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Discovering Jerusalem Artichokes

Last spring I went to Betty's Annual Plant Sale and she talked me into buying some Jerusalem Artichoke tubers. She told me they grow very tall and have small sunflower-like flowers on them, which sounded very attractive to me. She also said that after the plants die back and there is a good hard freeze, I can dig up the tubers (which multiply like potatoes) and eat them. She raved about the flavor and all the wonderful ways one could enjoy them throughout the winter months.

Well, I liked the idea of being able to harvest something during the winter months and bring it fresh from the garden to the table. So, I bought 6 of them at 50 cents a piece.

I planted them in pots because she said that they would spread out and make "a nice big patch if left in the ground" and I do not have a nice big patch to offer. So, I planted one tuber in each pot of various shapes and sizes about 2-3 gallons each.

They grew to about 8 - 10 feet - taller than the bean teepee they were next to. They didn't flower until the end of the season, around late August - September. They blew over with the slightest breeze, which I made a mental note of in case I should want to grow them again.

Now to the yummy news: I finally got around to harvesting some of them today. One pot yeilded about a dozen tubers, maybe more. Never having eaten them before, I didn't know what to do with them. I decided to cut them into chunks and roast them in the oven.

I cut up some baby reds, purple onion, yam, and butternut squash too. I tossed them all in a big bowl with garlic infused olive oil and about 6 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced, and sprinkled a generous amount of kosher salt overall. Then, I squirted in some Bragg's for good measure.

I roasted this medley on a large jelly roll pan in a hot 4o0 degree oven until everything had browned and was fork tener - about 30 minutes.

Let me just say that I am going to be one of the first to show up at Betty's plant sale this year and I am going to buy ALL the Jerusalem Artichoke tubers she has to offer!! These are now my new FAVE! They taste like artichoke hearts only BETTER!

I wish I had pictures to show you. I'll have to make a point of it now that I know what a treasure they really are.

The Pain and Strength of Separation

Never do I feel as helpless as I do when one of my children need me and I cannot be there to support them. My daugher is suffering with extreme pain from an infection in a root canal gone bad. The pain medication is barely touching it. It leaves her dizzy, disoriented, and sick to her stomach. She is sleep deprived and weak. Daddy has to work, so she is at home with two little girls who are totally dependant on her for their sustenance, one of whom is an infant, one of whom happens to be sick right now. Poor babies!

As a mother and an Oma, I just want to get in my car and drive! Drive straight over to her so I can "be there" for her... for the little ones... for the family. But, it's a 9-hour round trip! I have my own responsibilities here at home and no one knows when she will get in for the needed surgery or how long she will be in "need of support".

What's a mother to do?!

All there is that I can do is pray. So, miha... I am praying for you and for your precious family. My mommy heart is heavy, but is made lighter knowing that our loving Heavenly Father is with you. His strength is made evident in our weakness.

Hallelujah! You're back!

The tulips are coming, the tulips are coming! Upon inspection, I see that they're all out of the ground, poking up about 1-2 inches tall right now.

I get a little excited when I see things popping out of the ground this time of year. The anticipation of being revisited by these lovely beauties and others that will soon follow... well, it's just so rejuvenating!

Late Winter/Early Spring is my very favorite time of year. People always ask, "Why? It's so..... wet." Well, it's also full of the resurrection power of life - before unseen. It always reminds me of Jesus making His reappearance after being laid to rest in the tomb. Seemingly dead and gone, but NOT! Yay!

So, to this I say, "Hallelujah! You're back!"

Snap Fitness

I've been encouraged to blog about the fact that we joined a new gym in town called, Snap Fitness. http://www.snapfitness.com/ For our family of four - hubby, me, and two kids (Grandson and Daughter, both age 12) it's $60 a month on a month-to-month basis. No contracts! What a deal!!

They are open 24/7 and have wonderful on-line tools to help you develop/customize your workout routines, track your progress, develop menu plans, etc. I'm impressed and having fun with it.

The manager, Mike, gave the kids and me a full orientation on all the machines and equipment. He was really great with the kids. Very encouraging and respectful to them and I was happy with how he was able to motivate them and make them feel more than capable.

As a result, the kids and I have gone to work out every day this week. They are so stoked! Grandson is starting to discover his developing muscles. During our orientation, he was really motivated to work on buffing those up.

I've lost 1.8 lbs since I weighed in the day before yesterday and gained some sore muscles, but the best perk of all is my increase in energy. This is wonderful since I've led a very sedentary lifestyle these past few years and it doesn't take much to wear me out now that I'm about 60 lbs. overweight, soft, and flabby.

This week I discovered just how weak I've gotten. I just can't pull the weight I could a few short years ago when I was a bit more active. It's true... if you don't use it, you lose it. My endurance levels are embarrassing. Really. 5 minutes on the cycle machine is my limit. I can do 20 on the treadmill. Forget that eliptical thingy. Pathetic, I know, but it's the sad truth. The weight training is going a little better. Anyway...

The flipside and the encouraging part is knowing that if I keep working at it, I can recoup some strength and endurance. I'm already feeling more "fit" than I have in a long time - even though I'm not at all "fit" yet.

I measured myself to calculate my BFP (body fat percentage). It was a shock to me. I won't talk about it, except to say that it was a real eye-opener and a good motivator! Yikes. (Oh... BTW - Stretch denim lies!)

I'll keep you posted as to our progress. Maybe. We'll see how it goes. If it's good news, I'll post an update. If it's not, I probably won't! :o) That's how I feel about that right now!


***One more kudo for Mike, the manager guy... Today he told hubby and me about the Open House and ribbon cutting ceremony they are having tomorrow. It's a big deal for any new business, right? So, he's telling us about it and sharing how they'll have sandwiches and stuff for lunch so we don't have to plan anything for lunch. "That makes lunch easy, right?" I replied, "Well... sometimes being vegan isn't that easy." to which he replied, "No problem! We'll order up some veggie sandwiches from our friends at Quiznos and we'll have some fresh fruit too." Isn't that great? So, I guess we'll be in the big blow up wall poster cuz they're going to take some photos and he wants "everybody" to be in the wall poster. I told him, "Only if you do another one 6 months from now... BEFORE and AFTER pictures. That's only fair."

Makes sense to me! I mean, who wants a bunch of soft, fat, and flabby people representing your gym?!

Planting Schedule Resources

Here is a pdf file of a great Planting Schedule that I use from Portland Nursery.

http://www.portlandnursery.com/plants/docs/veggies/veggie_calendar.pdf

This schedule is for the Willamette Valley, so if you are in a different climate zone, you should plan accordingly and alter the dates to coincide with your own last/first frost dates.

Find your PLANT HARDINESS ZONE by zip code here: http://www.garden.org/zipzone/

Order you FREE Territorial Seed Catalog here: http://www.territorialseed.com/

This extraordinary catalog is brimming full with invaluable information on growing fruits & vegetables. A great resource to have in your garden library - IF you can keep the temptation to buy too many wonderful seeds and plants in check and within budget! Did I mention it's FREE?!

Mel Bartholomew's Square Foot Gardening books also have great planting schedule charts. I photocopied the charts, put in my own last/first frost dates and labeled them accordingly for easy reference.

You can be sure to find a copy at your local library.

Strawberry-Rhubarb Jam

By special request, one of this family's all-time favorite ways to enjoy our garden grown Rhubarb and Strawberries. It's very simple to make. As a general rule of thumb, never double batches of jams or jellies. Strange things happen to the consistency of the finished product and you may be sadly disappointed with the results. Second rule - very important - always use the freshest ingredients when making jams and jellies. FRESH lemon juice, not bottled. There are scientific reasons having to do with chemistry which are mysterious enough to me not to be able to explain... you can research it or just go with it. My rule is, FRESH is best.

I make several batches of this recipe each year because it flies off the pantry shelf (part of that is due to our visitors not ever leaving empty handed).

Strawberry-Rhubarb Jam (from the Ball Blue Book)

Makes about 6 half-pint jars

Ingredients :

4 cups strawberries, crushed
2 cups rhubarb chopped
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 (1 3/4 ounce) package dry pectin
5 1/2 cups sugar

Directions:

1. Combine strawberries, rhubarb, lemon juice and pectin in a large saucepot.
2. Bring to a boil over high heat.
3. Add sugar, stirring until dissolved. Return to a rolling boil.
4. Boil hard 1 minute, stirring constantly.
5. Remove from heat.
6. Skim foam if necessary.
7. Ladle hot jam into hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace.
8. Wipe jar rims carefully.
9. Adjust two-piece caps.
10. Process 10 minutes in water bath.

Valentine's Day Recall

Valentine's Day is coming... Last year I baked this vegan chocolate cake with white vanilla frosting, filled with raspberry jam. It was a big hit with DH and I think it calls for a repeat. It took me three years running to finally find a chocolate cake/white frosting combo that was reminiscent of his fond childhood memories (I think his mom must've used box mixes, which is something I do not care to mimic in any way... yucko).

Now......... if I could just recall which chocolate cake recipe it was then I could repeat my success and post it here for future reference.......... hmmmmm

Bear with me. It'll come back to me. (Lord, I could use a hint, please!)