POINSETTIAS TO THE RESCUE IN SUMMER

Poinsettias are one of my favorite types of flowers.  They come in endless patterns and colors in the most vivid of reds you can imagine. They bring joy and happiness all through the holiday season, seldom stopping there. Quite often they lend color for Valentine’s Day, blooming well into spring.  Poinsettias are resilient and remain beautiful even with the summer weather challenges of the Midwest. 

As the summer begins to wane, they can step in to pinch hit when other container flowers have withered away.  A friend just gave me three beautiful potted pointsettia plants.  Having a container whose inhabitants could not take the heat, I decided to build a grouping using these three plants along with some caladiums and a bunch of lemongrass for the central thriller. 

 Yeah, I know, they are no longer red, but the green is deep and rich and really sets off the colors of the caladiums. 

As a final touch, several smaller Wild Poinsettias, (Euphorbia cyathophora) were popped into the corners.  I discovered them while running along a road in North Carolina and dug some up to bring home.  They have naturalized in my garden and reseed ever year.  They too are hardy and the very top of the plant turns brilliant scarlet just like their big cousins without having to be pampered or placed in the dark.

Poinsettias will even blend nicely with fall mums and grasses in fall containers.

You may have pitched your poinsettias by now, but if you still have them around, put them to work again!

PAPRIKA PEACH PIE

Laurie came home from the store with bag of fragrant ripe peaches. We made peach pie with a twist containing paprika, white pepper and Angostura bitters. The amount of sugar is also reduced further emphasizing the flavor of the fresh fruit. The recipe came from the Four and Twenty Blackbirds Pie Book, my favorite pie shop in Brooklyn. They do a great job with pie and these unusual ingredients always small in amount, are way big on flavor.  Here's the recipe.

Paprika Peach Pie

Make your favorite crust for a double 9-inch pie.

5-6 cups sliced peaches
2 TBS fresh lemon juice
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 packed brown sugar
3 TBS cornstarch
1 TBS sweet paprika
1/8 teaspoon white pepper
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
1-2 dashes Angostura Bitters
Egg wash (1 egg whisked with a teaspoon of water and a pinch of salt)
Sugar for finishing

Roll out bottom crust, fit into 9-inch pie pan and place in the refrigerator.

Slice peaches into 1/2 inch slices, add to large bowl and sprinkle with the lemon juice. (Note: I don't peel my peaches but if you prefer, do this before slicing.)

Add the sugars, cornstarch, spices and bitters. Toss well to combine. Spoon the filling into the cooled pie shell.  Arrange the lattice or pastry round on top
and crimp.  Brush crust with egg wash and sprinkle with finishing sugar.  Chill the pie in the fridge for 15 minutes to set the pastry.  

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.  shift baking racks to the bottom and center.  Place a rimed baking sheet on the bottom rack.

When the the oven reaches temperature, place the pie on the rimmed baking sheet on the bottom rack of the oven and bake 20 minutes. Lower the oven temperature to 375 degrees F, move the pie to the center oven rack and continue to bake until the pastry is a deep golden brown and the juices are bubbling through, 30-35 minutes longer.

Allow to cool 2 hours and serve slightly warm with ice cream.  Ahhhh...heaven!

GARDEN TIME STRAWBERRY-LEMON PIE

GARDEN TIME STRAWBERRY-LEMON PIE

Ingredients

         

LEMON BASE

1 single pie crust rolled and fitted into a 9" pie pan

1/2 cup unsalted butter

about 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice from 2 lemons

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 tablespoon flour

1 tablespoon cornstarch

4 large eggs, lightly beaten

STRAWBERRY GLAZE

1-pound bag frozen strawberries, thawed

2 cups fresh berries, washed and stemmed

3/4 to 1 cup sugar

3 tablespoons cornstarch

2 teaspoons lemon juice

pinch of salt

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375°F.  Melt the butter, and stir in the lemon

juice, salt, sugar, flour and cornstarch. Add the eggs and

whisk until the mixture is well combined.

Pour the mixture into the unbaked pie shell.

Bake the pie on the bottom shelf for 30 minutes until the

center is set. Remove the pie from the oven and allow it to cool.

Make the strawberry glaze in a medium saucepan, mix the thawed frozen berries and their juice with the sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice and salt.

Bring the strawberry mixture to a boil, stirring constantly.

When it is clear and thickened, remove it from the heat and cool.

Fold in the fresh berries, and mound the glaze atop the pie.

Garnish with whipped cream, sliced strawberries and lemon balm leaves. Store the pie, covered, in the fridge.

GROWING YOUR OWN SWEET POTATO STARTS

Growing Your Own Sweet Potato Starts  

We love sweet potatoes and they grow very well here in the Heartland with our long warm growing season.  I usually order my sweet potato starts via mail order but this spring I experienced “sticker shock” when I discovered it would cost me $31 with shipping for 12 measly sweet potato starts!   “Too much”, I said, “there has to be a better way”.  I was having lunch soon after with a librarian friend who has been a life long farmer and described to me how she creates her own sweet potato starts every spring.  

She picks up a couple tubers from the produce department of her local grocery store. After washing them gently, she inserts 4 toothpicks around the middle and sets the tube upright in a glass of water.  Finally she places it in a sunny window and waits.  

This really works!  Even though spring is over, you can try this because our growing season is plenty long to grow sweet potatoes. I had one potato upside down, but as soon as I righted it stem-side up, it sent out shoots. In a few weeks, the eyes of the potato begin to sprout and grow.  When they get to 3 or 4 inches tall, you can snap them off at the tuber and place them in a jar of water whereupon they will immediately send out roots.  Once rooted, pot each start in a small pot with potting soil and place outside in a protected place to acclimate and to continue to grow before setting into their permanent growing area.  

If you are really feeling adventurous, you can make your own Sweet Potato Composting Tree.

This compost tree allows you to grow sweet potatoes on the lower level while feeding them with kitchen scraps and yard waste at the top.

What You Need

Plastic-covered work surface

Large batch of Hypertufa 

 Instructions here:

http://fromthesummersgarden.blogspot.com/p/normal-0-false-false-false-en-us-ja-x_10.html

Black marker

Large piece of cardboard

2” wide masking tape

Large plastic bag

Stack of scrap paper or newspaper

Concrete trowel 

A brick

Four foot length of rebar or pipe

Pair of mud gloves

20-ounce tin can with bottom and top removed.

What You Do

1. Draw a large half-circle on the piece of cardboard with the black marker.  A hula-hoop is a good size if you must trace something, but I suggest just free-handing it and a bit larger, because larger is easier.  It will be wonky and uneven and that’s OK for this part.

2. Roll the half circle into a cone and secure with masking tape.  Pack the cone with crumpled scrap paper to make it solid and crisscross the bottom of the cone with tape to hold the paper inside. 

3. Cover the cone with a large plastic bag, pull it tight around the form and secure with masking tape.  You’ll use quite a bit of tape for this process.

4. Place the prepared cone mold on a plastic covered work surface.

5.  Mix up a large batch of Hypertufa.  If you run out, just mix more.

6. Start packing the hypertufa around the base of the cone, making a complete ring around the base of the cone.  Punch and press into as close to a circular shape as possible- it does not need to be perfect. The thickness should be at least 1 ½”. 

 7. Continue to pack the tufa onto the cone forming it ring by ring until your reach the top.  To finish at the top, make a softball -size ball of tufa, place it on the top peak and mold onto the form to shape.  This will ensure you have adequate material at the tip.

Tip: Stick a small piece of rebar into the top to hold an ornament for a nice finishing touch.

8. Allow to sit for several hours to stiffen and then use the concrete trowel to divide the cone into three sections. Slice all the way through the tufa touching the cone form with the trowel. You want to thoroughly divide the cone into three sections.

9. Once divided into sections, use the can to punch four holes in each of the bottom two sections. Twist the can into the tufa surface until you reach the cone form. Stager the holes in the second section form those on the bottom.  

10. Allow to set overnight or even a day or two until the tufa has set and hardened but is still “green” ( dark gray and still damp).  Carefully remove the sections from the mold and clean the edges using gloved hands.  If the hole centers have not come out, carefully punch them out and smooth the edges.

11. Allow to cure and dry out for several days.  Meanwhile, find a large pot to serve as the base for your compost tree. Cut a circle from a ¾ inch piece of scrap plywood that is a bit larger than the rim of your pot but under the measurement of the bottom of your compost tree base. Cut out the center as well.  I ended up with a ring about 4 inches thick.  Center this on top of the large pot stand.  

12. Place the bottom section of the compost tree on top of the plywood ring.  Fill the bottom of the pot and the lowest level of the compost tree with good garden soil.  Plant a sweet potato start in each of the four holed of the base section.

13. Position the middle section of the compost tree on top of the base section and fill the edges with dirt, leaving a bowl-like depression in the center to receive compostable material. Plant four more sweet potato starts on each of the holes of the middle section.  Water from the top and put the cone lid in position.

14. When the sweet potato vines begin to grow train them around the hypertufa cone and soon you will have a green compost tree as a functional yet interesting feature in your garden.  

FOUR AND 20 BLACKBIRDS RHUBARB PIE

Pie is one of those foods that consistently remains at the top of my food chain and the pie that tops my list is made from the common "pie plant", Rhubarb...not strawberry-rhubarb, not apple-rhubarb...RHUBARB. I am a purist and do not want anything messing with my rhubarb.

Last year on a trip to Brooklyn, we discovered an absolutely delightful pie shop called Four and Twenty Blackbirds. Their pies and cookbook have fast become favorites because they are also pie purists and their rhubarb pie is unique and delicious. It is so because the recipe includes cardamom and Angostura bitters. This is one heck of a good pie.

Rhubarb grows as a weed in Wisconsin and with little effort. In Kansas, growing rhubarb has been an annual challenge which usually ends up with me losing. I have grown flats from seed to end up with one plant that languishes in our hot humid summers. This year, the planets have aligned and I have been able to make a real purist pie from my own rhubarb.  

How did this come to pass? First of all, we've enjoyed an absolutely perfect spring. Rhubarb loves this weather. Secondly, several of my plants from last year made it through the winter and produced plenty for my pie.  

This spring I have planted two new varieties of rhubarb, bred to outlast the heat and humidity of middle America. I will not mention how much i had to pay for these new varieties...let's just say it was less than a chief's ticket!

The first new variety's called Hardy Tarty

and the second, Kangarhu.

I am waiting patiently,

to see how they will do!

Here's the Rhubarb Pie recipe.

Four and Twenty Blackbirds Rhubarb Pie

 Pastry for double crust pie

6 cups fresh or frozen rhubarb, diced

¾ cup packed light brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

¼ teaspoon ground allspice

¼ teaspoon ground cardamom

¼ teaspoon ground ginger

3 to 4 Tablespoons cornstarch

1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Egg wash: 1 large egg whisked with 1 TBS water

Several dashes Angostura bitters

Sugar for finishing

Prepare pastry.  Split in half and roll out the bottom and line a 9” pie pan with the crust and crimp edge.  Whisk egg with water and brush bottom and sides of crust with egg wash. Reserve 1 TBS of the wash for the upper crust.  Place in refrigerator to chill while you mix the filling.

Pour the remaining egg wash over the diced rhubarb in a large mixing bowl.  Add sugars, spices and flavorings and stir together.

Roll out top crust and cut into lattice strips. 

Remove bottom crust from refrigerator and fill with the rhubarb mixture. 

Weave a lattice crust and crimp the edges.  Brush with reserved egg wash and sprinkle with decorative sugar. Chill the pie in the refrigerator for 10-15 minutes to set the crust.  Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 425 degrees F and position racks in the oven to the bottom and center. Place a rimmed baking sheet on the bottom rack.

Place the pie on the rimmed baking sheet on the bottom rack of the oven and Bake 20-25 minutes or until the pastry is set and just beginning to brown.  Lower the temperature to 375 degrees F and move the pie to the center rack of the oven.  Continue to bake until pastry is deep golden and the juices are bubbling, about 30-35 minutes longer. Allow to cool completely on a wire rack.

SPRING STUDIO SALE OPENS THURSDAY, MAY 21

Skies are bluing up in this gray time and it looks good for us to open our Spring Studio Sale on THURSDAY, MAY 21. We will be open 10:00 am to 5:00 pm every Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday through May up to Sunday, June 21.  

This includes Memorial Day, Monday, May 25.  

Most of the sales environment is already outside and the inside studio portion will be wide open as well. Lots of safe social spaces here- Plan on getting outta the house and joining us!

SPLURGE STORY

Steve Aiken is editor of my favorite gardening magazine, Fine Gardening.  In this this month's  issue

his opening editorial really hit a cord with me as a avid gardener..and my name is Steve too!

Splurge Story

by Steve Aiken

From what I understand, avid gardeners can go a bit overboard when buying plants.  I don’t ever do this, but I know it happens because people have told me.  It reminds me of something that happened to a friend of mine, not to me.

He was shopping at a local nursery widely known for its outstanding selection of cool and unusual plants.  Sure, I shop there too, and am male, but this story is not about me.  It is about my friend, who is not me-and who happens to be quite handsome for an  older fella.

Amid all of the treasures at this nursery, he spied a shrub with glossy burgundy leaves shining in the sunlight, as though the gardening gods had focused a spotlight on this very plant so that he might gaze upon it.  He was drawn to it, and reveled in its beauty.  

As he bent down to add the plant to his cart, he happened to notice the price tag. Immediately, clouds obscured the sun and a cold wind blew.  It was way too expensive.  He placed it back where he had found it-with, it seemed, a little piece of his soul.

He continued shopping but his attention always went back to those glossy burgundy leaves. He looked at the carts of the other customers hoping that none of them had bought the coveted plant either.  

That’s when he came up with a plan.  He would buy the plant (car payment be damned) when he knew his wife wouldn’t be home. He would plant it immediately and once the plant was in the ground, he would cover up the evidence.

With the course of action clear before him, he returned to the plant where he had placed it, slightly obscured from the view of less-discerning customers.  He placed the shrub in his cart and felt the warmth of the sun on his back. A bluebird perched on a near-by tree and chirped its approval.  His soul was restored.  And he marched triumphantly to the cash register, thinking to him self, “Nice choice, Steve!” Oh, my friend’s name is also Steve. This didn’t happen to me. Did I mention he was handsome?

CONCRETE FLOWER MESSAGE BAR

Concrete Flower Message Bar 

This is a fun project to do by oneself or with a group of helpers. Plastic flowers are given a transformation by dipping them into a wet concrete mixture, which makes them “outdoorable”.

Use as ornaments for planters, pots or wherever you want to add a surprise element in your garden. These instructions will show you how to create these flowers and a Word Bar to display them as a hanging plaque or as container ornament and you can use the single flowers any way you see fit.

What You Need:

-Simple plastic flowers (daisies are perfect, roses not so much) with leaves and a strong stem.

- can of old spray paint

-1 1/4” x 4 ½” x 8 ½” piece of insulation foam 

-sand topping concrete mix (yellow/red/black Quikcrete bag)

- yogurt cup

-white glue

-pair of scissors, a ruler and a pencil

-X-acto knife with a sharp blade

-10  3” common nails

-small hand or keyhole saw

-vegetable oil or bakers spray

- large plastic mixing bowl or pail

-wooden spoon or cement trowel

- 1-inch paint brush

- extra foam pieces to hold drying flowers

-latex or vinyl gloves

What you do:

1. Make the Word Bar mold first. Measure an 8 1/2" x 4 1/2"  rectangle on the piece of 1 1/4" thick foam and cut out with the saw.  Now measure and cut two long foam strips  6" x 1" and two short strips, 4 1/2" x 1". You should now have a rectangular base, two long strips and two short. 

2. Drag this image to your desktop and print out this lettering pattern on your printer.

 Cut out the rectangle with the word BLOOM backward. Lightly (just a smear) coat the back of the lettering pattern with white glue and center in the middle of the large rectangle base and allow to dry.  

3.  Using the X-acto knife held at a 45-degree angle cut out the dark letters using small up and down strokes. Don’t worry that the letters are backward.  They will read correctly on the finished product. Remove the remaining pattern paper from the foam. 

4.  Assemble the mold using the nails.  Measure down the middle of the long top and bottom mold pieces making a mark with the pencil every 1-½ inches.  You will end up with three evenly spaced marks on the top and bottom of the Word Bar. At each mark, use the pencil to pierce a hole, starting at the bottom and passing through the topside of the mold.  Run a plastic straw through these holes from bottom to top.  These will become the holes that hold the flowers in the Word Bar. Spray or oil the inside of the mold and set aside. 

 5.  Prepare the plastic flowers by trimming stems that are too long and “fluffing” the leaves and petals so they look their best.  If they seem especially slick and shiny, spritz them with any color of spray paint you have on hand.  This will help the concrete to adhere.

6.  Remove the flower heads and stick the stems with leaves into a sheet of foam or an overturned cardboard box punched with holes.  This will serve as your drying rack.

7.  Put on the latex or vinyl gloves. Measure three yogurt cups of sand mix cement into a plastic mixing bowl.  Slowly add warm water and mix thoroughly to the consistency of melted ice cream: smooth, rich and not too runny.

8. This is the messy part…expect a mess! Dip and slosh each flower head into the mixture, using your fingers and a paintbrush to coat everything- petals and centers, fronts and backs.  Carefully lay the dipped flower heads down onto the foam with the front side facing up.

Now dip the leaves on the stems completely into the mixture and stick them into your drying rack. Allow setting and hardening before repeating this step a second time. Two dippings should do the trick.

 9.  Pour any remaining concrete into the Word Bar mold and tap to remove air bubbles.  If, after both dippings, you do not have enough concrete to fill the mold, mix enough to fill it and allow setting and hardening overnight.  When hard, carefully remove the nails to free your cast Word Bar.  Smooth the edges and trim off the excess straws with the X-acto knife and make sure the straw holes are clean.  Reassemble the mold because you can use it repeatedly to make additional word bars.

Once everything is dried and cleaned, you’ll have the fun of finding creative ways to use your flowers and Word Bar around your garden. The concrete covered flowers will shed a few crumbs every time you move them, so once in place, leave them be.  It’s time to bloom!

SPICED CHAI CAKE WITH PUMPKIN FILLING

When I visit a coffee shop, I usually forego the coffee and order a Chai Latte.  I love this combination of spices with a bite.  Here is a cake that mimics this flavor with a luscious Spiced Pumpkin Dip filling made by KC Gourmet.  Holy yum!

SPICED CHAI CAKE WITH PUMPKIN FILLING

1.  Coat a 13” X 9” pan with baking spray and line bottom with baking parchment and preheat oven to 350F.

2.  Mix together:

1 yellow cake mix

3 eggs

1 cup applesauce

1 cup water

1 teaspoon vanilla

¼ teaspoon almond extract

1 TBS Chai Spice*

*You can buy this premade on Amazon.  I like to make my own that is less sweet with more of a snappier bite.

    3 tablespoons ground cinnamon

1 tablespoon ground cardamom

1 tablespoon ground ginger

½ tablespoon ground allspice 

½ tablespoon ground cloves

½ tablespoon ground nutmeg

½ tablespoon ground black pepper

3.  Pour mixed batter into baking pan.  

4. Bake for 30-35minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes. 

5. Run a knife around the edges of the pan and invert cake onto a sheet of parchment paper.  Cut in half horizontally.  Then cut top half into four smaller equal sections. 

6. Return the top half to the cake pan one section at a time. A nice wide spatula makes this easy work.

7.  Spread the contents of one jar of KC Gourmet’s Spiced Pumpkin Dip. Replace the second half of cake on top of the filling.  You can try it in one piece using the parchment paper or cut the second layer into sections as you did the first.

8. Allow to cool and then place covered in the freezer while you prepare the frosting.

SPICE CHAI CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

1/2 cup of butter, room temperature

8 oz cream cheese, room temperature

About 3 cups of powdered sugar 

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

¼ teaspoon almond extract

1 teaspoon Chai spice

1. Using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter together until completely smooth, about 3 minutes on medium speed. Use a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl to ensure that the mixture is mixed evenly.

2.  Beat in vanilla and almond extract, Chai Spice. With the mixer running on low speed to start, slowly add in 2 cups of the powdered sugar. Keep adding  powdered sugar until you get the desired spreading consistency.

3. Spread the frosting over the surface of the cake.  Dust the top lightly with more Chai Spice. Refrigerate and serve.

When I visit a coffee shop, I usually forego the coffee and order a Chai Latte.  I love this combination of spices with a bite.  Here is a cake that mimics this flavor with a lucious Spiced Pumpkin Dip filling made by KC Gourmet.  Holy yum!