Thursday, February 21, 2019

Good Day on the Home Front

For our first meal of the day today, I made Cheesy Egg Wedges which I haven't made for a while.  Wonder why as they are so tasty.  Well, I guess I do know why.  Cottage cheese is an ingredient and we usually gobble up the cottage cheese I make with either chopped up raw veggies or cut up fruit.  But I had just enough left today to use, so something made me remember this particular breakfast dish and I made it.


The original recipe serves six and is made in a 9" pie plate.  I halved the recipe this morning, baked it in a funny little 7-1/2" pie plate I have, and we still have one-half left over for breakfast tomorrow morning.  The eggs were served with a dollop of salsa on top, augmented by coleslaw made from some of our red cabbage and a sausage patty for each of us.

Fortified by that meal, we went out to clear the few inches of snow we got late yesterday.  I shoveled and Papa Pea shoveled and plowed.


Back inside, I tackled the jumble of papers and graphs and designs I've had spread out on the kitchen table and kinda, sorta, almost, nearly finished my garden plans for this coming season.   

All twenty-six 4' x 8' raised beds are figured out but for one small glitch.  Some dummy forgot to make a notation of which bed she planted the garlic in last October.  I even have a picture of it from a blog post I did then.


I've looked at this picture from all angles including upside down, but hard as I've tried, I can't tell exactly which bed it is.  Even though the bed is heavily mulched and has a cattle panel lying on top of it, which kept the mulch from blowing off in our fall winds, it's now thoroughly buried under a good quantity of lovely, white snow as are all the rest of the beds.  Bottom line, I may have to do a little quick juggling come spring when the garlic bed emerges from the snow.  I've left myself a little wiggle room to do that.

Other than making sure I rotate the crops planted in the field garden (as I do in the raised beds) and two new areas we've been working up for the past couple of years, there aren't so many different varieties of vegetables to pencil in for those areas.  It's mainly the veggies that need more room (potatoes, beans, pickling cukes, cabbage, shell peas, squashes) that are planted in the larger areas. 

This year (silly me), I'm also planting a block of Painted Mountain Corn.  It's the only corn variety I've ever grown successfully up here in Minnesota.  Being totally frustrated by our corn being laid flat by our high winds the last couple of years I did plant it means this year we've got to figure out a way of surrounding and supporting the corn patch to prevent it from happening again this year.  We've got a couple of ideas, and I would so love to get a good crop again.


Picture from the last time I grew it.

 When the ears are harvested at the right (early) time after development, they are actually good eating as "sweet" corn.  The dried corn is wonderful ground as cornmeal and the beautiful ears make outstanding fall decorations.

This afternoon 'twas time to strain and stash away the beef bone broth I've had simmering during the day.  Did that and made a big pot of cheddar-cauliflower soup for tonight.


The last couple of times I've made this, I've added cook wild rice, and we really like the added flavor and texture it gives to the soup.

More snow, possibly heavy, is predicted for this weekend.  I guess we'd better keep our boots handy and shoveling muscles at the ready.

20 comments:

coffeeontheporchwithme said...

Oh that soup looks soooo good. Husband is not a fan of cauliflower, but it looks divine to me.
I'm looking forward to the time when I can make a luscious breakfast like the one you described. It is a bit like quiche? -Jenn

StrictlyMystic said...

Thanks for the tip about adding wild rice to the soup. I'll try that next time!

wisps of words said...

Hey, I thought this was your season of hibernation and having fun with sewing and etc., etc., etc.!!!!!!!!!!!! ,-))) You sure do pack a whole lot of "doing," into your "rest" time!!!!!! >,-)))

Oh that breakfast looks delicious!!!!! And I'm sure it, and the whole thing, was.

And oh mercy, that soup looks delicious too!!!!! Yummmmm....

Perhaps your weather report will "fizzle out," like our last one did. Glad here... Don't need freezing rain. But you do want/need snow, so ..... You don't want it to
fizzle out".

wisps of words said...

Re: Your comment on my post.....

Thank you Dear One! I always love your comments and really appreciate this one, for sure.

I know, to some, I sound like a "Hard-Hearted-Hannah" but it's how I feel.

Thank you for agreeing with me...

wyomingheart said...

Do you ever use cattle panels in your garden for support? We are using them this year and also trying some plastic snow fencing for support. It's an anxious time waiting for the cold to end so the planting can begin! Is there a recipe for the cheesy egg wedges, please! Looks yummy!!!

Vera said...

I so admire your planning skills, and I am sure you will have a productive harvest to look forward to at the end of the season.....but hey! What's this about more snow!!! We are in the middle of a mini heat wave here, which is most unseasonal. We are still having hard frosts though, so lots of things which are being woken up by the daytime temperatures are getting nipped by frost as well.

Hope the snow is not too heavy. Was most intrigued by that breakfast dish you made.

Leigh said...

Even though I've already had breakfast, your food photos are making me hungry! I'm relieved to know someone else occasionally doesn't get those garden charts marked! LOL

Mama Pea said...

Jenn - Yes, it's like a crustless quiche!

StrictlyMystic - When I make a big batch of soup, we tend to eat it for several days, but I look for ways to "change" it every day . . . since I need variety in my food! One day Papa Pea said he was hungry for wild rice so I cooked some and thought it would be a good addition to this soup. And it was!

wisps of words - Well, this seems to be the story of my days! There are always those "everyday" things that need to be done and, boy, don't they just eat up the hours of each day! I'd gladly spend whole days in my quilt room, but it's so hard to make that happen. :o\

Regarding my comment on your recent post, I so admire you for being a gal who has done a lot of thinking, made some choices and isn't afraid to talk about them. Outside of the fact that I agree with you (!), you always make so much sense!

wyomingheart - Oh, yes, cattle panels have become the best trellises and supports in the garden that we've found! They last and last and are easier to put up than a lot of other methods we've tried.

You and Vera indicated an interest in the Cheesy Egg Wedges so I'll do a quick post with the recipe within the next couple of days. Thanks for your interest!

Vera - Planning is just self-preservation for me! I'm kind of a stick-in-the-mud in that I don't like surprises nor am I very spontaneous. (Which may well be a negative characteristic!) I do best when I know what's coming. It gives me a feeling of being organized. Ha!

Heat wave? What's that? Actually, our temp stayed in the high 20 degrees Fahrenheit over night and that was our warmest in a while.

If you're still interested, I'll post the egg dish recipe soon. :o}

Mama Pea said...

Leigh - We usually eat pretty well around here! I often tell my husband that it's a darn good thing for him that I like to eat. I can't imagine what it would be like to have to cook, but not be someone who enjoys eating good food!

When I told Papa Pea I had failed to mark which raised bed I planted the garlic in, he seemed surprised saying I'm usually so good about my record keeping. Uh-oh, is this an indication I'm starting to slide down the slippery slope . . . ??

MrsDuncanMahogany said...

Hiya Mama Pea! You have had a busy time of things! And it seems like we have as much snow as you down there. And yes, we are due some more today and tomorrow. Good thing we have land - otherwise I would not know where to put it all! In some parts on our land its up to my waist. And I stand 5'10". I hope for a sloooooow melt come spring.

Susan said...

I would love that cheesy egg wedges recipe! Thanks to you, I make cottage cheese at every opportunity - and you are right, it is so hard to save some! I usually inhale it. Garden planning is on the agenda for this weekend and I am glad I only have a few beds to wrangle.

Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

I too would like the recipe for the egg wedges. I make frittatas with ricotta but nothing with cottage cheese. Looks good. Soup looks good too. We are gearing up for a, believe it or not, spring storm. Sigh...

Mary Mc said...

Hi Mama Pea, maybe look at what is casting the shadows across your planting beds to help orient the beds in your picture. Warm hugs from coastal California. Mary

Mama Pea said...

MrsDM - We continue to seem to have the same kind of weather, don't we? Yes, slow spring melt will be good for the ground, but it's still gonna make a lot of MUD!

Susan - Hey, great you're still making and enjoying the cottage cheese. We don't eat as much in the winter as we do in the summer when it makes such a nice, light meal with veggies from the garden. Good luck with your garden planning this weekend! Aren't we smart to get going on it this far ahead! (How'd it happen??)

Kristina (and Susan) - Recipe comin' up in a post soon!

Mary Mc - Hello to coastal California! I've narrowed it down to one of two beds, I think. And I did look at the shadows which helped me a wee bit. I think. ;o)

odiie said...

Love the painted mountain corn. It's all I've grown for the past 10 years. I've been saving the seed from it forever. Finally bought some new stuff this year.
Love all the snow this year? My dog's house is completely insulated and looks like an igloo.
Glory Farm

Mama Pea said...

odiie - How wonderful to hear from you! I remember you said you've had great success with the Painted Mountain Corn. So much snow. Such good fertilizer for the ground! I think this will herald a good start to the gardening season.

Hope you are all well and happy. Hugs.

The Wykeham Observer said...

Good-looking soup! I don't have any cauliflower, but have lots of cabbage. I'm wondering if I could substitute and use the cabbage for a similar soup. Anyway it's worth a try. The egg dish would be good on a cold morning!

Mama Pea said...

Phil - I definitely think you could substitute cabbage (what a good idea) for the cauliflower. I blanched and put all of our heads of cauliflower from the garden last fall into the freezer and we find we like the cauliflower soup so well that that's the way we're eating all the cauliflower this winter. But as I say, I think cabbage would be good, too. Give it a go!

Lisa said...

Ooooo the soup and egg dish looks delicious!!! And you look like you are having such fun planning your garden in spite of the upside-down location of the pre-planted garlic bed. Always envy your garden and look at it as a sort of "goal" for us that will probably never be achieved. ;)

Sam I Am...... said...

I can't dig in the ground here with voles and rocks so I've been watching podcast and You Tube videos that show how to make your own Earth Box using plastic containers...I like the self watering part because in the summer here it is so hot you could water 3 times a day and I have to pay for my water so....that's my plan...so far. When I was up North I had raised beds like you. Your Painted Mountain Corn sounds great! A true multi-tasker!
Your soup and bone broth and Cheesy Egg Wedges all sound delicious!