rescue mission

i'm not going to complain that we're going to get 6 to 12 inches of snow between now and tomorrow. after all, it's only april. and this is wisconsin.

unfortunately, the garlics, onions, and chives didn't know this when they started sprouting about a month ago... or did they? this is our first year with sprouts that have had to endure the return of winter. maybe they don't care about a heavy snowstorm. they seem to be doing OK with the nighttime freezes... but we decided to step in regardless...

we'll see if it works...

happy easter!

some weekend highlights...

a craft show.
this lovely flower arrangement had been on display at the coffee place down the road and i loved it... but it was very expensive (for two students, that is)... but when i went to the craft show down the road, it was there! and the artist was there, and i told her how much i liked it... she asked me how much i wanted for it and i... didnt know what to say... so i asked her how much she'd take for it... and she quoted me 1/4 the price it had been listed at... so it was an offer i could not resist...

rabbit likes it too.

this was the other piece i decided to get... i'd bought a vase from the same artist at this same craft show a year or two ago.

next: baking.

greg went to burn a prairie... not the prairie from the previous post. i found a muffin recipe in a kentucky cookbook. i had never heard of boiled frosting before, but it's quite good!


muffins.

next: raedar finds a new toy...

next: greg chops the winter squash for our not-so-spring-like easter dinner...

two of the dishes called for onions... so we thought we'd try to convince friend julie that onions are good... but these onions aren't doing a good job at being convincing...

the meal: artichokes, winter squash risotto, and stuffing...

i came to the realization that i really like cooking risotto. after the initial preparation, there's not much to it... stir... add broth... stir... add broth... stir... a stress reducer!

happy easter.

food and crickets and black earth and flowers

well, we missed the prairie burn because we were eating.

after the smoking ban took effect in madison, some of the smaller, 'towny' bars closed down. one of these bars, on the northside, turned into a little italian restaurant. at first we'd drive past it and joke... oh la la... cafe la bellitalia... so fancy... with the big pepsi sign out front... but everytime we did this, we noticed just how crowded it was inside... until finally we decided to try it... and we liked it. so much so, that we've been at least 4 times in the last couple of months. it's sort of your typical italian food... reliable when italian is what you crave. it's run by an italian family... from southern italy... so it's mostly pastas and tomato sauces... good tomato sauces!
and pepsi in cans.

once we got home we walked to the aftermath of the prairie burn...

scorched earth...

raedar and greg investigate for crickets. we've determined that raedar's ancestors were cricket hunters, and that this is the reason her nose is always to the ground on walks...

my billy goat's gruff and me...

what the cold weather did to the early bloomers... sad.

plants

just some pictures of the plants in our lives...

some of the sproutlings that will eventually head out to the garden...
today i repotted a few of our plants. i think they will be much happier in their new houses, and perhaps this peace lily will even bloom.

this is a maple tree in our plot... he's got a ways to go...

later... prairie burn?

chilly

30 degrees and it's been snowing.

in better news, i might be able to eat my way to fewer allergies!

raedar always has a smile on her face...

it's true!

brain stuff

so i'm on spring break for one school and was informed this morning that class for school number 2 is cancelled today, so it is as though i have a real spring break day, which is why i'm reading salon.com when i should be catching up on work. i will catch up on work, but first, one more article... this one about memory.

can i just say a few things... things to ponder while you read...

a) one of my older sisters caught me trying to eat an entire stick of butter as a toddler.
b) on many occasions i forget words in the middle of a sentence... and i'm only in my 20's! eek.
c) salon.com is one of my top 5 favorite websites. it's good!
d) two more posts below this one.

what is the usda doing to coffee?

read here.

recipe!

with spring here... despite what it feels like outside (48 degrees)... i have gotten back into the habit of browsing our cookbooks for delicious dinners. last week we made a dish worth sharing... can be a side dish or a main dish:

cannelini beans with arugula and golden garlic
from the cookbook fresh and fast by marie simmons... a cookbook i highly recommend. it's not all vegetarian either. it was out of print awhile ago when i looked into getting it for someone as a gift, but it appears that now it is back! (sorry to that person... you don't know who you are... i will get it for you now, if you don't buy it for yourself.)

here's the recipe...

prep time 10 mins... cooking time 10 mins... serves 4 (or two if you are greg and me)

ingredients:
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2-3 large garlic cloves, cut into thin crosswise slices
pinch hot red pepper flakes
2-3 cups rinsed canned or cooked dried cannellini (white kidney) beans
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 bunches arugula, thoroughly washed, long stems trimmed
1/2 cup thin lengthwise slivers red onion

the how to:
1. combine the oil, garlic, and red pepper flakes in a large skillet. cook slowly over low heat just until the garlic begins to turn golden, 5-8 mins. stir in the beans to coat with the oil, and heat through. season with salt and pepper.

2. add the arugula leaves to the skillet. stir once or twice to blend. remove from heat. transfer to a serving bowl, top with the onion and serve at once.

----
in the notes she mentions that cannellini beans are sometimes called white kidney beans, but she's told they are botanically different. i'm not sure that we used cannellini beans. we had some dried white beans hanging around, cooked those, and used them. i think they were simply navy beans, but they were really good with the recipe.

she mentions that you can add roasted red peppers to the dish, which would likely be delicious.

she also mentions substituting escarole or broccoli rabe in place of the arugula and using red pepper oil instead of olive oil. (cook the escarole or broccoli rabe in boiling water first, and omit the onion).

enjoy!

some pictures from the weekend

hardly a nice spring weekend, but a spring break weekend nonetheless...

raeder with her lobster... in a moment of relative calm...

picture of friends taking a picture...

day trip to milwaukee...

to see happy and grumpy...

flowers... proof that despite the low temperatures, it is indeed springtime...