All is Calm, All is Bright

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Signing off now for an end-of-year break, I wish my readers a pleasant and joyful holiday season. Christmas sets my focus on family and friends, and time for quiet reflection on the year gone past. I thank all of you who've stopped by this year to read about my garden, share your advice, and just plain cheer me on at times. I appreciate your comments, always.

Join me back here in January for more adventures in my garden. Already my mind is stirring with ideas. We're planning to put in three new raised beds, a rain barrel, and some type of dog- and rabbit-prevention fence. Oh, and we're already salivating at the thought of having more fresh herbs just steps from the door.

Yesterday I received the new catalog from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds. If you enjoy growing heirloom vegetables, don't miss this catalog. (And if you've never grown a vegetable of any sort in you life, why not resolve to try in 2008?) With twelve pages of tomatoes alone, including varieties called Ferris Wheel, Pink Accordion, Break O' Day, and Thai Red Turtle Egg, I guarantee something in this catalog will pique your curiosity. Have you ever seen a white tomato? Baker Creek offers five varieties of white, plus pink, orange, green, and striped tomatoes. You'll think you slipped into the pages of a Dr. Seuss book. Head over to Baker Creek to order a catalog. Then dream, dream, dream your garden wishes for 2008!

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day: December

Saturday, December 15, 2007

Icy weather is in the forecast for our area today. I am crossing my fingers in hope that some of it will come in the form of snow. This gardener relishes the occasion to swap out the muddy shoes for a pair of cozy slippers, pull on a puffy woolen sweater, and wrap clean hands around a piping hot cup of cocoa. Time to curl up inside.

Just a week away from the official start of winter, we're at another edition of Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day. All of us gardeners in cold places are looking at our houseplants with a new found appreciation. Yes, there is something blooming in December.

I have my real estate agent to thank for the brilliant red poinsettia in the top photo. It was a thoughtful gift he brought to brighten our first Christmas in our new home.

I know I need to really enjoy this plant while it lasts, because once it fades, it's off to the compost heap it goes. The month-by-month instructions on how to get a poinsettia to re-bloom are a bit daunting to me. More trouble than it's worth. Thank goodness we have garden centers for these.


My African Violet is the Energizer Bunny of plants. This one (well, it has multiplied into two plants now) has been blooming since September. It just keeps going and going. I do nothing more than water it once a week and it remains perfectly content. If someone were to ask what I recommend for a long-blooming houseplant, an African Violet would be at the top of my list.


Buds count for Bloom Day too, don't they? This Kalanchoe plant that my mom gave me last Easter is setting up new buds again. I won't reveal the color of the flowers just yet. They might be the only blooms I'll have to show in January. If I even notice them in January, that is. My face will be planted in all the new seed catalogs then, my feet still cozy in slippers.

Oma's Hazelnut Cookies

Sunday, December 09, 2007

It wouldn't be the holidays without Oma's -- my grandmother's -- hazelnut cookies. They've been a staple in my family's Christmas cookie repertoire for as long as I've known Christmas.

When I was a kid, the making of these cookies always started the same way. Dad would take a bagful of hazelnuts -- nutcracker in one hand, a couple of empty bowls in the other. He'd sit in his comfortable living room chair and, one by one, he'd crack each nut, reserving the whole ones in one bowl, the broken ones in another.


Meanwhile, mom would help us kids set up the nut grinder -- an old-fashioned metal contraption that we clamped down to the end of a spare and somewhat wobbly table. Once the nuts were all cracked, it was on to the grinding operation. We dropped a few nuts at a time into the hopper, followed by a snug-fitting wooden block that we used to push them down to the grinder wheel. One hand pressed on the block while the other gave a few cranks of the handle... squeak, rattle, squeak, rattle... and out came the fine dust of ground nuts. (I'll bet mom and dad still have that old nut grinder tucked away in a closet somewhere. It's now a family heirloom.)


To the kitchen mom went to mix the ground hazelnuts into a batter. My next task was to add a dollop of cinnamon-scented meringue to the top of each cookie, followed by one of the unbroken hazelnuts my dad set aside. Then into the oven they went, filling our house with the fragrance of Christmas as they baked.


In recent years, my mom told me she often uses almonds in these cookies now. Almonds are more readily available in shelled form, and they give the cookies an equally wonderful flavor. Always, though, they are topped with whole hazelnuts. It's the tradition!

Oma's Hazelnut Cookies

1/2 pound hazelnuts or almonds (or a combination of the two), finely ground
1/2 pound confectioners' sugar
3 egg whites at room temperature
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 "Messerspitze" of cinnamon (about a 1/2 teaspoon)

Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Beat egg whites while adding sugar a little at a time. Beat until the batter is soft like marshmallow. Stir in vanilla and cinnamon. Set aside 1/2 cup of the meringue. Mix in ground nuts by hand. Place by spoonfuls on parchment-lined cookie sheet. Top with a dab of the reserved meringue. Push a whole hazelnut into the meringue to top each cookie. Bake for about 20 minutes until they're light brown. Makes about 3 dozen cookies.


This recipe is my contribution to the 2007 Festive Food Fair, hosted by Anna at Morsels & Musings. This blogging event, now in its second year, celebrates holiday food traditions from all over the world. Last year, Anna collected 67 mouthwatering recipes!
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Related post: Pfeffernusse Cookies

Green Thumb Sunday, First Snow

Wednesday brought us the season's first snowfall here -- nearly four inches. Wrapped in a white crystalline blanket, the chard in the garden still looked delicious to me. It would look even better in a steaming bowl of hot soup, though, wouldn't it?

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Gardeners, plant and nature lovers share their photos on Green Thumb Sunday. See who else is participating.

Bringing in the Tree

Tuesday, December 04, 2007

Selecting and cutting our own Christmas tree is by far a richer experience than simply choosing one from a lot. Our tree this year carries with it the memories of a bright and chilly first day of December, laughter in the field as we set out on our search, the neighs of the horses in a pasture nearby, and whiffs of fresh fir catching our cold noses as the tree was sawed from its roots. A complimentary cup of hot apple cider afterwards completed the full sensory experience.

There is always a part of me that is saddened when a tree is cut, but taken inside, we honor and adorn this tree with cherished ornaments that remind us of the places, events, and most importantly, the people, in our now and past. It's a celebration of life on so many levels really.

We chose our tree from Butler's Orchard in Germantown, Maryland, a local farm that will surely beckon me back in the warmer months for its pick-your-own blueberries and strawberries. But for now, we turn inward and enjoy all the good things that are ushered in with December.