If you haven’t protected plants from frost you need to jump on that. Gauzy floating row covers protect plants but allow light, air and moisture in. If you have prized plants bales of hay placed around said plants provide a thicker layer of protection. You’ll also need to mulch more. Mound up mulch around crowns of roses and any other plants that won’t survive a freeze well if left unprotected.

Disease-free annuals should be pulled and composted if you haven’t already. Spread a decent nitrogen rich compost in the vacant areas after. You can also plant a cover that will add nutrients and/or keep the spot from looking bare – winter rye, alfalfa, legumes, or winter wheat seed are good covers.

Plant tulip bulbs before the month ends.

If you have any tomatoes left unripened, pull them before the frost comes. You can try wrapping them in newspaper and placing them in a cool spot they may ripen – just be sure to wrap them individually and not touching.

Do a fence check. Actually it’s smart to check all stakes and fence posts before the worst of winter hits to make sure they’re stable.

Get the last of your lawn mowing and leaf grinding done, clean and oil tools, and put them away for winter if you’re not going to be using them. It’s a good time for general clean-up; untidy gardens look worse in winter.

Since your area will vary weather wise check with a local expert, local garden guide, or your local extension to get a list of locally related gardening tasks for the month.

[image via stock.xchng]

Post from: Blisstree

Early November Gardening Tasks

So I’m going through and doing my annual “fall cleaning” with my recipe folder, and the one section that I pay a little more attention to is my desserts. I have a habit of printing off pretty much any recipe that catches my eye, or ripping out a magazine article of something that looks good one day, and a week or so later leaves me wondering what I was thinking. The purge is satisfying, especially when I’m able to thin the folder down a bit. At the same time, though, seeing so many of my autumn favorites gets me in a mood to fire up the mixer!

That being said, and because September 21st happens to be Pecan Cookie Day, I’ve added the ingredients to make my favorite Pecan Shortbread Cookies to this week’s grocery list. I’m really in the mood to not only start baking, but to start filling the house with yummy fall scents, too!

~ Pecan Shortbread Cookies
~ Mini Pecan Pumpkin Pies
~ White Chocolate Pecan Cranberry Cookies
~ Butter Pecan Cookies
~ Orange Pecan Cookies
~ Buttered Rum Pecan Cookies
~ Organic Chocolate Chip Pecan Cookies (video)
~ Gluten-free Butter Pecan Cookies

What are your favorite pecan cookies?

Post from: Blisstree

Pecan Cookie Day

September 17th is the perfect date for National Apple Dumpling Day. The yummy pastry really couldn’t be easier to make, and chances are you’ve got everything you need for it right in your pantry. They’re said to have originated in the northeastern United States and are popular among the Amish, who have them for breakfast or as dessert after dinner. If you’re serving them as dessert, don’t forget the vanilla ice cream!

My favorite apples to use for pretty much any apple baking — whether it be tarts, dumplings or pies — is the Granny Smith. It holds up well in the baking process and the tart taste manages to hold its own against pastry and sugary fillings and syrups.

You can also play with add-ins if you’re in the mood. Raisins (which are more traditional) or other dried fruits like cranberries or even chopped apricots can be added in with the apples before they’re wrapped up in the pastry dough, or leave them out altogether if all you want is the apple.

Below are several recipes and methods to check out:

~ Traditional Pennsylvania Dutch Apple Dumplings
~ How to Make Apple Dumplings, Step by Step
~ Quick Apple Dumplings
~ Sprite Apple Dumplings
~ Diabetic Recipe for Apple Dumplings
~ Vegan Apple Dumplings
~ Slow Cooker Apple Dumplings

[image: flickr]

Post from: Blisstree

Autumn Apple Dumplings

You can use the stuffing and the chicken stock to make the turkey rolls, or have the turkey, and stuffing separate, and use the stock to make a hearty soup.

These great fall flavors are courtesy of  Todd Adelman, Director of Nutritional Services for Block Institute. Todd is the co-author of the James Beard Award nominated book Special Foods for Special Kids: Practical Solutions & Great Recipes for Children with Food Allergies.

Make them ahead and these turkey rollups, with stuffing could be reheated for an an easy lunch idea, or a quick nutritious supper when you’re on the go.

TURKEY ROLL-UPS
(Yields 6 “roll-ups”)

INGREDIENTS:

• 6 turkey cutlets (4 oz. each)
• 2 cups unbaked “stuffing” (see recipe below)
• ½ tsp. paprika
• ½ tsp. garlic powder
• 1 tsp. Parsley flakes
• ½ tsp. ground thyme
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• 1 Tbsp. margarine
• ½ cup orange juice
• 1 Tbsp. honey

Preheat the oven to 350° F.
Pound the cutlets to ¼ inch thickness.
Place 2 Tbsp. “Stuffing” towards one end of each cutlet then roll up jelly roll style
Place the rolls seam side down in a shallow roasting pan.
Mix the paprika, garlic powder, parsley, thyme and salt together
Sprinkle roll-ups with ½ of seasoning mixture and set aside
Melt margarine in small sauce pan.
Add orange juice & honey & bring to boil.
Remove from heat.
Baste roll-ups with orange juice mixture.
Bake for 10 minutes. Flip. Sprinkle with remaining seasoning mixture Baste. Flip again & baste with remaining liquid. Bake for additional 5 minutes.
Serve.

STUFFING
(Yields 4 cups)

INGREDIENTS:

• 16 slices bread, toasted with curst removed
• ½ cup celery, finely diced
• ¼ cup onion, finely diced
• 1 Tbsp. margarine
• 2 medium apples, grated
• 2 tsp. parsley flakes
• 1 tsp. dried thyme
• ½ tsp. salt
• 1/8 tsp. white pepper
• ½ cup “Chicken Stock” (see recipe)

Preheat oven to 350° F
Cut bread into cubes & set aside in large bowl.
Saute celery & onion in margarine until soft.
Add celery mixture & remaining ingredients to bread cubes.
Toss until liquid is absorbed.
Bake, uncovered, for 30 minutes.
Serve.

Chicken Stock
(Yields 2 quarts)

Ingredients:

• 1 chicken, skinned & cut into pieces
• 8 carrots, quartered
• 6 celery stalks, quartered
• 1 turnip, quartered
• 10 sprigs dill
• 2 parsnips, quartered
• 1 leek, halved
• 6 sprigs parsley
• 1 onion, quartered
• 3 quarts cold water

Place ingredients in pot.
Bring to boil.
Reduce heat.
Simmer for 1 ½ hours.
Strain the soup.
Serve.

Post from: Blisstree

Fall Flavors~ Turkey Roll Ups

I’m sick. Not fever-sick, but I feel extremely yucky. I’m making up a batch of chicken soup right now. I always add extra chicken to my soup recipe. It makes a richer broth and there’s leftover chicken that I can use for another dish.

Here’s my recipe…….

Chicken Soup

*2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
*1 cup onions, diced
*1  & 1/2 cup celery, chopped
*1 & 1/2 cup carrots, sliced into thin rounds
*5 cloves of garlic, chopped fine
*2 Bay leaves
*1 teaspoon fresh oregano
*1 teaspoon fresh sage
*2 teaspoons kosher salt
*1 teaspoon ground pepper
*6 cups water
*1 cup tomato juice, I use the spicy-hot or subsitute 1 small can tomato sauce
*5 chicken breasts, or equivalent amount of other cut of chicken
*1  & 1/2 cups cooked rice

1. Pour oil in pan heated to medium.
2. Saute onion, celery, and carrots until crisp-tender.
3. Add garlic, bay leaves, and herbs. Saute lightly.
4. Add water, juice, salt, and pepper. Stir well.
5. Add chicken, cover. Raise heat to medium high, lower heat to medium when it reaches a boil.
6. Simmer for 2 hours.
7. At 2 hours, pull cooked chicken from the pot.
8. Shred the chicken and return to the pot.
9. Add cooked rice. Stir.

*I add a few dashes of hot sauce to my soup bowl.

Image credit: Sxc.hu

Post from: Blisstree

Feel Better Chicken Soup

Check with your local extension office to learn about the best colorful plants for your area first and foremost. Then hit some of your favorite gardening books but overall there are plenty of plants that will bloom into fall and some beyond, no matter where you live. Here are some fall color ideas below (check first to make sure they work in your zone).

Cosmos

Gloriosa Daisy

Japanese Barberry

Anemone

Statice

Hibiscus

Post from: Blisstree

Plants that brighten fall gardens

Naturally, my thoughts also turn to warmer fare, and what cooler evenings mean for dinners, and cooler mornings mean for caffeination!

One of my favorite ways to “celebrate” is to grab a Pumpkin Spice Latte. Starbucks usually rolls theirs out around September 1st, and many other more local coffee shops will follow suit. I actually don’t get many of these throughout the season — the flavoring is a bit heavy-handed for my taste — but they do help mark fall for me.

Oddly enough, though I do like to make as many things as I can on my own at home, I never thought to check into pumpkin spice flavoring syrup. The best part is, you don’t even have to buy it. Using what you’ve probably already got in the cupboard, the blog Think Inside the Icebox has a great recipe to make your own pumpkin spice mix at home.

Using a simple syrup (equal parts water and sugar) combined with typical pumpkin pie spices, the concoction is boiled together and then strained before adding vanilla extract. Keep it in the fridge and you’ve got an instant autumnal coffee flavoring.

If you don’t feel like making your own syrup, you can always pick up a bottle, such as Torani’s Pumpkin Spice Syrup.

[image: flickr]

Post from: Blisstree

Counting Down to Pumpkin Spice Lattes

Moon Cakes

Of course, just like the US Thanksgiving, it’s full of lots of food!  Moon cakes are one of the most popular treats during the festival.  They are a round semi-sweet pastry, filled with all sorts of goodies from savory to sweet, and they sort of resemble the moon.  You may find yourself waiting in very long lines to buy moon cakes, but they’re worth the effort.

San Francisco’s Chinatown Autumn Moon Festival will be held the weekend of September 19 – 20th, 2009, 11 am – 6 pm daily.  During the Moon Festival, Grant Avenue in Chinatown will be closed to automobile traffic, and the street will turn into a big bazaar, full of shopping, entertainment, arts and crafts, activities,  lots of food, and teeming with life.  There is no charge to visit the festival, and if you’ll be in town, it’s a fabulous cultural experience.

Some other related Moon Festival events include:

Moon Festival Photo Contest – As a way to encourage people to take lots of photos, this amateur only contest is simple to enter.  Fill out a Moon Festival photo contest registration form, and snap away.  Top prize is $500.  More details are available from the Chinatown Photographic Society.

Autumn Moon Film Festival – A new feature this year, the mini film festival will be held at the Four Seas Restaurant (731 Grant Avenue), both days.  Check out the viewing schedule and see if there’s something that interests you.  It’s a great opportunity for film buffs, and also a nice break in an otherwise busy festival day.

Follow the Moon Festival on Twitter @SFCMA.

Photo credit: miss karen @flickr

Post from: Blisstree

Celebrate Autumn Moon Festival in San Francisco’s Chinatown

IMG: Sxc.hu

Most public schools in Arkansas River Valley actually begin this upcoming Wednesday. Yes, during the middle of week kids will be jumping on school buses all over town. The schools have changed the time for when classes will begin to 7:55am instead of 8:00am.  Is this a good thing or a bad thing?

Chico schools in California actually began on August 12, some state it is just too hot to begin this early. They could possibly lower energy costs by starting in September instead of August, when the temperatures begin to drop and cooling won’t be needed as much.

All over the United States schools will begin between August-September, in Britain they actually begin in September. If you think those months are a little early or late to begin head on over to Japan where the kids don’t begin until April or wait until just before Valentine’s Day for school to begin in Australia. Now that I’ve stated this I’m glad our school starts in August, but I’m still not thrilled that it began on a Friday instead of a Monday.

Why do schools start when they do? I know many in North Carolina got upset when they found out schools wanted to begin in August, which would make them have to close their shops sooner. For those in beach areas this is how they make their money for the year, closing down towns to start school early doesn’t help when the economy is going downhill. Others believe this will help because kids will definitely be in school and off the streets. Are your kids ready for the new school year?

Five Quick Tips to Prepare for school:
-  Start a bedtime routine
-  Make sure to check those checklists for school supplies
-  Double check the start date
-  Make sure all paperwork is completed
-  Make sure all alarms are working

CBSNews has a few handy tips on how to make a routine with your child and why. Here’s a fun poll I decided to add to see how many schools begin at different points this year:

Post from: Blisstree

When Should School Begin?

When I was growing up, our dogs always lived outside full-time. They had a dog house and on nights where it was especially cold they’d come into the garage, but they were never allowed in the house.

I can’t imagine doing that with my own dogs, but they’re pretty small and tend to shiver when the wind blows and it’s still 100 degrees out, so that’s not saying much! I have to give them credit for even venturing out to do their business when it does get cold outside — I know it’s not much fun for them.

I’m curious, though, if others keep their dogs outside all the time or if they only go out when nature calls or for walks or to play.

What are your thoughts on dogs living outside?

[image: petco]

Post from: Blisstree

Does Your Dog Live Outside?