With most of the snow melted away I discovered my daffodils peeking out and the lamb’s ear beginning to green up nicely. I know we have more snow yet to come but it’s good to see my little friends waking up and getting ready for their show next month.
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Rainy Day Chicken Soup 1 whole chicken Sweat the veggies with a few pinches of salt in a tablespoon of oil in a stock pot over medium-low heat until the onions are translucent. Add the chicken and parsley and water to cover. Put a lid on your pot and bring to a simmer. Add fresh thyme leaves and peppercorns. Simmer 60 minutes, skimming any foam that rises to the surface, add 1 cup couscous or other small pasta. Remove from heat. Carefully transfer chicken to a cutting board and shred meat off the bones, returning it to the pot, check seasonings and add more salt if needed. Bring just to a boil, turn off the heat and serve with crusty hot bread.
Yesterday was the penultimate farmers market and I was pleased to see plenty of vendors with all sorts of goods still available. Last year the produce folks cut out fairly early but this year they are sticking around. The fish lady advertised the wild salmon as the last of the season so that’s what we brought home. I’ve breaded it with whole grain cornmeal. Roasted-tomato soup 2-3 pounds tomatoes, cored and halved Roast tomatoes in a foil lined pan at 450 F for 45-60 minutes or until the skins begin to blacken and the juice reduces a bit. Meanwhile, add the onion and some olive oil to a Dutch oven and saute slowly until they begin to caramelize. When the tomatoes are ready, add the garlic to the onions and saute 60 seconds then add the tomatoes and give it a good stir. Add all remaining ingredients except for the heavy cream and simmer gently about 20 minutes. Puree with a stick blender, adding the cream during the last few seconds of blending. Top with herbed croutons and enjoy!
My violet plantlets have been growing happily all summer but I thought it might be time to separate the extras. Finding the teeny weeny pots turned out to be a bit of a challenge but I finally ordered some from an online violetry along with a couple wee plants to maximize the return for the shipping costs. As I was potting I discovered flower buds on one enthusiastic plantlet but he didn’t have many roots after the divide so I’m not sure he’ll make it. I read that you can repot the leaves for more plantlets if they are in good shape so I did that for a few of them. Now we’ll see who makes it through the winter. In the spring I’ll give away any extras that make it through.
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I’ve got another violet that’s decided to bloom. The other two are still going like gang buster’s and now “Bob’s Whiz Bang” has decided to join the fray. Looks like it’s going to be a purply- red fellow when it opens.
The first little guy is just loaded with blooms. I enjoy his cheery little face every morning. The second one took ages to open but has finally shown his face. He is indeed a lovely purple. I really need to split him though so I hope it doesn’t knock him out of whack when I do that.
Tensie’s Trail continues to put on a fabulous show of tiny little flowers. Rob’s Waga Waga isn’t far behind and looks as though he might have purple blossoms.
Well not quite yet but we do hope to cover the bare spot in the back yard with some clover. Jason has planted grass seed there several times in both spring and fall but it just can’t survive the dry hill. This is just plain old white clover that can spread by runners so if it can get established before it gets too cold we should be off and running come spring. If not, we’ll give it another go then.
Daniel requested chicken soup and it’s been a chilly rainy week, perfect weather for soup.
I also made another tea cozy for 
My crazy Christmas cactus just seems to bloom whenever it pleases. Sometimes it blooms at Easter, sometimes Thanksgiving, never Christmas and this year? This year it’s blooming in October.
