My Earthbox after just 1 month

About two months back I posted Podcast Episode 17 - Earthbox’s with my buddy Al. If you listened to that episode, you’ll also remember that I shot some accompanying video using a Kodak Playsport flash camcorder and I said I’d eventually get around to posting some videos once I figured out how to convert the raw footage and edit them.

Well, wait no further. This past weekend I was able to download a free shareware version of ‘Total Video Converter’ from Cnet.com to see how hard the process was to covert from native .MOV to .WMV formats.

To my pleasant surprise it was actually quite easy. However, because this is freeware, the videos I converted also have a small watermark which is present in the upper left hand corner of the finished video. If I go ahead and decide to buy the full registered version once I decide on getting my own flash camcorder, then the watermark will disappear.  Once in .WMV format, I used Microsoft Movie Maker to edit them further, adding the credits, transitions, text call outs, and finally splicing and trimming them together.  Now I know this is all nerdy, geeky, tech stuff, but now that I have explained it this first time, I won’t tell you about my future endeavors behind the scenes.

To get to the meat, or in this case, vegetable of the matter at hand, I have included two finished video here’s both totaling an approximate 13 minutes if viewed together introducing and showing off an Earthbox and replanting one.  I think it’s very educational, and in the end I hope to have some really good jalapeno and Anaheim peppers along with some very fragrant cilantro.  You can plant just about anything you want given the right soil, weather, and seasonal conditions.  Albert has planted squash, tomatoes, bell peppers, eggplant, various lettuce, and much more just to name a few.  But you can easily plant flowers, other herbs, or whatever.

In the above picture that starts off this post you will see a top down picture of my actual Earthbox that Albert and I planted together and is the subject of this video.  After only about a month, I can say we use the cilantro quite a bit and the pepper plants have almost tripled in size and have just begun growing their fruit. (i.e. jalapenos).  In a few more weeks I should be able to harvest my first home grown peppers and enjoy them on the BBQ, homemade salsas, and much more.

Video #1: Approx. 5 minutes.  Shows an empty box side by side with one that has finished it’s growing season. 

Video #2: Approx. 7 minutes in length and we look at the plants I am about to use, the individual parts and construction of an empty Earthbox, and the concept on how it works.

Future videos in this series will appear shortly as I need to go through the process of converting and editing them.  Look for parts 3 and 4 in the coming weeks.

I’m not exactly sure how and when it happened, but it seems that our house is the goto house for parties as of late, since our other neighbor picked up his family and moved out to Texas last year.  See, we used to have block parties that spanned the end of our culdesac street that primarily centered out of his driveway and that of his neighbor. But now that they are gone, the street scene now tends to migrate down to our house. Not that I’m complaining. We enjoy entertaining and hosting cookouts. We have a corner house with nobody behind us, and a nice sized backyard. The only issue for me is I kinda do get tired of cleaning it up the next day. In that respect, I wish my neighbors volunteered their homes a bit more often.

So the main theme was somewhat latin in flavor. We decorated the house and backyard with Mexican themed streamers, banners, and cutouts.  Tacos, Spanish rice, ranch style beans, and margaritas were on tap, but these weren’t your typical tacos. I ended up making two different gourmet style types. The first were three large top sirloin steaks in a citrus-chipotle marinade that were cooked out on the grill and then cut up for easy service.

The second was a slow cooked pulled-pork shoulder that I had marinated in an achiote paste recipe served with roasted peppers and grilled pineapple. All the usual condiments were present: sour cream, shredded cheese, red onions, cilantro, various salsas and hot sauces. Monica happened to make a salad as well, and we had plenty of margarita’s, Jack Daniels, wine, and beer on hand.

[Show as slideshow]

[View with PicLens]

Listen to the podcast on how I prepared the pulled pork, and check out my earlier post on achiote paste and powder to know what it is and how to make. I can tell you it was delicious and I got some solid thumbs up from our guests.  I also discuss the preparation of roasted pasilla/pablano and Anaheim chili peppers (on the grill or in the oven), along with grilled pineapple.  I guarantee the added color and texture of fresh roasted peppers along with the sweet caramelized taste of fresh grilled pineapple bring these pork tacos full circle as a treat to the taste buds.

Monica did very well in the gift department as you can tell by the pictures, that is if you like alcohol as a gift. The more I think about it though, it may appear that by the amount of Crown Royal she received, one would think she has a problem. But I’m sure that Crown will be used up by everyone in future parties and I’m sure I’ll have a slug here and there.

As the night marched on, one of our friends Anthony found himself taking a liking to the Jack Daniels…perhaps a bit too much…and we had an entertaining ‘exit’ show as his wife (who drove) was rounding him up to leave.  There were plenty of hugs to go around initiated by Anthony, as well as multiple ‘good-byes’ and the almost wipe-out of our entertainment center which includes a 42″ plasma television, blu-ray player, stereo system, XBox and Wii gaming systems.

Even later when the natives got restless an impromptu session of Rock Band 2 broke out, with yours truly attempting to sing, and sing badly I did.  Girls took turns playing the drums and guitar and even singing.  Needless to say, there were plenty of pictures taken and all had a good time. 

The part at its peak was about 30 people strong, enjoying each other’s company, the outdoor fireplaces, drinks, jokes, games,and of course, food.  It wrapped up by 1:15am, and I did some preliminary cleaning until I finally crashed at 1:45.  The next day consisted of cleaning the house and resting.

Show Notes:

• Intro Song: Cumbia De Los Muertos (track 3) of the self-titled debut album, Ozomatli.
  

  Ozomatli

• Pulled Achiote Pork preparation along with roasted peppers and grilled pineapple.
• The Crown Royal Easter bunny.
• Anthony almost takes out the entertainment center.

However, with the seasons changing from winter into spring, it was time to replant.  Al called me up and asked me what I may be interested in trying to grow this time around, and with the weather going to warm up soon and summer in just a few months away, I opted to go with some fresh chili peppers.  Monica and I enjoy entertaining with large BBQ’s with our friends, and since we also like Mexican dishes, I opted to buy a few jalepenos plants, some anaheim chilis, and cilantro.

It was a perfect 8 am morning roll call when Al showed up this past Saturday and with Bloody Mary’s in hand, we got down to business. What you see in these pictures is a what an earthbox looks like.  Albert and his wife Lisa have been growing many of their own produce for the last three years and we’ve tasted their homemade sweet marinara sauce, had numerous grilled veggies, and of course their own salads.  Click on the links yourself if you want to learn more about this way of planting and growing your own sustainable foods in your garden.

Earthbox example

What’s nice about this episode is that it is a great example of using the portable Zoom H2 recorder out in the field.  I recored approx. 50 minutes of straight audio which I got o edit down for your plreasure, all while learning about earthboxes and plenty of gardening and growing tips.  I also shot some video as well using a Kodak Playsport flash cam at the same time and I’m in the process of editing those for a future posting as well.  So not only can you enjoy this very educational podcast, with a few shots of vodka mixed in by yours truly, you’ll also eventually see some video clips as well.

Bloody Mary’s featured in this episode were made with Snug Harbor mix, winner of the ‘outstanding beverage’ award at the 1998 International Fancy Food Show.  What makes this Bloody Mary mix unique is it’s inclusion and blend of both clam juice and Chesapeake Bay Seasoning.  If you aren’t making a cocktail, try using it as a cooking sauce, maybe even a booster in Mexcian Ceviche.  You can find this online or unique liquor and gifts stores like Home Goods.  The bootles are 25oz in size and retail for approx $8.