February Week Two
hazelinok
3 months ago
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slowpoke_gardener
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Journal week of February 8-11, 2010
Comments (2)I can't imagine that many shoes either. I thought I had a lot with about 40-50 pair?! I admit many are seasonal; i.e. sandals worn in summer or velvet worn only in winter. So I am headed down her path, but not as severe. Thanks for the kudos, but really, one could never do enough for her. She's a kind soul. She remembers everyone's birthday, anniversary, how their dog is going, their garden is growing and never worries about what she needs. Could never pay her back for all she's ever done. I would do well if I could be even 1/2 as wonderful as she....See MoreRecipes for Rice - Week 2 February 2013
Comments (25)Mexican Rice from AmericaâÂÂs Test Kitchen Because the spiciness of jalapeños varies from chili to chili, we try to control the heat by removing the ribs and seeds (the source of most of the heat) from those chills that are cooked in the rice. Use an oven safe pot about 12 inches in diameter so that the rice cooks evenly and in the time indicated. The potâÂÂs depth is less important than its diameter; weâÂÂve successfully used both a straight-sided sauté pan and a Dutch oven. Whichever type of pot you use, it should have a tight-fitting, oven safe lid. Vegetable broth can be substituted for chicken broth. 2 medium tomato, ripe tomatoes (about 12 ounces) cored and quartered 1 medium onion, preferably white, peeled, trimmed of root end,and quartered 3 medium jalapeno peppers 2 cups long grain white rice 1/3 cup canola oil 4 clove of garlic, minced or pressed through a garlic press (about 4 teaspoons) 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth 1 tablespoon tomato paste 1 1/2 teaspoons table salt 1/2 cup cilantro, fresh, minced 1 lime, cut into wedges for serving Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Process tomatoes and onion in food processor until smooth and thoroughly pureed, about 15 seconds, scraping down bowl if necessary. Transfer mixture to liquid measuring cup; you should have 2 cups (if necessary, spoon off excess so that volume equals 2 cups). Remove ribs and seeds from 2 jalapeños and discard; mince flesh and set aside. Mince remaining jalapeño, including ribs and seeds; set aside. Place rice in large fine-mesh strainer and rinse under cold running water until water runs clear, about 1 1/2 minutes. Shake rice vigorously in strainer to remove all excess water. Heat oil in heavy-bottomed ovensafe 12-inch straight-sided sauté pan or Dutch oven with tight-fitting lid over medium-high heat, 1 to 2 minutes. Drop 3 or 4 grains rice in oil; if grains sizzle, oil is ready. Add rice and fry, stirring frequently, until rice is light golden and translucent, 6 to 8 minutes. Reduce heat to medium, add garlic and seeded minced jalapeños; cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 1 1/2 minutes. Stir in pureed tomatoes and onions, chicken broth, tomato paste, and salt; increase heat to medium-high and bring to boil. Cover pan and transfer to oven; bake until liquid is absorbed and rice is tender, 30 to 35 minutes, stirring well after 15 minutes. Stir in cilantro and reserved minced jalapeño with seeds to taste. Serve immediately, passing lime wedges separately. Serves 6-8 as a side dish...See MoreFebruary 2020, Week 1
Comments (56)dbarron, The time is flying by, but I think it is because I'm keeping myself busy with other projects since gardening is a dud so far. Tim and I should put all these long-standing water puddles to use and open a fish hatchery, because we're never going to dry up ever again. We have more rain in our forecast for tonight, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. After that, we are supposed to have a few days with no rain. We'll see if that happens. Our soil is squishy and squishy is not good. The only flowers we have blooming here are wildflowers, but they are early. The little Spring Beauty flowers have been in bloom (at least on the occasional sunny day or sunny portion of a day) for about a week, so they are slightly behind the henbit and about six weeks or so later than the dandelions. Normally the Spring Beauties do not bloom this early, but once we had that 83-degree day last week, all the plants here declared that it is Spring and they are rushing headlong into blooming....probably too early and undoubtedly they will suffer from later cold weather. We walk past a big Burford Holly each time we walk in or out of the mudroom's exterior doorway. I only have to take a few steps south of the door to look at that holly up close, and so I did...and there's tiny flower buds all over the stems. They aren't nearly big enough to bloom yet, but their presence this early is a bit shocking. I want to knock them upside the head and remind them it is only early February, but they probably wouldn't listen. Larry, You have a lot going on in the garden considering how wet it has been. We have winter grass (poa annua) dying now, leaving bare patches where the dormant Bermuda grass is visible, because the poa annua cannot handle all the standing water. I wish the Bermuda grass would do the same, but it won't. Nancy, All the plants are so confused, and it alarms me. Most years when we get the really early blooms combined with the erratic temperatures, we get enough cold later on to freeze back the plants that have bloomed really early. It is different when we have a consistently warm winter....the early bloomers sometimes get away with it, but not in the yo-yo winters. Just in the last week our temperatures have gone from the low 80s here to the low 20s and back up into the low 60s. Most nights have been pretty darn cold, in the 20s, and with frost, so it doesn't matter if you have a lovely 60-degree afternoon as you're still likely to have a 20-something degree morning. It drives me crazy, and I'm guessing the plants don't love it either. I noticed poppy plants popping up in the front wildflower meadow. They must have been in the wildflower seed mix I sowed back in November...or October....or whenever it was. Normally the poppies don't pop up here until late March or early April, so it is odd to see them sprouting in early February. Everything is odd this year. I still have no veggie seeds sown indoors. Maybe Monday. I won't get it done any earlier because the grandkids are here and they are keeping me busy. I'm totally not in the mood to grow veggies this year---I wanted to focus almost 100% on renovating the landscape and just let the front veggie garden be mostly all wildflowers, but the rain is ruining those plans. You cannot rent a sod cutter and cut up remove sod that has saturated soil (and standing water), so we cannot start on that most important part of redoing the landscape and it is making me crazy. I'm wondering if it will stay too wet all Spring to work on the landscape. That really would drive me crazy. I may have to revise my plans and postpone the landscaping (and I am not happy about that prospect) until we dry out this summer, and just plant more veggies than intended in order to keep myself busy and out of trouble. I hate this rainy year already. Larry, I am planting tomatoes and peppers in containers this year, and will fill the bottom half of the containers with old half-rotted wood, chopped/shredded autumn leaves, twigs and compost....hügelkultur style. I'll then fill the top half of the containers with a good soil-less mix. I've been "consulting" with our son on his gardening all week...starting seeds, building raised beds, etc. I even picked up some supplies for him today while I was out grocery shopping because he was at work. It is fun watching him getting heavily into gardening. They have a new worm bin and are really getting into vermicomposting so the girls can learn how that works. He knows more than he thinks he knows because he always helped me with the garden when he was a kid, right up until the time he got his driver's license and decided he had better stuff to do. I think he fears he has forgotten everything he ever knew about gardening, but I can tell that he has not. The apple does not fall far from the tree.... It is late, I am awake and everyone else is asleep, so I'm going to go start next week's thread before I go to bed myself. Dawn...See MoreFebruary 2021 Week 2
Comments (82)So behind here! Moni, I keep meaning to message you about the SCOBY. I wanted to come get it last week, but the frozen roads! Maybe the end of this week??? Amy, Tom fell. He probably has a cracked rib. The doctor prescribed pain medicine to take at night so he can get comfortable enough to sleep. He's doing fine, though. He's been sleeping in the recliner...and that is better than lying flat, I guess. Rebecca, I also remember Dawn talking about her wish for a real snow. It looks like it might happen at her house. Amy, I'm SO sorry. Hugs to you! Around here.... I don't have great hope that our plants in the gardens will survive this. It would be nice if the brussels survive, though. Really nice. Light Shelf update: the first broccoli is looking okay. Not great. It needs to be up-potted very soon. I hope to do this tomorrow. The second round of broccoli is just popping up now. The cabbage seedlings look very healthy as does the first round of lettuce. The 4 cups of tomatoes that were started on SuperBowl Sunday have done nothing yet. I am determined to have cardinal climbers this year. I bought seed last year, but the tiny seedlings didn't do much--except one at my Mom's house did a little bit of something. I started seed early this year. I want bigger plants to put in the garden. They are sprouted and are looking great. Also, the red periwinkles are starting to pop. Hoop house building came to a screeching halt because of the weather. It looks great,, though. Super exciting. I've spent a good amount of time making sure we're ready for the upcoming weather. I think we have everything we need now. The Walmart shelves were empty last night. We already had most of what we needed, except for potatoes. We did stop at Homeland to look for potatoes today (and yeast for a Kings Cake)...they were out of the baking types of potatoes and the 5 lb bags, etc. They had a package of the tiny potatoes, so we grabbed those for dinner tonight. I guess people are making potato soup? We bought feed for the chickens too. Took the recycling in. The snow shovel is at the house now, instead of the shop. I guess Ethan and I will be doing the shoveling because of Tom's cracked rib. I wrapped the 10' x 12' chicken pen with plastic. I would like for them to have a place to walk around other than the coop. The plastic keeps most of the wind off of them...and it seems like it kept the coop warmer last night too. The water got partially frozen Thursday night at 14 degrees. The warmer works pretty well, but 14 must be it's limit. HOWEVER, it didn't freeze last night after the plastic wrap. My dogs are so restless. I walk them around the perimeter of property a couple times a day. But it's just not enough. I can handle the cold pretty well except for my hands. They were burning so badly yesterday after wrapping the pen with plastic that I almost cried. I have Raynauds. Today, I looked for heated gloves today. No luck. I will be ordering some. I'm worried about the neighbors' animals. They didn't put blankets on the horses. One of their cats isn't allowed indoors. He comes to our house for food every night. He's in our shop now. I fixed him up a litter box. Gave him some food and water. Put a towel on an old padded office chair we have down there. He seems pretty cozy. I hope my neighbors aren't upset by it...but I'm worried about him. Our shop isn't warm, but it's insulated and warmer than outdoors. I guess I'll walk the dogs now and call it a night. Stay warm and pray for those without shelter....See MoreKim Reiss
3 months agoKim Reiss
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