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The Big Apple Tree

February 16, 2011

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By Bernadine Chapman-Cruz

I always dreamed of owning an apple tree, but this wish remained on my to-do-list. Then, one day while channel surfing, something not only caught my eye, but made my mouth water. Staring back at me from a shopping channel was a big, steaming hot apple pie. I could almost smell the sweet, spicy aroma drift into my living room.

“With giant apples from the Big Apple Tree, you’ll be able to bake a nine inch apple pie with only one piece of fruit.” The pitch further enticed me, as the camera moved from the pie to a close-up of the hostess’ sparkly teeth, perfectly coiffed hair and Cheshire cat grin. I knew she was talking directly to me.

“Ooh, it smells so good,” she said, taking a big whiff, her eyes closed leaving at least a half inch of false eyelashes resting on each cheek. I followed the hostess’ lead inhaling deeply.

When I opened my eyes, the screen had changed to ‘The Big Apple Tree Orchard.’

“Renown for apple trees producing giant apples big enough to make a nine inch apple pie out of each piece of fruit,” she reiterated.

“Delivered directly to your doorstep, The Big Apple Tree comes with a root ball ready to plant for only $39.99, plus shipping and handling. It can be yours today.”

Hooked, I couldn’t get to the phone fast enough to place my order.

As promised, within five days, my Big Apple Tree arrived. My heart beat wildly beneath my sweater as I ripped open the long thin box, revealing a large bulge the size of a small grapefruit encased in sturdy burlap. Apples! Apples! pounded through my brain, but it was only a root ball. On a mission, I dug deeper, flinging crumpled paper over my shoulder as I inched up through the protective wrapping.

To my dismay, instead of giant apples, I discovered a skinny stick no thicker than the thin bone of a skeleton’s leg, with three dead leaves clinging to four tiny branches no bigger than chopsticks. 

I couldn’t believe my eyes. This tree will take years to mature, and even longer to bare giant fruit. My hopes of ‘a big apple pie’ were shattered.

Heartbroken, I rewrapped my coveted Big Apple Tree placing it back into the box. I pasted the pre-printed return label on the outside, grabbed my car keys and headed for the post office, stopping at the bakery on the way home.  

That night, as I cut into the local baker’s juicy apple pie placing a big piece on my plate, I looked outside to where my Big Apple Tree would have been. A lump rose in my throat. I couldn’t even take a bite. Dejected, I pushed the plate away and picked up the remote control to watch television.

“Today we are offering ‘Pie of the Month,’” I heard.  My heart began to beat wildly beneath my sweater as I gazed at a dozen luscious fresh-baked pies on the shopping channel table.

My eyes grew wide. My mouth watered. I knew I shouldn’t, but I reached for the phone. Copyright © 2011 Bernadine Chapman-Cruz

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My Cactus Garden

January 10, 2011

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By Bernadine Chapman-Cruz

I’ve never had a green thumb with houseplants. They invariably droop, shrivel, turn brown and die. My small outdoor garden hosting palms and ferns has fared somewhat better. However, the shining star of my gardening efforts is my cactus and succulent garden, hosting over 75 in-ground and potted plants.

In the beginning, I thought cacti needed sandy soil and lots of sun and water to prosper. Enthusiastic in my new venture, I faithfully watered my cacti every day during the heat of summer, only cutting back in winter. I watered my cacti just like God intended, with rain falling from the heavens. Following this template, I poised my hose directly above each cactus plant, letting a mini-rainstorm pour down on top of my cacti until the ground was saturated. But soon, my cactus plants were going the way of my house plants – beginning to die off.

One day, in the gardening section of a local home improvement store while looking for replacements for my cactus casualties, another shopper approached. I watched as she quickly made her selections from the display of healthy plants, a sharp contrast to what my cactus garden had become.

“What are you going to get?” she asked.

“I’m not sure,” I replied.  “I really don’t know anything about cactus. Some of my plants are dying, so I need to get some new ones.”

“Have you ever been to Poots House of Cactus?” she asked.

“No,” I said.

“That’s where you need to go, because they know all about cactus, have a large selection to choose from and even have a cactus club.”

A few days later, I decided to check out Poots House of Cactus on Highway 120 in Ripon. When I pulled into the parking lot, the grounds were alive with cactus of every shape and size. There were big cacti, small cacti, tall cacti and short round spiky cacti on every inch of ground.  There were also several long tables laden with potted cacti and succulents, each sporting a yellow price tag with plant identification.

First, I browsed the tables, then ventured into the hot house where I met owners, Bill and Roelyn Poot. A delightful couple, the Poots’ expertise in cacti and succulents is unequaled, having been in business for 20 years. They freely shared their knowledge and invited me to join the Stockton Cactus & Succulent Club.

With a friendly wave, I left with a bevy of plants, some cactus potting soil, and invaluable information on watering my cacti. My dying cacti were afflicted with overwatering. I had been drowning my plants, which only needed deep ground watering twice a month in the summer, and no water after October.

Today, some six months later, my cactus garden is thriving. I followed the Poots’ advice on watering,  moved my potted plants to a sheltered area and covered my in-ground plants to protect them from frost – a cactus and succulent killer.

Thanks to Poots House of Cactus and the Stockton Cactus & Succulent Club, my cactus garden has survived and is thriving. Copyright © 2011 Bernadine Chapman-Cruz

For more information on cacti and succulents and cactus club membership contact Poots House of Cactus, 17229 E. Highway 120, Ripon, CA  Open Monday – Saturday 9-5 Closed Sunday or call (209) 599-7241 or email  pootscactus@yahoo.com and say Bernadine sent you.

About our Guest Writer:  Bernadine Chapman-Cruz lives in Northern California with her husband George, where she writes and grows cacti. She has been a professional freelance writer with over 600 articles appearing in a variety of local and national publications over the past 20 years.  Bernadine’s current assignment is writing the Biz Buzz section for Lodi Monthly Magazine.

Writing is my passion,” Bernadine says. “I will write about anything, anywhere, anytime.”

In addition to writing fiction and non-fiction material, Bernadine has reviewed books on Amazon.com as well as reviewed movies. Bernadine also edits for other writers. “Editing is a new aspect in my wonderful world of writing,” she says, “and something I find very fulfilling helping other writers improve their work.”

In and Around the Garden is Bernadine’s first guest blog assignment.

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My Experience Canning Pepper Jelly

August 17, 2010

Written by Valerie Halloran 

This year I decided to grow green peppers to make my green pepper jelly with some extra to sell at a Christmas boutique in which I participate. I planted twelve plants and they are producing well. I rounded up my mother and father’s old blue canner. Keep in mind I have not canned for about 25 years. I had given all my canning jars away thinking I would not be canning again.  

I bought small canning jars with lids, cheesecloth, and ingredients. I got up that morning and was prepared to have jars of jelly by afternoon. I had been choosing between two recipes but evidently not reading them too carefully, I might add. The one I decided to make, I now noticed, had to sit in the refrigerator all night after being pureed in my food processor and be strained the next day through cheesecloth. This would produce six
half-pint jars. 

The next morning, after cutting the cheesecloth, I got the big bowl of green juice and pulp out of the fridge and, with my husband pouring, I squished it so the juice ran through the cheesecloth and into the pot. I added the rest of the ingredients. 

A new problem arose. I needed three burners and only had two. I needed one for the canner, one for the jar and lid sterilization and one for heating my pepper mixture. Two big pots do not fit well on my two burners. The front pot hangs over a bit. A lot of juggling of these three pots took place. Luckily, I had my husband to lift the heavy canner from here to there as needed. A lot of walking back and forth by me to check the recipe and the canning instructions. Which pot was to simmer and which was to boil and how long. I must have returned to the canning book four times to look at the two different pages. I was wondering about my short-term memory at that point. 

The four cups of juice took a long time to boil after the sugar was added. Contributing to that was probably the fact that a fourth of the pot was not exactly centered on the burner. The huge canner was behind it and taking up too much room. Finally, it boiled and I poured the mixture into hot jars, covered them with lids, and put them in the canner for ten minutes. If I counted the time and effort—the hours of watering the pepper plants, preparation, processing, supplies and ingredients, these small jars of pepper jelly would be invaluable. 

Green Pepper Jelly 

Ball Blue Book® Guide to Preserving 2010  

  • 7 sweet green peppers
  • 1 jalapeño pepper
  • 1 ½ cups cider vinegar, divided
  • 1 ½ cups apple juice
  • 1 package powdered pectin
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 5 cups sugar
  • Green food coloring (optional)

To prepare juice:  Wash peppers; remove stems and seeds. Cut peppers into ½-inch pieces. Puree half the peppers and ¾-cup vinegar in a food processor or blender. Puree remaining peppers and vinegar. Combine purée and apple juice in a large bowl. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Strain pureed mixture through a damp jelly bag or several layers of cheesecloth. Measure 4 cups juice. Add additional apple juice to make 4 cups, if needed. 

To make jelly:  Combine juice, powdered pectin, and salt in a large saucepot. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring constantly. Add sugar, stirring until dissolved. Return to a rolling boil. Boil hard 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Skim foam if necessary. Stir in a few drops of food coloring, if desired. Ladle hot jelly into hot jars, leaving 1/4-inch head space. Adjust two-piece caps. Process 10 minutes in a boiling water canner. 

Recipe variation:  Substitute sweet red, orange, or yellow peppers and red, orange or yellow food coloring for sweet green peppers and green food coloring. 

Note:  When cutting or seeding hot peppers, wear rubber gloves to prevent hands from being burned.

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Recalling the Bounty of Country Life

July 23, 2010

Written by LaVonna (Vonnie) Bergthold

Having been raised on a farm, we always had fresh raw milk. Dad would bring it home in a gallon jar. There’s nothing better than an ice-cold glass of milk. I would help Grandma Hart (Melita) gather the eggs from the chicken coop. We’d have fresh fruit from the trees. My mom would can apricots, peaches, tomatoes, plums, and applesauce. Grandpa Hart (Elwood) grew watermelons. I remember being with him when he cut a small triangular-shape plug out of a watermelon to see how tasty it was.

My grandparents also grew tomatoes to take to the cannery in Thornton, California. My cousins and I would play in the irrigation ditches in the summer. We’d pick a few ripe tomatoes and floated them down the ditch about fifty feet. By the time they got to us (we’d run ahead) they were icy cold. Yum!

In May, my cousins and I would climb the cherry tree by the school bus stop and have a breakfast of Bing cherries. I remember one fall, trying to make pomegranate jelly. What a mess—juice everywhere. I did that only once.

The men (my grandpa, dad, and, and unless) would have a heifer butchered every so often, so we’d have home-raised beef and chickens too. Country life is the best! Copyright © 2010 Vonnie Bergthold

Below is a favorite family recipe from those days. A quick and easy way to use garden-fresh produce from your own backyard.

 

Mom’s Tamale Pie

Serves 4 – 6

1 lb. ground beef

1 onion, chopped

A few garlic cloves to taste, chopped

1 – 15 oz canned corn, undrained

1 – 15 oz canned black olives, drained and sliced

1 – 29 oz canned whole stewed tomatoes, drained

1 cup cornmeal

1 cup milk

1 tablespoon chili powder

½ teaspoon cumin

Cheese, grated

Brown ground beef in large skillet until done, drain, and put back into skillet.

Add remaining ingredients. Mix together and cook on medium-low until heated. Stir as needed so food does not burn or stick to bottom of skillet.

When almost cooked and bubbling, spread cheese on top and serve.

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In My Backyard

June 14, 2010

Written by nine-year-old Julia Andre

Three weeks ago, after school, I was playing outside. I felt like getting away from everyone and being alone. I looked around my backyard for someplace secluded. Finally, I found a corner spot. I went over to see if it was what I needed. The spot was under two Photinia trees with branches that overlapped each other. The only thing I needed was a seat and a shelf.

The seat is for reading, eating enchilada soup, or maybe even writing. I made my seat out of a short, round log the diameter of a Frisbee. I put a piece of plywood on the top to make it easier to sit.

The shelf is for things I want to keep in my spot. I made the shelf by putting a long, narrow piece of wood between one of the trees and the fence. The shelf is low so I can easily reach my jar of peanuts.

I call this spot “my house”. “My house” has everything I might need. I have food, a shelf, a seat, and books. I am all alone, except when my two annoying little brothers start bothering me.

I guess some things in life we have no control over.

Copyright © 2010 Julia Andre

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My Granny’s Garden

May 13, 2010

Text and Art by nine-year-old Julia Andre

In my Granny’s Garden, it is very peaceful. There are always yellow & brown birds tweeting in the trees & beautiful white butterflies going all around drinking nectar from each flower they pass.

In the garden there is a small white metal table with squeaky chairs to go with it. On my birthday we eat out on that table. We still eat dinner on it when it is nice out.

There is also a big, old oak tree with three swings on it; just right for me & my two brothers. The swings are made of white rope & painted wood. We like to swing on them – especially with a dog named Ralph around.

I think my granny’s garden is my favorite place to be.

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The Queen of Quiches

April 19, 2010

A note from Dianne:  This is the last of Judy’s three columns. I am sad to see it end, but as a mother of four and grandmother of nine Judy has little time to spare. If you’ve enjoyed her stories and recipes, please take a moment to comment, and perhaps in the future she will return with more kitchen goodies. Thank you, Judy, for sharing.

Written by Judy Crosby

Here is another recipe from the woman who hates to cook. My husband and I were invited for Easter brunch at our oldest daughter’s house. I volunteered to make quiche, even though I had never made one before. Two weeks earlier, I discovered a recipe for asparagus quiche and it sounded good to me.

The day before Easter, I felt so ahead of the game that I made two quiches and had them done by two o’clock. As I pulled them out of the oven I was a little disappointed, the quiches seemed flatter than I had seen a quiche. It must be this recipe, I told myself, as I sat them on the counter to cool.

At three o’clock my daughter called, “Mom, how many quiches did you make?” I told her two and then she hesitantly asked, “Could you possible make one more, there are going to be a few more people than I originally thought.”

“No problem,” I replied. The recipe had gone together fairly easy, I just had to run to the store and buy more asparagus and more eggs. When we hung up the phone, my daughter-in-law called, with a slight problem that took 45 minutes to work out. At last I was off to the store, when I returned, of course my husband was hungry, seems he still likes to eat three times a day, much to my dismay. I proceeded to whip up a fast, easy dinner, soup, and sandwiches.

After dinner, I got busy with my third quiche. I looked at the recipe and almost choked, WHAT, the recipe now called for ¾ cup of milk, where before I had read ¼ cup. NO, this couldn’t be right. I read that little tiny print wrong. I made the new quiche according to the specific directions. It came out of the oven at least an inch thicker than the two before it and looked so pretty.

I took a deep breath and cut into the first quiche, ate a bite. It didn’t taste very good so I threw those two quiches in the garbage. It was now eight-thirty p.m. throwing on my jacket I yelled to my husband as I ran out the door, “I have to go get some more milk and asparagus”

Upon returning home, I was quiched out. I couldn’t make one more quiche that night. I would get up early in the morning and make two more quiches. The next morning at six a.m., following the recipe exactly, I once again made two perfect quiches. I now feel like the queen of quiche making, I could probably make one with my eyes closed.

Here is the recipe (Please read carefully), don’t do as I do, do as I say. Copyright © 2010 Judy Crosby

Asparagus Quiche (1 quiche)     

1 lb. asparagus; ends snapped off, and cut into 1-inch pieces;

4 to 5 green onions, sliced thin (1/2 cup)

1 Tb. Olive oil

I sheet pie pastry

3 large eggs

¾-cup evaporated milk

½-cup sour cream

½ tsp. tarragon

1 ½ cups grated Swiss cheese

Adjust oven racks to lowest and upper middle positions. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Toss asparagus and green onion with olive oil and generous sprinkling of salt and pepper. Roll Pastry and fit into a 9-inch pie pan, evenly distribute asparagus mixture over pastry. Bake on lowest rack for 10 minutes. Remove from oven. Reduce oven to 300 degrees. Whisk eggs, milk, sour cream, tarragon, and ¼ tsp each salt and pepper. Pour egg mixture evenly over crust and sprinkle with cheese.

Put quiche on upper-middle rack. Bake until filling is just set, 30 to 35 minutes. Let the quiche rest a few minutes then cut and serve. Serves 6 to 8.

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Healthy, Delecious Lasagna Every Time

March 22, 2010

Written by Judy Crosby

The beautiful spring day had turned gloomy, with dark gray skies hanging on the horizon. I had just unsaddled my horse, putting her back in the pasture. I was going to miss this spring storm by minutes. It seems to be getting harder and harder to miss the storms, because we have had nothing but rain this year. I know we need it, but I am ready for a change.

I board my horse 30 minutes from Lodi, so on the drive home I have time to think about what I will be having for dinner that evening. Today I vacillated between picking up hamburgers at a fast food place or cooking a real dinner.  My husband and I usually try to eat healthy, but every couple of weeks we splurge and eat the dreaded fast food.

Rain pelted down on my car as I drove and my desire for comfort food emerged and I remembered the wonderful lasagna recipe my daughter had given me a few weeks earlier.

My daughter had invited my husband and me for dinner and when I ate the lasagna she served I exclaimed, “This is delicious.”

I am not crazy about all lasagna, I don’t like those made with cottage cheese and the ones made with ricotta cheese are only a little better, for me. When I buy frozen lasagna’s I don’t care for the sauce on them.

My daughter replied, “Really, it is a recipe I concocted myself and it is vegetarian.”

My daughter is not vegetarian and neither are my husband or myself, but a couple times a week I do try to fix meatless dishes, it makes it easier on the pocketbook and I also feel it is healthy for us. With this said, I immediately made her write out the recipe for me.

Tonight was the night I would be fixing this recipe and I hoped it would be as good as I remembered.

I followed the recipe to the letter, which I don’t always do and even though it was vegetarian; I didn’t save any money by it being meatless, because my daughter used Smart Meat. This is a soy-based product that resembles ground meat. (Safeway and Raley’s carry this product.)

 The lasagna was just as I remembered, DELECIOUS, try it.

Vegetarian Lasagna

1-2 pkg. of Smart Meat (I used 1 pkg.)

½ chopped onion

1 clove garlic

2 zucchini’s chopped     

1 cup chopped olive      

9 lasagna noodles                                        

1 jar marinara sauce      

1 small can tomato sauce

1 small can of tomato paste

½ ball of mozzarella cheese

1-cup cheddar cheese

Sauté Smart Meat, onion, garlic and zucchini until vegetables are soft. Add marinara sauce, tomato sauce, tomato paste and olives, let simmer. Cook noodles as directed on the box. Put three lasagna noodles in pan, cover with some sauce and cheese. Layer again two more times, noodles, sauce and cheese, ending with sauce and cheese on top. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

Serve with a salad, French bread and you have dinner.

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A Love-Hate Relationship

February 21, 2010

Text and Photograph by Judy Crosby

I am sure that everyone at sometime in their lives has had a love – hate relationship with something or someone. My love – hate relationship is with cooking. The love part comes in because I enjoy food and still like to eat a few times a day. The hate part comes, because I don’t want to be the person that has to fix that food.

 When these feelings started, I am not exactly sure. It happened over a period of years, gradually, coming in small stages, catching me quite unaware.  I just know that one day I woke up and could not think of anything to fix for dinner and decided I hated cooking and everything that went with it, the planning of dinners, shopping for groceries, preparing the food and then the cleanup. In the past 20 years, I have developed numerous hobbies and interests; and to stop anyone of these on a given day and have to cook has become burdensome for me.

My feelings towards cooking weren’t always ones of hate, when I was first married it was fun to look in my cookbook and pick out recipes I had never tried before, which wasn’t hard to do, since I cooked very little before getting married. Every evening I was excited to see the response of my husband Ron, as I served him my newest endeavor. In all honesty, these recipes didn’t always turn out as I hoped they would.

One evening as Ron was eating dinner, he said quite innocently, “This is pretty good, one of these days you will cook as good as my Mom.”  With these words ringing in my ears, I burst into tears and ran into our bedroom. Ron, not sure what he had done wrong, did try to console me that night.

One husband, four children, and 54 years later I did become a better cook. The irony of this was now that my cooking was as good as Ron’s Mothers’ I realized I hated to cook. One night I was complaining to Ron about not having any ideas for dinner. Always the practical one in our relationship, he suggested, “Why don’t you keep a list of our dinners for a month, and then at the beginning of the new month just start over again, by that time we will both have forgotten what we had the month before.”

At first, Ron’s idea did not appeal to me, but then I decided to try it. An interesting scenario came from this, I started writing down our dinners, and I found myself wanting to try new dishes and my interest in cooking returned to a small degree.

 I still like fast, simple recipes. Here is one my granddaughter gave me. Copyright © 2010 Judy Crosby

 

 Maple Roasted Chicken 

Serves 4

  1. Peel 2-3 small sweet potatoes and cut into 1 in. pieces
  2. Cut 2 lbs. of chicken (I use breasts) into 1 in. pieces.
  3. Cut up 1 small onion

 Place chicken and vegetables in casserole dish.

Drizzle 2 Tbsp. of olive oil. Sprinkle with 1 tsp. salt, ¼ tsp. pepper over ingredients and toss to coat.

Drizzle 3 Tbsp of maple syrup over all. Top with 6 sprigs of thyme.

Bake at 400° for 1 hour 

 

 

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