FLOUR

Is everything better with gravy or a sauce?  Actually I could have 

eaten this filet that you see on the plate at right without any topping, but it was Christmas day and I decided to splurge.  So I made a peppery, brown gravy for everyone to enjoy atop their entree.  Is gravy or sauce only for those times when we want an added special touch to a meal?  I think not. No, certain meals call for this flavorful addition and would not be the same without it.  Imagine roast beef and mashed potatoes without brown gravy, breakfast biscuits split open on a plate with no sausage gravy, and spaghetti with no red sauce.  What a difficult thing to imagine!  I remember first learning how to make gravy.  My mom made it mostly when we had something that cooked slowly in the oven like roast beef.  She would remove the meat from the pan.  Then she would put the pan with its drippings on a burner of the stove so it could come to a simmer.  If there was an excess amount of grease in the pan she would skim the liquid first.  Once she thought the entire pan was simmering, she would pour in a watery concoction of flour and water that she had shaken in a jar.  I wondered for the longest time how she knew the amount of flour and water to add as she was good at "eyeballing" her measurements.  Once the drippings, and flour/water mixture began bubbling while she stirred constantly (Mama did not own a whisk.), she would then add any remaining seasonings.  After a few minutes the flour would begin to work its magic and the gravy would thicken, until it reached the consistency she hoped to achieve.  I have since learned that the flour and water mixture is called a "slurry."  A slurry is a mixture of equal parts flour and water mixed or shaken together.  Some cooks prefer to use cornstarch instead of flour, but I know flour works.  Another gravy making method is when you start with a roux.  That is how I made the peppery sauce for our Christmas steaks this year. I did not learn about a roux until I was grown and married.  I started by putting olive oil and a tablespoon of butter in a saucepan.  When I could see the oils getting warm in the pan, I sprinkled in hopefully enough flour to make a paste and began whisking.  The mixture thickened immediately and I moved it around in the pan for a few seconds so the flour could cook.  (My time limit here was all that was needed to make our gravy for Christmas.  However, some people cook a roux longer for a desired color and a different flavor.)  Then I added maybe two cups of chicken broth and two beef bouillon cubes, all the while continuing to whisk.  Once I thought this mixture was combined, I added a generous amount of pepper, a dash of salt, some dried parsley and thyme.  Lastly I added about a one-fourth cup of cream, but before that I will admit to adding a few dashes of Worcestershire sauce.  What can I say?  This concoction needed a little taste of the familiar.  Anyway, it all came together and got spooned over coffee-crusted filets.  If you have never made gravy, you must try.  It is just like anything else, meaning it takes practice.  You can do it, and BOY, is it worth it!

  

& FLOWER

     I walk a lot.  I exercise, while at the same time enjoy nature.  I see a lot during my walks;  flowers, plants, dogs, and birds.  What I have noticed just this week are the trees.  In winter they seem like tall, dark, and lifeless shapes, almost sad from their loss of color.  But I have also witnessed a whole lot of leafy nests, now exposed from the lack of leaf cover.  Squirrels!  Those are squirrels' nests!  That's why there are so many more squirrels in my neighborhood!  

Squirrels' nest made of leaves

     I remember thinking just a few months ago in the hottest parts of the summer that someone must have hit a button and an explosion of squirrels occurred.  I saw squirrels running across the street in front of cars, people walking, biking; scampering up and down tree trunks and jumping from limbs to roof tops.  That's when they were building their nests.  Not that I really mind.  I have done some research to try and refresh what I already know about squirrels.  I know they can be a nuisance to gardeners because they like eating tomatoes.  I've lost a few tomatoes.  Actually I've found some with teeth marks, but not that many.  And I'm not really sure if a squirrel would have been the culprit.  I also know they can make their way inside a home and cause problems in an attic or in the walls by chewing on wires and taking up residence.
     But I have to be honest.  Squirrels are cute.  I mean I cannot resist watching them chase each other and climb round and round a tree or numerous trees.  One of the biggest reasons I believe I see more of them near my home is that the trees in which they love to inhabit are older and larger now, providing safety and seclusion from predators.  I have read that there are three types of squirrels in Missouri; the Fox squirrel, Gray squirrel, and the Southern flying squirrel.  The type I see here is the Fox squirrel, you know, the reddish-brown one with the bushy tail.  When I was little every elementary school student drew a reddish-brown squirrel.
     So I learned a little more about squirrels this week.  I am including two websites at the end that I used for my research, if anyone is interested.  I only wish to share knowledge.  Some of you may be like me in tolerating squirrels because of their cuteness and playfulness.  Some of you may not like them at all.  Some people even invite them for dinner...haha, so to speak.  For however you feel about them, I will share this story.  My husband's uncle used to complain about squirrels foraging for food in his garden.  He claimed to chase off one particular squirrel each day.  Being a gardener like him, sometimes I would visit this uncle and aunt as I did one afternoon.  The uncle said he thought he had finally outsmarted that squirrel because he caught him in a trap earlier that day.  I was shocked to hear this.  I continued to listen at how the uncle put the trap in his car and drove 14 miles away to another community to let this squirrel out there.  When the uncle was driving back he was congratulating himself on his plan and how successful it was.  Then as he told his story, he stopped and looked at me and said, "When I pulled up in front of the house that squirrel had beaten me home because there he sat in the driveway looking at me!"
www.extension.missouri.edu/p/G9455 
www.pestworld.org/pest-guide/nuisance-wildlife/tree-squirrels/ 

 
     Something else I noticed this week was this large hornets' nest (at right) hanging from a tree limb in a neighbors' yard.  Wow, I can't even begin to tell you how scared I would be of the thought of a hive in my yard.  I am allergic.  I understand from reading about them that the worker insects die in winter, but the queen will survive to build another colony in the spring.  If you see one, please be careful and consider calling a professional to get rid of the hive.

 

    

FLOUR 

     It was an orange, a simple, round, vibrant, juicy, sweet orange.  My dad answered a question for me one year at Christmas long ago.  "Daddy, what did you get for Christmas when you were little?"  He said, "Well, I got a stocking that sometimes held a new pair of socks, some kind of toy, two or three sticks of peppermint, and......an orange."  My dad grew up during the Depression in the 1930s.  He lived with his parents and three sisters on a small parcel of land in the country.  They had a cow for milk and as large a garden as long as possible during the growing season.  I didn't think very much of his answer when I was a little girl and remember feeling sorry for him.  I recall thinking that the stocking couldn't have been very big if all it could hold was socks, "A" toy, possibly three pieces of peppermint, and an orange.  It was years later when I remembered that answer and took into account that the money for yarn to make the socks and the toy had to be saved during the year.  And store-bought candy and citrus fruit were not normal commodities for most Depression households.  Saving for these small Christmas tokens presented a challenge for his family and many others.  But they survived, as did many during that time, and like my dad, learned to appreciate what you given.  I imagine that an orange waiting for you at the toe of your stocking back then was indeed a welcome treat.  
     So the following recipe is in honor of my dad, and his orange.

Orange Poppy Seed Bread

ORANGE POPPY SEED BREAD

Makes 2 loaves.  Recipe taken from Junior League Celebration Cookbook.

3 c. all-purpose flour                                       2 Tbsp. finely shredded orange zest
2 1/4 c. sugar                                                     1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract, divided
2 Tbsp. poppy seed                                          1 tsp. almond extract, divided
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder                                 3/4 c. sifted powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. salt                                                        1/4 c. orange juice
3 large eggs
1 1/2 c. milk
1 c. vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease two 8x4 loaf pans.  In large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, poppy seeds, baking powder, and salt.  In another bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, oil, orange zest, 1 tsp. vanilla, and 1/2 tsp. almond extract.  Add to flour mixture and beat with an electric mixer on medium speed for 2 minutes.  Scrape batter into prepared pans.  Bake for about 1 hour or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.  Meanwhile, make the glaze.  In a medium bowl stir together the powdered sugar, orange juice, remaining 1/2 tsp. vanilla, and 1/2 tsp. almond extract until smooth.  Using a skewer, poke holes in tops of the baked loaves.  Pour the glaze over the loaves.  Cool the loaves in the pans for 10 minutes.  Remove the bread from the pans and cool thoroughly on wire racks.

This recipe was taken from St. Henry's Catholic School Cookbook, Charleston, MO, December 2007.

     The flavor of the bread is lightly sweet, as with any poppy seed baked good, with a nice hint of orange citrus from the glaze and the orange peel in the bread.  It is a nice, light treat to have with hot tea, coffee or cocoa on a cold afternoon.
     When I made this recipe, I did not use an electric mixer.  I used a large whisk to first combine the dry ingredients.  Then I used the same whisk to stir together the wet ingredients.  Lastly again using the same whisk I combined the contents of the two bowls together.  Also, I only used 2 cups of sugar instead of 2 1/4 cups sugar.  If you wish to cut back on sugar in this recipe or any other, just taste the batter.

& FLOWER 

     I don't know about other areas, but it seems we skipped from summer to winter here.  I still have some cleaning to do in my front perennial bed, but the cold has stopped me temporarily.  Today it is frigid.
     Some things I have done in preparation of winter include:

1.  Bringing most of my plants into the garage and a few into the house.
2.  Covering the plants in the garage with clear plastic.  The plastic is tacked to the garage wall and it drapes over my plants that sit on or under benches, down to the floor.  Then it is tucked under.
3.  Pulled and disposed of all dead tomato plants. 
4.  Pulled up all stakes, shepherd hooks, and picked up all pots, to bring inside garage.  I did this for all pots; clay, plastic, or otherwise.
5.  Pulled or cut back all perennials after they have dropped their seeds.  There were a few that I scattered the seeds myself.
6.  Our daytime temperatures have been in the twenties for the past three days, so you know the night time temps have been really cold.  I decided to cover my newest nandina plants because of that.  I actually think they could make it through the cold, but covering them insures fewer scars on leaves and helps keep their color.  I uncover them when I think it is safe.
7.  We did lose two pine trees in our back yard this year due to bag worms.  So, I recently purchased a small Colorado Blue Spruce to plant in the yard next spring.  For the time being, this baby will live through the winter on our front porch.  It is actually a nice Christmas decoration as it sits on our front porch with a pretty red bow.
8.  Remember to cut back on watering house plants that have been brought back inside recently with the seasonal change.  If you are unsure about how often to water, sticking your finger in the soil around the plant is the best way to know if the plant could be dry.  I usually go 7-10 days between watering.
9.  At least a couple of times a month during the winter, I will have to pull up the plastic around my plants in the garage and give each one a small drink of water.  It won't take much, but doing so will insure they will make it through this cold season.

     The photo above is a holly tree that is in our back yard.  At least that's what I have always thought it was until my friend saw it and called it a Possumhaw tree.  I have written about Possumhaw before and the photo below is how I usually find it.

     Here in our area it can usually be found along fence rows and in ditches out along country roads.  But research, (What would we know without research?) tells me that a Possumhaw tree is also a type of holly tree.  I can only surmise that our tree may appear healthier than the "norm" for Possumhaw in our area because it is in our backyard and receives intermittent care each year.  It could also appear different because of its variety.  Nevertheless, Possumhaw branches make for excellent decorative branches in outdoor holiday displays.  I cut some branches to fill a ceramic crock on our front porch.  The red berries shown against our white siding make for a festive presentation.

 

FLOUR

Five different batches of  cookies

      Just two days ago I made five batches of sugar cookie dough.  Why?  Well I wanted to get ahead on the cookie baking that I do this time of year.  I also wanted to give attention to the simple sugar cookie or tea cake that does not have an icing.  You know, the ones you want to dunk in your hot chocolate, coffee, tea..... cold glass of milk??  I really like the iced decorative sugar cookie, but I was raised to appreciate a simple cookie as well and wanted to figure out which recipe could become a go-to.  However, it was a difficult job.  I mean who can say no to a cookie?  As you can see from the photograph, I only baked a dozen from each batch.  I even had my husband and some of his employees taste one from each batch to help in the decision making.  Looking at the photograph, the most popular was the fourth from the top.  The top two rows and the bottom row came in second.  The third row fell last.  
     What made one kind tastier than another?  Starting from the top down:
Batch one - This was a sugar cookie that included a mixture of half-and-half and evaporated milk as its liquid.  The liquid combination helped to make these light and pillowy.
Batch two - This was another sugar cookie with similar ingredients as Batch one providing a like taste.  There was no extra liquid which made the cookies short, or crumbly.
Batch three -  These were tea cakes.  Basic ingredients were used with a teaspoon of vanilla and only a quarter cup of milk.  This recipe also made firmer cookies that needed more flavor.
Batch four - These were Amish Sugar Cookies.  This prized recipe included both vanilla and almond flavoring and a mixture of granulated sugar and powdered sugar with the basic ingredients.  I know the flavor ensured it the winner.
Batch five -  Another a tea cake, this batch was aided by the addition of buttermilk, which I believe helped to soften the cookies.  This particular recipe is over 100 years old.
     I still have quite a bit of dough left and will definitely use it to have cookies for friends and family.  I do think I will make balls of dough and roll some of the dough with the least amount of flavor in maybe some cinnamon/sugar mixture or decorative sugar to enhance the taste.  Batch four will definitely be baked as is and I have included it here for you.  The recipe comes from St. Henry's Catholic School Cookbook from Charleston, MO, published in 2007.  I gain nothing from sharing this recipe other than the joy I get from baking.

AMISH SUGAR COOKIES 

1 cup granulated sugar                                          1 tsp. soda
1 c. powdered sugar                                               1 tsp. cream of tarter
1 c. margarine                                                         1 tsp. vanilla
1 c. cooking oil                                                        1/2 tsp. butter flavoring
2 eggs                                                                       1/2 tsp. almond flavoring
4 1/2 c. flour

Combine first 4 ingredients; beat well.  Add eggs.  Beat again.  Add remaining ingredients and mix well.  Drop small balls of dough on cookie sheet and flatten slightly with fork.  Bake at 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes. 
 

& FLOWER 

       To the left is our artificial Christmas tree.  We have been decorating this tree for nearly 20 years after moving into our current home.  It has gradually been weighed down by our many years of ornaments and ribbons cascading vertically one year and wrapped horizontally the next.  Between the middle section and the top one there is a spacial discrepancy like it was manufactured with too much center piping or not enough greenery, but we have learned to compensate with ornaments.  All things considered, this tree suits our needs and our family members do see it as festive, helping to aid in our spirit for this time of year.  Truthfully I did succumb to using an artificial tree because our lives became busier through the years with two growing children.  That's a natural progression that many face.

     However, I still reminisce about the times we had a real tree in our home.  Many years ago when my husband and I were first married, we would go to a local nursery (as pictured at right), grocery store, or lot vendor and purchase a tree already cut that had been shipped in to our area.  That was just fine to do and continues to be a great way to get a real tree for those who want one. We did just that until our two children were big enough to join us and make getting a tree a real family outing.  Not only did we purchase a live tree for a few years, but we would all crowd into my husband's pickup and take a long hilly, adventurous ride on the way.  Later he would cut the tree we all chose with his own saw from the many growing on the farm.  Of course there was some deliberation over height, stoutness, color, etc.  After our son and daughter ran around looking at different choices while we parents attempted to keep up, our tree was then cut, loaded, and we were on our way back home to decorate.
     When I was a child our family would go to a school lot nearby where trees were sold as a fund-raising project.  The purchase would always be done after dark so my dad could come from work to participate and help get the tree home.  However, we would have to wait until the next day to bring it inside, which was torture to a little kid.  It being completely dark when we arrived home, my mom said we would wait until light the next day so a bucket could be filled with wet dirt to hold and stabilize our tree's trunk.  (I do not remember tree stands being available at that time.)  That didn't always work though.  I remember a couple of years in particular when one tree kept slumping over from left to right until my mom brought in a couple of bricks to wedge between the tree's truck and the inner sides of the bucket.  Another year our tree fell all the way over about three times until my mom finally had enough.  She secured a length of wire around the middle of the trunk and then hammered a nail into the wall behind where the tree was supposed to stand.  Then she wrapped the other end of the wire around the nail.  No more mishaps that year!
     I will always look back at all of those days of cutting down or purchasing a real tree with fondness.  The fresh natural pine scent is amazing.  And the GREEN, oh my gosh, the different shades of all the different tree varieties are just beautiful. If you have never experienced a real tree, you may want to at least consider cutting some smaller pine branches for a table vase or to make a wreath for your front door.  Your effort would be completely worth it.