Friday, February 06, 2009, 01:34
You Know It's Cold When . . .
You know it's cold when cities and villages publish advertisements in the newspaper asking residents to keep their water running all the time so the water mains do not freeze up.
Cities and villages in this area are doing just that -- they are asking residents to leave the water running in their homes at all times to keep the water mains from freezing. Local public works directors say it is cheaper to do that, both for the homeowners and the municipal utilities, than it is to deal with frozen, broken water mains.
It is an indication of the extended period that we've had of very cold weather. I do not recall the municipalities doing that last year. I have not heard how far down the frost goes this year, but I suppose it's quite deep to affect the water mains. We don't have much snow to provide insulation.
Thursday afternoon it was a little warmer with high of about 22 degrees. By the weekend, it is supposed to be above freezing. But, if the weather pattern holds, by next week, it will be below zero again.
I don't mind saying that subzero weather gets very old very fast. I would be delighted if we could have "normal" temperatures for this time of year, with highs in the 20s and lows in the single digits. That would seem like a heat wave, indeed.
I checked my weather records and discovered that last year, we had below zero temperatures until after the middle of March. If that's the case this year, we still have another six weeks of below zero weather.
LeAnn R. Ralph
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Tuesday, February 03, 2009, 19:31
Strawberry Rhubarb Cobbler
As I knew they would, the strawberries and rhubarb that I froze last summer taste tremendously good now during the very cold days of winter.
Monday night, I made a strawberry rhubarb cobbler for dessert . As the strawberries and rhubarb cooked in a saucepan, I leaned over several times to inhale deeply of that wonderful strawberry and rhubarb aroma. For a few seconds, I could smell summer! For a few seconds, I could feel the heat of the sun and the breeze of the summer day when we went picking strawberries. For a few seconds, I could feel the weight of the large "elephant ear" rhubarb leaves as I cut the stalks. For a few seconds, I could hear the twitterings of the barn swallows as they flew over the hayfield one more time looking for insects while I cut rhubarb in the evening twilight. . .
Here's my recipe for strawberry rhubarb cobbler --
2 cups strawberries
2 cups rhubarb
1 to 1 1/2 cups sugar (1 1/2 cups if you want your cobbler sweeter)
1/2 cup water
3 heaping tablespoons cornstarch
2 cups flour
1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons shortening
1 to 1 1/2 cups of milk
Bring the strawberries and the rhubarb to a boil in a medium saucepan. Stir in the sugar. Measure out the 1/2 cup water into a small bowl or a cup. Stir in the cornstarch. Pour the water and cornstarch mixture into the strawberries and rhubarb and bring to a boil, stirring constantly until thick. Turn off the burner. Remove the pan and set aside.
In a medium mixing bowl, measure out the flour. Work the shortening in with a fork, as if you are mixing pie crust. Stir in the sugar and salt and baking powder. Stir in the milk. Start with 1 cup of milk and add milk by the tablespoon until you end up with a thick batter that will drop from a spoon.
Grease a large casserole dish (large enough to hold the strawberry and rhubarb mixture and the dough with enough room for the dough to rise).
Pour the strawberry and rhubarb mixture into the casserole dish. Drop the dough on top of the fruit by spoonfuls. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 to 35 minutes. (You will know that the cobbler is done when a knife inserted in the biscuit portion comes out clean.)
Serve warm with ice cream, whipped cream or non-dairy topping, if desired.
LeAnn R. Ralph
Looking for a gift for Valentine's Day? Do you need something fun to read to take your mind off the recession and those greedy Wall Street types who got us into this mess? Need something fun to help pass the time while you're waiting for spring? . . .
AUTOGRAPHED BOOKS MAKE GREAT GIFTS -- For yourself or someone else!
Click here to order the Rural Route 2 Cookbook
My new book, The Coldest Day of the Year, is now available.
Click here to order LeAnn's books