Category Archives: family life

Prepping for winter – or summer – with rhubarb

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I’ve been under the weather for several days, and while I rested and drank fluids, the rhubarb patch grew wild and unruly. When I finally get to it, I will have a lot and I mean A LOT of rhubarb. Frozen rhubarb has good flavor, but the texture isn’t great. I’ll only freeze this bounty if that’s the only option left. Meanwhile, as I was resting, I used the power of the Internet to find more ways to use rhubarb. Here’s a list.

rhubarb jam (of course)

rhubarb jelly (I haven’t really tried jellies yet)

rhubarb cobbler and crisp

rhubarb barbecue sauce (I’ve already put up one batch)

rhubarb juice (now this could be interesting)

I made a trip to the always-fantastic Fleet Farm last night to replace my small hot water bath canner, and as long as I was in the aisle, I grabbed a jelly straining kit. This kit can be part of making jelly rather than jam or straining actual juices from fresh fruit. Rhubarb juice? It’s a possibility.

My thanks to Rhubarb Central for the many, many successful recipes!

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Banana Bread with Strawberries

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Ah, good intentions. The road to you-know-where is paved with good intentions. I planned to share another in-season recipe last week, and the time and the baking got away from me. Here’s a recipe that used to include maraschino cherries. Now it has strawberries, very ripe and juicy, in a classic banana bread.

Banana Bread With Berries

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter (one stick)

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 ripe or very ripe bananas, mashed

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 cups flour (whole wheat pastry flour is my favorite)

1/2 cup chocolate chips

1/2 to 1 cup fresh, ripe strawberries

Directions:

Combine butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla, bananas, baking soda, and salt; mix well. Mix in strawberries and chocolate chips. Add flour; mix well until all is moist. Pour into loaf pan or mini loaf pans (my favorite) or muffin tins. Bake at 350 degrees. Large loaf pans: 50 minutes. Small loaf pans: 35-40 minutes. Muffin tins: 25-30 minutes.

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Fun with Planters

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Folks who’ve been reading me for a while might remember that I had a papasan turned planter in my front yard. I now have a new-to-me papasan and a few more goodies.

Fun with flowers!

Fun with flowers!

On the table: a few herbs and an experiment: hula berries.

On the ground: purple hued grasses, hopefully due to grow taller. In front, the puppy with geraniums in place of doggie dishes. The puppy (a thrift store fun find) has faded in the years I’ve had him/her in the rock garden, but it’s always fun to find a pot or two to display in the pup. The other pot on the ground is actually a wooden bucket surrounded with what looks like bamboo or rattan. I picked it up at a rummage sale and thought it might look good next to the papasan. The table, with its rattan trim, came from the same sale.

I think this scene, so to speak, will evolve as the plants grow. I’ll share, I promise!

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Mis-fortune cookie

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Is it plagiarism when the fortune in your cookie has the first four lines of a Langston Hughes poem?

 

Hold fast to dreams

For if dreams die

Life is a broken-winged bird

That cannot fly.

Hold fast to dreams

For when dreams go

Life is a barren field

Frozen with snow.

That was Chuck’s fortune. Mine just suggest asking a special someone out for a date. I think getting Chinese take-out was our date, actually.

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Rain Barrels and the Law

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The entire West is facing water challenges with a growing population, limited water supplies, and a changing climate.

I saw this in a post discussing a change in Colorado law allowing residents to harvest rainwater. Prior to the law’s passing, setting up rain barrels like mine was illegal. Illegal? Yes. The Water Police would have come over and ordered me to disconnect my big barrels that collect water every time it rains.

At first, it’s illogical, thinking that conserving water would be not only discouraged, but outlawed. The old laws, however, were written for a time when the average citizen didn’t collect and reuse water. The old laws managed water rights for farmers and ranchers, people making their living off the land. The original legislation made sure the folks who needed large quantities of water for their crops and their livestock would have it and not have to fight their neighbors over every drop.

But now, in an era where individuals are concerned about water – saving water, reusing water, even treating water for household use – the old laws no longer make sense.

I’m fortunate to live in a region where water is relatively plentiful and my rain barrels are encouraged, not outlawed. It’s still important to conserve. I’m glad it’s spring, at long last, and I’m glad to see rain in the forecast sometime this week. I’ve been planting and watering, leaving the barrels ready for refilling.

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The Garden Begins!

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The magic date for planting in my zone usually falls on Memorial Day. The forecast has been cooperative lately, so I started quite a bit already. I’m waiting a few more days with the tomatoes and peppers; they didn’t start well from seed this year. Better soil or better starter pots might be the answer – next year. For now, they get a little more time in pots on the deck before I measure the grid and insert the seedlings into the soil.

Square foot gardening gives me a lot of food in a relatively small space. So far, I’ve planted lettuces, spinach, parsley, peas, broccoli, and root crops: carrots, parsnips, radishes, turnips. It sounds like a lot – and if all of it comes up, there will be a lot of fresh vegetables around the O.K. Chorale.

The plot behind the new garage is restarting, really. I have a small parsley bed back there (bunny food!), and the raspberries are coming back nicely. In a year or two, I’ll have a significant raspberry patch again. I(hopefully!) protect the seedlings from the wild bunnies.

The onions and garlic that I planted last fall are coming up well. I finally figured out which was which, too. The garlic is almost ready to harvest. I’ll definitely do this again next fall: plant the bulbs, and then let them lie dormant during the winter and grow as soon as the ground thaws in the spring.

I just heard a grizzled old off-grid guy on television say, “When you live this isolated and off grid, there are two seasons: winter and getting ready for winter.” Here in the city neighborhoods, we do some of that preparation. I don’t need to chop wood, but I do grow and can and freeze a lot of goodies during the “Getting ready for winter” season. The big difference here is how relaxing and enjoyable the prep time can be.

Pictures, you ask? Later. I promise.

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It’s amazing. And random.

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We’ve decided not to call it “leftovers” when I empty the fridge of various foodstuffs and we have it for supper. It’s “tapas.”

I’m pleasantly surprised at how an hour or two outdoors can change my mood. I’m smiling, relaxing, taking a break, and I’m smiling. Spontaneously. For no reason other than I feel happy and content.

I’ve joked (sort of) that I should take my blood pressure before and after working outside or gardening. Maybe this is the weekend for that experiment.

Gardening and outside are not always the same thing, at least in Wisconsin’s early spring season. I have started a lot of seeds indoors – tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, jalapeno peppers, zucchini, broccoli, a few herbs…something about the smell of dirt makes it a rather Zen experience, even indoors.

April is a challenging month – a survival month, much like January. April, however, has the advantage of outdoor time. Planting a garden, be it flowers or fruits or vegetables, is an investment in hope. Planting illustrates faith that the future looks good. Be quiet; I’m not in a survivalist prepper mood today. 

 

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Signs of Spring – they’re all around!

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Seedlings catching some sun!

Seedlings catching some sun!

The seedlings get to go outside on a field trip! They soak up some real sun, as opposed to the grow lights, and strengthen their stems in the breeze.

I’m not sure if I like these little starter pots or not. They’re a good size for exactly one seed each, but they really dry out fast. I’ll reserve judgement until planting time comes around.

Since I took this picture, the temperatures have gone colder. The little pots might not get another field trip until Saturday or Sunday – or later.

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Signs of Spring – the series

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It seems like every year I post signs of spring and then – bam! – we get more winter. This time, my signs of spring will be one post at a time.

The barrels are back!

The barrels are back!

It’s a true sign of spring: the rain barrels are set up! Last year – well, last year was difficult. I’m glad to see one of my favorite garden tools – or should I say supplier? this is my main water source – is up and running.

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The Dreaded Influenza A

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Most of my family members faithfully get the flu vaccine each year. Chuck doesn’t. For some reason, he doesn’t seem to be as vulnerable to the annual flu virus. This year, flu season is different.

Flu season this year came later than usual. Here it is April – April! – not November, not January, and both Chuck and Amigo are down with diagnoses of Influenza A. Chuck ended up in the emergency room a few days ago, struggling to breathe. After a chest x-ray, a nebulizer breathing treatment, and a flu test, the official word was Influenza A. Flu. The upper respiratory virus from hell.

Amigo got his a few days later. We were a little bummed; he’d been ill with some sort of virus for about two weeks, and I thought maybe that was his flu. He gets the shot every year, and that might have mitigated the severity somewhat. No such luck; he is currently curled up on the couch with pillows and blankets and a humidifier on high. Well, the humidifier is on the floor nearby. He’s not curled up with it. Yet.

Chuck most likely came in contact with the virus Tuesday night. His symptoms started in the wee hours of Wednesday morning. Tuesday night he was out late covering Ted Cruz’ primary election event in Milwaukee. Governor Walker was there, too. Can I blame Cruz and Walker for my dear hubby getting sick? Maybe not, but I do like to blame the governor for anything and everything possible.

Meanwhile, he brought home the bug and got quite sick, too. I’ve been taking care of him the best I can, treating the symptoms and cooking up comfort foods.

Amigo’s symptoms turned up overnight Friday. His diagnosis was confirmed over the phone with the nurse on call. Once again, we’re treating the symptoms. Chuck was too late for the famous Tamiflu. Amigo couldn’t get an appointment within the magic first 24 hours, and the nurse told me many doctors are hesitating to prescribe it these days. There is some doubt as to its true effectiveness.

Meanwhile, I’m still healthy and knocking on wood and washing my hands and trying not to breathe near either of my guys. If I make it past this week…well, let’s not chance anything.

Readers, I’m feeding the sick ones (and myself) chicken soup and other sources of fluid and nutrition. Advice is welcome – for treating their symptoms and keeping myself flu-free. Add your prescriptions for comfort in the comments.

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