Thankful for Thanksgiving Supper & New Plants
Dear Reader,
Thanksgiving has come and gone. Have you recovered yet?
We’ve finally finished all the dishes and removed the extra leaves from the table. There were 14 of us for supper. Here’s a look at our feast…
The appetizer menu:
• Cheese and sausage from Di Bruno’s Market in Philly (thanks to friend Steve)
• Fresh apple salsa and blue corn chips
• My famous scallion cheese ball, always a hit
• A newly invented, quite festive beverage (thanks to friend Bradley) which included Semi sweet Gewürztraminer wine, and a compote cranberries, rosemary, lemon thyme and pomegranate. Add a spoonful of the compote to the glass, then fill with wine
The supper menu:
• Scarlet carrot soup
• Fresh, apple/spice – brined turkey
• Cranberry relish with Cointreau and herbs
• Mashed potatoes
• Cheesy blue potatoes
• Collard and kale greens cakes
• Succotash made with fresh corn
• Roasted root veggies (turnips, rutabagas and yams) and with a maple syrup glaze
• Green bean casserole (sister-in-law Tina’s specialty)
• Maryland Sauerkraut – a tradition in my home state
• Roasted cheddar cauliflower
• Traditional stuffing with fresh sage, thyme, and rosemary from my herb garden
• Rolls
• Pumpkin pie (Mom’s famous)
• Apple pie
• Red wine for us – a Morgon region from DeBuef
• Grammy’s holiday punch (made by my 83 yr old grandmother!)
• Fresh apple cider for the kids
What do you think, too much?
I took off the whole week to prep the food, yet the food didn’t hit the table until 6pm. I was chopping and dicing for days. Our day was filled with family, friends and LOTS of food.
I’ve been collecting the produce for two weeks from the local farmer’s market. It was the blue potatoes and the orange (cheddar) cauliflower that caught my eye. The cauliflower, we’ve had, but never have I seen or cooked the blue potatoes. They were the loveliest shade of deep indigo blue. I sliced them on the mandolin and added Jarlsberg, Parmesan and Wisconsin cheddar cheese and then baked them until crispy on the edges. Yummy!
I love trying new things, especially with vegetables – can you tell from the menu?
I love celebrating the harvest. Thanksgiving is all about the harvest and celebrating with family and friends. My extended family thinks I’m crazy to do all of this. It’s fun for me. I start searching for exciting new recipes a month in advance. Some of them become permanent addition to our feast in subsequent years. Some don’t. I quite liked the taste of the soup this year, but I don’t think it was a hit.
Oh well…
The bird, on the other hand was picture perfect. Look at the golden brown skin. The secret? A butter rub before I put it in the oven. This bird looked good enough for the front cover of any food magazine, if I do say so myself.
This year I am grateful for many things.
I have a happy, healthy family. My two geriatric pets (aspen the cat who is 17 and Scully the German Shepherd, who is 12) are pain free and happy to be a part of the family. My business is doing quite well, despite the economy (I am afraid for 2010, though…fingers crossed).
I am thankful for my loving husband, who appreciates and understands me. He’s also the reason for our behind-the-scenes online success. When people search for new plants now, they easily find Plants Nouveau. He has big plans for our little company site.
I am also thankful for the people that have found plants and/or created them, for without them, I would have no business. Without their trust, I would have no plants to promote.
I am thankful for Wilco van den Berg, who I affectionately call my “Dutch connection”, for without Wilco’s faith in my abilities and his connections to breeders in The Netherlands, I wouldn’t have started this company.
They were the foundation and thanks to their trust, more people who have found new plants, trust their introductions to Plants Nouveau.
Speaking of breeders and people who trust my abilities, I am happy to announce that I will have future introductions form The Primrose Path and The Morris Arboretum of The University of Pennsylvania in the near future. I have now officially added a few woody plants (shrubs and trees) to my offerings. More on those plants soon…
Charles and Martha Oliver of The Primrose Path are famous in many circles for their impeccable coral bells or Heuchera (pronounced hoy-ker-a) breeding. They are now breeding heucheras for cut flowers. I am thrilled to have two new selections to offer in 2011. Look for more info on new chocolate and silver-leaved selections in e-letters to come and on the website in early 2010.
Staff members from The Morris Arboretum of The University of Pennsylvania have regularly engaged in plant collecting expeditions in Asia and the United States, increasing the diversity of plants available for today’s urban and community landscapes. Currently plants from 27 countries are represented in the collection with a primary focus on Asian temperate species. Plans are in the works to introduce a birch (Betula sp.) that has been borer resistant for over 30 years, a Japanese cornelian cherry (Cornus officinalis) tree with exceptionally large, lemon yellow blooms and a few dwarf, broadleaved evergreens. Trial plants of these selections should be available early next year.
I’m thankful for these new additions and hopeful the plants introduced will be well received and utilized by the public.
So that’s it for our Thanksgiving holiday issue of The Weeding Gnome. I’d like to leave you with this quote from one of my favorite Dar Williams songs. To me, it sums up the meaning of Thanksgiving. Everyone coming together under one roof to give thanks for whatever they are thankful for, in whatever way they can.
“So the Christians and the Pagans sat together at the table,
Finding faith and common ground the best that they were able,
And just before the meal was served, hands were held and prayers were said,
Sending hope for peace on earth to all their gods and goddesses.”
Until next week…
Happy Weeding.
Angela Treadwell Palmer
President, Plants Nouveau
P.S. – I’ve had a few requests for gnome sources. Although I mostly happen upon my gnomes, I have bought a few online. Here are some good sources for your Christmas shopping needs:
The Gnome outlet – I love this place because their gnomes all have names.
Enchanted Gardens – They have the cutest miniature gnomes.
P.S.S. – I am also really, really thankful, yet a bit sad at the same time; that the dying silver maple up the street finally came down on Tuesday this week. I watched them take it down. We are all safe now. It was really rotten inside. It was for the best. If you don’t know this story it was the rant called “Let’s Talk About Trees, Baby”.