Winter's Early Onset

A last mowing to suck up leaves from the lawn has been accomplished. The mower is stored for the winter, with the addition of a shot of Sta-bil in the gas tank to prevent gumminess next spring. All the little, mowed-over tree branches that had fallen with the leaves have been gathered and removed from the lawn. The larger branches were removed before that final mowing.

The overgrown grass along the driveway has had the weed-whacker taken to it. The edges of the driveway are too steep for me to use the mower on them. Luckily, my weed-whacker is battery operated. I never liked gas-powered ones. They're too noisy and too heavy. I struggled with getting the gas to oil ratio correct also. I used electric weed-whackers for several years, and still own a working model. However, I worried about accidentally whacking the extension cord. Stringing together enough extension cords to reach all the areas where the weeds and grass needed trimming was unfeasible. My yard is huge. Now, what I really want is a spare battery unit so that I wouldn't have to wait hours for the one I have to recharge. (Maybe Santa is reading my column?)

The windows are all washed, both inside and out. The screens were removed and are stored in the garage for the winter. I hope locking the windows shut will prevent more box elder bugs from entering through those minuscule openings. The threat of cooler weather has made them more desperate to enter. The actual onset of the cold has slowed their movements considerably. However, being slower hasn't made them any less creepy or annoying. You can vacuum them up, but once you have an accumulation of them inside the vacuum bag, they will stink - a lot. It's easier to squish them in a square of toilet tissue and flush them away. That can also be therapeutic and release some aggression.

I finished these chores on Thursday, just in time for the winter storm we were warned about to arrive. On Friday, we were treated to a too-large amount of heavy, wet snow. It reached a depth of 3 to 5", turning the yard white. It was still wet underneath Saturday morning, when I shoveled it off the deck and cement pads. (There's no sense shoveling while it's still coming down sideways. It was windy.) I was glad it didn't freeze hard enough to turn to ice. The thought of making a snowman entered my mind, but it didn't come to fruition. It's too early for that nonsense. In fact, I'd be happy with no snow at all. Rain in the spring will fill the stock dams without needing to be shoveled.

Thanksgiving will soon be upon us. I recommend fixing your sweet potatoes with the following recipe, which I'm sure I've shared before. There are no marshmallows involved, but you won't miss them at all. I've always used pistachios in the glaze, but I'm sure the other recommended nuts would be tasty, too. I do usually use sweet potatoes rather than yams, but that's usually because of the price difference.

Chef John's Candied Yams

Yams:

3 Tbl kosher salt

2 qt cold water

3 lbs. sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 2" cubes

Glaze:

1 C brown sugar

4 Tbl unsalted butter

1/2 C freshly squeezed lemon juice

1/4 C male syrup

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/4 tsp cinnamon

Pinch of cayenne

Salt to taste

Chopped pistachios, OR pecans, OR walnuts, for garnish

1. Stir salt into water in a large pot. Add spuds, over high heat. Bring to a simmer, reduce heat to medium/low, and simmer until cooked, 5 to 7 minutes. Drain.

2. Place glaze ingredients (minus the nuts) in a skillet over med/hi heat, stirring until ingredients melt and start bubbling. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until thickened, 4 to 6 minutes.

3. Transfer drained spuds to skillet. Raise heat to high. Cook and stir until the spuds are coated with the glaze, and very tender. The glaze should be thickened. This takes 5 to 8 minutes. Transfer to serving dish and garnish with the chopped nuts.

Note: if using finely ground salt rather than kosher, reduce the amount to 5 tsp rather than 3 Tbl.

You'll notice there's no amount listed for the nuts. You can use as much or as little as you wish. I use about 3/4 cup. I also put the cooked spuds in a casserole dish, pour the glaze over, and let finish cooking in an oven at about 300°. The nuts are added right before serving. The leftovers, if you have any, are easily warmed in a microwave.