Kokedama String Fern

A few years ago I took a Master Gardeners course and became a Master Gardener with all that entails. Recently my hubby and I spent a couple of days demolishing five raised veggie beds that had filled with weeds and the walls had rotted. So except for a few tomato plants on the front porch and whatever plants have survived the Louisiana heat, that is about as much master gardening as I do these days.

I try to attend the monthly Master Gardeners meetings when we are here, but I discontinued keeping track of my gardening hours after my mom died in October 2015. I am just waiting for our LSU sponsor to reprimand me for that delinquency. Considering my health hasn’t been that great for volunteering gardening help or advice to anyone in a while, maybe I have an excuse. Taking care of my own weeds and struggling plants is work enough in this heat.

Today at our regular MG meeting we had a demonstration for preparing Japanese Kokedama plants. I was really planning on just watching the other members do their thing, since I had not signed up to participate. Then I realized that several members who signed up did not show up for the demonstration, so I dived right in.

Here is my result. A fern plant with its root ball wrapped in wet moss and packed in with clear fishing line. The plant can be displayed in a dish like I did or hanging from a string or macrame hanging. Think I will try an orchid next. Now who will water this when I am traveling?😳

🌿🌺Linda

Potluck Supper Roast

One of my nieces is not a fan of pot roast or roast beef. I think that she calls it “roast beast.” It doesn’t take much cooking skill to prepare a pot roast dinner. It just takes time. Time to prepare the vegetables and also time to cook the meat until it practically falls apart. I think that my mom used this recipe from her mother-in-law Floy Thomas Davidson Chapman, but indeed sometimes Mom’s roast beef was “roast beast.”

 First, Mammaw Chapman’s recipe, and then I will show you mine.

Potluck Supper
(Floy Thomas Davidson Chapman)

1 (7 or 8 pounds) rump or chuck roast
1/3 cup all purpose flour
1 tablespoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons salad/olive oil
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/4 cup wine or cider vinegar
1 large onion, sliced
4 large cans tomatoes
8 large onions, quartered
12 large potatoes, halved
12 carrots, quartered
1/2 cup water

Flour roast and sprinkle with salt and pepper. (May cut two or three small holes in roast and push in pieces of garlic.) Brown meat in oil in heavy pan over medium heat for 15 minutes, turning frequently. Add oregano, vinegar, onion slices, and tomatoes. Cover and simmer 4 hours, turning roast occasionally. (That 4 hours makes the difference, Em😋)

Add onions, potatoes, carrots, and water. Cover and simmer 1 additional hour or until the vegetables are tender. Add more water, if needed.

Yield:  12 to 16 servings

Linda’s Favorite Roast Beef Dinner

Pot Roast
Prep: 20 Minutes Level: Easy
Cook: 4 Hours Serves: 10
Description
Pot roast, when made according to a few fundamental rules, can be a totally delicious addition to your repertoire. The meat you use is important. My favorite roast is the chuck roast; it has wonderful marbling throughout the meat, and when given an ample amount of time to cook, chuck roast winds up being tender and melt-in-your-mouth delicious.
Ingredients
• 1 whole (4 To 5 Pounds) Chuck Roast
• 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• 2 whole Onions
• 6 whole Carrots (Up To 8 Carrots)
• Salt To Taste
• Pepper To Taste
• 1 cup Red Wine (optional, You Can Use Beef Broth Instead)
• 2 cups To 3 Cups Beef Stock
• 3 sprigs Fresh Thyme, or more to taste
• 3 sprigs Fresh Rosemary, or more to taste
Preparation
First and foremost, choose a nicely marbled piece of meat. This will enhance the flavor of your pot roast like nothing else. Generously salt and pepper your chuck roast.

Heat a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Then add 2 to 3 tablespoons of olive oil (or you can do a butter/olive oil split).

Cut two onions in half and cut 6 to 8 carrots into 2-inch slices (you can peel them, but you don’t have to). When the oil in the pot is very hot (but not smoking), add in the halved onions, browning them on one side and then the other. Remove the onions to a plate.

Throw the carrots into the same very hot pan and toss them around a bit until slightly browned, about a minute or so.

If needed, add a bit more olive oil to the very hot pan. Place the meat in the pan and sear it for about a minute on all sides until it is nice and brown all over. Remove the roast to a plate.

With the burner still on high, use either red wine or beef broth (about 1 cup) to deglaze the pan, scraping the bottom with a whisk to get all of that wonderful flavor up.

When the bottom of the pan is sufficiently deglazed, place the roast back into the pan and add enough beef stock to cover the meat halfway (about 2 to 3 cups). Add in the onion and the carrots, as well as 3 or 4 sprigs of fresh rosemary and about 3 sprigs of fresh thyme.

Put the lid on, then roast in a 275F oven for 3 hours (for a 3-pound roast). For a 4 to 5-pound roast, plan on 4 hours.

Ree Drummond’s recipe

Mammaw’s Meatloaf (Kitch’n Kin Cookbook)

Meatloaf Recipe

(Floy Thomas Davidson Chapman’s recipe)

Serves —8

2 cups fresh bread crumbs

2 eggs

1/4 cup milk

1 cup tomato juice or soup

3/4 cup minced onions

1/4 cup minced green pepper

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

3 tablespoons chili sauce or catsup

2 pounds ground chuck

2 1/2 teaspoons salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper (black or red)

Combine bread crumbs, eggs, milk, and tomato juice or soup. Mix this thoroughly with remainder of ingredients. Shape into oval loaf and spread with catsup. Bake at 375 degrees for about an hour.

***************

Linda’s Favorite Meatloaf Recipe is an adaption of Ann Lander’s Recipe

350 grams of ground beef

1 egg

1 slice of old stale white bread

Salt

Pepper

1/3 package of dry onion soup mix

1/4 cup warm water

1/3 chopped bell pepper

3 tablespoons ketchup 

2 strips of bacon

Mix together all ingredients except bacon. My mom always used her bare hand. I use a wooden spoon. 😬Place meatloaf in a loaf pan and cover with two strips of bacon. If you like more flavor, pour an 8 ounce can of tomato sauce on top of the meatloaf. Then bake 1 hour at 350 F. Serves 6.

😋Linda

Old -Fashioned Beef Stew—Kitch’n Kin Cookbook

Old -Fashioned Beef Stew

Aunt Florence’s note: “Mother tasted the stew as it cooked and added more salt, pepper, and etc. as needed.  She cooked by taste.  Whatever she cooked always tasted good. There was no finer cook than she. Ask those who ate her cooking.  She always cooked for a crowd, and a few more at our table never seemed to make any difference to her.”

Mammaw Chapman’s Beef Stew

2  lbs. boneless beef chuck cut in 1 1/2” cubes
2 tablespoons fat
1/4 cup flour
1cup chopped onions
pepper to taste
1 can (15 oz.) tomato sauce
6 carrots cut in quarters
1/2 clove garlic, minced
2 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
4 cups boiling water
3 or 4 large potatoes cut in medium sized pieces

Flour meat and brown well on all sides in about 2 tablespoons hot fat. Add rest of ingredients except carrots and potatoes. Simmer 2 hours, stirring as necessary. Add the vegetables and cook slowly about 30 minutes longer or until tender. Thicken with flour for gravy.                  
Floy Davidson Chapman

Linda’s Favorite Beef Pot Roast (thanks to the Pioneer Woman’s recipe)
Photo credit: Pioneer Woman


Pot Roast
Prep: 20 Minutes Level: Easy
Cook: 4 Hours Serves: 10
Description
Pot roast, when made according to a few fundamental rules, can be a totally delicious addition to your repertoire. The meat you use is important. My favorite roast is the chuck roast; it has wonderful marbling throughout the meat, and when given an ample amount of time to cook, chuck roast winds up being tender and melt-in-your-mouth delicious.
Ingredients
• 1 whole (4 To 5 Pounds) Chuck Roast
• 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• 2 whole Onions
• 6 whole Carrots (Up To 8 Carrots)
• Salt To Taste
• Pepper To Taste
• 1 cup Red Wine (optional, You Can Use Beef Broth Instead)
• 2 cups To 3 Cups Beef Stock
• 3 sprigs Fresh Thyme, or more to taste
• 3 sprigs Fresh Rosemary, or more to taste
Preparation
First and foremost, choose a nicely marbled piece of meat. This will enhance the flavor of your pot roast like nothing else. Generously salt and pepper your chuck roast.

Heat a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Then add 2 to 3 tablespoons of olive oil (or you can do a butter/olive oil split).

Cut two onions in half and cut 6 to 8 carrots into 2-inch slices (you can peel them, but you don’t have to). When the oil in the pot is very hot (but not smoking), add in the halved onions, browning them on one side and then the other. Remove the onions to a plate.

Throw the carrots into the same very hot pan and toss them around a bit until slightly browned, about a minute or so.

If needed, add a bit more olive oil to the very hot pan. Place the meat in the pan and sear it for about a minute on all sides until it is nice and brown all over. Remove the roast to a plate.

With the burner still on high, use either red wine or beef broth (about 1 cup) to deglaze the pan, scraping the bottom with a whisk to get all of that wonderful flavor up.

When the bottom of the pan is sufficiently deglazed, place the roast back into the pan and add enough beef stock to cover the meat halfway (about 2 to 3 cups). Add in the onion and the carrots, as well as 3 or 4 sprigs of fresh rosemary and about 3 sprigs of fresh thyme.

Put the lid on, then roast in a 275F oven for 3 hours (for a 3-pound roast). For a 4 to 5-pound roast, plan on 4 hours.

Ree Drummond’s recipe

Our Kith and Kin Cookbook (Preface)

In 1977 one of my father’s sisters (Aunt Florence Chapman Pike/Sister) wrote a family cookbook entitled “Family Favorite Recipes.” She dedicated the cookbook to my paternal grandmother Floy Thomas Davidson Chapman who passed away at the age of 73 years back when I was in elementary school in the late 1950’s. Unfortunately I do not have too many physical objects to remind me of my Mammaw Chapman, but I can remember that she was a good cook. Even my own mother said that she learned how to cook from her mother-in-law. How many people would admit that?

This is my Aunt Florence’s preface to her family cookbook:
“This book is dedicated to my mother Floy Davidson Chapman—one of the best cooks in the world.

“My mother’s kitchen was a special place—cheery, warm, and bright.

“Before the sun came up Mother was there cooking breakfast for her family. I can almost smell the delicious aroma of bread, cookies, and good things baking.

“It seems to me my mother spent most of her time in the kitchen. When the older girls left home, I was her special helper and got my lessons in cooking from her. Some of my best memories of my mother are the times she and I spent together preparing meals for the family in the kitchen. It was there she told me many stories of her family and my dad’s, James Alexander Chapman.

“Many years have come and gone since my mother and I worked side by side in the kitchen, but memories of them grow sweeter with each passing year.

“The recipes in this book have been collected from Chapmans, their descendants, and their friends.

“I express appreciation to all of those who have given me recipes for their favorite dishes. We tried and tested many but could not test them all. All of the food we have eaten that these relatives cooked has been good. We feel sure that these recipes were “tested” by those who submitted them and that they and their families like them.

“Ladies of the South are known for their good cooking. We believe you will find the recipes in this book practical and good.

“Thanks to you—our kith and kin—for sharing your recipes with us.”

Linda’s Note:  Don’t worry. I will only publish my Mammaw Chapman’s recipes and maybe my own mother’s. The rest will remain in the well-used little yellow cookbook that Aunt Florence mailed to me when I lived in The Netherlands years ago.

😘Linda

Geese are swimming

Our neighbor who keeps watch over our property says he sees masses of geese on our pond whenever we go away for a few days. Well, today we saw some

geese. At least 20 beautiful Canadian geese were swimming on our pond when I went out to check on the dogs on the too hot front porch.

Our black mouth cur Rocky was more interested in the noisy bulldozer whine coming from our neighbor’s property. And our beagle Flippy is always tied up on a long line when he goes outside, so he barked, but probably at the bulldozer noise.

So Canadian geese are safe. Hope more drop by for a morning swim and possible graze.

Living the country life.
😘Linda

Kouseband Bonen or Chinese Long Beans

Kouseband bonen in Nederlands.

Yesterday at my local Walmart I picked up a bunch of Chinese Long Beans. I really am not a huge fan of green beans, but thought I would Google these two feet green beans and find a recipe.

For years I have heard of “kouseband bonen,” but never had the nerve to buy a bunch and prepare them for our dinner vegetable. Well, I sauteed a small onion in olive oil in my largest wok. Added three sliced cloves of garlic. Then tossed in the loooong green beans. Added a good cup of vegetable broth and a shot of soy sauce and a good dab of sambal paste and lots of salt and pepper. Then decided to put the kitchen shears to the long green strands to make them manageable. After all that, I used a new pizza pan as lid and brought the whole thing to a good boil. I did not over cook the beans, since I really hate mushy beans. A good crunch always sounds healthier.

Kouseband bonen went just right with our leftover deer sausage ragu for spaghetti noodles. Who says you have to eat “normal” way out here in the sticks in southwest Louisiana?

Bet no one else around here had Chinese Long Bean for dinner tonight. 😋

😘Linda