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Did you have a glorious Easter? Here’s hoping you had lots of family time and joyful gatherings. The media had to throw in some concerns for us with the information about being careful with commercial egg dye. It seems there is always something to try to make us worry about what we do. They need to keep us better informed about what is going on in the world than to try to scare us about our “home front.” I guess they have to find something about which to try to get our attention.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed your Easter holiday and are ready to start this new season with a happy heart. Are all the chocolate bunnies gone? We all love those holidays that call for chocolate – Easter, Christmas, Valentine’s Day and, of course, birthdays.
April is supposed to bring May flowers. The valley should be covered with flowers next month. We can’t complain though. The West is suffering so much because of their drought that they would love to have nice gentle and abundant rain. Their storms this past week aren’t going to help them much. It just “shows to go you” that we should always be thankful for whatever Mother Nature chooses to give us here in our valley. We have a very hard time being thankful for rain that causes floods though – there must be something thankful in it but I surely don’t know what.
Don’t set out your garden yet. It is tempting on those nice sunny and warm days, but the soil is still too cold. My fingers are itching to get in that garden but I am trying to listen to reason (and husband Norm). Squash, tomatoes, beans – hurry up, warm weather.
These dreary, rainy days have helped in the spring cleaning getting done. Who wants to work outside in the rain and the frustration of not being able to get out there to work makes the scrubbing get done with more vigor and speed. No painting though until the atmosphere has less moisture. Oh, well, maybe it will get done by fall. It does give lots of us time to sort out what we don’t need and get rid of it, like we promise ourselves every year. Maybe this is the year we will get at least some of it done. Agitation makes elimination easier.
Bedtime will come a little earlier this week – no late hours for basketball games. What a run this year has had. There have been many surprises for all of us, even those sports’ fans who have watched the field all year. Duke is a good school and they deserve to be celebrating this week and those Wisconsin boys have nothing of which to be ashamed. Great game. We can be proud of the teams here in our valley this year, too, both the boys’ and girls’ teams. Sports (and music) need to be kept in our schools. Maybe, I’ll run for school board this year..
Now, before you get too busy outside, is a good time to think about your vacations for the summer school break. Planning ahead is important for all of us. This is better if it is a family decision rather than a mandatory ruling – less rebellion among the “house apes”. Really, if the kids have a say in what they would enjoy, they will be more corporative in the spending amounts allowed and places to see at the destination. One place that is a “day trip” is The Wilds near Cumberland, Ohio. The state capital is another good learning destination. Any camp – FFA, 4-H, church – is good for young people, and gives Mom and Dad a week of relaxation. In fact, a craft camp is fun for all ages. Places like Williamsburg, Virginia, or Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, give young students more meaning about history than they get out of books in the classroom. Visiting places like this with one’s family makes lasting memories and are learning experiences. Everyone needs some R and R once in a while. Our minds stay sharper when we have new experiences and new learning, at any age.
Spring is a good time to eat more vegetables (and most of us need to do so) as the season’s veggies start to show up at local Farmers’ Markets. Fresh produce is available to us all year, but local grown is fresher and we can talk to the farmers who have grown it. In fact, if you help your kids grow some vegetables, they are more likely to eat them and you don’t hear “Yuk” as much. There are “u-pick” farms locally, too, if you want to pick your own but don’t want to or can’t raise your own. As Grandma used to say, “Turn the water on, then go out and pick the corn.” Kids will even eat squash if they have grown or picked it. Try a new veggie, or a new way to fix one, every week. Here on the hilltop, I am harvesting dandelions, but in the pasture, not along the roads. If you follow lots of pick-up trucks in the country, you know why… The tender leaves can be cooked like greens – kale, collards, etc., but fresh in salad or the fried blossoms are my favorites.
Enjoy the season and plan ahead for summer. Try to stay calm about all the problems our country is facing on the world scene and pray for those defending our way of life. Hug your kids, and God Bless.
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DANDELION SALAD
Three or four strips of bacon
One quart young dandelion greens
One small onion, diced – or to taste – or green onions
One-fourth cup vinegar
One-half cup water
Two tablespoons sugar
One tablespoon flour
One-half teaspoon salt
Dash pepper
Two hard-boiled eggs, diced
One medium potato, cooked and diced
Clean and wash dandelion greens. Spin or shake dry. Fry bacon crisp and remove from skillet. Discard all but two tablespoons bacon grease. Mix sugar, flour, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Add some of the water and mix until smooth. Add remaining water and the vinegar to the skillet and heat over medium heat. Add flour mixture, whisking constantly. Let boil at least one minute to cook the flour. Remove from heat and add warm potatoes, onions, and crumbled bacon. Let set a few minutes to heat potatoes through and to let the dressing cool slightly. Place dandelions in serving bowl and pour dressing over. Toss. Top salad with diced egg and toss gently again.
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FRIED DANDELION BLOSSOMS
One-fourth cup milk
One-half cup flour
One egg, beaten
Two tablespoons powdered milk
One teaspoon baking powder
Pinch salt
Sixteen large dandelion blossoms (no stems)
Oil for frying
Mix all ingredients except blossoms and oil. Heat oil in deep skillet. Wash blossoms, drain well and dip immediately into batter. Fry in hot oil until golden brown.
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DANDELION JELLY
Pick one quart of blossoms in the morning. Hold each flower by its calyx (the green base) and snip off the golden blossoms with a scissors into a saucepan. Discard the calyx. Add one quart of water to blossoms and bring to a boil in a stainless steel or porcelain pan. Boil for three minutes. Drain off three cups liquid. Strain through cheesecloth if you want clear jelly. Return hot dandelion liquid to cleaned pan. Add one package (1 oz.) powdered pectin to the liquid and add two tablespoons lemon juice. When it comes to a rolling boil, add four and one-half cups sugar and a few drops of yellow food coloring. Boil three minutes or to jelly stage. Pour into hot, sterilized jars and seal.
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DANDELION WINE
Three quarts blossoms
Four pounds white sugar
Two lemons
One-fourth cake yeast (large cake – or one-half small cake)
One gallon water, boiling
Wash blossoms. Scald with the boiling water and let set in the water overnight. The next day, add the remaining ingredients. Juice the lemons, but put the rinds in as well as the juice. Let set forty-eight hours. Strain, bottle and cover with cheesecloth until it quits working. Then set corks LIGHTLY until it quits working. Then cork tightly. It is extremely important to set the corks lightly until the working is finished and to set the bottles where the flying glass won’t hurt anyone in case you happen to set the corks too tightly too soon. You can use this basic recipe and method for about any blossom wine, such as elder blossom.
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GERMAN WILTED LETTUCE
Four strips bacon
One tablespoon flour
One tablespoon sugar
One teaspoon salt
Two tablespoons vinegar
One cup light cream
Three quarts torn leaf lettuce
Three hard-cooked eggs, chopped
Fry bacon until crisp. Remove and drain on paper towels. Crumble and set aside. Pour off bacon drippings, reserving three tablespoons in skillet. Stir in flour, sugar, salt, vinegar and cream. Cook over very low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens slightly. Pour hot mixture over lettuce, eggs, and reserved bacon. Toss gently to mix and serve immediately.
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Patty Christopher is a longtime columnist for The Parkersburg News & Sentinel.