I have read two books this winter and I thoroughly enjoyed both of them.  But before I continue to sing their praises, I want to make it known that I am not profiting in any way from either one.  I only want to share this knowledge in case any of you want to read them as well.

     Deep Run Roots, Stories and Recipes from My Corner of the South, by Vivian Howard is an amazing book.  It is way more than a collection of recipes.  If anyone has seen her program, "A Chef's Life," on PBS, you know that Ms Howard made the decision to expand her knowledge of local Eastern North Carolina ingredients by talking to farmers and growers of livestock.  Their own experience of how certain vegetables are grown or animals are raised is also included into each broadcast. She additionally has visited and prepared food favorites with family, neighbors, and local cooks.  In this written collection, Ms Howard has taken all of her wealth of information and prepared it literally for your enjoyment.  Her experiences are shared genuinely and honestly, often with a humorous anecdote for each ingredient plus she tells its whole farm-to-table story. Then recipes for each ingredient follow with her own delicious spin.

collard greens

  I will admit that I never learned to eat greens (except spinach and kale), but Deep Run Roots has a couple of recipes with collard greens that might make a believer out of me!



My second book has been the memoir, Make Something Good Today, by Erin and Ben Napier of Laurel, MS.  I am really proud of these two.  This book is a personal reflection of how these two amazing people grew up, found each other, and decided to spend their lives in business together; only one of which is the popular HGTV show, "Home Town."  Their respect and devotion for each other, values, morals, work ethic, and creativity give a lot of insight as to why their program is successful.   Congratulations Ben and Erin!  Your show makes me want to visit Laurel.

FLOUR

     Who's made strawberry bread?  Recently I followed a strawberry quick bread recipe and scooped the batter into a muffin tin instead.  They turned out well despite the change.  I often try different things at the last minute.  

strawberry muffin

     There are actually several recipes for strawberry quick breads on the Internet.  The recipe I used was basic: flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, egg, vegetable oil, and strawberries with about a fourth cup of their juice.  I believe any basic quick bread recipe that allows the addition of fruit would work. Some of the recipes I've read call for frozen berries in order to make this bread any time of the year. Since I used fresh strawberries purchased from a local store, I went ahead and incorporated the two cups of sugar my recipe called for.  Had the berries been seasonal and come from a local grower, I would have used less sugar.  Some recipes call for the addition of toasted pecans or walnuts.  I did not add chopped nuts this time, but may do so in the future.  The only other thing to consider is color.  Depending on your berries, sometimes strawberries do not bake as red as they seem before entering the oven.  A few recipes I read suggested the addition of red food coloring.  It's your call, but I would not add more than one teaspoon.
     I believe this bread is versatile enough to be made into large or small loaf pans or baked into muffins as I did.  For my muffins, I just adjusted the baking time as you would have to do if baking in a container different from what your recipe specifies.  I thought the bread I made had a wonderful, slightly sweet strawberry taste.  It made me think more of the coming of spring.

 

& FLOWER

      I know many of you have purchased amaryllis bulbs before.  This is one I had a few years ago that my sister-in-law gave me.  

blooming amaryllis

  

     If you have never kept the bulb so it would bloom again the following year, it is actually quite simple.  When the blooms die, go ahead and cut the stem back to within an inch of the bulb and continue treating the amaryllis like it was any other house plant.  Here's where I tried something different.  When the weather was warm, I planted this bulb outdoors in one of my flower beds.  That's right.  I just dug a whole and placed the bulb in the ground and covered it up.  I do remember letting the very tip of the bulb show.  All summer long the bulb grew several leaves, was fertilized, received adequate sunlight and watered like the other flowers and shrubs nearby.  When fall came, I dug the bulb and let it dry in a dark place inside my garage for a few weeks.  I was not timely about getting it out for the holidays, even though I think it would have done well regardless.  After Christmas I potted the bulb and began treating it like a house plant again.  The red blooms you see in the photo above  were my reward.  It just takes a little patience and remembering what those long green stems are growing in your flower bed.  It can be done, and is well worth the effort!

 

While on a trip once my husband and I saw these amaryllis bulbs and what we know as "Easter lilies" blooming in an actual bed.  Granted they were surviving in a tropical climate, but as you can see, with the right temperatures, it can be done.