|
GO OUTSIDE AND PLAY What a great admonishment, "Go Outside and Play." You need not tell me more than once to do just that, for gardening is a series of fun experiments and it is always fun to get into the fresh air and sunshine. My serious nature decided that I needed to get cracking an make a few decisions about this spring's plantings. While outside this morning I began to uncover the flowers beds. My fun side decided I really do need more willows and more ferns and that I should give away my two tree hydrangeas. It also crossed my mind to hire the neighbor's son, Jacob, to help me with the clean up. I need someone to just drag the tarp filled with my rakings down into the wood where it can rot in peace.... I discovered that the new color in flowers is chocolate? For Easter I received a seed packet of mahogany colored nasturtiums. I n my recent issue of Met Home magazine they featured in their annual 100 design events. Number three was the advent of chocolate-colored botanicals. White Flower Farm seed company's new offer is Delphinium "Chocolate." I e-mailed for a catalogue and shall see about this new offering. Might be an interesting addition to my garden. In the past, I had a chocolate-flavored geranium. The leaves steeped in hot water were mildly flavored. This seems to be the year of brown...my closet all of sudden seems to be brown this and that. Looks nice with the bright turquoise blue in there, too. Didn’t make it to Washington DC. to see the cherry blossoms. I kept seeing them in all the news broadcasts. Everything was especially beautiful as the weather was good. Oh, well....I certainly tried. It was suggested that I needed to included the recipe for my white sauce for creamed spinach. Years ago, more than I actually want to admit (1956), I was a freshman in high school in a home ec. class. The first thing we learned in food lab was a basic white sauce. I don't use a recipe since I know it by heart. It comes thin, medium, or thick. Thin: you melt 2 Tablespoons of butter, add 2 Tablespoons of flour and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Stir gently together and cook until little bubbles appear. Add 2 cups of milk gradually stirring constantly. Bring to a boil and cook over medium heat until it makes a thin sauce. Medium: 4 Tablespoons of butter, 4 Tablespoons of flour, 1/2 teaspoons salt. 2 cups milk. Same method. Thick: 6 Tablespoons butter, 6 Tablespoon flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt. You can add grated cheese to make a cheese sauce. The important thing is to cook together the butter and flour. If it gets too thick, add a little more milk. I always make a thin sauce for scalloped potatoes, medium for creamed dried beef on toast, thick or medium. thick for creamed veggies such as beans, peas, asparagus. For the creamed spinach I added a little chopped garlic to the sauce and a couple of grates of nutmeg on top of the spinach. Yum o... I have a bookshelf that is filled with some of the best cookbooks. And guess what? I have been having fun with a little cookbook I found at the Goodwill store in Ashland, Wisconsin. It was put together in 1993 by a group of tenants of a winter haven trailer park in Tucson, Arizona. Tried and true recipes of good people; most all of the things I’ve tried have been good. For the fun of it, I Googled the trailer park and e-mailed them. I was curious as how this little book ended up so far north. The gentleman I communicated with said he didn’t know. He had however, on a trip back to Maine, made a trip to Ashland so he could swim in Lake Superior. One of his life goals was to swim in all of the Great Lakes. I know how cold the water is in the lake and I e-mailed and said, "I am sure you had a short swim." He laughed and said, "he sure did." This is a reminder of the fun of being able to communicate so easily via the internet. Anyways, back to my cookbook collection, I will try to select one each month and introduce you to the author and find something to share. An idea, a goal, a tip, a recipe...whatever. Fun, fun, fun in the sun. Go outside and play...your Moeder says so. Remember your kindness. Maybe you have a neighbor who could use a little help in the yard or you could take a plate of freshly baked cookies to a friend. Your goodness will follow you. I could use the help and the cookies would be great! Love ya. Dateline April 15, 2007
|
