Excerpt from the Market Newsletter originally published on 17 Feb, 2011. View the full newsletter for all the photos and links.
Leaf buds are beginning to show on the trees and sunny days make us long for the summer to come, but the calendar says there's still a month to go before spring officially begins. There is still time for winter to get in a few last licks, and that sunshine means it's cold out there (at my house we say "Gaia has kicked off the blankets" on sunny winter days).
One of the earliest signs of spring is the arrival of seed catalogs. This is a traditional time for planning the garden to come. We've had about all the long winter rest we can stand and begin to look out there and ask "Is the ground workable yet?" and "Can I possibly get away with planting something -- a few peas, even?" The WSU Master Gardeners say you can plant bare-root roses and fruit trees on warmer February days, and even start broccoli, cabbage, and cauliflower seedlings indoors if you give them extra light.
However, there is still plenty of time for snuggling up with a good book and a hot drink, filling the house with the aromas of rich stews and soups simmering on the stove, and watching the wind and rain from the warm side of the window.
About that food...
In winter we dream of hot drinks by a warm fire, images in shades of red and glowing gold (in summer the dreams turn cool blue and white, and we want ice in our drinks; it is the nature of humans to be dissatisfied). Here are a few alternatives to the standard cocoa, with or without marshmallows and a shot of something. You're on your own for the firewood and quilt.
Bicerin
2 c whole milk
2 c hot strong brewed coffee
3 oz bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
3 Tbsp. sugar, or to taste
1/4 t orange flower water, to taste (optional)
Bring milk just to a boil. Whisk coffee with chocolate and sugar until smooth, then whisk in hot milk and orange flower water. Adjust sugar.
From: The chocolate deck : 50 luscious indulgences / by Lori Longbotham. Chronicle Boks, c2005, which says this was a favorite drink of cafe society in Turin, Italy during the nineteenth century.
Hot spiced orange juice
1 can orange juice concentrate
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon vanilla
Pour all ingredients into 5 cups of water. Bring to a slow boil. Serve hot.
From: 1st Traveler's Choice Internet Cookbook.
Hot vanilla
1 c milk
1 tsp. honey
1 drop vanilla extract
pinch ground cinnamon
Heat milk without boiling; mix in remaining ingredients thoroughly. Serve immediately.
Source unknown.
Winter reading, winter dreaming
Seed catalogues / by the Smithsonian Institution. Zebra Pub., 2010.
The way we ate : Pacific Northwest cooking, 1843-1900 / by Jacqueline Williams. Washington State University, 1996.
Thanks for your interest in our community and its market.
Your Market correspondent,
Dana
One kind word can warm three winter months.
-- Japanese proverb --
If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant: if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome.
-- Anne Bradstreet --
Winter is nature's way of saying, "Up yours."
-- Robert Byrne --
There are many in this old world of ours who hold that things break about even for all of us. I have observed for example that we all get about the same amount of ice. The rich get it in the summertime and the poor get it in the winter.
-- Bat Masterson --
The problem with winter sports is that – follow me closely here – they generally take place in winter.
-- Dave Barry --
