It’s a common question for one human to ask another, especially a child.
But what about other things. What does the puppy want to be? A search and rescue worker? A family pet?
What about a fruit? Do they want to be in a shortcake? A pie? A lunchbox?
I look at this little grouping of pears and wonder how many of them will make it to ripe? What will be their fate? I’m thinking a nice salad in the botanical garden restaurant would be a good place to end.
Did you have a good holiday? I hope it included some fun, family and friends as well as feasting.
I’m thinking of my dinner plate at the moment. Okay, I confess, I think of food often. Several hours from the release of this blog I’ll face a plate of re-heated meat and vegetables from yesterday’s feast. I’ll add a new starch today.
What about you? Do you have a fridge stuffed with feast remains? Did the hostess send you home with enough for another meal? Traditional? Or eclectic?
And what about that other plate — you know, it’s also called an agenda.
Many people return to work today. Others have an extended weekend to be more flexible in their activities. Some will go shopping. Others will clean house after all the guests. Making lists is always popular at this time of year. And thousands of Americans will begin decorating for the next major holiday.
So on this day after: May your plate be full of interesting foods and activities.
Any or all of the above could be used to caption this photo.
Piles of pumpkins. Stacks of squash. Cribs full of bright yellow corn are a few of the sights in a typical October. This is the final harvest from the garden. Onions are braided and hung by their long, flexible tops. The canning jars are full and stored on deep shelves in the basement. Potatoes are dug and stored in cloth sacks or wooden bins in a cool place. A trip to the apple orchard results in boxes or baskets of red and green treats to store beside the potatoes.
And a tramp in the woods. My dad would get permission and we’d take an afternoon (before hunting season), grab burlap bags, and got nutting. He knew several groves of butternut trees. At other times and in other places I’ve collected black walnuts or hickory nuts. They’re not easy to crack. But the treat inside adds flavor and texture to baked goods all year long.
Yes, these days I do my harvesting at the supermarket. But the sights of autumn bring joyful, and joy-filled, memories.
Sunlight hours are getting shorter. Summer days contain a hint of cool at the beginning. Garden crops ripen amid late season weeds.
And wildlife of all sizes takes advantage of the bounty in fields and gardens. And on trees. Some are very particular and select food from specific trees. Others are limited by what they can reach — unless the fruit is cooperative enough to fall to the ground. Others are mobile and inventive enough to obtain food from multiple sources.
This crabapple tree in Wisconsin is holding tight to a bumper crop this year.
While visions of jelly, and relish, and cider may dance in human minds — the wild turkeys have full stomachs on their bird brains.
Reliable witnesses tell of each tree hosting up to half a dozen gobblers at a time. And if the mornings have been frosty, and the fruit a little fermented… Shall we say the birds know how to party???
Octagon = a geometric figure with eight sides (the shape of STOP sign)
Octet = a collection of eight – objects, singers, performers
Today we feature an octet of ORANGES —
Temporary Octet
Humans have enjoyed oranges for centuries. They are mentioned in Chinese literature as early as 314 BC. (Or BCE for the super political correct.)
If Americans want to visit an orange grove to see this evergreen, flowering tree in person, they should include Florida or California on their itinerary. They are also grown in smaller numbers in Arizona and Texas. And if you desire to leave the United States, I suggest Brazil. Seek out the warmer portions of these places, where water is available, and land suitable for farming.
In English the fruit was named long before the color. The word orange in reference to the yellow-red hue did not appear written until 1512 — recent for a word — old for an ancestor.
The octet pictured above is broken now. The scent and the simple act of handling the fruit to pose it tempted my appetite. But that is okay. The vitamins, fiber, and liquid in the sweet fruit combine for welcome nutrition.
So toast your neighbor with a glass of orange juice in the morning and picture rows and rows of stately, green trees with each swallow.
Go ahead. Twist your nose and and say it. NASTURTIUM.
Curbside Attraction
We begin the second half of the alphabet of living things with N = Nasturtium.
When I lived in a climate cooler than St. Louis, but not as harsh as Wisconsin, I sowed seed in a protected area between the house and sidewalk one spring. For the remaining years which we lived there – three or four – it was a long time ago and the memory gets full – they planted themselves. Very low maintenance.
Are you planting a rock garden? A collection of herbs? Need a splash of orange blossoms? This is a good candidate.
Do you have a toddler? Or pets? No panic. Leaves, stems, and blossoms are edible. Expect a pepper flavor in addition to the burst of color and distinctive leaf shape it you add them to your salad.
He gets laughed about. Ignored. He can’t help it. All of his relatives, the large citrus family, are acidic. But he gets the reputation for bitter. It’s not fair.
Kumquat
Comprehensive cook books will guide you to my use. Wash, boil, cool. Pair me with meat. Or make a nice sugar syrup and simmer me until I fade to translucent. Mmmm — candied. Or continue the process and made a preserve of me. A nice tart contrast to your meat dish.
Oranges, lemons, limes, and grapefruit get the press. But I’ll hold my own. I’ll hang on tight to my branch until ripe. The kumquats are coming. We’re real. If you laugh too hard I’ll give you a seed to spit. So there!
The scientist within me cringes when I hear someone say to add a spoonful — or a dash — or a pinch. I want to ask back — How much?
Yes, I know it’s a shorthand. It’s especially common in the kitchen. And often times the hearer understands exactly what the speaker means. One day, back when I was learning to cook, I started gathering the measuring cups and spoons and ingredients for one of my grandmother’s cookie recipes. My own mother intervened in time.
Grandmother didn’t use a measuring cup. To her a cup was the large white coffee mug in her kitchen. Our discussion that day, as I selected a different recipe, didn’t extend to spoons.
The parties are over. The resolutions are either hanging by a thread or broken at your feet. The decorations have been put away until next year. Except….
What to do with the candy canes? Packing away to re-use doesn’t seem right. A dozen from the tree or an equal number collected from gift packaging and Santa visits is too many to eat as afternoon treats. Stir and flavor tea? A good way to use a few.
This year I tried something new. With much unwrapping of clingy, static plastic wrap I bared the canes, broke them into chunks, and tossed them in the blender. (I’m sure a food processor would work just as well or better.) Within minutes I had “candy cane powder”. Now for the fun part.
Take a basic cookie dough recipe. I used my favorite chocolate chip one which calls for 1/2 brown and 1/2 white sugar. Substitute the “candy cane powder” for the white sugar, add nuts instead of chocolate chips. Bake and enjoy.
Charity: an act or feeling of generosity; giving aid to the poor.
Once or twice a year the media brings charity toward the top of the agenda. I notice it the most from Thanksgiving to New Year’s. Coat drives and food drives pop up with malls and businesses serving as collection points.
This is good. Sharing and giving are two important lessons that should be learned early in life. Please don’t limit the time or make it only during the end of year holidays.
Empty cupboards and closets persist year round. Food banks and thrift stores appreciate donations any month or week of the year.
