Archive for January, 2010

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Signs and portents

Saturday, January 30th, 2010

This afternoon the thermometer read 36 F in the afternoon sun so I ventured out to the greenhouse and brought in seed trays and ProMix. The lights have been set up down cellar for two months while the earth turned on its axis toward spring, ever closer to the time a sane person might start seedlings.  Today I find I can’t wait any longer – even though the temperature right now is 8.6 F and the ground is hard as iron.

Tomorrow I’ll start:

Blue Vervain – Stratify, needs light to germinate; can take up to a month

Mautitanean Malva (Mallow) – start early, thin to 3′

Queen of the Meadow – surface sow in moist area, stratify/chill in fridge 1 week, slow to germinate

Southern Charm Verbascum – takes 2 – 3 weeks to germinate

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Mom’s pound cake

Thursday, January 28th, 2010

Tonight I wanted to use the rest of the eggs that Carrie sent up from Portland. We’ve been doling them out, enjoying the bright yellow color and “stand up” quality to the white that are particular to cherished backyard poultry. We buy very nice eggs in the market, but they’re just not the same. Time to make Mom’s pound cake recipe.

This recipe is entirely easy. It requires one bowl, your mixer (hand or stand, doesn’t matter), common ingredients and is always dependably delicious. It does require one “secret” ingredient (lurking in the background of this photo) – 8 oz of soda. My mother’s recipe lists Fresca, but I’ve used Mountain Dew, Cherry Coke and, in this case, a pony can of Sprite that happened to be hiding in the pantry.

Ingredients
  • 1 1/2 C butter (Yes, I know. It’s a pound cake – it’s going to have butter. And the recipe says “softened” but you know butter wouldn’t soften in my house in January without a blowtorch, so melted works fine.)
  • 3 cups sugar – Put all the ingredients in bowls so you can pour them in while mixing.
  • 5  eggs – Really good ones from your friend’s chickens if possible.
  • 1 teaspoon almond extract
  • 1/2 tsp lemon extract (although you can go nuts here. Orange? Anise?)
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • OPTIONAL If you’re not sure about your soda’s fizzy quotient, it is not cheating to add 1 tsp. baking powder.
  • 1 cup Sprite, 7-UP, Or Sierra Mist, or anything fizzy and sweet

Preheat oven to 340 degrees.

Dump the melted butter in a large bowl. Add the sugar, 1 cup at a time, mixing after each addition. Add eggs, 1 at a time, mixing after each addition. Add  extracts and mix well. Add flour, 1 cup at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add soft drink, then mix together until combined.

Pour into a greased bundt pan and bake for 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes, until the cake is browned on top and fairly firm.  This is a lot of batter, but has never overflowed my bundt pan – I do put a cookie sheet on the rack beneath just in case.  Remove cake from oven and invert pan until cake drops out.

Occasionally I add fruit to this recipe. Tonight’s version has dried strawberries for the yum.

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Study on Jacopo Carucci Pontormo

Tuesday, January 26th, 2010

“The Deposition”

And now, for something completely different, my warm-up page for this drawing. Sadly, I didn’t get to use the hat.

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Stuffed naan

Friday, January 22nd, 2010

Flatbread dough filled with a soft herb/cheese/onion mixture – this is  an easy recipe if  a little messy ( as all the best ones are). When I make this dish for company I finish the breads ahead of time and warm them, wrapped in foil, in the oven. This is a vegetarian version, but ground lamb is a popular addition. Actually you can use any combination of ingredients for the filling as long as the result is fairly soft and smooth – hard bits will force their way through the soft dough and spoil the surface.

Stuffed Naan

naan step 13 3/4 C unbleached white flour (I make some of this up with chapati (chick pea) flour and whole wheat to add flavor, but all white flour makes a dependable texture), 1 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt, about 1 1/4 C plain yogurt, unsalted butter for brushing the finished breads.

Put all the ingredients except the butter in the bowl of your food processor and process until the dough follows the blade around in a ball. You may need to add more flour, or yogurt. This dough isn’t fragile and some extra whapping around won’t hurt it.  Dump the dough out on to a floured board. It will be soft and sticky, but try to gather it up into a ball (you may have to push it around some with a little extra flour), and put it in an oiled bowl in a warm place to rise for about an hour. This is not a yeast dough – the time will temper the gluten in the flour but it won’t appear to rise.

Meanwhile, make the filling. In a medium bowl mix: 1 8 oz farmer cheese (or paneer, ricotta, small curd cottage cheese), 2 Tbs fresh parsley, cilantro to taste, 1/4 C sauteed onion and 1 C cooked potato. I generally make naan in conjuction with a curry, so I cook the potato and onion for that as well. Leftovers work fine, too. Mash everything together thoroughly – you should have a dry, sticky mix that won’t ooze out of the bread, or stick up through the dough.

Heat an 8 – 10″ frying pan or cast iron skillet over medium low heat – add a little vegetable oil if it’s not seasoned. Keep in mind that the pan will need to go under the broiler in a minute, so no non-stick surfaces or wooden handles allowed. Dump the dough out on to a floured board and divide into five or six balls. Some people make lots of small breads, but it takes a lot longer that way. I like to make a size that just fits in my frying pan. naan step 2

Roll a ball out to about 6″ in diameter, and drop a healthy amount of filling on the center – about 1/4 cup. Keep the rest of the dough covered so it doesn’t dry out. Gather the edges up in pleats to the center and twist slightly to make a spiraled top to your dough ball of filling. Which is a great name for a band. Flatten the ball, flip it over and roll it out to the size of your pan. Now you see why you want a soft filling.

naan step 3Turn on your broiler to low. Pick up the bread and place it in the hot pan, shaking slightly so it doesn’t stick. Cook until the underside is nicely browned. Now put the pan and all under the broiler and turn off the burner. Make another naan.  In a minute (or few), the top will puff up and develop brown spots.naan step 5 Pull the pan out and slide the bread onto a cutting board. Race back to the stove and turn the burner on, slide the next piece into the pan. Now go back to the first naan and rub the top with a stick of unsalted butter. Cut into wedges and serve to the first lucky participant with a bowl of spinach curry and sides of yogurt and mango chutney.

Next week I’m going to try this recipe with a banana chocolate filling and powdered sugar on top. I promise to take pictures.

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Study on Rubens, via Loomis

Wednesday, January 20th, 2010

Andrew Loomis wrote a lovely, useful and rather dated book entitled Fun with a Pencil – How Everyone Can Easily Learn to Draw. It’s a wonderful book, and he’s not lying. “Start with a circle”, he says, “it doesn’t matter if it’s as lopsided as the family budget, it will work”. He continues to chatter and encourage through nose lines and foreshortening, mocking up whole interiors in two point perspective and illustrating types through racial stereotypes. His books are a rare sort of useful fun; a combination of how to draw big ears and freak hats with accurate information about how the human body hangs together – and how to draw its shadow.

I took a few nights off and drew exercises out of the book. When I’d had my fill of bushy eyebrows and huge ears (Loomis is inordinately fond of drawing old men), I tried a study of Rubens, “Rape of the Daughters of Leucippus”. Sisters Phoebe and Hilaeria were abducted by Castor and Polydeuces, and of course their cousins Idas and Lynceus avenged them, killing Castor and starting the chain of events that led to the Trojan War. This is the most popular scene in that long chain because it involves beautiful half-draped women being swept up on horseback, or grappled with, or clinging to, swarthy men. I think this Rubens is the most intimate interpretation: note how Hilaeria’s and Lynceus toes are rested together, and her hand on his foot. In many places the participants are locked together like puzzle pieces, trapped by the horses rearing dangerously close.

The painting suited my purposes nicely – all that force and direction expressed in twined limbs and rounded flesh is the perfect exercise for the theory that all animal action can be drawn from a foundation of spheres and dissecting lines.  So, Rubens via Loomis:

study on rubens 1 2010

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Seed Order 2010

Saturday, January 16th, 2010

pine cone bits seeds 007My Fedco seeds order arrived today, and I spent the morning clearing off the work table down cellar. Tomorrow I’ll fill some seedling trays with ProMix and check the bulbs in the bank of shop lights. Not that I’ll actually start seeds tomorrow – although I used to plant flats just after Christmas and have hedges of tomato plants by the time they could safely go out (around these parts) in late May. That way lies madness and I’ve reformed. I can stop any time I want. Really.

Here’s a list of the packages in the box. I have new acreage to plant this year, but not a lot of soil to be distributed. I went heavy on greens and other categories that won’t mind dirt on the poor and skimpy side, not a lot of things with taproots or a need for deep humus.

Every year I plant out at least 50 seedlings of a particular perennial (or generously self-seeding annual). My original thought was that, at a projected 50 more years of gardening (that was 10 years ago), I would have an abundance of a few beautiful plants that I otherwise would not be able to purchase in such quantity. Some years the experiment is a success and the Elecampne is a striking and vigorous presence in the garden every year. Sometimes not so much, and the boneset – a lovely plant much favored by the bees – disappears completely after a few years. The “100 specimen” plant for 2010 is Blue Vervain:

Blue Vervain OG Verbena hastata This 5–6′ perennial grows naturally in the moist soils of thickets and meadows and will do well in similar garden conditions, sending up many terminal spikes of bristly blue-violet flower clusters the entire season. Although scraggly, it blends very well with many kinds of flowers by stretching its spikes amongst them. Herbalist Gail Edwards finds it “a powerful spiritual presence” and nervous system tonic. Similar to V. officinalis, but more alterative, vervain acts mainly on the liver and lungs. Also used for menstrual disorders. Its roots are more active than its leaves. Likes light well-drained moist soil. Zone 3. OT-certified. ~2,500 seeds/g.

Wish me luck!

238BB-Bush Blue Lake 274 Green Bean (A=2oz) 1 x $1.30= $1.30
297MP-Multicolored Pole Bean Mix (A=1/2oz) 1 x $1.30= $1.30
658SQ-Silver Queen White Sweet Corn (A=2oz) 2 x $2.00= $4.00
798LG-Legume Inoculant (A=treats 8lb) 1 x $4.00= $4.00
818GT-Oregon Giant Snow Pea (A=2oz) 1 x $1.30= $1.30
974DO-Sweet Dakota Rose Watermelon OG (A=1/16oz) 1 x $1.80= $1.80
1311BO-Boothbys Blonde Slicing Cucumber OG (A=0.5g) 1 x $0.80= $0.80
1409RV-Raven Zucchini (A=1/8oz) 1 x $1.70= $1.70
1504SF-Saffron Summer Squash (A=1/8oz) 1 x $0.90= $0.90
1655BH-Blue Hubbard New England strain Winter Squash (A=1/4oz) 1 x $1.10= $1.10
1719NE-New England Pie Pumpkin (A=1/4oz) 1 x $0.80= $0.80
2018TP-Tonda di Parigi Carrot (A=1/8oz) 1 x $1.20= $1.20
2073SK-Shin Kuroda 5" Carrot (A=1/8oz) 1 x $0.80= $0.80
2079KO-Scarlet Keeper Carrot OG (A=1g) 1 x $1.10= $1.10
2186BB-Bulls Blood Beet (A=1/8oz) 1 x $1.00= $1.00
2376GB-Gold Ball Turnip (A=1/8oz) 1 x $0.70= $0.70
2411SO-King Sieg Leek OG (A=1/16oz) 1 x $1.60= $1.60
2510SP-Space Spinach (A=1/4oz) 1 x $1.00= $1.00
2775FO-New Red Fire Lettuce OG (A=1g) 1 x $1.10= $1.10
2784FO-Flashy Green Butter Oak Lettuce OG (A=1g) 1 x $1.30= $1.30
2859MR-Majestic Red Lettuce (A=1g) 1 x $1.00= $1.00
2992ME-Mesclun (A=1g) 1 x $1.00= $1.00
3158GI-Gigante dItalia Parsley (A=1/16oz) 1 x $0.70= $0.70
3218SP-Senposai (A=1/16oz) 1 x $1.20= $1.20
3221TS-Tatsoi (A=1/16oz) 1 x $1.10= $1.10
3223YN-Yokatta-Na (A=1/16oz) 1 x $1.20= $1.20
3252TZ-Toraziroh (A=1/16oz) 1 x $1.20= $1.20
3326BB-Broccoli Blend (A=0.5g) 1 x $1.50= $1.50
3339GU-Gustus Brussels Sprouts (A=0.5g) 1 x $2.50= $2.50
3469KM-Kale Mix (A=2g) 1 x $1.50= $1.50
3885KS-Krimson Spice Hot Pepper (A=0.1g) 1 x $1.90= $1.90
4117PO-Principe Borghese Cherry Tomato OG (A=0.2g) 1 x $1.20= $1.20
4207JT-Juliet Tomato (A=0.2g) 1 x $1.80= $1.80
4233JS-Jet Star Tomato (A=0.2g) 1 x $1.90= $1.90
4418GB-Genovese Basil (A=2g) 1 x $0.90= $0.90
4517RO-Caribe Cilantro OG (A=1g) 1 x $1.00= $1.00
4542MM-Mammoth Dill (A=4g) 1 x $0.90= $0.90
4692BO-Blue Vervain OG (A=0.1g) 1 x $1.30= $1.30
4698SW-Sweet Woodruff (A=0.2g) 1 x $1.20= $1.20
5094CC-Canary Creeper (A=1g) 1 x $1.10= $1.10
5141SM-Sensation Mix Cosmos (A=1.4g) 1 x $0.90= $0.90
5224HM-Mauritanean Malva (A=0.15g) 1 x $0.90= $0.90
5275KO-Kniolas Purple Morning Glory OG (A=0.25g) 1 x $2.30= $2.30
5282EI-Empress of India Nasturtium (A=3g) 1 x $1.00= $1.00
5296TC-Tall Climbing Mix Nasturtium (A=4g) 1 x $0.90= $0.90
5357GD-Gloriosa Daisy (A=2g) 1 x $1.00= $1.00
5442CU-Cupani Sweet Pea (A=2g) 1 x $0.90= $0.90
5500WD-Weld (A=0.2g) 1 x $1.20= $1.20
5774JO-Jobs Tears OG (A=2g) 1 x $1.10= $1.10
5963SO-Northern Sea Oats OG (A=0.2g) 1 x $1.20= $1.20
6120BF-Blue Flax (A=1g) 1 x $0.90= $0.90
6266QO-Queen of the Meadow OG (A=0.02g) 1 x $1.20= $1.20
6322VH-Southern Charm Verbascum (A=0.02g) 1 x $2.50= $2.50
6333BM-Beneficials Mix (B=7g) 1 x $7.50= $7.50

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New work

Friday, January 15th, 2010

Bangor in the snow: the corner of Merrimac and Water Sts.

merrimac and water st december

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The ones that got away. . .

Sunday, January 10th, 2010

This another post about a lost painting. Parts of it are quite lovely, but the situation has been lost and “the center cannot hold”. For some odd reason I feel better about these failed efforts if they can make one last blog post on their way out. I grow zinnias, french marigolds and cosmos every summer; perhaps I’ll even find the green globe vase and try again.

bad painting

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Antisthenes says…

Friday, January 8th, 2010

… that in a certain faraway land the cold is so intense that words freeze as soon as they are uttered, and after some time then thaw and become audible, so that words spoken in winter go unheard until the next summer.  ~Plutarch, Moralia

The forecast is for temperatures in the single digits over the weekend. We knew it was coming – we’ve had a very mild season so far and we knew it wouldn’t last. But now the snow that fell in fluffy drifts last week and blew everywhere like dust has been rained on a frozen, sculpted into odd patterns and compacted into concrete. This weekend we will be that faraway land where winter is silent and sounds thaw in spring.  I need a reminder of what is under that featureless layer of white, all over the garden.

Campenula and PinksCampenula  growing between seedum and dianthus in the alpine bed.

midwinter astilble and gunneraAstilbe and gunnera growing in the lower garden, near the swamp.

elecampne tree peonyElecampne growing on the stairs, over a tree peony.

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Good dinner.

Tuesday, January 5th, 2010

That’s what everybody at our house calls this dish. It’s a mix of vegetables sauteed in olive oil over couscous, served over salad greens and topped with feta cheese – easy, fast,  fairly cheap and not too bad for the Growing Boy.

couscous 004

First, make couscous. Typically you add 1 C couscous to 1 C boiling water and a little salt. Cover the pot and turn off the heat, allow to stand 5 minutes before fluffing with a fork, cover and let stand until ready to use. This amount feeds the three of us (in this recipe) without leftovers.

For the vegetable mixture:

2 zucchinis, matchsticked: cut each squash into 1/4″ discs and then pile the discs and slice into little sticks. You’ll also need 1 red bell pepper and 1/2 an onion, diced, other cooked vegetables as you wish: asparagus, cauliflower (yellow or purple is nice), green beans, snow peas; and 1 serving for each person of salad greens.

couscous 001You’ll also need the nicest Herbes de Provence you can get your hands on. I have a friend who went to a French cooking school and brought me back a little jar of herbs that has been a whole education for me just in itself – I don’t know what I’ll do when they’re gone.

Saute the onion and pepper in a good quantity of olive oil (3 Tbs) until softened but not browned. Add the zucchini and cook until soft, adding more olive oil if it is absorbed. Add the cooked vegetables and stir until blended and heated through. Sprinkle generously with the herb mixture and a little sea salt.

couscous 003

Add the couscous and stir gently. Serve by mounding the mixture on a layer of salad greens, top with feta cheese. Strips of heated nan are a nice accompaniment. If the mixture is dry, I add a small amount of salad dressing just before serving.

Good dinner!

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