Fresh and OH, SO LOCAL

I have sweet, fond memories of my grandfather Vito Adragna, making a special trip to our small town, Fredonia, New York, from his home in Buffalo each spring.  He and I would walk hand in hand in the fields behind our house looking for Cardone (Gardooni), more commonly known as Burdock.

Every spring I still make the pilgrimage seeking burdock plants like the one above.  I am quite fortunate I believe, although most people disdain burdock, that there is a huge patch in the barnyard of our rental property.  (It can be found in several other places as well, but this is oh, so convenient.)

I cut the stalk at the base, remove the leaf, and take home a large bag full.

Growing up, Cardone was a Sicilian spring time staple, not only great tasting, but a spring 'tonic' as well.

The stalks are quite bitter, but if blanched until just tender being sure not to overcook, the bitterness is removed.

...just blanched stalks...

I then take a small bunch of stalks, drench them in a couple of beaten eggs,  (look at the deep color of these eggs, they are straight off the farm)

...roll in Italian seasoned bread crumbs...

...plate, and refrigerate for about an hour or so...

...fry in canola oil (my grandmother used olive oil)

until brown and crispy....

Served with lemon juice, they are simply delicious!!

Also, our first gathering of morel mushrooms 

dredged in organic all purpose flour

and fried, not in butter as I used to do, but in canola oil, too,

until very crispy and brown....

It hardly gets better than this.

Just picked asparagus from the patch that was on this farm when we purchased it 19 years ago...a very large patch that, honestly, I pick from twice per day...

...gently steamed but still crunchy, thinly sliced onions, snipped fresh dill, diced garlic, cherry tomatoes, oregano, olive oil and wine vinegar... a wonderful, fresh, crisp salad...

...and bread just out of the oven, it can hardly get any more local or any more fresh.

HAPPY FOURTH BIRTHDAY, ELSA

Each year Elsa and Iris get to choose what 'kind' of cake they want for their birthday.  This year Elsa decided she wanted a 'sun' cake.

After giving this much thought, this is the result, which by the way, she loved.

 The cake itself is an old-fashioned pound cake baked in a stainless steel bowl.  The sun's rays and the clouds are sugar cookies....

 There were plenty of rays for each child at the party to take home a few.

 Making a wish and ready to blow out the candles.

The party was held at Wildcat State Park, and it really was a lovely, sunny, warm day.

The next day the girls and I had Nonnie day.  The first thing they decided to do was to make a 'garden' in the living room.  They asked me to not only make the entrance sign but to gather as many things from around the house as I/they could think of that would make this garden magical.

 It truly was magical, and they played with it the entire morning.

I think the elves and the fairies were all about that day...you can see one sitting in the small chair, and another nearby.  

I love the places these girls take me to.

IMAGINATION

"Nonnie, can we get the dress-up clothes out?"  

A few weeks ago, looking for something, the girls and I went upstairs and looked into a drawer in which I keep a collection of antique clothing, doilies, and the like.  This is what they meant when they asked to get the dress-up clothes, because in this drawer was the very fancy dress I put on one day when Iris and I had 'tea', several years ago.

 

 However, I really did not want the girls playing with these somewhat fragile items, so instead I brought down a box of clothes that their mother either wore, or played with when she was a child.

This lovely pink item was a favorite of Jonel's and she wore it and twirled and spun and posed, just like Elsa is doing.

This outfit Jonel wore not necessarily for dress-up, but Iris fell for it, especially because she loves long skirts.

The project I had in mind for this day was to make 'May Day Crowns'.  We used grape vines, which we twisted and wrapped with crepe paper, tied multiple colored ribbons from the back and added a few crepe paper flowers.

...exposing the gap...

...giving me the eye...

...dress up extended into lunch time...

Jonel's witch's skirt, the vest from an outfit I made her, and her lace appliqued T-shirt...

It is such a pleasure to enter the world of imagination with these girls.  They create a rich, varied and complex world with little but their minds.  They are good thinkers and rarely become bored. They can pick up something (almost anything) and suddenly become immersed in another time and space.  

This is exactly what we were striving for when I taught at the Waldorf School, this deep and full life of creativity and imagination. I am blessed!

PROS AND CONS

The Pros and Cons or should I say the Cons and Pros of Spring....

 The biggest Con of spring is the onset of 'the bugs': Asian Beetles, Box Elder Bugs; Stink Bugs!

This is one of 14 windows on our enclosed porch, all of which look like this, even after just vacuuming!  Luckily we don't use the porch for much.  The Asian Beetle honestly never leaves our home...throughout the winter you can find one or two on most days, but spring brings them out in force.  Sunny windows, warm closets, windowsills, south facing walls, etc.  The really scary thing is that an adult Asian Beetle can live to 2-3 years, YES, two to three years.  That is almost unbelievable to me, and they lay multiple eggs each season.  No wonder the influx.  I know they are beneficial in some ways, but I have yet to find any benefit from them in my house.  Still, I have said it before, and will say it again, despite how annoying and disturbing they can be to daily living, I often feel quite guilty in vacuuming them up and then burning the vacuum bag.  What to do??

In almost as great a number, maybe even a bit more are the Box Elder Bugs.... 

 Unlike the Asian Beetle which emits a stench when crushed, this bug doesn't stink, bite, or otherwise do anything except congregate in huge, and I mean huge, numbers on the porch and not quite so badly in the house.  They are equally annoying, however.

And then there is this really ugly looking creature, the Stink Bug, and believe me he really stinks when threatened or crushed.  I must say there are really few compared to the above mentioned, but I fear their numbers will increase as well.

That is the downside of spring, along with the seemingly endless outdoor cleanup, except of course for the upside of the outdoor cleanup, and it is a really big upside, is that one gets to be out of doors!

There are so many Pros about spring.... 

...spinach finally poking its nose out of my garden soil....

...garlic planted last November stretching for the sun....

...the beautiful, soft moss which IS our side yard....

...the appearance of the Blood Flower....

...and this lovely surprise which has appeared for the first time in two places in my yard, I believe called Scilla Siberica...

 ...and the breeze blowing newly laundered sheets, which will have the most heavenly scent upon retiring tonight...

This breeze, however, is mighty, and was daunting on my second bike ride of the season this morning. (Biking another of the Pros of spring.)  It never fails to amaze me how the wind can be a headwind when biking east, and also be a headwind when biking west....makes no sense to me.  This morning's headwind was probably the worst headwind I have ever encountered, and made for a real workout.  

I must say, though, I really feel good now!!

HAPPY SPRING! 

AVOCADO INSPIRATION

Several avocados sitting in a wooden bowl on my counter kept calling my attention, and my appetite as well.  Our favorite way to eat them is, without a doubt,  guacamole and chips. 

 And so the decision to make a Mexican meal was made, along with the guacamole....

 The simplest and most delicious version is:  mash ripe avocados with a fork in a bowl; mince onions to taste, garlic to taste, and cut a tomato into very small pieces.  Salt and pepper and a dallop or two of mayonnaise (not salad dressing!).  Mix together, taste and adjust.  This is truly a mouth-watering appetizer.

 Spicy black beans another of our favorite dishes, perhaps not quite so simple, but simple enough.

1 can black beans drained and rinsed; one (or to taste) dried cayenne pepper minced and reconstituted in a cup of orange juice; saute one small onion, one carrot and one stalk celery and one sweet red pepper, all cut into small pieces, in olive oil.  When onion is soft, add the orange juice with the cayenne and a pint or so of whole tomatoes, and let cook for about 20-25 minutes.  Taste for salt and pepper, and make necessary adjustments.

Spanish rice...

Once again, saute chopped onion, sweet red pepper, cilantro, garlic, in olive oil, add one cup rice and saute until golden.  Add either tomato 'juice' or whole tomatoes, stir and cook until rice is tender.  I add salt, pepper, a bit of dried oregano, some cumin, and a touch of chili powder.

Chicken enchiladas...,

Saute chopped onion, garlic, sweet red peppers in olive oil , add cut up chicken breasts, saute.  I then add some enchilada sauce that I made last fall and froze.  This basically consists of pureed tomatoes, cumin, oregano, salt/pepper, and some pureed onion/garlic.

When chicken is cooked through, lay out tortillas and put a scoop full down each one, add a little salsa, roll up and place in a 9 x 13" oiled pan with salsa spread thinly over the bottom.  After the pan is full, spread more salsa over the top, grate cheese over this and cover with an oiled piece of tin foil.  Bake in a preheated (350 degree) oven for about 40-45 minutes.  The last 10 minutes remove the foil, and let the cheese brown.

OLE`

BEAVERS AND OTHER MISPLACED THINGS

Oh, the snow is melting,

the river is flooding,

and beavers are crossing the roads!

Something is very wrong here.  Two days ago, at the end of the road on which I live, not far from the stop sign at Hwy 131, there was an animal lying dead in the road.  I had a difficult time recognizing it, and on my return stopped to examine what it was.  It turned out to be a beaver.  Yesterday my daughter saw a beaver crossing the road on her way home from work.  I have never in all the years I have lived here, seen a beaver outside of the river and its near surroundings.  It is a very strange happening, and however confused I am about this, I imagine the poor beavers are truly distraught.  Is it this strange, very strange spring?  Is it global warming?  Is it the river flooding?  I have seen the rivers around here flood many times, but I have never seen misplaced beavers.  I doubt it is just the flooding.  I deeply wish there was something I could do to help these poor creatures.

To say this is a strange spring is to put it mildly.  Spring generally brings, at least for me, a bit of anxiety...unlike the 'caving up' of winter where contemplation, solitude, and quiet seem to prevail.  Spring brings a multitude of necessary actions, some of them quite pleasurable...

like having found, for the first time, San Marzano tomato seeds, the primier tomato in Italy...

...and starting my own plants.  Oh, I have high hopes for these San Marzanos, and despite the package count stating about 32 seeds, mine held at least 67....I hope they survive and grow and produce.  I hope to share some of these plants should they continue to grow so well.  I also have cucumbers, egg plant, spinach, Italian Heritage slicing tomato, and cherry tomato seeds sprouting.

That is the pleasureable side, but for us vineyard owners of over 850 vines, comes pruning time!  This weather surely is not cooperating with our need to prune, we have 22 rows, and inbetween rain, snow and deeply cold temperatures,

we have so far pruned, perhaps 3/4 of the vineyard.  This pile of prunings, which we must collect from the vineyard, is an exceptionally tall and very wide pile, which when it becomes dry enough, we will burn.  (One wants to remove and burn prunings to inhibit any chance of disease or fungus from spreading.)

Pruning this year is more difficult then any year I remember.  For some reason the vines grew quite vigorously last year, and it is the norm to be unable to prune the one vine in front of you, until you have removed the 30-40 feet of vine growing from a plant that is three plants away!  This is a teadeous job, and moves quite slowly.

...a close-up of a vine needing pruning...



...vines just pruned and tied....

As we are being thwarted from pruning by this unusual weather, I go to the garden to see if the soil is yet loose enough to plant peas, lettuce and spinach.  It is nearly ready, but it is very, very wet as well.

Walking around outside, which is generally such a pleasure, especially in the stark, pure white beauty of winter, isn't quite so pleasurable right now....

As the snow leaves, it also exposes all that needs to be done...

old, dead refuse to be removed, last year's growth to be cut away...

Ragusa Roses to be transplanted, 125 strawberry plants to be freed of the up-close and choking weeds that surround them, limbs fallen and littering the lawn to be removed, garden to be prepared, revealed trash to be collected, and on and on.  I know that spring is a time of renewal, but right now I only feel its pressures.

I know this will pass, and that I will soon be reveling in the joys of sun and new growth...I think.

WRESTLE-MANIA

Perhaps spring has really arrived, although I wouldn't bet on it.  Still, I pulled the last of the strawberries and rhubarb I froze last spring, to make a pie.  I love making pies, and for some reason it is about the easiest dessert in the world to make.  Preparing the pie crust, rolling it out in a nearly perfect circle, (my mother's wasn't nearly perfect, her's WAS perfect), is a wonderfully nostalgic, meditative 'exercise' for me. 

I always brush the just-ready-for-the-oven pie with half and half or milk, and then sprinkle it with a bit of sugar...which makes for a lovely browning.

I almost always have pie dough left over, and one of the things, as a child, I loved most when my mother was baking a pie, was the left over crust...

made into what she called 'tarts'.  Here are tarts cut with a cookie cutter, brushed with milk, sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon.

Truly a delicious treat.

This past 'Nonnie' day, Grandpa came home early before the girls left for the day.  This always excites the girls, and after the initial hugging and teasing, this Nonnie Day the girls wanted Grandpa to wrestle with them, one of there very favorite Grandpa activities....

 now wrestling, for them, has a little bit different take.  First they have Grandpa lie on the floor on a rug, then they pile pillows on him

and take a flying leap from the couch,

(I don't know the reason they laid the towel on his head, perhaps it offers some relief????)

Elsa ready for the take off...

Quite honestly, I think Grandpa loves this just as much as the girls do, and they of course, think he is invincible.  

  Nonnie day is always a day full of wonder and delight not just for these girls, but for me as well.  They never cease to amaze me with their sharp yet unsophisticated awareness and deep knowledge.  They enrich my life exponentially!