February 25, 2021

Ten Little Celebrations – February 2021

February 25, 2021/ Gwen Morrison

The biggest celebrations of February 2021 were about my family surviving very cold weather in Missouri and Texas relatively unscathed…..and everyone staying well for another month. Of course – there were a myriad of little celebrations. I easily list one every day – and sometimes choosing what to record is a challenge!

There were more notations than usual about food in February. Some were experiments that were yummy…others were opportunistic:

*Snow ice cream*. We had enough snow this month to make snow ice cream. I always wait for the snow to get at least 3-4 inches deep…then collect the top inch for the snow ice cream. I collect a bowl full then add half and half, chipped peppermint candy/sugar, and vanilla. It’s one of the few times I use my old electric mixer! The challenge is to make only as much as my husband and I can consume right away…we usually each manage a large bowl full. …celebrating a snow day favorite

Broccoli with orange marmalade glaze. When it’s cold outside, I rarely want salad….this experiment was an easy way to have a ‘hot’ equivalent. I cut up broccoli just as I would for salad, tossed it over a spoonful of orange marmalade in a bowl and microwaved it for a minute or so. A quick stir to coat the broccoli with the melted marmalade, and it was ready to eat! …celebrating ‘hot’ versions of salads

Microwave apple with oatmeal and pecans. I bought a large bag of apples that my husband did not like as well as I thought he would, so I was looking for ways to use them. Breakfast in a bowl seemed to be a good option. I put about ½ cup almond milk in a microwavable bowl then 1/3 cup oatmeal, some brown sugar and cinnamon, a cut up apple, some chopped pecans. Microwave for a minute….stir…microwave for another 30 seconds to a minute…and enjoy. I’ve had it for breakfast several times but realize it would taste good to me any time of day! ….celebrating a new ‘comfort food’

Hot chocolate smoothie. I like smoothies and started experimenting with heating them up. My favorite is made with almond milk, chocolate protein powder, cocoa, banana, and kale. I make it the usual way in the Ninja then put it in a Pyrex measuring cup to heat in the microwave. I stir is several times while I heat…it thickens a bit. ….celebrating a decadent (healthy) treat

There were photography entries on my list too….some attempts that produced images to celebrate.

Snowflakes. There were several snow day during the month so I got several opportunities. I learned to pay attention to the temperature; in general – lower is better! …celebrating the challenge of macro photography outdoors in the snow

High key. This is an example of learning something new….being inspired…and lucky enough to create some interesting images almost immediately! …celebrating learning something new – well enough to be ‘dangerous’

And then there was the variety in the rest of the list:

Multiple virtual birding festivals in one day: Niagara, Laredo, and Bosque del Apache. It was almost overwhelming. We ended up saving some of the webinars until the next day. I was not ‘in the field’ but something that would have been physically impossible: New York/Canada – Texas – New Mexico all in one day! …celebrating the wonders of virtual travel

2021 02 01 IMG_3560 (3).jpg — ***Quiet snowy Sunday***. Sometimes it’s good to have a day to just enjoy the scenery from our windows! …celebrating home

A warmer day in Maryland that Texas or Missouri. Texts were flying across states…the family checking in…worried about water pipes breaking or loosing electricity. My family was lucky enough to come through with relatively few problems! …celebrating family sharing during times of near/potential crisis.

Curbside groceries. I have noticed how different it is from last spring. The shoppers are faster (probably more experienced) and the supply in the store is better. It will be wonderful to shop for my own groceries again but for now I am….celebrating the curbside pickup grocery service.

July 17, 2020

Tomatillos!

July 17, 2020/ Gwen Morrison

I was pleased that tomatillos was on the list in the CSA newsletter for this week and were included in the medium share.

Last year I made green salsa. I might do that again although I am keen to try some new recipes this year. And there is a beauty to the husks that are removed….enough to prompt a Zentangle!

My first use of the pound of tomatillos I got this week was to include them as an added ingredient to a chicken stir fry I make frequently. I bought bell peppers to include but the onion and garlic scape were other items from the CSA. And I ate the stir fry over a salad of lettuce, fennel, and cucumber from the CSA too. I hope we are nearing the stage where I am not putting as much into the freezer from the CSA shares (my freezer is almost full of frozen veggies).

Other plans for the tomatillos: 1) raw in a smoothie with melon and 2) stir fry then folded into taco filling. Maybe I’ll get some hot peppers in coming weeks from the CSA and make green salsa again – but that will be a later share of tomatillos.

Unique Activities for Yesterday:

**Last stem of yellow day lilies.** The multiple buds on the last stem are continuing to bloom…almost one per day. There are still two more bud that might be big enough to open.

May 05, 2020

Filling a Day of Social Distancing - 5/4/2020 – Red-Winged Blackbirds

May 05, 2020/ Gwen Morrison

Continuing the blog post series prompted by COVID-19….

Here are the unique activities for yesterday:

**Walkabout worms.** We had thunderstorms overnight and there must have been enough rain for long enough for the earthworms to move about on the surface in the night. I found two dried out specimens in our foyer. They must have crawled up the step to our porch…across the concrete porch…up another step…maneuvered under the front door (which seems to be well sealed)…and then into the foyer which is not earthworm friendly. It’s happened before when we have rain that continues for hours.

Gathering mint from the front flower beds for my morning smoothie. Along with the mint the smoothie had almond milk, chocolate protein power, kale, and a banana. Yummy!

Follow up on the iris buds on the stalk that broke. I put the broken stalk in water back on April 30th when I discovered it broken in the flower bed. I took pictures of it for 4 mornings after that and finally gave up on it yesterday. There was a beauty about it even as it deteriorated. The irises are purplish when they bloom so I was surprised at the pink tinge on the bud.

Mowing the grass. I did the whole yard except for the low place that was still too wet from the recent rains. I haven’t mastered the art of starting the mower (my husband did that part for me at the beginning). The weather was near perfect for the task: temperature in the 60s, a breeze, and sunny. We are talking about getting an electric mower…no more combustion engine fumes which are not healthy to breathe.

Links to my previous “filling a day of social distance” posts here.

And now for the drama at our neighborhood storm water retention pond….

I heard the red-winged blackbirds before I got to the pond as I walked in our neighborhood last week. A male was announcing his territory on the stubble of cattails from last summer

There was another male nearby – silent – in the grass.

On the other side of the pond there was what I thought was another male flopping around at the muddy edge of the pond. Then I realized that it was two birds!

After a bit more fighting…they separated and moved in opposite directions through the vegetation. They both were bedraggled looking…staggering a bit. I think the one in the pictures below might have been the winner since the red on his wings is still displayed.

The other one looked worse and appear to be covering the red patch on his wing.

A female red-winged blackbird observed the ruckus from a short distance away.

April 18, 2020

Filling a Day of Social Distance – 4/18/2020

April 18, 2020/ Gwen Morrison

Continuing the blog post series prompted by COVID-19….

Here are the unique activities for yesterday – wet in the morning then sunny by the end of the day:

Cheering the male red-bellied woodpecker getting breakfast in the rain. The male is in full breeding colors…and getting plenty of peanuts for from feeder!

Taking a quick look at the close view of our front porch. On the other side of the house from the birdfeeder, the front porch was wet as well. It didn’t reduce the beauty of the azalea blooms piling over the concrete or the lush leaves of day lilies (not recently munched by deer) on the other side of the front walk. I’ll put the glass birdbath out soon on the stand; it doesn’t go out until there is no danger of frost!

**Enjoying beet root powder in my smoothie.** I like the flavor of beet powder…and the color. This morning I combined it with almond milk, banana, walnuts, and a whole orange (the peeling too). Nothing was frozen so it wasn’t too chilling for a cold morning.

Finishing the Lifecycle module of the Fashion as Design Coursera course. It has been the most thought-provoking module so far. I went through my clothes and discovered that ALL my jean/slacks have at least some synthetic fiber in them (even the ‘cotton’ leggings) – which makes them difficult (near impossible) to recycle. I have more tops that are 100% cotton…but at least half are synthetic…or partly synthetic. I am experimenting with wearing clothes a bit longer between washings….and realizing that I should refrain from buying anything new for the foreseeable future!

Catching up on Cincinnati Zoo’s Home Safari videos:

Abundance of squirrel food in the maple. After the sun came out, I noticed a squirrel eating samaras. That’s a sign that thee are ripening…will fly away soon. The squirrel was gorging on the delicacy of the seeds.

Links to my previous “filling a day of social distance” posts here.

November 24, 2019

Cranberries

November 24, 2019/ Gwen Morrison

In breakfast smoothies (together with vanilla flax milk, walnuts, and a banana), salads (chopped with nuts, raw sweet potato, celery plus flakes of canned chicken, a dressing of mayo and ginger preserves), stir fry (any time I want a tart fruit flavor with the veggies), baked with an apple, a few pecans and a dab of butter.

Cranberries are easy to freeze so I’ve been stocking up and freezing them…using up almost all the small plastic containers I have. I’ll be enjoying cranberries long after the season is over.

When I want a pretty smoothie – I add some fresh or canned beets to the smoothie along with the cranberries. Very pink/red…a great seasonal start to the day.

August 22, 2019

Favorite Summer Foods

August 22, 2019/ Gwen Morrison

I have two favorite foods that are new-to-me this summer.

The first is one I started when my freezer was close to overflowing with frozen veggies from the early weeks of the Community Support Agriculture (CSA) season (while I was traveling). I started making **green smoothies** for breakfast: vanilla soymilk, frozen ‘greens,’ frozen banana, protein (peanut butter, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, raw cashews).

I put them all in the Ninja without measuring exactly; the consistency is thick shake to soft serve ice cream…always cold and yummy. Perfect for summer mornings. The past few weeks I have been getting cherry tomatoes at the CSA. I freeze them…and combine tomatoes and greens. Then the banana can be room temperature. The smoothies are a great way to start the day.

The second favorite for this summer is tomatillo salsa. This was the first year for tomatillos from my CSA. We’ve had two weeks where the share included a pound of tomatillos. I had to so a little research to decide what a wanted to do with them. I decided on salsa. The husks of the tomatillos are star-like…I enjoy the shape before putting them into the bin to go out to the compost pile.

I pan roast most of the ingredients in a skillet first.

After they are cooked and cooled – I put them into the Ninja along with the cilantro (one time I used parsley because I had a big bunch of it) to make it into salsa….and then store in glass jars left over from other salsa or preserves. It lasts for a least a week in the refrigerator. The salsa goes fast since I like it for salad dressing, stir fry sauce, a topping for hamburgers, or dip for chips/veggies.