Maybe it’s because I’m outside more now than I ever have been since I was a child but I have become much more aware of the unique shapes of the clouds as well as their varying colors, the constellations and the falling stars, amazing moon rises and beautiful sunsets.  I know the best spot to look for the rainbows and sun dogs on cold January mornings.

Last week’s unceasing formidable winds have made me think about our place in nature a bit.  We can plant trees and build windbreaks to block it, but no matter how much scientific knowledge we acquire or how technologically advanced we may become, we still can’t control the wind.

​Do you remember the St. Patrick’s Day blizzard of 1965?

The weather forecast for the wee hours Thursday morning is for snow showers.  No big deal.  We Minnesotans take pride in handling snow. And isn’t March traditionally the snowiest month?  We are ready for anything!

I  just  learned  that
​not  only  do  we  have
a State Climatology Office but they have a “Winter Misery Index.”  I like that.  (I wonder if it ​can be personalized.)  Temperatures, amount of snowfall, and the duration of the winter (measured by the number of days when the snow depth is 12 inches or greater) are all factored into the misery score which has ranged from as low as 16 points to the record high 305 points for the winter of 1916-1917.  

​Blizzards obviously contribute to the misery index but by definition, a blizzard is more than a lot of snow.  To be classified as a blizzard the storm must have winds of 35 mph or more, reduced visibility and last at least three hours.

​This got me to thinking, it seems like every generation has a big blizzard to boast about (or two or three). The Armistice Day storm of 1940 (17-27 inches depending on where you were in the state) was emblazoned on the mind of my parents’ generation because of the loss of lives and livestock.  The notable thing about that storm is how it caught everyone off guard in the days before satellite weather and cell phones.  It had been unseasonably warm and duck hunters had gone out early in the morning to take advantage of the nice weather.  By early afternoon the temperature was in the 60s but then it fell very rapidly to single digits accompanied by snow and winds of 50 to 80 mph.  Several duck hunters froze to death because they were stranded in the storm.

​My uncle remembered that they got home the night of November 10th to find all of the cows were in the farmyard.  They were supposed to be in their pasture on the other side of Highway 169 but had broken through the fence and come home.  With the broken fence they were left in the barn the next day and ended up being safe from the storm.  Uncle Bob thought the cows sensed the storm coming and came home for safety.

​And then there was the blizzard of Lisa’s birthday…every year my dad would tell my daughter the story about the blizzard that began the night she was born.  March 3, 1985, 16.7 inches of heavy, wet snow fell.  It was packed so hard that when he tried to back his Saab out of the garage the next afternoon it drove up on top of the snow.  That really impressed him.  We lived in southern Nebraska at the time and all we got was a lot of rain.

Just FYI:
Top Ten Largest Snowfalls for Twin Cities
 
  1.  28.4 inches: October 31 - November 3, 1991 (Halloween Blizzard)
  2.  21.1 inches: November 29 - December 1, 1985
  3.  20.0 inches: January 22 - January 23, 1982
  4.  17.4 inches: January 20 - January 21, 1982
  5.  16.8 inches: November 11 - November 12, 1940  (Armistice Day)
  6.  16.7 inches: March 3 - March 4, 1985 (Lisa’s birthday)
  7.  16.7 inches: March 11 - March 14, 1940
  8.  16.5 inches: December 27 - December 28, 1982
  9.  16.0 inches: January 20 - January 21, 1917
10. 16.0 inches: March 8 - March 9, 1999
           (Source: http://climate.umn.edu/doc/journal/top_eleven_snowfalls.htm)

When I was young we would frequently have a Sunday lunch of johnny cake (cornbread crumbled in a bowl with milk and sugar) and salmon patties.  I never knew anyone else who ate cornbread that way, but as an adult I read that cornbread in milk was a favorite of the Pennsylvania Dutch who settled in the Ozarks.  My dad’s family was Pennsylvania Dutch so maybe that’s the connection. 

​​I was surprised to learn that most people don’t put sugar on it.  Several people mentioned eating it with milk and pepper.  Others insist on buttermilk rather than milk.  Many people seem to think it must be served in a tall glass, not a bowl, to be authentic.

1.   According to the USDA cocoa powder is a good source of fiber and iron. Dark chocolate contains calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, Vitamin A, and Vitamin K.

2.  According to the American Heart Association, those same antioxidants lower the risk of heart disease, heart attacks and strokes.

​4.  A 2013 study in Neurology journal suggested that drinking two cups a day could help stave off Alzheimer’s.  A study published in Nature Neuroscience in 2014 cited evidence that cocoa consumption can increase cognitive function. 

For the whole article go to:
http://www.weather.com/health/news/hot-cocoa-health-benefits?_escaped_fragment_

          I got my favorite hot chocolate recipe when I was in college...it's instant, my kind of chocolate fix.          

               ​Mix together and store.  Use 3-4 tablespoons to a cup of hot water (more or less to taste).

​​I decided to give up New Years resolutions based on the idea that it takes 21 days to form a new habit.  Instead of overwhelming myself with a long list of improvements, I planned to just work on one issue a month.  Wouldn’t you know it…scientific research messed up my scheme.

My friend, Barb, sent me a link to The Chicken Chick’s directions for a gingerbread chicken coop.  I told her I wouldn't do anything that involved unless she came and helped me.  She called my bluff. 

​I’ve never made a gingerbread house before but I thought a chicken coop would be a simple start…silly me.

The Chicken Chick had all kinds of details, like little nest boxes complete with marzipan eggs and roosts made of pretzels sticks, a Purina feed sack behind the door, weather vane, a feeding dish made out of molded candy melts filled with grain and a marzipan chicken taking a dust bath in brown sugar.  
​http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2015/12/gingerbread-chicken-coop-instructions.html   

I found it a challenge just to roll the gingerbread dough panels out to the same thickness.  ​

Before reality set in, I did look for marzipan at the store.  Being Christmas time, the baking aisle was pretty well sold out, but I asked anyway.  The employee stocking shelves in the baking aisle, was apparently new for the Christmas season.  After I’d repeated my request twice he shook his head and said, “I don’t even know what that is.  You’d have to ask my supervisor.”  I suddenly remembered I had a miniature chicken cookie cutter and decided I really wanted gingerbread chickens, anyway. 

Unfortunately, as I was cutting out the little chickens Joel asked for help with the real chickens.  I quickly put the cookie sheet in the oven and went outside.  When I came back in I couldn’t find the cookie cutter anywhere.  I gave up and went on to other things.  I found my plastic cookie cutter when I took the pan out of the oven.  My cookie cutter now looked more like red wax lips for Halloween than a chicken.  No more gingerbread chickens.  Barb and I each had a flock of two until I found more chickens in the gingerbread scraps when I was cleaning up.

​I haven’t written much about the chickens lately.  It's not that they don't still entertain me, I just haven't had the time to write.  The first year went so well we decided to expand this past summer — 10 more chicks and one rooster.  (I thought it would be nice to make our own chicks on site and not have to buy new ones every year.)  The "chicken store" generously gave us a spare rooster in case the one we bought didn’t survive.  Both of them thrived.  I read that roosters are fine if they are raised together so we kept the two: Bob Tail and “the Other One.”  

Sadly, after about four months those cute little chicks were huge, the biggest three in the entire flock…and then they started crowing.  Not one female!  So now I had a flock that was 20% roosters.  Even as a novice farmer I realized that was not a good idea and I’m pretty sure that  the neighbors agreed every morning.  So, I talked to some fellow novice farmer friends.  Together we watched a Youtube video on butchering chickens.  I choked.  I gave them “the Other One” with the stipulation that he leave my place alive and well and that they were careful to ensure he wouldn’t suffer.  I was down to four roosters...still too many.   Back to Craigslist.  

I really like eggnog and it’s that time of year that I can justify drinking copious amounts.  I priced it in the store yesterday —  2 quarts for $4.98.  So I bought 2 quarts of milk for $1.79 instead and decided to make my own (it helps that we have a refrigerator full of eggs). 

I’ve been playing around with a couple of recipes over the years but the problem is that I can’t remember by the next year which one worked better.  So this year I combined them.  Feel free to adapt it to your personal tastes     (I always do).

I'm new to scarlet runner beans and my experimentation is pretty limited, but connoisseurs say they have a "delicate, chestnut-like flavor" that makes them ideal to be used in a wide variety of recipes, including sweet dishes or creams in the form of a purée. Others say they have a smooth, creamy texture and a mild flavor lacking in a "bean-y element."  I'm not ready to put them in a dessert, yet, but I will keep  experimenting for a while (which means until I run out of beans or Joel refuses to play the guinea pig anymore). 

            Wash, sort and soak the beans overnight.  Pour off the water and rinse beans.  Cover the beans completely with fresh water and boil about an hour or until tender, stirring occasionally.  The cooking time will vary depending on how dry the beans are.
            In a large skillet, sauté the onions. Add the peppers and garlic, and sauté a couple of minutes longer.   Add the tomatoes, fennel, and parsley.  When the mixture is hot, add the beans and sliced polish sausage.   Add salt and pepper to taste.  Bake at 350° for 30 minutes to blend flavors and thicken up.  Serve with corn bread.