by Paula D.
on October 29, 2018 5:17 pm in Gardening
I’m obsessed with decorative gourds. I can’t help buying them anywhere I see them – at the supermarket, at the garden store, at Home Depot. Can you blame me? There’s such a wide variety of colors, patterns, bumps, shapes and sizes. They’re perfect. In a way, Decorative Gourd Season makes me not even miss summer.
My husband doesn’t feel similarly. Last week he asked “So, how much money are you going to spend on gourds this year??” I responded, trying to look really cute, “Oh, did you see this wonderful arrangement I made for the dining room table?”. Followed by a clincher diversion, “Do you want escarole soup for dinner tonight? It came out great.”
I buy gourds for decor but these hard-shelled fruits served real purpose worldwide throughout history. They were made into tools: cups, bowls, water jugs and spoons; and used as musical instruments: drums, strings, maracas and, of course, the nose flute. Gourds were objects of beautiful art and carvings; they were also used as food. The oldest documented gourds were found in Peru, discovered in archaeological sites dating from 13,000 BC. That variety found is called a bottle gourd. The gourd may in fact be the first domesticated plant species ever, originating from Asia.
The name gourd refers to the fruit of the plants, of the diverse cucurbitaceae family. There are three main types: the cucurbita or ornamentals, the lagenaria or hardshell, and the luffa or vegetable sponge. Yes, your shower loofah is made from a gourd!
Along with gourds, I enjoy adorning my home with barrels of hay, corn stalks, mums, chrysanthemums and pumpkins, to create lavish fall displays. Lisena Garden Center (125 Cross Bay Blvd, Broad Channel) has all of these necessary items, so take a ride this weekend and get going with those gourds.
This is the oldest known gourd, the bottle gourd. I’ve seen them in KeyFood recently. Can you believe this fruit was unearthed in archaeological sites in Peru and also available in KeyFood.
This is one of my favorites, known as the Turban Squash. It’s an heirloom, predating 1820 from Northeastern United States. There’s something about the white “brain” protrusion on this one that makes it so desirable. It’s known as “the most beautiful in color, and the most worthless in quality, of all the varieties.” Lol!
On a recent trip to the Catskills, I had to get some hay and additional pumpkins. It was too good of a bargain to pass up!
by Paula D.
on October 11, 2018 7:11 am in Gardening
I’ve been outside in the garden so much I feel like my indoor plants, of which I have many, have suffered. This past week I gave them all a tune-up, adding compost to the soil and cutting back dead and straggly leaves.
It’s always hard cutting back the long trailing vines of the pothos plant but mine were leggy, thin on top, and unhealthy looking. Pruning the vines encourages new growth and my cuttings would not go to waste. I propagate from them and create new plants! I’ve been doing this for almost a decade so I’ve learned the best practices which I will share with you.
But first some background on Epipremnum Aureum. There are several hybrids but only two cultivars: golden pothos and marble queen. The houseplant is resilient and easy to care for. It grows in very low light but will thrive in indirect light. Avoid direct sun. The general rule on watering is every 1-2 weeks. It’s best to let the soil dry out before watering again. If you wait until the leaves are wilted, no problem, they’ll pop back up after a drink. The plant can tolerate a temperature range as low as 55 and as high as 90℉. Pothos is tropical and loves humidity – perfect in the bathroom or you can mist once a week.
The attractive trailers of the pothos plant are ideal for hanging baskets or a top a shelf where the long vines can cascade down. When you notice the vines getting straggly, it’s time to snip and propagate!
How to:
1. Cut the strand at the top of the plant close to the base but leaving a leaf node. The leaf node area is ¼ inches before the leaf. You should see a bump or root under or near the leaf. This is the node.
2. Starting from one end, cut ¼ inch out, from the leaf node on either side. Continue until all healthy leaves are cut down from the vine. Each one of these cuttings will root and become a mini plant.
3. Fill a clear glass with water to the top. Bundle all the cutting in your hand and place them in the cup. Many cuttings will help them stay firm at the top. Make sure the end node’s are touching the water.
4. Place the glass in an area without a draft and somewhat warm. On top of a radiator cover or the refrigerator are good locations.
5. Plants receive oxygen from water so its important that you change the water in the glass every 3 or 4 days. In one week you’ll see new white roots forming. Wait until they’re an inch long before potting.
6. When transferring the mini plants keep them tightly packed for a full appearance. Keep the pot moist the first 2 weeks until the plant establishes.
The Beach 91st St. Community Garden is hosting a plant sale on Oct. 14 from 12-4pm. I’m addicted to propagating plants but have know place to keep them all so many of my plants will be for sale at the event! 60% of the proceeds will be donated to the Beach 91st St. Community Garden. I hope to see you there!
by Paula D.
on October 1, 2018 12:09 pm in Food
Hobnob v 1. to mingle, usually with the upper class of society.
But more importantly, a Hobnob is the name of a cookie. Wait… I mean a biscuit. From the UK. They’re made from rolled oats, jumbo oats and often are sided with chocolate. They’re among the most popular of British biscuits.
But why do Brits refer to cookies as “biscuits”? What’s the difference? Here in the states we put poached eggs and bacon on biscuits, we don’t dunk them in our tea as our neighbors across the pond do. US biscuits are a variety of small baked goods with a firm browned crust and a soft interior. A biscuit in the UK is classified as a small hard baked product which can be savoury or sweet. The term “cookie” typically refers to only one type of biscuit – a chocolate chip cookie.
I’m still confused.
I bring this up because my husband has become obsessed with Hobnobs ever since his co-worker and our good friend Or Zubalsky brought the biscuits to their office. Or’s first encounter with hobnobs was when he was visiting his friend in London. He and his wife brought a bundle back from the UK. After running out of the addictive “cookie”, Or tracked them down at the Park Slope Food Coop.
But Matt needed his own stash so he ordered boxes in bulk from England. Shipping wasn’t cheap and it took a while to arrive. Only a month after the deliver he ran out (sigh). It happened to be our 9 year anniversary that week and — being the amazing wife that I am — I thought it would be “brilliant” to make homemade hobnobs for my husband as a gift! I followed the recipe so carefully. I wanted them to be authentic. Matt said they tasted more like a cookie than an English biscuit but he loved them nonetheless. The hobnob is meant to be dunked so enjoy them with your morning coffee or evening tea!
Ingredients:
1½ cups all-purpose flour
1½ cups old-fashioned oats
1½ teaspoons baking soda
1½ teaspoons kosher salt
2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons whole milk
2 teaspoons honey
150g of milk chocolate
Directions: Preheat oven to 300°. Whisk flour, oats, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl to combine. Using an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 min. Beat in milk and honey. Turn off mixer and add dry ingredients; mixing with a rubber spatula. Spoon tablespoonfuls of dough onto parchment-lined baking sheets, pressing down lightly to flatten and space 1½” apart. Bake the biscuits until golden brown, 25–30 min.
When cooled, melt the 150g of milk chocolate in either the microwave or in a bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water. Be very careful the chocolate doesn’t seize (the transformation of chocolate from a fluid state to a stiff, grainy one). This of course is what happened to me. Make sure the bowl and utensils are water free, keep stirring the chocolate and keep the temperature very low. Once the chocolate is melted, paint the tops of your hobnobs our dip and leave on a drying rack.
Recipe from bonappetit.com/recipe/homemade-hobnob-cookies
by Paula D.
on September 24, 2018 11:00 am in Community
Did Cynthia Nixon lose the primary because of #BAGELGATE?
Bagels are SO New York and that’s why the controversial bagel order of celebrity-turned-gubernatorial-candidate Cynthia Nixon caused a frenzy on social media last Sunday, days before the primary election. At Zabar’s on the Upper West Side Nixon ordered, cream cheese, lox, tomato, red onions and capers on… a cinnamon raisin bagel?? New Yorkers and food critics were outraged and distraught over the native New Yorkers bizzare bagel. New York Magazine reporter Chris Crowley called the bagel “troubling”. Stephen Colbert commented “Now, I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say this is the worst Nixon scandal in the history of politics.”
Nixon’s own opinion on the matter. “I’m stunned. This is my bagel of choice for a few decades now. It’s never been public knowledge, and I really am fascinated that people are so emotional about it.”
As we all know our choices at the polls are influenced by our social identity, party affiliation, and policy issues. Can our votes be influenced by obsessions with TV shows (ahem, Sex In The City) or due to another candidate’s Italian heritage and the fact that he’s the Godfather to your favorite Piano Man’s child?
Or by bagel preferences? I didn’t want to chance any influence, so last thursday I intentionally voted before I headed over to Surfside Bagel (95-11 Rockaway Beach Blvd.) to taste test the Nixon bagel.
People put pineapple on pizza for god’s sake, How bad can it be? I had to know.
I went up to the counter and asked for the Cynthia Nixon bagel. There was a look of confusion on the employees face. I explained and she recalled her daughter mentioning the bagel, but I was the first person to order the controversial combo from Surfside.
I asked all three employees to take a bite, only Shfrana Alli was game. The others politely said they already had breakfast and were full (but were they really repulsed by the thought of eating it?). I also asked two customers to have a taste. The results:
“I would have been willing to try the bagel if it wasn’t for the capers, I’m not a fan of them.” said customer Melissa Mcloughlin.
Yasmin Bootwala visiting Rockaway from Phoenix said she would give it a try. “I usually like savory bagels but the sweet/salty combination here is nice. I like it.”
Surfside employee Shfrana Alli’s reaction to the unorthodox bagel, “It’s sooooo good. It’s a perfect combination and I’ve tasted lot of bagels working here!”
My first reaction was bipartisan. It wasn’t delicious but it wasn’t that bad. I ended up eating half of it. If the capers were omitted the bagel would’ve tasted better. There are too many competing flavors and anyway you try to spin it, the raisin / caper combination tastes outright strange. On the way home I had a weird aftertaste in my mouth which made me think that, realistically, I’ll never order the Nixon bagel again.
I still would vote for her in the future though.
