Let's Get Planning

There's a blizzard outside, so what better time than now to start planning my garden? Each year I keep a journal so that I can evaluate what worked well and what didn't. This helps me plan for next year. I keep track of the seeds (variety and source) that were planted, seasonal conditions such as temperature and rainfall; pests that occurred; and the success of the harvest. Every season is different, and depending upon numerous factors there are always some plants that do well and others that do not. Sometimes it's a new variety of a vegetable that fails, and other times it may just be the weather conditions (too wet or too dry) of that particular summer. Last year, my tomatoes did very poorly and stayed green even til the first frost. Of course I will not give up on growing tomatoes, but I may buy from a different supplier or try a different location in the yard.

An invaluable tool in my journal is a sketch of the garden with the location and planting dates of  each crop. In addition to helping me remember what types of greens are popping up in each row, it's  useful for planning next year's garden. I make sure to rotate the crops to different locations in the garden. This helps deter pests and also is better for soil fertility as different plants take and return different nutrients to the soil.

Too often, I don't give enough thought to planning and end up buying too few or too many (more likely) seeds. It's hard to look at the seed catalogs in the winter and not get carried away with thoughts of a future bountiful harvest. I frequently end up with several unopened packets because I run out of space. This year I hope to plan better. 

There are excellent resources available on the Web to assist the backyard gardener. The Organic Gardening's Spring Planner includes when to start seeds indoors and a gardening bed grid that can be printed and used to draw your garden to scale.  It also comes with a template for a daily spring gardening journal. The Gardener's Supply Company Kitchen Garden Planner has a cool tool for planning a raised bed. Simply select, drag and drop selected plants. When you are done, you have have a beautiful design along with planting tips. Mother Earth News also offers a garden planner for a $25 a year subscription which you can try for free for 30 days at motherearthnews.com/garden-planner/. So, with all these helpful planning tools, there's no reason not to get started today.

Breakfast for the Birds

On weekend mornings, I find it very relaxing to sip my coffee while looking out our bay window at the birds enjoying their breakfast.

Some people don't like blue jays because they can be aggressive and may scare other birds away. Since blue is my favorite color, I admire their brightness and don't mind them being around at all.

Everyone seems to love cardinals, especially in the winter when their red color stands out against the white background of snow. Here is a female above and a male below sharing the feeder with a goldfinch.

Below, slate colored juncos are content to peck at the seeds that have dropped on the ground.

Below, a junco has decided that the feeder has more to offer, and the cardinal agrees. For the most part the birds are all polite, sharing the feeder or waiting their turn.

For the most part the birds are all polite, sharing the feeder or waiting their turn.

A chickadee waits on top of the pole for the junco to finish (left) and a tree sparrow shares the feeder with a cardinal and chickadee (right.)

I always make sure to have suet in the winter. The woodpeckers love it. On the left is a female downy woodpecker. On the right and below is a red-bellied woodpecker. Its name seems odd to me since its reddish-orange head is most prominent and its belly is yellow.

Below, a tufted titmouse samples some black oil sunflower seeds. I like this feeder, but it really isn't suitable in winter, without some sort of cover since it easily fills with snow and ice.

Finally, the last birds to arrive are the turkeys. They seem to know when the other birds are done. They will scratch at the snow to find whatever may have been spilled by he other birds.

Kabocha Squash and Quinoa

I picked this squash up at the winter Farmers Market a couple weeks ago. I was looking for a butternut, but ended up buying a Kabocha instead. This was my first time cooking with this type of squash. I found that it was easy to prepare and had a delicious flavor. First, I cut it in half, removed the seeds, and placed it in a bowl with a small amount of water. Then I microwaved it on high for 5 minutes. Doing this made it easy to remove the flesh from the skin before cubing and sauteing.

Ingredients:
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1 small onion chopped
1 cup quinoa
1/2 medium kabocha squash
3 Tablespoons butter
1 Tablespoon flour
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 cups vegetable or chicken stock
1/2 cup shredded gruyere cheese
rosemary, salt, pepper
Cook quinoa according to package directions. Saute mushrooms and onion in 1 T butter and 1 T oil. Remove. Heat another 1 T butter and 1 T oil and saute squash until softened. Season with rosemary, salt and pepper. Add to the mushroom mixture. Melt remaining butter, then stir in flour and cook for about a minute over low heat until it begins to thicken. Slowly add warm stock, stirring continually. Set aside. In a casserole dish, layer half each quinoa, cheese, vegetable mixture, stock and repeat. Top with additional cheese. Kale (shown here) or spinach can also be added between layers. Bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes.

New Hampshire Mac and Cheese Bake Off

After visiting the Concord Winter Farmer's Market, I stopped at Starbucks to relax and enjoy a latte. On their bulletin board was this sign. What a great idea, free coffee grounds just for the asking. Starbucks is benefiting by reducing their waste disposal costs, and members of the community can benefit by having easy access to a great addition to the compost pile. 

While sipping my coffee, I picked up and started reading the current edition of The Concord Insider, a free publication of happenings in the Concord area. This one was titled "The Dairy Issue". Included were several articles about local dairy farms. 

Since it was around noon-time, I was intrigued to read that from 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM there was to be a Macaroni and Cheese Bake Off at Concord's Courtyard Marriott Grappone Conference Center. The event was being sponsored by Granite State Dairy Promotion. Well, I had to eat anyway, so called my husband to meet me there for lunch. I wasn't quite expecting the length of the line or the wait due to the room filling to capacity so quickly, but eventually we were let in. Some people in line choose to leave and missed out on some great food. Perhaps next year they will need to operate on a reservation only system to avoid that problem. There were over thirty chef tables set up, all serving some variation of mac and cheese in one of four categories: Traditional, Creative/Exotic, Restaurant, and NH Made.

It was obvious that a lot of work was involved by each contestant to prepare enough mac and cheese for the 500 to 700 attendees. Although the tasting cups seemed small at first, there were still plenty of carbs available for consumption.

With cranberry sauce and stuffing, this "MacGiving and Cheese" recipe tasted just like the holidays

Mixing old recipes with new ingredients results in a creative and exotic dish

Early registrants received free cheese from Cabot Creamery which was also offering free samples to tasters.

And, of course, milk was offered as the refreshment

At the end of the event, a designated group of judges selected a first, second and third place winner in each category and the public tasters were able to vote for the People's Choice Award. A Grand Champion was then selected from the winners of each category. 

For 2015, that honor went to the Tilton-Northfield Fire Department. Congratulations!

I'm glad that I stumbled upon the article about this event. It was a lot of fun. And the best part, was knowing that it was supporting local dairy farms, which in New Hampshire, have been reduced from 829 in 1970 to the present 120. If you aren't purchasing your dairy from small family run operations, then consider widely available brands such as Hood, Oakhurst or Garelick that receive their milk from regional farms.

BPA Alternatives May Not Be Safer

You feel good about your water bottles because they are "BPA Free." That is, they are manufactured without the chemical bisphenol-A. According to medical studies, exposure to BPA is a concern because of possible health effects on the brain, behavior and prostate gland of fetuses, infants and children (Mayoclinic.org). Other studies have shown that some BPA does leach into food and drink from containers. Although the FDA has said that BPA is safe at very low levels contained in some foods, the  results from a recent study conducted at the University of Calgary showed that the supposedly "safer" alternative bisphenol-S also resulted in hormonal imbalances and hyperactivity in maturing zebra fish, even at very low levels of exposure. Obviously, further research should be conducted in order to assess impacts on humans, but consumers should be cautious when purchasing plastic containers for food or liquids. Particularly when labels frequently will state that they don't contain BPA, but do not identify what chemical components are used. Although heavier and subject to breakage, glass containers are both healthier and environmentally safer.
   

Tilton Winter Farmers Market

Exit 20 off I-93 in New Hampshire may be best known as the entrance to the Lakes Region, or, if you are a bargain shopper, the exit to the Outlets. But on Saturdays, during the winter, just a short drive west brings you to the busy Tilton Winter Farmers Market. So busy in fact, that there was actually a policeman directing traffic at the entrance.

From the outside, the appearance is not of your typical farmers market, as it is housed in a building formerly used by AutoServ, a sponsor of the event. But, once inside the building, the atmosphere is clearly that of a traditional New England Farmers Market. The building's three separate rooms and two floors, accommodate a host of vendors selling a wide variety of products. A few of the vendors I have seen at other New Hampshire markets.

Live music encourages visitors to browse, sample products, and engage in conversation.

At each market I have gone to this winter I have been able to purchase something new which encourages me to try new recipes. This time it was five  different varieties of beans, selected primarily because they looked interesting.  

The Root Seller/Comte Family Farm display of dried beans all grown on their farm without chemical fertilizers or synthetic pesticides.

The following is a modified vegetarian version of a recipe provided with my purchase. The original included cooking the beans with a ham bone. Dried beans are extremely nutritious being loaded with protein, vitamins and minerals. They also are high in both soluble and insoluble fiber. Soaking the beans overnight and draining, and then also discarding the liquid after the beans are cooked will help remove the complex sugars and reduce the gaseous properties often associated with bean consumption.

Beans, Rice and Kale

1 pound dried beans (e.g. Tiger Eye)

2 carrots sliced

1 stalks celery chopped

1 medium onion diced

2 cups fresh chopped kale

14.5 oz can crushed tomatoes

salt and pepper

Soak beans overnight, drain. place beans in large stock pot, cover with water, add 1 teaspoon salt and simmer about 1 1/2 hours. Add tomatoes, carrots, celery and onion and cook for 45 minutes or until beans are tender.  Add kale, salt and pepper and simmer for another 15 minutes. Serve with brown rice.

Earth is Closest to the Sun this Morning (Perihelion)

If you are feeling a little chilly this morning, you can take comfort in knowing that the earth reached its closest distance to the sun early this morning in the northern hemisphere. This seems contrary to what one might think since we have just entered the beginning weeks of winter. Apparently being three million miles closer to the sun is not significant as far as temperatures go since it is actually the tilt of the earth that determines the seasons. And in that regard, we are shifting closer to the sun and eventual warmer days! A great resource for tracking celestial activity is EarthSky.org.

After two weeks of bare ground, we finally woke up to snow this morning.

Unfortunately, and what seems to be happening more frequently, the snow turned to sleet and then rain. The high is supposed to be 46 degrees today. As always, the ice makes for some unique shots.

I also awoke this morning to some chirping that I have not heard in a while. When I looked over at our bird feeder there were several American Goldfinches in their winter plumage.

In northern regions goldfinches will migrate south and it seems that it has only been in recent years that we now see these birds in the winter in New Hampshire. Perhaps these came down from Canada?
Welcome 2015. I can't wait to see what nature has in store for us this year.