policy that the U.S. does not negotiate with terrorists, even if innocent lives are at stake.  By threatening to develop and use nuclear weapons, Iran is, in essence, holding the world hostage.  It’s really a terrorist act.  We can’t bend to it because, if Iran is successful, they will likely raise the same threats again and other countries will be encouraged to adopt the same bad behavior.  While lives may be at risk if we don’t play Iran’s game, I think even more may be at risk if we do.

And with that, I will stop talking about Ahmandinejad, because I’ve already afforded him more time, effort, and space on this blog than he really deserves.

© 2010 The Beehive All Rights Reserved


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Oh, That Crazy Myrna! or Why the AC Doesn’t Work, Part Deux

To recap our prior post on the same topic: AC = broken.  Myrna lied about getting it checked out, and its functionality.  The condenser unit is too large for the coils, and there is no way it can work in its current state.

We called an HVAC pro out and figured we would have to get the coils replaced to accommodate the larger condenser.  He said that was doable, but he also took a look at our upstairs unit, condenser and coils.  He noted that the upstairs coil is large enough to accommodate the 3-ton condenser.  He also noted that the smaller, upstairs condenser and the downstairs coil are sometimes sold together as a set.

Then, he busted out the tape measure.  I never would have guessed this, but the square footage of our upstairs is larger than the square footage of our downstairs.  And, the small condenser unit associated with the upstairs was not large enough to cool the square footage up there.  He said that the builders must have accidentally mixed up the condensers when they hooked them up.

This is when it dawned on me: the cement patio in the backyard was not original to the house, Myrna installed it herself!  That means she had to move the condenser units from where they were originally placed, pour the patio, and replace and reconnect the condensers.  Since she only hires unskilled laborers that work for $3/hr or less (i.e., not HVAC professionals) they must have mixed them up when they were put back.  Yet another example of Myrna’s cheapness ultimately costing more in the end.

Based on the pro’s recommendation, we decided to switch the condensers, rather than replace the downstairs coils.  Not only did he get things working right, but he placed them more appropriately outside the house.  I’m happy we figured out what the problem was, and that everything is in tip-top shape now.

At the same time I’m pretty angry at Myrna for breaching our contract.  What she did amounts to fraud because she must have known that thing was not working, and she lied about it to induce us to close on the sale.  Plus, our dual agent either knew or should have known that the AC had not been checked out by a pro, so I’m angry with her too.  And, I’m angry with us because we should have known better than to take Myrna’s word for it that the AC was working; we should have asked for receipts or something from when she had it checked out at the very minimum to ensure that it was actually done.

Next stop, small claims court!

© 2010 The Beehive All Rights Reserved

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Oh, That Crazy Myrna! or Why the AC Doesn’t Work, Part I

If you have read a post or two about the things we have been doing in our house and yard, you probably know that we typically run into some little “quirk” in the way the former owner, Myrna, did things around the house.  For example,

  • Not removing outlet covers, switch plates, or window blinds when painting a room (resulting in various pastel paints on the edges of virtually all the outlet covers, switch plates, and blinds in the house);
  • Putting clear packing tape over the edges and corners of frequently used kitchen cabinets to prevent skin oils from damaging the wood (this, by the way, does not protect the wood from the tape adhesive and its finish-harming effects);
  • Taping sheets of clear plastic over the shower surround to prevent the shower from getting dirty or moldy (again, does not protect shower surfaces from the effects of the adhesive);
  • Not removing an unwanted shrub (and associated trellis) before planting new plants around and on top of it;
  • Adding a retaining wall and simply dumping fill dirt directly over an exiting sprinkler system rather than extending the sprinkler heads to the new, higher surface.

Now, I originally described these as quirks, but they have become so frequent and, for lack of a better word, stupid, that it is clear they are just examples of extreme corner-cutting by a ridiculous tight wad.

The latest evidence is our air conditioning.  The story of the AC is an epic saga.  When we were in escrow on the house, we brought in our own independent home inspector.  When he checked out the downstairs AC, he showed us that it was not properly functioning; it cycled up, but would only remain on for a minute at best.  He told us it could very well be because the weather was cold, and AC often does not work in cold ambient temperatures.  Nonetheless, he recommended that we have a pro look at it, since he was not an HVAC expert.   So we included as one of our contingencies to closing that the AC had to be inspected and repaired if necessary.  Myrna agreed.

When we did our final walk through, the unit was still cycling the same way it had been.  Myrna was there, and she assured us that the unit was functioning properly, we were just having problems because it was cold that morning.  All of our other repair requests had been attended to, so we believed her.  Plus, our agent was also Myrna’s agent, and we figured if she knew Myrna didn’t comply with the repair request, she had a fiduciary duty to inform us.

Fast forward a few months to warm weather.  Surprise!  AC unit is still cycling and shutting off.  We spoke to our agent and she advised us that the home warranty that was part of the purchase should cover it, and we should call them.  A quick note on home warranties: they are meant to cover things that break within the first year of the new owner’s occupancy of the house.  The explicitly do not cover things that were wrong with the house at the time of purchase that are only discovered after the closing.  We called the home warranty people and they sent someone out.  He pointed out that we had a 3-ton condenser unit hooked up to 2-ton air conditioning coils.  A clear mismatch.  Not functional and also not covered by the warranty because the condition must have been existing when we purchased the house.

Needless to say, we ended up hiring our own AC guy, on the recommendation of Steve’s boss, who confirmed the mismatch.  With a little investigation, we also found some things that the home warranty guy missed in his haste to declare NO COVERAGE!, and got a proposal for repair.  But time is short, and this post is long, so that will be a story for another day . . .

© 2010 The Beehive All Rights Reserved

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100th Post!

Yes, this is our 100th post.  I told Steve we were coming up on it, and asked him if maybe he wanted his first post to be our 100th, and he said “you’ve written 99 posts already?”  Well, it’s been a while, so yeah, I’ve written that many.  Anyway, I thought I needed something memorable or exciting, so I’ve really put off posting anything that has been sort of in the works because it didn’t seem worthy.  And now I realize that if I keep waiting for something huge to come up, it will never get written.  So, here is something kind of stupid I came across today that I thought I would share.

First, a bit of background.  In addition to the various interior design classes I am taking this semester, I am taking an online business law course.  It is required for the advanced certificate in interior design, and I thought it would be pretty easy for me since I already have a fair amount of education and experience in that area.  Every other week, we have a discussion question that we are supposed to post a comment about in an online forum.  Two weeks ago, the teacher gave us our first question, due today.  It is “if you could change one thing in the Constitution, what would it be and why?”

I’ll talk a little bit about some of the responses in a minute, but here is the point of this post:  At 5:08 pm today, one of my classmates sends an email to the entire class, sans the instructor, saying he knows it is due today, but do we know if there is an exact time deadline or if he has until 11:59 p.m.  I had to restrain myself from responding to him because the only thing I could think to say was

Dear Dumb-Ass,

In the time it took you to compose your message and send it out to the entire class, you could have completed the assignment, making your stupid question moot.

Sincerely,

Erin

It’s just not that hard.  One or two sentences.  That’s it.

It seems like most of the class has probably already posted their responses.  Some are rather silly, some are stretching it to say they are written in English, and some are pretty thoughtful.  What I’ve found the most interesting, though, is how un-politically correct many of them are.  I chose something I thought would be pretty uncontroversial because I did not want to offend anyone.  Some people . . .  not real worried about that.  There are people who have no qualms about saying they want to deport illegal aliens in summary proceedings and get rid of the 14th Amendment provision that persons born on U.S. soil are citizens.  And they are happy to say it in a way that makes them sound xenophobic and racist.

That is not to say that those proposed changes might not be good ideas.  If you are going to make such a proposal, though, you should probably do it in a way that does not imply that illegal immigrants are lazy slobs who aren’t paying taxes, or are terrorists trying to cause civil unrest.  Because clearly there are people in our class that were not born here and/or are not citizens, and if I were them I might take offense.  Just a thought.

© 2010 The Beehive All Rights Reserved

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Pork Chops Redux

Remember those citrus-glazed pork chops we made last week?  Well, we made four chops, and there are only two of us, which means we had two leftover chops hanging out in the fridge.

We decided to use them to make pork fried rice, which turned out to be super simple.  I just chopped up the leftover meat, as well as some celery, carrot, and green onion.  Toss the chopped veggies in a pan with a handful of frozen peas and a few cups of leftover rice, scramble an egg in there, and you’ve really got yourself something!

A more specific recipe:

  • 4 cups cooked rice (we used brown rice)
  • 1/2 cup each diced carrot, celery, onion
  • 1/2 cup frozen peas
  • 1/2 cup green onions, chopped
  • two leftover pork chops, diced
  • 2 eggs
  • vegetable oil

Over medium-high heat, saute the celery, carrot and onion in a little vegetable oil (enough to just coat the bottom of the pan).  I also added a splash of toasted sesame oil for extra flavor, but it’s not necessary.  When the onion starts to get a bit wilted, add the diced pork chop and saute for another minute or two.

Next, add the rice and frozen peas.  Stir that around until the peas look thawed out.  Then, make a well in the center of your rice mixture and crack the two eggs into it.  Scramble the eggs up with a wooden spoon and, when they are almost done, stir the egg into the rice mixture.

Add the green onions were last, so they stay fresh looking and green.  Serve with a little soy sauce.  We had plenty of additional leftovers as well.

Overall, I’d say the fried rice was more successful than the original pork chop dinner that spawned it.

© 2010 The Beehive All Rights Reserved

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Citrus-Glazed Pork Chops with Green Beans and Fennel Salad

I have this folder full of recipes I’d like to try, mostly stuff torn out of magazines.  I decided I better start actually making them and either adding them to the recipe program on Steve’s computer or tossing them, because they are just taking up space.  The first pick was citrus-glazed pork chops with green beans and fennel salad.  I believe it came from the April 2010 issue of Better Homes and Gardens. 

I started with the salad part because I didn’t want to be distracted by chopping while the pork chops were cooking, and also to give the flavors time to “marry” before we ate.  It consisted of 1/2 bulb of fennel, 1 apple, and 1 orange, all sliced thin.  The dressing was the juice from 1/2 a fresh orange, 1 tablespoon of honey, and 1 table spoon of olive oil, seasoned with a little salt and pepper. 

The beans were really just plain boiled/steamed green beans.  Nothing fancy there, I just cleaned them up and put them on the stove while the chops were cooking.

Speaking of chops, we used 4 boneless pork chops, 1/2 an inch thick.  Season with salt and pepper and cook in a pan coated with olive oil over medium-high heat for 8 minutes.  Turn them, add the juice of another 1/2 orange, and cook for another 8 minutes. 

Now, the sauce created by the cooking chops and the orange juice is supposed to be poured over the green beans, but I found that by the end of the cooking, there was no sauce.  Most was burned to the bottom of the pan.  So make other plans to flavor your green beans.  I find that they are good with just a little salt and pepper. 

Despite the burned sauce, the chops themselves turned out just fine.  They weren’t too dry or tough, and they did get nice and flavorfully browned. 

As for the salad, I need to get it through my thick skull that I don’t like fennel.  The first time I had it was at a bar-b-que, and it was grilled, and I thought it was so, so good.  Since then, I’ve ordered dishes with it in restaurants, and used it myself at home, but it seems like it’s always used raw, and I just don’t like it that way.  Also, apples and oranges are not in season right now.  And the olive oil made the dressing feel heavy; I think it would have been better, and might make a good all-purpose fruit salad dressing, with just the orange juice and honey. 

So there is one mediocre dinner.  If you have any suggestions as to how this might work better, please share.  Otherwise, this one will probably go in the trash. 

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