Good morning. What time is it really?
Is it Spring? I guess in March one should never get comfortable. We have now had one slushy 2-3 inch snow this week. We were to get another one yesterday. It did not materialize. This weekend has been a mostly inside weekend. That is not so bad as some little seedlings need to go in bigger pots. I also need to plant some more seeds.
The duo of snowdrops and aconite was just adding a third partner, when the snow came on Thursday. That third part of the early spring dance would be the tommasinianus crocuses. Tommies they are called. They really spread.
Last Week in the contest
The Winner was the little iris.
Here are the vote totals:
The iris never was really challenged. Every other picture did have considerable support.
This Week which is Week 3 of the playoffs.
The first two weeks have been rather predictable, with the top seeds easily advancing.
This week might be close, as the Third seed, the violet, tries to join the other seeded plants in the finals next week.
At the same time each picture this week has a little special piece of my garden heart.
#1 Violet- Birth of a Galaxy
December 26, 2022
What wonderful colors. What a great sparkle. What a great name. African violets are new to our inside garden. My mother always grew African violets. They seem to have been a favorite with many people 75 years ago. Up until this winter we would always kill them. This winter we discovered wicking. That really seems to provide just the correct amount of water.
We got the violet at the Iowa City winter farmer's market. It is out at the Fairgrounds, south of town. It is growing, having been set back a little by the pandemic. There has also been a person from northern Missouri who sells lettuce all year round, which she grows hydroponically.
#2 Double Bloodroot
April 23, 2022
You may remember the story of these plants in the garden. These plants flouished, and then were lost. They completely disappeared after one winter about 7 years ago. Something happened that year. Another gardener I know who has lots of exotic plants, also lost most of his double bloodroot that spring.
Thanks to the Joe Pye Weed people, the double bloodroot are back. I have decent clumps in a number of places in the garden. The biggest clump must have had 20 flowers last year. There are almost enough to think about potting some up this spring.
#3 Red Orchid Cactus
July 1, 2022
The first epiphyllum I ever saw was near Chincoteague Virginia. It was in an old greenhouse that is no longer open. That was about 25 years ago. We brought several plants back to Iowa, under our airplane seats. I think there must have been more foot room then.
This plant represents bring something different in the garden.
As I share my garden with people I get the most satisfaction of showing people plants they did not know. Hardly anyone else grows this plant in Iowa.
I do wish I had more colors.
They do get big. They do have to spend half their time inside.
#4 Hoya carnosa
September 10, 2022
Hoyas are one of my current enthusiasms. I just got another one yesterday on our trip to Reha's. I have been acquiring hoyas over the last few years. Like many plants there is no instant reward. You may need to keep the plant a few years before you get your first flower cluster. I look forward to this year as I have some that will bloom for the first time. One that might bloom is suppose to be red and black.
#5 Fall crocus
November 10, 2022
I really like the color contrast in this picture. This flower is the last flower to bloom outside. As the garden turns brown fall crocuses light up their little corner of the garden. People mostly do not know about fall crocuses.
There you have Week 16 of the contest, which is Week 3 of the playoffs. Who will join the top 2 seeds in the finals next week?
Right Now
Before the snow the next generation of aconite had arrived. I have many many aconite, that come up and bloom in the early spring. Each flower will make seeds, sending them out in some circle around the plant. Those seeds just stay in the soil, undisturbed by weeding or the planting of annuals. They wait for the following spring, and then come to life.
They give meaning to large numbers. I really think that for every blooming plant there must be 10 little ones.
We took a drive in the country yesterday, and went to our favorite greenhouse. They were getting ready for the garden year. There were lots and lots of coleus and impatiens and geraniums. One piece of garden news is that the genus trandescantia will be a big sellter this year. We know about Nanouk of course. (Well some of us do.) I have been taking cuttings from a basket of Nanouk all winter. Tradescantia will grow roots in less than one week. (Impatiens are about that fast.)
Look at this little video of these new group of plants.
My closet full of amaryllis is waking up. I am always amazed at how with no light and no water or attention these bulbs wake up. I encourage them to stay dormant. But about a dozen have now shown the start of a bloom stalk. Here are the first two.
Last weekend was a busy time in the garden. Here is what we had waiting for the city pickup on Wednesday.
They call them snow drops for a reason.
Here are the emerging amaryllis. More will be coming.
Julia's recipe
Palm Leaf Rolls
I was in Maine in February, as is my wont. Philip does not come along, as he thinks it is silly to go north to Maine in February. He has a point, but sometimes the heart wants what it wants, and I get a hankering to go to Maine in February. While I was there, I did some baking - a couple of different kinds of cookies and also some rolls. The rolls are terrific - called no-knead light rolls and from the Joy of Cooking. I posted the recipe here at some point in the past. Anyway, as I was making rolls, I noticed a recipe on the next page for sweet-ish yeast rolls called palm leaf rolls. Not sure why - nothing palm-related in the ingredients or technique. I don't think the end product looks like a palm frond, but there may be a difference opinion on that. The rolls sounded good, and so the next day, I made them, with some help near the end.
2 packages (or 1-1/2 tablespoons) yeast;
1/4 teaspoon sugar (more later);
1/4 cup very warm tap water;
3 cups all purpose (i.e., regular) flour;
1 teaspoon salt (a bit more if you use unsalted butter);
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter;
2 eggs;
1 cup sour cream;
1 teaspoon vanilla;
1/2 cup sugar; and
1 teaspoon or a little more of cinnamon.
First , I got the very warm water into a cup and added the yeast plus 1/4 teaspoon of sugar (the sugar helps the yeast wake up and get to work). I set the cup aside to let the yeast get frothy.
Then I measured the flour and salt into a big bowl.
The recipe called for cutting the butter into the flour and salt mixture.
I decided to use Katie's food processor, as we did not have a pastry cutter and I did not feel like blending the butter into the flour mixture with my fingers.
After all the flour and butter were processed, I put the mixture back into the big bowl.
In a smaller bowl, I whisked the eggs.
Then I measured the sour cream.
I poured the wet stuff into the flour and butter mixture and stirred.
I stirred that up, then added the yeast which had gotten appropriately frothy and mixed some more.
Mixing. It is a stiff dough.
Then there was a break in the action, which is the way it is with yeasted baked goods.
And added the sour cream to the eggs followed by the vanilla and whisked it all together.
I did not have to switch bowls (which is sometimes required). I sprayed no-stick spray on a piece of foil, covered the bowl and let it rise until it was about double. I think that took an hour or so maybe an hour and a half.
Just before I was ready to work with the dough, I mixed the cinnamon sugar and sprinkled some (maybe 3 tablespoons) onto the work surface.
I plopped 1/2 of the dough onto the cinnamon sugar covered surface.
I patted the piece of dough into a rough rectangular shape and then used a rolling pin to get the dough into a rectangle about 6" x 18".
Next, folding. I folded each end toward the middle, and sprinkled a bit of cinnamon sugar over the dough.
Then I folded the ends to the middle again, patted the dough so the folded bits would stay put and sprinkled a bit more cinnamon sugar.
One more fold and then I started to slice across with a small sharp knife. I put the slices cut side down on a baking sheet.
At that point, Maisie (2-1/2 year old granddaughter) showed up wanting to cut too.
And to lick her fingers and then mop up some of the cinnamon sugar on the counter and lick her hand. Actually, she was having treats left and right: cinnamon sugar on her left hand and an oatmeal cookie in her right.
More cinnamon sugar and cookie work for Maisie while I sprinkled and folded and sprinkled and folded the second half of the dough.
By the end of the process, I had used all of the cinnamon sugar, except for the part that Maisie ate.
I let the rolls rise on the stove top (under a couple of tea towels) for just 10 or 15 minutes, while the oven was preheating to 375 degrees.
The rolls baked for about 15 minutes, and we did the front to back and top to bottom flipping of the baking sheets after about 8 minutes.
The rolls on the dark pan came out crispier and more caramelized, which I think is better. So if you use a lighter colored pan, bake the rolls for another 2 or 3 minutes.
And here they are. Do they look like palms? I don't think so. Not real sweet, but sweet enough.
Christopher approved!
You can see the slight difference in browning and crispness between the rolls baked on the dark pan and the light pan.
And Maisie approved too.
Odds and Ends
We have eaten our own lettuce this last two weeks. It continues. I think next winter I will add parsley.
Daylight savings time of course has begun. State government would not listen to me. They were too busy handing out hate labels. I shudder to think what greater mischief they will do before they go home in May. Calling it "mischief" seems to minimize how awful it is. So you try not to think about it.
Warmer weather will come. But just not yet.
I have started the backyard sale for the food banks. I sold some potted aconite. I have added amaryllis to the sale table. (They do have to stay inside.)
Remember those who are cold or afraid or hungry. Find something everyday to make this a better world. It does not have to be a big thing. And one should not ignore the big things.
Remember those who are displaced by climate change. When it happens to someone you know it becomes personal.
Philip
1 comment:
I almost voted for the fall crocus, but the sparkles in the African violet won me over.
Post a Comment