Garden Details and My New Camera

My Pirate gave me a new Canon Rebel camera last week.  And I’ve been out taking pictures, whenever the rainstorms pause, with a huge grin plastered across my face like a five year old at Disneyland.  

My new camera is able to capture details like this stink bug, Banasa dimiata. It patiently posed on a castor bean blossom until I captured just the right shot. 

Banasa dimiata on a castor bean blossom

My November garden is a counterpoint of beautiful foliage and dead leaves.  The Spike Winter Hazel, Corylopsis spicata, is putting on a beautiful show.

Corylopsis Spicata

The dead hosta leaves are interesting to look at.

A cascara tree leaf, Rhamnus purshiana.     

                                                            

This snowberry, Symphoricarpos albust, is going to take a trip to the compost heap next spring.

I came across this leaf composition resting on top of an Acanthus leaf.

The kousa dogwood is one of my favorite trees with it's three seasons of interest.  

Right now, my young tall stewartia tree, Stewartia monadelpha, is my favorite tree, even though the sun burned it's leaves this August. I might need to move it to a shadier spot.

The rugosa roses reached over seven feet tall this year and now the foliage is turning gold.

This summer I added Japanese forest grass, Hakonechloa macro 'Aureola', seed heads to many of my bouquets.  

And ostrich fern fronds that died in the drought.

And Japanese anemone seed heads.

And even branches of the twenty four year old japanese maple that is a foundation planting in our neighborhood.

Only two more days until December and the hardy banana is still pushing out a new leaf.

The chocolate cosmos are still blooming up a storm.

And so are the hardy fuschias. 

Frost, where are you?

My Favorite Autumn Garden Moment

My favorite autumn moment has arrived in our garden.  The tips of the Pagoda Dogwood,

Cornus alternifolia

, are adorned with pairs of golden leaves that look like tiny butterflies fluttering in the breeze.  

Misery Loves Company and Turkey Barley Soup

Sometimes, when you share germs with the person you love, the only thing to do is to slump onto the couch in your pj’s, blow your nose, watch movies, and slurp homemade turkey barley soup together.  This weekend we collapsed under the weight of our snot production and I made a simple soup with our leftover turkey and a few odds and ends.  It was the perfect meal at the perfect moment for both of us, which is a rare and beautiful thing.  And we still have some left for tomorrow.     

Turkey Broth

Leftover roasted turkey carcass cut in half

1 head of garlic, chopped in half horizontally

6 whole peppercorns

parsley, several sprigs

kosher salt

water

Place all of the ingredients together in a stock pot and fill it up with water about an inch from the top edge.  Place it on a burner and turn it on high.  Bring to a boil and drop back down to a simmer on medium—medium low heat.  Spoon the scum off the top of the water for a few minutes, then let it simmer for approximately four hours.  Add water to the pot as needed.  Taste and strain.

Turkey Barley Soup

1 onion, diced

2 stalks of celery, sliced

1 tablespoon of butter

1 tablespoon of olive oil

3 carrots, sliced

3 cups green cabbage, chopped

¾ cup barley

pot of turkey stock—I used one gallon

3 cups large diced left over turkey meat

5 drops of lemon juice

salt and pepper

Sweat the onion and celery in butter and oil for ten minutes.  Add sliced carrots, barley, and cabbage.  Then add the turkey stock.  Bring to a boil and drop to a simmer.  Simmer for fifty minutes.  Add the turkey meat.  Cook for ten more minutes.  Add five drops of lemon juice.  Taste.  Season.  Serve. 

Even The Assistant approved!

Giving Thanks and Sweet Potato Jalapeño Soup

As much as I love to cook for people, I choose to keep Thanksgiving an intimate gathering.  I spend the day with my two favorite people and dogs.  And I whip up a Thanksgiving feast, off the cuff.  No traditional family recipes and no practice runs.  My Pirate receives a free turkey from work and I prepare it differently every year.  So, Thanksgiving in our home is a culinary adventure filled with laughter and suspense.  

Sweet Potato Jalapeño Soup

On Tuesday, I was thrilled to discover Applewood Restaurant and Bar's Sweet Potato Jalapeño Soup recipe on Facebook.  I copied it before they came to their senses and I made it for our first course today. It’s a sweet and spicy soup that celebrates the sweet potato in a fun new way without those awful marshmallows. In fact, we filled up on soup instead of dessert, so we’re all going to have Teddy’s Apple Cake for breakfast!

Happy Thanksgiving! 

Sweet Potato and Jalapeno Soup

from Applewood Restaurant and Bar

3 lbs. sweet potatoes (or yams) peeled and coarsely diced

1 medium onion, coarsely diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 jalapenos, seeded and coarsely chopped--I grilled mine first to add a smokey dimension

6 cups vegetable or chicken broth--I used homemade chicken stock

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup half and half

Salt and pepper to taste

2 tbls. butter

Fresh cilantro, chopped

In your soup pot, sweat the onions, garlic, and jalapenos in the butter, until they are translucent.  Add the sweet potatoes and broth and bring to a boil over high heat.  Then reduce the heat and simmer for approximately 15 minutes, until the sweet potatoes are tender.  Turn off the heat.  Puree the soup.  Then stir in the brown sugar, half and half, and salt and pepper.  Taste it.  Then serve it garnished with cilantro. 

Serves: 6

Warm Snickerdoodles

I reward my delivery drivers and repair technicians with treats.  I usually hand out warmed brownies that I keep stashed in my freezer and run through the microwave for thirty seconds.  But today, I had frozen snickerdoodle dough in the freezer, so the Sears delivery team received fresh hot cookies straight from the oven.  And they were so efficient that they almost didn’t get their cookies.  I had to run the cookies out to their truck right before they left. 

Snickerdoodles are best when they are served warm.  Last week, when My Kid was over for dinner, I served snickerdoodles fresh out of the oven for dessert with a glass of ice cold milk. And he marveled over how great they tasted and I told him how I freeze the cookie dough, all set to go. Then you can pull out several cookies at a time to bake to share with those you love, your dog, or even the Sears delivery guys. 

Snickerdoodles

From the Better Homes and Gardens Cook Book

Prep: 25 minutes      Chill: 1 hour

Bake: 10 minutes per batch

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

½ cup butter—add 1/4 a teaspoon of kosher salt if you use unsalted butter

1 cup sugar

¼ teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon cream of tartar, heaping

1 egg

½ teaspoon vanilla

 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

In your mixer, beat the butter for about a minute until it softens and then add 1 cup of sugar mixed with the baking soda and cream of tartar. Mix until it combines and looks fluffy.  Add the egg and vanilla and mix on low until it comes together.  Then beat in the flour until it just barely forms into a dough.

Chill for a minimum of one hour.

Mix together 2 tablespoons of sugar with 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon in a bowl. Using a 2 tablespoon scoop, scoop and roll out cookies.  Then roll through the cinnamon and sugar.  Place in a freezer box and freeze for up to 2 months.

To bake, spread out the dough balls on a cookie sheet and let the dough unthaw for a couple of minutes.  Then place the cookie sheet in the oven and bake for 10 to 11 minutes.  I bake them until the edges turn ever so slightly brown because I prefer a crisp edge.   Let the cookies cool for only a few minutes after you pull them out of the oven.  Serve warm with a glass of milk.