November 19, 2023- memories

I remember Thanksgiving weeks from the past. They would usually mark the line when the cold started. Until that point the garden would limp along with bits of green here and there. Hardy perennials and some annuals would last past the frost and even after a freeze. Then Thanksgiving would come. Usually that meant 4 days away from work. There would be the neighborhood walk after the big meal, but before pie. I remember the first snow would often come the week after Thanksgiving, perhaps waiting for Monday.

Travel stories feature in those memories. There was the year when the second leg of my mother's trip from Missouri - the plane from Chicago to Iowa - cancelled, with her being stuck in Chicago, late on Wednesday afternoon. She joined a group of passengers who rented a car to drive to Iowa. Well, she was not kidnapped. She was dropped off at a gas station on the Interstate well into the evening. She, of course, thought this was all fine.

We also made a tradition of going to the local greenhouse and buying discounted spring bulbs. This of course meant that the ground was not frozen.

Earlier still, the entire family would go out to the tree farm on Friday and pick out a Christmas tree. We could reserve it and come back closer to Christmas and bring it home. It was on one of those trips that Maggie first learned to read something. The sign said "no dogs."

But it is 2023.

The greenhouse has closed, and the tree farm stopped letting you reserve a tree. I still have a few bulbs to plant, which really needs to be done this weekend. (update- They were planted.)

The big temperature drop comes early this coming week. The highs will drop from the 50's to the 30's. The ground will freeze. Actually it might be right for pumpkin carving. I have maybe 15 pumplins in the garage waiting to be decorated. The plan is to carve them and have them freeze solid. I would hang them from the ropes in the front yard. 

Some pumpkins, survive the winter, having become completely dry, light to the touch. Here are some on display in the living room.

The picture contest is coming.  I have 90 pictures selected for 65 spots. Sometimes it becomes like an eye exam. You put two pictures next to each other and see which you like best. I do not have to have it reduced to 65 right at the beginning. For the first week, all that is required is that I pick out the first 5. I think I have done that. So many variables. Color. Composition. Time of the year. I try not to include too many pictures of one type of flower. Remember Shirley poppies? There are many Shirley poppies in the 90 selected to far. 

Pictures from the garden in real time

Just last week I had thought there were no what I call "wow moments." Then I glanced at this little cactus at the office. All of a sudden it had started to bloom. Once it starts it blooms for a long time.

This white cattleya orchid had been in bud for a long time. It just opened this week. It is now on the dining room table.

I first got the plant in 2014. It has been divided so I have 3-4 of the plants. I think they all bloomed at one point this year. 

In the world of orchid progression, first you have a lovely plant which dies. The next one lives, but just barely. Then it reblooms. Then it grows enough so you divide it. Then you have too many. 

Orchids are certainly a good way to get through the dark time of the year.

The kale looks good. I discovered kale a year ago. One difference is that this year we grew all these from seed. On a bright sunny day in November they were the main color in the garden.

Here is that same video I have been showing you for the last 6 weeks.

I look forward to the same video in 2-3 weeks, as the cold arrives with the turkey.

Julia's recipe

White beans with kale and cheese

         As I have reported before, Katie gave me some dried heirloom beans from a fancy dried heirloom bean store in California. Nice beans. And then I noticed an NYT recipe for a recipe for white beans with tomato and cheese. Sounded good, but I tinkered with it some, like you do.  

The ingredients:

2 cups cooked white beans of some kind (or canned would be fine);

1 bunch lacinato kale (because it's the easiest to prepare);

3 tablespoons tomato paste;

1-1/2 or 2 tablespoon peeled and sliced garlic;

1/2 cup boiling water;

1/4 cup olive oil;

8 oz. fontina cheese;

some salt and pepper.

The NYT recipe did not include kale. I like kale in things and it's a nice shade of green so I added it. Some frozen kale (say 1/2 of a big bag of chopped kale) would be fine, and faster.

The recipe said to use mozzarella cheese. I thought fontina would be more flavorful and would melt just as well. 

I had cooked white beans on hand, so no need to cook them. As I said, canned white beans would be fine. Two 15 oz. cans, drained. 

I prepped the kale, cutting out the ribs and slicing the rest into ribbons, sort of. 

I then peeled and sliced the garlic. I heated the olive oil a bit (warm, not hot) and added the garlic. I wanted the garlic to soften and flavor the oil, not fry.

Meanwhile, in another pot, I cooked the beans with the kale and the boiling water until the kale wilted some. This is where frozen kale would shine - put it in the pot with the beans and the hot water and cook until the kale thaws. 

I grated the block of cheese while the kale was wilting and the garlic was softening.

And I turned the over on to 425 degrees.

Next, I added the tomato paste to the skillet with the garlic and olive oil and cooked it (stirring) until the tomato paste was a darker shade of red. Maybe 1 minute. 

I took the skillet off the stove and added the beans and kale, stirring everything around and adding both salt and pepper. The beans were not salted and neither was the kale. Tasting is okay, as there is nothing raw.

Lastly, I smoothed the ingredients into a more or less even layer and topped with the cheese. 

The skillet I used is both non-stick and oven-proof. This is ideal 

I baked the dish for about 10 minutes. Then because I wanted more color, I took it out, changed the oven from bake to broil and broiled for maybe 4 minutes. 

On the table. We had it as a side with salmon, with a salad and some berries. 

It would be fine as a vegetarian main dish with some nice bread plus the salad and some kind of fruit.

Philip had leftovers for breakfast. He said it was excellent cold. 

Happy Thanksgiving! If you want my advice, you could make sweet potatoes with lemon yogurt, roasted brussel sprouts and two kinds of cranberry sauce - recipes are somewhere on the kitchen blog. Also no-knead light rolls, which are always a big hit. And whatever protein you choose.

Odds and Ends

The pandas are coming. 

When Julia first read this during her edit of my ramblings, she wondered if I had mean 'pansies.' 

No, I explained. I did mean pandas.

 I found it oddly encouraging that the news from an otherwise grim picture of the world, included a meeting with the head guy from China and President Biden. The meeting produced the news that China was going to send us some pandas.

Yesterday was a good day to putter in the garden. It was sunny and 50 degrees, with no wind. I moved some inside plants around to better make them all fit. I planted some of the lantana cuttings, which had rooted after about a month. My goal is to have a full flat of lantana and persian shields by April.

I did get the last of the bulbs planted. 

I have 2 little tree peony seedlings in the backyard, that are about 10 inches tall at this point. They have  solid stems and several buds showing. They are 3 years old. This coming spring will be the first time they will bllom. I just put some metal stakes around them. I am less concerned with the deer eating them. Instead I worry the deer will step on them. 

While the cold will come, time marches on.

As of November 19, it is only 123 days until official spring. (March 21) It is only 88 days until February 15. If we have a mild winter and there is not real snow cover, by February 15, the first spring bulbs should emerge.

The world is in sad shape. Wars have become the new normal. The recent elections were mildly encouraging. In Iowa for the next few months we will have to put up with adds for some awful people as the caucuses are in January. About that time the Iowa legislature will come back for its 3 month term. I expect them to pass  laws eliminating "equality" and "fairness" from the Iowa Code. 

It is dangerous times. Prayers are somewhat in disfavor these days. That is in part because prayers do not mean much unless accompanied by action. Action does not have to be large. Then there must be doing what you can.

So pray for peace, and reconciliation. 

Then go do what a wise man once called "good trouble."

Philip