May 29, 2022- The week belongs to the lupine

We got a decent rain midweek. It also stayed pleasantly cool. (That will end. ) That rain just made everything feel better. Of course there can be hard rain which can beat down a lupine spike. This was not like that.

The other creatures who celebrated the rain were...wait for it...the frogs.

Sometimes I have imported frogs from back east. I did not do that this year. But er have frogs right now. This is my best explanation:

In the last 9 month I  did not drain the pond, either in the fall or this spring. I usually do that both seasons. I was able to get most of the leaves out of the pond with a fish net. Because I did not drain the pond I assume I did not disturb any frog eggs that might have overwintered. 

The serenade continues until well after 10 at night. But it is a good sound. We kept the windows open and went to sleep.

It is a very good year for lupine. They are perhaps at their best right now.

Here are pictures.

This is a different clump from the previous picture.

The corner of the garden with the lupines and cypress spurge has got to be one of the best corner's of the year. Here is a little video a few days ago when the light at the end of the day was special kind that happens when it is angled or something.

It is also time for the Siberian Iris.

The clivia were almost all either blooming or in bud.

I will have to admit I sunburned several of the clivia plants. They were brought out too early or else not placed enough in the shade.

Pat- the two special yellow ones I got from you did not go out until this week. They are in the front yard away from any hot sun.

This first one has a bud coming.

It is going to warm up this week. I expect it to bloom in about a week or two.

The second one does not have a bud yet. But it does have a side shoot. A friend who introduced me to clivia who compulsively divide any clivia when it got a side shoot. I will not do that.

Both plants have seed pods from last year's bloom. One seed pod on this plant is softening. That means the seed is almost ripe.

Julia recipe

cherry tomatoes plus 

It is cherry tomato season but not yet really hot. So it is still comfortable cooking weather, at least today. The weather has been weird this spring. At any rate, with cherry tomatoes available, a pasta and tomato dish seemed just right. The recipe is from the NYT, but a little vague, so I have clarified. 

The ingredients:

2 to 2-1/2 cups of little tomatoes;

1/3 to 1/2 cup olive oil; 

1/2 box (about 2-1/2 cups) shape pasta (I used rotini)

1/4 cup panko;

1/4 cup pecorino cheese;

salt and pepper. 

The recipe said 1 lb. cherry tomatoes. I buy tomatoes by volume:  at the farmer's market, they come in boxes.

Cherry tomatoes have just started so I bought 3 little boxes, knowing that they would all be eaten. Probably by late Sunday. 

I cut all of the tomatoes in half. Some of them were kind of oblong - like little roma tomatoes - so I cut them lengthwise. 

I turned the oven on to 425 degrees. 

I put all of the tomato halves cut side up in in a glass baking dish that is about 7" x 11". 

The recipe said to put the tomatoes in a casserole. How big a casserole? I asked myself. 7" x 11" was my choice.

 

I poured 1/3 cup olive oil evenly over the tomatoes, followed by some salt and pepper. Which I did not measure. 

Then I sprinkled the grated pecorino over the tomatoes. 

Lastly, I sprinkled the panko bread crumbs over it all. 

Into the oven. It is also strawberry season so I was baking little shortcakes for strawberry shortcake, which were about ready to come out of the oven when I put the tomatoes in. 

I set the timer for 20 minutes, and I put a pot of water on for the pasta. I salted the water, probably 1/2 teaspoon. 

When the water came to a boil (maybe 8 or 10 minutes in), I put in about 2-1/2 cups of rotini. 

After the water came back to a boil, I kept track of time and cooked the pasta for about 7 or 8 minutes. 

Here are the tomatoes after about 25 minutes in the oven. The idea is the tomatoes should be visibly wilted, which took a bit longer than the 20 minutes I had set the timer for. 

I dipped out 1 cup of pasta water and then drained the pasta.  

I dumped the pasta into the baking dish with the roasted tomatoes. 

I used a silicon spatula to mix the pasta and tomatoes. I added about 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water, and I also added 2 more tablespoons of olive oil and stirred that in too.

And here it is. I put some additional pecorino cheese out for sprinkling. 

If you would like the dish to be more tomato-y, reduce the amount of pasta. Or use the same amount of pasta but a a bigger casserole and more halved tomatoes (and increased olive oil, cheese and panko). I liked the proportions in the recipe.  

On the plate. It is early cherry tomato season, and late asparagus season so we had both, along with baked cod, topped with thinly sliced onion and mayo, then sprinkled with salt and lemon pepper. 

And strawberry shortcake for dessert.  Happy spring!

Plant sale update

This little iris was left on the sale area a month ago. There were healthy plants but no explanation. They have finally started to bloom.

This lovely tall bearded iris was unsold last year. I planted them and they are wonderful.

Odds and Ends

I had been avoiding looking in the closet in the basement where I had some amaryllis plants stored. Sometimes stored amaryllis have sprouted and grown without light for some time. That is ugly. 

Well there was non of that plant abuse this year.

Here was the box of larger bulbs I had stored in the fall.

About six had started to send up the beginnings of a bloom stalk. That is what you want with amaryllis.

Outside they went.

Now they will get some fertilizer and water. I think in about 3-4 weeks they will be ready to bloom.

The rest will be taken to the "farm', our little city garden plot in the sun. There they will fatten up for the summer.

I will close with more frog music.

Pray for peace...and gun control.

And try to think of ways to do something about this sad but beautiful country. 

At least the Iowa legislature has gone home.

Philip