Hi, everyone!
There’s a saying that if March comes in like a lion, it will go out like a lamb! Lots of our snow had melted by March 1, but we had a snow squall in the morning and another one after dinner. I don’t know whether that counts as a roar or a baa!
In between the snow squalls, Grandma and I got around to trying a new recipe! We made scallion pancakes for supper! The recipe called for making a dough that got rolled out in pieces. I helped Grandma brush each piece with oil, then sprinkle salt and green onion pieces on top. Then I helped roll each piece up and coil the roll like a snail! After that, I helped flatten each piece out into a pancake shape again! Grandma did the frying, because there was a lot of splattering involved! The rolling and coiling made lots of separate layers that puffed up when fried. The pancakes were yummy!
The next day was sunny, but cold. I was happy to have another cooking project. Grandma and I built a lasagna together! Grandma’s recipe makes a big lasagna, so lots of servings went into the freezer for later meals!
Grandma and Grandpa have both had their immunizations against the bad virus, so two weeks after their second doses it will be safe for us to have family meals with Uncle Steven’s family again. Grandma invited them to come for dinner next Friday. When she went shopping last week, Grandma found a pork shoulder that will be perfect for making another batch of pulled pork! We were nearly out of the special barbeque sauce for pulled pork, so Grandma and I made a double batch the day after we made lasagna! Then, because the temperature was in the mid-40s F., we started pruning the apple trees. We were using the pole pruner, so I could reach the branches that needed to be cut back! We got the tree north of the driveway completely done! Most of the branches fell into the driveway, so we put them into a container for the town to pick up!
The weather was too cold over last weekend to do more pruning. Grandma had some goat cheese to use up, so she asked Uncle Steven whether Thomas had any of his supply of goat cheese biscuits left. They were long gone, so Grandma and I made Thomas another batch. I helped cut the butter and goat cheese into the flour! After Grandma mixed the buttermilk into the dough, I helped roll it out. I made sure we cut the dough into 24 biscuits! After I brushed the tops of the biscuits with milk and sprinkled sea salt on them, Grandma baked them. When they came out of the oven, we texted Uncle Steven a picture of them cooling. He and Thomas came right over to pick them up!
Yesterday and today, we had temperatures in the mid 40s F. again, so Grandma and I finished pruning the apple trees. Looking up through the branches at a bright blue sky makes it easier to see what needs pruning! Grandma said we’ll wait to rake up all the pruned branches until the snow melts!
After we finished pruning, we walked around the yard to look for signs of spring! I found daffodil and iris sprouts coming up where the snow had already melted. There was even one daffodil sprout coming up through the snow!
When Uncle Steven and Thomas came to pick up the goat cheese biscuits, they told us they’d seen two deer right in front of the house. So today I wanted to see whether my azalea and rhododendron friends were OK. Most of the flower buds on the rhododendron were still there, but there were deer tracks nearby and some bitten-off branches! Now that we’ve left pruned apple branches on the ground in the front yard, maybe the deer will leave the rhododendron and azaleas alone!
Love,
Lion-san