weekly wine walk | hints of spring emerge

weekly wine walk... It is simply gorgeous out. We have had a wacky, wacky winter this year. Last weekend it was snowing. This weekend, we may hit the 50s, down right balmy. We only have patches of snow remaining in our yard, a far cry from the normal feet of snow in years past. I'd like to think that Spring is just around the corner, yet I remain a bit hesitant, weary of another possible snowstorm to come. Nevertheless, it is absolutely magical to walk around the woods and see signs of life emerging from a long winter's nap.

It is with this weekly wine walk post that I celebrate the completion of my first year of blogging and documenting the seasonal shift of my woods. It is really exciting to have spent the past year becoming aware of the subtle nuances of the nature around us. Little discoveries made each day have open my eyes to the vast amount of flora that we are fortunate enough to have in our yard. I cannot wait to continue to explore even further around our land this spring.

garden | growing your own quinoa

quintessential quinoa... Around two years ago, a South American grain caught my eye. It had a funky to say name of quinoa. It seems everyone I know that has actually heard of the grain, has a slightly different way of pronouncing it. But I was very pleased to get acquainted and make quinoa a pantry staple. Here's a fun fact on this nutty, delicious grain... it is actually a complete protein source. It is also gluten-free. When I feel like changing it up a bit, I just use it in place of rice or couscous. You cook it just like you would rice... 2 cups of water (or I use stock or bouillon) to 1 cup of quinoa. Simmer on low for 15-18 minutes.

image on right courtesy of www.incaorganics.com

One day I'd like to be able to grow and mill my own wheat, but until then, how cool is it that you can grow your own quinoa? I was flipping through Botanical Interests catalog when I came across their seed package for Quinoa Brightest Brilliant. The plumes resemble that of an astilbe. Come late summer-fall, you can harvest the grains when the seed heads start to fall off easily. Shake the heads into a bag or bucket. Dry completely and then store in a sealed container. Be sure to remove the bitter seed coating called saponin, prior to cooking. It should come off relatively easy when you are rinsing the grains.

living | the organic gardeners bookshelf

decades of knowledge right on your shelves... As an admitted book collector, one of my ever-growing libraries is my gardener's reference collection. Now splaying onto a third shelf, these books are my go-to guides for everything gardening. The latest addition will have to be Helen and Scott Nearing's The Maple Sugar Book. We recently borrowed this book from the library and opened the cover to find that not only was this book first checked out before I was even born, but that it was signed by the Nearings themselves in blue ball point pen. How cool is that? Though, we will have to return this particular book, we found enough great info in it to add it to our reference must-haves. So I will definitely be on the hunt for a copy at the next library book sale.

Some of our favorite gardening reference books are the ones written in the 1930s-60s. They made do with the simplest of inventions made of the most practical materials. So much of it can still be applied today with great success.

The books listed here would be great additions to every gardener's bookshelf:

Best Ideas for Organic Vegetable Growing by the editors of Organic Gardening

The Basic Book of Organic Gardening from Rodale Press

Rodale's All New Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening (companion book to PBS's Your Organic Garden)

Secrets of Companion Planting for Successful Gardening by Louise Riotte

Root Cellaring by Mike and Nancy Bubel

The Self-Sufficient Life and How to Live it by John Seymour

Four Season Harvest: Organic Vegetables from your Home Garden all Year Long by Eliot Coleman

garden | succession planting timing

sow and sow again... One of the keys to my success in four season gardening will lie in succession planting. I often promise myself each summer that I will commit to succession planting, but I often fail in getting around to sowing all that I promised. Ever the optimist, I am hoping that this year will be be different. So, in an effort to help achieve my goal, I have plotted out on my calender my weekly seeding to-dos. I know right now that on June 19th, I will be reseeding my carrots and bush beans. Let's just hope that when that Saturday comes around, I actually do it.

A gardener's must-have is to compile a list of their crop's succession planting dates. Below is a list that Eliot Coleman scripted in his book Four-Season Harvest. Happy seeding!

beans — every two weeks

beets — every two weeks

carrots — every two weeks

celery — twice: early spring and three months before fall frost

cucumbers — a 2nd and 3rd planting at monthly intervals will keep fruit quality high

lettuce & other salad greens — sow every week or two during the growing season

peas — twice: early summer and midsummer

radishes — sow every week

spinach — sow short rows every week during spring and late summer.

summer squash — 2nd and 3rd planting at monthly intervals will keep fruit quality high

recipe | neiman marcus chocolate chip cookies

of myth or cookie... One of my favorite urban myths is of course food oriented, it is the legend of the Neiman Marcus chocolate chip cookie. The rumor that circulated for years and years was that a customer asked the famed store for their chocolate chip cookie recipe and the store charged her $250 for it. Of course, no one knows where this story exactly generated, but it definitely is an urban myth. Neiman Marcus even pays homage to the tale on their website.

The real reason why I finally am getting around to testing this recipe is because it contains espresso powder and I have been looking for reasons to use this fun ingredient in many of my recipes. Hot chocolate? Add espresso powder. Making brownies? Add espresso powder. Basically I'm trying to say is that I need to work my way through the jar before it expires. But I was pretty pleased with the results. Honestly, is there a bad chocolate chip cookie recipe out there? Probably not, but the espresso powder adds a nice depth and body to this cookie. It is subtle enough to go unnoticed by my boys, but I definitely picked up on it.

Neiman Marcus Chocolate Chip Cookies

yield: 2 dozen cookies

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened

1 cup light brown sugar

3 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 large egg

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1-3/4 cups all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1-1/2 teaspoons instant espresso coffee powder

1-1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 300ºF. Cream the butter with the sugars using an electric mixer on medium speed until fluffy. Beat in the egg and the vanilla extract for another 30 seconds.

In a mixing bowl, sift together the dry ingredients and beat into the butter mixture at low speed for about 15 seconds. Stir in the espresso coffee powder and chocolate chips.

Using a 1 ounce scoop or a 2 tablespoon measure, drop cookie dough onto a greased cookie sheet about 3 inches apart. Gently press down on the dough with the back of a spoon to spread out into a 2 inch circle. Bake for about 20 minutes or until nicely browned around the edges. Bake a little longer for a crispier cookie.