Weekend Adventures, COSTCO and Pollitos!

New chicks came in the mail today, just in time for the first day of Allandale Summer Camp. How could you not like camp when there are baby chickens to play with?

They will grow up to be fancy chickens. Some of have furry feet and others have fluffy little pompadours.
I'm hoping we can keep them alive in the heat wave. I really don't want to be picking up any dead little nuggets in the next few days. Jim says we'll lose some- guaranteed. Oh, the circle of life...

Over the weekend Wyatt and I went swimming at Blue Hills then stopped by the Clark Cooper Community Gardens in Mattapan. With over 280 plots, it's one of Boston's largest community gardens.
If you're a vegetable nerd like me, you might also have a great time walking through it. It's full of collards, tomatoes, zucchini and these things, which might be Egyptian Onion?

Last night former Green Corps interns Dan and Dom came over for a dinner of falafel-like veggie burgers and greens from the garden. Dan requested garden photos so here you go kid (sorry it's the worst picture ever):


This is our ghetto raised bed. Notice Veronica's tomatillo plant in the left corner, mustard mix and romaine, and Emily's 3 sets of onions.

And here's a live review I did last week of Tall Heights.

AND Greenpeace launched the next phase of its sustainable seafood campaign today, this time targeting COSTCO.

BUSTED

I don't even remember how I got this bruise. Between the severe farmer's tan, the scrapes and the black and blue marks, I'm surprised people still talk to me.

Anniversary!

I've been meaning to commemorate the 1 year anniversary of Commandeered and today I realized I missed it. Rut ro. I'll do my best now, even if I'm over a month late.

What's in a name?

While "commandeered" is historically a military term (see below), I chose to re-appropriate it. I regularly acquire phrases, recipes, philosophies, etc. everywhere I go. I take what I want of them and use them towards my own ends. I wanted to honor the fruits of my habit in the blog. It became mostly a record of what I'm eating and listening to but that could still change.

com-man-deer
Function: transitive verb

Etymology: Afrikaans kommandeer, from French commander to command, from Old French comander

Date: 1881

1 a : to compel to perform military service b : to seize for military purposes
2 : to take arbitrarily or forcible possession of

Why Blog?

Recognizing that I needed to spice up my workaholic lifestyle, I started blogging as a way to force myself to get out and do things. You can't have a blog if you don't have anything to write about, right? That's what I thought at the time. And, while I've been slacking a little in writing lately, I do feel my quality of life has increased significantly.

For one, my garden kicks last year's garden's ass. It's twice as big, more varied, and was made possible by contributions from Wyatt and my roommates. Last year I did it alone. I'm also sharing a community garden plot with my friend Jesse. It's full of strawberries, raspberries, tomatoes, eggplants and cucumbers. We're hoping to do a crap-ton of canning this fall. I hope everyone in my life is cool with getting pickles for Christmas. Back to progress... I feel blessed to have made a lot of new friends in the last year. Not having a job that takes over my life has definitely been a plus in the social category. I now have a super man in my life and tons of new and interesting people to share new adventures with. Big props to Emily (an old friend) for helping me realizing this when I was choosing to focus on my lack of financial well-being, which, by the way, was dumb.

In terms of swell people, here's a good one:

This is Samara, amongst some garlic scapes. She's half of Team Capricorn, the all-girl auxiliary farm crew at Allandale Farm.

We've spent the last two days harvesting these little buggers. Raw they taste a little like garlicky green beans. I have not cooked with them yet but I hear they make a bitchin' pesto. Samara suggested putting them in guacamole. I'm thinking she's a genius.

Other things:

If you ever need a pick me up, try the Tenacious D Pandora station. Think Jack Black at his best followed by SNL's "I'm on a boat" and highlights from the Team America Soundtrack.

I know you miss pics from the garden but they're coming soon.

I'm back on the music review bandwagon so if you know of any good, small, American acts that need press, let a girl know.

If anyone knows anything about pitching freelance stories, I could use advice on that. Mostly, Wyatt and I want to get paid to determine 1. who has the best mac 'n cheese in Boston and 2. which diners are the best in the city. We don't need to get paid for the story so much as we need start up capital. : )

And fellow Bostonians, I can tell you two things:
Dorado's a fish taco place in Brookline is the best food I've had in Boston in a long time. It is straight up delicious, there is outdoor seating, the fish is sustainable and while they use disposable plates and cutlery, it's all compostable! AND they have $2 tacos after 5pm on Wednesdays. Yeah. Do it.

Revolution Bicycle Repair in Hyde Square, Jamaica Plain hooks it up! I got new handle bars, the labor it took to re-do the cables and housing and a tune up for $63.00. I love Bikes Not Bombs but that wouldn't happen there. If nothing else, Revolution's website is entertaining.

Lady Gaga, I love you but really? I hope this isn't real.

Summer Stuff

Two neat things I learned recently in the realm of natural sunscreen and bug repellent:

1. Eucalyptus repels ticks and other bugs. I've been using eucalyptus Dr. Bronner's and it sort of works. Still on the look out for concentrate.

2. Shea butter is not only a great moisturizer but it's SPF 15!

Farms!

Farm life is good life. I've been at Allandale, Boston's last working farm, for three weeks now, working as a greenhouse/livestock assistant. I especially like working with the chickens. They're constantly making me laugh and i get to hunt for their eggs twice a day. The lambs are cute but not nearly as much fun.

Here are a few of the 200 or so egg-laying ladies:



This is my favorite of the three farm trucks.



Last Saturday we set up a booth at Powissett Farm in Dover to sell earrings and baked goods. Highlights included selling out of bread and spotting a woman licking whoopie pie icing off Saran wrap. Yes, they were that good.









I think Emily and I should start a baked goods co-op in JP. Like a CSA (community supported agriculture), households could sign up to get a box of bread and treats each week. It could be the first CSB, B being for bakery. Leave a comment and let me know what you think.

The Last Two Weeks

I'm currently on a Megabus (top level, the only way to go) en route to Boston from New York. Yesterday, I finished part two of three anti-microbial treatments meant to rid me of Lyme Disease. After part three on Monday they'll test me again to see if there are any little Lyme fuckers left in my body. Unfortunately, during this part of the treatment, any symptom I've ever had can come back and a few good ones have. Welcome back sinus infection, muscle twitches, body ache and gastrointestinal trouble. Welcome back perma-headache! You always were my favorite.

On a brighter note, despite the needles, headaches and pill popping, I've had some really good times with friends in the last two weeks. And, on my friend Corbin's recommendation, I've given the new Vampire Weekend album a second listen. It's still not as solid as their debut but it is quite catchy, particularly the title track "Contra."

So, Noelle's highlights from the last two weeks, in reverse chronological order:

- Marathon Monday - I love that Boston has turned its marathon into a holiday, Patriot's Day. Sadly, the holiday isn't recognized by the Public Interest Network so this was my first time celebrating. Watching the runners was awesome but the crowd of babies, dogs, homemade signs, cowbells and drunks was just as entertaining. As Veronica noted, there's something beautiful about strangers cheering on strangers. I joined Wyatt, Nate and Ross in a percussion pep band along Beacon St in Brookline and did my best to keep up on cow bell, wood block and tambo.


- Welcome back dinner with the roomies - We made some vegan goodies from Bryant Terry's cookbook, i.e. garlic potato soup, and Emily made an amazing dinosaur berry pobbler. "Pobbler" because it was halfway between a pie and a cobbler: baked as one, served as the other. In a shout out to Ula's signature Squirrel pumpkin pies, she put a Graham cracker crust dinosaur on top. I will post recipe.




- High School Friend Reunion - Before I left New York I had lunch with my friend Nick Riccobono. We hadn't seen each other in seven years but, after hugging with enough enthusiasm to knock over a water glass and cause a huge scene, it was clear we had it goin on, and got along like two peas from the same nerd pod. I credit the fact that we're both Capricorns but maybe we were just meant to be buds. After lunch we explored Fort Tryon Park in Washington Heights. That place rules. Not only do its trees, soaring heights and pretty flowers make you forget you're in Manhattan, but there is a bar/restaurant in the park with a great happy hour. I couldn't take advantage of it, given current dietary restrictions, but you better believe I'll be going back there for a $4 beer on the wooded patio.


Other highlights included walking through the fairly new high line park in Chelsea, catching up with good buds in Bushwick, visiting the famed waffles and dinges cart with my Mom and crusing around Red Hook, possibly my favorite part of the five Burroughs.

Juice

It turns out fuji apples and cherries make a bangin' juice combo.