Quote of the Day: Hal Borland
Year’s end is neither an end nor a beginning but a going on,
with all the wisdom that experience can instill in us.
~Hal Borland
I know many people that make New Year’s resolutions, I don’t, never have. It is however, a great time to sit down and think about the previous year, learning from past mistakes and successes and trying to take those lessons into the coming year. I find that I do this better throughout the year rather than at this busy time of year, I try to take stock of how things are going often and make small adjustments rather than making big drastic changes at New Year’s.
Do you make resolutions? What are some of the ones you have for 2011?
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Happy New Year!
Mr Chiots and I usually get together with friends for New Year’s Eve, and have a celebration full of fun food and games. Sadly, this year we had to work. We rang in the New Year with clients and all their guests.
We’ll pretend it’s tonight and toast again for our celebration. Here’s to a fantastic 2011.
Do you stay up and ring in the New Year?
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Friday Favorite: Cast Iron
It’s no secret that I love cast iron, you’ve probably noticed that it crops up in many of my cooking photos. I use old Griswold cast iron skillet more than any other piece of cookware I own. I cook anything and everything in it!
I also have cast iron bread pans and a cast iron pizza pan that gets used as a skillet on the stove top and as a cookie sheet in the oven, along with a collection of smaller skillets and one very small dutch oven.
One of the reasons I love cast iron is that it’s durable, it will last you the rest of your life and you can pass it on to future generations. The skillet you see below, was left by the old man my parents bought they’re first home off of. It’s a Griswold and is at least twice as old as I am.
Cast iron cookware also cooks like a dream. If you keep the skillet properly seasoned you just can’t beat the way it cooks an egg, mushrooms, or a steak. It’s also a healthy option for cooking, because it’s not adding weird chemicals into your food like non-stick and another kinds of cookware does. You want to make sure you buy vintage cast iron or cookware that’s made by a reputable company if you’re buying new otherwise you may not be getting great quality.
The newest additions to my cast iron collection are a few Staub enameled dutch ovens Staub enameled dutch ovens Mr Chiots got me for Christmas. I must admit, they’re as great as I expected. I think they’ll quickly make my stainless steel pots jealous.
Are you a cast iron cookware lover?
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My Winter Garden in Late December
Yesterday was a beautiful sunny day and relatively warm (around 30). After Mr Chiots and I took the dog on a walk, I decided to head out and uncover the low tunnels to see how everything was doing.
Our temperatures have been much colder than usual here, so I figured things wouldn’t be doing as well as they should be. Usually our temperatures in December are in the 30’s. This December our temperatures have been in the 20’s and the teens. The days have also been very cloudy, which doesn’t help warm up the low tunnels.
I have 2 different varieties of spinach growing in my low tunnel ‘Catalina’ and ‘Giant Winter’. So far they both seem to be doing well, I think the ‘Catalina’ might be doing slightly better. We’ll see which variety starts producing faster when it warms in the spring.
A few things were slightly frosty, but the good thing is that the new growth is still doing well. This means that I’ll be able to harvest very early next spring once the weather warms regularly.
Winter gardening definitely has a learning curve, and the weather greatly affects what the outcome will be. I think if our December was “normal”, I’d be harvesting spinach and arugula right now. With each year I’ll gain knowledge and figure out the planting schedule for my particular climate. I should be doing pretty well in a few years!
How’s your garden growing?
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Winter Activities
One of the reasons I enjoy gardening is because it’s great exercise. The bad thing is that you can’t do it in the winter so you have to find something else to do. I enjoy doing yoga several times a week, we also enjoy going on walks. Yesterday however, we went bowling and ice skating, both wonderful winter activities.
We went with some friends and had a great time. It’s always great to get out in the winter and do something, especially when you live in a rural area like we do and don’t have things like this nearby!
Have you done anything fun lately?
