Garden Shed Envy

Envy…I was hoping that with time it would pass, but no.  I still want a cool garden shed like my friend, Linda, who writes the blog, Whatsitgarden.   

Rosie gave me a tour of her favorite shady spots in the garden.

It all started with a visit to her garden in September to see her garden shed project.  I love Linda's garden filled with interesting plants, fun textures, and fascinating combinations.  Rosie, her Boston Terrier, guided me through the garden and gave me a few kisses too.

The new chocolate brown paint on her formerly white shed helps it fit into the garden as you walk down the side pathway.

The addition of the windows open the shed up to the garden. 

Inside, she painted it a lovely shade of blue.  Isn't this a lovely place to take an afternoon nap?

She added art and some of her favorite things.

And she looks out into the garden from her desk.

My friend, Heather, enjoyed a quiet moment with Rosie under the plum tree.  Linda served us thick slices of a moist blueberry cake and glasses of cold white wine.  We sat in the shade and enjoyed her garden.

Then I explored her garden with my camera.  Smiling at the flowers and all the seed heads.  We all need a private space that is ours to create in.  Linda's space is beautiful and reflects her personality.  Most importantly, she has a space to sit down in her own garden to enjoy the beauty that she's worked so hard to create.  

So many gardeners don't take the opportunity to sit down and savor their garden.  Do you have your own quiet space in the garden?  I'd love to hear about it.  

A Sick Day and Parsnips

Barnaby and I are home sick with a cold this week.  Yes, that’s right.  The dog and I are sniffling and coughing together on the couch watching old sci-fi movies while My Pirate tends to us.  Barnaby picked up a case of kennel cough from his dog park friends.  My (poor) Pirate is home on stay-cation this week and is stuck at home with us.  

Soup is the only thing I crave to battle my snot production.  So, I sent My Pirate out to The Victory Garden to pull a parsnip that had been turned sweet by the recent cold weather.  We threw together a quick soup based on my cravings.  I peeled and My Pirate chopped.  And the ingredients came together into a sweet parsnip soup filled with all the right stuff for my soul and immune system.

You might want to try it, even if you aren’t sharing a box of Kleenex with your favorite 170-pound canine.  I know that I’m going to give it another whirl this winter.  But, in the meantime this soup is nourishing me back to health and My Pirate couldn’t be more pleased.

Parsnip and Barley Soup with Chicken

Go ahead and use your favorite broth.  This recipe converts easily to a vegetarian option for the upcoming holiday season.  My Pirate gave the vegetables a nice rustic chop to fill the spoon.  I accidentally cooked my soup too long and the potatoes fell apart giving the soup a murky look, but delicious body.  It’s your call.

• 2 T. olive oil or grape seed oil
• 1 clove of garlic, smashed
• 2 shallots, diced
• 4 celery stalks, large chop or celery heart with leaves
• 5 carrots, large dice
• 1 large parsnip, large dice
• 2 red potatoes, large dice
• 1 bay leaf
• ½ cup pearl barley
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 4 cups water
• 1 boneless chicken breast, medium dice
• Cream (optional) 
• Salt and pepper

Put a heavy bottomed soup pot over medium heat.  Add the oil and the smashed garlic clove.  Remove the garlic clove once its turned brown and flavored the oil.  Add the vegetables in all at once with the bay leaf.  Cook for five minutes. Then add the barley and the broth.  Cook for 40 minutes or until the barley is nice and tender.  Add the chopped up chicken breast and cook for ten minutes.  Season.  Serve.

Rewarding Reubens

I recently learned that my Artichoke Glow photograph was selected to compete in the Peoples Choice portion of the Oregonian’s garden photo contest.  I was elated.  I grew up reading the Oregonian and always looked forward to seeing the garden photo winners announced in late December.  It brightened my spirit to see so much beauty during the darkest part of the year.  After doing my happy dance in my fuzzy socks on the kitchen floor, I immediately thought about making a Reuben Panini Sandwich.

Reuben Panini Sandwich

Celebrating with a Reuben Sandwich was hardwired into my brain as a young child.  My Grandparents always took me to Rose’s Restaurant to celebrate my report card.  Anything above a 3.5 was rewarded and I was happy to oblige. 

I remember walking into the red velvet clad restaurant filled with the smell of boiled bagels and sauerkraut, walking past glazed donuts as big as my head, cakes that towered like top hats and chocolate gilded eclairs, sliding into a gaudy red booth edged in gold trim and enjoying a meal alone with my Grandparents.  They would flirt with each other as they told me stories about renovating their house over the years.  I knew their stories by heart. A bagel and butter would be offered, but I always declined.  

When the food server slid the teetering two decker Reuben in front of me, I would grin.  My Grandma would complain that it was too big for me and then I would carefully tuck aside my portion for tomorrow’s lunch.  And then I would dig into the toasted dark rye sandwich filled with corned beef, turkey, sauerkraut, and melted gruyere cheese.  I loved that celebratory meal. 

As an adult, I turn to my own kitchen and Panini press to make my celebratory meal.  I no longer crave a huge monster of a sandwich served in a red velvet pastry palace.  I seek to taste all the ingredients in a single crunchy gooey bite.  Instead of spending $12 on a sandwich, I shop for a few top quality ingredients and make several sandwiches to share.  I like to buy Boar’s Head meats at QFC or Fred Meyer.  Then, I heat up the Panini machine that I gave to My Pirate one year for his birthday. And I assemble the sandwiches.

Here’s how I make them.

Reuben Panini
Serves 1

2 slices of black rye bread
2 slices of corned beef
2 slices of pastrami
½ cup sauerkraut 
4 to 6 slices Gruyere cheese 
Mayonnaise  

Turn the Panini machine on high.  Heat a nonstick skillet over medium and add the sauerkraut to cook off the moisture.  You can add some butter to the sauerkraut to brown it if you feel like showing off a bit.  

Assemble the sandwiches with a layer of Gruyere cheese on each layer of bread.  Add the pastrami and corned beef. Top with the sauerkraut.  Press the sandwich together.  Swipe the outside of the bread with mayonnaise because it doesn’t burn like butter does.  Place the sandwich on the Panini press.  Press the top of the Panini press down.  I take a potholder and press the top down with some heft to smash the sandwich.  Let it cook for several minutes until the mayonnaise has cooked up nice and crunchy and the cheese is melted. Remove from the press and cut the sandwich into thirds.  

Serve with a pickle and a handful of potato chips.  Celebrate!

You can vote daily for my picture here from December 1st to the 17th. It takes just a moment to sign up. I appreciate your help achieving one of my bucket list dreams.  Thanks!  

Violetto Glow

Minestrone and Stormy Weather

Last week, I finished planting all of my new plant acquisitions and uncovered our front walkway.    My Pirate was ecstatic.  

Barnaby helped…                                   (My Pirate took this shot.)

The very next day a windstorm blew in with 50+ mile-per-hour gusts and stuck around for over 24 hours.  The roaring winds knocked over large fir trees and fences throughout our neighborhood.  Branches littered the roads.     

Ouch!  This tree fell within three blocks of our home.  Repairs are already underway.

Then the weather folks forecasted a major winter storm with six inches of snow followed by freezing rain.  So, I nestled my camera battery in its charger and decided to make a massive batch of soup.

I dug through my pantry and was inspired by a jar of tomatoes that one of the Crony Brothers canned and shared with me.  Isn’t he sweet?  I had tucked it away for a special occasion and the moment felt right.  I went outside with a flashlight and harvested kale, leeks, and herbs out of My Victory Garden.  A few cars slowed down to investigate me and I waved at them.

Snow falling around my bowl of soup.

Once inside, I went to town using my new knife skills that I had learned at a couples cooking class at Portland Culinary Workshop with my dog-park friends.  I had no idea that I’d been holding a knife wrong my entire life until the chef, Melinda, adjusted my grip forward on the blade by an inch.  This small adjustment has made chopping vegetables fun and fast.  I felt as ebullient as Julia Child in the onion-chopping scene in the movie, Julie and Julia. 

The winter storm only spat out some ice pellets and snow flakes to add some sparkle to the garden.  But, the minestrone satisfied our appetites and kept us warm through the cold wave that dropped the night temperatures into the teens.  My garden leaves were only started to shift into their autumn brightness and now they appear to be freeze dried in place.  I’ll have to wait until spring to see what survived the early winter onslaught.  In the meantime, I’ll stay warm with another bowl of soup.  

My Minestrone Soup

I let my garden and pantry guide the creation of this soup.  I could have added pasta or croutons to thicken it, but I didn't.  Instead, I served my soup alongside grilled cheese sandwiches with Tillamook Extra Sharp Cheddar.

• 1/3 cup of olive oil
• 5 carrots
• four stalks of celery—preferably the heart 
• 2 leeks
• 5 cloves garlic—pressed through garlic press
• red pepper flakes—up to 1 Tablespoon
• big jar of canned tomatoes
• four cups of chicken stock
• four cups of water
• parmesan rind--the bigger the better
• four cans of beans—2 cannellini and 2 garbanzo 
• big bunch of kale out of garden
• ½ bunch of parsley chopped up
• thyme
• bay leaf
• parmesan rind
• salt and pepper

Heat oil in a soup pot over medium heat and add the carrots, celery, and leeks.  Cook for 10 minutes.  

Boil salted water in a separate pot.  Prep the kale by removing the hard center stem.  Chop up. And boil for 3 minutes in salted water and strain. 

Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook for a minute or two until you can smell their aroma.  Slowly add the canned tomatoes by smashing them in your hands.  Add the chicken stock and water.  Then add the remaining ingredients of beans, prepped kale, parsley, thyme, bay and parmesan rind.  Bring to a simmer and cook for 40 minutes. Taste and add salt and pepper.

Wordless Wednesday: Pennisetum 'Red head'

Pennisetum alopecuroides

I picked up a Pennisetum 'Red head' at the plant swap held by the Clark County Chapter of the Hardy Plant Society of Oregon.  Have you ever grown it in your garden?