Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Blizzard Challenges


I just got in from beginning to work the hardest I ever have for a single dinner. Tomorrow evening it will be time to have some yummy fresh vitamins amid this holiday eating! I was surprised at the thrill I felt when I could see about an inch-worth of the corner of the cold frame that contains my coveted Chinese cabbage. As I shoveled and pushed more, I realized that there was about a yard of snow above most of the cold frame, apparently the contribution of the roof and the greenhouse window. After all, we've had "only" about two feet of snow directly here.

Little did I know last Thursday as I dug for root crops for the first time this season how they would be used. I thought I was harvesting for guests, but they all drove for home suddenly Christmas evening after the predictions became more dire and imminent. They are now glad they did. I savor 27 hours of wonderful holiday festivities, which feels good.

So the carrots I dug Thursday are still abundant and will probably serve Fred and me for a at least a week. We had our first parsnips of the season Thursday evening. Yum! The parsnips are smaller than usual this year, in contrast to the carrots. I measured one carrot that was slightly more than two inches in diameter.

After my guests left Christmas evening, I went out to harvest Chinese cabbage for Sunday evening's dinner (as a consolation) and then closed the cold frames in the dark. Good thing I did that!

Amusingly, we each ate eight "fresh" tomatoes for last evening's dinner. There are more green ones, and they seem to ripen nicely. The taste is definitely competitive with store-bought tomatoes, although not up to summer tomatoes. We were glad to enjoy them on December 27, mostly products of last January's starting.

The lettuce in our greenhouse window is abundant, as is the parsley in our refrigerator, picked before the great cold not long ago. The basil, raised for the first time in the greenhouse window this year, adds a nice touch, and there are abundant sprouts. So our salad in midwinter is delightful.

Happy eating in the holidays!

Pat

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