You Know it is Springtime in Wisconsin When

Sunshine feels warm.

It is possible to stand outside for more than 5 minutes talking with the neighbors without shivering.

Joggers switch to wearing shorts, and they actually look sweaty.

The pellet stove can be turned off for the afternoon.

Even with the pellet stove off, it is warm enough in the house to take of the 2nd t-shirt.

The dog starts panting when she stands outside in direct sunlight.

The winter's production of dog poo reappears in the yard, and it thaws enough to be scooped off the lawn.

The 5' snowbank at the edge of the driveway melts, and the garden reappears.

The magical sound of Harley Davidson motorcycles roll down the street.  (One exception is the Harley two doors down, which sounds like an asthmatic with bronchitis.  I hope the neighbor actually gets the carburetor cleaned this year.  It hurts to hear such an exquisite piece of machinery running badly.)

The smell of barbecue grills firing up fills the air.

Looks like it is time to prune the apple trees again before they sprout leaves.  It is time to go enjoy some sunshine.  Have a lovely Sunday.

Garden List

Kymber asked, so here it is.  We are still enjoying eating the bounty from last summer.  Although I don't like winter hanging on so long, I am in no hurry to start gardening either.

Note that not all these plants & seeds will be planted in my garden.  Some will be planted in mom's garden, and some might be planted in dad's garden depending on what seeds he buys and how much space is left over.

The only seed I wasn't able to find at the store this year was the yellow and purple striped bush bean called Dragon Tongue.

Plants to buy:
(Some folks start them indoors, but my cat ate my seedlings is a valid excuse in this house.  We can't get rid of her though, because she eats mice too.)
Roma tomatoes: 24 plants
Mountain Fresh: 12 plants
Yellow beefsteak: 6 plants
Red Brandywine: 1 plant
Yellow Brandywine: 1plant
Early Girl: 24 plants
Yellow Pear Cherry: 6 plants
Sunsugar Orange Cherry: 3 plants
Jalapeño peppers: 6 plants
Chinese Eggplant - maybe
Some flowers to put in the hanging planter @ mom's back door.

Seeds ready and waiting:
Mild Radish (from neighbor)
Crimson Giant Radish
Black Spanish Round Radish
Kohlrabi, Early Purple Vienna
Black Magic Zucchini
Spinach, Bloomsdale Longstanding
Turnip, Purple Top White Globe
Swiss Chard, Lucullus
Beet, Ruby Queen
Beet, Early Wonder
Cucumber, Armenian
Cucumber, Muncher Burpless
Carrot, Hybrid Envy
Carrot, Rainbow Blend
Carrot, Danvers Half Long
Carrot, Imperator
Carrot, Nantes
Pea, Oregon Sugar Pod II
Pea, Sugar Snap
Sweet Corn, Golden Bantam
Pumpkin, Musquee de Provence
Pumpkin, small sweet pie
Pumpkin, green heirloom (old seed)
Tomato, Super Italian Paste
Tomato, Martino's Roma
Bean, Earliserve Bush Green
Bean, Scarlet Runner pole
Bean, McCasian Pole
Bean, Goldmarie Romano pole
  (I have been looking for a yellow pole bean,
   and finally found one.)
Bean, Purple Pod Pole (produces earlier than green pole beans)
Bean, Blue Lake Pole
Bean, Kentucky Wonder pole
Bean, Baby Lima (old seeds)


Herb seeds:
Lemongrass (to be planted in a pot and brought inside in fall)
Basil
Sage (It has been very cold this year.  There are no guarantees that the plants growing in my yard lived through winter.
Thyme, winter
Cutting Celery
Epazote (It will be planted a pot to keep it from taking over.
   I have heard it is good for limiting the gas produced by dried
   bean dishes.  Do any of you have advice regarding this one?)
Summer Savory
Sweet Marjoram
Dill Seed
Cilantro/coriander
Borage:

Flower Seeds:
Orange Marigolds
Chinese Chrysanthemums
Nasturtium, Alaska
Black Eyed Susan
Small Sunflowers
Blue Columbine
Morning Glory
Large Yellow Sunflower
Zinnia

Ancient seeds from mother's hoard:
(The sell-by dates range from 1996 to 2001.  It makes sense to give them a nice burial.  If any resurrect, so much the better.)
Veg:
Tomato, Better Girl Hybrid
Tomato, Quick Pick Hybrid
Tomato, Patio Hybrid
Tomato, Large Red Cherry
Squash, Table Queen
Cabbage, Early Golden Acre
Squash, Dark Green Zucchini
Squash, Straight-neck Early Yellow
Lima Bean, Henderson Bush

Flowers:
Four O'Clocks
Aster
Forget-Me-Not
Alyssum, tall
Alyssum, short
Snapdragon
Gypsophila
Shasta Daisy
Sweet William
Helichrysum
Petunia
Cleome
White Gaura

Brownies with Chocolate Chips, Pecans, & Hazelnuts

Brownies with Chocolate Chips, Pecans, & Hazelnuts:

This makes a 8"x8" pan or double the recipe to make a

9"x13" pan.  The pan in the picture is actually 9"x6 1/2", but not many people have one of those.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 Cups Sugar

3/4 Cup Flour

1/2 Cup Cocoa

   (Use a mixture of approximately 2 parts regular cocoa,

   non-alcalized and 1 part Dutch processed.)

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 C non-virgin olive oil

2 tsp. vanilla

3 eggs

Optional Toppings:  Pick a few of your favorites.

1/2 - 1 Cup chocolate chips

Pecans

Walnuts

Hazelnuts

Peanut Butter Chips

Butterscotch chips

Flaked Coconut

A few dashes of popcorn salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 deg. F.  Sift together dry ingredients.  Dump in eggs, oil, and vanilla.  Stir by hand with a strong spoon only just until mixed.  Do not mix the chocolate chips into the batter; they sink and stick to the pan, which is a horrible waste.  Pour batter into oiled pan and sprinkle toppings evenly over the batter.  If desired, sprinkle a little popcorn salt over the top; this goes especially well with the nuts.  Bake 40-45 minutes, just until a knife inserted in center barely comes out cleanly.  They should be fully cooked but not overdone.  The end result should be crispy and chewy on the edges and soft in the center.  If you use a small pan, everybody can get an edge piece.

Neighborhood Sounds

It is never completely quiet here.  That is the nature of city life.  The sounds become so familiar that if a few are missing it becomes noticeable.  The gurgle of the aquarium, the hum of the refrigerator, the whirr of the pellet stove fan, the roll of traffic all drift into the background.  It is amazing how quiet the house becomes if there is a power outage, or if it is a Sunday afternoon and people aren't out driving past on our street.

Occasionally, some sounds stand out.  It was a lazy Sunday afternoon.  Chloe was pretending to guard her post at the top of the stairs (very lazy horizontal guarding) to prevent the cat Tigger from invading the upstairs, because she might do something truly horrible like lick the dog's food bowl and leave cat drool behind.  The quiet was interrupted by a Yip-Yip from the little dogs two doors down.  Ginger, one of the next door neighbor dogs replied with a Bark-Bark.  Then Chloe replied with a half hearted deep growl - rrrrr.

It went on...
Yip-Yip, Bark-Bark, rrrr
Yip-Yip, Bark-Bark, rrrr
Yip-Yip, Bark-Bark, rrrr
Yip-Yip, Bark-Bark, rrrr

They couldn't hear her, but Chloe had the last word every single time.  It made an interesting dog chorus.  Wonder if anyone will do a sequel to the song Who Let the Dogs Out?  What I heard on Sunday would make an interesting rhythm track.

Potato Pancakes

For those cold winter days when you want to swallow hot food and feel it warm your insides all the way down.

Potato Pancakes:
6 medium to large potatoes, shredded and drained
2 eggs
1/4 Cup flour
1/8 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
dash pepper
1/2 Cup milk
1-2 Tbs instant mashed potatoes, dry
3 Tbs non-virgin olive oil
Canola oil for cooking

Instructions:
Peel, dry, and shred the potatoes.  Sprinkle them with fruit fresh as you are shredding them to reduce oxidation.  If you can find one, a shredder like the one shown below works very well.  If you don't have one of these and/or prefer to use a food processor, shred the potatoes, then take about half of them and put them back in the food processor to chop for a few pulses.  Drain them through a strainer into your mixing bowl, pour off the liquid and keep the starch.  

Mix all ingredients thoroughly, and fry them in shallow oil, or use a non-stick waffle iron lightly brushed with canola oil if you want a lower fat version.  Enjoy!

In Honor of the Farce

of an awards ceremony called the Oscars,

we are watching the movie Oscar.

It was trashed by the critics,

but still somehow managed to be the number one movie for two weeks straight.

I do wish Stallone did more comedy roles.

Select lines
"He conned me out of his money."

"Time for some java and sinkers."
(Now I'm hungry for coffee and doughnuts.)

"My father would be proud, I got my money back and nobody got shot."

"Whatever happened to love... to romance?"
"Whatever happened to waiting?"

"That's the best husband you could find?!"
"He passed the physical; he's breathing."