I know between the two of us her heart we can steal*

Since it's going to be the Year of the Garden here at Baba Capra, I'm going to make myself accountable to you for my conduct. I will post my ongoing successes and failures, and I want you all to yell at me if I don't weed and water my garden once the enchantment of spring wears off. Questioning my worth as a human being is welcome.

Successes:

• I started some cauliflower and onions on Thursday, January 29th. The picture was taken Friday, February 6th.
  
• The cauliflower is doing great--lots of little seedlings popping up.
  

Failures:

• The onions are doing not great (or "book," as the Hulk would put it--he was going through his presents on his birthday: "Lego, great; more Lego, great; book, not great . . . ). Only four of the seeds have sprouted. I've heard onions are hard to do from seed, and evidently I was supposed to start these back in the Late Cretaceous to get any large bulbs by fall.
  

I made Reinhart's bagels, which, if you're wondering, are not worth the effort. They taste good and everything, but pretty much exactly like a grocery store bakery bagel. This may be user error.

I thought the sponge for the bagels looked cool.

After the dough has proofed, you make some hideous, malformed circles. Malformation optional.

Let the monsters proof at least overnight, then boil them.

Then decorate and bake them, and voila! Bagels that don't taste any better than the ones you buy at Smith's. I'm not really a bagel person, though. Give me toasted sesame seed, or give me . . . something else that's worth eating.

Here is something that is usually worth eating, when the cook hasn't stopped paying attention and added a ton more salt than she should have: roasted tomatoes with blue cheese. Roast the tomatoes in olive oil, rosemary, garlic, pepper and salt (a normal amount), then sprinkle blue cheese on them. Yummy.

I think I need to start some more seeds soon. I've marked on my calendar the starting dates for all my plants, whether indoors in Jiffy pots or in the ground. Looking through my seed shipment was like looking through a jewelry box. I'm pretty sure that Baker Creek will come repossess the packets if I can't do this thing.

I talked to the lovely lads at Beehive Cheese this morning and got on the calendar to go make cheese on March 3rd. Sorry that your hearts are shrivelled and tarlike with jealousy now.

*Post title courtesy of the late, great Sam Cooke's "Cupid." Go buy his "Bring It On Home to Me." You're welcome.