Mischief...

Momma went to work this morning after we spent an evening preparing a package for a certain Italian duo of pals who either have or had birthdays. It was our first foray into the world of blogging buddies birthday greetings, but I think I got off on the wrong paw. My mom and I found some goodies that we (I) love and on Sunday, we packed them up. Mom was going to mail the package on Monday, but she was running late and left the unopened package behind when she went to work. She forgot that I have an awesome tracking shnoz for all things edible and squeakable. By the time she returned from wherever it is that she goes, I'd consumed my Italian friends' goodies. Mom seemed panicked. I wasn't feeling too good. And, I'd played with my buddies' toys as well! You can imagine the terror I felt when Mom came home! OMD!
Mom loaded me in the car, cause my belly was so swollen, and hauled me off to the V-E-T, who I happen to like a lot, cause he gives me the awesome treats after we're done. Not THIS time! I got something called x-rays, cause Mom told him that I ate Dad's glove as well as everything else, and then got a "SHOT" to "calm" my tummy. Yuck! It seemed like days before Mom came back to get me, so I jumped up on her and the V-E-T said I needed to stop doing that. I've had a good nap now, and Dad just came home and ON LEASH, we walked around the block, as the good V-E-T said we must. No offleash partying for me today and worse, no dinner - ARGGHHHHHHH!!! Be back with you all soon.
Loves and Licks,
xo Sammie



I will be OKay, but feeling a bit under the weather. Love you all.

I know what you did last summer

Nasturtium.
I've mentioned before that we grew some edible flowers, Sakata Sweet melons, and Tigger melons last year.
Here are a few of the other things we tried for the first time.

Plum Granny.
Supposed to be an heirloom "pocket" melon. (Somewhere between the size of a golf ball and a clementine.) I read that they were grown primarily for scent. They're so bland as to be inedible. They did smell great, but weren't as strong as I'd hoped. Nothing approaching the scent level of daffodils, say. It may vary with growing conditions but I doubt I'll try them again. Some little critters definitely like to eat them -- I think it was the most munched-on thing in the garden.

Japanese eggplant.
We liked these much better than traditional eggplants. They seemed less likely to grow bitter, and were more versatile for cooking just because of their size. We'll definitely grow these again.

Triamble squash.
A winter squash. I ordered these seeds purely based on the look of the pictures, which were idealized to say the least. Still, it's an interesting looking vegetable. But hard, hard, hard to cut. It tastes good, and keeps forever, but I really should have realized that ten-pound squashes were a little much for two people.

Top view.

Profile view.
These were really picked too soon. (The stem should be dry first.)
I couldn't find a picture, but we also grew lemon cucumbers. I was under the impression that they had a lemony taste, but the name just refers to the size (and color, somewhat). They tasted good enough, but did get bitter sometimes. Plus they have tiny hairs or spines that were difficult to rub off. And they didn't keep well at all -- one day, tops. So, back to white cucumbers for me.
If last year was the year of melon experimentation, this will be the year of the squash! More on that later.

Spring rainbow at Gooseberry Falls

After photographing the high water on the Beaver River I continued down the shore to Gooseberry Falls State Park. Gooseberry is a park that is absolutely loaded with photographic potential. In a relatively short stretch of river there are numerous waterfalls with endless photo possibilities. I spent about an hour and a half at the park and not only was the river nice and high but the clouds were very cool which really added interest to the photos I took. I also saw several rainbows but my favorite was the one at the base of the main waterfall.


































Check out the photo below, I think it's fascinating. To me the water looked like caramel. This is the spring run-off at Upper Falls on the Gooseberry River in northeast Minnesota. A 1/4 second shutter speed smoothed out the appearance of the water and added to the "caramel" look.

Awash in Purple and White

It looks like someone’s been camping in the back yard, doesn’t it? We had frost warnings last Saturday night, and after we hauled the Plumeria and other tender plants into the garage, Philo rigged up some temporary tents with sheets over the tomato stakes, held together with clamps. We had icy rain and some hail, the official temperature was 34º, and there was ice on the roof, but on Easter Sunday, the tomatoes and peppers were uncovered and look okay.
I hope the peach orchards of the Hill Country made it through the night, too – although we’d hate to lose our tomatoes, we aren’t depending on them as a crop – and we are not expecting crowds of people driving to our house to buy our produce. Fredericksburg’s peaches are not only a crop, but a reason for people to visit Central Texas, enjoying restaurants, shops, Wildseed Farms, an herb farm and the Nimitz museum of the War in the Pacific, a thought-provoking place which juxtaposes weapons of world war two with a Japanese Garden of Peace.
I also hope you like photos of Mockorange and Purple Iris, because I’m still thrilled at seeing them every morning. This particular Mockorange seems to be Philadelphus inodorus, with large individual flowers but not scented, at least none that I can detect. Here’s a closeup to show how really large the flowers are – I’ve heard that an old Southern name for them is English Dogwood.
Maybe this photo can give you an idea of how overwhelming the shrub can be when you stand next to it – the wooden fence is six feet tall, and the mock orange behind the fence extends another 4-to-5 five feet above that. Here are Ellen’s iris once again, still blooming and with more buds in reserve. Ellen handed me the sack of iris divisions in mid-March .., when this iris bed was still in the planning stages. The Divas had already planted the three spiraea, but I was still clearing and digging the ground around them. The iris corms sat in a paper bag on the garage floor for weeks, then took off once their roots hit the soil. I was amazed that these iris bloomed so well just one year after transplanting, and even more amazed at the high bud count of this passalong iris.
The iris are planted in the side garden, fairly close to the sidewalk, in a sort of Bat-shaped bed, honoring Austin’s famous free-tail Bat colony. The three shrubs of spiraea are just finishing their bloom cycle. Until this spring, there has been little in our front yard to slow down anyone who is passing by on foot or bicycle, but this display of purple makes the moms and kids stop.They instinctively lean in to see if the iris smell good, and this variety does have a light, but very pleasant fragrance.
As long as we’re in the front of the house let’s look at the space formerly occupied by the Arizona Ash. A few weeks ago Austex called to say the stump-grinder was fixed, and I watched this powerful tool in action, cutting through the enormous footprint left by the tree, churning the bits of wood together with the surrounding black clay. Since I really wanted the chips and dirt, I asked the workmen to leave the debris… they were kind enough to shovel some into sacks so I could use it for another project, leaving most of the wood/soil mixture mounded in place. For now, we’re just letting it settle and start to decompose.
Philo set the birdbath at the edge, and we planted a new tree off to the side, where it could frame the house rather than block it. We chose a native tree, one that doesn’t get enormous. Here are the leaves of our new Texas Redbud, Cercis canadensis var texensis. The tag also promised that it’s the white-flowering form – the long-desired Texas Whitebud - a promise that I hope will be fulfilled with white bloom next spring. I love the shiny leaves.

There are lots of other plants with buds that should be open for the April Bloom Day, but today I’m happy with green, white and violet-purple. I'd also like to say how grateful and overwhelmed it was to have so many comments on the post about enjoying blogging. Those of you who are still being clobbered by The Winter That Won't Leave touched my heart with your concern at how we in Texas made it through our little cold spell. I hope you will be awash in spring colors very soon!

Thomas Keller Oreos

Thomas Keller Oreos, originally uploaded by ParsecTraveller.

Here's a cookie that will knock most peoples' socks off: the Thomas Keller Oreo, or TKO.
Mr. Keller, the world-famous chef who owns the French Laundry restaurant, came up with his own interpretation of the Oreo, and his recipe has made it into the public.
These cookies are really good: the cookie part is actually chocolatey, with a buttery, crumbly, slightly crispy, melt-in-your-mouth texture. The filling really is a white chocolate cream filling, not some artificial concoction.
Easy to make and wonderful to eat, they're worth a try. The recipe is posted below (I got it from http://curiouslyravenous.blogspot.com/, where it was in turn taken from the cookbook The Essence of Chocolate, by Robert Steinberg and John Scharffenberger.
Thomas Keller Oreos (TKO's)
From The Essence of Chocolate
Makes about 3 dozen sandwich cookies.
Cookies:
1 1/2 cups plus 3 Tbsp all purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar – *I would use 1.5 more tablespoons*
3/4 cup plus 1 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp salt
15 Tbsp unsalted butter, cut into 3/4" cubes, at room temperature – *I used 1 more tbsp.*
Filling:
1/2 cup heavy cream
8 oz. white chocolate, chopped
1. For the Filling: In a small pan, bring the cream to a boil. Remove from heat and add the chocolate. Let stand for 1 minute, then whisk to melt the chocolate until smooth. Transfer to a small bowl, and let stand for 6 hours to thicken up.
2. For the Cookies: In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, and salt, and mix on low speed. With the mixer running, add the butter, a piece at a time. The mixture will be dry and sandy at first, but over 2 minutes, will form pebble-size pieces that start to cling together. Stop the mixer and transfer the dough to your board.
3. Preheat oven to 350° F (300° F in our too-hot oven). Separate dough into 2 pieces. Roll each piece of dough between 2 pieces of plastic wrap or parchment paper to 1/8" inch thick. Using a fluted cutter, cut into rounds. Scraps can be pieced together and rolled out again. Place 1/2" apart on baking sheets lined with Silpat liners or parchment paper.
4. Bake for 12-15 minutes, rotating halfway through baking. Remove and cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer cookies to a cooling rack. Cool completely.
5. To Assemble: Lightly whip the white chocolate cream to aerate and fluff up. Transfer filling to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/4" plain tip. Pipe about 1 1/2 tsp in the center of half the cookies. Top with another cookie to sandwich. Gently press down until the cream comes to the edges.
6. Cookies can be stored in a container for up to 3 days. Loosely cover.
Obtained from:
http://curiouslyravenous.blogspot.com/2007/12/tkos-thomas-keller-oreos.html

Spiritual Reading List for

Here is the list of spiritual books I plan on reading during my morning worship time.  I read in one for about fifteen minutes to get me in the 'zone'.  Then I read some in the Psalms and the rest of the Bible, then pray some.  I break it up into fifteen minute segments and try to keep at it from 6:00-7:00 a.m.   
This morning I was up and down like a jack-in-the-box.  But it's more than I would have done in bed!  So here's the list:1.  The Weight of Glory-C.S. Lewis-This one is blowing me away!  More later.2.  From the Library of C.S. Lewis, Selections from writers who influenced his spiritual journey3.  The Peace Maker-Ken Sande4.  Simple Abundance, a Daybook of Comfort and Joy-Sarah Ban Breathnach-I don't know if this author is a Christian or not.  It's one of those books that anyone 'spiritual' can get something out of.  I read it from a Christian viewpoint and like it quite a lot.5.  Thoughts in Solitude-Thomas Merton6.  The Praying Christian, God's Warrior-John M. Otis7.  The Puritans on Prayer-I'm trying to be a better prayer warrior.8.  The Cloud of Unknowing-Author Unknown-I read this several years ago and really liked it.
This list will last all year; maybe longer since I only read in them for fifteen minutes each morning.  

Mastering the Art of Southern Gardening

Have you ever been to a Whole Foods grocery store? If you have, then you know that they have managed to turn a tedious errand into a sensory experience. Everything they have, I want.
They somehow meticulously stack every fruit and vegetable known to man in such a way that even collard greens look cosmopolitan. The fish and shrimp all look like they were pulled from oceans and streams only moments ago. And I can't leave without at least one cookie or another treat from their bakery.
What I'm basically saying is that if they want to offer truth in advertising, they will change their name immediately to Whole Paycheck.
Just to be clear on what happens when I shop here:

• I never go in with a plan or recipe
• I am usually hungry when I go
• I wander up and down each aisle, salivating at all of the choices and putting things in my cart
• I go through a second time and put back half
• I get home and have the most beautiful assortment of fruits, vegetables, meats, cheeses, and assorted treats

And I realize that they make, well.....nothing. And as a result, much of it goes to waste before I figure out what to make with it.
Without a recipe to follow, I'm essentially lost. I am not one of those people that opens the fridge, sees a mix of ingredients and magically whips up a world-class dinner. I am a recipe-follower. I need guidance the first few times I make a dish- and only then am I able to improvise with the ingredients.
So what does this have to do with mastering the art of southern gardening?

When many people go to the garden center, I see a similar scenario unfolding:

• They go in without a plan or design
  
• They are usually hungry when they go (commonly called "Spring Fever")
  
• They wander up and down each aisle, salivating at all of the choices and putting things in their cart
• They go through a second time and put back half
• They get home and have the most beautiful assortment of annuals, perennials, trees, shrubs and other assorted treats
  

And they realize that while each plant is an eye-catcher, they don't make a garden. And the plants don't get planted that day so they stay in their pots. Often, they don't get planted at all and they end up like my poor, unused vegetables.
Think about a seasoned chef like Julia Child. Every dish that Julia made- no matter how improvised- was rooted in a recipe she had done before. She knew which herbs complimented which meats and which cheeses would overpower a dish and the basic ingredient proportions for baking cakes.
When she first tackled French cuisine, she followed the recipes. And even when she had mastered French cooking, she didn't alter the bones of the recipe much.
Gardening is no different. Gardeners talk about the "bones of a garden" all of the time. In the south, our gardens are often anchored and defined by evergreens- A sidewalk lined with Liriope, a hedge of boxwood or a holly at the corner of the house. Walkways, patios and other "hardscapes" are also part of this garden foundation.
GARDEN STUDY: A SIMPLE BOXWOOD HEDGE
The garden pictured below work is effective and it only has one type of plant. The low boxwood hedge and brickwork provide the structure needed (think walls).
The area between the hedge and the building would be the perfect spot for a medley of perennials like Black-Eyed Susan, Salvia, Plumbago and Iris (think artwork on the walls).
What makes this corner good is that even without the "artwork," it is attractive. In other words, it has good bones.
Once we have established the foundation of a landscape, we can change the seasonings with perennials and annuals- those plants that wink at you when you are at the garden center.
Now imagine that same mixture of perennials in the middle of a flower bed with no structure or definition. Would it look like a plant stew?
WHERE TO BEGIN
As you develop your palate (or really palette), you will naturally become more daring with the designs you create. That is when gardening becomes truly fun.
I've been cooking regularly for about a year now and I'm good enough to have a few friends over for some satisfying meals. Mostly, I make simple, effective dishes with 4-5 ingredients. I'm sure as I get more confident, I will expand my repertoire .
The gardening equivalent would be starting with mixed container gardens by the front door- simple, yet wholly satisfying. Then as you succeed, expand.
Before you go to the garden center next time, identify an area you want to plant and the types of plants you'll need for that area.
And please, do as I say and not as I do......and make a list of the ingredients you'll need.