Merry Christmas

This lovely performance of Josh Wilson's acoustic guitar arrangement of The First Noel by one of my brothers is a gift to one of his daughters who isn't home for Christmas this year because she is on a missionary trip in Russia. I'm stealing it as a card for you. Enjoy!



Happy Holidays to all my readers!

The Winter Garden; Plan Now For Next Winter

This article was written for me by the manager of Stadler Nurseries in Maryland and Virginia. She will be writing a monthly column here on SimplyForties and I couldn't be happier!

You have given the garden one last clean-up before you hang up your gloves and spade for the winter. Now, as you head inside for the long months of cold, you look over your shoulder and sigh over your dull and boring landscape. But it does not have to be this way. Why not perk up those views from within? A winter interest garden might be just what you need to get you through those long cold days.

Although you will have to wait until spring to plant your garden, it is not too early to start planning for next year. Winter gardening teaches us the value of natural silhouettes, forms, patterns, and light. It is an ideal time to take note of shapes, contrast, and textures. Without the distraction of leaves and flowers, the true shape of trees and shrubs can be appreciated. As you observe your garden now, look for plants that offer peeling (exfoliating) bark, unusual colors, winter flowers and beautiful shapes. Take stock of what you already have. You may have a few prized specimens, which add the characteristics you are looking for. It is a good idea to see plants in late fall and winter before you add them to your landscaping. Take trips to parks, gardens and nurseries so that you can see the plants you are contemplating in their winter form.

For the most enjoyment of your winter interest garden, choose a sight you will see as you come and go and consider the windows you will be looking out of during the winter months. Remember to include in your plan those structures that are no longer hidden by foliage and become obvious in winter. You may not want to look at heat pumps, garbage caddies, and electric meters all winter. Do not plan your garden for areas where heat pumps, dryer vents, and furnace outlets will pump heat and exhaust on your plants. Warm air and exhaust on cold plants is a deadly combination.

Winter is a great time to develop the "bones" or permanent architectural structures for your garden. Consider the placement of sidewalks, walls, fences, and arbors. These well-placed structures give the garden a thoroughly thought-out, permanent, professional look. Walkways will beckon you to travel through the garden; walls and fences will set visual boundaries and can be the true spine of a garden. Arbors, trellises and benches look stunning with a coating of snow and can enhance a winter garden beautifully.

As you plan your winter interest garden, remember this design theory: If you design a garden for winter, the rest of the year will take care of itself. With this in mind, remember that some of the best winter characteristics of some plants are hidden during the rest of the year. Leaves cover unusually colored or exfoliating bark in spring and summer as well as hide and soften strong horizontal, vertical and angular lines. Evergreens that usually fade into the background when competing with all the bright colors of summer will move to the fore now that winter is here. Are they placed to best show their beauty?

Neatness in a winter garden is essential. In summer, plants spill onto walkways and soften patio edges. Small weeds go unnoticed in summer's wealth. But in a winter garden everything shows. This includes piles of leaves, branches, or even the smallest amount of litter. The winter interest garden must be cleared of all this debris to avoid looking untidy.

The beauty of a winter garden is more subtle than the flowery exuberance of a summer garden, but with careful planning, will provide you with months of enjoyment and the satisfaction of having a truly year-round garden.


Cheryl lives with her husband and their three cats in a 100-year-old house in the beautiful state of Maryland. She has a degree in horticulture from the University of Maryland and has been the manager of Stadler Nurseries in Maryland and Virginia for over 20 years. Become a fan of Stadler Nurseries on Facebook to find out what's going on in the garden world!

Stuffed Focaccia with Onions, Zucchini, Mushroom and Fontina

This is simply a delicious and versatile dish. You can easily adapt it by stuffing whatever you want in there. Basically it's two pieces of flattened focaccia dough, filled and baked. If you don't need one this big, halve the recipe, divide the resultant dough in two, fill it and bake. Make an appetizer or a meal depending on with what you choose to stuff it.

You don’t need to work the dough as much as the recipe indicates. When I have time, I let it rest a long time, then knead it again, the whole process taking 12 hours, I get a wonderful dough, light and airy and crunchy on the outside. If you don’t have time, you can just let it rest for one hour, knead it again and let it rest for another hour, and it should be fine.

Ingredients

For the dough

• 500 g white flour
• 1 pkg active dry yeast, dissolved in 1/4 cup warm water
• 4 tbs olive oil (+ 1)
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• rock salt for topping
• 1 rosemary sprig for topping, roughly chopped
• 1 thyme branch for topping, roughly chopped

For the stuffing

• 2 zucchini, thinly sliced
• 1 large yellow onion, sliced
• 2 cups mushrooms, sliced
• Italian fontina cheesesalt and pepper

Preparation:

In a mixing container, place flour. In a glass dissolve yeast in a lukewarm glass of water. Mix with flour and add olive oil and salt. Gradually mix all ingredients together and knead the dough with your hand. You want a soft consistency almost sticky but very elastic dough, so if the dough tends to be hard, add water. Knead for about 10 minutes. Place in a container, cover with a cloth and let it rise for about one hour. It should double its volume. Knead the dough again and let rise for another 2 hours. Repeat the process twice.

While the dough is rising, start carmelizing onions. Heat olive oil in a pan, then add sliced onions. Let them brown at medium temperature, then decrease heat, cover with a lid and let it cook slowly until they turn soft and caramelized; about 20 minutes. Remove from the pan. In the same pan, heat 1 tbs olive oil, then add mushrooms and zucchini, salt and pepper, and cook until the vegetables are soft and water has evaporated.

Cut the dough in two pieces. One should be a little bigger than the other one. Using a rolling pin or your hands, roll the dough in two sheets, one slightly larger than the other one. The dough should not be too thick, about 7 mm thick.

Using an sheet pan, or a large rectangular dish, place larger dough in the greased dish, add one layer of onions, then add mushroom/zucchini mixture. Add slices of fontina on top and cover with the other dough sheet, using the extra dough from the bottom sheet to seal the edges.

Place rock salt all over the top, spread olive oil all over the surface and add rosemary and thyme. Using a fork, make a few holes on top to prevent the dough from inflating. Cook in a pre-heated oven at 375F – 380F. When the top is lightly golden brown, remove from the oven. Serve hot.

The Girl Effect

Did you know that more girls have been killed in the last 50 years than men have been killed in all the wars of the 20th century?

Watch this...



Read this...



Do one of these...

Women's Registry

(I did this one - Educate a girl)

Change the world!

Cougar Chasers

We’re all familiar with the term cougar. The stereotypical over-40 divorcee dressed in tight jeans, stilettos and a halter top, crashing a frat party. The young man/older woman configuration has become so ubiquitous there’s even a network sitcom starring Courtney Cox built around it. I haven’t seen Cougar Town but these days the subject matter is hard to miss.

I’ve recently become familiar with an offshoot of the cougar phenomenon. Young men actively trying to hook up with older women. These guys are called cougar chasers. I’ve had a couple of experiences with them myself recently. This whole thing is so off my radar that it took me awhile to figure out what was going on. It’s been troubling me ever since.

I keep thinking about some predatory young man wanting to “experience” an older woman. I’m imagining a divorced mid-life woman, flattered by the attentions of a younger man, allowing herself to believe him and getting her heart broken. It’s a game for the young man and people are bound to get hurt.

I’m sure there are young men out there who are sincerely interested in and attracted to older women and older women who are sincerely interested in and attracted to younger men and there’s certainly nothing wrong with that. Not my cup of tea but, to each her own.

I conducted my own tiny survey, asking my 22-year old niece and my 23-year old son if they were familiar with cougar chasing. Neither seemed surprised by the question and both readily agreed that it’s going on. Obviously there are examples of one person going after the attentions of another for reasons other than true love in every possible couple configuration but this one is new to me and as a single, mid-life woman, I find it very disturbing. Don’t we have enough to worry about?

So what do you think? Have you had the attentions of a very young man turn inexplicably towards you? (Did you find it inexplicable?) What was your reaction?