Mud Season

Fog

BY CARL SANDBURG

   The fog comes

   on little cat feet.

   It sits looking

   over harbor and city

   on silent haunches

   and then moves on.

Mud

The mud comes

On little cat feet.

It sits watching

On pillow and paper

On rainy days

And then moves on.

C.E. with thanks to Carl Sandburg

Salmon and Peas—When you can no longer face another round of greens…fifties comfort food.

Make a bit pot of mashed potatoes—more than you think you will eat.

Make a white sauce from one tablespoon of butter, one tablespoon of flour, and a cup of milk. This is an old-fashioned sauce, but very handy to master.

Clean the little bones out of a can of salmon (or tuna, if you prefer). When the sauce has thickened, add the salmon and a bag of frozen peas. Heat thoroughly, without boiling.

Pour sauce over  the mound of mashed potatoes and add a sprinkle of paprika for color. Eat!

If there is any sauce left over, eat over toast for lunch the next day.

Wild Flowers--March 23, 2014.

         

  It was a sunny weekend and we finished all of the housework on Saturday, as well as planting the potatoes and mowing the lawn, so Mark packed a picnic—tuna sandwiches on new honey wheat bread, bread and butter pickles, an apple, and some chocolate macaroons—and we headed out to find Spring at Finely.  The Mill Hill and Woodpecker loops cruise through Oak Savannah, Ash Swales, and some Doug Fir forest, as well as meadows and streams, so they are the perfect walk for wild flowers. No actual Elk, although their tracks were everywhere. Just wildflowers.

 Wild Flowers Blooming at Finely Wildlife Refuge—March 23, 2014

Daffodils—around the old house

English Daisy

Dandelions

Toothwort

Indian Plum

Chickweed

Heal All

Spring Beauty

Trillium—two types

Fairy Slippers

Fawn Lily

Yellow Wood Violet

Evergreen Yellow Violet

Oregon Grape

Buttercup

Mustard

Squash Gnocci with Arugula: yet another way to eat greens

Gnocci (I usually make a big batch over Winter Break and freeze most of them.)

2 cups of mashed squash

.5 t salt

.25 t pepper and nutmeg

3-3.5 c of flour

.5 c of Parmesan cheese, grated

Mix into a dough. Divide into two or three lumps and roll out into long coils about a quarter of an inch thick. Cut into pieces about an inch long. sometimes I roll them out a little more. Dust with flour and freeze. When ready to eat, drop gently into boiling water and cook for about four minutes, until they rise in the pan. Scoop out gently.

Chop a large bunch of arugula. Suatee in olive oil with a couple of cloves of chopped garlic. 

Grate some parmesan cheese while waiting.

Put gnocci in the bowl, then the arugula, then the cheese. Eat hot! 

Planning for a New Garden Bed

Building a new garden bed is like planning a Major Event. It must happen over several weeks, if not months.

Months before: Contemplate the need for the bed. Study the light patterns in the back yard. Is there enough sun? Is it right in the bike path? Does it balance out the space? Will the blueberries be happy here? It will be their fourth home, but they were quite happy here in pots last summer.

Weeks before: Evaluate supplies. Study the wood stored in the shed. Examine the hoses in the basement. Hunt down the three foot section of garden hose to tie the soaker to the last bed.

Three or four days before: Arrange to borrow the old pick-up truck to haul soil. Check and make sure the Bark Place is open on Saturday.

The night before: Discuss the plan of attack for the next day. Who is going to haul the tools out of the basement and screw the boards together; who is going to borrow the truck and pick up the Fertile Mix? Decide on the amount of dirt actually needed for the project. Do not over estimate. Storage is limited. Fall asleep dreaming of the new bed.

Morning: Bribe Sweetie with oatmeal waffles for breakfast. Make a large pot of tea. Project Creep is about to begin…

Actual Build:

·        Haul the needed wood down from the shed.

·        Realize that, yes, the rats did have a play space up there.

·        Take the rest of the wood out.

·        Sweep off wood.

·        Rake out shed.

·        Put all of the wood not needed for today back in the shed, cleaned off.

·        Chase the cat out of the space.

·        Climb in yourself to place a few pieces of wood far in.

·        Remove screws from the post. Realize that the removed screws are just the right size for today’s project.

·        Chase Bunzilla out of the shed.

·        Get binoculars; the wild hive is back in the willow tree!

·        Cut wood to size.

·        Pre-drill holes for screws.

·        Assemble bed.

·        Mattock up the ground under the new bed.

·        Place the new bed and true up using the “my foot” measure.

·        Half fill the bed and  arrange the blueberries.

·        Fill in the rest of the bed.

·        Stop for a snack.

·        Fill every possible container with extra soil.

·        Move some plants around to make room for soil.

·        Shovel what is left into the yard waste bin you nabbed from the abandoned lot just for this purpose a few years ago.

·        Clean up. Put away all of the tools. Return the truck.

·        Admire the new bed.

After Work:  Go out from dinner to Tarn Tip, the neighborhood  Thai restaurant.

Polenta and Greens

We are coming into the time of year when greens-- all sorts of greens-- dominate our dinners.  We have eaten all of the root crops and most of the squash, so we fall back on mustards, kale, collards, arugula....whatever is huge at Sunbow that week.

Polenta: 1 to 3 ratio of cornmeal to milk. I use half a sup of cornmeal to one and a half cups of liquid-- some milk, some water. Heat the liquid and pour the meal in slowly, whisking steadily. Add salt, pepper, and a half teaspoon of sugar. Cook on medium heat, stirring often, until thick. You can add cheese if you like. I like to toss in a small handful of dried tomatoes and some basil.

Greens: Start with a leek and garlic. Chop and saute in a bit of olive oil. Chop a large bunch of a bitter green, or maybe smaller bunches of two types.  Toss in the frying pan. Cook, stirring occasionally, while watching the polenta.

Top Twenty Plants List

What plants was essential for a happy yard? What plants can not not imagine living without? Think quick!

1. Crocus
2. Daffodil
3. Rosemary
4. Lavender
5. Lilac
6. Daphne
7. Mums
8. Marigolds
9. Calendula
10. Columbine
11. Blue Iris
12. Apple trees—MacIntosh
13. Broccoli
14. Lettuce, mixed colors
15. Leeks
16. Pole beans
17. Peas
18. Boston Marrows
19. Potatoes, blue and red
20. Mint
21. Raspberries

Yeah, who can stop at twenty….

Hazelnut Shortbread

½ pound  of butter

½ cup of sugar

½ cup finely ground roasted hazelnuts

2 cups of white flour

Cream butter and sugar together. Add flour and nuts. Roll out about a ¼ inch thick, cut in nice shapes, and bake in 350 oven until golden.

Eat some warm. Dip others in melted chocolate. They also freeze well and the recipe can be doubled easily.

March Work List

March is the transitional season in the Pacific Northwest—some days cold and rainy, others soft, warm, and sunny. Plum trees bloom. Bees  haul in pollen, dipping under the weight, dodging raindrops. In the woods, Indian Plum is the first shrub to bloom, but the early wildflowers will be out by the end of the month. Inside, hearth fires dry out the house and we leave the front door open for fresh air.

To Be Done:

• Start peas and sweet peas inside to foil the wireworms in the garden beds.
• Finish pruning and bed building.
• Turn over the soil in garden beds to expose the leaves to soil.
• Finish off any transplanting.
• Send out a call for four inch pots.
• Bump up tomatoes started on Candlemas into four inch pots.
• Transplant spring crops into garden beds protected by the hoop house or cold frame.
• On the Equinox, plant summer greens to grow under lights for a month or so.
• Inspect the beehive.
• Order bees and chicks.
• Go for long walks in the woods, watching for wildflowers.

March is also the transitional food season. One day, we are eating fresh eggs, arugula, and chanterelle mushrooms with fresh honey wheat bread and canned grape juice, the next, a split pea soup with root vegetables.

Finnish Spilt Pea Soup

Cook 2-3 cups of yellow split peas in the crockpot for several hours, preferably while taking a long walk in the woods. Add one or two carrots, a large parsnip, two or three small potatoes, a stalk or two of celery and an onion, all chopped fairly small.  Add spices: cumin, dried mustard, marjoram, thyme, salt and pepper. Cook for a couple more hours, until everything has broken down into a chunky puree.