Pizza-Ghetti, More Fog, Seedling Issues

The forecast says 19 Celcius and sunny...I think it's wrong. When I woke up we seemed to be in the clouds, it was so foggy out still. Maybe the sun will break through? Almost all of the snow has melted in the yard!

But there is still a lot of snow in the woods. I did manage to inch a little further in today though. We got to the "big boulder"...which means halfway through the trail. It was wet in there though. So unless things change, I won't be out in the yard today much either. Boo hoo.

I'm having issues with my seedlings. The beets and spinach that I planted, seemed to pop up really fast, but then they stalled and seemed to wilt away. I thought maybe they didn't like the peat pots. But you know, all of the herbs that I planted in the plastic and terra cotta pots are thriving.

I planted thyme four days ago and it's already sprouting up! My conclusion of today is that those peat pots are not holding enough water. It's true that they suck up the water a lot and even watering them daily, they seem bone dry each time I go near them - and not just on sunny days either.

So my poor woman's solution? Makeshift greenhouse. I cut up some freezer bags and draped them over the seedlings. I used push pins to secure one side to the shelf, so all I have to do is lift the bag over the shelf so I can water them without too much hassle. I'm hoping this will help retain some moisture...then again I could be WAY off on my little diagnosis! Time will tell!

Anyone a Jack Benny fan? Amazon sent me two of his biography by mistake and said to just keep it. I don't need two, so if you like Jack Benny and would like this copy, go to my sidebar and use my contact form to send me an email and let me know. I'll likely get to the post office next Tuesday.

I have parsley abundance issues too! Until my plants are harvest-worthy, I'm still buying it at the bulk market. This whole lot cost me a dollar. If I'd bought much less at the grocery store, it would have been triple the price and not so fresh...so it's a hard decision, knowing it might be wasted. I'd hate for it to go into the compost bin, but I can't see myself using all this parsley in the next few weeks. I could toss it into the woods maybe, when I walk the dogs, I'm sure the critters might like that as a treat?

We love the taste in cooked food, but we're not big fans of it raw. Pesto came to mind, but that would be parsley overload for us. I already have bags in the freezer and a few big Mason jars that I dehydrated last summer...what do you do with your parsley? These will be bagged and refrigerated as is, they should keep well for 2-3 more weeks. I'm going to try to use as much as I can!

Now let's get to the good stuff! Yesterday I made a VERY time-intensive comfort meal: Pizza-Ghetti. Ever had it? It's a classic Quebec diner dish of pizza and spaghetti. That runny-ness from the spaghetti sauce is to sit your pizza in, so the crust gets all that yummy goodness. It's so delicious! I made everything but the pasta from scratch. Alex's spaghetti sauce has beef in it, mine is vegetarian. 

This is mine...I couldn't finish this at all! I ate the pizza, but half the spaghetti went into a Tupperware for leftovers. I went for a thicker pizza crust too, to make it more authentic. We make the pizza with ham, Mozzarella, green olives, tomatoes and green peppers. We have to take the green peppers off though because they make our insides catch fire! But having that green pepper taste makes the pizza so good. On a rainy, foggy day, this meal was so appropriate! A little red wine in a little diner-style glass and it was perfect! I think Alex had seconds for a midnight snack! We're going to have the leftovers for dinner tomorrow night. Tonight it'll be an easy Cesar salad and grilled cheese with bacon.