Best laid plans

As the snow falls softly and quietly around the house, 

  I am thankful to be tucked inside by the fire... 

  Planning and preparing for this years vegetable garden. 

Planting begins this month... I can't wait to play in the dirt again!!!

Winter Garden & Pumpkin Bread

Enduring the dismal days and frigid elements of winter , I look out across my garden that is quietly sleeping under an unusually thin layer of snow. Knowing that my hard working garden surely needs the rest, I  long of playing in the dirt, running my hands through the soft, sweet earth while mindlessly doing simple daily garden chores that soothe and ease my soul.



While my garden gently tucks it's head under the covers and gently sleeps the cold days away, I find solace in my other humble domestic duties and take to the kitchen to create instead.

Grown in the garden this past Summer, this Jarrahdale Pumpkin has been an excellent winter keeper. It's time to make some pumpkin bread.

 This pumpkin has a tough skin and reminds me of cutting a butternut squash. Seeds removed and cut into chunks to be oven roasted.

After roasting and cooled enough to handle and remove the skins, the chunks are mashed in my Kitchenaide mixer. This one pumpkin yielded 10 cups of slightly sweet and smooth  pureed pumpkin.

 Measured out into freezer bags for future recipes in 2 Cup measurements.

The Pumpkin bread turned out amazing. I used this recipe from my  Better Homes Cook book. Not a fan of clove, I omitted that, the nuts and raisins. With the first batch I  added  1 tsp. of vanilla extract. and the second batch 1 tsp. of Watkins caramel extract... The caramel extract won hands down...It seemed to enhance the pumpkin flavor. We will be adding that from now on.

The chickens happily enjoyed the pumpkin remains... 



Who says you can't garden in the snow?

Sunday was absolutely beautiful....what a difference sunshine makes! It feels like forever, since I've seen the sun shine that brightly across my snowed in garden. 

I decided it was high time to tromp my way across the back yard and see what has been sleeping beneath the snow. 

diggin' in a blanket of snow.

A buried treasure would be found!

Jerusalem artichokes, also called Sun Roots, Sun Chokes, and earth apples.

  a modest, 2 lb. harvest that is a welcomed treat!



Gardening in January

 The seed catalogs started arriving before Christmas...

 Thirteen in all and still counting!

This was enough to send  this particular garden girl into a tail spin of day dreams of Sunny days, Sweet spring days, and the Fresh grit of Earth between my hands, and under my fingernails.

I set out circling all the varieties that my heart desired, as if my garden were in acres and budget just wasn't one of the words in my vocabulary.

Reality quickly set in though and I gently, reluctantly drifted back down from the clouds.

I decided to  pull out my seed bag and began organizing and taking inventory...Turns out, I was only in need of Peas....Darn!

I had plenty of everything I needed...Great news for the budget!

 

With the weather being unusually mild for North Idaho, and with much of our snow now melted, I decided to check in on some spinach and lettuce that I mindlessly tossed into the cold frames back in October.

I was excited to find they really had grown with out any help or extra care from me.

Even with freezing temps, they have grown. Proof enough for me that you can garden year round in North Idaho :-)

Here is a side by side comparison of the growth in 65 winter days. Most of those days, the frames were covered in snow.

Although the growth is slow, I suspect the jump start on Spring  will greatly pay off and this garden girl will gladly be counting the days until harvest.

Happy Gardening!