I was lucky enough to have some time to deadhead the mums this morning. They were trying to bring some color in a relatively colorless lily bed.
I noticed something nibbled the tops off my garlic chives last week. I inspected it this morning and noticed it was growing back. I can’t think of anything roaming about in the cold, wet few days that feasts on garlic chives. One of the variegated society garlic clumps nearly got uprooted since it had been in the way. (I have several common chives potted up that were untouched.)
Asters and mums are making a second round of blooms. Obviously not as floriferous as the first round, especially since I neglected to deadhead them.
The larkspur seedlings are coming along…I’m thinking of uprooting the yarrow in this bed and replacing it with a stand of angelonia come spring.
We had a brief respite from the cold weather this week. And so far, this week has been full of rain. With temps in the 50s and 60s, I put out the ginger lilies so they could catch a bit of watering. The big one could use some trimming. These ornamental plants could make great indoor Christmas decor, if I were a bit more industrious in their upkeep.
I had a bag of frozen corn in the freezer, a can of coconut milk in the pantry, and a box of rice flour. I strived to make some maja blanca maiz this weekend but ended up with a cold dessert with the consistency of pudding. The maja blanca of my childhood possessed the firmness of gelatin or flan rather than the softness of champurado, or a standard rice pudding.
Maja blanca is typically referred to as a coconut pudding or rice-coconut pudding. But in my experience, it typically sets or hardens after cooking. My experimental dessert sat in the fridge overnight and remained in a semi-liquid state. Luckily I didn’t go so far as to produce latik, or fried coconut curd, to accompany it. So, after much review of the original recipe, I resolve to retry the dessert again with cornstarch.
I made a fabulous dish out of some raw food that had been aging in my fridge. Glad I finally got around to it; the brussel sprouts had begun to yellow, and the lamb had been defrosting for nearly a week. I stir-fried all of the ingredients for this yummy good dish.
First, create a marinade of olive oil, salt, black pepper, garlic powder, chopped garlic, dried basil and heat it in the microwave for 1 minute. To this marinade, add sliced lamb until it is incorporated. Meanwhile, heat a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in a pan over medium-high heat. Quarter the brussel and slice a red onion. Brown some of the chopped garlic, then add the lamb to the pan and cook until brown. Thinly sliced lamb will shred while cooking. At this point, there may be extra liquid in the pan; add brussel sprouts and continue to stir-cook until the sprouts are tender. Meanwhile, drizzle sweet soy sauce over the mixture and season with a little more salt. Turn off the heat then add the onions, and ensure that they don’t overcook–you want the spicy-sweet red onions to also tame the lamb. Eat alone or serve with rice and enjoy!
