Stop and Pick Up the Litter - An Earth Day Post

I awoke this morning to the sound of a flicker drumming on the street light by my driveway. I assume this is some sort of "This is My Turf" activity because sometimes it gets a reply. One time another flicker drummed on the the furnace vent of the house across the street in reply - the behavior went on for several hours and while I found it amusing the neighbors didn't. Studying up for this post I discovered that I have Red Shafted Northern Flickers (Pictured). There is also a Yellow Shafted Northern Flicker.

Tomorrow is the start of Spring and the date of the 39th Earth Day. All day long today I've had the lyrics to Bob Dylan's "Forever Young" playing in my head. It seems appropriate somehow and I hope that the idea of Earth Day does stay Forever Young.

May God bless and keep you always
May your wishes all come true
May you always do for others
And let others do for you
May you build a ladder to the stars
And climb on every rung
May you stay forever young
Forever young, forever young
May you stay forever young.

When I was younger I remember "Don't Be a Litter Bug" public service announcements on TV. It always seemed like the obvious thing to me to not litter, but I do remember a semi-traumatic experience riding back from a baseball tournament where the family I was riding with bagged up all the trash from our fast food meal and heaved it out the window as we drove down the highway.

Today I drove to the liquor store to pick up some Campari. Driving down the street I noticed that not only is this week the start of Spring, it's also the start of Garage Sale season. People are big on putting up signs for their garage sale, but most seem to lack the follow through on pulling down the signs when the sale is done. I guess we're supposed to just ignore the sign when the date has passed.

I stopped by the Post box down the street to mail a couple of things that I'd missed getting into today's mail. There on the utility pole by the Mail Box was a fluorescent green garage sale sign. I pulled it down and threw it into the litter sack in my car. I pulled down another ten signs over the rest of the trip to the liquor store and library. It felt good. The neighborhood looks better. It probably added ten minutes to the trip, but when all was said and done, it was time well spent.

This isn't just something I did today. I pulled down a few more than usual and I'm more inclined to stop and pull down pole litter on a sunny day than on a day when it's pouring rain. The point is that if we'd all just pick up a couple of pieces of litter here and there, the world would be a better place.

Negroni

This is the Classic Recipe
1 ounce gin (I used Tanqueray)
1 ounce Campari
1 ounce sweet vermouth (I use Martini & Rossi)
Garnish: Orange slice.

Shake or Stir with ice and strain into a cocktail class.

Garnish with an orange slice

For a less sweet, stouter drink try David Wondrich's Version

Perfect Negroni

1 1/2 ounce gin
3/4 ounce Campari
3/4 ounce sweet vermouth
Garnish: Orange Peel Twist.

Shake with ice. Strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with an orange twist

Spring Break

I'm still battling the laurel hedge in my front yard. The more I hack away at it, the more I want to cut it down to the ground.

When we first moved in to our house thirty plus years ago the road was a thoroughfare (note to self - don't buy a house on a road with striping down the center). Luckily they built a freeway a couple of blocks down the street a few years later and now I live on a dead end street.

The hedge was a barrier to sight and sound in those early, more heavily trafficked days. Now it hides the lawn when I neglect to mow in a timely fashion and provides a cloistered feel to the front of the house.

Yesterday morning I hauled a trailer full of hedge prunings to the yard debris recycling center. I had good intentions to fill the trailer and make a return trip this morning. I found several other things to do instead. Perhaps I'm feeling a bit unsure about what to do with the other larger part of the hedge. Pruner's remorse perhaps.

So here I am, sitting inside on a beautiful spring day, sorting through books and magazines, clearing the bookshelves of clutter.

Taking a break from the sorting - I've got salmon in the oven. I think I'll dine outside.

Salmon en papillote with preserved lemons and fennel

This is the grown up version of the Hobo Lunch (hamburger patty, carrots and potatoes wrapped in tin foil and pitched on the campfire)we used to take on Boy Scout day hikes.

Preheat the oven to 425F while preparing the packets

A couple of squares of parchment paper lubed up with olive oil
2 - boneless skinless salmon filets - about 6 oz each and seasoned with salt and pepper
1/2 a preserved lemon - finely diced - you could substitute a couple of thin slices of lemon
1/2 a red bell pepper - cut in thin strips
1/2 cup of fennel fronds finely chopped
1 small zucchini coarsely grated

Divide the zucchini between the two pieces of parchment paper

Lay the salmon on top of the zucchini

Spread the red peppers on top of the salmon

Cover the red peppers with the fennel fronds

Sprinkle the preserved lemon over the top of the fennel fronds

Fold the parchment over the goodies and roll up the edges of the paper, crimping it as you go. Put a couple of slits in the top of the packets.

Bake for 12 minutes on a baking sheet.

I served this up with a fennel slaw made from a finely shredded fennel bulb dressed with a simple slaw dressing of mayo, rice vinegar, a dab of Dijon mustard and a bit of salt and pepper.

I was wishing for a nice bottle of a good German Spatlese with this, but settled for a glass of iced tea

Homonymy

One of the signs of specialization in modern society is our junk mail. Since I own a few rural acres and have been known to attend Oregon Horticulture Society meetings; I get junk mail for farmers. Farmer junk mail consists of advertising for seeds, fertilizer, land use issues and several small advertiser supported agricultural magazines that specialize in the latest and greatest farming techniques using products advertised in the magazines. Got a nematode problem? Have we got a product for you!

It's been a long week. I worked hard in the yard last weekend in a burst of energy, incited by a couple of nice Spring days. I managed to aggravate old injuries in my knee and shoulder. Today I had one of THOSE DAYS! and came home with a splitting headache and wallowing in self pity over my decrepitude.

When I walked through the door, the phone was ringing. Caller ID showed an area code unknown to me. My luck seemed like it was due for an uptick, maybe it was Publisher's Clearinghouse calling to tell me I'd won a million dollars! Hey, it could happen.

No such luck. I'm not a millionaire and we're not having a big party to celebrate. Don't give up hope though, I dropped a couple of bucks on lottery tickets this week.

Me "Hello"

Guy "Is this Keith?"

Me "Yes"

Guy "We're calling about the information request you sent in for our new weed killer"

Me "I don't use weed killer" note: I'm a lying bastard - I use weed killer and I would have hosed this guy down with it in an instant if he'd been standing in front of me.

Guy "Let me ask you this; Do you own a farm?"

Me "Yes"

Guy " Well what do you use to kill weeds"

Me "Goats and Hoes" note: I'm a lying bastard - I've never used a goat for weeding - I'd like to, but at this point I haven't. I have used a hoe and I would have whacked this guy in the head with it in an instant if he'd been standing in front of me.

Guy excitedly and volume going up "Ho's! You use Ho's to weed?"

Me "Not Ho's, Hoes - You know Garden Hoes!" Images in my head of Female Garden Gnomes plying the world's oldest profession...........

Guy - still excited and loud "Oh, well those aren't the kind of Ho's I use!"

Me laughing "Well to each his own"

When I was a kid, my dad used to make hoe cakes - I haven't had them in forty years. Seems like it might be time to make them myself. These were called Hoe Cakes because the field hands would cook them on their hoes.

Hoe Cakes

A couple of handfuls of cornmeal, a teaspoonful of salt. Mix with cold water (all my dad ever did) or buttermilk and soda if preferred. Make a thick batter; pour 3 or 4 inch sized hoe cakes on a hot greased griddle (this is a perfect use for that stash of bacon grease in the fridge) or for a more authentic experience go get your hoe and build a fire in the garden.

Serve with a bit of butter and syrup or if you're like my father you'll skip the butter and syrup and splash them with a bit of Tabasco.

If this seems too mundane or trailer park to you, jazz them up by calling them "Grilled Polenta"

Some Like it Hot!

Last Sunday we had sunshine, wind, rain and hail. This weekend's ending on warm and dry note. I've got daffodils and my few remaining hyacinths in bloom. The fruit trees are starting to bud and I'm late pruning the grapevine along the fence. Hopefully the late pruning will cut back on the vigor of the grapevine.

After a fairly hard winter by my wussy Portland standards, I'm ready for spring weather. I'm not ready for the spring yard work that's needed. I took a trailer load of yard debris to the recycling yard yesterday. I can't say that the yard looks any better for it. The first load and the next are just getting rid the winter debris and accumulated junk in the yard and garage.

Spring is the season for rebirth and renewal. I've got big plans for the yard this year. The laurel hedge out front is reaching for the sky, the lawn is full of moss and weeds and the old garden plot has been overwhelmed by blackberry vines. I'm afraid that I'll be taking a load a week of yard debris out of this place until the end of September of next year.

After getting the trailer cleaned out I came home and loaded up the back of the Suburban with recycling and boxes for Goodwill from the basement.

This morning after unloading at the recycling center and dropping off boxes at Goodwill, I hit Cash and Carry for some supplies. By the time I got out of there I'd purchased all the ingredients I needed to make a megabatch of Hot Sauce. The habaneros were a bit spotty and when I mentioned it to the guy he gave me a second pound for free.

By the time I got done with all of the things I wanted to get finished before starting on the Hot Sauce it was 2 PM. I should of been taking a nap and I was starting a frigging canning project. What a dumbass!

Picking through and cleaning two pounds of hot peppers took about an hour. You've got to have everything in place and be prepared to ignore the phone and anything else. These peppers are so frigging hot that you don't want to get the smallest amount in you eyes or on your nether regions. Once I got done with the peppers the pressure was off. For once I managed not to get peppers on any tender places.

So now it's quarter to 10 and the last batch of Hot Sauce is in the canner. Twenty Quarts of goodness to share and consume. I'm glad I'd scheduled a vacation day for tomorrow!

This is a recipe for a Caribbean style habenero hot sauce inspired by Portland's own Secret Aardvark Sauce. I'd been a fan of it for a couple of years and I heard a rumor that the guy that makes it was going to stop production. I bought a bottle and read through the ingredients. A couple of batches later I had a reasonable facsimile at a fraction of the cost, at least if you don't count labor! Secret Aardvark is still making sauce locally and so am I!

I've posted the recipe on eGullet, but I'll save you the click.

Sorta Secret Aardvark Sauce

1 – 14.5 oz can of roasted tomatoes chopped - include the juice

1 – 14.5 oz can of rice wine vinegar

1-1/2 cups of peeled and grated carrots (packed into the measuring cup)

1 cup of finely diced white onion

1/4 cup of yellow mustard

1/3 cup of sugar

2 teaspoons of Morton’s Kosher Salt

1 teaspoon of black pepper

13 small Habaneros – seeded and membranes removed. (This was 2 oz. of Habs before cutting off the tops and removing the seeds and membranes)

2 teaspoons curry powder

1 cup of water when cooking

5 or 6 cloves of garlic - roasted if you've got it

Put it all in the crockpot on high until everything is tender. About 3 hours

Whirl in food processor – Don’t puree until smooth – make it lightly/finely chunky.

Makes 3 pints - To can; process pint jars in a water bath canner for 15 minutes