Week #3 of the playoffs. March 13, 2022

Waiting.

This picture, from this week, shows a peduncle (remember that word?) on one of the hoyas. It has grown and is now a cluster of buds. All over that plant the buds are forming. But the background is still gray and white and cold.

Here is the back yard after last Monday's light snow.

But the dusting of snow was not really the focus of the week. The focus was the single digit that was coming. 

(Should it be digit or digits? A single digit should be singular I think?  But they always say 'the low will be in the single digits.')

That cold arrived with a strong wind Friday afternoon. It was 19 degrees at 6pm with a 25 mph wind. Saturday morning was down to 6 degrees. 

As I write this on a crisp sunny Saturday morning, it is hard to be excited about venturing outside. No yard work outside today.

But just as the cold was anticipated, the warm weather is coming. I suppose that is always the case. It is to warm up a lot. Sunday afternoon.

With temperatures forecast in the 50's and 60's all week, real progress should be made towards spring, right about the time it is to arrive on the calendar.

Last Week

The winner was the bright colored pansy. What a great color. I really must find some pansies for the garden in the next few weeks. When we went to a box store yesterday they must have seen the forecast too. There were no plants outside. Inside there were potted up tulips. I reserve judgement.

Here was the full vote. The orchid made a good run at second place.

The poppies? Maybe the poppy vote was split? Maybe people are tired of poppies.

Week 3 of the payoffs

That is correct everyone. This is the last week of this round of the playoffs. Next week is the final final week of the contest. You wanted to get through the winter? We will have done it. Not that you could have told that by being outside yesterday. Or anywhere on the east coast I gather.

This week's contest contains a remarkable number of later blooming contestants.

#1 Pink Lantana 

October 1, 2021

Here you have the top seeded picture in the finals. What a great combinations of color and shapes.

#2 Pink  Shirley poppy 

June 9, 2021

#3 Pink Orchid cactus 

June 12, 2021

#4 Purple fall crocus

 October 23, 2021

#5 Tillandsia flower

 November 1, 2021

#6 Pink bougainvillea flower 

December 29, 2021

There you have week 3. 

Right Now

A little orchid surprised us at the office. 

This dendrobium orchid bloomed for the second time this winter here at home.

I planted quite a few seeds last weekend.

The sprouts in the back came up in 3 days. Arugula was suppose to germinate quickly. But 3 days seemed rather remarkable.

 

Here are some coleus that were up in maybe 5 days.

This will be a first time starting coleus.

So far so good.

Julia's recipe

Thai curry risotto with vegetables

The link to the website with all of Julia's recipes is

https://mearskitchen.wordpress.com/

This recipe comes from the NYT, but I changed it up a little to reflect my preferences and what I had on hand. It is kind of unusual: it's a risotto bakes in the oven; it includes coconut milk in addition to stock; and there are roasted vegetables. We served it as a side with salmon (the Sitka Salmon CSF - community supported fishery - keeps us well-stocked), but it could also be a main dish, and a vegan one at that.  

The ingredients:

2 medium-large orange sweet potatoes;

1 cup or so fresh or frozen green beans;

1/2 cup or so sliced onion (in half-moons);

5 tablespoons olive oil;

1 tablespoon or so smushed garlic;

1-1/2 teaspoon or so grated ginger;

2 cups arborio rice;

1 little jar of red (or green) Thai curry paste;

4 cups of chicken stock;

1 14 oz. can coconut milk; 

2 - 3 tablespoons lime juice;

                                                                                    some salt and pepper.

My deviations from the printed recipe: 1) I used sweet potatoes instead of butternut squash because I don't like to peel and cut up raw butternut squash. I think sweet potatoes and winter squash are interchangeable; 2) I used onion instead of shallot. I usually don't have shallot around; 3) I used chicken stock instead of vegetable stock. Vegetable stock (or water) would work, and that substitution would make this a vegan dish; 4) I used green beans which we froze last summer. Which I took out of the freezer to thaw when I started to cook. 5) I did not use makrut lime leaves nor did I garnish with fresh herbs. I did not have either lime leaves or fresh herbs on hand. If you do, add about 1 - 2 sliced lime leaves with the coconut milk and sprinkle the finished dish with cilantro, mint or basil (regular or Thai).

n

On to the cooking. First I turned the oven on to 400 degrees.

I peeled the sweet potatoes and cut them into smallish (no bigger than 1" x 1"). I prepped and sliced the onion; cleaned and smushed the garlic and grated the ginger. I do not peel ginger, as that strikes me as a waste of time and effort. 

I tossed the sweet potato pieces with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a small bowl and then poured the pieces onto a rimmed baking sheet, sprinkled them with kosher salt and put the pan in the oven. 

 

Next I heated 2 more tablespoons of the olive oil in a Dutch oven (on medium heat) and added the onions. I cooked the onions on medium until they were a bit soft - 3 minutes maybe. Then I added the ginger and garlic and when I could smell them, I added the rice. Along the way, I added maybe 1/2 - 3/4 teaspoon of kosher salt and half as much pepper. 

I stirred the rice and aromatics around for maybe 2 or 3 minutes until the rice looked a bit shiny. 

Then I added the jar of red Thai curry paste and stirred some more.

On the back burner, you can see the chicken stock melting. It turns out I had a bit less than 4 cups.

So after the rice looked shiny, I added a bit of water and all of the stock. 

I brought the rice to a boil, and I gave it a stir so the rice did not stick to the bottom. I put a lid on it and turned off the stove....

just long enough to turn the oven down to 350 degrees and to ootch the rimmed sheet pan over so there would be enough room for both the sheet pan and the Dutch oven.

Everybody in the oven. 

By the time I put the Dutch oven in the oven, the sweet potatoes were beginning to brown in spots. I took the baking sheet out of oven for a minute, shook it a little bit and moved the sweet potatoes over. 

I then cut my now-thawed green beans up a little (in halves, but not with any kind of precision) and added them to the empty space on the rimmed baking sheet, with the last tablespoon of olive oil and a bit of kosher salt. I roasted the vegetables for about 10 minutes more. 

At that point, the rice was mostly done (after being in the oven for 10 or 15 minutes). I took it out, tasted it and stirred it around.

Then I put the rice back on the stove and stirred in the can of coconut milk. I turned the heat to medium high and stirred until the rice was completely cooked and creamy (maybe 3 minutes. 

Assembly time!

I poured the rice mixture onto a platter. Then I topped the rice with the roasted green beans and sweet potatoes. And sprinkled the whole thing with some lime juice. 

On the plate, with plain roasted salmon - that is salmon brushed with olive oil and seasoned with salt and pepper. Plain fish with elaborate rice and vegetables. 

This recipe made a lot (2 cups of raw rice makes 4 cups cooked). It kept well and as per usual, we had it for lunch during the following week. 

Odds and Ends

I have talked about how much I like the weather website from the Iowa State extension service. Here is their view of last March, 2021. It warmed up at the beginning of the month, and never stopped.

This picture was taken on March 6, 2021.

There was a new little aconite. 

The aconite plants are blooming a year later, but this last week everything paused for a week.

This picture was taken yesterday, when it was maybe 25 degrees during the sun in the afternoon.

This little guy also bloomed yesterday, on a day when it never got above freezing.

One sign of spring is the opening of the City's garden plots. I renewed my plot, #83 for the third year. What have I learned? No cherry tomato plants. Or at least not 6.

I do think it would be fun to plant some short things, like radishes or beets. The actual date when we can get in to plant anything is unknown but still in the future. The City has to till the entire area and then I have to get the person in with a tiller. 

So confusion morning begins. What time is it really? Which clocks are smart clocks? Then of course there is the question of when will it get to be light

Pray for peace.

Philip