Trying to Think about Spring

Last week my sister asked me why I hadn't blogged in so long, and I realized how long it had been. What can I say? December and January are tough months - non-stop work and winter weather. Actually we had wonderful weather in December and for the first three weeks of January. I had lots of opportunities to work in the garden, spreading mulch and enjoying the daffodils that thought it was spring and bloomed so cheerfully. Then came the last week of January and this week. We are having the coldest weather we've had in ten years in the Washington, D.C. area. I think most of the eastern United States and the Midwest are having the same problems.

However, I'm thinking about spring. My plants and seeds are ordered, and I've started some seeds already. I have baby pansy plants and some spinach plants and lettuce plants. I even started a few pea plants since I will probably plant peas the last week of February - unless this nasty weather persists. Today my husband went to Lowe's to get some potting soil to fill the Earth Boxes in a week or so. Last year I filled them early, covered them with black plastic and let them warm up in the sun for a week before I planted peas and lettuce.

I confess I'm a bit worried about my fig trees, my oleander and my bay laurel tree. I've covered their roots with a pretty thick layer of mulch, but these super cold temperatures aren't good for them. In 1996 when I only had one fig tree the extremely cold weather caused my fig tree to die back to its roots. The tree was really short that year and didn't bear many figs. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

We've been eating lots of soup and chili since the weather turned cold. Yesterday Judi baked cookies all day long because the Interact Clubs sponsored by my Rotary club are taking Valentines, candy and cookies to wounded soldiers up in Washington today. The house was nice and toasty when I got home from work. For supper we had a soup made of cabbage, white beans, kidney beans and spelt. Judi baked a loaf of rye bread to go with it. We've been trying the bread mixes from Bob's Red Mill. They're all really good. We've also enjoyed the bread mixes from King Arthur Flour.

Here's a good casserole for a winter day - unless, of course, all the celery in California and Florida freezes.

Almond Celery Bake
10-12 Servings

1 bunch celery, sliced (about 6 cups)
3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese - I like the Kraft Mexican blend best
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 can (10 3/4 ounces) condensed cream of mushroom soup, undiluted (the original recipe called for celery soup, but that's made with chicken broth which I don't eat, so I use mushroom soup.)
1 cup soft bread crumbs
1/2 cup slivered almonds

Place the celery in a greased 2 qt. baking dish. Sprinkle with cheese, paprika and pepper. Top with the soup. Sprinkle with bread crumbs. Cover and bake at 375 degrees F for 45 minutes.
Uncover; sprinkle with the almonds. Bake 10-15 minutes longer or until golden brown.


This recipe was adapted from a recipe in Taste of Home. I like the magazine even though I have to adapt most of the recipes to make them vegetarian.