Monday, November 29, 2010

Been up since just after 4 this morning and have to say that the wait for sunshine has been a long one. Seasons change and this time of year is quite a contrast to late May-early June when by now I am able to pull on some boots and head out with Karl the Wonder Dog. As I pushed the button on the coffee maker I noticed a movement outside at the upper edge of the garden. I turned off the light and watched out the window as 1-2-3 deer came through the field to the crab apples. Seasons have changed for them too as their morning diet begins to change from local gardens, grasses and wild fruits to twigs, raspberry and blackberry tips and any remaining apples. Today I can see the deer are eating a few grape vines too. When I work in the forests which I do this time of year, I make it a point to leave slightly taller stumps on certain trees so they will coppice for the deer and moose. Not all trees but many hardwoods put up lots of new shoots from the trunk base and over a couple years the multitude of branches provides a good food source.


The living room is a disaster now with plant catalogs, books and copies of our website. Gail is rewriting the daylily section and adding all the new-to-us daylilies that should have been added but haven't. She's doing a fine job but I am no longer asking when I can start my part. With Christmas approaching, we have only a week or so left to pull this all together. Having a website, even as small as ours is, requires more attention than many understand.

I made a German Apple Cake this morning (up top) and once again will share the recipe via a previous blog from September 2008. The only thing I ever add to the recipe is a teaspoon of vanilla. You'll enjoy this recipe but as I oft repeat, you'll be left with an empty pan and a desire for a second piece yourself if you're not watchful. It is tasty! Click on the link and if you try it, tell me what you think.

Guess I better get going here. A lone blue jay is looking in at me asking "Where's the seed?" Think I'll have another piece of apple cake first.


Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where morning car and truck traffic doesn't exist. Deer season ended yesterday and there is a little break before the next season.

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm
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German Apple Cake

Sunday, September 28, 2008

A dark morning here on the hill. Last night's limited rain turned to a drip-drip-drip at about 4:30 this morning as the small drops slid down the standing seam roof and landed on the steps. Based on last night's forecast of a tropical depression heading up the coast, I half expected pouring rain by now. It's 61 degrees which this time of year and under these conditions can signal heavy rain. Not yet!

Yesterday was another "clean-up-the-gardens" day. Gail and I pulled weeds in the daylily beds at the nursery in preparation for dividing and lining out plants. I had pretty good control of the weeds most of the summer because I had a routine that was working well. Each afternoon when I came home from my regular job, I would relieve Gail at the nursery. During the last hour of the evening I'd pull weeds in one of the 21-12X50 foot beds. Long about mid August things fell apart as I had to finish the electrical and do some fence repairs. Weeds prosper in neglect and Gail and I are paying the price. Yesterday reminded me how many weeds I do not know by name. I also was reminded how insidious wild daisies and dandelions are.

There's a lot to do this morning so I want to end quickly with a recipe for German Apple Cake that was my great grandmother's. There's nothing novel about this and I would guess it was common to the time and only became known as my great grandmother's as one of those family things. Just the same it's a great cake with a cup of coffee or a glass of milk and it fares well at night with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Give it a try.

German Apple Cake
Recipe from my great grandmother Engelke but who really knows from where

4 medium apples, quartered and sliced
1/4 c. white sugar
1/4 c. shortening
1 c. flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 c. milk
1 whole egg

Cream the shortening and add sugar, egg and mix. Add dry ingredients, alternating with milk. Spread batter in buttered 9" baking pan. Press sliced apples on top in rows. Spread a mix of 1/2 c. white sugar, 1/2 tsp. nutmeg and 1/2 tsp. cinnamon evenly on top.

Bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes, then 5 minutes longer with pan covered with aluminum foil or a cover. Remove from oven and let cool.

Apples pressed into batter

Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where the blackbirds are in the tops of the white birches having breakfast and a flock of robins is in a nearby cherry.

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Gardens
Vermont Flower Farm

Autumn Delights

Tuesday, October 9, 2007

Good morning from Marshfield, Vermont where the geese fly high overhead today on clear skies after two days of rain. It's 43 degrees and the sun is halfway up the valley, lending promise of a fine day.




Karl the wonder dog and I have just returned from a morning walk. He's not that pleased with me as he wanted to stay in the lower hosta garden and smell the signs of last night's deer convention. Few of the +450 hostas remain untouched and most show deer nibbling that took them from glorious specimens to four inch, leafless scapes.

Some people worry about what to do with hosta plants in the fall. They want to cut them down but fear that will possibly spread unseen hosta virus. The deer seem to go a plant at a time until only plants such as H. 'City Lights' or H. 'Daybreak' remain, weakened by multiple frosts but unnibbled by the deer. I wish someone would evaluate what it is in certain hostas the fends off deer as most are on their nightly menu.

I'm here with Alex today as Gail is in South Burlington at an autism conference. It's a really special event and will discussTEACCH: Treatment and Education of Autistic and related Communication-handicapped Children. While Gail is away, Alex and I will get some shopping done in St Johnsbury and then visit Stephen Huneck's Dog Chapel. If you aren't familiar with the chapel or Huneck's work you should visit too. The amazing story behind the chapel is enough by itself but his work is so special that once you see it, you'll remember him every time a dog passes you on the street.

Since today is a catch-up day, I want to offer that long overdue recipe for German Apple Cake. This is a recipe originally passed down from my great grandmother Engelke but frankly I don't know the real origin. It's tasty any time of year but when apples are freshly harvested, I'm reminded to get out the mixing bowls. In this case, a gift of apples preceded the mixing bowls.



A couple weeks back, Leila and Harold Cross stopped by for dinner. The brought along some freshly pressed cider and a bag of Beacon apples (their picture above). The cider was the best we had ever had. We are big cider drinkers and know what we like. This was not pasturized like you buy in the store and it had a sweet flavor that was just perfect. As for the apples themselves, we hadn't even heard of them before. I was thinking German Apple Cake and Gail was thinking apple pie.

Here's the recipe for the cake which is made in a 9" pan or dish. You might think there's not enough batter but as you'll see, the apples make up the difference. This recipe is copied from the back pages of a 1946 version of Irma Rombauer's The Joy of Cooking. That's where my Mom used to write special recipes that had been passed along to her.

GERMAN APPLE CAKE

4 medium apples, quartered, cored, sliced
1/4 c. white sugar
1/4 c. shortening
1 c. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 c. milk
1 whole egg

Cream the shortening. Add sugar, egg and mix. Add dry ingredients, alternating with milk. Mix.

Spread batter in 9" pan. Press apple slices on top in rows.

Spread a mixture of 1/2 c. white sugar, 1/2 tsp. nutmeg and 1/2 tsp. cinnamon on top.

Bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Then cook 5 minutes more with a cover on.



My mother always used Crisco but I use butter. The cooking time might be off a little based on your oven. You can use a piece of foil for the cover. There is a problem with this recipe. It doesn't make enough and once you try it, you might be late for a second piece. I've made this recipe with a number of different apples and have to say that the new found Beacons have a very nice flavor. My Mom spent what seemed like days placing every apple slice in perfect rows. That's how she did everything she cooked. Perfect or not at all.



From the mountain above Peacham Pond where maple leaves drop one by one from the trees, still heavy from last night's dew, and chickadees man the platform feeder and discuss wind generation and greener living.


Fall gardening wishes,

George Africa

http://vermontflowerfarm.com
http://vermontgardens.blogspot.com