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For the first time, I have a red squirrel -- a young red squirrel -- roaming the trees. He/she has eaten all the leaves off two branches facing my window. It appears he taunts me to stop him. He or she stares at me while shoving leaves into his mouth. First of all, I never before knew squirrels eat leaves. The usual cadre of grey squirrels don't decimate my trees' branches. Second, as far as I know, there aren't any seeds in these leaves. So this red squirrel made me wonder:
I haven't read anything about any of you gardeners having problems with squirrels eating your crops. Are squirrels -- red or gray -- a problem in your gardens?
Oh BakerAunt, so sorry to hear of your power outages. I'm so glad you had two twin mattress pads and the coolers to save your food. I had 6 trees near power lines felled in January. When the heavy storms rolled in here, I was thankful that those trees are gone.
Not trying to make light of your inconvenience, BakerAunt, but your outages remind me of Hurricane Ike. I no longer recall which State that hurricane hit, but its winds made their way up here. Massive power outage. The electric crews weren't here to repair the lines. They were all in the South, in that hurricane's State. Consequently, we were without electricity for 5 full days!
Mike, I hope your Covid is mild enough that you can still tend to your tomatoes. I wish you a quick and full recovery.
I didn't intentionally miss your birthday, BakerAunt. I felt too downtrodden to reply. We were dealing with a house water (of sorts) emergency that turned into an insurance claim. This is the first day I've had a breather. It's been days-on-end of rush, rush, rush. The contractor is ready and willing to start. We're waiting on notification that the claim is approved. So let me belatedly say:
Happy Birthday, BakerAunt!
Mike, I'm happy for your tomato experiment being a success. Where there's one tomato, there are usually more.
A fruit and vegetable market I used to frequent sold hydroponic tomatoes. Even in the summer, they were many times better than the fresh ones they sold. Well worth the price. I took a platter of sliced hydroponic tomatoes to a funeral repast. The tomatoes received several compliments.
Joan, you're fortunate that it was only hood snow that blew. I learned the hard way that snow on top of the vehicle can blow onto the windshield and cover the window. So you're fortunate you didn't have a double whammy of snow on your window.
Yes, it's disappointing when bread doesn't work out as planned, BakerAunt. Any baked good whose finished product isn't what we wanted is a disappointment. The extra work that goes into bread makes it more frustrating.
I saw a recipe for Orange Pancakes on Allrecipes. I decided to use my go-to pancake recipe to make a double batch of Orange Pancakes. I used the zest of two navel oranges. I added it to the batter after I poured in the liquids. I reamed the oranges into a measuring cup. A scant 1/4 cup juice total. I added milk to equal the 2 cups needed for a double batch. I baked them on a half-sheet pan at 375 degrees for 22 minutes. The kitchen smelled pleasantly of oranges while baking. They taste like oranges, including the citrus "bite" at the end. Served with maple syrup.
I'm freezing these for future breakfasts. I hope being frozen doesn't diminish the orange flavor. I'm also hoping that re-heating them in the microwave will liven the orange.
I will make these again, but I have to say: Zesting and juicing oranges is a lot of work before breakfast!
Joan, any amount of snow is too much if you're not used to it. I'm glad you didn't also have an ice storm. My mother moved to Atlanta to get away from winter weather. The first winter she lived in Atlanta, they had a major snowstorm. It was followed by an ice storm that downed power lines and cut off their electricity. She experienced two other ice storms in Atlanta before she died.
BakerAunt, thanks for doing a call-out to Joan. I've been wondering if the snow has anything to do with her not posting since the snow warning. I hope they didn't have an ice storm with the snow. Joan, I also wonder if you had more than 2" of snow. Not too long ago, we had 11" of snow. It took my husband and my yard man a long time to shovel the driveway.
I baked a recipe BakerAunt had posted about: Oatmeal Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies. Thanks for telling us about this recipe, BA. I'll make them again. Because I had leftovers from a neighbor's fudge gift, I used 1/4 cup milk chocolate chips, 1/4 cup semi-sweet chips & 1/4 cup bittersweet chips. I also used the recipe amount of peanut butter chips. I don't stock old fashioned oats, so I used the quick-cooking (not instant) oats. Perhaps that's the reason, I found that I had to use my fingers to form some of the dough balls that collapsed a little after scooping. I used an Endurance 18/8 scoop and it made 36 cookies. They're a little bigger than I prefer, but I didn't complain when I ate two while watching an historical movie tonight. My husband? He complained. He wants oatmeal raisin cookies.
I'm glad the Blue Willow Inn will reopen. I wonder if the Inn will open with different owners. I'll never know; my sister is now deceased. No more trips to Atlanta.
Thanks cw for the recipe link. I'll probably try them in spite of the butter. I stock cardamom but not turmeric. I have saffron, which imparts the same lovely color as turmeric, so I'll assume I can substitute some saffron for the turmeric. I don't know how closely the saffron will mimic turmeric's taste, though. Time will tell whether saffron ruins the cookies.
Len, I second Joan -- your rolls look absolutely amazing!
The recipe must be only in their e-mail. I just searched their website and couldn't find the recipe.
Since Watergate Salad is still on the menu, Joan, I'll share my experience with it. During the last century I often visited my sister in Atlanta. The treat she and her husband gave me each visit was to take me to the Blue Willow Inn. It was about an hour from their home with pleasant scenery. The excellence of the Blue Willow's food made the long wait to enter the dining room worth it. I especially loved their fried green tomatoes but never tasted anything I didn't like. Early this century, my sister sent me the Blue Willow Inn Cookbook. That led me to make Watergate Salad for a sister-in-law. She enjoyed it so much she asked for the recipe. I have no idea if the Blue Willow Inn is still operating. If not, it's a loss for restaurant-goers. I'm grateful to have their recipes.
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