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Blanco, Texas : Thyme Traveler : April 2007

Easter Miracle in the Hill Country
April 10, 2007 18:54

Miracles do happen, even if they have a perfectly logical explanation.

Easter morning dawned dripping icicles from the garden fence, after a night of steady sleet. We even had some snow! But did the tomato plants freeze? No!

Everything had such a nice, cozy coating of ice, the body temp of the baby veggies didn't drop below 32 degrees, which is the freezing point of water, but also its melting point ... which sounds so very scientific, but to see a garden, which at 11 a.m. was completely iced over, act like nothing had happened at all by 3 in the afternoon was
AWESOME ... the verbenas were still in full bloom, the tomatoes were standing tall, and even the peach tree, which had bent down to the driveway under the ice load, sprang back and showed off all its little peaches!

I call that a miracle, even if only for the fact that Mother Nature saved my grace, when I should have known better
than to set everything out so early.

Bet I don't make the same mistake next year, whew!

But we all have Jabba the Hut disease from being cooped indoors all weekend, so here is a hot bowl of soup to chase away the blobs (this recipe is easy to clean up after cooking, unlike traditional chicken soup which leaves you to deal with all those bones). Soup always tastes better the next day, so I often cook it early in the day
to reheat for evening supper, to get the maximum flavours.

~~Recipe of the Week: Chicken Soup~~

Place large kettle over medium heat.
Brown 1 pound chicken tenders in 2 Tbs. olive oil until lightly golden, but not cooked through.
Add 4 cups water, 1 tsp. ground ginger or a piece of fresh ginger root, grated, minced baby garlic (which is all
over the garden right now), 1 cup of fresh greens and herbs, chopped fine (parsely, sage, rosemary, and thyme are the classic flavour, with some celery if you have it), plus 1 tsp. sea salt, and pepper to taste.
Cover tightly, simmer slowly for 1/2 hour, then add a one pound bag of frozen green peas, brocolli, or spinach. Cover and simmer until veggies are tender, about 5 minutes.
Add 1 cup plain cous cous or angelhair pasta broken in small pieces.
Return to boil, cover, remove from heat and let stand 5 minutes serving.

How does your garden grow? If anyone has organic gardening questions or comments,
please email me: marcia "at" moment.net Thank you.

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NEWZ FLASH - Mosquito Breeding Season!
April 23, 2007 11:54

PLEASE, everyone, check all places that might be collecting stale puddles or constant mud, for those are just the perfect places for baby mosquitoes to grow into healthy adults.

They don't need standing water, just mud, though even the smallest teaspoon of unevaporated fog in the corner of a flowerpot saucer will breed at least a dozen, so watch out!

Now is the thyme to be gathering blossoms for summer's bug repellant brew, but be sure to wait until all leaves are dry before brushing against plants, because this is also the season for breeding powdery mildew. Be sure to wear fresh, clean clothes when you harvest from your garden, to avoid being the carrier of plagues.

The green bean babies really got bit by that icy Easter, and the grasshoppers seem to be demolishing the remains of the poor beanies attempt at rebirth, so maybe not such a good year for beans in my new garden. Beans don't like raw compost at all, and our soil is almost brand new.

Recipe of the Week: Breakfast Burgers

Heat cast iron skillet to high, reduce heat to medium high.

Cut 1 pound burger meat or veggie burger mix into 4 thick steaks, throw in the hot pan.

While they are sizzling, hatch the tops with a spatula to make crisscross cuts and spread the patties out to fit the pan. Dash some soy sauce in the grooves on the raw meat, turn and brown on the other side without breaking. Mash down flat with spatula.

When the soy sauce that spilled onto the skillet starts to brown, add 1 cup water, cover and simmer until center juices run clear.

I like my "steaks" a little rare, you can turn off the fire and let them set 20 minutes to soak all the gravy up and cook the center a bit more without toughening the outer layer.

Or you can fry them in the grease until they have crispy crusts, without the water, though this works better for thin burger patties.

Serve with some baby lettuce from the garden and whole grain toast or bagels.

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March 2007 « » May 2007