House of Bob

Don't Mess With The Fixie Monster

Bike Troll

Looks like I will be in the upcoming art show Bike Monsters, opening at two(adjacent) locations in Highland Park); Bike Oven and Flying Pigeon.  Part of the proceeds of the sale of these pieces go to Bike Oven and the Bicycle Tree – two community non-profits to help folks get and repair their bikes.

Each gouache and ink piece is roughly 8×10″ They will probably be framed.

There is more information on the show here.

Fresh Cucumber Pickles

When a friend asked for my pickle recipe recently, it forced me into writing it down.  I don’t really bother with recipes for pickles since I just keep a gallon jug of brine handy. It is very easy and you don’t need to dig up measuring spoons (which are always missing in my house)  Ruhlman has a good section on brine in Ratio, but I learned this technique at Picklefest 2008.  It has a lower salinity than Ruhlman suggests, but it works for me.   As for the cucumbers, as many as will fit in your clean jar. It really pays to get some fresh produce here, if you can’t grow them, try a local farmer’s market.  The smaller, the better;  large ones have too many seeds and won’t fit in the jar, but  I sometimes cut them up to fit.  You can use pickling spice or I tend to make up something at pickling time.  Use a reasonable amount.

Brine:

• 1 Gallon Water
• 8 Tbsp Kosher Salt

Pickling Spice:

• Whole Mustard Seeds
• Whole Black Peppercorns
• Red Chili Flakes ( I use the Korean kind with no seeds, but you can use whatever you can find)
• Coriander
• Cardamom pod (one or two)
• Allspice
• Cloves

Other Ingredients:

• Fresh Dill (lots – substitute dill seed if you can’t find fresh)
• Garlic Cloves (at least two per quart container)
• Fresh Grape Leaves (some claim they have enzymes to keep pickles crisper, but I’m skeptical -  I put them in because they look nice, and they are in season at the same time as cucumbers.)

The Technique:

Wash cucumbers well and slice off both ends since the blossom ends have a chemical that can cause softening.  Place in a clean mason-type or spring-top jar, add spice, garlic, dill  and brine to cover.  Set on counter at room temperature, out of the sun.  Twice daily or whenever you feel like it, “burp” the lid to release the gases.  After a few days, the mixture will turn cloudy; You should taste a cuke and see how it is going.  Depending on the temperature and various other factors like salinity, size and moisture content of cucumbers, etc, you should have a half-sour pickle by now, a little sour on the outside and still crisp and cucumbery in the middle.  I like them like this so I put them in the fridge to slow everything down.  They probably won’t last too long, they don’t at my house!

Mums and Herbs outside the Garage Workshop

I have been having a pretty bad problem with pests on my rosemary and mint, two plants I thought wouldn’t have pest problems at all. I decided they are packed in too tightly and don’t get enough drainage or enough water, putting them in a vulnerable state. So, I put in new plants among the orange mums outside the garage, and covered it all with a few inches of mulch. The new location next to the hose should allow for more frequent watering, especially with family helping out to water.

This summer seemed to rush by in a blur of heat waves, fires, baby milestones, tomatoes, figs, and long hours at work.  The garden is done for the season, and I’m already thinking about the beets and radishes of fall and winter.

I need to seriously rethink my irrigation system, as the drippers failed right before one of our San Gabriel Valley heat waves.  The tomatoes largely survived, with the Pineapple from Territorial being a standout favorite.  I don’t think I’ll grow the chocolate cherry grape tomato next year, since it took over the 32 sq. ft. veggie bed, climbing up the beanpoles and choking out the eggplant, cukes and squash.

I managed to put by a few pints of fig jam, and dried most of the tomatoes I didn’t eat fresh.  I also harvested some dry beans to plant next year and kept some of the sunflower seeds.  It isn’t enough to warrant roasting and salting, so maybe I’ll just leave it out for the birds.

C 2009 Bob Dornberger

My sister-in-law, Linda asked me to do a piece for an art show she is curating at Gallery Meltdown in Los Angeles. The title of the show, “A Murder of Crows, a Children’s Primer” is based on the funny names given to groups of animals, like a herd of cows, a gaggle of geese, etc. Here is the result, a small 3″ canvas. Not really what I wanted but what should I expect with 10+ years with no practice?  Opening is October 3, 2009 6-9pm at Gallery Meltdown (in the back of Meltdown Comics- I had one of my first jobs here as a handyman.)  You can find more info about the show and the other artists here.

Olive on the front porch

We are lucky enough to know a few photographers, professional and otherwise.  We spent the day with Bridie as she coaxed out some pretty amazing photos.  The only problem was narrowing our selection of prints, which are very reasonably priced.  We’re looking forward to our prints in the mail pretty soon.  Here is a pretty cute photo of Olive on the front porch at the house.

I ran across these onions at the Halal Market the other day in West L.A. and I thought I would try out the pickled onions I saw on A Hunger Artist.  They were the perfect size for a single quart jar.  I cleaned and trimmed the onions, added some coriander, cloves, korean red pepper flake, mustard seed and some allspice and covered it all will some pre-made brine.  It is easiest to pickle it directly in the quart jar, and ‘burp’ it periodically to realease the gases. A week later and I think they are almost ready.

A brief trip to visit family, and a few hairy deadlines, but the veggie patch is showing no signs of slowing down. The Japanese cuke is well above my head as are the pole beans. I added a crookneck squash and a small pumpkin after my trip so they need to catch up. I have already harvested a good handful of cucumber Alibi, and they made a good, if salty, quick pickle with shiso leaves. I’m not so sure about my grapes- I have a piddly amount of clusters, especially the Kyoho. The Zinfandel is better, but this is the first year after all.

Man Painting a Sign in Macarthur Park

I’m a sucker for these hand painted signs. I spotted this gentleman hand-painting this hand in Macarthur Park. Enjoy!

I had planned to start my vegetable garden from seed this year, but the sowbugs had a different idea. The only vegetable seedling to survive was a cucumber, Alibi. I blame myself for having too much organic matter that’s not really broken down yet.  It attracts the bugs and they feast on the tender seedlings.  I’m still the lazy kind of composter – I turn the pile maybe once or twice a year, so it leaves chunkies.  However the newer planting boxes are doing well, and some of the chard I planted from seed is still there – although it is starting to bolt.  I also had a good harvest of lettuces over the winter, all from seed.

So, with Miss Baby down for a nap, I headed off to the nursery for some plants. The place was a madhouse but I managed to pick up some plants pretty quickly. Here’s the list:

Cucumber, Japanese
Pole Bean, Kentucky Wonder
Pepper, Hungarian Wax
Pepper, Anaheim
Bell Pepper, Mandarin
Eggplant, Japanese

A little picked over and overgrown - but new seedlings are popping up.

Gary Johnson investigates the charred earth that is the side yard.

The recent arrivals.