March 28, 2019 by ricki

spring green

This cookbook came into my life a couple of Christmases ago and it has spurred me to try new things. Most of them have been successes that have joined my own repertoire. Spring being asparagus season, the velouté in the soup section called to me.

Now doesn’t that just look like a bowl full of Spring?

Even considering the chaos left behind in the kitchen, the silky texture and delicate taste were well worth the trouble.

Now…if you are moved to leave a comment (and I adore getting comments) please do not be put off by the ominous “fatal error” message. I haven’t the skill to fix this annoying problem. On the up-side, your comment will appear nevertheless, so please ignore the nasty warning. Who knows what WordPress is up to here: seriously, if you have any ideas for a fix I will be eternally grateful.

August 25, 2016 by ricki

o, the light! the light!

One night each year, Joy Creek throws a party to celebrate its wonderful customers and to share the sights and scenes that twilight brings to the gardens.

We used my ‘Spinnaker’ banners to mark a few spots where the lighting effects seemed especially dramatic.

Monica tied in all sorts of festive streamers and little brass bells.

Many grasses wore halos of light for the occasion.

People wandered or broke into small groups to chat and exclaim

while the music of the Brian Christopher Jazz Quartet lured many to simply sit and listen (though their strains could be heard throughout the gardens)

And there were treats, of course. If you live anywhere in the area, do yourself a favor and put this on your calendar when it rolls around next year.

August 18, 2015 by ricki

belated bloom day ending in a vase

Datura from seed

Still enjoying the results from seeds generously provided by Botanical Interests at the Portland Fling. I sowed Datura seed in several pots. Each bloom is short-lived, starting out like this early in the day.

By early afternoon, it will have fully opened. Pam (Digging) has some mysterious evening shots you won’t want to miss. She mentions the scent, which I failed to notice. The next blossom to open is definitely getting the sniff test.

The seed pods are nearly as interesting as the flowers. I am allowing them to go to seed. They are very easy to grow from seed, and I will obviously have enough to share. If you want some, just let me know.

Anemone ‘Honorine de Jobeert’

I look forward all year to the late appearance of Anemone ‘Honorine de Jobert’.

Anemone ‘Honorine de Jobert’

She towers regally above her shady companions and the buds (little balls) are as interesting as the full blown flowers.

Kirengeshoma palmata

New to me this year is Kirengeshoma palmata. Some things are well worth the hunt.

Dahlia ‘Sunshine’

Because I lost Dahlias to gophers last year, I put new ones in pots. They are less showy than they would be in a border, but you do what you have to do.

Same story with the lilies. I was so impressed with the lilies at the Portland Fling that I just HAD to have some. Out of several that I planted, this was the only one to produce a flower, and it was not the deep, rich orange I was after…one of the dangers of growing from bulbs or seed.

Dianthus gratiannopolitanus

One of the truly xeric plants is Dianthus, so I’ve been adding them here and there in the hope that they will survive no matter what the weather gods throw at us. The thing is, they have a heavenly scent…so I put a few of them in this planter near the front steps to seduce visitors (and me) with their clove-like aroma.

Abutilon megapotamicum

Nearby is an Abutilon megapotamicum that has vining tendencies, unlike the more upright versions.

Bat-faced cuphea

How cute is this? Bat-faced cuphea.

Crocosmia “Emily McKenzie’

You can see by the sunburned foliage in the background that the Crocosmia have not fared so well in this hotter than usual summer, but ‘Emily McKenzie is blooming after skipping last year…so what are we to make of that?

Phygelius ‘Moonraker’

How subtle is this? Phygelius ‘Moonraker’ is one of those quiet presences so easy to overlook.

Now let’s look at a posy of field daisies that makes a nice centerpiece for a luncheon out under the trees.

They won’t last long, but placed into the square red vases, they make a statement about nature’s contribution to a luncheon “en Pleine air”.

This is what happens when writing a post after a long day and a couple of glasses of wine. I forgot to add links to Carol (May Dreams Gardens) for Bloom Day and Cathy (Rambling in the Garden) for In a Vase on Monday.

November 21, 2014 by ricki

flying dragon marmalade

These are the fruits on Poncirus trifoliata ‘Flying Dragon’, otherwise known as hardy orange. I have written about this small tree many times. Last year one of you blogging buds suggested using the fruit to make marmalade. The thought had never occurred to me. I had always thought of them as purely ornamental, maybe even poisonous.

Well, once planted, it was a thought that grew on me. At the same time I was picking the last ripening tomato and the first ever huckleberries, I decided to give it a go.

A search for Weck jars took me to Sur La Table, where I found these little Italian jobs that appealed to me even more. They have a single, rather than two-part, lid, but otherwise are treated the same. I later found a full array of Weck jars and bottles at Schoolhouse Electric.

I’ve had these two charming books for a long time, so they’re probably out of print.

Sloe Gin and Beeswax is a feast for the eyes. Its recipes use metric measures, but it addresses all kinds of esoteric ingredients, like medlars.

Even it made no mention of Poncirus fruit, but I pieced together a recipe from several sources. Covering the fruit with water, I simmered them for about an hour. Once they had cooled, I halved them, scooped out the pulp and seeds into a small pan and cut the peel into strips. Add the juice and seeds (the seeds act like pectin) of one lemon to the small pan, some water to cover and simmer for fifteen minutes. Strain off the juice into a large pot, add the peel, 4 cups of water and 4 cups of sugar. Bring to a furious boil until it reaches 220 degrees F. I stirred in some toasted walnuts and whole coriander seeds. Process like you would any jam. The result is not to everyone’s taste (but then you could also say that of marmalade in general). I consider it something of a gourmet novelty and will gift it to only the very most special people.

Are you growing anything that presents a culinary challenge? If so, I would love to hear about it. And if it was you who suggested this adventure, I thank you.

July 29, 2014 by ricki

a mystery is solved

One of our favorite things to do in the summertime is to dine with friends out under the cherry trees. Guests never fail to question the metal bar that extends between the two trees. We never had a good explanation, but Harper figured it out on sight. See her reaching up?

With a little help from her mom, Noami, she put the mystery bar to good use.

Meet Harper Grayson McClure, aka our little bumblebee (when you are almost three, costumes are not reserved for Halloween). R took her on a tour of the veggie garden (his domain), where she zeroed in on a ripe yellow sweet pepper, which she munched on as if it were a sno-cone.

Of course she was interested in her tribe: the bees that were busy working over the lavender walk.

And then we all settled down to enjoy our dinner “en pleine aire”. Isn’t summer grand?

September 21, 2012 by ricki

mystery jelly…and other treats

Can you guess the source material for this delicate, clear pink jelly? All will be revealed at the end of this post, but I’ll talk about some other things first, so you can have a chance to ponder. Here’s a hint: nature offers up bounteous supplies of it in late summer, with no help from humans.

Finally, the tomatoes are beginning to produce. The new pressure canner got a real workout yesterday: plum jam, pear/apricot conserve, dilled beans and tomato sauce are beginning to pile up in the pantry.

R always has to try at least one new variety of tomato to go along with the ‘Pineapple’ and the ‘Black Prince’. This year it’s ‘Great White’, which ripens to a mellow yellow and is meaty and delicious. Each mature fruit fills up one’s whole hand.

Note to self: plant more beans! I grew up not liking green beans, because my mom’s cooking method involved large pods spending a long time on the stove with the addition of pork belly. The first time I experienced tiny, tender beans barely blanched and tossed with fresh basil, it was a revelation. One tepee of pole beans is hardly enough to sate my newfound passion.

Not all recipes handed down from the ‘Betty Crocker School of Homemaking’ have the same connotations. Case in point: a layered salad made up of a layer of drained, pickled beets, a layer of drained pickled green beans, a layer of Best Foods mayonnaise, a layer of chopped green onions and a topping of crumbled hard-cooked eggs. In a glass bowl, it looks quite festive. For several years, It was impossible to find dilled green beans commercially, so last year I decided to make my own. When family members spotted it on the holiday table, a cry of “The Salad!” let me know that I was not the only one who had been missing it. I used some of the leftover brine from earlier pickle making and got the extra beans from the Farmers’ Market.

Time to fess up and reveal the source of the pretty jelly…Queen Anne’s Lace! The recipe showed up in The Oregonian a couple of years ago, and it seemed so strange that I simply had to try it. Start by picking a huge bouquet and settling down at an outdoor table where you can shake each stem vigorously to dislodge the little green spiders living in there. Snip the blossoms close to their stems until you have 2 firmly packed cups. Put them in a bowl and cover with 5 C boiling water. Cover and steep for 15 min. How anyone came up with this recipe is beyond me, because at this point what you will have is a smelly, murky green brew. Strain off the liquid. In a large pot, combine 4 1/2 C of the liquid. Mix 1/4C sugar with 1 pkg SureJell “no sugar needed” and stir in. Bring to a full roiling boil, stir in 3C sugar and boil for another minute. The mixture will magically turn that lovely color. The flavor is as mysterious and delicate as you can imagine…great on homemade bisquits.

August 27, 2012 by ricki

outdoor dining: catch it while you can

I was meeting a friend for lunch. Our first choice was Tara Thai, where a magnificent heritage tree shades the large deck. As it turned out, they were closed Mondays. No problem…nearby is Meriwether’s, where you can tell from the outside somebody in charge cares about plants.

While no where near as dramatic as the heritage tree, there is no lack of leafy shelter for the large outdoor dining deck.

So in we went, asking for an outdoor table.

This is a popular fair weather destination, so I was glad we had planned on an early lunch. Best to get reservations if you plan to eat here.

There are varying levels of exposure to the sun, and the whole space is enclosed and shielded from the street.

With plantings all around the perimeter and special touches like a pair of these giant urns flanking the entry and a gurgling fountain centrally located, it feels like a garden party (with a sound level to match, making quiet conversation a challenge). Meriwether’s maintains its own farm, so the salad greens are a wonder of crisp freshness (a little underdressed for my taste). This was a favorite haunt back when it was L’Auberge and then The Woodstove. This latest incarnation is less a culinary experience and more a place to revel in one of Portland’s rare perfect days.

Each McMenamins Theater Pub has its own character, while the signature funky/artsy approach is a constant. Their domed building in St Johns was moved here after doing duty at a Worlds’ Fair. The inside of that dome is paneled in wood and is where movies are shown.

The grounds are not as meticulously kept as at, say, the Kennedy School property, but this unusual oak lording it over the parking lot lets us know there is a plantsman afoot.

The vibe here is casual/friendly. You can see that it makes Richard happy. The pub-grub is unremarkable and the spinach salad was swimming in dressing…best to ask for it on the side (am I hard to please, or what?)

Mature trees and shrubs create a nice sense of enclosure.

A variety of textures keeps it interesting.

A few outstanding specimens were unknown to me. I loved this one.

I think that is a tamarack tree in the center of the above shot: something we don’t see every day. All of the foliage keeps this space cool and pleasant. No AC in the theater, but by nightfall it was time to take what was left of our beers inside to watch Snow White and the Huntsman (pure escapism).

Portlanders flock to outdoor tables the minute the sun comes out. I don’t really see the attraction of sitting on the sidewalk with cars rushing by. We needn’t settle for that with these two oases (and many others) offering leafy alternatives. Of course, a streetside seat on any corner of 23rd Avenue is prime real estate for people watching.

August 23, 2012 by ricki

buried in cucumbers

I’ve been in computer hell all day, trying to set things right after a hack attack. Grrr. A quick post linked to Wendy’s Garden to Table Challenge should calm me down. See that pile of cucumbers? That’s one day’s harvest from the four little plants I raised from seed. Last year during canning season I steamed up the whole house day after day. My mission this year was to find a better way. On line I learned that a pressure “cooker” would not suffice. A pressure “canner” is now the only approved method to arrive at a pantry full of safe food. Well, that’s just silly: homemakers have been putting up goodies since time immemorial using a hot water bath, as have I. Still, since mold can be a problem around here, I went on a quest for a pressure canner. They ranged in price from $160 to $250. Back to my old steamy system…but then…TADA!

THIS beckoned to me from the shelves of trusty old Fred Meyer, Scappoose, where the homelier arts prevail. 100 bucks was beginning to look downright cheap, and after applying a couple of coupons to an already reduced price (don’t they know that canning season is in full swing?) I could justify going for it. Much as I hate an accumulation of different tools for every conceivable purpose, I must admit that this one nearly earned its keep with just one batch of pickles. My other system: a stock pot with a cake rack on the bottom, would only hold three pints at a time. This thing takes on seven. See what four little cucumber plants can drive you to?

June 23, 2012 by ricki

season of plenty

I hadn’t been able to find my favorite basil, African Blue, at any of the farmers’ markets, but a quick trip to Garden Fever solved that. I picked up the two plants on the left, plus the French tarragon next to them, plus a few other things ( you know how that goes). The other three pots, on the right, are pepper plants that were 99 cents each at the Linnton Feed & Seed. Sooo…lots of future goodness there. The sugar snap peas are the only thing direct from my garden, the first of a couple of weeks of daily harvest. They will go in stir fries, be dipped in various concoctions, added to salads and chomped on straight from the vine. Everything else is from the market, and it’s the fava beans I want to talk about. They take some preparation, but shelling beans during the cocktail hour is a pleasant task to share. Then they go into boiling water for about 3 minutes, a cold water bath, and then there’s still another step. Slit the outer jacket with a fingernail and pop out the tender bean inside. Thinly slice some shallot and brown it in oil, then prepare Israeli couscous (I use Bob’s Red Mill) according to the directions on the package. Meanwhile, make long, thin strips of lemon zest and juice the lemon. At the end, throw in the beans, the shallots and lemon juice to taste, salt & pepper & garnish with the zest and some fresh mint. I know so many people that are trending vegetarian lately that I was happy to find this meatless main dish.

We had a handful of strawberries from our own patch, and they were better even than the local berries direct from the farmers market. The next morning I went out thinking that a few more would have ripened. The deer had beat me to it. I guess unless we dedicate a covered bed to strawberries, we will have to be satisfied with the next best thing.

Visit Wendy for more food talk, and join in if you like. It’s a great place to find inspiration.

May 31, 2012 by ricki

garlic scapes

The flower buds of the garlic plant can be treated much like asparagus: steamed, roasted, fried. I like to split it into quarters, tip to stem end, then finely chop. It can then be added to all sorts of things. The taste of garlic is there, but somehow fresher, greener, more spring-like. The first thing I did was add it to a browned butter sauce for filet of sole with some lemon zest and juice.

But this was the dish that got rave reviews. I had some spaghetti left over from the night before (open a jar of tomato sauce from last year’s crop, boil some pasta and Voila! Dinner!). Some dark sesame oil, a few red chili flakes, soy sauce, rice vinegar, the garlic scapes, fresh peas in their pods (cut on the diagonal) and some red bell pepper. A sprinkling of toasted sesame seeds.

One of the things I love about Wendy’s Garden to Table Challenge is the way it challenges us to be more attentive to the little inventions in the kitchen when using fresh ingredients from the garden (or market). Then, of course, we can visit others who have taken up her challenge and find inventions we never would have thought up on our own.

sprig to twig

eating & drinking