Beginner Gardening: Hackberry Trees, etc. #10, 1 by SunnyBorders

SunnyBorders wrote:
Hi Sharon, Christi and Marti,

Interesting about your temperatures, Sharon. We have just had a bit of a mid January thaw, but flower beds still have a snow covering. No chance of seeing traces of bulbs. Think dianthus is/can be green under the snow, perhaps to get a quick start when spring does finally come.

Interesting about your and Marti's experience with trenors and quakes. Took plate tectonics in graduate school, but we were involved particularly with the African plate contacting southern Europe (Alpes, etc), because of the distribution of fossil species. Now know more re California and B.C..
Carol's brother in West Van has a house on top of a peak, but he's an architect. He doubled the area of his house and the new section is earthquake proof. He himself sank dozens of piles into shear rock. His upcoming project is a cantilever garden, which I gather means a garden
coming out from the rock on a cantilever platform. Give me terra firma any time!

Tim was up here over this Tuesday/Wednesday (his weekend). We did more french cooking. After watching the relevant original two Julia Child cooking episodes (on DVD), we made french onion soup au gratin with crouts and Julia Child's favourite chocolate cake, gateau, Reine de Sheba (Queen of Sheba). Needless to say Tim did a lot of the preparation and cooking. Amazing how detailed this cooking is; onion soup - slice onions, cook them, caramelize them, put them in the stock with grated swiss cheese, white wine, bay leaf, etc., put the soup in bowls with crouts (toasted one inch sections of french bread, brushed with olive oil), and finally cover the crouts with more grated cheese and return the bowls briefly to the oven. Pictures below include Tim cooking the soup and Carol enjoying it. Best onion soup I've ever had!

Very interesting about typical french cakes; not very high, softish in the centre, use of ground nuts (almonds here), etc.. Tim did most of the cake, with me icing and decorating it. Icing: melted chocolate with a rum moistener in a hot water bath (we used these in chemistry!), then with butter beat into it in a cold water bath. Must say I did add a lot more almonds on the top than Julia Child did.

I know all of you have done vastly more cooking than I ever have. But assume you never had the time (or inclination: diet) to cook like this!
Quite an eye opener to me.

The Councillor took offence to my letter, Sharon, with a letter to the newspaper in response. I am now replying in turn. Although she refers to my "righteous exhortation" ??? and my "trumpet(ting) a defense of the indefensible" ???, I would never call people lackeys, sycophants and lesser stars (her words on her blog), as she has!

Charlie