Gardening in January

OK, so maybe I'm doing more dreaming about gardening in January than actual gardening. Anything to get through these long, cold months. How my husband can love this time of year so much is beyond me! As I mentioned, we went to the meeting for the new CSA starting up just around the corner this year. Unfortunately, that merely whet my appetite to get in the dirt, but right now it is only about 9 degrees out. In the meantime, I've been looking over online seed catalogs, planning my garden grid and updating my spreadsheets.

I know you're all dying to see what we'll be growing this year, so here goes (in the number of "squares", since we do square foot gardening. Some are one plant per square, some 4, some 9...onions I just throw in and see what sticks):
3 Genovese Basil
2 Thai Basil
2 Cilantro
1 Chives
1 Garlic Chives
1 Sage
14 green beans
3 Bok Choy
7 Brussels Sprouts
4 Carrots (stubby round ones - for snacking while the kids are outside playing)
2 Chinese Cabbage
14 Peas
4 New Mexico Improved Chiles
4 Anaheim College Chiles
4 Mayo Chiletepine Chiles
2 Scallions
3 Shallots
2 Swiss Chard
2 Heirloom Beefsteak Tomatoes (Black from Tula)
2 Heirloom Beefsteak Tomatoes (Bloody Butcher)
2 Heirloom Cherry Tomatoes (Yellow Pear)
2 Heirloom Cherry Tomatoes (Koralik)
7 Heirloom Plum Tomatoes (Spitze)
1 Turnip Greens (for our bunny, Spy)
2 Butternut Squash
3 Delicata Squash
2 Autumn Cup Squash
2 Sunshine Squash
2 Acorn Squash
3 Spaghetti Squash
4 Sugar Baby Watermelon

31 different veggies. The CSA will hopefully be duplicating everything in one form or another, and perhaps I won't plant so much next year, but I'm just not ready to trust it entirely. We aren't planting any of the things that I can never keep up with - such as the greens that seem to bolt as soon as I've turned my back - or any sweet bell peppers (mine are always so tiny and slightly bitter). We'll just have to trust that all will go well and we'll have a steady supply of those. Even when the CSA we have selected has proven itself, there are some things I'm just not sure we'll get enough of to put up for the winter to provide for our family. I'll probably always grow tomatoes and peas and winter squash. We don't put up Brussell Sprouts, but we sure do eat quite a few, so now that we know how easy those are to grow, we'll probably always have a few of those going, too. We can eat the roasted sprouts like popcorn. :)

Now I just have to order the few seeds that I don't have leftover from last year and be patient until mid-February to get the chiles started and mid-March for the rest. Wish me luck!

Quick Update

Seems like life's been happening so quickly, I haven't had time to post. But that's not entirely true. I've still found time to play computer games in the wee hours, but by then I just don't feel like thinking to post. How sad is that?

Holidays were good - lots of family time and loads of snow!

One kid had pneumonia and another an asthma episode, so two out of three are on meds for the winter. But the asthma is under control now, so all is well.

Back to the snow - we had a BLAST last weekend. We invited 5 other families from church who all have kids the same ages as ours to go sledding at a nearby park. All totaled, there were 26 - 10 adults and 16 kids ages 2-11. After sledding, we all came back here for pizza, cocoa and popcorn. What a great way to spend the day. And what a blessing to have such a large group of friends with such well-behaved kids!

Yesterday evening, we went to a meeting about a local CSA that is starting up soon. (Mud Creek Farm - check it out!) We couldn't be more excited about this venture. And it is only 2.2 miles from our house, so we'll be able to be very involved if we choose to be. We'll still be growing our own garden, but we'll be able to focus our efforts on the things that we just HAVE to have and the things that I put up for the winter. Don't worry, I'll be posting on that effort as it gets under way. I've been poring over my spreadsheets and seed catalogs the past week or so getting ready to get started. I can't wait!

In the meantime, I'm re-reading Barbara Kingsolver's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. I didn't do great at putting up a lot to get us through the long winter, but we do have some. So about 1/4 of our vegetable consumption this winter will be from local produce. We still have plenty of winter squash just waiting to be gobbled up and bags upon bags of plum tomatoes in the freezer begging to be used or turned into sauce. Then some fruit, whole, diced or roasted peppers of several varieties and even a little bit of corn. Not to mention the jams, which aren't going down quite as quickly as I anticipated. Anyone need some Mulberry jam?

Recipe Club Update

In case you're wondering how recipe club went today...It ended abruptly when my child threw up her red-frosted Santa cookie all over the floor. Moms with babies sure do scatter fast when there are germs around! But what a blessing they are, asking how they can help while they want nothing more than to get their own kids as far away as possible. I just hope this is through with our family before we're supposed to head to Ohio... :(

Lemon Cookies

I finally got started making this year's Christmas cookies. I had to get at least one kind done before the MOMS club recipe club I'm hosting tomorrow! So I broke out the old standy special event cookies. The Lemon-don't-know-what-to-call-them cookies. I don't remember where I got the recipe for these filled lemon cookies. Once upon a time they were sandwich cookies that were then rolled in powdered sugar called "Lemon Snowdrops", but most of the Lemon Snowdrops I have seen are just plain teacake cookie balls rolled in powdered sugar. I've also tweaked it so much that it doesn't really resemble the original anymore anyway. They take a while to make, but are oh so worth it!

Dough:
1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup powedered sugar
1 tsp lemon extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp milk

Filling:
1 egg, beaten
2/3 cup sugar
3 Tbsp lemon juice (fresh is truly best here!)
1 1/2 tbsp soft butter
lemon zest (if you used a fresh lemon - just a bit)

Powdered sugar for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 350. Cream butter and sugar. Add extract, flour, salt and milk. Mix thoroughly, but do not overmix. Add a few drops more milk if the dough is too crumbly. Form small balls (I use a small cookie scoop), then flatten slightly and make an indentation with your thumb to form a "cup" shape. Place 1/2" apart on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake 10-12 minutes.

Make lemon butter filling by combining all ingredients in the top of a double-boiler. Cook over hot water until thick, stirring constantly. Cool. Fill indentation in cookies and allow to set. (Note: I sometimes skip the double-boiler and just do straight in a pan over medium-low heat, but you have to be careful!) I like to have the cookies on a cooling rack so the excess that runs out of the dent doesn't pool around the edge of the cookies.

Once the filling has set, put powdered sugar in a mesh strainer and shake over the cookies.

Suggestions?

My moms Bible study will be wrapping up our current book, then taking a 2 week hiatus. During those 2 weeks, I am supposed to find and order a new book for our study. Unfortunately, having another mom from the group suggest our next book - or even a topic - did not pan out. Some of our guidelines are:

1) Preferably a book that is not too dependent on having been at the discussion for the previous chapter. Read it - yes - but it's OK if we miss due to kids, schedules, weather, what have you.

2) Something that will relate to moms of kids ages 3-9 and wives.

3) Something that will generate good discussion, preferably with a study or discussion guide available.

Some of the books that we have done are:
If Mama Ain't Happy Ain't Nobody Happy
Receiving God's Goodness
Living Above Worry and Stress
The Power of a Positive Mom

So, does anyone have a suggestion for us? Or a topic that your small group did that you really enjoyed?

Let the Christmas Marathon Begin!

At least that's how it feels sometimes. I made an effort last year to not let it be that way. I'm hoping to keep it up this year. Trim the fat out of it, if you will. We make a big deal about focusing with the kids on the REAL reason for the holiday. They get presents and we give presents, but the focus is on the giving, not the gift, and on the greatest love of all in the form of Christ. But despite my best efforts, I just cannot give up a few things. And I tend to go overboard. How can you make just one kind of cookie? And if you make a few kinds, how do you not take a tray to family? And to work? And if one of you takes to work, how do you not let BOTH people take a tray to work? As long as you're at it, why not make just one extra handmade gift for that person, since it doesn't really cost anything...but then what about this person and that person and so on... Yeah, it's all my own doing, but it's still tough!

So...wish me luck as I embark on the annual baking, bagging, sewing, wrapping, writing, decorating, singing, playing and not-so-nightly-but-trying-nativity-activity marathon that is the holiday season at our house. I wish you all luck and health while you try to cram a year's worth of festivities and socializing into this one month with me. And may we all learn to slow down, let go and focus on what really matters.

It's the Little Things...

I know it's trite, but it really is the little things that make a person's day. Like waking up to a sandwich snuggle in the morning, with a soft warm face on each cheek and their sweet, moist breath mingling beneath your nose. A smile from someone who hasn't seen you in a week and actually missed you! And little love notes scrawled on a white board by someone who can't wait to share their newfound skill with you.

So that's why I haven't posted in a while. Been a little busy. :)