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Sunday, December 30, 2012

Never Grow Celery Again

How to re-grow celery from the base thank you Robin Shreeves for this post!
New celery will grow from the base of a used stalk. Give it a try. For your efforts, you'll get a free, edible stalk of celery in a few months and a fun experiment for the kids to keep an eye on all summer vacation.


Regrowing celery
Photo: Robin Shreeves
Granted, this may not be the way to solve the world’s hunger problems, but it’s a fun experiment. I saw a photo of celery re-growing on Pinterest, and I decided to give it a try.
I followed the Pinterest photo back to its original source on the 17 Apart blog and followed the instructions. Take the base from a stalk of celery, rinse it off, and put it in a shallow cup of warm water on a window sill. Change the water daily and keep an eye on it to see if any regrowth begins. As you can see from the photos below, there were significant signs of regrowth within five days.
Day 1: Celery base put in water.
Day 5: Celery base after five days of the experiment. Water was changed daily.
There was little to do except change the water and look at it daily for changes. As the middle of the base of celery began to re-grow healthy, dark green leaves and eventually stalks, the outside of the base began to turn brown and break down. That seemed perfectly natural, and I assumed that when I finally planted the stalk in soil, the outside would continue to break down and create natural nutrients for the new growth.
Day 8: Celery base with impressive, healthy regrowth.
It took only eight days for the regrowth to get to the point where I needed to transplant it into soil. My son and I took a container, filled it with organic potting soil, and planted the re-growing celery in the container. We placed it on top of one of the cinder blocks that border my vegetable garden so the rabbits couldn’t get reach it. We probably should have surrounded it with barbed wire, too, because within two days, it had been eaten down to a nub. The %$&* squirrels got to it! I didn’t take any photos of the celery in the soil, but for the two days it was in there, it continued to thrive. It didn’t seem to suffer any transplant shock at all.
I suppose I’ll have to console myself with the fact that the regrowth did end up as food — even if it wasn’t food I got to feed my family. It would have been great to watch the celery grow into a full stalk to harvest later in the summer and eat (and then see if we could get the base from the new stalk to re-grow). But, I saw enough of the regrowth to know that this was an experiment worth sharing. If you’re curious, give it a try. And, if you have children who are getting out of school just about now, this would be an easy, fun garden/science experiment to do with them over the summer.
From what I read from various sources, it takes two to three months (sometimes longer) for a mature stalk to grow. During that time, kids could be keeping a regrowth journal, recording what they see, measuring the height of the regrowth, and taking photos. My 10-year-old (yes, the 9-year-old I always write about turned 10 last week) eagerly checked on the celery every day and took some photos.
You can also re-grow green onions from their roots after you’ve used the green part. I think I may try that next. I don’t think the squirrels would be as likely to eat them.

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Lemon Cake

lemoncake2


Lemony Lemon Cake

FINALLY!! A  Great Lemon Cake




Lemon Cake
source: Ina Garten, Barefoot Contessa Parties!
  • 1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 2 1/2 cups granulated sugar, divided
  • 4 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
  • 1/3 cup grated lemon zest (6 to 8 large lemons)
  • 3 cups flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 3/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice, divided
  • 3/4 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For the glaze:

  • 2 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
  • 3 1/2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour 2 (8 1/2 by 4 1/4 by 2 1/2-inch) loaf pans. You may also line the bottom with parchment paper, if desired.
  2. Cream the butter and 2 cups granulated sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. With the mixer on medium speed, add the eggs, 1 at a time, and the lemon zest.
  3. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. In another bowl, combine 1/4 cup lemon juice, the buttermilk, and vanilla. Add the flour and buttermilk mixtures alternately to the batter, beginning and ending with the flour. Divide the batter evenly between the pans, smooth the tops, and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until a cake tester comes out clean.
  4. Combine 1/2 cup granulated sugar with 1/2 cup lemon juice in a small saucepan and cook over low heat until the sugar dissolves. When the cakes are done, allow to cool for 10 minutes. Remove the cakes from the pans and set them on a rack set over a tray or sheet pan; spoon the lemon syrup over them. Allow the cakes to cool completely.
  5. For the glaze, combine the confectioners’ sugar and the lemon juice in a bowl, mixing with a wire whisk until smooth. Pour over the tops of the cakes and allow the glaze to drizzle down the sides.

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Lemon Ice Box Pie

Lemon Ice Box Pie (Adapted from a recipe found on http://www.foodandwine.com/) 14 whole graham crackers, broken 1/4 cup sugar 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted Two 14-ounce cans sweetened condensed milk 1 1/4 cups fresh lemon juice, plus 2 tablespoons finely grated lemon zest 8 large egg yolks Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a food processor, pulse the graham crackers with the sugar and salt until finely ground but not powdery. Add the melted butter and pulse until the crumbs are evenly moistened. Press the mixture on the sides and bottom of a 9 inch pie plate. Set the pie plate on a rimmed baking sheet. In a medium bowl, whisk the condensed milk with the lemon juice. In another bowl, using a mixer, beat the lemon zest with the egg yolks until pale. Beat in the condensed milk mixture until smooth. Pour the filling into the crust. Bake the pie for 25 minutes, until the center juggles slightly and the edges are set. Transfer the pan to a rack; let cool for 1 hour. Loosely cover the pan with plastic wrap and freeze for at least 6 hours. Wrap a warm, damp kitchen towel around the side of the pie plate to release the pie. Using a hot knife, slice the pie and serve. Top with whipped cream if desired.
The ingredients are simple: sweetened condensed milk, sugar, graham crackers, salt, egg yolks, unsalted butter and lemons. Lots of lemons!
The crust was super easy. Break the graham crackers into small pieces, add the sugar and salt and pulse in a food processor until ground, but not powdery.
Pulse in short spurts until all crackers are broken up.
It's OK to have some chunks of graham crackers.
Now add unsalted butter to the food processor. Oops, I pulsed this and then realized I was supposed to melt the butter first. To improvise I poured the crust mixture into the pie plate and popped it in the oven for a minute to melt the butter. I mixed the crust ingredients until all grahams were properly buttered.
Press the crust mixture into the bottom and up the sides of a 9" pie plate. Set aside.
Grate (or zest) a few lemons. You'll need 2 tablespoons.
Cut the zested lemons in half and wheeze the juice. (Name that movie) You'll need about 7 juiced lemons to make 1 1/4 cups. This is a lemony pie
This juicer belonged to my great grandmother and it still works! There may be a newer way to juice fruit, but I'll stick with this old juicer. Set lemon juice aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk the condensed milk with the lemon juice (not the zest).
Separate the eggs and put the yolks in a large bowl.
Add the zest to the yolks and beat with a mixer until pale.
Add the zest to the yolks and beat with a mixer until pale.
Pour filling into the prepared crust. Put the pie on a baking sheet and bake in a preheated 325 degree oven for 25 minutes.
The center will juggle slightly and the edges should be set.
Cool the pie on a rack for 1 hour. Loosely cover the pie with plastic wrap and freeze for at least 6 hours.
When ready to serve, wrap the pie plate with a warm, damp kitchen towel to release the frozen crust. Using a hot knife, slice the pie and serve. Pucker up!