The Garden of My Familiar

As a young child one of my life's greatest pleasures was going to a farm stand. My mom's parents initiated me taking me out into the country surrounding their home in the west end of Toledo to purchase vegetables and fruits. The stand was actually near the farm home and the produce was displayed in baskets on tables. My grandparents loved vegetables and they were pleased when I spied pattypan squash. Pattypan squash are shaped like a flying saucer but with beautiful ruffled edges. They can come as small as a walnut or as large as an egg. Those particular squash were green and were the smallest I've ever seen. Grandma bought some and took them home to prepare for dinner. She trimmed the stem end and the button on the bottom and steamed them. She served them with butter and a little salt and pepper. Their wonderful flavor haunted me and I seldom had pattypan squash.

When Lee and I moved to our home I literally begged for a vegetable garden. What started as 100 square feet of raised bed is now 300 square feet surrounded by a picket fence fortified with chicken wire attached to the picket fence to defend against small critters like rabbits. We grow a host of things and enjoy them all summer long. Like many amateur gardeners we've had both splendid and failed crops. I am the only person who cannot grow zucchini - until this year. We have garlic, green beans, tomatoes, fennel, rhubarb, lettuce, okra, broccoli, collards, peppers- green, jalapeno, poblano, habanero, and eggplant. It's all just too good. Oh and we grow herbs as well.

Every day I go out and see how the plants and their fruits and vegetables are coming along. I am the proud owner of my grandmother's garden basket. It is a long elliptical basket with a sturdy handle. I know it's over 60 years old and it is a treasure to me. Armed with a knife and the basket I pick my rewards from the garden. I bring them inside and plunge them into cold water to remove dirt and any bugs. I treat myself to some sweet tomatoes off the vine or the smell of the basil, oregano and thyme. Then it's on to dinner and a home grown dinner.

Several years ago when shopping for plants for the garden I found my beloved patty pan. I've grown them when I can find the plants and they always take me back to my trips to the country with my grandparents and the joy of beautiful produce in vibrant colors. It is one of the most meaningful ways for me to connect to these two marvelous people I love so dearly.

For the recipe this time I will share one of Lee's favorites. Lee is the worker bee of the garden. Each spring she amends the soil with Posey Power, waters, feeds and debugs the crops. She is a real trooper and loves the garden. It's for her that we plant okra and the garlic we love to cook with. One of Lee's very favorites is Broccoli Rice and Cheese casserole. It isn't fancy but to her it is home and what better way to make it than with the broccoli she worked so hard to grow.

Broccoli Rice Casserole
3 thick stems of broccoli rough chopped
1/2 yellow onion chopped
3 Tbsp. butter
1 large clove of garlic minced
2 C of cooked brown rice
1/2 - 3/4 C. milk
1/2 lb. Velveeta in med cubes (if you're not a Velveeta lover and want to upsacle this dish use a mild cheddar)

Melt the butter and saute the onion until transparent. Add garlic and saute about 30 seconds. Add broccoli and saute until wilted. Add the cooked rice, milk and cheese and allow the cheese to melt stirring gently. Pour the mixture into a greased casserole and top with buttered crumbs. Bake at 350 until browned and bubbly.

In which I capitulate to his insanity

My dear friend Stephen - you all remember the post about him - is at it again. The poor thing really cannot contemplate why one would find specific uses for mayo vs. Miracle Whip and vice versa. I can see that he is starting to escalate publicly about Miracle Whip. Now it's on Facebook. The innocent posters have merely responded to his MW post and he is restarting the cycle. This is like the stealth virus so I must warn you. Any emails with the word miracle or whip, placed alone or together, spelled backwards or forwards, or any letters appearing in the two words in the subject line of the email MUST I repeat MUST be deleted from your inbox. If you mistakenly open this email a virus will unfold in your computer spewing creamy, off white, tangy fatty whiteness all over your motherboard and central processing unit. It will render your computer useless unless you can remove the substance and serve it with a BLT or in a potato salad.

I understand there is a galaxy wide movement forming to interrupt the supply of MW to the stratosphere for one day. You can support this worthwhile endeavor by going to www.miraclewhip.com and selecting an item from the file of unique recipes. Please purchase necessary items, and prepare the recipe completing the selected dish no later than 11:55 p.m. on March 31, 2009. At one second after midnight the world will lift the dish to their mouths and consume the dish in unison with all other planetary participants. This action will interrupt the flow of MW thus creating a world devoid of the product for a 24 hour period.

For those of you too lazy to go to the site, I offer this classic. Note: To meet the 11:55 p.m. deadline on March 31, you must complete the cooking process several hours before time of consumption to allow for chilling and assembling the dish in a bread bowl.

Broccoli Dip in a Bread Bowl

1 cup MIRACLE WHIP Dressing
1 cup BREAKSTONE'S or KNUDSEN Sour Cream
1 env. GOOD SEASONS Italian Dressing Mix
1 pkg. (10 oz.) frozen chopped broccoli, thawed, well drained
1 can (8 oz.) water chestnuts, drained, chopped
1/2 cup chopped red pepper
1 loaf round sourdough bread (1 lb.)
MIX dressing, sour cream and dressing mix in large bowl until well blended. Add broccoli, water chestnuts and red pepper; mix well. Cover. Refrigerate several hours or until chilled.
CUT slice from top of bread loaf; remove center, leaving 1-inch-thick shell. Cut removed bread into bite-sized pieces.
SPOON dip into bread loaf just before serving. Serve with bread pieces, NABISCO Crackers and assorted cut-up vegetables.