Drats, Gnats!

It's been really rainy lately.  This past weekend, it finally let up and I was on my balcony making sure the plants were o.k.  Well, unfortunately, the moist soil and the warm temperatures have brought on a gnat infestation!! I spent all afternoon yesterday re-potting some of my infected plants, which were ones that were planted in Miracle Grow Organic potting soil. My radishes, lettuces and carrots- all O.K. and they were planted in a cheap Big Lots brand, called Black Magic.  This morning, I go out there and the gnats are all in my pepper plant and my parsley/marigold/thyme/nasturtium mixed planter!! I hate gnats!!

The afflicted

Vinegar and dish soap trap 

I don't mind re-potting the peppers, but my mixed planter?!..... damnit! I even used a diluted chlorine solution to drench the soil.  Apparently, the chlorine should kill the eggs. This sucks!

A Beautiful Surprise!

Got back from a week working in DC to this.....

They are gorgeous! And best of all, they were a gift given to the boyfriend who in turn gave them to me! I'm excited to learn how to care for them and hope they'll thrive. XOXO

Dulce de Leche Obsession!

I have been a little obsessed with making dulce de leche by boiling cans of sweetened condensed milk.  The recipe and instructions can be found on the Ravenous Couple blog: http://www.theravenouscouple.com/2011/03/dulce-de-leche-ice-cream.html

So, they used it to make ice cream, which sounds pretty amazing but as a person suffering from lactose intolerance, not so good. :-(  I was also curious to see if the sweetened condense milk would be different if boiled for 3 hours as opposed to 2.  Well, last night, I just couldn't let it go and had to experiment. I boiled 2 cans of sweetened condense milk, one for 2 hours and the other for 3. 

As you can see the one on the right, which was boiled for 3 hours, is a wee bit darker.  The sweetened condense milk also thickened a bit more and the flavor intensified.  It was like dulce de leche pudding!!!  SOOOOO GOOOOD!  Anyway, so if one can't make ice cream, what are you supposed to do?