October 13, 2024-it is time

Welcome

Sometimes you run out of time- to put things off. You just have to shift into some higher gear and get to it.

This time of year I pay a lot of attention to the 10 day forecast. I am watching for frosts.

During this last week there was one of the first 30's in the forecast. That was joined by some other 30's. All of sudden the 33 became 28. It is to get to 28 this coming Tuesday might. This of course was on the iphone weather which I think is from the weather channel. The local TV weather still just says 33. I find the weather channel tends to extremes.

Whatever. The plants should come inside.

This freeze possibility has kept my thoughts away from the lack of rain. 

So the migration has started. 

The sansevieria have led the group to spend the winter at the office. We take a few plants to work every day.

Yesterday, Saturday, I kept at it most of the day. I logged13,000 steps for those of you who keep track of that measure. By the end of the day I was tired.

I sort of took in plants in groups.

The Sansevieria went first.

30-35 orchids have already come inside.

Then the clivia.

There was an opportunity for a group picture. I think there are 13.

That included this really nice variagated one. This plant is actually a side shoot from a much bigger plant.

This is the large variagated plant.

Clivia set seeds after they bloom. It can take over a year for the seeds to ripen. You know they are ripe when the pod softens and sometimes turns red.

Clicia story

In early July there was a plant mishap. I had planted a seed 3-4 years ago. It was  a seed from one of the yellow ones that Pat gave me. Well, during the garden walk, someone knocked the plant over. It broke off right at the stem. I had the above ground part of the plant, with no roots.

On the theory that plants can make miraculous recoveries I put the rootless stem in a jar of water. Sure enough roots grew.

I planted the rooted plant today, back in its old pot, complete with its ornament.

With clivia there is the rule of 13. You need 13 leaves to be big enough to flower. This plant will have a way to go.

All clivia got a top dressing of compost, and some systemic. They can be subject  to the dreaded white fly.

On to something else.

All the cattleya orchids are inside, under lights. There must be 20 of just the cattleyas. One is about to bloom.

The little airplant globe is back in its inside place, over the kitchen sink. It has lots of red, meaning it should bloom for a while.

The crotons are coming, or going. This is the biggest and heaviest one. Colin carried this one.

The hoyas are coming. I can carry those. But with carrying them one at a time you can see how I can get to 13000 steps. Many plants live on the second floor of our house.

This one has been blooming non stop for months.

More pictures

This is croton Rams Horn.

Crocuses are popping up around the yard. They would do better with some rain.

Some color remains.

Here is perhaps the best picture of the week. This is our neighbor Colin, carrying the pink orchid cactus. I decided it would spend the winter in the basement. That meant Colin did not need to go up the stairs.

Julia's recipe

Another recipe for mild white fish. 

From the NYT, with a twist of my own.  As the farmers market season draws to a close, it is good to use fresh-from-the-market produce while it is still available. So here you go with a recipe that uses fresh produce, is baked all together on a rimmed sheet pan, is on the table in about 45 minutes and tastes great.  

The ingredients:

3/4 lb. or so of white fish (I had rockfish);

1 pint cherry tomatoes;

some cilantro (1/4 cup plus a bit more for garnish);

some young fresh green beans (not shown);

about 1-1/2 teaspoons grated ginger;

about 1 teaspoon lime zest;

about 1-1/2 teaspoons lime juice;

about 1/2 teaspoon smushed garlic;

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes;

a little less than 1/2 cup coconut milk;

1-1/2 teaspoons honey;

1/4 teaspoon turmeric;

1-1/2 tablespoons olive oil;

about 3/4 teaspoon salt;

and about 1/4 teaspoon black pepper.

My addition to this recipe was the young green beans. I decided to add them, after Philip had taken the picture, to add a complementary green vegetable to the meal - all baked together on the same rimmed baking sheet.  

I started by making the marinade for the fish - and eventually the tomatoes and green beans too. 

I measured the coconut milk into a large-ish bowl. I added the turmeric, red pepper flakes, black pepper, salt, garlic and honey. I zested the lime right in, which is why I am a little hazy about how much zest I used. About 1 medium-sized lime's worth. I also added the lime juice, which I did measure. 

What to do with the rest of the can of coconut milk? Use it instead of  cow's milk when making pudding or custard or sweet bread where a touch of coconut flavor would fit in. Probably not butterscotch pudding/ 

I whisked the ingredients and then used my herb shears to add about 1/4 cup of cilantro, which I stirred in.

I cut the fish in half as there were two of us. I put the two fish pieces in the marinade. They fit nicely. I turned them over to make sure both sides were exposed to the marinade. 

Then I put the fish bowl in the refrigerator for something like 20 minutes. Refrigerator time can be anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes

While the fish was marinating, I turned the oven on to 425 degrees, and I turned my attention to the green beans and the tomatoes. 

The tomatoes only needed to be washed. The green beans needed to be washed and to have their ends cut off. I left the beans whole. Easier. 

I put the washed tomatoes in a small bowl and added a scant tablespoon of olive oil and a sprinkling of salt.  

When the oven was preheated, I put the tomatoes at one end of the rimmed baking sheet. 

I added the green beans to the bowl just vacated by the tomatoes and added another scant tablespoon of oil and another sprinkling of salt. Then I put the green beans on the other end of the rimmed baking sheet. 

Lastly, I put the two pieces of fish in the middle. I spooned the marinade over the fish, and then spooned some over the tomatoes and green beans. 

Into the oven for about 8 minutes. At that point the fish was almost but not quite done.

I took the baking sheet out of the oven and turned the oven to broil. No preheating - as soon as the broiler came on, that was it. I put the baking sheet on a rack closer to the broiler. I let the fish, etc., broil for about 4 minutes. I kept an eye on the baking sheet as broiling requires constant attention.

By the way, baking time and broiling time will vary depending on the thickness of your fish. Mine was a little thicker than sole, but thinner than cod or sablefish. So understand that the baking time should end when the fish looks mostly done, and broiling time should end when the fish looks altogether done and the tomatoes look very done.  

After about 4 minutes of broiling, the tomatoes had begun to brown a bit, the green beans were crisp-tender and the fish was done. 

I made this recipe for two, so it was easy to divide and plate in the kitchen.

We had made rice, as it was clear that there would be delicious sauce to sop up.

We also had salad and blueberries with yogurt. 

Lovely dinner. 

Odds and Ends

Sometime in the last few days the 3 big cactus plants disappeared. Seriously. I was going to show them to Colin yestrday, and was planning on their placement inside. Yesterday I discovered they were gone. For the second time in 40 years I had plant theft. 

Someone suggested vandalism. But I had not yet put up my Harris sign. (It went up yesterday.) And the plants would have been awkward to carry, and a little heavy.

One had bloomed just this last week.

Here are some pictures  over the years.

There are many plants from the original plant that are now all over town. 

I still have 4 little plants. They are about the size of the plants in the picture above. They will be carefully tended this winter.

There is less than a month until the election. Please America, wake up.

A special thought goes out to those who were in the path of the hurricanes. 

Pray for peace, as the bombs continue to fall. 

Find a way to help make it a better place. 

Be kind. And forgiving. 

It is always good when I hear back from you.

Philip