Yesterday I got a package in the mail from Jung Seeds. It was my onion plants, potato eyes, garlic bulbs and flower bulbs. Normally I would be really excited, but a rainy weekend was forecasted. This afternoon I was wishing out loud that the rain would stop for just a bit so I could plant at least the onions. Onion plants arrive looking kind of wilted, but with lots of water after planting, they bounce back really quick and start growing - if I could have planted before the rain started, it would have been perfect. I checked the weather forecast and it looked like it would be raining for days. My six year old son convinced me that we could go out and plant in the rain - it really wasn't raining all that hard - if we put our rain coats on and he took an umbrella and stood over me, it would be fun. So out we ventured to plant onions in the rain. Five minutes later Andy announced that he was done and going in. I should have known he wouldn't last. Oh well, it only took me about 15 minutes to plant them - I only had a bundle of 100 - and they wouldn't have gotten planted today at all if he hadn't convinced me to do so. And they are loving the rain!
I also put my cauliflower and remaining lettuce plants outside to start "hardening them off" so I can plant them soon. I also pulled my 3 earth boxes out and set them where I want them. Two of them are going to be filled with cauliflower. I haven't decided what I am putting in the 3rd one this year. I did Sweet Corn in two last year, but they didn't really do that well. I had Bell Peppers in the 3rd last year and while they did good, the ones in the garden also did good. I don't always have a plan before I start planting....maybe I should, but I always seem to find a place for everything that I want.
Saturday, April 29, 2006
Rhubarb
Well, my rhubarb looks like it will be ready for the first cutting soon and it occurs to me that I still have frozen rhubarb in the freezer. So I decided to thaw the rhubarb and make this recipe - it is one of my favorites:
Rhubarb Crunch
Ingredients:
1 cup flour
3/4 cup rolled oats – substitute quiona flakes for gluten free
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 cup butter, melted
4 cups sliced rhubarb
Topping:
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 cup water - if using thawed rhubarb, substitute the juice that you drain off the rhubarb as it thaws for the water
1 tsp. vanilla
Procedure:
In a large bowl, combine flour, oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, and butter; mix until crumbly. Press half of the mixture into an ungreased 9 inch square baking pan. Cover with rhubarb. For topping, combine sugar and cornstarch in a small saucepan and add water. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir 2 minutes more. Remove from the heat. Stir in vanilla. Pour over the rhubarb. Top with the remaining crumb mixture. Bake at 350 for 50 minutes or until bubbly.
That will still leave me one package of rhubarb in the freezer.....what to make - a crisp?, a pie? perhaps bread? I have never tried rhubarb bread, but have several recipes, maybe I will try that and let you know how it comes out.
Freezing rhubarb is very simple - just chop it up and place it in freezer bags. You do not have to blanch it and you do not have to add sugar. If you do add sugar and use the frozen rhubarb in a recipe, make sure you decrease the amount of sugar the recipe calls for.
Another tip that I learned when cooking with rhubarb - especially when making a crisp or pie - mix some Minute Tapioca (made by the Kraft) in with the rhubarb before putting in the pan. The tapioca absorbs the liquid and makes it not so runny.
Rhubarb Crunch
Ingredients:
1 cup flour
3/4 cup rolled oats – substitute quiona flakes for gluten free
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 cup butter, melted
4 cups sliced rhubarb
Topping:
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 cup water - if using thawed rhubarb, substitute the juice that you drain off the rhubarb as it thaws for the water
1 tsp. vanilla
Procedure:
In a large bowl, combine flour, oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, and butter; mix until crumbly. Press half of the mixture into an ungreased 9 inch square baking pan. Cover with rhubarb. For topping, combine sugar and cornstarch in a small saucepan and add water. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir 2 minutes more. Remove from the heat. Stir in vanilla. Pour over the rhubarb. Top with the remaining crumb mixture. Bake at 350 for 50 minutes or until bubbly.
That will still leave me one package of rhubarb in the freezer.....what to make - a crisp?, a pie? perhaps bread? I have never tried rhubarb bread, but have several recipes, maybe I will try that and let you know how it comes out.
Freezing rhubarb is very simple - just chop it up and place it in freezer bags. You do not have to blanch it and you do not have to add sugar. If you do add sugar and use the frozen rhubarb in a recipe, make sure you decrease the amount of sugar the recipe calls for.
Another tip that I learned when cooking with rhubarb - especially when making a crisp or pie - mix some Minute Tapioca (made by the Kraft) in with the rhubarb before putting in the pan. The tapioca absorbs the liquid and makes it not so runny.
Tuesday, April 25, 2006
Lettuce. The lettuce that I transplanted two weeks ago is on the left and the lettuce I set out this past weekend is on the right. The new lettuce looks a little wilted, but that is normal - it is adjusting to the garden. The older is lettuce is now adjusted and should start growing again now. The older lettuce is Buttercrunch and the newer is Romaine.
A Minnesota Peach. Yes, you read that right. We planted this peach tree 3 years ago. It was bred for nothern climates. This is the first year that it has blossoms. We are really excited. Now I just have to figure out how to keep Andy and the neighborhood boys from pulling the immature fruits off (assuming some of the blossoms turn into fruits). Last year, they pulled a lot of green apples off the apple tree. Since we have so few (and they are all in the boy's reach), I really want to have some peaches!
Monday, April 24, 2006
Too sick to garden
A great weekend passed me by. I have been having some on going health problems and have not been able to get out and garden very much. I am going to try and force myself to get out this week for short periods of time - I find gardening makes me feel so much better. I left work on Friday after just an hour with a migraine - usually I can work through migraines and then collapse later at home - when I have to leave work, they are pretty bad. Saturday it subsided into the back of my head and I did get out a little.
Andy and I managed a short bike ride on our bicycle built for two (a tag along bike connected to mine) and I did transplant some more lettuce outside. I also attacked the gas grill and got it cleaned. OMG, I can't remember the last time I cleaned it and it was bad! But then on Sunday, my migraine returned with a vengance. I did manage to suffer through a birthday party at a bowling alley that Andy was invited to, but I went straight to bed when we got back.
I have been fighting a pain in my neck and right shoulder blade for about a year now - with chiropractic care, it has been manageable, but I have not had a pain free day since it started. I have been recently diagnosed with hypothyroidism and have started taking medication for that - I am not supposed to take any other meds or supplements within 4 hours of taking my throid medicine which I take first thing when I get up in the morning (have to take on an empty stomach). I wake up in pain from the neck and then wait to take any pain medicine for it and by the time 4 hours has gone by, it has progressed into a migraine! Add stress of work and mothering and it just feels like a no win situation lately. I am going to call my doctor today and see how important the spacing of the meds really are - I think it is just for maximum absorbtion, but if I keep losing whole days to migraines, it just isn't worth it. This is spring and I need to get outside and garden!
Andy and I managed a short bike ride on our bicycle built for two (a tag along bike connected to mine) and I did transplant some more lettuce outside. I also attacked the gas grill and got it cleaned. OMG, I can't remember the last time I cleaned it and it was bad! But then on Sunday, my migraine returned with a vengance. I did manage to suffer through a birthday party at a bowling alley that Andy was invited to, but I went straight to bed when we got back.
I have been fighting a pain in my neck and right shoulder blade for about a year now - with chiropractic care, it has been manageable, but I have not had a pain free day since it started. I have been recently diagnosed with hypothyroidism and have started taking medication for that - I am not supposed to take any other meds or supplements within 4 hours of taking my throid medicine which I take first thing when I get up in the morning (have to take on an empty stomach). I wake up in pain from the neck and then wait to take any pain medicine for it and by the time 4 hours has gone by, it has progressed into a migraine! Add stress of work and mothering and it just feels like a no win situation lately. I am going to call my doctor today and see how important the spacing of the meds really are - I think it is just for maximum absorbtion, but if I keep losing whole days to migraines, it just isn't worth it. This is spring and I need to get outside and garden!
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