Oklahoma Spring in My Backyard – Part 2

Never discount the possibility of any kind of weather, any time of the year, in Oklahoma. Just when I thought it was safe to plan a weekend of deck lounging, a winter storm system moved out of Colorado, dumping two feet of snow on our neighbors in northwest Oklahoma and about an inch in my neighborhood in central Oklahoma.



Fortunately temperatures are supposed to warm up in a day or so; then we get to watch the skies for thunderstorms (YAY!)

See Oklahoma Spring in My Backyard – Part 1 for photos of the faux spring we experienced last week.

Oklahoma Spring in My Backyard – Part 1


Random photos from my backyard…

Hubby built a new railing for our deck and installed a wall-mounted fountain:




Hot air balloons on a Sunday evening…





Tomato seedlings (cue the song “At Last” and see My Seed Problem for more thorough explanation). Buddy guards the door as I transplant seedlings from the starter tray into styrofoam “pots”.

I have high hopes…


The Case of the Crooked Tree

In spite of freezing temperatures and snow in the forecast this week, spring has already arrived in central Oklahoma. Bradford Pear trees line the streets of Edmond, creating clouds of white flowers. They are everywhere, in all sizes, and these spectacular trees burst into bloom the first week of March. We were fortunate to have several in place when we moved into our house three years ago. This year they displayed the most extravagant, snowy white blossoms ever; but my husband says that I say that every year. And I am very biased about the natural beauty I find in Oklahoma.



Sharing the front yard with the pear tree is a crooked little purple leaf plum tree. Prior to the arrival of shiny purple leaves, beautiful delicate pink-petaled blossoms adorn this tree.


Since it grows at an angle and is not exactly a lush, full tree, my husband has wanted to cut it down since he first saw it. He believes the yard would look better without it. My argument has been that it is healthy and that it seems a shame to cut down a perfectly good tree. But last summer I finally agreed to his reasoning, and our plan was to cut it down during the winter. Somehow we never got around to it.

The other day when I walked out to get the mail, I stopped and looked at our misshapen tree, and suddenly I was smitten. This sturdy little tree endures the Oklahoma weather extremes of cold temperatures, ice, snow, heat, and drought; and yet every spring it unfailingly provides us with beautiful blooms. How could we kill it? It deserves a chance to live.

And so, when Hubby got home, I took a deep breath and pleaded the case of the crooked tree, and he good-naturedly acquiesced.

The little plum tree will live out its natural life in all its quirky glory. And I swear since I told it the news, it has straightened up a little bit.

Orangette Is An Okie


Oklahoman food editor Dave Cathey had a nice article about Molly Wizenberg yesterday. Molly hails (as we like to say in Oklahoma) from Oklahoma and is one of my blog idols. She authors the delightful Orangette blog, with impeccable writing and exquisite photography.

With the advent of her new book, A Homemade Life: A Homemade Life: Stories and Recipes from My Kitchen Table, Okies are possessively rising up to claim her as their own.

Congratulations, Molly!

You may read further updates about Molly in Dave’s blog, Food Dude.

Hubby’s Gourmet Mac and 5 Cheese


My hubby and I ate at our nearby TGI Friday’s recently and decided to try the Gourmet Mac n’ Five Cheese, which was winner of the Food Network’s Ultimate Recipe Showdown for comfort food. It contains blue cheese, which Hubby does not care for, but I told him he probably would not notice it as a separate flavor, so he trusted me and ordered it. It was served with sliced grilled chicken breast, and we absolutely loved the dish.

Over the weekend, he downloaded the recipe from Food Network and prepared it using the cheese we had on hand – fontina, gruyere, parmesan, provolone, and smoked gouda – and penne in place of macaroni (just like Friday’s). He painstakingly followed the recipe and while the casserole was baking, he grilled the chicken.


It was excellent! We thought the cheese sauce needed that extra boost that the blue cheese and white cheddar would have provided, so next time we will add those to our shopping list. We also had to add an extra sprinkle of salt.

I managed to capture three photos before we gorged ourselves.

My Peanut Butter


With all the recent concern about peanuts, I thought it was a good time to learn to make my own peanut butter. I chose Oklahoma grown raw Spanish peanuts from Lasley Family Farm and roasted them for about 30 minutes in a 350 oven. I will purchase roasted peanuts next time, as removing the skin from the peanuts was not fun.

Following Alton Brown’s recipe for homemade peanut butter, I used my food processor to grind peanuts, oil, salt and honey to velvety goodness. When I took the lid off the processor, the heady roasted aroma made me weak.

Storing in the refrigerator preserves homemade peanut butter for up to two months, if it lasts that long.


A recent post on Shelby’s blog inspired me to try My Peanut Butter in her Asian-inspired recipe. I adapted the ingredients to what I had on hand, including substituting dry sherry for the rice vinegar and omitting the ketchup and Hoisin sauce. I think the ingredients can be adjusted according to one’s taste and sense of adventure. Here is my version:

Sesame Peanut Spaghetti
8 oz dry spaghetti
2 small uncooked boneless, skinless chicken breasts, diced
1/2 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2/3 cup water
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 tablespoon dry sherry
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil

Cook spaghetti in boiling water to desired doneness. Drain and set aside.

In a small saucepan over low heat, mix and warm peanut butter, sherry, brown sugar and soy sauce, gradually adding water until smooth. Set aside.

Heat vegetable oil in wok, add garlic and onion, saute until softened. Push to the side and add diced chicken. Saute until lightly browned and no longer pink. Push to the side and add sesame oil, heating briefly before adding spaghetti. Toss spaghetti with other wok ingredients. Add peanut butter sauce and mix thoroughly. Serve.

This was one of those meals that we could not stop eating. The savory peanut butter sauce coated and soaked into the spaghetti strands to produce rich, toothsome, very satisfying fare.

I did not photograph the finished product, because I had already sampled it and could not wait any longer to eat it. I did, however, take a lovely photo of what was left in the wok after dinner, right before I ate the last bites.

My Seed Problem


This was the scene on Wednesday: a bone-chilling 10 degrees outside, a layer of ice and snow covering the ground, and my thoughts turned to…seeds! In the middle of a cold, windy Oklahoma winter I love to wrap up in my blanket and read seed catalogs, enticed by visions of rainbow hued tomatoes ripening in the July heat.

My problem, of course, is that I buy way too many seeds. My eyes are bigger than my garden.


When we lived near the Texas Gulf coast, I became enamored with old, open-pollinated varieties of tomatoes called heirloom tomatoes. Not only is the idea of heirloom seeds attractive to me, but their designations are so evocative and enticing that I buy some just for their names–Rose De Berne, Aunt Ginny’s Purple, Black from Tula, Jaune Flamme, Yellow Brandywine, Cherokee Purple, Caro Rich.

In one of my favorite gardening books, Dr. Carolyn Male’s 100 Heirloom Tomatoes for the American Garden, each page contains a photo of an heirloom tomato with taste descriptions rivaling that of a wine review. One of my fantasies is to have the space, the time, and the resources to grow every variety of tomato in that book!

My favorite cherry tomato is Sungold, the only hybrid tomato I grow, and it is most aromatic tomato ever, both in foliage and fruit. And thanks to organic gardening practices, I can pop those beauties right into my mouth straight from the vine. I not only ordered Sungold seeds this year but also heirlooms Beefsteak, Japanese Black Trifele, Moonglow, Yellow Plum, Babywine, Black, Black Pear, Ananas Noire, Ruby Pearl, and Chianti Rose.

In order to get a headstart on the Oklahoma heat, tomato plants should be in the ground by mid-March, and this means the seeds must be started this month. Where to plant all those tomatoes will be a real challenge with my small, raised beds.

These are some of the tomatoes produced by my attempt at organic gardening (a monumental challenge battling stinkbugs) in Texas in 2005:


And here is a mix of Farmer’s Market and my own garden tomatoes in Oklahoma in 2007:


I hope my greed for seed pays off in bushels of juicy tomatoes this summer. Then I can blog about my salt problem.

BCS Bowl – The Best Team Lost

The 2009 BCS Championship game on January 9 was a highly anticipated event at our house. Living in a state that is passionate about the OU Sooners football team is very satisfying. After living in Texas–home to the Longhorns, the Aggies, and Texas Tech–it is refreshing to find abundant Sooner fans proudly waving their OU flags, wearing red and white T-shirts and sweatshirts, and talking openly about their love of anything Sooner-ish. My hubby supports OU every morning with his coffee mug.


In case you have no idea what the BCS Bowl was all about, No. 1 Oklahoma Sooners faced No. 2 Florida Gators in Miami, Florida, to determine the BCS National champions. Florida defeated the Sooners 24-14. All I can say about it is that the Sooners are better than their game indicated, and I was depressed when the game was over.

Here is what my son, a Texas Aggie, said about the game. He supports the Sooners (when they are not playing Texas A&M.)

Tough game. OU should’ve had a 10-14 point lead at halftime, which would’ve changed the whole complexion of the game.

I also don’t understand some of Kevin Wilson’s decisions. OU was killing UF with the 4 and 5 WR set in the 1st half, and then they went away from it. Their OL was rock solid in the 1st half — UF couldn’t get close to Bradford. And then in the 2nd half they decide to roll Bradford out of the pocket where he was exposed. Once he gets hit, he’s not the same QB.

Defense actually played well, but got worn down in the 4th qtr due to the offense’s inability to score.

Stoops and Meyer are the two best coaches in the country; unfortunately, Meyer outcoached Stoops last night.

It was a great game though — two very good teams. I would love to see Utah play Florida.

That part I bolded? I have no idea what that means. I call it “man language” (although many women speak it also) and there is no translation for it on Babel Fish.

Here is my husband’s response, written in the same man language:

Yes, it was a very good game; wish it could have ended differently but I agree with you—-the play calling was very good in the 2nd quarter but for whatever reason, they went in a different direction from what was working.

Defense played outstanding on all but way too many 3rd and long.
Good game overall but they should have stuck with the hurry up, run it down their throats plays that were working in the 2nd quarter.

A couple of questionable calls and a couple of better 3rd and 4th down offensive plays and it could have been a completely different game.

Neither of these quotes alleviated my depression in any way, but I am already looking forward to next fall and the 2009 college football season.

Volcano Cheese Bread

I love melty, gooey cheese and warm, fragrant bread, and to find both in a recipe is a bread-baker’s (and glutton’s) dream. This recipe is an adaptation of one from the King Arthur Flour website and will not disappoint.

Volcano Cheese Bread
Starter
1-1/4 cups unbleached flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon instant yeast
1/2 cup cool water

Dough
All of the Starter
1-1/4 cups lukewarm water
1 teaspoon salt
3-1/4 cups unbleached flour
1/2 teaspoon instant yeast

Filling
2-1/2 cups grated cheese (I used fresh mozzarella, havarti, parmesan, and sharp Cheddar)

Directions
Starter:
In a medium-sized bowl, mix Starter ingredients together till well-combined. Make sure all ingredients are well-mixed; batter will be stiff. Cover and let rest overnight at room temperature. After the overnight resting, it will look similar to this:


Bread Dough:
Combine risen starter with Dough ingredients. Knead (using your favorite method–I used my KitchenAid dough hook) until smooth dough is formed. Put dough in lightly greased bowl, cover, and let rise for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or till nearly doubled.

Gently press on dough with your fist to deflate it, then press it into a 9″ x 12″ shape. Mist with water; sprinkle with grated cheese. Starting with long side, roll carefully into a log and seal seam by pinching. Place seam-side down on lightly oiled or floured surface. Cover and let rise for 1 to 1-1/2 hours, or until puffed but not necessarily doubled.

Preheat oven to 425°F. Cut dough crosswise into 2 halves or four pieces, depending on the size of loaf you prefer. Place cut side up on lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheet, using one sheet for two halves or two sheets for four pieces. Gently spread apart to expose cheese.


Mist with warm water and bake immediately, 20 minutes for smaller loaves or 35 minutes for larger loaves, or until the cheese is melted and loaves are deep golden brown. Remove from the oven, cool on a rack until you can’t stand it anymore, then tear off pieces with your fingers and enjoy bites of savory fondue-like cheese encased in a tender and tangy bread.

Christmas Tradition: Deviled Eggs


Along with other required favorites, my family always requests deviled eggs for our Christmas dinner. I found this recipe nearly 40 years ago, and I have never been persuaded to use any other version.

Deviled Eggs

6 hard-boiled eggs, halved
1/4 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 teaspoon mustard
salt and pepper to taste

Halve eggs lengthwise; remove yolks and mash (or process in food processor) with mayonnaise, vinegar, mustard, and salt and pepper. Fill or pipe into egg white. Chill.