The Garden Thread - February, 2025

February 1, 2025 | Diana in WI/Greeneyes in Memoriam

[Diana in Wisconsin]

When Step #2 was learning to read, we read all of the Little House books together; he would read one page, then I would read the next. It was always SO EXCITING when Pa got to fight a bear or a wolf or an Indian. ;)

I’m still humbled by Laura and Mary being THRILLED to get an orange, a peppermint stick, new mittens and a tin cup for Christmas.

Life should always be that simple! :)

[Liz]

Jam Filled Cream Cheese Cookies / perfect any time of year.

Ing 8 oz bar cr/cheese, at room temp ½ cup butter at room temp 1 cup sugar 2 cups flour 1 tsp salt 2 tsp vanilla 1 lge egg yolk 1½ cups jam, jelly or preserves chunky white sugar to top

Steps Elec/mixer cr/cheese, butter, sugar light and fluffy. On low, add flour, salt, vanilla; just combine (do not overmix). Divide in 3; flatten into disks and saran; refrigerate 20 min. (To do-ahead, wrap and freeze 2 weeks. Thaw until pliable before using.) Preheat oven to 375 deg with racks in upper and lower thirds. Line baking sheets with parchment.

Roll out disks on floured surface to ⅛" thickness. W/ 2" star shape, cut out cookies. Spoon ½ tsp jam in centers. Shape by folding points of star to center. Brush with egg wash (egg yolk, ½ tsp water); use toothpick to press several times in centers to secure middle. Don't bake with toothpicks. Sprinkle chunky white sugar on top. Arrange 2" apart, on two parchmented baking sheets; refrigerate 20 min (re-roll scraps, repeat w/ rest disks). Bake chilled cookies light golden brown, about 15 min, rotating sheets halfway thru. Cool completely on wire racks. (Cover and keep at room temp, up to 4 days.)

[Qiviut]

At Christmas, in my dad’s family, presents were on your plate Christmas morning. Usually it was an orange & a few pieces of hard candy. Being the youngest, dad can remember getting a pair of socks one year in addition to the ‘usual’. I think another year he got a 5 cent sleeve of BBs.

His family did not celebrate birthdays with cake, etc. or even acknowledge the day; although my grandmother’s birth date was remembered because that was the date potatoes were planted every spring.

Dad’s family was ‘rich’ in that they grew & raised all of their food and during the Great Depression, they had plenty to eat & helped out some less fortunate. They raised tomatoes to take to the canning factory & any kid who worked planting & harvesting got a share of the money when the canning factory paid off at the end of the season.

[Qiviut]

To continue a bit with life on the Valley farm ....

Granny had a great vegetable garden. She had salsify in her garden & made the best salsify dish - I loved it ... ‘almost’ as good as her mac ‘n cheese! She cooked a huge meal for Sunday after church & the family (6 kids) ate leftovers a good part of the week. A lot of the food sat covered on the counter - mom & I are still mystified why it didn’t spoil.

There was a spring house to keep things cool that would spoil. The milk from the cows my aunt milked was kept there in crock jugs & Mason jars. My dad loved milk and would run to the spring house multiple times a day. He drank a LOT of milk - our modern recycle bins were filled with half gallon jugs & if you asked him the secret of his longevity (he was 100+ when he passed), he would smile & answer “milk”! The stone spring house with tin roof still stands today & is considered one of the finest examples in the Valley - there is historical interest in it.

The main meat was pork & chicken. They had beef cows & those were a ‘cash’ crop so only 1 beef was butchered for the family a year. Hogs were different - 2-3 were butchered the fall of every year. My granddad made really good sausage. My poor aunt had the labor intensive job of cleaning out/scrubbing the intestines to use for casings. Dad’s job was to administer the coup de grace to the hogs prior to processing. Chickens were eaten as well, but ‘Pop’ (Granddad) would often send my dad out hunting rabbits to spare a chicken. Turkeys were raised to sell & some ducks.

Dad recalled one ‘windfall’ of cash. Pop sent him to another farm (he accumulated 3, one for each son) to shoot skunks - the place was loaded & they would come out every evening in a field to dig around & find food. Dad shot 15 & just let them lay. Pop told him there was a fur trader who might buy them & sure enough, he picked them all up the next day & paid dad $1.00 per skunk .... $15 was a lot of money in those days.

There was an outhouse & I can remember using it as a child ... sort of scary. Dad put in a bathroom for his folks - got up early on Saturday mornings, drove 2 hours & made it to his folks place in time for breakfast, then worked all day & came back home. I don’t know how long he did this, but he dug all the ditches by hand, tunneled under two sidewalks & got the pipes into the house to the point a plumber connected the fixtures. As his folks were getting older, indoor plumbing made life a lot easier (there was water in the kitchen).

My Granny loved flowers & had them everywhere. My dad loved flowers & flowering bushes & I am sure that love came from seeing his mom’s flowers.

Life was much simpler back then but it was a lot of HARD work.

[Augie]

Another week of icky February weather has come and gone here in Central Missouri.

My run of “somebody’s playing with a voodoo doll” luck has continued unabated. Last Wednesday another motorist failed to yield the right of way and made a left turn in front of me. I wasn’t able to stop in time to avoid a collision. Everyone was fine at the scene but it didn’t take long for the shenanigans to start. Before I got back home the rat bastards had called the cops and my insurance agent to accuse me of running the light AND claiming they were injured by the collision.

They are finding out the hard way that Augie didn’t fall off the turnip truck last night. After viewing my dash cam footage my insurance company immediately denied any/all liability. I got a polite “thank you for assisting in our investigation” email from the popo. Naturally I’m getting jacked off by the other motorist’s insurance company (Progressive - big surprise there). My insurance will cover a rental while the Red Menace is in the body shop for a face lift.

With any luck Progressive will do a quick about-face after reviewing dash cam footage and save me the trouble of lawyering up.

I can state with certainty that having and using a dash cam is some of the cheapest “insurance” that you can purchase for your vehicle. Without the dash cam footage I would be stuck in a “he said, she said” position and have no way to prove otherwise.

[MomwithHope]

I love reading all your posts!

[Diana in Wisconsin]

((Augie))

So sorry for this latest hassle; glad your dash cam came through for you! :)

[Pollard]

Well this is kinda cool. Just had a fellow homesteader follow me on X.

[Liz]

Air Fryer Crab Cakes with Chipotle Sauce
Delicious crisp crabcakes can be made w/ codfish to give your budget a break. Not overmixing and resting before cooking helps hold their shape. Serve w/ creamy chipotle sauce for a decadent meatless dinner in no time.

Ing 1 lge egg 1/3 cup mayo 1/2 cup finely diced red bell pepper 2 tbl ea chopped fresh chives, fresh parsley, 2 tsp ea Dijon, Old Bay 1 tsp lemon zest plus 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice Ks/p. 1 pound picked over fresh lump or jumbo lump crabmeat, 3/4 cup panko cooking spray. Lemon wedges, for serving

Chipotle Sauce: Mix 1/2 cup mayo 1/4 cup sour cream 2 chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, finely chopped, plus 2 teaspoons adobo sauce 2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest plus 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice Ks/p. (refrigerate sarraned up to 1 day.)

Directions Whisk egg, mayo, bell pepper, chives, parsley, lemon zest and juice, mustard, seafood seasoning, 1 teaspoon k/salt and several grinds black pepper. With a rubber spatula, very gently fold in crab and panko. Try to avoid breaking up lumps of crab as much as possible. Saran, rest in refrigerator 30 min-24 hrs and up to 1 day to allow panko to absorb more liquid and help bind crab cakes.

Just before cooking, divide crab-cake mixture into 4 portions. Lightly compact each portion to form a patty 3 1/2" in diameter; hold on plate. Preheat air fryer to 375 deg and spray the basket. Place the crab cakes into basket and spray tops. Cook deep golden brown and crisp, flipping halfway through and spraying again, about 16 min. Serve warm with chipotle sauce and lemon wedges.

Copyright 2020 Television Food Network, G.P. All rights reserved.

[FamiliarFace]

I have never thought of making chipotle sauce to go with crab cakes, but I will try this next time, and soon. Thx for the new recipe idea!

[FamiliarFace]

That’s pretty neat.

[Augie]

Thx Diana. Big hassle for sure, but a minor annoyance in the scheme of the universe.

It’s hard to say how much money that $125 dash cam saved me, but I’d venture a guess that, at a minimum, it paid for itself ten times over.

Progressive contacted me late yesterday and after reviewing the video they have assumed all liability for the accident. I’d already decided that their lackadaisical attitude in responding to my needs was not something that I’m interested in dealing with so I’m going to run the claim through State Farm and let them take it to subrogation with Progressive.

My truck left on a rollback bound for the body shop yesterday. Rental vehicle has been secured. Body shop said they should be able to start on it by Monday at the latest. Hopefully there won’t be any hidden damage that would cause them to total it out for safety reasons. I like this truck a lot and would hate to have to replace it.

[Liz]

I had to post the crab cake recipe b/c it was accompanied
by the Chipotle Sauce...........one of my alltime favorites.

[FamiliarFace]

I use my mom’s crab cake recipe, which is very similar to yours, and I’m looking forward to trying the chipotle recipe. Nice change up!

[Liz]

Peppermint Mocha Coffee Creamer
Incredibly easy, amps up your fave cuppa joe w/ cozy chocolate mint flavor.

Ing 1 ½ cups milk, divided 2 Tbl plain cocoa powder 14 oz sweet cond/milk 1 tsp peppermint extract

Steps whisk 1/2 cup milk, cocoa powder over med-low heat. Continue whisking til well blended and milk begins to bubble (about 2-3 min). Add remaining milk, sweetened condensed milk, and peppermint extract. Whisk on low for a min, to fully combine. Pour creamer into qt size serving pitcher w/ lid). Serve, or chill before serving.

Notes Choose the desired fat you prefer. <><>The higher the fat, the creamier the results. <><>Use whole milk or h/cream for the creamiest coffee creamer. <><>Low fat or oatmilk works too. <><>Can use fat free sweetened condensed milk. <><>Fat free milk results in a very low fat creamer. <><>Shake jar vigorously before serving. <><>Store in fridge up to two weeks.

[Liz]

What did you serve aside your crab cakes?

[FamiliarFace]

Homemade tartar sauce usually.

[Liz]

Classic accompaniment.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Happy Veggie-tines Day, Everyone!

[Liz]

Vintage Valentines?