January 15, 2023 Week #8

 It will be a somewhat abbreviated post this week, as both Julia and are are "under the weather." Quite frantly just closing your eyes and missing January entirely is not such a bad plan. This past week there were no 50 degree temeratures but there were no single digits either.

It is a time to plant a few seeds and make some cuttings for the space over the sink.

Last Week in the contest, the winner by quite some margin was the violet.

This Week is Week 8- my we are progressing through the winter.

#1 Crocus tommasinianus- March 16, 2022

The is the squirrel resistant crocus. I do not know why it does not taste good. Perhaps it is because it is a species, rather than a hybrid. 

The genus is Crocus. The species is tommasinianas. Pronouncing the name is rather intimidating, unless you say it about 10 time. even spelling it is a challenge.

They are called "tommies" to their friends.

I looked at crocus pictures for 2022. The first one was on March 16. That was the picture in the contest, The latest one was April 16. 

Tommies as they are called naturalize so easily that in some places they are classified as weeds. 

They bloom earlier than the hybrids. They can put on a show with the aconite, as you will see in some of the bonus pictures.

#2 Double bloodroot April 23, 2022

I love bloodroot. It is our favorite spring wildflower in the woods.

I stumbled across double bloodroot about 2010, I grew a nice clump and then they all died over one winter. Interestingly I talked to another gardener who had the samething happen that winter.

That was about 2015. I resolved to find replacement and I did. This time I got about l20 barerooted plants and planted 3 different clumps in the garden.

They have recovered nicely and appear regularly in the contest.

#3 Tulip Little Beauty May 9, 2022

Red and Blue in the same flower. I think that is unusual.

This is a species tulip that is a hybrid. While that seems contradictory I think that means it is a variety of the species Tulipa humilis. So its full botanical name would be Tulipa humilis Little Beauty.

It is a short tulip, growing no more than 3-6 inches high. I understand it is fragrant. When it is so short who can tell. Maybe if you have a lot ot them,

Species tulips are the ones that are the most apt to come back every year.

#4 Lupine clump May 28, 2022

I love lupine. I have developed a rythem for them. They are mostly biennials. The will come back a second year, but that is about it. So I plant new ones every year, grown from seed. Between those and the ones that grow from their own seed, I have a good crop of 20-30 plants each year. 

They do like sun. 

#5 Toad lily September 14, 2022

Keeping the garden going in the fall is always a challenge. The two main perennials are Japanese anemonies and toad lilies. Perhaps it is not coincidental that the toad lilies are developed in Japan.

The botanical name is Tricyrtis hirta. They are known for their spots. There are white flowered varities which are on my "get one' list. There is also a yellow one, which I had for a few years but probably would have prefered a different location.

Tony Avant of Plants Delight Nursery has a nice piece if you want to know more about them.

https://www.plantdelights.com/blogs/articles/tricyrtis-toad-lily-bulbs-hirta

Bonus section

Other bloodroot

I got my bloodroot from Joe Pye Weed Garden, outside of Boston. In addition to the regular double bloodroot they have several other hybrids.

Crocus slideshow

Julia's recipe

A different stuffed pepper

 I have been a purist as to stuffed peppers, by which I mean I have only ever made the ones my mother used to make: green peppers stuffed with a mixture of raw ground meat, uncooked rice, onion, salt, pepper and an egg. The peppers are then cooked in the oven in a deep casserole (with a lid), covered in tomato sauce. They always taste better on the second day; I think this is because the cooked rice somehow thickens the tomato sauce. This is what I mean (or used to mean) by stuffed peppers.

Philip brought me this recipe from the NYT for a whole different approach to stuffed peppers, and I was skeptical. I was wrong. These stuffed peppers are terrific. Now I have two stuffed pepper recipes!

The ingredients:

3 large bell peppers of any color;

2 tablespoons olive oil;

1/2 cup diced fennel (really);

1 cup diced onion;

1 teaspoon smushed garlic;

1 teaspoon dried oregano;

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes;

1 lb. ground beef;

3/4 cup white wine;

1 14-oz. can diced tomatoes;

1-1/2 teaspoon kosher salt;

1/2 teaspoon black pepper;

1 cup cooked rice;

1/2 cup grated parmesan; and

1 cup provolone.

A lot of ingredients, but some ot them are probably already in your pantry. I think the fennel is optional. Although I used it, it did not contribute much of anything. If you don't have wine on hand, use the same amount of of chicken or vegetable stock (easily made with better than bouillon paste). Use cooked brown rice if you prefer. Use mozzarella or fontina instead of provolone.

I started by prepping all the veggies. I did not do the peppers as the recipe advised. Being accustomed to cutting the tops off peppers and then cleaning them out, that's what I did. Then I cut the peppers in half so they resembled small boats with no prows. Or maybe no sterns.

Alternatively, one could cut the peppers in half (lengthwise) first, then carefully remove the stems and seeds, at which point one would little boats with both prows and sterns.  

My little boats worked fine, by the way.

I heated the oil briefly on medium heat, then added the diced onion and diced fennel. I cooked these vegetables until they were soft - maybe 5 or 6 minutes. Then I added the garlic, oregano and red pepper flakes, all in one little bowl. 

After about a minute, I added the ground beef and broke it up into little pieces as it cooked.

I turned the oven on to 400 degrees.

When the meat was no longer pink, I added 1/2 cup of the wine, turned the heat up a bit and scraped up any bits stuck to the bottom of the pan. 

I cooked the mixture until the wine was reduced some then added the diced tomatoes.

I mixed in the tomatoes and then took the skillet off the heat. I added the rice plus salt and pepper.

Then the parmesan and mixed everything.

The peppers were in a baking dish in which they fit kind of snugly. I spooned filling into each of the peppers. I had a bit left over which I put in a storage container for lunch the next day.

 

Here are the peppers, all stuffed. I added the last 1/4 cup of wine to the bottom of the baking dish and covered the dish with foil. 

It baked for about 40 minutes. While

it was baking, I shredded some provolone. I had about a cup

.

At the end of the 40 minutes, the pepper shells were soft or softish and the filling was hot. I sprinkled the provolone over the peppers, and put the dish back in the oven for another 10 minutes (no foil!) until the cheese melted.

 

And here it is. We had the peppers with acorn squash (the oven was on already), salad and berries with yogurt.

You can make this dish ahead of time by doing everything up to the point of putting it in the oven. Cover the dish with foil and refrigerate. The next day, bake it for more like 50 or 55 minutes before the provolone stage. 

Leftovers hold up well and as is so often the case, are better the next day.

You could make this dish with other ground protein: chicken, turkey or pork. Or it could go vegetarian by substituting diced firm tofu.   

Odds and ends

Pray for peace. 

Appreciate what you have.

Remember those who are without.

Philip