This is not the U.P.

This past week in mid Michigan we had one of the worst snowstorms I hav ever seen. Most people who know me would say she is glad since she likes to ski. Most people would be correct in that assumption. But skiing is not the only good thing about the white stuff. It gives great insulation to my butterfly bushes. And for that I am grateful.

One winter, not too long ago, it was beastly cold here, but without a lot of snow. Both the butterfly bushes I had died on me that year.

So when you are cursing the white stuff, remember, it gives good protection to those plants you cherish.

Dried tomatoes among other things

Yes, I know. I have written about this before. But I am talking about tomatoes so of couse you get to hear it again. These dried tomatoes really added zip to my tossed salad, no lie. They are so much better than the mealy ones I have bought at the store (long time ago of course, I gave up on tomatoes in January). Worth it, worth it. I highly recommend it. And my Minnesota cousin can testify that you can even sun dry them in the frigid north. So what's not to like? Why not do it?

In Michigan, (well I know sunny Saginaw is in Michigan, but what can I say) getting a food dryer was well worth the expense. I hope to use it for many years to come (the same way I use the foodmill for making tomato sauce)

What else to say? These tomatoes were homegrown in Michigan in Saginaw (which is not always sunny even though my sister thinks it is) and they are to die for! At last, a tomato for January in Michigan.

Pizza Pizza!

Sigh. I used my last tomato this weekend making vegetable pizza. I think this is pretty darn good, eating fresh tomatoes from the garden in January. Just wish they would have lasted even longer. I am definitely planting Golden Treasure tomatoes next year and hoping for a repeat of long lasting tomatoes.

I did have pizza again the next day and guess what! If you dry tomatoes you can add them to your vegetable pizza. No, they are not as good as fresh, but they are a lot better than you can find in the grocery store at this time of year. I don't regret buying my food dryer at all. I can still look forward to tomatoes that taste great through spring.

Vegetable Pizza

I buy whole wheat pizza crust and use pesto for the sauce. The pesto includes basil, garlic, olive oil, Parmesan cheese, pine nuts and salt. I tend to do the by guess and by golly cooking method here. Pick what vegetables you wish to add, onion, pepper, broccoli whatever. Saute them in a little olive oil. Spread the pesto on the crust, add the sauteed vegetables, fresh tomatoes (or dried) if you have them, a little feta cheese and bake at about 375 degrees for ten minutes. A friend of mine, Elise Brooks, first made this for me three years ago and I have been making it ever since. It is simply yummy!

Swan Gourds

I am not sure if I should be hopeful for these gourds, or assume the worst and that they will rot by the time I try to make them into birdhouses. Okay, let's look on the rosy side and hope that at least one of them is going to make it.

I have been keeping them in my closet (the coolest, darkest place in my house) and checking them every now and then, wiping them clean in hopes that they will not fall apart before I go to carve them. I want to take them to the Saginaw Farmers Market this summer (it opens Memorial Day weekend) and demonstrate how to do it at the Master Gardener's table. The Saginaw Valley Master Gardener Association has a table with lots of gardening information every Friday from 10:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. throughout the summer and into September.

So if you are in the area, stop on by. Do you need to know how to dry gourds? Gourd drying can get you started.

I don't know if I can be this creative but Dave's Garden sure has a lot of good ideas for these gourds.

Enough of this. Time to get back to my morning coffee.

Using the Harvest

It is the middle of December and I still have some of these wonderful tomatoes left to eat from last summer’s garden. This variety is Golden Treasure and keeps really well.

The potatoes are slowly but surely getting eaten. So far they are storing well in this potato bin.

The onions are almost gone. Soon I will have to buy some. Wish I had enough to last me through the winter but I don’t.

I do have enough tomato sauce frozen to get me through the winter. And using home grown garlic, home grown peppers which I froze and the last of my onions I made shrimp creole this week. I also used some parsley that I dried and I snipped a couple of bay leaves off the bay plant that I haven’t managed to kill yet. This is a great recipe.

1 ½ cups chopped onion
1 cup finely chopped celery
2 medium green peppers, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
15 ounces tomato sauce
¼ cup butter or margarine
1 cup water
2 teaspoons snipped parsley
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cayenne red pepper
2 bay leaves, crushed
14 to 16 ounces fresh or frozen cleaned raw shrimp
3 cups hot cooked rice

Cook and stir onion, celery, green pepper and garlic in butter until onion is tender. Remove from heat; stir in tomato sauce, water and seasonings. Simmer uncovered 10 minutes. Add water if needed.

Stir in shrimp. Heat to boiling. Cover and cook over medium heat 10 to 20 minutes or until shrimp are pink and tender. Serve over rice. 6 servings.

Green Point Nature Center in Saginaw Michigan

Green Point Nature Center is a great place to cross country ski in the winter. Get there at the right time of day and you will see plenty of wildlife.



And yes,de Tocqueville did visit here, so you can think that you are skiing in the footsteps of history as well.

Okay, I know that the following pictures of some of the deer I saw at the Nature Center this morning seem a bit remote from the world of gardening. And you may be asking yourself, what the heck?

Well, other than the fact that I am glad the deer live at the Nature Center and not in my backyard, no, this doesn't have much to do with gardening. Deer may be majestic and regal, but not when they eat the hostas down to the ground. So I, for one, am thankful for the Nature Center as it provides a nice home for these beautiful creatures which leaves my garden in peace. I am always happy to have one less pest to worry about as there are already quite a few I deal with.

What is the difference between poison ivy and grape vines? If I remember correctly, the poison ivy has all the hair and the grape vines don't. So I didn't touch the plant growing up the tree with the red mark.



The Tittabawassee River is now frozen over. At least I assume it is as a deer must have crossed it recently. I decided to stay on my side though and will just drive over to the Shiawassee Wildlife Refuge when I am ready to ski there.

So this is what a gardener in Michigan does in the winter. Ski, ski and ski some more. I know many people don't much like snow, but heck, I need a break from all the digging and Michigan is good at giving it to me.

The Garden in Winter

The garden can be a beautiful place once the snow starts to fall. Planting evergreens such as Arbor vitae and Boxwood will give you that Christmas look at the right time of year. If you leave your ornamental grasses uncut until spring they will give you additional winter interest. I took these pictures this morning which was the first serious snow we have received this year. It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!