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.