January 29, 2023- Week #10- It is still winter.

It seems like those days when it was 40 degrees are, for the moment, over. The negative numbers are coming. Hopefully they will not last long. I need to remember that it is still January. 

This back and forth in temperature is hard on the outdoor pumpkins.

Julia and I went on some errands Friday afternoon. There was plenty of light even at 5:30. We call this lots of things. Encouraging. Hopeful. Progress.

Update: All week the 10 day forecast on the phone showed declining numbers getting below zero over this coming week. Finally the last two days the temperatures have trended up. Next Sunday will be back close to 40 degrees. I feel so much better now that those temperatures are coming.

It is time to really think about seeds. The lettuce, arugula and lupines are up and growing. I just started some Shirley poppies this last week. They took 4-5 days to sprout. Then they are so tiny at the moment.

Yesterday I started a few shirley poppies that are suppose to be gray. Gray? That will be different. 

Last week in the contest

the winner was...the clivia.

Here is the full vote.

Here are your choices for this week, which is Week #10.

#1 Orchid Orange Bird 

April 14, 2022

Orchids do carry the (indoor) garden during the winter. This small one looks like the corsage orchid, the cattleya, but is nowhere near as big.

Orange is such a vibrant coloe.

I wonder if there was just a poll of colors, which would win. Actually I wonder which I would prefer.

After the contest is over I might have a team competition, based on color.

#2 Scilla, or Squill 

April 23, 2022

This is scilla. We also call it squill for some reason. It is an early spring bulb that naturalizes to create carpets of blue, rather early in the season.

"Naturalize" is another word for "spreading quickly." That is close to "taking over" which can get you quickly to "invasive." 

I regard something as "invasive" if I cannot get rid of it if I want to. That awful campanula (C. rapunculoides) sets the standard. 

I do not think of scilla that way. For one thing, by mid May it is all done. I never worry about disturbing it by planting annuals over top of them.

This particular picture is unusual in that it is such a distinct clump.

Also in this picture is a daffodil and a number of winter aconite that have finished blooming. This gives you an idea of its contemporaries.

The genus is scilla. The species is Scilla bifolia.

There is also Scilla siberica. I am not sure of the difference.

As with most early bloomers it is deer resistant.

#3 Red Orchid cactus

 July 1, 2022

The orchid cactus, or epiphyllum, are an important part of the garden. I have 4 different colors, but try to grow a few more.

This lovely red flower is rather brillant.

You can get cuttings from the internet. Maybe you can get a flower from a cutting in 3-4 years. Sometimes that is a rather daunting time frame.

#4 Pale coneflower 

July 21, 2022

There are so many wonderful coneflowers these days. I get a few each year and then they all wish they had more sun.

#5 Cicada shell with lily 

August 13, 2022

One rather inoffensive type of wildlife we have during the summer is the cicada. I really don't know about that 17 year thing. It seems they are just there, every summer from July- September, sining their distinctive song in the evening. I have always found the shells amazing. When they combine with color, you have a great picture.

Bonus pictures

Scilla dances in the spring with several other early bulbs, including snowdrops, aconite, and the crocuses, particualarly the tommies. Here is a little video of some of that dance, in 2022.

Here is another picture of orange bird. Maybe it should have been the contest picture. A long time ago when the contest started, I had a rule that only single flowers could play. But it is no longer a long time ago.

More coneflowers

Right Now

The amaryllis is blooming.

This little cactus is blooming at the office.

This rather strange plant is an orchid I have had for ten years. It is Stenorrhynchos speciosum. It started with only 2-3 spikes. This year it has 13.

This particular phalanopsis  blooms about this time of year. It will bloom for several months. It is so many little flowers.

Julia's recipe

Fettuccine Alfredo with Chile Crisp and Spinach

This is a vegatarian main dish from the NYT - fettuccine alfredo with the addition of spinach, but more importantly with a dollop of a Chinese hot condiment. The condiment to be dolloped is called chile crisp, and it is a keeper. The ingredients on the left side of the photo below make the chile crisp and the ingredients on the right make the fettuccine. All good. 

The ingredeients for the chile crisp:

1/2 cup vegetable oil;

1/4 cup dried minced onion;

1 teaspoon sugar;

1-1/2 teaspoons kosher salt;

1/3 cup dried red pepper flakes; and

3 tablespoons sesame seeds.

The ingredients for the fettuccine:

4 tablesppons butter;

1 lb. fettuccine;

1 cup heavy cream;

1 5 oz. box of baby spinach;

3/4 cup of grated parmesan; and

1 or 2 tablespoons of the chile crisp.

First I made the chile crisp. I heated the oil in a saucepan, along with the dried onions, 1/2 teaspoon of the sugar and 1/2 teaspoon of the salt. I cooked the mixture over medium heat for about 4 minutes. 

At the end of the 4 minutes, I added the dried red pepper flakes and the sesame seeds. It sizzled, and I let it go on sizzling for 1 minute. Then I added the rest of the sugar (1/2 teaspoon) and the rest of the salt (1 teaspoon). And then I turned off the heat. 

Next, I turned on a big pot of water (with some salt in the water) for the fettuccine. 

While the water heated up, I put the butter in a Dutch oven on medium heat to melt. 

When the butter was melted, I added 2 tablespoons 

of the chile crisp and stirred it in. Use 1 tablespoon if you are not sure about spicy heat.

An action shot of me adding the heavy cream to the butter and chile crisp and stirring it around. 

While all that was going on, the water came to a boil and I put the fettuccine in to cook. I turned the cream mixture way way down so it just stayed warm. 

When the fettuccine was done, I used tongs to move it into the Dutch oven. It is a good thing to have some of the pasta water get into the sauce.

More fettuccine moving. At this point, I turned off the heat under the Dutch oven.

After all of the fettuccine was in the Dutch oven, I added the spinach.

I used the tongs to mix everything around.

 

Then I added the parmesan and mixed some more. 

On the table. We put some more parmesan on the table because more cheese is always welcome. The dish was creamy and a little spicy with the spinach as a nice contrast in color and flavor.

We had this as a vegetarian main course with salad and berries and yogurt. You could have it as a side dish with plainbaked fish or chicken. 

Speaking of fish, the chile crisp is good on salmon. I sometimes bake salmon with a thin layer of mayo and something (grated lemon zest, salt and pepper for example). Salmon with a little mayo and chile crisp is very nice. I would work on other fish or chicken. I put the rest of the chile crisp in a little jar in the refrigerator, where it keeps nicely.

Odds and Ends

January is ending. 

We are back to work.  We both wish we could shake some of the leftover symptoms.

I really must remember that gardening is good therapy. Just getting your hands in some potting mix feels so good. 

Instructions on seed packs can be discouraging. I want to try some larkspur this year. The package says to put the seeds in a plastic bag and put them in your refrigerator for two weeks. What?

Christopher (our grandchild) was not sure he would like swimming lessons. He went and really enjoyed it. Right after the session he made himself a motivational video. He told himself how much he liked swimming. I guess that is the next generation.

What motivational videos should we make? I suppose there would be the video of the first warm day when a snowdrop blooms.

It is difficult to find out what mischief our red government in Des Moines is up to. This week there were school vouchers for the rich, and deciding what items food stamps cannot purchase. 

Then there are the other awful things that continue. 

Every time I get in the hot shower in the morning I remember how fortunate we are. 

Pray for peace and reconciliation. 

Figure out what small things you can do about all that.

Until next week.

Philip