Spring has Sprung

It was the first day of spring or there about and it was time for a road trip.  My husband and I headed down Tampa way to see some good friends of ours that we had not seen in a long time.  Their home was so neat and clean and so color coordinated.  No dust and no trails of garden dirt.  It really inspired me to do some serious spring cleaning.

 I deep cleaned our "Summer Kitchen" and it was amazing to wipe off the pollen on the window sills and everywhere else.  I cleaned the table and the chairs, washed the dishes, and scrubbed down the cooking area; however, the fridge had conked out so we had to get another one.

Hey, that's too much work: hence the road trip.

When we returned home after an overnight stay, everything was blooming.  While I had been cleaning, we had some rain and sunshine.

Now, the sweet Oregon peas are blooming and so are the potatoes.  The latter really surprised me.  I had to replant most of them:  they wouldn't come up.  But now they have taken off and colored my garden green.

The azaleas are in full bloom although they started way early on the sunny side of Back Forty.

We have gotten past the pine tree and cedar tree pollen when the so called trash trees are blooming and covering the ground white.  Atchoo!

The small violas are blooming and there is a mat of blue in the back yard near the summer kitchen.

I am waiting for the bees or other pollinating insects to come along and have some of the
nectar.

Thank goodness, the coming days are to be a little cooler and it is time for some serious weeding.

 There is no point in pruning until the blooms on the azaleas are gone.

It is however time to gt the shovel out and dig out the weeds in the lawn to give the grass a chance to start growing.

Support the bloggers participating in the A to Z Blog Challenge in April.

Thank you for visiting my blog.

Most Nutritional Foods for your Money

After a hard day working in the garden, it is too easy to send out for pizza, go and get one, or pop one in the oven:  no cooking today!  We can always top it off with a scoop or two of ice cream.  Or who can resist the temptation of visiting the fast food with its run on inexpensive breakfasts?  I give in to temptation more often that I should.

Interestingly, the AARP Bulletin for January/February 2016 published "10 Foods with a Big Nutritional Bang for your Buck>"  This was in conjunction with articles about "food insecurities" and aimed to give low income people and seniors a better opportunity to eat healthy foods.

This is the list and cost per serving as of that month (my notes in parenthesis):

Carrots, 13 cents (available in my garden)
Plain, low-fat yogurt, 52 cents
Cottage cheese, 88 cents
Frozen peas, 23 cents (or any kind of beans that may be frozen, canned, or dried--from the garden)
Canned Salmon, 70 cents
Whole frozen turkey breast, 33 cents
Black beans, 43 cents (see frozen peas)
Russet potatoes, 50 cents (or any other potatoes)
Brown rice, 25 cents (or white rice -- little difference in food value)
Canned tomatoes, 25 cents -- a good deal (or from the garden)

The only problem I have is with the Brown rice:  There is virtually no benefits at all in food value.  Don't get me wrong.  I love white rice and black beans together.

For people without freezer, it would be easier to store greens such as collards, mustard, and kale which contain an abundance of fiber and vitamins and require a short cooking time.  You really don't have to cook the collards for hours and hours.  You may even eat these greens raw.

I find little difference in nutritional value between turkey and chicken.  Whatever is the beast deal:  the price is the game changer.

I any case, the possibilities of stew or soup with the above ingredients are plentiful.  With the turkey or chicken, left over bones may be made into soup by adding carrots, tomatoes, and potatoes or rice.

Thank you for visiting my blog.

Look for the A to Z Blog Challenge coming up in April 2016.

Spring Gardening

Meteorologically speaking, it is spring but that does not mean that all danger of frost is gone. The garden centers have vegetable plants and seeds available for cooler climate as well as warm spring days and nights ahead.  It is most tempting to buy more than needed but get what you like for planting:  you'll find space.

First on the garden agenda is to till the soil and add your own compost (or store bought) and prepare the beds by raking and removing sticks and other debris.  For sowing seeds, I usually aim for a smooth bed to make it easier for the fragile plants to come up.

After I worked in the compost and removed the debris I add fertilizer.  In the past, I have waited for the vegetable plants to get a good head start before fertilization.

Here is a list of my spring vegetables:

Snap beans, green or yellow, require 6 days to germinate and 50 - 70 days to mature.  There are many varieties of beans but I prefer Contender.  They grow long and slender, delightful for cooking when freshly picked and they freeze well for later use.

Squash and/or zucchini usually germinate after 7 days and are ready for harvest after 60 - 75 days.  These vegetables require much room to grow.  They spread and ramble.  It is best to thin out (or transplant, if possible) to avoid crowding. They also have a tendency to develop blossom rot that is a calcium deficiency.
I have added calcium, bought at a garden center, and followed direction on the package.  I still get the rot but I keep trying.

Tomato plants also come in a wide variety, hybrids and heirloom.  We have narrowed down the choices this year to Celebrity that mature in the same time frame and Better Boy that is supposed to be disease resistant and resistant to aphids and nematodes.  If tomatoes are sown from seeds, the germination is within 8 days and they are ready for harvesting in 60 - 90 days.

Oregon Sweet Peas or any sweet peas of your choice will need 8 days to germinate and 60 - 120 days to maturity.  I prefer the Oregon sweet peas with edible pods.  I love to go out and pick peas and eat them in the garden.  They cook up in a short time and they also freeze well for later use.

Eggplants are a must in my garden.  They usually come in trays of four and when mature gives us plenty for ourselves and to give away.  If sown, they need 10 days to germinate and 120 - 150 days to mature.  If you have a recipe for eggplants, let me know.

Happy Gardening.

Thank you for visiting my blog.

Cabbage Soup

Last night, a friend of mine called from the Florida panhandle and told me about the tornado warnings and this morning I saw pictures on the news with torn up houses, overturned cars, and fallen trees.  The storm was on the way to the east coast but veered to the north following the Beltway and the Interstate 95.

After a trace of rain, I went out to the garden and picked out the largest head of cabbage.  I told my husband that I was going to make cabbage soup.  His response was a screwed up face.  Let's see!

I actually made chicken broth by cooking two legs of chicken with onions, carrots, and parsley that was going to be used for the cabbage soup.

I sauteed half an onion with store bought minced garlic and set it aside while thinly slicing some of the cabbage and added it to the soup pot with the chicken broth.

From the freezer, I had removed one of my whole tomatoes that I harvested last summer.  I cut that up and also added it to the soup.

I let the soup come to a boil and turned it down to simmer until the cabbage was soft.

In addition, I had also added some cut up carrots and I am thinking that some green peas or green beans would add greenery to the soup.  For spice, I used ground cumin and salt and pepper to taste.

I served the soup to my husband and he said it looked good and he also said that it tasted pretty good.

Keep a watchful eye on your weather and stay safe.

Thank you for visiting my blog.

Drop (Dead) Homemade Biscuits

It was a cold morning so I thought that it would be a good time to turn the oven on and make homemade biscuits.  There are a few requirements for this undertaking.  Because this was baking powder biscuits, the first requirement is to know the difference between baking powder and baking soda.  At least, making a distinction of the looks of the boxes is imperative.

A second requirement is greasing the baking sheet.  There is absolutely no need to pour a lot of oil onto the baking sheet and swish it around.  The biscuits need not swim in the grease.  Grease lightly means just that:  grease lightly.

So, grease the baking sheet lightly and preheat oven to 425 degrees F (about 220 degrees C).

Now, let's make the biscuits using 2 cups of white flour, 1 tbs baking powder, 1 scant tbs of sugar, 1 tsp salt, 1 cup milk, and 1/2 cup of shortening.  I used Crisco but margarine or oil will also do.

I blended the Crisco and the flour mixture (the dry ingredients) with my hands and added the milk.  The consistency should not be runny.  Using a spoon and the help of another, I dropped the biscuit dough onto the greased sheet and popped it into the oven for about 16 - 18 minutes.  Watch them turn golden brown or golden blond.  My dough yielded 12 biscuits (not fit for a photo).

I do hope that we don't have any more cold mornings:  I will leave the biscuit making to other people.  It is time for me to get out of the kitchen.

Do you make biscuits?  How did they turn out?

Thank you for visiting my blog.

Oven Baked Potatoes a la Hasselbacken

No, I have not misspelled the quarterback's name; I am referring to a dish served at the historic, elegant, and expensive  restaurant on Djurgarden in Stockholm, Sweden.  Their tables are dressed in crisp linens and fancily folded napkins.  I have never been to Hasselbacken but I was reminded about it while reading about Magnus Nilsson, a Swedish chef and author, in a "Food and Wine" magazine.

The magazine had a recipe by Nilsson about Hasselbacken oven baked potatoes that I had only heard about.  Interestingly, this is a simple and delicious recipe and it does not take long to create.

Hasselbacken Restaurant

I love Yukon potatoes and they lend themselves very well to this kind of recipe, but so does the Russet potatoes.  Swedes like small and evenly shaped potatoes whereas we may use any kind of potatoes that we have available.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F (about 220 C), grease an oven proved dish that will hold four medium sized potatoes, and peel the potatoes.

Here is the most difficult part:  thinly slice the potatoes without cutting all the way through.  The potato will look like a fan when you gently part the slices.

If you like, insert thinly sliced slivers of garlic between some of the potato slices.

I added plenty of margarine in the dish and also dabbed margarine on top of the potatoes.  I then put the potato dish into the oven and set the timer for 40 minutes, checking now and then and brushing additional margarine on the potatoes.

In the meantime, I mixed finely grated dry bread (crumbs) with powdered garlic and some (Kosher) salt.  When the potatoes were soft and ready, I generously sprinkled them with the bread crumb mixture and put the dish back into the oven for another 10 minutes.  (Parmesan cheese will also do fine for garnish.)

The potatoes actually tasted pretty good: crisp on the outside with a hint of garlic and soft on the inside.

(The Hasselbacken picture comes from their Image page.  The potato picture is by yours truly.)

Thank you for visiting my blog. 

Your comments are welcome.

Testing Seeds before Planting

The seeds in attractive packets are on display in various stores and I am browsing and looking and in most cases the companies recommend sowing after all danger of frost has passed.  It is still too early to direct sow herbs but this is a good time to start the seeds indoors.

Most of the time, I have bought enough seeds for sowing,  but sometimes I have miscalculated big time; however, there are times when I want to stagger the planting.  How is that for an excuse?

For the early planting of Oregon Sweet Peas, I had a large bag of seeds left from last year.  It looked as if I had not used any at all.  What to do?  Do I sow the seeds and hope that they germinate or do I just throw the seeds out?

I like to use all the seeds that I have bought or saved so this is how I tested the peas:

I soaked a paper towel and laid it on a flat surface near the kitchen sink. I then spread out  ten (10) seeds on the towel and covered them up with another wet towel.  I kept the towels moist at all times.

Considering that it will take about eight (8) days for the seeds to germinate, I kept checking for any sign of growth.  I found that eventually all 10 of my seeds germinated so it was a 100% success.  If half of them had germinated, it would have been a 50% success or failure.  You do the math.  For me, it was a no "brainer".

Even if all the seeds had not germinated, I could have sown them, just sown them closer together or more in a "hill."  Still, it is no guarantee that all the seeds will germinate, grow, and produce.

Thank you for visiting my blog.
It is perfectly fine for you to leave a message below
or
join me.