In the Garden

June 6, 2013 by KTgreen

I have many different gardens here at Perfect. Vegetable, butterfly, shade, sunshine, white and blue–to name a few. And lots of blooming pots. But my very favorite plants are those that I get for free! Yippee! Those that people give me or I root from existing ones.

My neighbor Mary Jane has probably given me more plants than anyone else. And I usually can’t remember their names although she does tell me what they are.

Mary Jane’s husband dug these plants up by the side of the road decades ago. They are invasive so I keep them in the garden where I keep those kind of plants. They are sweet and only last a short while.

She also gave me these lilies a few years ago and they bloomed for the first time this year. Probably took them a little longer than usual because I had to move them around! They just didn’t like all that direct sun in the first place I put them. They are very happy now. Pretty, pretty, pretty!

In the Garden

Several years ago Mary Jane gave me a “Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow” plant. And I preceded to kill it. I thought it didn’t like the sun so I moved it to the shade and then it didn’t like that so it had to go to another spot. Mary Jane gave me another and told me to quit moving it around–they don’t like that. So finally, I stuck it in my shade garden and this spring it bloomed for a moment.

Two friends in Katy, Texas give me plumerias. And Mary Jane also gave me two. All you need is a limb off of a plumeria. Put it in a pot of soil, keep it watered and you’ll eventually have a plumeria. Several of mine are so big now I had to take them out of the pots and plant them in the ground. They are tropical plants so it we get a freeze they are goners. That’s why I keep some smaller ones in pots to replace if necessary.

In the Garden — These were just limbs last fall. Now they are plants!

We had such a mild winter this year that the large plumerias started leafing out in February but then we had a really cold spring that knocked them back. Last year they bloomed in May but now they only have leaves on them. The largest and oldest one is just getting buds.

Considered an invasive plant, the spiderwort grows along the road and in fields. I love it. My first spiderwort just showed up in my shade garden bed one day and now I have a whole bunch of them. Yvonne also gave me several that I planted in another area and they are slowly multiplying. Have I mentioned a hundred times that blue is my favorite color?

Yvonne also gave me a night blooming jasmine. It doesn’t have big blooms but the smell is exquisite when I’m taking Maggie out for her bedtime walk. And Yvonne gave me Carolina Bluebells which were doing great and then just DIED! I didn’t do it. Really. So Yvonne–I need you to give me some more.

Vera gave me pagada plants. I had seen them in back yards at Southern Woods golf course and wanted them bad. They took a few years to bloom and also will take over if you let them. Which is okay with me. The butterflies love them. They are just starting to bloom but here’s what they looked like last September.

InThe Garden Michelle has given me several plants, too. One is a lily that refuses to bloom. She’s also given me a few succulents–that the squirrels absolutely adore. Nibble Nibble Nibble. And just as a gift that she thought I’d like she bought me a shooting star hydrangea which is gorgeous. Yes, I do like it. A lot.

My neighbor Sue just asked me to watch her potted plants while she’s gone for a few months. One is a huge pot of succulents. No squirrels–you may not munch on it. I’m keeping it in the screen room. And I think I’ll be stealing some of those to start my own. Never give up!

I received a big pot of beautiful plants when my dad died. While lovely, I couldn’t have indoor plants at the time because I was traveling too much. So in desperation, I stuck them in one of my flower beds. Many years later, the peace lilies have taken over. Another beautiful spot!

In the garden

Next week, I’ll show you how to start plants from ones you already have!

Adventures in the Kitchen with Michelle, Chicken with Preserved Lemon

June 5, 2013 by KTgreen

A while ago I posted preserved lemons and I said I’d be back to show you what to do with them. A logical choice for the sweet and salty version is to simply lay a couple of slices on some fish (salmon is nice). Wrap in a pouch of foil and bake for 20 min or so at 350deg. A little rice pilaf and a salad on the side – so very good.

This recipe I pulled from Williams Sonoma and changed a couple of things. It was really tasty, and good for you too.

Braised Chicken with Preserved Lemons

Step 1: gather up..

1 Preserved Lemon*

1-1/2 tsp Coriander Seeds

1-1/2 tsp Cumin Seeds

1/2 tsp Cinnamon

1/4 tsp Cayenne Pepper

1 Chicken (about 4# whole or cut up)

1/2 tsp Ground Pepper

2 Tbl Olive Oil

1 Yellow Onion, chopped

2 Garlic cloves, minced

2 tsp Tagine spice*

1 can (28oz) Diced Tomatoes, drained

1 cup Chicken Broth

1 can (15oz) Chick Peas (garbanzo beans) drained

•Preserved Lemon; short cut. Slice a lemon very thin and layer in a dish with salt and let sit while the rest of the dish cooks. The lemon is added near the end.

•Tagine Spice; You can buy this at W & S, but that’s a hour away so I made my own of standard pantry spices. I guessed at the amounts using the list from the product description. My Tagine spice Mix: 2 tsp Paprika, 1 tsp Ground Ginger, 1 tsp Tumeric, 1/2 Ground Blk Pepper

Step 2: Take the coriander and cumin seeds, and toast them in a small pan. Careful, just until you can smell them a bit and the cumin seeds turn a darker green. This changes their favor slightly and is way better than the ground versions. Crush them in a mortar pestle or a coffee grinder (whatever you use to grind stuff).

Step 3: Make up your Tagine Mix. Combine with the other spices in a small bowl.

Step 4: Cut up the chicken and remove as much of the fat as you can and leave some of the skin. Heat the oil and brown the chicken in a dutch oven…a large pot, not a new kind of range… so if this is a French made pot, I guess it’s a French oven!? If you bought a whole chicken, cut it up and brown the back pieces as well. But then move them off to be cooked for stock – they don’t make for good eats at dinner. Set the chicken aside and sweat the onion and garlic. Then add the spices and sauté for just a few seconds. This ‘blooming’ step makes the spices come alive.

Step 5: Add in the tomatoes and broth. Scrape the browned bits from the pot and then add the chicken back to the pot. Simmer for about 40 min.

Meanwhile, decide what kind of rice to put on the side. Normally, I use standard yellow rice, but I thought I’d show you a new find. This wild rice combo is great all by itself. The package is pricey, but it goes a long way. This is really good along side grilled meat of most any kind.

Step 6: Cut up the preserved lemon into a fine dice. Oh – the smell! So lemony…summer in a jar. The rind is almost gelatin like, and the salt has removed the bitter edge to the taste. Like nothing I’ve ever had before.

Step 7: After the chicken has simmered, add the lemon and chick peas and cook another 5-10 min.

Finale: Plate it up and dig in. The chicken is healthy after the skin is pulled, and the meat just falls off the bone. This taste of Morocco is a nice diversion from the average weekday meal. And now you know what to do with that jar of preserved lemons you made.

Enjoy.

Michelle @ www.badzoot.com

The Chassahowitzka Salt Marsh Trails

June 4, 2013 by KTgreen

Local Places, Local Faces

So we’ve got this great birding trail right around the corner from us. Seriously great. Three birding trails, a picnic pavilion, a kayak dock, a viewing tower that we climb to gaze out at the Chaz. And we seem to be the only ones that use it! Well, we did see a few surly teenagers that were playing some kind of war game back there once. Probably “airsoft” which has scary looking weapons and ouch producing pellets.

After visiting the Chassahowitzka Salt Marsh Trails numerous times and posting about those visits more than once, I realized I didn’t know much about it. So with a little research on the Internet, I stumbled across the website for the Friends of Chazz and discovered that they are responsible for this beautiful retreat.

According to their website, this project was completed on approximately 10 acres of the Chassahowitzka National Wildlife Refuge property and is the only land accessible property in the Refuge System. After completed, the Friends donated it to the Crystal River Wildlife Refuge.

There are no restrooms or drinking water on the property. Also, you need to know that the kayak launch is about ¼ mile from the road and if you want to use it, you will either need to carry your kayak or bring a cart–no vehicles allowed.

As I said before, the view from the tower is awesome. And it’s practically our own private park! But we’ll share it with you. The trailhead is on Mason Creek Drive, about a mile out of Old Homosassa. Whether you are a bird enthusiast, a photographer, or just want to take a short walk on a beautiful trail, you should check it out.